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Over 160 signatories collaborate for SLCP

14 Nov '17
2 min read

More than 160 signatories from various leading stakeholders have collaborated for the Social and Labor Convergence Project (SLCP) in an initiative to move the apparel and footwear industry from excessive audits toward sustainable social and labour improvements. SLCP recently launched its second prototype for a converged assessment framework.

The updated framework will be pilot tested in over 175 facilities in 23 countries across the world, ranging from China to Myanmar to Lesotho to Honduras to Turkey, and in diverse conditions. The pilot will include facilities beyond Tier 1 and will cover a large range of facility sizes and product types.

All aspects of the framework will be tested: the data collection with the tool by a facility assessment and the verification methodology by external parties. Simultaneously, the SLCP will collect input from external stakeholders in a round of public consultation. All feedback from the pilot and public consultation will be used to develop the third prototype of the converged assessment framework in early 2018. The final version of the converged assessment framework is expected to be launched in May 2018.

The steadily growing number of participating signatories has gained confidence in the value and impact of the converged assessment framework and they have strengthened their commitments to replace currently used proprietary tools with the new framework.

"Over the past two years, a critical mass of organisations from all relevant stakeholder groups have come together to create this common assessment framework for social and labour conditions in the apparel and footwear supply chain," Abhishek Bansal, head of sustainability at Arvind Limited, said. "With the current progress, I believe we are on the right track to achieve the objective of converging and eliminating the current practice of replication of efforts."

"It’s amazing to see the progress since the first announcement, exactly two years ago. Few people believed this could be done," SLCP director Janet Mensink said. "Look where we are today, we’ve shown the industry can collaborate and the will to re-imagine current models is there. The conversation has shifted from building the framework, to planning on adoption and operation."

SLCP is an initiative led by the world’s leading manufacturers, brands, retailers, industry groups, (inter) governmental organisations, service providers and civil society organisations. The first version of the framework was piloted in February 2017. The converged tool and verification methodology will be finalised and ready for use by Q1 2018. (RR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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