Promotional Clothing And Ethical Trading - 5 Great Tips On How To Do The Right Thing

It only takes a matter of days for a famous brand to lose all its credibility if

stories appear in the media about the exploitation of workers manufacturing products on their behalf. Worldwide brands such as Pepsi, Sony or Nike spend large amounts of money advertising their brand with Promotional Merchandise, this article offers you some great advice on how to ensure that the promotional Merchandise you buy or supply is sourced ethically.

Recently in the UK a number of well known high street brands have been caught up in a storm of adverse publicity relating to how their products have been manufactured. Pictures of children working on sewing machines in the sweat shops of Bangladesh or in the backstreets of Chinese villages have caused enormous damage to their reputations. So how do you go about avoiding such situations?

1. Have your own independent representation in every country you manufacture in

Most major companies either have their own staff or agents on the ground in their chosen manufacturing regions. The local personnell are paid to inspect the working conditions and to check that the national labour regulations of the countries they are based in are adhered to. Anything less than this very basic level of inspection is dangerous and it leaves you open to gross misconduct on the part of an unscrupulous manufacturer.

2. Carry out regular, independent inspections of your factories.

Companies such as Beaureau Veritas or SGS will inspect any factories for you and produce a comprehensive report on their findings. You can determine the type and level of inspection that may relate to working conditions, wages, sleeping arrangements, medical coverage etc. Inspection reports should always be available to prove to the end user that the goods in question were ethically sourced.

3. Consider joining SEDEX

Sedex is the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange, it is a membership organisation set up for businesses that have committed themselves to the continuous improvement in the performance of ethical practices by the members of their supply chains. If you are serious about setting up an ethical inspection system then this organisation is a great source of excellent information.

4. Consider Joining the ETI

The Ethical trading Initiative is a relatively new organisation set up in the 1990's. It has bought together a partnership between Trade Unions, Companies and voluntary organisations who work together to improve the lives of workers internationally who produce or manufacture all types of products - from coffee beans to necklaces and from soccer balls to biscuit tins. This organisation is only too keen to help new companies protect and improve the lot of their manufacturing units.

5. Do not trust anything that cannot be proven

Do not leave your reputation or the reputation of your clients in the hands of your suppliers. Do not accept photographs as proof that a factory is complying with your requirements, they could well be sending you images of an entirely different premises. Make sure you pay professional people to visit your manufacturers and carry out a full and proper inspection.

For further information you can look at the websites of the inspection companies I have detailed above and those of Sedex and the ETI. If you are doing none of the above at the moment then you are taking a great risk, none of these actions require vast amounts of your time or money but they could make a vast difference to the lives of the workers in your supply chain so I do urge you to act today.

by: Francis Murphy

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