Ethical Standards and Working Conditions in Wal-Mart's Supply Chain

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the cost of auditing for all of the firms involved. The GSCP is lauded by Wal-Mart and otherbusiness ventures as a beneficial means to improve labor standards create a new efficiency andcut down on costs.Wal-Mart claims that “duplication of audits by different retailers and brands also leads toconfusion on the part of factory managers” and those factories are suffering from “audit fatigue.”Through their program, audits will be conducted in a given factory and rated, then that rating willbe available to the companies that use that audited factory. For example, if Tesco audits FactoryX and gives it a Green rating, then Wal-Mart, who also uses Factory X, would not have toconduct an audit because it could use Tesco’s audit results. However, from the informationdisclosed pertaining to the GSCP, it is difficult to determine what process Wal-Mart would takeif and when violations found in their factories are the result of another company’s audit.The fact that stakeholders were only invited to join such a discussion of this new initiative aftermuch of the original intent of the GSCP was determined, suggests that there is no realcommitment on the part of businesses to involve trade unions and labor rights NGOs in thedevelopment of this new program. Multi-stakeholder involvement is an important part oflending any sort of credibility to this kind of initiative; independent advocates are needed toexpress the interests and concerns of workers in ways that businesses and their suppliers cannot.However, to serve as a real participant in this program, a level of transparency is required thatWal-Mart and other companies are not prepared to give. The GSCP says that it wants to includestakeholders and will take their advice into consideration, but it has already excluded suchgroups from the development of the initial code of conduct.Companies with effective monitoring programs, such as Nike, Gap, and Levi’s, areconspicuously absent from the GSCP. Both Nike and Levi’s list the names of their factories ontheir website as a minimum recognition that factory disclosure is essential for supply chaintransparency. Information disclosure is an essential first step in committing to industry ‘bestpractices.’The GSCP could be a more credible and effective program if it expanded its focus and developedplans to investigate other issues such as the following.(1) While most programs are geared towards workers in factory production, Wal-Mart’ssupply chain also involves those that participate in the food and agricultural sector.Labor rights and the code of conduct need to extend to these facilities where workers arefurther taken advantage of. According to Wal-Mart’s recent Ethical Standards Programfact sheet, the “GSCP covers both food and non-food production for retailers and brandowners.” The GSCP should engage those working on labor rights in food and agriculturalproduction to capture the expertise of stakeholders as the GSCP moves forward.(2) Wal-Mart needs to make auditing information and factory disclosure available tostakeholders in order for the information to be verified. NGOs and other independentworker advocates can be useful partners on this issue only if they are informed and keptas part of the process.18
(3) Wal-Mart needs to develop a role for independent grassroots monitoring organizationsthat will provide an opportunity for short and long-term remediation given that the localorganizations are constantly working to improve labor rights in their communities.(4) Wal-Mart has made it a public policy in the United States to not support unions, and haseven gone so far as to create a kit with specific tools and steps to prevent employees fromassociating. Wal-Mart and other corporations need to recognize their contradictoryclaims of a commitment to the principle of freedom of association in their supply chainswhile they undermine unions in their domestic policies. Provisions and codes of conductfor all worker protections need to apply to domestic employees as well as those abroad.There is a considerable cost component to auditing and maintaining a quality ethical standardsprogram. ILRF is not advocating an increase in the quantity of inadequate audits performed. Itseems unreasonable to create a new organization whose only function is to cut down onduplication and become more cost efficient when Wal-Mart is already the member of severalorganizations that provide this function and present a more valuable representation ofstakeholder involvement. Wal-Mart is already a member of the MFA Forum and Ethical TradingInitiative. The more appropriate step would be investing its energies working with theseestablished groups which also have the participation of other brands, trade unions, and laborrights NGOs. By putting more time and resources into these organizations, Wal-Mart may comecloser to cutting costs and developing an efficient, workable Ethical Standards program.19
Page 1 and 2: Ethical Standards and Working Condi
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTSEXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Page 5 and 6: INTRODUCTIONWal-Mart is currently t
Page 7 and 8: Number ofEthicalStandards StaffHow
Page 9 and 10: available to the public. Informatio
Page 11 and 12: SECTION 2: “VIOLATIONS WILL OCCUR
Page 13 and 14: meeting those goals. By avoiding de
Page 15 and 16: SECTION 3: “WAL-MART IS A RETAILE
Page 17: When it comes to product quality co
Page 21 and 22: and physical violence as the Philip
Page 23 and 24: CONCLUSIONWal-Mart has a commitment
Page 25 and 26: • Provide Restitution to Wal-Mart
Page 27 and 28: Who owns it: Hanesbrand Inc.What th
Page 29 and 30: Chong Won Fashion, Inc.Who owns it:
Page 31 and 32: workers voted to unionize) through
Page 33 and 34: • Minimum Wages:Standard minimum
Page 35: Guy D. Bradford, Vice PresidentCorp

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