The Fair Labor Association (FLA) announced the reaccreditation of the New Balance social compliance program, confirming that the company has policies and practices in place to monitor and remediate labor abuses in its global supply chain.
New Balance will continue as one of the accredited companies in FLA’s network, which includes Adidas, Hanes, Nike, and Patagonia. New Balance earned its first FLA-accreditation in 2014.The company’s 2018 re-accreditation report is published here.
The FLA accreditation program is considered the gold standard for a systems-level approach to human rights compliance and social responsibility. Companies must regularly assess supply chain production facilities for adherence to international labor standards and pursue continuous improvement efforts to address conditions for workers to achieve accreditation. The FLA is the only organization of its kind to which brands and suppliers commit to meeting the standards of regular review and assessment of corporate systems that support workers’ rights.
“Reaccreditation by the Fair Labor Association is a major achievement. It signifies a deep commitment to ethical sourcing for the products that bear New Balance’s name,” said Sharon Waxman, president and CEO of the Fair Labor Association. “The FLA assessment of New Balance revealed a sustained and serious effort to protect workers by ensuring compliance in its supply chain and driving change to achieve better working conditions.”
The FLA recognizes that leadership in social responsibility starts at the top of an organization, and the assessment of New Balance noted the company leadership’s commitment to protecting and upholding workplace standards. FLA assessors reported that New Balance provides confidential reporting channels via local service providers to ensure worker grievances are received and resolved. Further, New Balance engages with local civil society organizations to examine ways to make improvements to workers’ lives.
New Balance was recognized, as well, for conducting analyses of compensation data from samples of its factory workforce in high-risk countries to identify wage gaps, which is considered an important step in driving strategic decisions and providing fair compensation to workers.
