In countries around the world, labour and non-governmental organizations are negotiating multi-stakeholder codes of conduct on labour and environmental practices with major consumer products companies.

How these initiatives approach the issue of labour standards compliance varies greatly. Some industry-dominated initiatives set low standards and rely exclusively on company-controlled monitoring or commercial auditing firms. Others work closely with local NGOs and labour organizations to improve conditions.

As codes of conduct, monitoring and certification systems are being put into practice, labour and other civil society organizations are demanding a greater role in monitoring, increased corporate disclosure of information, and transparent mechanisms for workers and labour rights advocates to lodge complaints and challenge auditors' reports.

There is also an effort on the part of some of these initiatives to find means of collaborating on improving auditing, codes, and achieving more sustainable improvements in working conditions. Click here for a description of these efforts.

Information on the major multi-stakeholder initiatives involved in labour standards compliance verification is available below.

• Fair Labor Association
• Worker Rights Consortium
• SA8000
• Ethical Trading Initiative
• Fair Wear Foundation

Industry-dominated initiatives:

• Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production
• Business Social Compliance Initiative