FLA On Campus:
Colleges and Universities
Hundreds of colleges and universities are allied with the FLA in an effort to combat sweatshop labor conditions in factories around the world. It is a battle that is seeking victory on two fronts. First, participating colleges and universities work to keep sweatshop products off campus by only doing business with companies and factories that comply with the FLA Workplace Code of Conduct. This Code is a strict set of principles, based on internationally accepted standards, which promote and protect worker’s rights. It holds companies and factories accountable through unannounced factory inspections conducted by independent auditors and issues public reports of violations.
But stopping sweatshop labor requires more than just catching and correcting violators. That’s why universities and colleges who work with the FLA commit themselves to the FLA approach to developing comprehensive, proactive and sustainable change to protect workers rights and improve their lives.
A Team Approach to Fighting Sweatshops
The FLA brings together workers, factory managers, companies and NGOs to build the capacity of local communities and to create a social base involving civil society and governments that at its core, respects workers' rights. One of the greatest strengths of the FLA is that it brings together universities, colleges, civil society organizations and major brands in this fight to end sweatshop labor. Having all of these groups represented in equal numbers on the FLA’s policy-making Board of Directors encourages cooperation and accountability. Equally important, having companies that are committed to ending sweatshop labor associated with the FLA provides a powerful means of encouraging factory owners to abide by appropriate labor standards and ensure that their workers are treated fairly.
Since 1999, the Fair Labor Association has helped improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of workers by:
• Holding companies accountable to the Fair Labor Association Workplace Code of Conduct
• Inspecting and monitoring factories around the world
• Developing innovative, sustainable solutions to labor abuses.


