CLC Pilot Project. CLC has begun the coordination of a pilot monitoring project designed as a case study to gather information and gain experience regarding the monitoring of labor conditions in factories that produce collegiate products. It focuses on the process by which a factory site can be brought into compliance with labor code standards. Through this process, CLC has also facilitated dialogue among participating universities and licensed manufacturers.
There are 6 schools involved in this program along with 5 licensed manufacturers. Those schools participating are Boston College, Duke, Georgetown, UNC-Chapel Hill, Univ. of Wisconsin at Madison, and Univ. of Southern California. The companies participating are College Concepts, Gear for Sports, MJ Soffe, VF Corp., and Zephyr Graf-X. Verite, which is a non-profit organization specializing in comprehensive third party factory evaluations, will carry out the project. Factory sites will be visited in the following countries: Mexico, Costa Rica, Korea and India.
This will be a two-part monitoring process. During the fall of 1999, independent monitors, working through Verite, began visiting factory sites to help management and employees identify and resolve any compliance issues. A timeline is given to the factories for coming into compliance with the CLC labor code standards. During the spring of 2000, the monitors will conduct compliance and verification audits, and prepare a site report for each factory describing what steps were taken to bring the factory into compliance. A final report will describe the process and incorporate factory site reports, excluding any proprietary information.
CLC PILOT PROGRAM PRESS RELEASE
The Collegiate Licensing Company
320 Interstate North Suite 102
Atlanta, Georgia 30339
Telephone: 770.956.0520
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NOVEMBER 3, 1999
LICENSED MANUFACTURERS JOIN PILOT PROGRAM
TO IMPLEMENT VERIFIABLE LABOR CODE COMPLIANCE
ATLANTA – Five licensed manufacturers have joined forces with five universities in a pilot project to ensure that collegiate merchandise is produced under fair labor conditions in several test sites located in different countries.
College Concepts, Gear for Sports, MJ Soffe, VF Corp. and Zephyr Graf-X will participate with the universities in a pilot program aimed at guiding apparel manufacturers and subcontractors determined to enforce labor codes at their factory sites.
Pilot project campuses, all clients of The Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) in Atlanta, are Boston College, Duke and Georgetown universities, and the universities of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Wisconsin at Madison.
CLC has tapped Verite, a non-profit organization, based in Amherst, Mass., specializing in comprehensive third party factory evaluations, to carry out the project. Spring 2000 has been set as the a target date for completion of the pilot project. Working through Verite, independent monitors will visit pilot factory sites in Mexico, Costa Rica, Korea and India, and help management and employees identify and resolve any compliance issues. Each factory will be given a timeline within which it is to come into compliance with the CLC labor code standards. A compliance and verification audit will be conducted by Verite independent monitors at that point. A report then will be prepared for each site describing what steps were taken to comply with code standards. The site report and process description will be made public; any proprietary or confidential information will not.
"While the universities are developing and implementing longer term code programs, the CLC pilot program is a case study which will focus on the process of achieving compliance with labor code standards and how those methods and practices can assist others striving to implement codes," said Bruce B. Siegal, vice president and general counsel of CLC. "Objectives include developing criteria for code implementation and monitoring, as well as demonstrating how an independent, objective third party can help licensees."
"The information gained from the program will be helpful to those universities and licensees currently studying labor codes issues, " Siegal said. "This program will illustrate how universities and licensees can work in a spirit of cooperation to promote global improvement of working conditions. We hope to set a positive example."
"Industry has much to gain from an approach such as this to demonstrate that they are providing verifiable fair working conditions for their employees," he added. "The pilot can produce a roadmap that will aid the compliance process."
Each of the five participating campuses committed up to $10,000 from their trademark licensing revenues to pay for the pilot project. Those costs would be reduced if other schools subsequently join the program.
Boston College, Duke, Georgetown, UNC and Wisconsin collectively generated nearly $5.6 million in royalties during the 1998-99 fiscal year, which ended June 30. That figure represents $150 million in retail sales of licensed products bearing the marks of those schools.
Overall, collegiate licensed products generate an estimated $2.5 billion in retail sales. The total licensed products market is estimated at more than $70 billion in retail sales. Universities use royalty revenues for a variety of purposes including supporting students who receive scholarships and financial aid.
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