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DISCLOSING FACTORIES

Taking the lead, GEAR For Sports® was the first major supplier in the collegiate market to agree to public disclosure of factory production locations. The decision to release factory information was a relatively easy one, based on clear and decisive guiding principles of the business. It is the position of GEAR For Sports® that participation in public disclosure will give stakeholders confidence that the business operates in compliance with the highest ethical standards.

Universities have a right to know detailed information about where the products carrying their logo are produced, and that is why GEAR For Sports® supports factory disclosure for the collegiate industry. GEAR For Sports® now maintains a database that will allow for a specific school’s merchandise to be matched to the actual factory producing the product. This means that when a consumer buys a piece of merchandise in a college bookstore, they will have the ability to access GEAR For Sports’ factory database and see exactly which factory produced that product, as well as the location of that factory. Effective factory disclosure must be a dynamic process that continually tracks where each school’s products are being manufactured.

In August of 1999, GEAR For Sports® helped to establish the Collegiate Industry Initiative for Responsible Manufacturing known as CIIRM. This industry-wide partnership was formed to investigate and evaluate existing human rights initiatives. GEAR For Sports believes that its commitment to factory disclosure will give other apparel manufacturers the confidence to follow suit. The human rights issue in the collegiate manufacturing industry is both multi-faceted and complex. It must be said that improving working conditions around the world demands collaboration between the university, manufacturers and factory owners to develop workable solutions.

As awareness of sweatshop labor conditions in some countries has increased, many industry participants are currently working to educate stakeholders about the reality of sweatshop labor in the apparel industry. GEAR for Sportsr applauds these efforts to uncover abuses and illegalities occurring in foreign production facilities. GEAR For Sports holds its business partners to the highest ethical standards and maintains a commitment to human rights, as affirmed in the GEAR For Sports® Code of Conduct.

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