WASHINGTON, March 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Fair Labor
Association (FLA) today announced that its board of directors has
accredited the social compliance program of Under Armour, Inc.
(NYSE: UA,UAA). The accreditation confirms the company has
strong policies and practices in place to set goals, monitor, and
remediate problems to improve conditions for the workers within its
global supply chain.
"I applaud Under Armour's commitment to embedding international
labor standards and best practices into its global sourcing
operations. The people who make the products that bear Under
Armour's name deserve to be treated with dignity, respect, and
fairness," said Sharon Waxman, FLA
President and Chief Executive Officer. "The FLA's rigorous
accreditation program is based on human rights principles, and
achieving accreditation is an important and meaningful milestone in
Under Armour's long-term effort to improve conditions for workers
in its supply chain."
The accreditation process is a multi-year examination of a
company's labor compliance program that supports increased
corporate transparency. In support of this effort, Under Armour has
published a factory list representing approximately 90 percent
of its production volume, including licensee factories that produce
collegiate products.
As a leading inventor, marketer and distributor of branded
performance athletic apparel, footwear and accessories, Under
Armour's innovative products are sold worldwide to consumers with
active lifestyles. The global brand now joins the FLA's network of
accredited companies, which includes leaders from the apparel
sector.
"We are proud to have been recognized by the FLA for this
significant sustainability milestone," said Patrik Frisk, Under Armour President and Chief
Operating Officer. "The FLA's multi-stakeholder composition – which
includes civil society, university and business members that hold
brands and suppliers accountable for their labor compliance
performance – is a holistic approach that empowers our goal of
becoming a more operationally excellent company."
The FLA is the only organization of its kind to which brands and
suppliers commit to meeting the standards of transparency, regular
review and assessment of corporate systems that support workers'
rights. For more than 20 years, the FLA has worked to
establish its accreditation process as the gold standard for a
systems-level approach to human rights compliance and social
responsibility. Participating companies must regularly assess
supply chain production facilities for adherence to international
labor standards and pursue continuous improvement efforts to
address conditions for workers in order to achieve
accreditation.
"We believe that our FLA Affiliation will continue to make the
conditions for workers in the global supply chain and Under Armour,
better," said Michael Levine, Under
Armour Vice President of Sustainability. "We see accreditation by
the FLA as a way to demonstrate our commitment and impact to key
stakeholders, including the people who make and buy our
products."
The FLA accreditation report notes particular strengths of Under
Armour's program, including:
- Board and executive level commitment to improving conditions
and protecting workers, including the creation of Under Armour's
Sustainability Leadership Council, which includes senior managers
from key departments.
- Regular training on workplace standards, transparency, root
cause analysis, and health and safety for strategic suppliers.
- The creation of procedures to ensure workers have access to and
are aware of the multiple grievance channels they can access,
including directly to UA via confidential reporting.
- A comprehensive monitoring program that includes pre-assessment
meetings with unions, worker representative structures, and civil
society organizations.
- Demonstrated engagement with civil society and union
representatives in key sourcing regions, especially East Asia, Southeast
Asia, and Central
America.
The FLA recognizes the complicated nature of labor compliance
programs and that at times there will be instances when a specific
principle or benchmark is not met. The FLA provides ongoing
programmatic recommendations to further every affiliate's labor
compliance in support of the FLA mission to protect worker rights
and ensure decent working conditions.
About Fair Labor Association
The Fair Labor
Association promotes and protects workers' rights and improves
workplace conditions through collaboration among business, civil
society, and colleges and universities. The FLA conducts
transparent and independent monitoring to ensure that rigorous
labor standards are upheld wherever FLA affiliates source their
products, identifies root causes of non-compliances and proposes
solutions to workplace problems.
About Under Armour, Inc.
Under Armour, Inc., headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is a leading inventor,
marketer and distributor of branded performance athletic apparel,
footwear and accessories. Designed to make all athletes better, the
brand's innovative products are sold worldwide to consumers with
active lifestyles. The company's Connected Fitness™
platform powers the world's largest digitally
connected health and fitness community. For further
information, please visit https://about.underarmour.com.
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SOURCE Under Armour, Inc.