Fair Workplace Council Sweatshop Free Electronics

Our approach to bringing an end to sweatshops in the manufacture of consumers electronics is to empower consumers. Unless brand manufacturers are motivated by factors other than price pressures, the downward slide toward marginal wages and hazardous working conditions will continue unchecked.

We empower consumers by giving them a choice. We provide a mechanism where they can choose responsibly made products. We will do this through our Fair Workplace.com certification label.

How It Works

When consumers purchase a product with the Fairworkplace.org certification label, they can be assured that the product was produced under safe and fair conditions. In order to obtain use of the label, manufacturers will have to agree to reveal their suppliers and their suppliers will in turn have to agree to a series of unannounced inspections, off-site anonymous worker interviews, and auditing of their wage records.  

In addition, they must agree to the formation of on-site worker based monitoring. Fair Workplace Council will put the workers through a series of training course in occupational health and safety and worker rights.

If the factory where the product is made meets our standards, the company will be allowed to use the label on those specific products that have gone through the certification process. It is important to note that we certify products not entire brands.

A Portion of Your Purchase Helps the Workers Directly

As part of the certification program, the manufacturers must agree to put a portion of the sale price into a independently managed worker revenue sharing fund. Typically this may be 2% to 5% of the purchase price so for a $1000 LCD television this would be $20 to $50. This money would be divided into direct revenue sharing, worker continuing education, and local development programs.  This fund is independently administered and workers have direct access to revenue sharing funds.

 Who Determines the Certification Standard.  

Fair Workplace Council will form an advisory group of activists and academics to create a certification standard. This standard will include the eight principle ILO human rights standards and include strong occupational health and safety standards.

 Using the Label as Leverage

Our financial model allows us to let social investment funds, and anti-sweatshop groups, such as the Workers Rights Consortium involved in enforcement of city and state government anti-sweatshop initiatives, and social investment funds to use our label as their certification standard without charge.

This give us tremendous leverage with companies. As consumer awareness increases, this drives companies to assure that more products are made under safe and fair conditions. This in turn drives greater consumer demand as there are more certified products to choose from. This is illustrated below.

Worker Participation

 In order to maximize the benefit to the workers and their families, the certification program is designed to empower workers directly. Factories and brands must agree to allow the formation of work place committees formed entirely of workers. As part of this process, workers go through a training program where they become aware of occupational health and safety hazards and their right to a living wage under this program. Workers become their own monitors and a mechanism is put in place where workers can report violations without fear of retribution.

Independence and Transparency

Fair Workplace Council maintains its independence from industry by accepting no financial contributions, other than certification fees. The board of directors and advisory council is made up entirely of members of the activist community, academics, and other experts dedicated to the mission and vision of Fair Workplace Council. This is codified in our bylaws and in our strong conflict of interest policy.

Once a product is certified, all inspection reports, in their entirety, are posted on this website for public inspection. In addition, each year will ask an independent auditor, who is considered credible by the anti-sweatshop community, to inspect our processes. The results of their audit will also be posted on this website.