Our Brands and retailers are industry leaders in the movement to reimagine the global supply chain, where workers’ rights are realised and businesses gain a competitive advantage to grow.

Building a responsible and competitive global garment industry requires patience, commitment, and the involvement of a variety of stakeholders, who tackle complex challenges – both factory-specific and across the supply chain. Workers, their employers, and government are critical pillars for change within countries, and brands and retailers can serve as the fourth pillar of support for stable, sustainable improvement.

We engage with brands and retailers through a number of channels, including regular Business Forums at the country, region and international level, where they have the chance to network with each other and with national and international stakeholders including unions, government, employers’ organizations and NGOs. Brands and retailers also have the unique opportunity to hear directly from factories and workers on how to work together to transform the industry for the better. Recognising the role brands and retailers play in improving factory working conditions, we have experts on our team to build and strengthen our partnerships.

In addition to working directly with brands and retailers, we also form partnerships with their key supply chain partners, namely intermediaries and sourcing agents. Sourcing agents and other intermediaries make it possible for a brand or retailer to deliver its products to the end customer without needing to directly manage the whole supply chain. The greater the number of intermediaries and the more elaborate the supply chain, the more vulnerable the system is to losing control and oversight of working conditions at the factory level. By working directly with this segment of the supply chain we can help to ensure responsibility is shared and support the full supply chain in improving working conditions.

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Value for global brands and retailers

Better Work helps global brands and retailers in the garment industry meet a number of distinct challenges in managing their supply chains. We help to mitigate risk and remedy poor working conditions by supporting suppliers to improve adherence to labour standards and laws; we help provide greater transparency on compliance, and we support the development of stable and well-managed sourcing environments.

Since 2007 Better Work has been working with more than 100 well-known global brands to support a thriving, competitive garment industry with decent working conditions. In collaboration with suppliers, factories, trade unions, and governments we have created lasting, positive change through capacity-building, assessments, training and research focused on changing attitudes and behaviour.

Why work with Better Work

Responsible global brands and retailers are critical to the success of Better Work. Through their concern for customers’ values and preferences for ethically sourced fashion, they help drive improvements in factories and support Better Work in strengthening the competitiveness of the garment sector.

In turn, Better Work offers global brands access to unparalleled industry insights and expertise, which helps build sustainability into supply chains. Better Work brands benefit from cost savings, enhanced reputation and risk management, and a safe venue for collaborating with other global brands to create stable sourcing environments.

When brands and retailers join Better Work, they are making a positive decision for their staff, shareholders, customers and workers in their supply chain.

How to become involved with Better Work as a brand or retailer

We have two channels of engagement available, Partners and Participants. For pricing plans, download our guide.

Partners

The partnership provides wider and more strategic benefits and visibility than being a Participant. Partners are involved with the programme at a deeper level and take part in its governance, defining its strategic direction, and more. Partners sign a public-private partnership agreement with the ILO and IFC, which articulates the benefits and responsibilities of being a Partner.

In addition to the factory services for registered factories, Better Work Partners enjoy the following additional services:

Prioritized factory subscription
Unlimited access to factory reports
Faster scheduling of assessments and/or turnaround of reports
Opportunity to directly collaborate with Better Work on factory remediation and specialized training
Acknowledgment of collaboration with Better Work on websites and other public domains
Global Brand Dashboard
Quarterly calls with Better Work Country Staff
Rapid alerts in case of emergencies
Privileged access to technical experts and management at the ILO and IFC
Access to closed sessions at country and regional Business Forums
Ability to co-develop and participate in scalable pilot programmes on key issues in the sector
Formal, legal relationship with the IFC and ILO
Eligible to run as an elected representative to the Better Work Advisory Committee
Invitations to engage with Programme Advisory Committees (PACs) at the national level

Our global brands and retailers commit to supporting the programme by

Eliminating duplicative auditing
Supporting a single improvement process with a focus on improving compliance through enhanced social dialogue and management systems
Not terminating or reducing orders based on non-compliance (with the exception of critical or zero-tolerance issues) provided sufficient progress is being made
Encouraging engagement in the programme by suppliers, agents, licensees
Reviewing internal buying practices that may be influencing non-compliance at supplier facilities

For non-partners companies

Brands and retailers – who are not Better Work partners – may purchase reports for factories registered in Better Work programmes. Such companies will need to register as a participant in order to access reports from our online portal. After paying a fee per factory, participants can receive the reports for one cycle which include one assessment (audit), two progress reports, and an improvement plan. For non-partner companies interested in purchasing reports, please contact [email protected]