More Updates

Bangladeshi factories remain unsafe: H&M suppliers fail on deadlines to address safety hazards

Apr 12, 2016 —

As Swedish fashion giant H&M prepares to announce a predicted increase in their profits for 2015, labour rights groups are calling on the company to do more to protect garment workers in Bangladesh, after a review of H&M’s strategic suppliers shows that severe delays in carrying out urgent and vital building repairs continue to leave tens of thousands of workers at risk of death and injury.

Assassination of Honduran indigenous rights and environmental activist, Berta Cáceres, sparks global outrage (April 2016)

Apr 12, 2016 —

Photo: of Berta beside the Gualcarque River (Goldman Environmental Prize)

MSN joins with a growing number of organizations and institutions throughout the Americas and around the world in condemning the assassination of internationally recognized Honduran human and indigenous rights defender and environmental activist, Berta Cáceres. We express our deeply felt condolences to the members of her family and community and we affirm our support for their continuing struggle.

35 organizations demand that Lexmark reinstate fired union organizers

Mar 29, 2016 —

Photo: ©2016 Keith Dannemiller

Thirty-five organizations based in the US, Canada, Europe and Mexico have signed an Open Letter urging US-based print cartridge manufacturer, Lexmark, to reinstate workers fired for protesting unjust working conditions and attempting to organize an independent union at a Lexmark owned and operated factory in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

Another Bangladesh factory fire reinforces desperate need to speed up safety repairs

Feb 2, 2016 —

Graphic: Clean Clothes Campaign

A fire at another Bangladesh factory producing clothes for H&M, JC Penney and other brands has reinforced serious concerns raised by MSN and other witness signatories to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety about long delays in required safety renovations at factories producing for US and European brands.

Comparison of Mexico's federal labour law, ILO standards, and FLA code and benchmarks (January 2015)

Oct 9, 2015 —

This document, prepared by MSN for the Mexico Committee of the Americas group, was designed primarily as a tool for companies sourcing apparel products from Mexico to better understand the labour standards obligations of their Mexican suppliers and the rights of workers in their supplier factories. It should also serve as a useful reference document for trade union and labour rights organizations advocating on behalf of Mexican workers.

Eight brands release joint letter to Mexican government supporting freedom of association

Oct 9, 2015 —

On September 22, eight international apparel brands released a joint letter to the Mexican government expressing their support for the International Labour Organization’s (ILO’s) request that Mexico make further reforms to its Federal Labour Law to ensure respect for workers’ right to freedom of association and to bargain collectively.

Signatories to the joint letter include: adidas Group, American Eagle Outfitters, New Balance, Nike, Patagonia, Puma, PVH, and The Walt Disney Company.

MSN's Freedom of Association in Mexico Tool Kit (2014)

Oct 6, 2015 —

The right of workers to freely associate and the right to bargain collectively on the terms and conditions of their employment are fundamental human rights enshrined in International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions and United Nations (UN) declaractions. These fundamental principles are reflected in the codes of conduct of most leading apparel brands.

What Should Brands Do?

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