W's Seattle Bib

Fair Wear Foundation

Fair Wear Foundation works to create a garment industry that is fair for everyone.

Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is a non-profit organization that works with garment brands, factories, trade unions, NGOs and governments to improve working conditions for garment workers in 11 production countries across Asia, Europe and Africa. 130 Fair Wear Foundation member brands are showing that there is a fairer way to make clothes. They are using their influence to create change. 

FWF members are dedicated to implementing the eight FWF labor standards but know that that doesn’t happen overnight. The garment industry is complex, global, fragmented and rarely transparent. That means FWF brands cannot fix things on their own. All other brands need to step up too. And so do local governments, factories and trade unions. There aren’t yet any 100% fair supply chains in this industry. So the Fair Wear Foundation is not perfect, but it is an excellent alternative.

FWF members are open about the steps they are taking toward better labour conditions. And about things that still need to be done. They let an independent NGO (that’s us) check what did and did not go well each year and publically report on this. FWF brands are also transparent about complaints received in the factories they work with. It takes courage to put their brand’s activities out under the public eye, but transparency is the only way forward if we want the garment industry to improve.

Read more about the Fair Wear Foundation.

B Corp Certification

Certifying as a B Corporation goes beyond product- or service-level certification. B Corp Certification is the only certification that measures a company’s entire social and environmental performance.

The B Impact Assessment evaluates how the company’s operations and business model impact workers, community, environment, and customers. From supply chain and input materials to charitable giving and employee benefits, B Corp Certification proves the business is meeting the highest standards of verified performance.

Positive impact is supported by transparency and accountability requirements. B Corp Certification doesn’t just prove where the company excels now—it commits the company to consider stakeholder impact for the long term by building it into the company’s legal structure.