How to Declare Code of Conduct Compliance

Government entities may require Apparel, Textile, and Laundering contractors to state that they and their subcontractors, including cut and sew, textile, footwear, laundry, warehouse, and other applicable production facilities comply or have the capacity to comply with the government entity’s sweatfree code of conduct. A code of conduct typically consists of core labor standards, acceptable conditions of work, and requirements relating to wages and remuneration.

If allowed by the contracting entity, bidders and contractors can use a common Declaration of Compliance form to declare code of conduct compliance. This form is designed to harmonize standards and procedural requirements and help contracting entities evaluate bidders' and proposers' capacity to comply with their code of conduct. Because it is linked to the Consortium database, the form can give bidders and contractors automatic access to information about the factories where products in their supply chain are made. This information can facilitate the proposal process with those government entities that require information about factories where products are made.

When the Consortium receives a Declaration of Compliance, it independently verifies, and may request evidence from the bidder or contractor, that the production locations described on the form are Factories where workers manufacture the products or Laundries where workers launder the products. If the Consortium determines that the production locations are Factories or Laundries, it provides the bidder or contractor with the Declaration of Compliance stamped with a Production Location Verification. The Production Location Verification affirms that the production locations listed on the Declaration of Compliance are Factories and/or Laundries registered with the Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium. It is valid for a period of 12 months.

The Production Location Verification does not state or imply that either the Consortium or any Consortium member has verified code of conduct compliance or reached any conclusions about factory working conditions in any location. It is the bidder's and contractor's responsibility to accurately represent their capacity to comply with a government entity's code of conduct, to accurately state where the products they supply to a government entity are made, and to maintain code of conduct compliance during the course of a contract.

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