ASOS partners with GoodWeave to combat modern slavery in India

Online retailer ASOS has joined forces with workers’ rights non-profit GoodWeave International to end child and forced labour. Through the cooperation, ASOS will use GoodWeave’s methodology with its Indian vendors.

The cooperation will see the suppliers registered in the program, with additional suppliers anticipated in the coming months. The partnership will first focus on three strategic suppliers in India. Each supplier will be subject to audits and surprise inspections by GoodWeave staff members who have been taught to spot potential dangers and problems with forced, bonded, and child labor.

Later this year, ASOS will start offering a few items that comply with the GoodWeave Standard.

Kailash Satyarthi, a recipient of the Nobel Prize, established Good Weave in 1994.

Nina Smith, CEO of GoodWeave International, said that GoodWeave has improved working conditions in the rug and textiles industry for for three decades, and they are thrilled to be establishing this relationship targeted at apparel and accessory supply chains with ASOS.

Smith added that numerous reports suggest that there is a substantial risk of child labor and modern slavery in India’s clothing sector. It’s crucial that fashion companies collaborate with organizations like GoodWeave to stop covert exploitation in outsourced, subcontracted supply chains in order to address this issue and comply with the needs of rising human rights due diligence regulations globally.

The non-profit organization works to track back each level of a product’s manufacturing route, from subcontractors to home-based employees, rather than concentrating on the final-stage manufacturing facility.

Adil Rehman, Head of Ethical Trade at ASOS, said that forced, bonded, or child labor can have no place in the fashion industry, but these concerns are always present within complicated global supply chains. With this new relationship with GoodWeave, they’re advancing their efforts to combat modern slavery and promote ethical commerce through assurance and thorough supply chain mapping, which will help them make sure that workers are safeguarded and their rights are upheld.