Compliance Environment
As a business conglomerate that runs Apparel Solutions Bangladesh, we have offered all the legally required facilities to the workers. Besides, the factory is famous as the eco-friendliest facility in Bangladesh. Apparel Solutions set social compliance concerned with a business treats to its employees with regards to health, safety, wages, and benefits. It is a continuing process in which we look for better ways to protect the health, safety, and fundamental rights of our employees and enhance the community operates in. For our best practices, we gain nationwide prestigious acceptance and it increases national competitiveness and reduces the burden on manufacturing. As a result, our social compliance creates worker satisfaction and boosts productivity.
Apparel Solutions formulated following the SA8000 standard is the industry standard for measuring social compliance, based on the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO). Other global standards, international human rights norms, and national labor laws and social accountability standards have been developed by FLA, WRAP, CEPAA, BSCI, SEDEX, etc. Apparel Solutions give an utmost effort to not violate any of the standards where our social compliance is monitored by BGMEA and BKMEA. Apparel Solutions have taken the guideline from those organizations and formulated our own standard of COC and also the acceptance criteria. According to SA8000, there are nine requirements for social compliance, including:
- Child labour
- Forced labour
- Health and safety
- Compensation
- Working hours
- Discrimination
- Discipline
- Free association and collective bargaining
- Management systems
By keeping in mind the complex scenario, several case studies in Bangladesh Apparel Solutions have been made with respect to the information obtained through actual social compliance audits performed by leading auditors of internationally well-known consumer products service companies. Social compliance audits conducted as per the COC of different brand buyers of USA and Europe were basically based on the following steps:
- Opening meeting with the factory management (informed the scope of audit)
- Factory Tour (observed working condition)
- Document Review (payroll, time card, personal file, age documentation, etc.)
- Employees Interview
- Closing meeting with factory management (discussed audit findings and recommended necessary
improvements).
Apparel Solutions have revealed the working conditions of the factory. Employees usually work with no ventilation, breathing in toxic substances, inhaling fiber dust, or blasted sand in unsafe buildings. We ensure no workers face verbal and physical abuse in the factory. Adhering to set standards, practices, industry rules and government regulation is crucial at Apparel Solutions. However, conforming to recognized standards of production is one of the most important steps in order to produce high-quality products while we are achieving production goals and maximizing profits. The total compliance environment for Apparel Solutions cannot be difficult to achieve and are happy not being implemented.
As mentioned above, even though set compliance standards exist, Apparel Solutions still found no violation of social compliance and charged no counts of unfair wages, extensive working hours,
exceeding local overtime limits, health and safety violations, and more. It is also most essential for Apparel Solutions to consider conducting a social compliance audit.
