The Standard Convergence Initiative (SCI) has urged more brands and retailers to quickly make the switch to converged schemes such as Social & Labor Convergence Program (SLCP) to further maximise the potential savings and benefits for manufacturers.
- It has also called on all leading social schemes to work towards compatibility between the systems and accept and integrate SLCP verified data.
The Calls: The SCI has also urged brands and retailers to drop their proprietary codes in favour of collaborative and harmonised third-party standards as this constitutes the quickest road to a reduction of the number of standards that manufacturers face.
- The SCI will work with its partners including International Trade Centre (ITC), SLCP, brands and retailers and standard holders to encourage and facilitate the reduction of standard fatigue through a fast and rigorous reduction of unnecessary and unproductive work by manufacturers caused by overlapping standards.
- SCI works with the Sustainable Terms of Trade Initiative (STTI) to ensure that brands and retailers make clear commitments to this end.
The Initiative: The Standard Convergence Initiative (SCI) is an initiative of the International Apparel Federation (IAF) and the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) that aims to encourage alignment between industry & multi-stakeholder initiatives as well as brand or retailer proprietary tools to help combat audit and standard fatigue in the textiles and footwear sector.
The Work So Far: To help accelerate the move towards a situation where manufacturers can suffice with a single audit, since inception, the IAF and ITMF have supported the SLCP.
- The SLCP has played a leading role in forging the path to converged assessments. Since launching in 2019, it has scaled rapidly, with over 7,000 facilities worldwide choosing to complete an SLCP verified assessment in 2022 alone.
- There are now 65 brands and retailers publicly committing to accept SLCP-verified data from their suppliers, and manufacturers are reporting concrete reduction of audits and reallocation of resources towards improvements.
- The SCI feels more can be done to further reduce the burden on suppliers and manufacturers. The rate of progress should be increased significantly.
- The next step really is reducing standard fatigue.
- The SCI’s research (carried out by ITC) suggests great overlap between the main social standards, suggesting plenty of room for a fast reduction of standard fatigue for manufacturers.
