Industry Collaboration

We want to be ensured that the non-REI branded products we sell are manufactured following procedures that align with our core values. We have set high standards for fair labor practices with our factory partnerships, and we inspire leadership across the outdoor industry.

In 2006 we partnered with the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) to publish a fair labor toolkit to help companies do a better job of ethical sourcing and raising awareness of labor compliance issues throughout our industry.

In 2007 we piloted a program to learn about the labor compliance programs of our non-REI brand vendors, by working with 20 vendors representing the scope of our business. This process helped us better understand how prevalent labor compliance programs are among our vendor base, and develop the tools needed to inform and educate brands on this topic.

Highlights

Through our work, we continue to raise expectations among other brands that they should examine labor conditions in their supply chains. In parallel, we work through the OIA to help develop tools making it easier for vendors to complete the auditing process. This has increased the scope of our efforts exponentially.

Because our business spans industries in which labor compliance is prevalent (apparel manufacturing) and industries where it is less so (light manufacturing), we have the ability to help create labor compliance competence where it has historically not existed.

Challenges

After a decade of effort we realize that we still have work to do to accomplish our goals.

Looking Forward

Our next step is to understand how the top 50 brands in our portfolio are performing in labor and factory compliance. Our long-term goal is to have reasonable confidence that all brands carried at REI are manufactured in facilities that adhere to recognized international standards of fair labor.