The problem with company codes of conduct is that they lead to a Babel-like proliferation of interpretations of what is appropriate conduct and create the potential for absurdly large numbers of audits of local facilities. Also, international organizations that have analyzed the content of company codes are not impressed with the rigor of the standards incorporated in most of them.
A step forward out of the confusion of every-company-for-itself on the code front is the development of industry-wide codes of conduct. This at least reduces the number of codes and audits within a particular industry. Whether or not the industry codes are more rigorous than a given company code depends of course on which codes are being compared.
Three industries may exemplify the industry-codes approach – toys, apparel and jewelry.
The Toy Industry
The toy industry has developed the ICTI-CARE program under the auspices of the International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI), of which the British Toy and Hobby Association is an active member (each member of the BTHA must sign on to the ICTI code). The Toy Industry Association (TIA) is the U.S. member, somewhat less active than the BTHA. The ICTI Code of Business Practices includes monitoring and certification provisions. The ICTI code has been critiqued by the German Fair Toys Campaign, China Labor Watch and the Asian Labour Update (Asia Monitor Resource Center).
The Apparel Industry
The industry has developed the Worldwide Responsible Apparel Program (WRAP) Apparel Certification Program, led by the American Apparel and Footwear Association. The WRAP program has been described in some detail by Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) and the Resource Center for the Americas. It has been critiqued by the Maquila Solidarity Network.
The Jewelry Industry
An industry-code approach is being pursued by the jewelry industry’s nascent Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices, which is in part responding to the “No Dirty Gold” campaign by NGOs led by Oxfam and Earthworks.
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