Supporting Responsible Sourcing

Challenge

A major retail apparel company faced an intensive NGO and union campaign due to the practices of one of its suppliers in Mexico. The supplier was accused of labor law violations in Mexico.

Solution

We worked with the client to investigate the facts and engage all of the key stakeholders. After it became clear that the vendor would not comply with the client’s remediation requirements, we developed a plan of action to end the company’s relationship with the supplier in a manner consistent with the client’s code of conduct, business goals, and legal concerns.

We worked with NGO allies to engage local Mexican activists and other key stakeholders to promote enforcement of Mexican laws and diffuse a negative media campaign in the United States. We also initiated dialogue with key NGO and labor organizations on rule of law challenges in the Americas and on solutions aimed at maintaining production and jobs in the hemisphere.

Result

Client avoided a negative media campaign and the crisis became an opportunity to further solidify the client’s brand reputation and stakeholder relationships.