Notícias

Social Accountability Accreditation Services (SAAS) will act in the technical and qualitative evaluation of the ABVTEX audits Program (Brazilian Textile Retail Association), the entity that represents the country’s main fashion retail chains, has just signed a partnership with Social Accountability Accreditation Services (SAAS), the only global accreditation body whose mission is to support the implementation of social and labor standards, by assessing the competence of individual auditing systems and auditors.

The ABVTEX Program, considered the largest Brazilian fashion sector effort in favor of social responsibility, compliance and the promotion of decent work, now has the permanent evaluation and assurance of SAAS to its audits, represented by BSD Consulting, responsible for the shadow audits conduction. John Brookes, Executive Director of SAAS states “The objective of the relationship is to work together with ABVTEX to maintain the highest standard of quality and meet the constant evolution demands of the Program”. Through the partnership, the international accreditation body will continuously monitor the compliance of the five audit bodies and their auditors accredited by ABVTEX, namely: ABNT, Bureau Veritas, DNV GL, Intertek and SGS.

“This work of SAAS will be jointly with ABVTEX to ensure alignment with international practices, as well as privileging continuous improvements in technical and quality governance ensured in the audits of the Program,” said Edmundo Lima, executive director of ABVTEX.

The partnership is already beginning with effective actions that will allow ABVTEX to establish goals and performance indicators for the continuous evolution of the Program in order to ensure the consistency, integrity, credibility and performance of the audit bodies and their auditors. “This partnership is part of the association efforts undertaken to consolidate and develop the Program and allows alignment with the best practices and worldwide standards of production chain monitoring,” explains Lima.

Since 2010 ABVTEX Program has been fighting over the use of modern slave labor, child labor and irregular foreign labor throughout the entire national production chain, where it has already performed more than 28.572 thousand audits to verify good practices in the manufacture of goods of clothing, footwear, accessories and linens, table and bath. The approximately 3,922 approved companies in the ABVTEX Program come from 643 municipalities in 18 states in Brazil and represent more than 340,831 direct workers in production. Each year, more retailers join the cause in order to offer more sustainable and affordable fashion products to customers.

The objective of the ABVTEX Program is to effectively contribute to the sustainable development of the fashion value chain in a comprehensive manner, supporting signatory retailers to monitor and qualify, in a systematized and integrated fashion, the suppliers´ chain of the fashion sector, in order to disseminate good practices and fight against the use of modern slave labor, child labor or irregular foreigner in the productive chains.

The ABVTEX Program is applicable to all suppliers and their subcontractors involved in the production process who wish to be part of the supply chain of the signatory retail companies or recognized for their commitment to social responsibility and human dignity. Majority of the industry entrepreneurs participating in the Program recognize the values ​​attached to this fashion retail initiative and state that it recommends it to other companies in the industry.

About ABVTEX

Founded in 1999, the Brazilian Textile Retail Association (ABVTEX) is the entity that brings together the most representative national and international fashion retail chains, which sell apparel, footwear, handbags, accessories, as well as home textile goods. It is the main interlocutor of the sector with entities related to industry, commerce and services; federal, state and local government authorities; NGOs and associations; press; and society in general. The purpose of ABVTEX is to promote sustainable fashion, making it more accessible from the development of a productive, fair, responsible, innovative, competitive and transparent chain.

Press releases about ABVTEX: ADS Corporate Communications

Jacqueline Miranda – jacquelinem@adsbrasil.com.br: +55 11 5090-3017

Vera Santiago – veras@adsbrasil.com.br: +55 11 5090-3016