Fair Labor Association

10/08/2026

🚀 We just launched new guidance for companies, workers, and farmers: 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬

Even the most thorough human rights due diligence programs cannot control for every external factor that affects workers’ well-being. Agricultural communities often experience fluctuations in commodity prices, impacting farmers’ and workers’ incomes. In addition, climate change, natural disasters, pests, and disease can wipe out an entire season’s harvest or cause long-term damage to a farm’s production capacity.

That's why it's critical for small farmers and farm workers to have access to social protection programs. 🔎 However, most on-site assessments find that farmers and workers lack a social safety net, especially in smallholder settings.

In this resource, we address the challenges that farmers and workers face in accessing social protection—such as constraints due to location, income levels, and program implementation—and share details on 23 existing social protection programs 🖇️https://www.fairlabor.org/resource/social-protection-schemes-for-agriculture-workers/

10/07/2026

On the , an important reminder: climate resilience and decent work are closely intertwined.

As temperatures rise and extreme weather events happen with increasing frequency due to climate change, workers at farms and factories worldwide are on the front lines. The ILO estimates that more than 70% of the global workforce is exposed to excessive heat on the job and its associated safety and health risks.

Climate adaptation measures are urgently needed. Two weeks ago, we held a webinar focused on practical actions that brands can take now to strengthen responsible purchasing, supplier engagement, and workplace heat management in global apparel supply chains.

The full conversation is available on YouTube 🎥

Extreme heat is an escalating challenge for the global apparel indu...

10/06/2026

Tomorrow is 🌱 We’re currently working to transform working conditions in the cotton sector through an area-based approach in India, one of the largest producers of cotton globally.

Our Harvesting the Future – Cotton in India initiative aims to create safer, better-paying jobs in the sector; involve workers in creating durable solutions; and work with companies to align economic, social, and environmental goals.

It's centered in the state of Madhya Pradesh, a significant producer of cotton. There, we’ve brought together 25 global apparel companies, two Indian garment and textile producers, and several local implementing partners to improve conditions for cotton producers, harvesters, and their families in over 30 villages.

Take a look at a few of our impact numbers from 2025 👇

10/05/2026

Congratulations to the 26 members of the 2026-27 FLA Student Committee! 🎉The committee is made up of undergraduate and graduate students from colleges and universities in North America who are dedicated to studying labor rights in global supply chains.

Over the coming academic year, they'll have opportunities for real-world learning, professional development, and networking with peers, subject matter experts, and FLA staff.

Here's what one of last year's participants had to say: "I found that there are many more ways to break into social responsibility positions than I thought, and it was inspiring to hear how each path led to personal fulfillment and impact in different ways. It definitely made me more open-minded going into my job search and curious about positions I hadn’t previously considered."

09/30/2026

Ahead of World Coffee Day ☕ tomorrow, did you know that ~125 million people work on over 12 million coffee farms around the world?

Many of these farms are smallholder operations, where it’s critical for farmers and farm workers to have access to social protection programs due to the risks of fluctuating commodity prices, climate change, natural disasters, pests, and disease.

Social protection programs play a key role in supplementing farmers and farmworkers’ income and wages across agricultural supply chains—not only for coffee. However, we found that in 17 of the 20 small farms where we conducted assessments from 2024-25 🔎, workers lacked access to social security or had not enrolled in available programs.

To address this significant labor rights issue, we’ve created new guidance dedicated to helping farmers, farm workers, and companies with agricultural supply chains understand available schemes, their requirements, and their benefits. We hope you'll join us for the launch webinar on October 8 at 8 a.m. 🚀

RSVP today: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_W4pwE8kgRKa0-_jw2H7b1Q #/registration

09/29/2026

In 2025, we completed nearly 70 assessments of factories and farms around the world. From occupational safety gaps in Mexico to informal labor arrangements in the Philippines, explore some of our findings in the graphics below 🔎🌏

And for more details about the impact of our programs and projects, take a look at our 2025 Annual Report 🔗 https://www.fairlabor.org/reports/2025-annual-report/

09/24/2026

At the Cascale Annual Meeting in Athens, our President and CEO Jeff Vockrodt gave a keynote address on decent work in an indecent climate.

As temperatures rise and extreme weather events happen with increasing frequency due to climate change, workers at farms and factories worldwide on the front lines. The ILO has estimated that more than 70% of the global workforce is exposed to excessive heat on the job.

𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱.

These investments will be essential for workforce stability, risk management and supply-chain resilience. Explore this and other key takeaways from Jeff's remarks below ⬇️

09/23/2026

From the Cascale Annual Meeting in Athens to the UN Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum in Bangkok to a roundtable discussion in Kathmandu, our staff has been around the world this month highlighting some of the most pressing labor rights issues.

Over the course of September, they've discussed heat stress, , of migrant workers, effective grievance mechanisms, operationalizing legislation, and much more.

Here's a few snapshots 📸

09/22/2026

📣 Applications are now open for the 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟳 𝗘𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗕𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀

The fellowship remembers the contributions of late FLA Senior Advisor Eric Biel, whose legacy is reflected in government policies and corporate practices that have improved the lives of millions of workers worldwide.

Fellows have the opportunity to pursue practical work experience as they develop their skills to contribute to the advancement of international labor rights in the broader business and human rights space.

Applicants must be full-time law or graduate students pursuing a course of study related to the advancement of international labor rights and/or business and human rights at an accredited college or university in the United States. A $10,000 - $15,000 stipend is provided to support a full-time position in FLA’s Washington, DC office during the summer of 2027.

For more details about the Fellowship and how to apply ➡️ https://www.fairlabor.org/call-for-applications-for-the-2027-eric-biel-fellowship-for-international-labor-rights/

09/18/2026

Earlier this week, several members of our team conducted a Headquarters Assessment at the offices of Gymshark in Birmingham, UK.

The Headquarters Assessment is one of the final landmarks on a company's journey to reaching Fair Labor Accreditation. While in Birmingham, our team evaluated Gymshark’s company-wide integration of policies and procedures that uphold the 10 Principles of Fair Labor and Responsible Sourcing.

During the assessment, we were joined by Gymshark team members from across the company.