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Since 1974, the Multifibre Arrangement (MFA) has governed world trade in the textile and apparel industry and set quotas for garments exported to the US and Europe.  On January 1, 2005, the MFA will expire.  Without it, many poor countries that have benefited from quotas will be forced to compete with producers in other countries with more established manufacturing capabilities.  This may lead to the relocation or closure of apparel factories in developing countries that in turn could lead to a loss of millions of jobs in the textile and apparel industries in those countries.

The Contractor Supplier Working Group of ICCR has developed educational resources on this issue.  A sub-committee of the Working Group has drafted a letter and questions to be sent to the CEOs of apparel manufacturers and retailers. While the MFA phase out poses social and financial risks to companies and the communities where they source, very little information is available to allow shareholders and other stakeholders to make informed decisions about whether companies are putting in place strategic plans to address the phase out of the MFA.

We invite you to participate in the MFA Phase Out Letter-Writing Campaign.   Information on how to participate can be found on the ICCR web site at: http://www.iccr.org/issues/css/featured.php.

ACTION PLAN and TIMELINE

1.  Use the sample letter and set of questions provided.  Adapt the letter depending on whether your institution owns shares in the companies you are writing to or you are writing as a concerned investor. Send the letter to the CEO of the company as soon as possible.

2.  Check your portfolios and see which companies you hold.  A list of companies is provided (if you can not access the excel file, we also have the list in adobe).  Notice that some major companies are not on the list (ex. Disney, Gap, Sears) because these companies are being contacted directly by the primary filer to obtain written responses.  You are encouraged to send letters to as many of the companies listed as you can, even if you are not a shareholder.

3.  Request the companies to send you a written response one month after you send the letter and send a copy to me at ICCR (dschilling@iccr.org; fax 212-870-2023).

4.  E-mail me at ICCR with the list of companies where you have sent the letter so we can keep track of which companies are getting letters.  We will be doing follow-up with companies to increase the rate of response.

5. We plan to compile the information we receive in July and August, report on the results and recommend next steps to the Contract Supplier Working Group and put the report on the ICCR web site by September.

The sub-committee members that developed the campaign are:  Seamus Finn, Adam Kanzer, Laurie Michalowski, Ruth Rosenbaum and myself as staff.

Thanks for your participation!  If you have any questions, please contact at:

David

Rev. David M. Schilling
Director, Global Corporate Accountability
(Human Rights, Contract Supplier Issues)
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
475 Riverside Drive, Room 550
New York, NY 10115
ph   212-870-2928
fax  212-870-2023
www.iccr.org