1. How are Free2Work grades calculated?

Free2Work asks each brand a set of 61 questions about its labor policies and practices.  Each question falls in one of four categories: Policies, Transparency & Traceability, Monitoring & Training, or Worker Rights.  For more information on Free2Work ratings see What do the Ratings Mean?

2. Does an F rating mean the brand uses forced and child labor in its supply chain?  What is the difference between an A rated company and a B rated company?

An F grade does not necessarily mean that the brand uses child or forced labor, but rather that it has not instituted effective mechanisms to prevent these abuses, or to remediate them should they occur.  Similarly, an A grade does not imply that the company’s supply chain is 100% free of forced labor, but rather that the company is taking appropriate measures to ensure workers’ rights are upheld and protected.  See What do the Ratings Mean? for more information.

3. Can you rate _______ product or ______ company?

We always welcome user recommendations.  For the time being we are prioritizing brands that fall within one of our six focus industries: Apparel, Chocolate, Electronics, Flowers & Plants, Jewelry, and Sports Equipment.  Please send your suggestions to feedback@free2work.org.  We do as much as we can with our resources; please be patient as we attempt to handle a large volume of requests.

4. How did you choose these companies or industries?

We rate brands in industries with specific supply chain issues about which our team has expertise. As we grow we will continue to expand our rating categories.

5. How can a brand improve its grade?

Free2Work automatically reassesses each brand once a year; if a brand improves its supply chain labor practices, Free2Work will alter its grade accordingly.

In conducting a brand evaluation, our research team first assesses a brand’s own publications alongside relevant independent reports.  Next we send our questionnaire to the brand for information and comment, which we in turn review; we allot six to eight weeks for this process.  Once a rating is finalized, we encourage the brand to continue to submit new information pertinent to its rating as its practices change.  Free2Work is willing to change a company’s grade at any time where appropriate, and is engaged in dialogue with many companies on a regular basis.

For companies seeking additional resources, we are currently in the process of creating Industry Best Practice Reports, to be released in 2012. Each report will provide a synopsis of a focus industry’s range of supply chain labor management policies and will highlight best practice leaders.  It will reveal the industry’s performance on key Free2Work indicators and call attention areas of needed growth.

6. What steps can I take to stop forced labor and child labor?

You have already taken the first step – to learn about the issue and care about changing it! You can also contribute by downloading the Free2Work app for iPhone and Android. To get more involved, please also see See What can I do? for more information.

7. How do Certification Programs affect grades?

Oftentimes product certifications will have a positive impact on a brand’s grade; however, each certification standard varies in its ability to prevent forced and child labor. Each standard engages these issues through a distinct process. We encourage you as a consumer to be aware and understand these differences.

8.  Can a Free2Work grade change over time?

Yes. Brands are reassessed at least annually. If researchers receive additional information relating to a specific grade, Free2Work will reevaluate the brand prior to its scheduled yearly review. 

9. How does Free2Work engage with companies to encourage best practices?

For companies seeking additional resources, we are currently in the process of creating Industry Best Practice Reports, to be released in 2012.  Each report will provide a synopsis of a focus industry’s range of supply chain labor management policies and will highlight best practice leaders.  It will reveal the industry’s performance on key Free2Work indicators and call attention areas of needed growth.

Beyond this, Free2Work is engaged in dialogue with companies on a regular basis about their supply chains (See How Can a Brand Improve its Grade? above for more info).  If you represent a company and would like to speak to the Free2Work research team, please contact us at feedback@Free2Work.org.

Is your question not on the list? Submit it here!

No warranties

This website is provided “as is” without any representations or warranties, express or implied. Free2Work makes no representations or warranties in relation to this website or the information and materials provided on this website.

Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing paragraph, Free2Work does not warrant that:

• this website will be constantly available, or available at all; or
• the information on this website is complete, true, accurate or non-misleading.

Nothing on this website constitutes, or is meant to constitute, advice of any kind. If you require advice in relation to any legal or financial matter you should consult an appropriate professional.

Limitations of liability

Free2Work will not be liable to you (whether under the law of contact, the law of torts or otherwise) in relation to the contents of, or use of, or otherwise in connection with, this website:

• to the extent that the website is provided free-of-charge, for any direct loss;
• for any indirect, special or consequential loss; or
• for any business losses, loss of revenue, income, profits or anticipated savings, loss of contracts or business relationships, loss of reputation or goodwill, or loss or corruption of information or data.

These limitations of liability apply even if Free2Work has been expressly advised of the potential loss.

Exceptions

Nothing in this website disclaimer will exclude or limit any warranty implied by law that it would be unlawful to exclude or limit; and nothing in this website disclaimer will exclude or limit Free2Work’s liability in respect of any:

• death or personal injury caused by Free2Work’s negligence;
• fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation on the part of Free2Work; or
• matter which it would be illegal or unlawful for Free2Work to exclude or limit, or to attempt or purport to exclude or limit, its liability.

Reasonableness

By using this website, you agree that the exclusions and limitations of liability set out in this website disclaimer are reasonable.

If you do not think they are reasonable, you must not use this website.

Other parties

You accept that, as a limited liability entity, Free2Work has an interest in limiting the personal liability of its officers and employees. You agree that you will not bring any claim personally against Free2Work’s officers or employees in respect of any losses you suffer in connection with the website.

Without prejudice to the foregoing paragraph, you agree that the limitations of warranties and liability set out in this website disclaimer will protect Free2Work’s officers, employees, agents, subsidiaries, successors, assigns and sub-contractors as well as Free2Work.

Unenforceable provisions

If any provision of this website disclaimer is, or is found to be, unenforceable under applicable law, that will not affect the enforceability of the other provisions of this website disclaimer.

About this website disclaimer

We created this website disclaimer with the help of a Contractology precedent available at www.freenetlaw.com. Professional legal templates, including web hosting agreement templates, are supplied by Contractology to customers worldwide.

Do you have a question about Free2Work?  Have you checked out our FAQ page?  We might be able to answer your question there.  

For media inquiries, contact us at press@NotForSaleCampaign.org

Otherwise you can contact us at feedback@Free2Work.org

Thanks for your interest in Free2Work!

FREE2WORK PRIVACY POLICY

This Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) describes the information that FREE2WORK (“FREE2WORK”) collects through our mobile application and how we use it. For purposes of this agreement, the terms “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to FREE2WORK. “You” refers to you, as a user of the FREE2WORK application. By accepting our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, you consent to our collection and use of your information as described in this Privacy Policy.

Information We Collect

We collect information from and about you and your device.  The personal information we collect is the information that you voluntarily provide to us during your creation of an account.  Users cannot access the application without creating an account.  You can manually create an account on our application, or you can create an account by connecting to our application through Facebook.  In either case, we collect from you only your first name, last name, and email address.    We also track the products that users scan.  This information is used to track how users are interacting with our app in the aggregate, and may also be used to provide users with similar products they may be interested in.

How We Use And Share Information

We use the personal information you provide to us to create an account through which you can utilize FREE2WORK services.  Further, by creating an account and providing us with your email address, you agree to receive email communications to provide you additional information about FREE2WORK and Not For Sale’s initiatives (“Promotional Communications”).  In addition, we use the information we collect about the products users scan to improve FREE2WORK services and users’ experiences.  We aggregate this information to use in statistical analysis to allow us to track the products that users are interested in and analyze patterns in the use of FREE2WORK. 

Except as otherwise stated in this Privacy Policy, we do not sell, trade, rent, or otherwise share for marketing purposes the Personal Information that we collect with third parties without your consent. 

In general, this Privacy Policy does not limit our use or disclosure of any non-personal information in any way.  We reserve the right to use and disclose such non-personal information to our partners, advertisers, and other third parties at our discretion.

How We Protect Information

We strive to protect your information from unauthorized access, and take precautions against security breaches of our customer databases.  We collect only limited personal information, and that information is housed within a dedicated server that has been encrypted using technological measures, including encryption, firewalls, and secure socket layer technology, to ensure security. 

This is not a guarantee that your information may not be accessed, disclosed, or altered by breach of such firewalls and secure server software. By using our application, you acknowledge that you understand and agree to assume these risks. 

Your Rights and Correcting Your Information

You have a right at any time to stop us from contacting you with additional information about the initiatives of FREE2WORK and Not For Sale. If you receive Promotional Communications from us, you will be able to indicate a preference to stop receiving further Promotional Communications from us and will have the opportunity to “opt-out” by following the unsubscribe instructions provided in the e-mail. 

Please note that despite any indicated email marketing preferences, we may send you administrative emails regarding FREE2WORK, including, for example, notices of material updates to our Privacy Policy.

Modifications to Our Privacy Policy

We may revise our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service at any time.  We will notify you about any significant changes to our policy by sending a notice to users via email so that you can choose whether to continue using our service.  Non material changes or clarifications will take effect immediately; significant changes will go into effect 30 days after we notify. You should periodically check this privacy policy for updates.

Contact Us

You can contact us about this privacy statement by

Writing us via email at:  Feedback@free2work.org.

Writing to us via postal mail at: 270 Capistrano Road, Suite #2, Half Moon Bay, California 94019

Calling us at:  1-650-560-9990

Learn how your favorite brands relate to trafficking and other labor abuses. Free2Work provides consumers with information on forced and child labor for the brands and products they love.

Free2Work provides consumers with information on how products relate to modern-day slavery. Through the site you can learn how your favorite brands are working to address forced and child labor.  You can additionally access in-depth information about industry issues through our industry pages and news feeds, and you can learn more about trafficking and supply chains through our blog posts.

The global slave trade is complex, and product supply chains remain opaque, making it difficult for even the most informed consumers to know how their purchases are connected to labor abuses.  Today, brands are more aware of potential issues within their supply chains.  Many work with a wide range of initiatives such as monitoring and certification programs to attempt to assure consumers that their products do not violate worker rights.  The plethora of approaches is extremely confusing for busy consumers who seek an answer to the simple question, what is the story behind my products?

There is a tale behind each barcode.  Most products travel through various parts of the world and through many hands before they reach us.  Our goal at Free2Work is to shed light on this process.  We aim to empower consumers with information about the likelihood that products are made with forced or child labor.   Free2Work conducts extensive research before assigning grades on a scale of “A” to “F” to each brand.  We look at company efforts in four main categories: policies, monitoring, transparency, and worker rights (see What do the Ratings Mean? for more information).

Additionally, Free2Work is continually engaged in dialogue with companies about their supply chain practices.  For companies seeking further resources, we are currently creating Industry Best Practice Reports, to be released in 2012.  Each report will reveal the industry’s performance on key Free2Work indicators, highlight best practice leaders, and call attention to areas of needed growth.

Free2Work is a strategic tool that promotes transparency in supply chains, empowers consumers to make informed decisions, and mediates communication between consumers and companies. 

Organizations Behind Free2Work: 

Free2Work is a project created by Not For Sale and supported by the International Labor Rights Forum. 

Not For Sale equips and mobilizes smart activists to deploy innovative solutions to slavery in their own backyards and across the globe. NFSC has developed an international network of people dedicated to ending slavery and forced labor. Sign up for NFS’ email list.

International Labor Rights Forum, founded in 1985, promotes just and humane treatment for workers worldwide.  ILRF connects policy makers and activists to workers’ struggles around the world, promoting better trade policy and legal protections against child and forced labor, discrimination of all kinds, and infringements on workers’ right to organize and bargain collectively. Sign up for ILRF’s email list.

Funding for this project has been provided by Humanity United and by the Juniper Networks Foundation Fund, a corporate advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

Free2Work is an ever-changing and evolving resource.  As companies’ processes for addressing forced labor improve, so too will their grades. Please keep in mind that we continuously update this site with new brand and product assessments. We encourage you to provide feedback by email at feedback@free2work.org.

What do Free2Work grades represent? 

Free2Work grades are a measure of a brands’s efforts to make sure that child and forced labor do not exist in its supply chain. They are based on publicly available information and data self-reported by companies.

How does Free2Work conduct assessments? 

Overview:

Free2Work asks each brand a set of 61 questions about its labor policies and practices through our “Evaluation Tool.”  Each question falls in one of four categories: Policies, Transparency & Traceability, Monitoring & Training, or Worker Rights. We ask most questions three times: once for each of three major production phases in the brand’s supply chain.  If a company owns multiple brands, we either assess them separately or clump them under one evaluation, depending on how similarly the supply chains are managed.

In conducting a brand evaluation, our research team first assesses a brand’s own publications alongside relevant independent reports and data such as third party audit findings and non-governmental organization (NGO) publications.  Next we send our questionnaire to the brand for information and comment, which we in turn review; we allot six to eight weeks for this process.  Where a brand is non-responsive, we note this on its scorecard.  Once finalized, we make all evaluations publicly available through our site for companies, consumers, workers and the activist community to access.  We welcome you to submit information we may have missed, including reports of labor violations, to feedback@Free2Work.org. 

Free2Work grades each brand according to its response to the risks specific to its supply chain.  If a brand is operating in an industry and regions where there is a high prevalence of child and forced labor, it will be graded more strictly than one operating only in lower risk situations.  This means that in order to receive an A, such a brand will need to prove that it has significant mechanisms in place to protect workers from abuse.

Supply Chain Phases:

There are many different sorts of supply chains.  Some products pass through dozens of hands and countries before they reach the shelves.  They can involve harvesting, manufacturing, transportation, intermediaries, and many other phases.  Others take little production and are made close to home. Our challenge at Free2Work is to compare these very different supply chains and companies to one another in a way that is meaningful.

In order to do this, we have chosen to simplify things and focus on only three production phases in each supply chain.  We look at each brand’s management of one main raw material, one main input, and the final stage of production.  We generally evaluate a standard set of production processes per industry, and customize these to represent individual brands’ efforts where necessary.   For example if we are assessing an apparel company, we will standardly look at its management of cotton harvesting (the raw material), textiles production (the input), and cut-make-trim manufacturing (the final stage of production).  We assess the company’s efforts to prevent trafficking at each of these three levels.  In the cases of select industries with less complicated supply chains we assess only one or two production processes instead of three.

Evaluation Categories:

Free2Work asks each brand a set of 61 questions about its production policies and practices.  We ask most of these questions three times: once for each production phase. The questions fall into four categories of assessment:

1. Policies: We evaluate the brand’s code of conduct, sourcing and subcontracting policies, and involvement with other organizations working to combat child and forced labor.
2. Transparency & Traceability: We look at both how thoroughly the brand understands its own supply chain, and whether it discloses critical information to the public.
3. Monitoring & Training: We measure the adequacy of the brand’s monitoring program to address the specific issues of child and forced labor.
4. Worker Rights: We assess the degree to which the brand seeks to actively support worker well-being by ensuring that workers claim their rights at work through organizing or earning a living wage. 

Risk Analysis:

As mentioned, supply chains are diverse and often complicated.  In order to evaluate companies next to each other we need to understand the different risks in which they operate.  The prevalence of child and forced labor is much greater in certain countries and production processes than in others, so Free2Work grades those companies operating in “high risk” situations on a stricter scale than those operating in “low risk” areas.  

For example, in the jewelry industry, forced and child labor has been found in gold mining in Burkina Faso. Free2Work thus considers sourcing gold from Burkina Faso to be a “high risk” activity, which means that serious precautions need to be taken in production to ensure against trafficking. On the other hand, neither child nor forced labor is prevalent in Canadian gold mining operations, and Canadian rule of law is relatively strong on trafficking.  Free2Work consequently considers sourcing gold from Canada to be “low risk.” 

If a company has “low risk” production, it does not necessarily mean that no trafficking exists in its supply chain, but rather that it is less of a risk relatively speaking.  We grade brands sourcing from high risk areas on a more rigorous scale than those sourcing from low risk areas, but expect that even companies with relatively “low risk” production have certain policies and procedures in place.  Likewise, a company can still receive an “A” if it is operating in “high risk” situations, but it is expected to take more precautions to ensure against abuses.

Free2Work draws risk data primarily from the U.S. Department of Labor’s List of Goods Produced With Child Labor or Forced Labor (“DOL List“).  The DOL List reports on the existence of the use of child and forced labor by country and good.  We evaluate each of a company’s main production processes separately for risk.  Companies that either do not publicly disclose or have not traced their countries of production are considered to be operating in “high risk” situations.

Free2Work uses the U.S. Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons’ Trafficking in Persons Report “Tier Placements” as a secondary source of risk information. The report measures government efforts to prevent trafficking.  If one of a company’s production processes exists chiefly in “Tier 1″ countries, we grade the process on a “low risk” scale as long as it is not also on the DOL List (if a process is on the DOL List we consider it to be “high risk” regardless).  The rationale behind this is that government efforts and rule of law are fundamental to the prevention of trafficking, and certain company policies may be less crucial where governments are fulfilling their roles.  If a production process is marked as “low risk” it does not mean that there is no risk of child or forced labor, but rather that external protections are likely in place to supplement company efforts.  (Note that the one exception is that while Colombia is “Tier 1” for trafficking in persons, the labor abuses that routinely take place in the country are so severe that Free2Work has removed it from its “low risk” list.)

Free2Work finally draws data where applicable from other expert reports and relevant news articles: in some cases there are specific allegations of abuse in a company’s supply chain; in these circumstances the production process will be marked as “high risk” regardless of the supply chain.

All production processes that are not either “high risk” or “low risk” are considered to be “medium risk” and graded on a medium scale.

The following are Free2Work’s risk definitions.  In a given production process:

High risk =

1. One or more of the top five countries from which the company sources is on the DOL List; or
2. The company does not disclose its top five countries of production; or
3. An independent party has made credible allegations of abuse

 Medium Risk =

1. Zero of the top five countries from which the company sources are on the DOL List; but
2. Not all of the top five countries from which the company sources are listed as “Tier 1” on the TiP Report

 Low Risk=

1. Zero of the top five countries from which the company sources are on the DOL List; and
2. All of the top five countries from which the company sources are listed as “Tier 1” on the TiP Report

Finally, the following are the spread of potential grades a company can receive by risk category:

If at least one production process is “low risk”: Minimum score: C; Maximum score: A+

If at least one production process is “medium risk”: Minimum score: D-; Maximum score: A+

If all production processes are “high risk”: Minimum score: F, Maximum score: A+

Scope of Evaluations:

In some cases corporations own multiple brands with similar supply chains and manage these as a unit; for instance a company’s head office may take responsibility for ensuring that the suppliers of each of its brands are monitored under a single auditing program.  In such a case Free2Work will assess the corporation’s brands as a unit.

An example of this is the corporation Gap Inc., which owns five brands (Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta).  Gap manages the supply chains of all five brands under one umbrella CSR program.  Free2Work in response grades all five brands under one umbrella evaluation.

Where supply chain management practices differ from brand to brand, we assess each brand separately.  In rarer cases, especially where certification systems are involved, a single brand may manage different product lines with significantly different labor policies; in these cases we will assess each product line seperately.  Free2Work maps each company’s ownership structures against its corporate social responsibility (CSR) management structures to determine the scope of its evaluation(s). 

In all cases, regardless of the scope of the assessment, consumers can search for Free2Work grades easily through recognizable brand and product line names.

The Free2Work mobile application, available on iPhone and Android, equips you with valuable information on companies’ labor standards and production practices at the moment you most need it- while you shop.  Free2Work is the first and only app available that allows consumers to scan the barcode of an item and instantly gain access to information on the brand’s efforts to prevent child and forced labor.  As a consumer, you can use this information to understand what labor practices you may be supporting with your purchases, and to guide your consumption habits toward decisions that positively affect supply chain workers.  You can also use Free2Work’s crowdsourcing mechanism to input vital information on products to help build our database. The Free2Work app bridges the gap between consumer products and company supply chains, and enables you to voice your concerns about how workers are treated during the production process via social media.  To learn more watch this video:!

 Free2Work is engaged in dialogue with companies on a regular basis about their supply chains (See How Can a Brand Improve its Grade? above for more info).  If you represent a company and would like to speak to the Free2Work research team, please contact us at (Feedback@Free2Work.org).  For companies seeking additional resources, we are currently in the process of creating Industry Best Practice Reports, to be released in 2012.  Each report will reveal the industry’s performance on key Free2Work indicators, highlight best practice leaders, and call attention areas of needed growth.

For more ways to get involved in fighting human trafficking visit the Not For Sale or International Labor Rights Forum websites.  And please sign up to get information about our projects and campaigns through our NFS and ILRF email lists.

• Free2Work Grading MethodsFree2Work evaluates brands' efforts to address forced and child labor within their supply chains. First, we evaluate a supply chain's level of risk for forced or child labor, based on the industries and countries involved. Second, we identify three main levels of the supply chain--one main material, one main input, and the final stage of production. Third, at each of these levels, we evaluate the brand's policies, transparency & traceability, monitoring programs, and worker rights. Through our research, we hope to influence consumer purchases and motivate brands to improve. Together, we can end slavery in our lifetime.
• App FunctionalityThe Free2Work app is not only a resource for consumers but also an invitation for them to engage with our research.
• The Story Behind the BarcodeHave you ever considered the story behind the products you purchase? Free2Work endeavors to inform consumers the labor conditions behind the products that they purchase on a daily basis. Through a 60+ point assessment tool Free2Work analysis a companies supply chain to produce an A to F scale based on a brands ability to protect workers in their supply chain.
• 2011 Trafficking in Persons ReportThe Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons within the US State Department produces an annual report on the state of trafficking worldwide.  The report includes an annual three tier ranking system on countries efforts to address trafficking.  Free2Work utilizes this ranking system to inform our risk analysis process.
• Department of Labor, List of Goods Tainted by Forced and Child LaborThe Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) releases an annual report on list of goods tainted by Forced and Child Labor.  Free2Work utilizes this report in developing its list of risk factors that contribute to assessing which level of risk a company operates within.