Abstract:This book had its origins in the involvement of Margaret Levi and, later, Anne Greenleaf and Milli Lake in the Advisory Committee on Trademarks and Licensing (ACTL) at the University of Washington (UW...This book had its origins in the involvement of Margaret Levi and, later, Anne Greenleaf and Milli Lake in the Advisory Committee on Trademarks and Licensing (ACTL) at the University of Washington (UW).The task of the committee is to ensure that products carrying the University of Washington logo are produced under conditions that satisfy the University's labor code of conduct.This proved a challenging job, given the complexities of contemporary supply chains and the variety of commitments and concerns represented on a committee composed of faculty, students, and staff from trademarks and licensing, athletics, the bookstore, and the president's office.It was here we gained our initial experience with clusters of interest and the difficulties of aligning the interests within and across clusters.We also gained considerable respect for and appreciation of the anti-sweatshop movement and the dedicated students who create and manage its campaigns.We came to understand the contributions of both the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) and the Fair Labor Association (FLA) organizations the UW had joined to provide 'fire alarms' of labor violations and monitoring of code compliance.We learned about the internal workings of brands and their problems managing their suppliers, and we were impressed by the bravery of various organizations of workers and advocate groups who demand improved labor conditions in countries all over the world.We discovered the importance of universities in signaling appropriate ethics and values to students, alumnae, and wider publics, but we also discovered the difficulties of enacting and sustaining the university's value commitments in regard to supply chain workers.Although ACTL members may not have been aware of how much they were teaching us and helping us, we are extremely grateful toRead More
Publication Year: 2015
Publication Date: 2015-05-14
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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