"ACT brands adopt accountability on purchasing practices", 15 October 2019

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Brands who are members of... ACT living wage initiative have adopted a joint due diligence framework to ensure their purchasing practices facilitate the payment of a living wage. 

According to ACT, this marks the first time in the history of the global and garment footwear sector that international brands have collectively agreed to be held accountable by a global union federation for changing their purchasing practices...

Key elements of ACT labour costing protocol... include that:

• Brands will conduct labour costings in line with predicted wage increases... and... incorporate this into purchasing prices
• When other cost inputs (e.g. cost of fabric, energy costs, size of order) remain equal, wage increases will be covered through higher purchasing prices
• Suppliers will not be expected to cover rising wage costs through unreasonable efficiency gains or reduced margins...