Socially Responsible Apparel Update
This
fall, the UH Bookstore, the campus�
exclusive textbook provider, is
offering a new line of clothing that
takes social responsibility to a new
and inspired level. The UH Bookstore
now sells Knights Apparel�s Above &
Beyond brand of clothing in the
Cougar Spirit apparel department. UH
is one of approximately 350 Barnes &
Noble college bookstores nationwide
that carries the product.
Knights Apparel manufactures Above &
Beyond collegiate apparel in
overseas factories committed to
meeting a higher standard of
employment for their workers. Every
factory employee receives benefits
and a living wage sufficient to
cover the monthly costs for a family
of four, as determined by the Fair
Labor Association and the Workers
Rights Consortium (WRC).
In a memo to members of the WRC,
director Scott Nova wrote, �For a
major retailer like Barnes & Noble
to lend its enthusiastic support to
this initiative is very heartening
and we commend the company�s
leadership.� The WRC is an
independent labor rights monitoring
organization focused on protecting
the rights of workers who produce
apparel and other products sold in
the United States bearing college or
university logos. The University of
Houston is an affiliate campus of
the WRC.
According to the WRC, a factory in
the Dominican Republic will
manufacture the garments with
verification of labor rights
compliance by the WRC. According to
Mr. Nova, this is the first time an
apparel product that is widely
available in the US will be
manufactured in the developing world
by workers earning a living wage.
UH Bookstore manager, Felix Robinson
said Barnes & Noble has been
involved in building the program for
some time. Now that the Above &
Beyond product has arrived on
campus, the UH community can expect
to see a major marketing initiative
supporting this effort, with
in-store signage and website
exposure.
By associating with the WRC, the UH
Bookstore commits to doing business
with manufacturers that prohibit
forced overtime, child labor, bonded
labor, and discrimination, and that
support workers� rights to a living
wage, safe work environment, freedom
of association, and collective
bargaining.
�Participating in the new and
exciting initiative with the WRC
goes hand in hand with the
university�s mission of
sustainability,� said Emily Messa,
Assistant Vice President for
University Services. �This is one of
the reasons we rely on great
partnerships with our corporate
partners, like Barnes & Noble. They
help the university to continually
raise the sustainability bar for our
campus.�
Messa also points out that selling
socially responsible merchandise on
the university campus is one of the
benchmarks of the Sustainability
Tracking Assessment and Rating
System (STARS). The STARS program is
a tool created by the Association
for the Advancement of
Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
for colleges and universities to use
in tracking their progression on
sustainability initiatives using
objective criteria. The University
of Houston is a member of AASHE.
For more information on UH�s
sustainability efforts, please visit
https://www.uh.edu/green.
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