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Fair Factories Clearinghouse Has New Executive Director

Fair Factories Clearinghouse Has New Executive Director

Published 01-28-08

Submitted by Fair Factories Clearinghouse

NEW YORK, NY - January 28, 2008 - The Fair Factories Clearinghouse (FFC) is pleased to announce a new leader, Marianne Voss.

Retailers, consumer brands, trading agents and other buyers face the challenge of ensuring that factory workplace standards are properly integrated into their supply chain and sourcing operations. Today - more than ever - where goods come from and the rights of workers who make those goods is pivotal to a brand's success, as does complying with international standards. The FFC provides participating members with tools to cost-effectively manage and share compliance information about factory workplace conditions to assist them in making informed sourcing decisions that help improve factory workplace conditions around the world.

The FFC is proud to announce that Marianne Voss assumed the role of Executive Director of the FFC, effective January 2008. She succeeds Kiku Loomis, who served in the position since 2005.

"I am delighted to be joining the FFC at this point in its development," said Voss. "For three years the FFC has been providing its members with a scalable technology to manage their internal compliance programs. The FFC will soon launch the next release of its technology, allowing members to share non-competitive factory compliance information, such as audits, and to coordinate remediation efforts. Much more can be accomplished in improving factory conditions through large-scale collaboration, and I hope in the coming years that I can help the FFC deepen and expand its impact in this area and significantly enhance member companies' capabilities to make responsible sourcing decisions."

Marianne comes to the FFC with a wealth of experience working with Reebok and then the Adidas Group in their implementation of global compliance programs. Prior to her work in corporate responsibility, she worked for One-to-One Interactive, a digital marketing firm, where she developed and implemented technology strategic planning and marketing programs for Fortune 500 companies. Her background as a lawyer for both small defendants and large corporate cases also governs her direction and decisions under an umbrella for improving working conditions around the world.

"We are extraordinarily pleased that Marianne Voss has agreed to join the FFC in this leadership role," commented Doug Cahn, Chairman of the Board and Principal of the Cahn Group. "She understands corporate social responsibility in all its complexity and has the demonstrated capacity to lead the FFC into its next critical phase."

The FCC's current member roster includes Abercrombie & Fitch, adidas Group, ASICS America, Hudson’s Bay Company, Levi Strauss & Co, L.L. Bean, Macy’s Merchandising Group, Mark’s Work Wearhouse, Nike Inc., Nordstrom, Patagonia, the Starbucks Coffee Company, the Timberland Company, VF Corporation, the National Retail Federation and the Retail Council of Canada. The FFC's rapidly growing database currently contains over 13,000 factories records and over 26,000 audit reports.

FFC is a non-profit organization incorporated in the State of New York in 2004 and founded by the National Retail Federation, the Retail Council of Canada, Reebok International Ltd. and World Monitors Inc. Founding members include Hudson's Bay Company, Macy's Merchandising Group, and Mark's Work Wearhouse Ltd. The FFC is supported through contributions from retail associations and participating companies and through grants, including funding provided by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. It is also supported by in kind contributions from its members and from Microsoft. For more information, see: www.fairfactories.org.

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Fair Factories Clearinghouse

Fair Factories Clearinghouse

The Fair Factories Clearinghouse (FFC)'s is a non-profit organization founded in 2004 with a simple but innovative idea: offer software to companies, within a collaborative membership community. FFC One World is “A Collaborative Workplace.” In CSR, sharing information and experience results in greater knowledge overall, and this means progress. Through sharing and collaboration, beginners can gain from people with more experience. Small enterprises can learn from larger companies with greater resources and risk management backgrounds. A motive in common is to improve human rights and environmental working conditions around the world. Within the collaborative community are answers to many questions. Join. Ask. Share. Become part of the Fair Factories Clearinghouse partnership--support and take advantage of shared efforts to create more effective and efficient monitoring practices for you and the industry.

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