AMHERST, MA - October 3, 2007 - Verité, the US-based non-profit which advances the cause of supply chain labor rights throughout the world, is convening a landmark one-day Symposium in Shenzhen, China, to build support for workers' involvement in corporate responsibility in China. The October 15 Symposium -- Worker Engagement and Social Responsibility in China: Ways Forward -- brings together multinational corporations, their Chinese suppliers, Chinese and international NGOs and workers themselves to explore the ways in which workplace participation improves both social responsibility and business performance.

"The risks of manufacturing in China are of serious concern to business executives all over the world," noted Dan Viederman, Verité's Executive Director and a winner of the Skoll Foundation Award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2007. "Verité's experience has shown that training workers and bringing them into discussions about labor protections in China results in more responsible workplaces and more motivated, healthier and often more productive workers."

Verité has been working for more than a decade advancing the cause of just and fair work by auditing and facilitating the resolution of supply chain labor and environmental problems for global brands. Training is an essential remediation strategy used by Verité to promote sustainable change. Over the past seven years Verité has delivered labor protections and 'life skills' training to tens of thousands of Chinese workers within the apparel, footwear and electronics industries. Verité is currently collaborating with Timberland, a leader in supply chain management, to facilitate the participation of workers in factory social assessments. The China Symposium will enable Verité to bring this experience and expertise together with that of others from the international and Chinese communities to improve corporate social responsibility performance in China.

Sponsors of the Symposium include Starbucks, Timberland, Macy's Inc., Fair Indigo, Cadbury-Schweppes, the New Balance Foundation and Calvert Group.

Speakers include Dr. Anita Chan of Australian National University, one of the leading international commentators on China's labor protections; and Dr. Chang Kai of Renmin University, who has been involved in consulting on China's newly-promulgated labor law. The Symposium will also feature speakers and panel leaders from multinational companies (including Timberland, New Balance, VF Corporation and Microsoft), international and Chinese NGOs, factories and workers' associations. Over 100 participants from multinationals, Chinese businesses, and international and Chinese NGOs are expected, including Verité project partners from Guangdong, Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces.

About Verité

Verité's mission is to ensure that people worldwide work under healthy, safe, fair and legal conditions. Verité is a pioneer in monitoring, researching and improving labor and environmental practices in workplaces around the world. Verité works in over 60 countries to empower companies, factories, NGOs, governments, and workers to create sustainable workplace practices in the factories and communities where our consumer goods are made. For more information on Verité, go to www.verite.org

Verite

Verite

At Verité©, we are committed to ensuring that people worldwide work under safe, fair and legal conditions. In over 60 countries around the world we provide governments, corporations, investors, factories, NGOs and workers with information on global working conditions and innovative programs to improve them

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