    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [April 14, 1997]
    [Pages 435-437]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the Apparel Industry Partnership
    April 14, 1997

        Thank you very much. I would like to begin, first of all, by
    thanking all the members of this partnership, the cochairs, Paul Charron
    of Liz Claiborne and Linda Golodner of the National Consumers League,
    Jay Mazur of UNITE. I thank Kathie Lee Gifford, who has done so much to
    bring public attention to this issue. I thank the Members of Congress
    who are here: Congressman George Miller, Congressman Bernie Sanders,
    Congressman Lane Evans, Congressman Marty Martinez, and especially I
    thank my good friend Senator Tom Harkin, who first brought this issue to
    my attention a long time ago. Thank you very much, sir, and thank all of
    you for your passionate concern. I thank the former Secretary of Labor,
    Bob Reich, and Acting Secretary Cynthia Metzler and Secretary-designate
    Alexis Herman, who is here. And I thank Maria Echaveste and Gene
    Sperling for their work.
        The announcement we make today will improve the lives of millions of
    garment workers around the world. As has now been painfully well
    documented, some of the clothes and shoes we buy here in America are
    manufactured under working conditions which are deplorable and
    unacceptable--mostly overseas, but unbelievably, sometimes here at home
    as well.
        In our system of enterprise, which I have done my best to promote
    and advance, we support the proposition that businesses are in business
    to make a profit. But in our society, which we believe to be good and
    want to be better, we know that human rights and labor rights must be a
    part of the basic framework within which all businesses honorably
    compete.
        As important as the fabric apparel workers make for us is the fabric
    of their lives, which is a part of the fabric of our lives, here at home
    and around the world. Their health and their safety, their ability to
    make a decent wage, their ability to bring children into this world and
    raise them with dignity and have their children see their parents
    working with dignity, that's an important part of the quality of our
    lives and will have a lot to do with the quality of our children's
    future.
        Last August, when the Vice President and I brought together the
    leaders of some of our Nation's largest apparel and footwear companies
    and representatives of labor, consumer, human rights, and religious
    groups, I was genuinely moved at the shared outrage at sweatshop abuses
    and the shared determination to do something about it. That led to this
    apparel industry partnership. This partnership has reached an
    agreement--as already has been said--that will significantly reduce the
    use of sweatshop labor over the long run. It will give American

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    consumers greater confidence in the products they buy.
        And again, I say they have done a remarkable thing. Paul Charron
    said it was just the beginning because even though there are some very
    impressive and big companies represented on this stage, there are some
    which are not. But I would like to ask all the members of the
    partnership here to stand, and I think we ought to express our
    appreciation to them for what they have done. [Applause]
        Now, here's what they agreed to do: first, a workplace code of
    conduct that companies will voluntarily adopt, and require their
    contractors to adopt, to dramatically improve the conditions under which
    goods are made. The code will establish a maximum workweek, a cap of 12
    hours on the amount of overtime a company can require; require that
    employers pay at least the minimum or prevailing wage, respect basic
    labor rights. It will require safe and healthy working conditions and
    freedom from abuse and harassment. Most important, it will crack down on
    child labor, prohibiting the employment of those under 15 years of age
    in most countries.
        It will also take steps to ensure that this code is enforced and
    that American consumers will know that the tenets of the agreement are
    being honored. The apparel industry has developed new standards for
    internal and external monitoring to make sure companies and contractors
    live up to that code of conduct. It will also form an independent
    association to help implement the agreement and to develop an effective
    way to share this information with consumers, such as labels on
    clothing, seals of approval in advertising, or signs in stores to
    guarantee that no sweatshop labor was used on a given product line.
        Of course, the agreement is just the beginning. We know sweatshop
    labor will not vanish overnight. We know that while this agreement is an
    historic step, our real measure of progress must be in the changed and
    improved lives and livelihoods of apparel workers here at home and
    around the world. That is why we need more companies to join this
    crusade and follow its strict rules of conduct.
        One of the association's most important tasks will be to expand
    participation to as many large and small companies as possible. And I
    urge all of America's apparel companies to become part of this effort.
    If these people are willing to put their names, their necks, their
    reputations, and their bottom lines on the bottom line of America, every
    other company in America in their line of work ought to be willing to do
    the very same thing.
        We have spent a lot of time trying to find jobs for everybody in
    America who wants to work, and we have spent a lot of time saying that
    people who are able-bodied, who can work, should be required to work.
    Now, we are also reminding ourselves that no one, anywhere, should have
    to put their safety or their dignity on the line to support themselves
    or their children. This is a great day for America, a great day for the
    cause of human rights, and I believe a great day for free enterprise.
    And I thank all of those who are here who made it possible.
        I'm proud that this agreement was industry-led and wholly voluntary.
    Like the TV industry's decision to rate its programming, like the new
    private sector effort to help move people from welfare to work, like the
    high-tech industry's efforts to wire our schools and our classrooms to
    the Internet, all of them, by the year 2000--which we will continue this
    Saturday--this is further evidence that we can solve our problems by
    working together in new and creative ways.
        The apparel industry understands that we all share a stake in
    preparing our country for the 21st century and preparing the world to be
    a good partner. Reaching across lines that have too often divided us in
    the past, this new partnership will create more opportunity for working
    families. It will demand more responsibility for working conditions. It
    will build a stronger community here in America and bind us to the
    community of people all around the world who believe in the value of
    work but who also believe in the importance of its dignity and sanctity.
        Thank you, and God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:05 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to entertainer Kathie Lee Gifford and
    the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE).

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