Audience: Open industry. All apparel and footwear industry professionals, regardless of AAFA membership, are encouraged to participate.
Description:
Forced labor in any form is unacceptable – our industry does not tolerate forced labor in our supply chains, and a top priority of our industry is to ensure that all workers in our supply chains work under safe, ethical, and humane conditions.
Meanwhile, the October 1 announcement by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of five new withhold release orders (WRO) banning certain U.S. imports allegedly made with forced labor highlights the ever present need to address the potential for forced labor in apparel and footwear supply chains.
Join AAFA and AAFA’s CSR Partner, Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP), to learn about the forced labor landscape today, what to expect going forward, and, most importantly, what you can do about it.
Attendees of this webinar will learn:
- The forced labor issues impacting the apparel and footwear industry today;
- The forced labor issues that might impact the industry in the future; and
- Best practices, tools, and resources available to the industry to help them prevent forced labor in their supply chains.
Speakers:
Avedis Seferian
President & CEO
WRAP
Avedis Seferian joined WRAP in 2004 and was named President & CEO in 2012. He has extensive knowledge of social responsibility issues within the highly complex worldwide supply chains of the apparel, textile and footwear sectors. A recognized expert in the area of social compliance and responsible sourcing, he often speaks on topics in this field at different forums around the world, and has contributed to many leading trade publications and news outlets. Mr. Seferian serves on the Board of Advisors of the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, is the Chairman of the Executive Board (and a member of the Stakeholder Board) of the Association of Professional Social Compliance Auditors (APSCA) and sits on the Impartiality Committees of several audit organizations. He speaks five languages, has lived in four countries and holds degrees from three continents, including a BA from St. Stephen’s College in India, an MBA from the American University of Armenia, and a JD from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Mr. Seferian is a member of the American Bar Association and the Virginia State Bar. He resides in Fairfax, Virginia with his wife and their 2 sons.
Clay Hickson
Senior Vice President
WRAP
As Senior Vice President at WRAP, Clay Hickson manages international operations and helps develop and refine WRAP’s strategy. He specifically focuses on managing relationships with global brands and retailers and with governmental and other stakeholder organizations. Clay has extensive experience in international marketing, corporate communications, strategic planning, and cross-cultural communications. He has developed and led seminars and other initiatives around the world in the field of social responsibility in collaboration with audit firms, manufacturing facilities, industry associations, government bodies and others, which initiatives have facilitated understanding of socially responsible and ethical practices as well as an understanding of how to implement social compliance programs. Clay is an active participant in the AAFA Social Responsibility Committee, and he has served on the governing Steering Committee of the Social & Labor Convergence Project. He is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.
Moderator:
Nate Herman
Senior Vice President, Supply Chain
AAFA
Nate Herman oversees AAFA’s government relations department, managing the association’s lobbying, policy, and regulatory affairs activities. Nate leads AAFA’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) program, formulating and implementing CSR policy and representing AAFA and the industry on CSR issues before governments, NGOs, and other key stakeholders. Nate also leads the association’s work on sustainability, transportation, logistics, and customs issues. In addition, Nate develops all apparel and footwear industry data and statistics as AAFA's resident economist. Prior to joining AAFA, Nate worked for six years at the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration assisting U.S. firms in entering the global market. Nate spent the last two years as the Department's industry analyst for the footwear and travel goods industries. Nate received a Masters of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh in 1994 and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Economics from the University of Delaware in 1992.
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