Audience:
Open industry. All apparel and footwear industry professionals, regardless of AAFA membership, are encouraged to participate.
Description:
An introduction the AAFA/WRAP guidance on forced labor, providing guidelines and best practices for due diligence necessary to meet the enhanced requirements imposed by supply chains that are coming under increasing regulatory and public scrutiny. The webinar will include a look at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s role under the Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 and talk about how to mitigate the risk of a Withhold Release Order (WRO) and whether more is expected of Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) members as forced labor increasingly becomes a part of supply chain security requirements.
Attendees of this webinar will learn:
- Indicators of forced labor in supply chains (including new indicators).
- Best practices regarding supply chain due diligence when it comes to forced labor and security.
- Steps your company should take now to reduce the risk of a WRO.
Speaker:
Avedis Seferian
President & CEO
WRAP
Avedis H. Seferian joined WRAP in 2004 and became its President and 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, Avedis was named by Assent Compliance as one of the Top 100 Corporate Social Responsibility Influence Leaders for 2020. 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. Avedis 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 also served on the Board of Advisors of the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety.
Avedis 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.
Mark Jaeger
Vice President, Stakeholder Engagement
WRAP
As Vice President for Stakeholder Engagement, Mark is responsible for engaging with WRAP's wide range of stakeholders and furthering the organization's position as the world's largest independent facility certification program focused on the apparel, footwear, and sewn products sectors.
Before assuming this role, Mark served as the Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary at Jockey International, a global, branded apparel company. Mark was a part of the Jockey team for 27 years, where he handled legal, trade, and compliance matters.
In addition to his work with Jockey, Mark has been a vital part of several industry organizations, including the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Textiles and Clothing (ITAC 13), and the American Apparel and Footwear Association's (AAFA) Government Relations Committee. He has also been a long-time supporter of WRAP and its mission, and he recently concluded 16 years of service on WRAP's Board of Directors.
Moderator:
Nate Herman
Senior Vice President, Policy
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. 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.