Are your shoes made with forced labor?

Are your shoes being made with forced labor? That’s what we want to find out by asking apparel and footwear maker Skechers to adopt a human rights policy and figure out exactly where it’s sourcing materials. Across the world, an estimated 25 million people are victims of forced labor. The majority of them are exploited by companies for a profit rather than by private individuals. One of the largest sectors that relies on forced labor is the $3 trillion apparel and footwear industry. An estimated 60 million to 75 million people are employed in this global sector. A new player in the forced labor game is China, which has begun using detained Uighur Muslims for forced labor to make textiles. It’s gotten so bad that U.S. Customs and Border Protection began blocking shipments from there starting in October 2019. The U.S. government’s action—the first against a Chinese exporter in the context of the burgeoning forced labor crisis in China’s Xinjiang Province—comes against the backdrop of a catastrophic and ever-worsening human rights situation for the Uighur ethnic minority. That’s where Skechers comes in; Skechers has one of the worst track records in the industry when it comes to keeping tabs on

December 31, 2019 No Comments

Azzad joins call for food industry to end use of antibiotics on livestock

FALLS CHURCH, VA, September 19, 2016 — Azzad Asset Management, investment advisor to the Azzad Funds, announced today that it has joined a consortium of responsible investors and shareholder advocacy groups in support of a United Nations’ call to end antibiotic use in global food supply chains. Organized by the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return (FAIRR), ShareAction, and As You Sow, the global investor statement on antibiotic use in livestock is intended to raise awareness of investors’ work on this issue. The statement comes as the UN High Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) convenes this week in New York. The letter states in part: As shareholders we urge animal health and food companies, including meat producers, restaurants and retailers, to end the use of antibiotics important to human medicine in their operations and global supply chains. Given the overuse of antibiotics’ contribution to AMR, we view this meeting as a potential watershed moment for concerned stakeholders and for the industry. As part of achieving the objective of the High-Level Meeting, we believe it is important to highlight the impact of livestock production on rising antibiotic resistance. And in particular, shine a light

September 19, 2016 No Comments

Azzad renews appeal to apparel makers to protect worker rights

FALLS CHURCH, VA, April 25, 2016 — Azzad Asset Management, a faith-based socially responsible investment firm and investment advisor to the Azzad Funds, reiterated today its call for ongoing reforms in the Bangladesh garment sector, three years after an eight-story factory collapsed in the capital of Dhaka killing more than 1,100 workers and injuring 2,500. The firm said in a statement: “In the wake of the largest garment factory accident in history, we have made only marginal progress toward a culture of safety and respect for worker rights in Bangladesh. The reforms that have been achieved, though admirable, have been slow to come about and much more needs to be done. “Underlying issues such as insufficient resources to improve workplaces, factory-controlled worker safety committees, and a lack of support from American apparel retailers for the Accord for Fire and Building Safety do a disservice to the memories of the victims and their families. We call on all parties involved to redouble their efforts to bring about a lasting solution to the problem.” Azzad noted that, although more than 200 companies from 20 countries signed the Accord for Fire and Building Safety, most North American retailers did not join, with companies

April 25, 2016 No Comments