13 Nov FDRA’s Update From China (Face Charity and Factory Training)
Last week, FDRA Chairman Greg Tunney and President Matt Priest attended the 9th Annual Footwear Association Charity Event (FACE) in Shanghai. This vitally important charity has raised over $9 million dollars for charities impacting the lives of children and workers all over China. FDRA was proud to be apart of this event, whose beneficiaries include the Harvard School of Public Health and the Two Ten Footwear Foundation.
H.H. Brown Shoe Company President & CEO Jim Issler graciously hosted several hundred attendees as they enjoyed a weekend of golf, networking and charity. 2014 will mark the 10th anniversary of this one-of-a-kind event and is destined to be another great success for an even greater cause. We encourage you to donate and participate in 2014!
From Shanghai, FDRA hosted its 14th annual Responsible Footwear Forum in Dongguan. Nearly 100 attendees gathered for discussions surrounding recent social responsibility trends and challenges. Participants heard from officials from Payless ShoeSource, Pou Chen and the Dongguan Labor Bureau. FDRA also recognized two factories in CSR excellence, presenting Rollsport with Most Improved in CSR Performance and Pou Chen with Most Effective CSR Performance. Congratulations to these factories! We believe annual recognition of top factories will encourage them to keep their standards high and help spur other factories to work harder at compliance issues.
Finally, FDRA made its way to beautiful Xiamen to host its first-ever Product Safety & Environment (PSE) Workshop in Xiamen. In partnership with TUV SUD, FDRA hosted 150 attendees as they reviewed key concepts and recent developments in the areas of testing, the CPSIA, Proposition 65, Conflict Minerals, and the Washington State Safe Children’s Products Act. TUV SUD Asia President and CEO Dirk van Wahl warmly greeted conference-goers stressing the importance of understanding ever-changing product safety regulations.
After a half-day of classroom instruction, participants traveled to TUV SUD’s brand new lab in Xiamen with an interactive tour of all the latest product safety and quality control testing protocols. Attendees were able to see first hand the various types of tests used to adhere to US product safety regulations.
FDRA hosts robust training programs for factories in China. Make sure your factories don’t miss these important educational opportunities in 2014. A schedule will be released soon.