Update on Living Wage Innovation Challenge 2014

HiiL’s 2014 Innovating Justice Awards and Living Wage Innovation Challenge are well underway! Here is a short summary of the nominations we have so far.

Upstream Analytics works with multinational companies to help ensure due diligence and compliance in emerging markets by providing a phone app for supply chain workers to communicate challenges that may not have been voiced otherwise.

Benefits for Business and Workers (BBW) created a program that develops the skills of managers and workers to improve capability and earning capacity. As a result, factories are able to make significant progress in implementing improved production techniques with a more stable, satisfied and motivated workforce.

Made in Africa (MIA) empowers factories to improve operations, implement social impact programs, and adopt sustainable practices. As factories increase their impact, MIA lowers their interest. As a result, employees in MIA-affiliated factories will see a direct wage increase as a result of the fair trade standards and worker ownership/profit sharing profit sharing programs their employer has been incentivize to adopt, potentially transforming Africa’s apparel industry.

Finally, Nudie Jeans is changing the trend in the garment industry by actually paying living wages to their workers. Nudie Jean’s Indian supplier, Armstrong Knitting mills, defined the living wage benchmark by developing a calculation based on the time it takes to make each garment style. This new calculation is helping to stabilize the living wage in the garment industry.

These innovations were nominated for the Living Wage Innovation Challenge 2014, we’ll start updating you on fresh selections for the HiiL Innovating Justice Awards in our next Insight.