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UNC-Chapel Hill confirms commitment to Accord in Bangladesh 

following release of UNC General Administration guidelines

 

Requirement advances safety standards for workers creating University-licensed products

 

(Chapel Hill, N.C. – Feb. 5, 2015) – The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will require all licensees that make UNC-logoed clothing in Bangladesh under a UNC-Chapel Hill license to sign and adhere to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. All current licensees that make UNC-logoed products in Bangladesh are already members of the Accord. This policy will affect each new University license contract and renewal for UNC-logoed goods from this date forward.

 

Beginning in April 2014, UNC General Administration – on behalf of all UNC system constituent institutions – undertook an eight-month review of both the Accord and another similar organization, the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, to determine if there was a clearly superior model. Having found no clear advantage between the two worker safety programs, UNC President Tom Ross issued a memorandum on Jan. 7, 2015 directing UNC system universities to participate in either the Accord or the Alliance, or both, when negotiating to establish or renew licensing agreements concerning UNC-logoed products made in Bangladesh and to provide an update via an annual system-wide review in January 2016. Based on President Ross’s directive and research by UNC-Chapel Hill’s own Licensing Labor Code Advisory Committee, the University decided to require membership in the Accord.

 

“This decision reaffirms our commitment to worker safety in Bangladesh and clarifies our position on the requirements for licensees that make UNC-logoed clothing in Bangladesh,” said Chancellor Carol L. Folt. “I have asked Matt Fajack, vice chancellor for finance and administration, and Felicia Washington, vice chancellor for workforce strategy, equity and engagement, to work with our Office of Trademarks and Licensing and the campus community to ensure we continue to closely monitor these issues moving forward.”

The Accord is an agreement designed to ensure reasonable health and safety measures for garment workers in Bangladesh. It includes independent safety inspections at factories and public reporting of the results of these inspections.

 

-Carolina-

 

Communications and Public Affairs contact: Tanya Moore, (919) 962-6229, tanya_moore@unc.edu

 

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