The Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America (FDRA), America’s largest footwear trade association, released a comprehensive Footwear Production Code of Conduct. This Code was created to establish a common, baseline, code that will help drive uniformity within the footwear industry; helping clearly communicate and uphold the social norms and values commonly held by FDRA members, or over 80 percent of the U.S. footwear industry.

From working hours and overtime to structural safety and transparency, the FDRA Footwear Production Code of Conduct is a comprehensive guide that ensures any factories that adhere to its standards are compliant with industry expectations.

“Once again, FDRA and its members are leading the way in driving change for the global footwear industry in a variety of different ways,” said Greg Tunney, President and CEO of R.G. Barry Brands and Chairman of FDRA. “This Code will help all footwear companies, large and small, establish key uniform standards for all of their suppliers, all around the world. This will help us create clear lines of communication and push compliance-troubled factories to conform or risk their business shutting down.”

FDRA reviewed and analyzed dozens of company codes of conduct, identifying key universal standards amongst the various codes to ensure commonality was established. FDRA’s Footwear Code of Conduct was created with the help and input from the Factory Enhancement and Sourcing Committee, a group of the industry’s leading sourcing executives from both distributors and retailers. Input was also provided by FDRA’s social compliance working group, and the industry as a whole.

“This Code of Conduct is the result of hours of hard work amongst FDRA’s team and our industry partners,” said Mike Jeppesen, President of Global Operations at Wolverine Worldwide and Chairman of FDRA’s Factory Enhancement and Sourcing Committee. “If suppliers to FDRA member companies work to adopt this important code, I am confident we will continue to enhance operations throughout the global footwear supply chain.”

Matt Priest, President of FDRA, added “I am extremely proud of the work our members have put into this effort. There are so many multi-stakeholder initiatives out there today, but none that are solely focused on footwear manufacturers. We’re excited to start the process of driving this out to the entire industry. We believe the result will be more compliant, efficient, and productive, factories.”