The Life and Building Safety (LABS) Initiative is an industry-driven program where multiple brands and retailers join forces with public organizations to mitigate preventable fire, electrical, and structural safety risks and enhance worker safety in the apparel, footwear, accessories, and textile sectors in key producing countries, including India, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia.
LABS Initiative helps organizations identify key structural, fire and electrical safety risks and provides sustainable solutions and improvements to address those risks and improve overall working conditions.
LABS works in four countries across Asia to create a lasting and measurable impact in the industry.
Factories Onboarded
672
Factories Assessed
653
Safety Training
1468
Workers Reached
1,243,514
Factories Graduated
211
LABS has been working in India since November 2019.
Factories Onboarded
195
Factories Assessed
191
Safety Training
367
Workers Reached
240,962
Factories Graduated
73
LABS has been working in Vietnam since October 2019.
Factories Onboarded
273
Factories Assessed
267
Safety Training
703
Workers Reached
566,753
Factories Graduated
123
LABS has been working in Cambodia since May 2022.
Factories Onboarded
129
Factories Assessed
125
Safety Training
256
Workers Reached
231,936
Factories Graduated
10
LABS has been working in Indonesia since May 2023.
Factories Onboarded
75
Factories Assessed
70
Safety Training
142
Workers Reached
203,863
Factories Graduated
5
We bring stakeholders in the apparel, footwear, accessories, and home-textile industries together to improve working conditions and drive sustainability to create sector-level transformations towards worker safety.
Collaboration with brands and retailers is critical to achieve systemic change and scale impact within the global supply chain. Facilitated by the LABS Secretariat, brands engage with local stakeholders (industry associations, civil society organizations, governments, and institutes) to improve safety policies and provisions.
Factories are a key partner in our efforts to achieve better working conditions in ways that also support businesses.
We actively engage with key organizations in operational countries, including local and national government agencies, industry associations, international institutions, and CSOs to advance safety policies within the industry and embed long-term local and national ownership.
The Life And Building Safety Initiative stands as a foundational pillar within VF’s comprehensive safety program and forward-looking vision. Our collaboration with external experts in fire, structural, and electrical safety, coupled with partnerships with global leaders in the apparel and footwear industry, empowers us with technical insights to address risks and instigate widespread transformation. Nurturing a better safety environment for our entire industry is a key commitment for VF. We look forward to the continued enrichment and value that the LABS program is poised to provide.
Senior Director – Safe and Sustainable Operations, VF Corporation
Collaboration plays a key role in LABS’ success, moving us forward in every country we touch. As we acknowledge the milestone of training one million workers in the past year, we remain committed to expanding our efforts and shaping a future where unity continues to drive progress. Together, we are not just building skills; we are forging a global community and driving safe and secure working environments in our supply chains.
Vice President – Global Responsible Sourcing, Walmart
Our partnership with LABS has allowed us to enroll more than 200 factories in a program that identifies and remediates worker safety risks. The initiative’s focus on fire, building and electrical safety management and emphasis on sectoral collaboration has helped us scale our efforts and meaningfully address an urgent need in many apparel factories across the world.
Director – Supplier Sustainability, Gap Inc
LABS enables VF’s supplier partners to follow clear guidance and standardized approaches to improving the safety conditions within their factories. Raising awareness and improving safety knowledge for factory management and workers supports an ecosystem of safety that drives long-term sustainability of these practices. This is fully aligned with VF’s objectives to keep every person in our supplying factories safe from harm.
Vice President – Global Responsible Sourcing, VF Corporation
