supply chain, clothing, sweatshop, social responsibility,

No abstract

The abundance of actionable information available in a medicolegal suicide investigation is often inaccessible and underutilized in public health to the detriment of prevention efforts. Epidemiologists obtained the Washington County subset of the Oregon Violent Death Reporting System (OR-VDRS). To determine if additional information beyond the OR-VDRS was available through a standard death investigation, an epidemiologist shadowed medicolegal death investigators (MDIs) for nearly 2 years. The MDIs and epidemiologist developed a novel, real-time, MDI-entered surveillance system, the Suicide Risk Factor Surveillance System (SRFSS), to capture suicide risk factor data with greater timeliness and accuracy than available through the OR-VDRS. To evaluate the performance of each surveillance system, differences in the prevalence of suicide risk factor data from SRFSS were compared with the county OR-VDRS subset for the same 133 suicides occurring in 2014–2015. Across 27 suicide risk factors and circumstances, the median difference in prevalence was 10.5 percentage points between the OR-VDRS and the SRFSS, with the higher prevalence in SRFSS. The prevalence was significantly different between the 2 surveillance systems for 21 (78%) of 27 variables. This study demonstrates the truly exceptional data quality and timeliness of MDI information over traditional sources.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of motivational factors (suppliers and workers are important stakeholders and corporate image concern) on fair labor management (FLM) and the mediating role of top‐management commitment in the relationships.Design/methodology/approachResponses from sourcing managers of US clothing and footwear companies were gathered through a mail survey and analyzed using a mediated regression analysis and a structural equation modeling technique.FindingsBoth the norms in which suppliers and workers are important stakeholders and concern regarding corporate image were significantly related to FLM. The relationship between corporate image concern and FLM was mediated by top‐management commitment and that the relationship between the importance of suppliers and their workers as stakeholders and FLM was partially mediated by top‐management commitment.Practical implicationsResults suggest that changes in the norm, where suppliers and workers are accepted as important stakeholders of the firm, have a direct influence on FLM and that top‐management is requisite in executing FLM orientation and actions in the firms as a response to changing norms and growing pressure in the society regarding labor issues.Originality/valueOrganizational condition for the two commonly cited drivers of FLM to work was discovered.

The contemporary U.S. textile and apparel industry has faced significant challenges as the volume of imported goods entering the domestic market has continually increased. In attempts to both foster development in select world regions and maintain viability of the domestic industry, the U.S. government has negotiated a variety of trade agreements extending preferential treatment, including duty- and quota-free access to the U.S. market for apparel and other textile products manufactured in developing countries in the Caribbean Basin, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Andean region. In addition, provisions included in the agreement granting China, the world's largest producer of textiles and apparel, admission to the World Trade Organization have allowed this country to become an immediate beneficiary of the MFA quota phase-out. This article examines the current state of the domestic textile and apparel industry and provides an overview of trade agreements enacted during the past decade that are of specific interest within the textile and apparel sector. It offers insight into challenges and opportunities for both the domestic textile and apparel industries in an age of rapid globalization as final elimination of the existing quota system in 2005 approaches.