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About the Apparel and Footwear International RSL Management Group (AFIRM):
As the global apparel supply chain continues to grow and reach many places in the world, it is important for apparel companies to stay current on latest developments regarding restricted substances lists. Based on this need, the Apparel and Footwear International RSL Management Working Group (AFIRM) was formed in July, 2004 with the goal of bringing together product chemistry, safety, regulatory, and other experts within the apparel industry to discuss emerging restricted substance topics, share information and experiences, and benchmark. There are currently 13 companies in AFIRM: adidas-Group, Ann Taylor, C & A, Gap, Inc., H&M, Levi Strauss & Co., New Balance, Nike, PUMA, R.E.I., s. Oliver, Tesco, and Timberland. The Phylmar Group, Inc. serves as the expert Group facilitator, assisting in the completion of projects while avoiding potential anti-trust areas. The guiding principles of AFIRM are as follows:
- Chemical product safety must be understood in the global supply chain as an integrated whole, from workplace to consumer.
- Chemical product safety can only be achieved through partnership among retailers, suppliers and manufacturers.
- Retailers must encourage suppliers’ and manufacturers’ self-governance of chemical product safety within their spheres.
AFIRM communicates through conference calls, an annual in person meeting, email communications, and a password-protected website. Projects to date include development of a “Master RSL Table” comprising the RSL lists of seven of the companies, plus the BSR list; sharing laboratory auditing materials; and discussions of risk assessment processes.
The following services are provided to the AFIRM Working Group.
- Management of a web site for information on conference calls, meetings, contacts, a bulletin board, and documents of interest.
- Facilitation of telephone conference calls and of the in-person meetings and agenda development.
- Assurance that participants understand that discussion of the following is prohibited: current or future prices, market share, customer allocations, or anything that could be construed as attempts to limit competition.
- Written minutes of all meetings (conference call and in-person), including action items and other highlights.
- Timely email notification of meetings, conference calls, materials provided by AFIRM members, responding to requests for information from AFIRM members, and other RSL items as they arise.
- Communicating with outside entities (e.g., EU Joint Research Centre, German Chemical Society) on issues of interest to AFIRM members.
- Updating the AFIRM Master RSL List twice per year, including addition of new company data.
AFIRM has an ambitious list of projects for the year 2005-2006, including a Joint Vendor Event to train suppliers about RSL (and developing the training materials), exploring the possible economies of scale for laboratory audits, share information beneficial to companies creating a Manufacturing RSL, and two REACH projects (development of a REACH scenario analysis for apparel and footwear companies and participating in training on EU exposure assessment web-based toolbox and providing comments to the Joint Research Centre).
There will be two tiers of membership in AFIRM: the Leaders’ Circle, which will be the charter companies and a regular membership for companies that will receive information generated by the group and attend conference calls and meetings, but not have voting rights. Regular members will have the opportunity to become part of the Leader’s Circle based on level of participation in AFIRM projects, having a written process in place to assure compliance with requirements, having an RSL in place, and significant contribution to AFIRM’s mission. The responsibilities of the Leaders’ Circle will be as follows:
- Educate AFIRM members;
- Share best practices;
- Encourage other members toward the goals of the Leaders’ Circle (Note: the goals of the Leaders’ Circle need to be clearly defined.)
- Identify targets;
- Identify projects and priorities; and
- Vote by simple majority on new members and on projects to be undertaken.
If you would like additional information on the AFIRM Group or would like to inquire about membership for your company, click here or email etreanor@phylmar.com.
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