A first in the nation, Duke's new standards could have an important impact on sweatshops. The Duke student organization Students against Sweatshops, whose members have been negotiating the terms of the code with university administrators since the fall, hope that it will be a model for other schools wishing to play a role in stopping the global proliferation of sweatshops. Under the terms of the Code, any company seeking a contract with Duke must comply with the new regulations. The Code is designed to force companies to be accountable for the conditions under which their products are manufactured.
Sections cover issues such as worker treatment and maximum work hours per week.
The Code was modeled largely on existing international standards, such as those embodied in covenants of the International Labor Organization and other bodies of the United Nations. Students against Sweatshops insisted that the Code include sufficient enforcement teeth that it not end up being a cosmetic cover for business as usual. For example, the Code requires licencees to disclose to the university a complete listing of sites which have any role in the manufacturing process, from primary contractor factories or assembling centers down through all layers of the subcontracting system, whether international or domestic - including locator information for each site. Linked closely with the demand for factory disclosure is a stipulation that the university has the right to send independent monitors to inspect conditions and labor practices in those factories. The Code provides for such inspections to be conducted at least once a year and mandates that a report will be given to a committee of both students and administration representatives for review.