Dear University President:

We are writing to urge you to continue working with your students to ensure that apparel and other items bearing the logo of your colleges and universities are not made with child labor or under sweatshop conditions. We applaud the colleges and universities that have taken steps to adopt rigorous codes of conduct for their licensees and we encourage other schools to do so. However, we are concerned that some colleges and universities may be persuaded to adopt codes or join associations that may not prevent university-licenced products from being made in sweatshops.

We understand that some universities have joined, and other universities are considering joining, the Fair Labor Association (FLA), the monitoring arm of the Apparel Industry Partnership (AIP). We are concerned that student efforts to ensure that university-licenced products are made under appropriate working conditions may be undermined by colleges and universities that agree to the current policies of the FLA.

Students have urged universities not to affiliate with the FLA until issues of full public disclosure, living wages, the handling of reported violations from outside groups, and transparent, credible monitoring are addressed. The United Students Against Sweatshops stated in a March 16 release that schools agreeing to participate in the FLA "went behind the backs of students who have forced universities to stand up for full public disclosure, living wage and women's issues." Students believe that until their concerns are addressed, the FLA will be an ineffective tool against sweatshop conditions. We are sure you agree that it would be unfortunate, for both schools and workers making university-licenced products, if your well-intentioned efforts served in any way to hide ongoing sweatshop conditions.

Students have organized, worked with school administrators, educated consumers, and peacefully protested to persuade their colleges and universities to adopt what students believe will be effective codes of conduct and licencing agreements. We respectfully remind you that it is the students who are the consumers of university-licenced products and their views should play a role in determining university policy in this area. It is because of students that colleges and universities have adopted anti-sweatshop codes of conduct.

We believe that colleges and universities should work with students to address their concerns before signing onto the FLA. Colleges and universities that have affiliated with the FLA should work to meet student concerns to improve the FLA. We would also like to remind you that the FLA is not the only way to implement a code of conduct. There are many other alternatives.

In April 1996, it was revealed at a congressional hearing that celebrity product lines, such as the Kathie Lee Gifford clothes sold at Wal-Mart stores, were made in part by underage youth at sweatshops -- despite the fact that both the Gifford line and Wal-Mart have codes of conduct against child labor and sweatshops. These revelations tarnished the reputations of Ms. Gifford and Wal-Mart and both have had to work very hard to restore their public credibility. As you know, preserving the credibility of one's name is something that celebrities and universities share in common.

We hope that colleges and universities can learn from the experiences of companies and celebrities involved with ineffective codes of conduct.

Thank you again for you efforts to reform the $2.5 billion university licensing industry. We urge you to seize this moment of public interest and student activism to enact effective anti-sweatshop policies. And we again urge you to refrain from joining the FLA until all issues have been fairly and fully discussed and with the full participation of students.

Sincerely,

George Miller, Donald Payne, Rosa DeLauro, Lynn Woolsey, Maurice Hinchey, Carlos Romero-Barcelo, Juanita Millender-McDonald, George Brown, Lane Evans, Sherrod Brown, Marcy Kaptur