Re:Structure Labs developed the briefing note Beyond Checklists and Handshakes (October 2025), exploring systemic approaches to improving working conditions in supply chains.
Human Level’s Take:
- A traditional compliance approach in global supply chains is failing to protect workers and leaving buying companies with a misplaced sense of security. Common tactics like certifications, audits and individual supplier partnerships haven’t worked to tackle complex and hidden issues like forced labour, child labour or harassment, and they don’t necessarily have impact at scale.
- Another well-intentioned strategy that hasn’t worked: building relationships only with direct suppliers, which can leave suppliers at lower tiers of the supply chain out of view, where human rights risks tend to be worse.
- Re:Structure Labs argues that companies need a more systemic approach, underpinned by three considerations.
- First is moving beyond top-down solutions and bringing suppliers, unions, NGOs, regulators, and workers to the table as co-designers of solutions.
- Second is ensuring the local context is factored into interventions by empowering workers to take the lead. The most effective interventions (like Bangladesh's factory committees or the U.S. Fair Food Program) empower workers locally, then scale learnings to broader industry standards.
- Third, empowering workers, NGOs and regulators to try experimental approaches can result in more innovative and locally effective solutions.
- Ultimately, real accountability requires binding, transparent structures to uphold workers’ rights. Key factors: initiatives need to be legally binding and governance is multi-stakeholder, with all parties having an equal voice. In addition, public reporting and open data ensure more accountability for companies.
Some key takeaways:
- The challenge: Global supply chains are challenged by system-wide issues like low wages, excessive working hours, unsafe working environments and forced labour. Though many multinational brands have implemented audits, certifications and partnerships with select suppliers to address these issues, these approaches have not been effective to address root causes or tackle problems at scale. The brief outlines two ineffective strategies that brands fall back on. The first is a compliance-based approach. Although it can be helpful in areas like pay, safety and overtime, this approach can be overly transactional when it comes to more complex issues like child and forced labour or harassment. A compliance-based approach can actually obscure issues, for example where inspections are scheduled in advance or workers are coached. The second strategy is the “relationship fallacy.” While building relationships with suppliers is important, there is a risk that overreliance on relationships with immediate suppliers leaves out lower-tier suppliers where the worst abuses tend to occur. In addition, meaningful incentives are needed, and brands’ purchasing practices come into play: pushing for lower prices and father turnarounds can increase workers’ vulnerability, especially in contexts with weak labour protections.
- Taking a systemic approach: The brief outlines three principles of a systemic approach that gets at root causes of human rights issues in the supply chain. First, cooperation beyond compliance: this entails moving away from top-down solutions towards an approach where solutions are built together with other stakeholders, including suppliers (which includes lower-tier subcontractors and labour recruiters), unions, NGOs, regulators and workers. Each plays a different role, with non-business actors helping to bring ground-level insight, design smarter interventions, and increase accountability. Second, recognise the context: workers face different challenges depending on the sector and the region, and different contexts will require different solutions. The most effective way to account for these differences in to empower workers to shape the solutions themselves (for example, participatory factory committees in Bangladesh and the Fair Food Program in the U.S.). Third, evolution and adaptation: the brief points out that the most forward-thinking companies are supporting local experimentation with solutions. This entails allowing suppliers, unions, NGOs and workers to design solutions that will be more successful locally. Learnings should then be amplified to other supply chains and fed into industry-wide standards.
- What’s needed now: There are three recommended approaches for companies and other stakeholders. One is creating multi-stakeholder governed bodies (including brands, suppliers, unions, NGOs and workers — each with an equal voice) that focus on specific issues and industries. Another recommendation is setting legally binding agreements for decent work, which increase accountability more than voluntary standards. Finally, public reporting and independent audits are essential, using open data and clear metrics. Results are shared with workers and civil society organisations, not just shareholders. The brief highlights the Lesotho Accord as an example of how all three of these approaches can come together. The accord takes the form of a legally binding agreement to address sexual harassment in textile factories. It includes brands, unions, NGOs and factories as members. An independent ombudsperson hears complaints and workers receive training on their rights and how to report incidents, supporting increased accountability and follow-through on issues.
