Introduction

The BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative) is a non-profit organization, founded by FTA (Foreign Trade Association) based in Brussels. The BSCI aims to establish a common platform for the various European companies Codes of Conducts and monitoring systems and to lay the groundwork for a common European monitoring system for social compliance.

The BSCI is open to all retail, brand, importing and trading companies dedicated to the improvement of working conditions in their supply chains worldwide. BSCI members are free on an individual basis to implement the BSCI process anywhere beyond this scope. The BSCI recognizes the difficulties suppliers face in meeting labor standards requirements within the intense competitive climate in which they operate. The BSCI aims at a stepwise implementation of the BSCI requirements stipulated in its Code of Conduct. The BSCI advocates a development oriented approach through which it helps suppliers to implement social requirements progressively.