University-branded apparel is big business in the United States. School t-shirts and other gear are symbols of belonging for students, ones that generate billions of dollars a year for those academic institutions and brands. What’s less acknowledged is the invisible landscape of human labor and exploitation that was once behind this clothing. 

From gender-based violence and harassment to wage theft, abusive labor practices are all too common in the apparel supply chain. Founded in 2000 by universities, students, and labor advocates, The Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) was created to address this issue.  Recognizing that universities hold leverage through their licensing agreements with apparel companies, the WRC created the first binding, enforceable labor agreements for apparel companies. WRC serves as the independent monitor to uphold these standards. This success has expanded beyond universities, with the WRC now working across the entire garment industry to enforce human rights standards that most brands have committed to.

WRC’s advocacy is grounded in investigative work and lived experiences. “We are worker-centered as an organization,” said Thulsi Narayanasamy, WRC’s director of international advocacy. “We have an incredible team of investigators in garment-producing countries who embed themselves within the communities of people who produce clothes. That means that our advocacy is grounded in what workers report to us themselves.” 

This connection means that the WRC’s investigations offer a counter-narrative to investigations that corporations conduct on factories, which can often be superficial and ignore major violations. WRC investigates worker rights violations at factories around the world and utilizes this data to ensure corporations ordering garments from these facilities hold them accountable for positive change.

The Central Java Agreement for Gender Justice in Indonesia is a recent success. At two garment factories supplying brands like Fanatics and Nike, gender-based violence and harassment had become rampant. Women, who comprise an overwhelming majority of the workforce, were subjected to non-consensual touching, verbal abuse, and other forms of harassment. Instead of remaining silent, they reported these abuses to their unions and WRC. WRC documented these abuses to hold the factories and the apparel brands that use them accountable. 

This led to a landmark, legally binding agreement negotiated between unions, the factories, and brands. WRC, in partnership with other international labor rights groups, Asia Floor Wage Alliance and Global Labor Justice, supported the negotiations and are signatories to the agreement. It prohibits all forms of gender-based violence, establishes a union-led safety program with shop floor monitors, and provides a clear mechanism for complaints and remediation. This bottom-up movement shows how major companies can work with unions and global labor groups to create safe, respectful workplaces.

The Central Java Agreement’s enforcement reflects a key area of WRC’s work. The brands, through licensing agreements with WRC-affiliated universities, are obligated to ensure compliance. If factories fail to uphold the agreement, they risk losing their contracts. This creates a powerful feedback loop where ethical responsibilities of a U.S. university protects the rights of a garment worker in Indonesia. 

“Our role is to act in solidarity with these workers and elevate worker grievances by robustly investigating them,” said Narayanasamy. “Using their power and our leverage with Global North corporations, we are telling them, ‘This can’t happen anymore.’”

The Central Java Agreement builds on the successful corporate accountability model used in previous landmark victories like the Dindigul and Lesotho Agreements. By investigating worker and union complaints, the WRC compels global brands to uphold their own labor commitments. This approach has recovered over $150 million for workers from wage and severance theft. Taken together, these are not just local victories, but a living blueprint for how the garment industry can be changed, one thread and one worker at a time.