If there’s ever a time to advertise where you went to college, it’s for those few weeks as spring approaches; what most of America refers to as March Madness. As office pools tally up entries and first-time basketball watchers try to fill out the perfect bracket, universities are busy selling school-branded merchandise to alumni, students and fans ready to cheer on their teams.
At the University of Michigan, one organized group of students has picked this moment to push the administration to make more deliberate and ethical efforts with its supply chain when it comes to the Wolverine merchandise that is flying off the shelves.
- The Students for International Labor Solidarity has planned a campaign to call upon the University of Michigan to increase its transparency in regard to the manufacturers of its merchandise, pushing for full supply chain transparency.
- Michigan, a public university, is a member of the Fair Labor Association, which requires companies to publicly provide site address, parent company of the facility, general description of the type of products made at the facility and approximate number of workers at the facility, updated every 12 months, for a direct supplier.
A direct supplier, also known as a Tier One supplier, does not necessarily account for the entire supply chain, however. The FLA breaks the supply chain into four tiers, with Tier Four being considered the first step in the supply chain, where raw materials are initially sourced from. SILS Co-President Alex Sepulveda, a student at the university, explains that labor abuses associated with products are more likely to be concealed if each step of the supply chain is not revealed.
“The most severe labor abuses, such as unsafe working conditions, wage theft, excessive hours, chemical exposure and environmental contamination, are most prevalent in the upstream stages of garment production,” Sepulveda says. “Without disclosure of these facilities, the university lacks the ability to meaningfully assess or address the true labor conditions under which Michigan apparel is produced.”
‘Transparency Is The Foundation Of Human Rights’
The pressure implemented by these students comes down to a recognition that the university itself holds the most leverage in a push to eliminate lapses in human rights violations across the production of a piece of merchandise. As the client ordering the product to begin with, Michigan (or any university) can theoretically insist upon full knowledge of how the product was manufactured at every step in the process.”
Laura Smith, CAS
Director of Sustainability & Compliance, Storm Creek
“What stands out to me is that the students are asking for clarity around who is producing university merchandise and what conditions look like across the supply chain,” says Laura Smith, CAS, director of sustainability and compliance at Storm Creek, PPAI 100’s No. 33 supplier.
“That transparency matters because supply chains involve real factories and real workers. Without visibility beyond direct suppliers, it’s difficult to address labor risks in a meaningful way. Transparency is the foundation of human rights due diligence – you can’t manage risk if you don’t have visibility into your supply chain.”
To Smith’s point, the University of Michigan is only required to disclose direct (or Tier One) suppliers. SILS is pushing for Tiers 1-4 to disclosure to become standard practice.
“Ethical sourcing follows the same logic: Knowing where products come from and who is involved allows organizations to make purchasing decisions that align with their values.”
‘Transparency Isn’t Just Disclosure’
As can often be the case, there is a financial element to all of this that becomes necessary to appease the students’ demands, one that in this particular case, many industry experts would suggest is well worth it in the long run.
“Increased supply chain transparency in licensed merchandise is an important step forward,” says Elizabeth Wimbush, CAS, PPAI’s director of sustainability and responsibility. “But transparency isn’t just disclosure; it requires traceability systems, independent audits and ongoing oversight to ensure labor standards are actually being met, and those systems require real investment.”
Elizabeth Wimbush, CAS
Director of Sustainability & Responsibility, PPAI
Smith echoes that sentiment, pointing toward companies like PPAI-member service provider bluesign, a third-party program that requires supply chain mapping and independent oversight, building credibility into a company’s operations. Wimbush says that PPAI members are incorporating these practices into how they are doing business as an investment, knowing that many buyers understand the logic behind the costs.
“Many suppliers across the promotional products industry are already building that infrastructure,” Wimbush says. “As an industry, we need to continue encouraging those investments and helping companies see the long-term value of responsible sourcing. When buyers recognize and support those efforts through their purchasing decisions, it strengthens labor protections while also reinforcing promotional products as a credible, high-impact marketing medium.”
A Shift In Expectation Among Young People
Earlier we stated that the university holds the most leverage in the push for supply chain transparency, but technically that isn’t true. The students, who are the primary customers of the merchandise, hold even greater leverage. Broadly speaking, college-aged people have often been idealistic and willing to stand up for what they believe in. With more information available on supply chain transparency and its potential impact on environmentalism and human rights issues, students are more equipped to ask their publicly funded universities to do what they feel is right.
Amelie Vidrio, an SILS member and Michigan student, told The Michigan Daily, the campus newspaper, that students are perfectly willing to find alternative means to show their school spirit, such as shop for school merchandise secondhand at thrift stores, a skill many of them are well adept at.
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Students are also aware of how much profit a university can stand to make off branded merchandise during a time like March Madness, and so many seem inclined to expect the institution to be accountable to work with partners that make reasonable steps toward supply chain transparency. Michigan has a top seed in this year’s NCAA’s tournament and is one of the favorites to win the National Championship.
“More broadly, this reflects a shift in expectations – and transparency plays a real role in building trust,” Smith says.
