'Avery Dennison to provide $2 lakh to expand Mothers@Work initiative in Bangladesh'

Avery Dennison is providing funds to the Mothers@Work programme, an initiative of Unicef. The global materials science and digital identification solutions company has partnered with Unicef to support better working conditions for women, particularly by promoting maternity rights and childcare facilities in the country's ready-made garments (RMG) industry. The Business Standard has interviewed Kenny Liu, vice president of Avery Dennison and general manager of South Asia.

Why did your company get involved with Mothers@Work?

In Bangladesh, the garment industry has played a significant role in the country's economic development. But over 80% of apparel industry workers are female, without the proper infant care.
In a sense of responsibility, we are partnering with Unicef to support the Mothers@Work programme, an initiative that promotes maternity rights and childcare support to women workers in Bangladesh's RMG sector.
Through this partnership, the Avery Dennison Foundation will provide $200,000 over two years to help expand the Mothers@Work initiative.
As a responsible company, we are committed to positively impacting the communities where our products are manufactured, and this programme is a step toward achieving that goal.

Why is Mothers@Work essential for women RMG factory workers in Bangladesh?

The Mothers@Work programme aims to strengthen maternity rights protection and support breastfeeding benefiting women working in the RMG factories in Bangladesh. It is imperative to recognise the unique challenges working mothers face in the industry, which often leads to physical and mental stress, compromising their health and well-being. 
The programme will help improve these women's lives and provide better support to their children while they continue working. 

What do you intend to achieve through the partnership? 

We can achieve the goal by providing targeted support for women in the workforce and ensuring women can earn a living while also having the needed support to care for their children is critical for women and their children and is an investment that benefits all. 
Benefits such as paid time off, support for breastfeeding and antenatal services contribute to healthier children and happier families, gender equality, workforce productivity and sustainable economic growth.

How do you see Avery Dennison's partnership helping the Mothers@Work initiative?

The financial support from Avery Dennison towards this initiative will help enhance the reach of the Mothers@Work programme to 160 more ready-made garments factories in two years, which will help build the capacity of their 2,000 staff, including health workers and care providers.
It will raise awareness among 144,000 female workers on maternity rights and breastfeeding support services and maternal nutrition, infant and young child feeding practices apart from creating standard breastfeeding and childcare provisions at workplaces.
These recommended breastfeeding and childcare support provisions will directly benefit an estimated 8,640 working pregnant women and lactating mothers in these factories, and over 14,000 children aged 0-3 years at the workplace-based child daycare facilities of RMG factories will benefit from improved nutrition and early childcare practices.

How does Avery Dennison promote and protect diversity, equity, inclusion, and empowerment of women in its organisation? 

An inclusive culture is the foundation of everything we do at Avery Dennison globally. At Avery Dennison Bangladesh, we promote diversity, equity and inclusion through an internal platform for women empowerment called "WeRise" which creates engagement for women employees through four pillars – an inclusive workplace, encouraging growth, well-being, and reward and recognition. 
In September 2022, the WeRise team organised a week-long health and well-being session themed "Living a Healthy & Wealthy Life." Throughout the sessions, female employees participated in activities, competitions, and panel discussions about living healthy in a fast-paced world. The events will continue this year and beyond to enable our female employees to embrace the challenges of an ever-changing, high-growth apparel industry.

What are Avery Dennison's sustainability goals, and how do they align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals? 

At Avery Dennison, we recognise the critical role of women in propelling Bangladesh's economy and the need for greater participation of women in the workforce. This partnership with Unicef Bangladesh on the Mothers@Work programme aligns with our sustainability agenda and the 2030 sustainability goals, reflecting our commitment to creating a better future for all. 
Our 2030 sustainability goals align with seven UN Sustainable Development Goals, a framework adopted by 193 countries to track progress toward sustainability. Our goals cover the areas where we can make the most significant difference. These include delivering innovations that advance the circular economy, reducing our environmental impact in our operations and supply chain, and positively impacting our people's and communities' livelihoods.