TORRANCE, Calif., Oct. 22 – Next Level Apparel has been awarded Fair Labor Accreditation by the Fair Labor Association (FLA), a milestone that places the Torrance-based blank apparel maker among a select group of companies recognized for protecting workers across their global supply chains.

The FLA board’s vote follows a rigorous, multi-year review of the company’s business systems against international labor standards. Next Level Apparel, which sources from 15 factories across seven countries, has been an FLA member since 2019 and kept pace with the association’s evolving standards throughout that time.

What set the company apart

  • Leadership from the top: CEO Brett Bjorkman set a companywide agenda of supply chain responsibility and transparency, working with department heads to align purchasing practices with workers’ rights. With board oversight, the company invested in tools and partnerships for transparency and independent verification.
  • Two-way supplier dialogue: Multiple channels let the company and its factories plan sourcing together, adapt to unexpected challenges, and feed supplier input back into policy improvements.

FLA President and CEO Jeff Vockrodt praised the company’s “effective, sustainable systems” and its supply chain transparency and traceability efforts as a model for collaboration between companies and stakeholders.

Bjorkman called the accreditation “an important reflection” of the company’s commitment, but stressed it is “not a finish line,” pledging continued listening, learning, and accountability.

Why it matters

Fair Labor Accreditation is considered the gold standard for human rights due diligence in global supply chains. Built on frameworks from the International Labour Organization, the UN Guiding Principles, and the OECD, it is evaluated on an ongoing basis, so accredited companies must keep demonstrating improvement.

For the people who make the shirts, and for the customers who wear and print them, Next Level Apparel has shown that doing the right thing and building a premium product can go hand in hand. Congratulations to the whole team.