ECIP Announces Launch of LAB for Farm Labor Contractors; Madelyn Edlin Comments

WASHINGTON, DC - The Ethical Charter Implementation Program (ECIP), overseen by a multistakeholder industry group to build alignment with the Ethical Charter on Responsible Labor Practices and facilitated by Equitable Food Initiative, announces the launch of a new platform for farm labor contractors. The latest Learn, Assess and Benchmark (LAB) platform offers farm labor contractors an accessible starting point for social responsibility, with tools and resources to increase knowledge and assess and strengthen their labor management systems over time. FLC LAB will launch on April 1, 2026, alongside a live informational webinar at 10 a.m. PDT/1 p.m. EDT.

Through a continuous improvement model, the platform helps farm labor contractors increase their knowledge, evaluate their current labor management systems and track progress over time.

Using the LAB platform, farm labor contractors can:

• Learn about management systems that support responsible labor practices.
• Assess their current systems across 56 labor-related work areas.
• Benchmark progress over time.

By participating, farm labor contractors can also showcase existing social responsibility certifications and demonstrate credible engagement through continuous improvement.

“FLC LAB was created to give farm labor contractors a practical and supportive way to strengthen their labor management systems,” said Madelyn Edlin, product marketing manager for EFI, in the recent release. “By focusing on learning, self-assessment and benchmarking, the platform helps farm labor contractors better understand where they are today and provides tools to improve over time.”

FLC LAB is a capacity-building tool, not a compliance test. Farm labor contractors can answer assessments honestly, knowing their responses are confidential and used to support learning and improvement within their own operations.

Farm labor contractors manage a significant portion of the agricultural workforce, and strengthening their labor management systems helps improve alignment with the Ethical Charter across the supply chain.

To introduce the platform, ECIP’s live webinar will provide an overview of FLC LAB and guidance on how farm labor contractors can begin using the platform to strengthen their operations, as well as how this new release will relate to existing growers and suppliers.

“This webinar is designed to walk farm labor contractors through the platform and show how easy it is to get started,” Edlin said. “We want to showcase how FLC LAB can support operations and strengthen their systems.”

Attendees can also ask questions live and explore how FLC LAB fits into the broader ECIP framework. Registration is now open. Farm labor contractors, growers, suppliers and retailers are encouraged to attend.

For more information and to get started:

• Learn more about FLC LAB.
• Register for the April 1 webinar.
• Fill out this form to get an invitation LAB on April 1.
• Visit ethicalcharterprogram.org for more information on ECIP.