Four Garment Factories Receive Grants To Improve Worker Commuting Safety

Four garment factories in Cambodia and Vietnam have been awarded grants through the Commuting Safety Challenge, an initiative of the International Labour Organization (ILO)’s Vision Zero Fund supported by Nike Inc. The programme encourages factories to propose practical, scalable solutions to reduce commuting-related accidents for garment workers, an often overlooked occupational safety concern.

From 11 submissions, four factories were selected following review by occupational and road safety experts, with input from the UN Road Safety Fund, Better Factories Cambodia, and the ILO Country Office for Vietnam. The challenge drew on a Vision Zero Fund-developed methodology to assess commuting risks and identify improvement opportunities.

“Commuting accidents are a serious but often neglected risk for workers,” said Ockert Dupper, Programme Manager of the Vision Zero Fund. “This initiative supports factories in implementing real changes that protect lives and productivity.”

The selected projects include:

• Freetrend Industrial (Vietnam): Staggered shifts to reduce traffic congestion, monthly transport subsidies, and infrastructure upgrades, supported by a rapid traffic response team and worker feedback systems.
• Fuluh Shoes (Vietnam): Introduction of a digital commuting safety data monitoring system to track incidents and risks more systematically.
• Taral International (Cambodia): Replacement of unsafe open vehicles with proper buses, combined with driver training and worker awareness campaigns across two facilities.
• Far Eastern New Century Corporation (Vietnam): Infrastructure improvements, peer-to-peer training and community engagement to encourage safer travel.

The projects are expected to benefit more than 31,000 workers, most of them women.

“Workers in the garment and footwear industry are disproportionately affected by road accidents,” said Sittichoke Huckuntod, Senior Director at Nike Inc. “By collaborating through the Vision Zero Fund, we aim to reduce commuting risks across our broader supply chain.”

The four factories will receive financial and technical support to implement their plans between October 2025 and April 2026. Their experiences will be shared in a global webinar to encourage wider adoption of commuting safety solutions across the sector.