7 Leading Industry Associations Join Forces To Address Conflict Minerals Compliance

Seven of the largest industry associations collaborate with Source Intelligence and Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP to launch the first cross-industry resource center, addressing the SEC s Conflict !inerals co"#liance regulation$ %ashington, &C, 'anuary (), (*)+ - Seven of the worlds largest industry associations collaborate with Source Intelligence and Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP to launch the first cross-industry training and resource center, addressing the Securities and Exchange o!!issions "SE # onflict $inerals co!%liance regulation& Source Intelligence has develo%ed the onflict $inerals Resource enter " $R # to su%%ort over '(,))) !e!ber co!%anies who collectively generate over *+ trillion ",S-# in .-P and hundreds of thousands of ,&S& /obs& 0ey re%resentatives fro! the 1!erican 1%%arel & 2ootwear 1ssociation "1121#, the 2ashion 3ewelry and 1ccessories 4rade 1ssociation "23141#, the 5ational 1ssociation of $anufacturers "51$#, the 5ational Electrical $anufacturers 1ssociation "5E$1#, the 5ational Retail 2ederation "5R2#, the 4oy 6ndustry 1ssociation "461# and the ,nited States 2ashion 6ndustry 1ssociation ",S261# wor7ed with Source 6ntelligence and Schulte Roth & Zabel to align training and resource center %riorities to %rovide !e!ber co!%anies with the infor!ation they need to co!%ly with the SE regulation& 4he goal of the /oint initiative is to de%loy easy-to-use onflict $inerals co!%liance tools across the seven industry associations& 8y %roviding the !e!ber co!%anies and their vendors and contractors with the infor!ation and resources needed to !eet the co!%liance re9uire!ents, all %layers along the su%%ly chain can s%end less ti!e navigating %olicy, and !ore ti!e %roducing the %roducts and services that generate econo!ic growth and /obs& 4hese tools will hel% co!%anies understand the co!%licated re9uire!ents of the regulation, recogni:ing that it is the res%onsibility of individual co!%anies to identify their s%ecific co!%liance obligations and handle the real challenges that re!ain as they design their own %rogra!s& ;n 1ugust <<, <)'<, the SE ado%ted a final rule to i!%le!ent Section '()< of the -odd-2ran7 =all Street Refor! and onsu!er Protection 1ct "-odd-2ran7#& 4he rule re9uires %ublicly-held co!%anies to disclose whether their %roducts contain conflict !inerals as defined by the law> tin, tantalu!, tungsten or gold "+4.# originating fro! the -e!ocratic Re%ublic of the ongo "-R # and s%ecific ad/oining countries& 4he first re%ort, covering calendar year <)'+, is due to the SE by $ay +', <)'?& 4he SE and .overn!ent 1ccountability ;ffice esti!ate that a%%roxi!ately @,))) issuers and <A),))) nonissuer co!%anies will be directly or indirectly i!%acted by the rule& BSource Intelligence is honored to be entrusted with %roviding the nations leading !anufacturing and retail co!%anies with the !ost co!%lete resource for !anaging conflict !inerals co!%liance,C co!!ented 3ess 0raus, E; and co-founder of Source 6ntelligence& B;ur !ar7et leadershi% servicing global brands has enabled us to build the largest networ7 of su%%liers in the world& Source 6ntelligence and Schulte Roth & Zabel, the %re!ier law fir! in conflict !ineral

co!%liance, are co!bining our ex%erience, best %ractices and resource libraries to %rovide a co!%rehensive training and resource center to infor! and educate co!%anies in these vital industries&C 1ccess the conflict !inerals training and resource center by registering today at htt%>DDconflict!ineralsresources&co! About the Associations Re%resenting !ore than ',))) world fa!ous na!e brands, the 1!erican 1%%arel & 2ootwear 1ssociation "1121# is the trusted %ublic %olicy and %olitical voice of the a%%arel and footwear industry, its !anage!ent and shareholders, its four !illion ,&S& wor7ers, and its contribution of *+() billion in annual ,&S& retail sales& 4he 2ashion 3ewelry & 1ccessories 4rade 1ssociation re%resents the interests of !anufacturers, su%%liers and retailers of /ewelry and accessories& =ith !ore than <<( !e!ber brands, 23141 serves as the 7ey voice on industry issues to state, federal, and international regulatory agencies, and actively %ro!otes industry safety and co!%liance initiatives& ;ur !e!bers co!%rise a highly dyna!ic and co!%etitive seg!ent of the fashion industry, %roviding /ewelry and accessories to adults and children worldwide& 4he 5ational 1ssociation of $anufacturers "51$# is the largest !anufacturing association in the ,nited States, re%resenting s!all and large !anufacturers in every industrial sector and in all () states& $anufacturing e!%loys nearly '< !illion !en and wo!en, contributes !ore than *'&A trillion to the ,&S& econo!y annually, has the largest econo!ic i!%act of any !a/or sector and accounts for two-thirds of %rivate-sector research and develo%!ent& 4he 5ational Electrical $anufacturers 1ssociation "5E$1# is the association of electrical e9ui%!ent and !edical i!aging !anufacturers& 2ounded in 'E<@ and head9uartered in Rosslyn, Firginia, its ?))-%lus !e!ber co!%anies !anufacture a diverse set of %roducts used in the generation, trans!ission, distribution, and end use of electricity as well as !edical diagnostic i!aging& =orldwide annual sales of %roducts in the 5E$1 sco%e exceed *'?) billion& 4he 5ational Retail 2ederation "5R2# is the worlds largest retail trade association, re%resenting discount and de%art!ent stores, ho!e goods and s%ecialty stores, $ain Street !erchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants and 6nternet retailers fro! the ,nited States and !ore than ?( countries& Retail is the nations largest %rivate sector e!%loyer, su%%orting one in four ,&S& /obs G ?< !illion wor7ing 1!ericans& ontributing *<&( trillion to annual .-P, retail is a daily baro!eter for the nations econo!y& 5R2s 4his is Retail ca!%aign highlights the industrys o%%ortunities for life-long careers, how retailers strengthen co!!unities, and the critical role that retail %lays in driving innovation& www&nrf&co! 4oy 6ndustry 1ssociationH, 6nc& "461# is the not-for-%rofit trade association re%resenting all businesses involved in creating, %roducing and delivering toys and youth entertain!ent %roducts for 7ids of all ages& 4he 1ssociation re%resents !ore than @)) co!%anies that collectively account for a%%roxi!ately A(I of do!estic toy sales& 4oy safety is the nu!ber one %riority for the toy industry& 461 has a long history of leadershi% in toy safety including the develo%!ent of the first co!%rehensive toy safety standard !ore than +) years ago, and wor7ing with govern!ent, consu!ers and industry on ongoing %rogra!s to ensure safe and fun %lay& 4he ,nited States 2ashion 6ndustry 1ssociation ",S261# re%resents the fashion industry> textile and a%%arel brands, retailers, i!%orters, and wholesalers based in the ,nited States and doing business globally& 2ounded in 'EAE as the ,nited States 1ssociation of 6!%orters of 4extiles & 1%%arel with the goal of eli!inating the global a%%arel 9uota syste!, ,S261 now wor7s to eli!inate the tariff and non-tariff barriers that i!%ede the industrys ability to trade freely and create econo!ic o%%ortunities in the ,nited States and abroad&

About the Contract Award Winners About Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP (www.srz.com): Schulte Roth & Zabel "JSRZJ# is a full-service law fir! with offices in 5ew Kor7, =ashington, -& & and London& 4he fir!Ls %ractices include invest!ent !anage!entM regulatory & co!%lianceM ban7 regulatoryM business reorgani:ationM distressed investingM e!%loy!ent & e!%loyee benefitsM environ!entalM financeM individual client servicesM intellectual %ro%erty, sourcing & technologyM litigationM !ergers & ac9uisitionsM real estateM securities & ca%ital !ar7etsM structured %roducts & derivativesM and tax& SRZ is a leader in global conflict !inerals co!%liance& 4he fir! is actively advising %ublic and %rivate co!%anies and trade associations across a wide range of industries and throughout the su%%ly chain on conflict !inerals co!%liance& 1s %art of its leadershi% in this area, SRZ has %ublished !ore articles, 1lerts and =hite Pa%ers, %artici%ated in !ore %rogra!s and been 9uoted in the %ress significantly !ore than any other law fir!& SRZ is also the only law fir! with an 1dvanced onflict $inerals Rule o!%liance webinar series& 4his ongoing series features third%arty ex%erts and thought-leaders fro! across the co!%liance s%ectru!, including fro! the u%strea!, downstrea!, trade association, 5.;, govern!ental and investor co!!unities& SRZLs conflict !inerals %ractice is %art of its global %ublic co!%anies %ractice, which is headed by 5ew Kor7-based %artner $ichael R& Littenberg& About Source ntelli!ence" (www.sourceintelli!ence.com): Source 6ntelligenceN is an infor!ation 7nowledge co!%any that hel%s custo!ers !a7e infor!ed decisions about business %artners to offer %roducts that !eet legal, ethical, and environ!ental standards& ;ur cloud-based infor!ation and analytics %latfor! %rovides custo!ers with visibility into %roduct su%%ly chains and !aterial sources in order to co!%ly with the law, !ini!i:e o%erational and brand ris7, and i!%rove efficiency& 1s a leading %rovider of conflict !inerals co!%liance %rogra!s, Source 6ntelligence %rotects custo!ers interests with %rivate industrys largest networ7 of su%%liers, a %latfor! to !anage and connect business %artners, and a %ortfolio of co!%liance %rogra!s for all regulated !aterials& 2ounded in <))E by career ex%erts in environ!ental solutions, !anage!ent consulting and analytics, Source 6ntelligenceN has head9uarters in arlsbad, alifornia and o%erations around the world& Contact: Lina Ra!os Source 6ntelligence 'E<' Palo!ar ;a7s =ay, Ste <)( arlsbad, 1 E<))A "AOO# E'@ @++O lra!osPsourceintelligence&co! htt%>DDsourceintelligence&co! QQQ