Harvard and four other universities will announce the findings of a major joint report on worldwide apparel manufacturing today, said University Attorney Allan A. Ryan Jr.

The announcement has already sparked a swarm of criticism.

The report caps a year of investigation into the labor conditions of factories that produce college-licensed apparel and analysis of the factory monitoring process itself.

"This was not an attempt to gather evidence exhaustively, but rather to take a first look at conditions and to determine how information can be gathered in a reliable, efficient way," Ryan wrote in an e-mail message.

A team of consultants traveled to seven different countries and spoke with workers, factory owners, government officials, trade unions, non-governmental organizations and others to gather data for the report.

The University will release the findings of the report today at noon.

The report analyzes these findings to judge whether manufacturers are complying with local labor laws, codes of conduct and standards for fair working practices.

Last year, protests over labor conditions in factories making college apparel swept campuses across the country, including Harvard.