Femnet e.V.

Photo:© FEMNET e.V.

Whether it is protection against dismissal, maternity leave or continued pay in the event of illness, it is reassuring to know that we are protected by law and can claim our rights.

Many workers in India and Bangladesh are unaware of their rights – and have no financial means to deal with a lengthy and costly legal dispute. The chances of a positive outcome are not even bad.

Our partner organizations help the workers with legal and private problems.

We ask for your support:
Donate to the FEMNET Solidarity Fund!

23.11.2016: Second anniversary of the Alliance for Sustainable Textiles

General Assembly and 2nd anniversary of the Textile Alliance.
Photo: © Textilbündnis/T. Ecke

On 22 and 23 November, the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles (TB) celebrated its two-year anniversary. FEMNET CEO Gisela Burckhardt is one of the three representatives of civil society in the highest body of the Textile Alliance, the Steering Committee, and also works in two working groups.

Two years of painstaking work are behind us. There are now 188 alliance members, including 24 non-governmental organisations, 133 companies, 14 associations and three ministries. After intensive negotiations involving almost 300 experts from business, NGOs, trade unions and standard organisations, the steering committee of the TB has agreed on the following steps for 2017: All members must create their own roadmaps by the end of January 2017 with objectives to be implemented during the year.

22.11.2016: The next phase begins in the Textile Alliance - Our expectations for the members

FairSchnitt: Current developments

How is corporate responsibility implemented and how do different actors from politics, business and academia deal with it? A marketing tool or real commitment to better working and environmental conditions? Large utopias or minimal interventions? And what does the next generation of designers, apparel technicians and fashion journalists learn at universities?

Fashion students, experts and interested parties discussed these questions at the third FEMNET conference in mid-October as part of the FairSchnitt project, this time under the title ‘FAIR FASHION works?

Read this Report of the meeting and our blog entries Part I and Part II.

What about our work at universities?

Today's students are shaping tomorrow's fashion industry. Since 2012, under the slogan ‘FairSchnitt: Studying for a socially just fashion industry’, we have systematically built up work with fashion courses. We assessed the extent to which the topic of ‘human rights in the textile chain’ is anchored in the fashion-related study programmes, developed modular workshop concepts for working with students, organised events and developed materials. The results can be seen: At the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences and also at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, the topic is included in the curriculum.

For the years 2017 to 2019, we are focusing on new courses of study with economics and teaching.
More information soon at www.fairschnitt.org

Fair public procurement

Urban employees rely on robust clothing that protects them from wind, dirt or injuries during their work. But the safety and social working conditions of women and men who sew these clothes must also be guaranteed.

Since 2015, FEMNET has been advising the City of Bonn in the area of fair procurement. The aim of the cooperation is to strengthen social criteria in concrete tenders for service and protective clothing and to promote awareness of fair alternatives. Last year, we therefore held dialogues with bidders, procurement managers from various offices and the future wearers of clothing, analysed the market and adapted tender documents.

Experience so far has shown:
Fair public procurement is possible. For this reason, FEMNET will continue to advise open-minded offices on how to adapt to new tenders and make compliance with social criteria more comprehensible.

A brochure will be published shortly summarising the experiences of a project year and providing practical tips for procurement-responsible, but also advisory NGOs.

Modern slavery: Multi-stakeholder Initiative (MSI) Tamil Nadu

Photo:© FEMNET e.V.

Members of the Textile Alliance travelled to Tamil Nadu, India, from 5 to 9 November 2016 to explore a possible initiative to improve working conditions in the spinning mills and factories. FEMNET has submitted the proposal of one of our partner NGOs from India to the Textile Alliance. The MSI Tamil Nadu currently consists of 16 NGOs and three spinning mills and has set itself the goal of abolishing the slave labour of young girls aged 14 to 18 and improving working conditions in the spinning mills and factories in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Read the full report

#HowToFairFashion? A workshop for fashion bloggers in Cologne

What is fair fashion? What does sustainability mean? What is Greenwashing? What is the best way to blog about these topics? About 30 participants of the event #HowToFairFashion on 13 November in Cologne, organized by FEMNET e.V. and SÜDWIND e.V. as part of the Clean Clothes Campaign, discussed this topic. In addition to a one-hour workshop on the production conditions of fast fashion and greenwashing, the bloggers gained insight into the practice of companies in the slow fashion sector as well as the opportunity for networking and exchange.

Read the full report...

Dhaka, Bangladesh: NGWF calls for fair wages in the clothing industry

On October 14, 2016, the National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) launched a campaign for higher wages in the Bangladeshi apparel industry.

Under the title ‘Living wage... fair price of garment products’, the union calls for a fair wage for the approximately 4.2 million workers in the garment industry (of whom about 3.2 million are women). A demonstration by the capital Dhaka with the participation of various national and local trade unions and other civil society organisations drew attention to the concerns of the workers.

Read more...

FEMNET Chairman visits partner organization in India

Following the official mission in Tamil Nadu as part of the Textile Alliance, Gisela Burckhardt, Chairman of the Board of FEMNET, visited the partner organisation on 10 November 2016. Munnade. The women reported on the work of the organisation and the GLU trade union it founded, which is run exclusively by women.

Read the visit report...

FEMNET in schools

Young people are the biggest target group for new fashion trends and thus also for fast fashion. In order to raise awareness of responsible consumption among students at an early stage, we visit schools on request and provide information on topics relating to fair clothing.

FEMNET e.V. at schools

Gender discrimination – not a marginal issue

Unworthy working conditions for workers in the textile industry are fundamentally a problem that affects people regardless of their gender. Nevertheless, there are gender-specific disadvantages for women, which lead to the fact that they often work under exploitative conditions in the various production facilities along the textile chain. These disadvantages are not limited to the workplace itself, but affect the entire life of the workers.

In one We now have the most frequently asked questions Answered on the subject.

Press release on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November:
New initiative by FEMNET as part of the Alliance for Sustainable Textiles against Structural Violence in South Indian Spinning Mills