13.05.2022: News from KW 19

Studies and Co.

GOTS "Annual Report 2021" (PDF): In the annual report, the Global Organic Textile standard One of the most successful in the history of GOTS". The Certification Bodies (CBs) reported a total of 12,338 GOTS-certified farms (+19%) in 79 countries (+11%) - in 2020 there were 10,388. Due to the significant increase in certified holdings (and the fees collected with them) in 2020 and 2021, the GOTSThe team will be significantly enlarged and the areas of standard development and implementation, quality assurance, communication and IT will be expanded. About the current revision process at GOTS We reported in the news update of KW 17.

Modern Slavery & Human Rights Policy & Evidence Center "Fashion Supply Chains, Modern Slavery and the COVID-19 Pandemic - Impacts, Empathy and Resilience" (PDF): The study analyses the impact of the pandemic on the supply chains of the Indian fashion industry. The brands, suppliers and others involved in the supply chains of the Indian fashion industry surveyed by the researchers often blamed unpredictable demand for an increased likelihood of illicit subcontracting and the associated risks of unethical practices, in addition to the direct impact of Covid-19 on supply chains such as job losses and wage cuts. However, the study points to a strong link between brands’ long-term commitment to ethical trade and better resilience to the impact of the pandemic. The central finding of the authors is therefore that fashion brands, which are committed to ethical trading practices in their company in the long term, tended to be more resilient to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Brands that had dedicated teams working with suppliers and local ethical staff were able to build closer relationships with their suppliers, which proved important in coping with the loss of sales, lower sales, and challenges in personnel management.

IndustriALL "GBVH in the Garment and Textile Sector" (PDF): IndustriALL presented the third and final chapter of the study on gender-based violence and harassment, summarising the findings from the clothing sector. The union leaders interviewed report pervasive sexual harassment and abuse in their factories by superiors, managers and male machine technicians. Many of the women interviewed spoke of the positive effects of a trade union; for some women, significant changes occurred after the establishment of the trade union in the factory. Many trade unions have made GBVH training and awareness-raising a priority, as have workplace negotiations and agreements on the subject. The presence of women in union leadership positions has a decisive impact. The interviews also show the importance of confidential complaint systems that women trust, as well as trade union representatives who can report incidents anonymously on behalf of an employee.

News

EU Supply Chain Act: More than 220 civil society networks, individual organisations and trade unions from all over the world have joined forces with Statement to the European Parliament and EU Member States It calls for a strong EU supply chain law. The statement criticises the European Commission's proposal for a Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSDDD) and calls for the existing shortcomings to be rectified. Also the German Trade Association (HDE) expresses its views on the planned EU Supply Chain Act; and In an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, she warns against the burdens on small and medium-sized retailers.. "Medium-sized retailers are simply not in a position to legally monitor their entire supply chains right up to the manufacturer's sub-sub-contractor at the other end of the world," the letter states. Within the framework of the German G7 Presidency, Federal Labour Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) calls for more international standards for human rights in supply chains. He stressed that fair supply chains were a "significant concern" of the government.

Review process in the textile alliance: This German Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) accompanied six of the 55 evaluation interviews in the review process. The aim was to assess the quality and suitability of the evaluation discussions as a tool for promoting due diligence in the Textile Alliance. This DIMR concludes in its 19-page report that evaluation discussions are an important part of the review process and should remain a mandatory part of the process in the future. In order to be able to exploit the potential of the evaluation discussions even better in the future, the DIMR, to place a particular focus on those areas where companies have the greatest implementation difficulties. In this context, particular emphasis is placed on the greater involvement of stakeholders' perspectives in the supply chain. Similarly, in the review process, the Textile Alliance should step up its efforts to ensure that companies prioritise their risks in accordance with the requirements of the UN Guiding Principles, i.e. according to severity (grade, scope, irreversibility) and probability of occurrence.

chemicals: The EU published at the end of April the "Restrictions Roadmap under the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability", in the scope of which up to 12,000 hazardous substances could fall. This roadmap aims to use existing laws to ban toxic substances associated with cancer, hormonal disorders, reproductive disorders, obesity, diabetes and other diseases. According to the European Environmental Bureaus (EEBs) This would be the world's largest ban on toxic chemicals.. For the first time, the plan focuses on entire classes of chemical substances, including all flame retardants, bisphenols, PVC plastics, toxic chemicals in disposable diapers and PFAS, which are also referred to as "forever chemicals" due to the time it takes for them to degrade naturally (on PFAS in clothing, we reported in the News Update of KW 5).

Countries of production

Pakistan: By working together in a module of the Alliance Initiative to have a complaint mechanism Fairtrade together with the Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the fashion companies Primark, Oh, yeah. Kettelhack, Hugo Boss, Takko and Tex Idea for the first time Project to improve working conditions in Pakistan's textile sector started. The project ‘Strengthening in-house complaint structures in Pakistan’, developed within the framework of the Alliance for Sustainable Textiles, is therefore intended to support textile factories in establishing functioning in-house complaint structures or in further developing existing mechanisms. The implementation on site is coordinated by Fairtrade Germany.

Due to prolonged heat and severe water shortages, cotton harvesting in several regions of Pakistan is at risk . According to reports, 80% of the canals in the upper Sindh and lower Punjab have too little water, so cotton sowing is expected to be delayed by three to four weeks. In addition, the rising mercury will affect the cotton harvest despite an expansion of the crop area, the parties said, adding that only timely rainfall could save the harvest from damage this season.