Femnet e.V.

Strikes in Bangladesh

Photo: © Rich LI, lLRF

Workers in Bangladesh are struggling to survive: In December 2016, there were strikes. This is because: The minimum wage has remained at only 63 euros for four years, the cost of everyday life has risen rapidly meanwhile, the rent alone devours more than half of the monthly wage.

The consequences of the strikes: More than 1,000 workers were laid off and 59 factories were closed. Suppliers of H&M, Esprit, Zara, S.Oliver and others are among them. The government is using this strike to crack down on union leaders. 24 activists and workers were arrested. A bail release was refused. FEMNET supports a call for the release of activists.

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Far from fair: Clothing industry of Myanmar

After years of sanctions, trade with Myanmar (formerly Burma) is flourishing again. Low wages and favourable economic conditions are attracting garment production to Myanmar. Numerous European brands, including well-known brands such as H&M, C&A and Primark, are taking part in this race to the bottom. in a new report (PDF file of the English summary) detailing the miserable working conditions: Low salaries, massive overtime and child labour are therefore no exception. In the expansion of industry, land rights were also disregarded.

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So it goes on in the Textile Alliance

In the new year, we will continue our work in the Textile Alliance. We continue to see this alliance as an opportunity to make fundamental improvements for workers in the global apparel industry. FEMNET CEO Gisela Burckhardt represents civil society in the Alliance's supreme governing body.

At the end of January, all members have to formulate their individual goals, which they want to achieve in 2017. You can publish them, and from 2018 you will have to publish them. For civil society, these so-called "roadmaps" are now an important indicator of what the members of the Alliance are willing to do.

We therefore demand that companies set ambitious goals and publish them. One of our key demands for 2017: The textile alliance must create added value beyond the existing control systems. The disasters in Pakistan and Bangladesh show that these controls, carried out by commercial certification companies, alone will not bring about the necessary improvements. For example, the Ali Enterprises factory, which burned down in Pakistan in 2012, was inspected three months earlier by such a certification company, and more than 200 people died. One of FEMNET's proposals is therefore to involve civil society and trade unions in the producing countries more closely in demonstrating what the measures taken by companies actually do for workers.

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Photo: © FEMNET/Gisela Burckhardt

FEMNET, together with some companies and the BMZ, is committed to abolishing the modern form of slavery in Indian spinning mills as part of the textile alliance. One Exploratory mission on this issue took place in November instead. A feasibility study will now be carried out on site to prepare for the launch of the initiative.

With the trip to South India at the end of 2016, an important hurdle was taken in the fight against the exploitation of young girls in spinning mills of Tamil Nadu. Representatives of German and Indian politics, business and civil society have developed further steps for the joint multi-stakeholder initiative this year.

In December 2016 there is a four-page supplement in 'die tagezeitung' He has also written about Camp Labour, formerly known as Sumangali, from various angles. The supplement is available for download as a PDF.

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Looking back at 2016

Photo: © Barbara Palusinska

A lot of new things have to be done, but what has been achieved must not be overlooked. In 2016, we worked with many different activities to ensure that social standards and corporate responsibility are structurally anchored as fixed components in the curricula of fashion courses. Best success story: The Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences is currently introducing the course ‘CSR – Corporate Responsibility’ as a compulsory course in the study regulations as part of the re-accreditation of some fashion courses. Since the textile and clothing faculty at this university is the largest in Germany, we can rightly state that we have come much closer to our goal of anchoring our content as a mandatory component of fashion courses in Germany.

Expanding educational work at universities – an outlook for 2017

"Studying for a socially just fashion industry" has been the motto under which FEMNET successfully offers educational work for fashion-related universities for many years. Knowing that the students of today are the decision-makers of tomorrow, we have trained them on topics such as labour and human rights, corporate social responsibility or environmental and social standards. What has established itself as a successful concept at the fashion universities is now to be made accessible to other students: Graduates of business studies can also determine the framework conditions for fashion production in large clothing companies or in political structures and therefore belong to our target group. In addition, we want to reach teacher training students as they are strategic multipliers for future consumers and decision-makers.

For the cooperation with our old and new university cooperation partners, we will train and train multipliers, develop and train new modules, develop educational materials and offer a variety of events.

• An overview of our offers

News from our blog: fashionfairarbeit.de

How do students view their universities? Do you feel well educated for the global fashion industry? We like to ask these questions to the students ourselves and are happy that such different ideas and approaches come out again and again: In the article "Change something. Thoughts after the conference FAIR FASHION works?" there are tips for co-creating the study content. Two apparel technicians from the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin have also dealt with this topic in their master's thesis – with some surprising results.

• How do teachers see it?
• Change something. Thoughts after the conference FAIR FASHION works?
• Involve students in the design of the teaching offer

Step by step - new brochure in February

The 'Fair Public Procurement' project kicks off the New Year with the publication of the brochure 'Step-by-Step - Your way to fair public procurement of service and protective clothing'. Based on the experience gained during the project in Bonn, a practical guide was designed to provide municipal procurement managers, consultative associations and organisations as well as the interested public with information on how social criteria can be included in public procurement.

The brochure is available as a print version and Download (PDF file) available.

Project extension: Fair shopping in Cologne

The positive experiences FEMNET has had in cooperation with the city of Bonn will now also be used for cooperation with other municipalities. In 2017, the City of Cologne and the Office for Landscape Management and Green Areas would like to include social criteria in the tender and will be advised and supported by FEMNET. We look forward to working together!

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Joint action with Amnesty International on the Münsterplatz in Bonn

Photo: © Doris Dunker

January began with a political action by FEMNET in cooperation with the Amnesty University Group Bonn. On a busy Saturday at freezing temperatures, Amnesty and FEMNET denounced exploitative working conditions in the clothing industry.

Oversized large T-shirts with clear messages such as ‘I get sick from your clothes’ or ‘How can I defend myself without a trade union?’ hung on clotheslines along Bonner Münsterplatz.

Passers-by were informed about alternative consumption options and the city's second-hand shops.

FEMNET supports Fairtrade-AG of the Friedrich-Ebert-Gymnasium in Bonn at their first dress exchange party

The students of the Bonner Gymnasium were quite excited before the opening of their first dress exchange party. For weeks, Fairtrade AG prepared the event intensively. In addition to the sustainable aspect of changing clothes, there was a fair buffet of vegetarian food.

In order to make the political claim of the exchange party clear, Vanessa Püllen from FEMNET showed a film about the origin of our garments and the grievances along the global value chain. She then gave a lecture on social standards, meaningful textile seals and alternative purchasing and action options.

At the end of the evening, everyone agreed: The barter party won't be the last!

New on Instagram and Co.!

Since the end of last year, we have expanded our social media activities and are now also represented on Instagram and Pinterest.

FEMNETs social media channels:

• Facebook
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• Pinterest