25.01.2021: News from KW 3

PwC - "The German fashion industry - trends, challenges and solutions" (PDF file): The starting point of the study is the prolonged crisis of German fashion companies, which was amplified by the pandemic. How can the fashion sector respond to the challenges? Prediction: Only slow recovery. Important trend (among others) Green & Social Awareness among consumers

BILLS Report on Labour protests in Bangladesh in 2020: The main reasons were the absence of salary payments and the loss of employment rights. With 264 protests, almost half are in the RMG sector.

WageForward: NGO Alliance calls on brand companies to sign a binding agreement to turn workers' wages into living wages. This concept (PDF file), according to which brand companies pay their suppliers a concrete Living Wage contribution for each order, which must be shown on the pay slips of the workers, was Asia Floor Wage Alliance, Clean clothes campaign, and the Worker-Driven Social Responsibility Network elaborated. A key aspect is also access to a complaint mechanism for workers. One example of this concept was the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. The concept finds the support of well-known Experts.

#TheIndustryWeWant with ETI and the Fair Wear Foundation: The exchange started on 14 January with an online event attended by 270 experts (with representatives of brands, manufacturers, trade unions and organisations). Main objective: Definition of a A new vision for the clothing industry Improved cooperation and accountability. A proposal for a follow-up process will be published in February.

Centre for Policy Dialogues (CPD) Virtual dialogue ’Recovery of the Apparels Sector from the COVID-19 Crisis: Is a Value Chain Based Solution Possible?” between stakeholders in Bangladesh: Participants included Rubana Huq (BGMEA), Amirul Hoque Amin (NGWF) and Kalpona Akter (BCWS). A solution approach is seen in the multi-stakeholder cooperation between government, brands and producers. Kalpona Akter demands that the home states require brand companies to comply with due diligence obligations.

Sustainable Textile of the Asian Region (STAR): Producers from Asian manufacturing countries are starting a Initiative for Better Purchasing Practices (Associations from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Pakistan, Vietnam and Myanmar). Together, they represent about 60% of all global clothing exports.

Response to the CDU proposal for an EU Supply Chain Register Act: In an "Statement on the Proposal for a Supply Chain Register Act" (PDF file) Germanwatch, Greenpeace and INKOTA There are five reasons why the proposal does not make sense: 1 - approach other than the due diligence approach, which is supported by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights The German Government and the German Government nap has been persecuted; 2 - the register would only be based on certifications that do not effectively protect human rights and the environment; 3 - Approach shifts risk (and probably costs) to suppliers 4 Too much bureaucracy; rigid and expensive 5 - Victims of human rights violations have no opportunity to sue companies

Articles by author and activist Tansy Hoskins ""They left us starving": How the fashion industry abandoned its workers": COVID-19 draws attention to the system of exploitation in global supply chains. This system protected clients and loaded the force of the crisis on the workers. While many companies are losing revenue and facing bankruptcy in the crisis, there have been McKinsey 20 "super winners" in the crisis - among others Adidas and H&M.

Femnet e.V.