biodiversity: TextileExchange "Biodiversity Insights Report 2021 - First global baseline of the apparel and textile industry" (PDF): The first Biodiversity Report by Textile exchange compiles data from 157 fashion and textile companies, including H&M, Primark, Puma and Tchibo. Biodiversity is increasingly becoming a priority area - 51% of companies recognise it as a priority risk, and 59% have made a public commitment to address it. A growing number of companies are beginning to take action to mitigate their impacts - 80% are increasingly using certified materials, 15% attribute sourcing locations to the value of biodiversity, and 8% already have an explicit biodiversity strategy in place. Center for Biological Diversity & Collective Fashion Justice’s CIRCUMFAUNA Initiative "Shear destruction: Wool, Fashion and the Biodiversity Crisis" (PDF): The report reports on the environmental impact of wool: From the destruction of habitats by grazing sheep to the chemicals used in washing - the entire process of raising sheep and processing shorn wool into usable fibers is associated with threats to wildlife, according to the authors. Large clothing and textile brands should invest in research and development of alternative wool materials. When eliminating wool, the industry should rely on alternatives that are not dependent on fossil-based fibres (such as acrylic, polyester and nylon), as they are linked to their own harmful climate and environmental impacts.
STAND.earth "Nowhere to Hide: How the Fashion Industry is linked to Amazon Rainforest Destruction": The analysis shows the involvement of 100 fashion brands in the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest - among others. Adidas, Esprit, Puma and H&M. Although none of these brands deliberately choose deforestation leather, they work with manufacturers and tanneries who source their goods from opaque supply chains and with companies known to have links to cattle farming on recently deforested Amazon land. The connections are visualized in an interactive map. Also in the new Coalition agreement (PDF) by SPD, FDP and Greens the issue of deforestation/deforestation was addressed: "We support the Commission's proposal for a law on deforestation-free supply chains" (p.34).
Greenpeace "Voluntary Commitment - A Fashion Fairytale About Green Fast Fashion - Part 1: Detox Companies' Progress in Eliminating Dangerous
Chemicals, deceleration of goods flows and development of circular business models" (PDF) & "Self regulation: a fashion fairytale - Part 2: Evaluation of Detox Committed brands, 2021 - the ten-year milestone" (PDF): Detox Report 1 highlights the successes of the detox campaign; Nevertheless, the NGO is concerned about the fashion industry, which is "anything but environmentally friendly". The problem is no longer with chemicals, but with overproduction. The third chapter therefore makes recommendations for the EU Textile Strategy and the Supply Chain Act. In Detoxreport Part 2, a summary is drawn after ten years after the start of the campaign and 29 (of the total of 80) companies that have signed the Detox Commitment are investigated (e.g. Adidas, C&A, Esprit, H&M, Primark, Puma, Aldi, Lidl, Rewe, Tchibo and Vaude. They all dispensed with toxic and particularly polluting chemicals in over 90% of their production facilities. On pages 11-14 you will find an overview of the detox commitments, from page 15 you will find visualizations about circular economy efforts.
Fashion revolution "Out of sight: A call for Transparency from Field to Fabric - Updated Brand Scorecard": The report criticises the lack of transparency according to the direct suppliers (Tier-1) of the purchasing companies: At the beginning of supply chains, where fabrics are knitted or woven, textiles are treated and washed, yarns are spun and dyed, fibers are sorted and processed, and raw materials are grown and harvested. Only 29 of the 63 brands examined disclose processors such as dyers; 28
disclose the production facilities, such as fabric factories. This is why we work Fashion revolution with the Tamil Nadu Alliance together to call on the more than 60 major apparel brands and retailers to increase transparency beyond the first level.
recycle: In an article of Guardian The question will be considered, whether garments made from recycled synthetic fibres such as polyester are really a more "conscious" choice. The majority of recycled fibres (approximately 85%) are obtained from PET bottles. PET bottles are part of a well-established, closed recycling system where they can be recycled at least ten times efficiently. The apparel industry removes them from this system for recycled polyester and converts them into a linear system, as most of these garments cannot be recycled. The conversion of plastic from bottles into clothing can even speed up the way to the landfill, especially for low-quality, quickly produced garments, which are often thrown away after a few times of wearing. Even the microplastic problem is not eliminated by recycled fibers. The main problem is that many companies describe their recycled products as "sustainable" and thus mislead consumers. Pricing the lower emissions impact of recycled yarns also distracts from yarn production and wet processes (dying and finishing), which are responsible for the majority of a garment's life cycle emissions.
Supply Chain Act: The European Commission has postponed without giving reasons its intention to oblige companies to increase the protection of human rights and environmental standards in their supply chains. Originally for June 2021 Planned draft EU supply chain law postponed This is the third time. The Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development De Bruijn Declares his disappointment and announces that the government National Law on Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence It will develop and introduce. The proposal could be ready soon, as the ministry has already prepared "building blocks" for legislation. The European Coalition for Business Justice In the meantime, 60 civil society organisations have a Open letter to EU Commissioners and other policy makers by inviting them to make the future human rights and environmental due diligence legislation of companies gender-sensitive.
forced labour: This European Center for Constitutional Rights (ECCHR) With the support of human rights lawyers, Prakken d'Oliveira Criminal complaint against several Dutch and US textile and fashion brandsn who have their European headquarters in the Netherlands. You argue that Patagonia, Nike, C&A and State of Art directly or indirectly to the forced labour of members of the Uyghur population in the Chinese province Xinjiang Could have been involved. They call on the Dutch public prosecutor's office to investigate the alleged complicity of the companies in human rights violations, which could amount to crimes against humanity. ECCHR had previously taken legal action in Germany on similar charges against Aldi, C&A, Hugo Boss and Lidl, initiated (see news update of KW 37). South wind comments on the review reports published so far by companies in the Covenant of Textiles. The company-specific, public reporting is seen as positive, but hardly any company developed targets or measures from the (sometimes very differentiated) risk analyses that comprehensively implement a zero-tolerance policy against the risk of forced labour. In addition, the use of certificates or sustainability standards is the most popular means of demonstrating that the risk of forced labour has been minimised. This is not acceptable, as sustainability standards (such as GOTS) e.g. certifications from high-risk regions such as Xinjiang They accept and do not see their own political responsibility. South wind calls, therefore, for explanations from the companies as to why they still see no risk of forced labour in a region of widespread oppression and forced labour - or a withdrawal from these regions.
Sri Lanka: This Solidarity Center Published in cooperation with IndustriALL one Study on working conditions in Sri Lanka's textile factories (PDF). Only 1.4% of respondents said they have ever been subjected to gender-based violence and harassment in the workplace. However, more in-depth research is needed to understand whether these reports are accurate, especially as workers reported a high incidence of gender-based violence and harassment in other factories. Workers were often reluctant to address such issues because they feared reprisals or a normalization of such practices in everyday work. The majority of respondents (93.75%) do not work in trade unions; 61.7% said they had no knowledge of local labor laws. 63.6% of employees also reported that their dormitories were overcrowded.
Indonesia: In early December, the Indonesian Constitutional Court declared the heavily criticized Omnibus law unconstitutional.It immediately overturned its most damaging parts and gave the government two years to reform the law. Among other things, the law had abolished sectoral minimum wages and reduced severance payments (see News Updates 4, 18 and 42).
