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Workers in many leather tanneries in the Hazaribagh neighborhood of Dhaka, the Bangladesh capital, including children as young as 11, become ill because of exposure to hazardous chemicals and are injured in horrific workplace accidents. The tanneries, which export hundreds of millions of dollars in leather for luxury goods throughout the world, spew pollutants into surrounding communities. Human Rights Watch documents an occupational health and safety crisis among tannery workers, both men and women, including skin diseases and respiratory illnesses caused by exposure to tanning chemicals, and limb amputations caused by accidents in dangerous tannery machinery.

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The purpose of the ZDHC Wastewater Guidelines (hereafter referred to as “WW Guidelines”) is to set a single globally unified expectation for sampling, testing and reporting of industrial wastewater and sludge resulting from wetprocessing, across the textile and leather industry. Separate wastewater guidelines are available for Man-Made Cellulosic Fibres (MMCF).

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In this latest investigation Greenpeace tested a range of outdoor gear for hazardous per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFCs). The study reveals that not only outdoor clothing and footwear but also camping and hiking equipment such as backpacks, tents and sleeping bags contain chemicals that are hazardous to the environment and to human health. This follows an analysis conducted on items produced and sold by various outdoor brands, selected for testing by outdoor substances and Greenpeace supporters. Out of the 40 products that were tested, only four were found to be free from the per- and polyfluorinated chemicals that were checked, to the detection levels used.

Editorial team: Miller, Simone; German summary entitled ‘Dangerous chemicals in outdoor equipment’ available.

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Pitiful wages, child labour and sexual abuse is reported to be the reality for some Syrian refugees
Working without permits in Turkey, posing a major challenge for the garment brands that source from the country to supply Europe’s high streets. This report summarizes the responses of 28 of Europe’s largest clothes brands who were asked to explain how they are protecting Syrian refugees in their supply chain. A few are taking decisive action, but many are doing too little.
The document contains recommendations for brands and demands towards different actors.

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The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights stipulate that companies should identify the human rights impacts of their business activities, prevent adverse impacts, make good harm and communicate these steps in a transparent manner. The present research shows that these due diligence requirements can also be implemented. Companies, but also business consultants and human rights experts were interviewed. Experience shows that complex, large and multinational companies as well as small and medium-sized enterprises can face up to their human rights due diligence obligations. Companies' actions range from training their suppliers, to long-term contracts with suppliers, to reducing the number of suppliers. Where a single company does not make progress, for example in structural challenges such as freedom of association or living wages, committed companies seek cooperation with other companies in the industry, with trade unions or with multistakeholder initiatives such as the Fair Wear Foundation. Against the background of the question of whether the fulfilment of human rights due diligence should remain voluntary or be regulated in a binding manner, two existing regulatory examples were examined: The Dodd-Frank Act of the United States and the Modern Slavery Act of the United Kingdom. Both examples show that legal requirements cannot ruin the economy, but can drive improvements faster.

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