All News & Press Releases

© Myanmar now media

On 1 February 2021, the military couped in Myanmar, arrested the elected members of the government and took power. Four days later, a general strike began with numerous street protests, known as the Civil Disobedience Movement. At the forefront are Myanmar's textile workers. To this day, their protest is violently suppressed, trade unionists arrested and killed. International brands must act and stop production in Myanmar to weaken the military regime.

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© froodmat-photocase.de

Bonn/Cologne. Under the title ‘Klima & Klamotten’, LizzyNet gGmbH and FEMNET e.V. are launching a nationwide cross-media and education project. The project encourages young people to engage in climate-friendly alternatives to fast fashion. The three-year measure is funded within the framework of the National Climate Initiative (NKI) of the Federal Ministry for the Environment.

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© FEMNET I Stefan Klübert

Berlin has high demands on sustainable criteria in public textile tenders. Theoretically. But how can this be put into practice? FEMNET accompanied the city of Berlin in the process for one year.

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In the Department of Textile and Clothing Technology at Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, the interdisciplinary 5. Semester project an integral part of teaching. In the winter semester 2021/22, the students were commissioned to design an accompanying publication to the student conference ‘It’s time to act – Acting for a socially fair fashion industry’.

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© Anna Döking

The longer and more complex the supply chain, the higher the risk of maladministration and infringement. A prime example of this are textiles: According to the Global Slavery Index, garments are among the imported products with the second highest risk of human rights violations within global supply chains. Until a T-shirt hangs in the stores, it travels up to 20,000 kilometers; 100 steps alone are necessary for production. As part of a cooperation project, FEMNET worked on these topics in four different series of events in 2021.

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The Supply Chain Act for Germany has been adopted since June 2021 and finally holds German companies accountable. Now, an EU supply chain law is the next step in protecting human rights and the environment in supply chains. However, there have been delays here for months.

"It is very worrying that the business lobby in Brussels seems to be trying to gain time to prevent or postpone an EU supply chain law. Now the traffic light coalition must show that it is serious about what it promised in the coalition agreement. A strong EU supply chain law would also improve the protection of women's rights in the garment supply chain," said Gisela Burckhardt, FEMNET CEO. FEMNET therefore supports the open letter of the European Supply Chain Initiative to the European Commission.

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© Julia Kuzenkov - pexels.com

On 25 November 2021, the new solidarity and education campaign #eintshirtzumleben for more sustainability and fairness in the global fashion and textile industry will start.

Bonn. The Bonn-based women's rights organization FEMNET e.V. will launch the five-month solidarity and education campaign #onetshirtto live. At the center is the T-shirt as a symbol of fast-paced cheap fashion. The goal is to create awareness of the value of fashion.

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The impact of the coronavirus crisis on supply chains, the legal or voluntary impact on human and labour rights, corporate responsibility and, last but not least, the question of an economy for the future – these thematic lines provided the framework for this year’s FEMNET student conference.

The future leaders of an industry that is in deep crisis and facing fundamental changes were given a comprehensive insight into the complex challenges of the global fashion and textile industry on two conference days. In total, more than 120 people attended the conference. In addition to 70 ‘regular’ participants and speakers, representatives of student initiatives, associations and organisations also participated in the conference.

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Civil society members look positively at established process but criticise exits of some companies

Berlin / Bonn / Munich. As part of the new review process, the Alliance for Sustainable Textiles is examining its member companies for the first time for the implementation of human rights, environmental and corruption-related due diligence obligations. The Supply Chain Act provides for similar obligations. As part of the review, independent experts have analysed the information provided by the companies and requested improvements in accordance with an OECD-compliant risk analysis and remedy. It became clear: In terms of risk analysis and measures, some companies still have a lot to do to comply with future legal requirements. As of today, the released reports will be made available to the public on the Alliance's homepage. More reports will follow in the coming weeks.

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Civil society members have a positive view of the established process, but criticise the exits of some companies.

Berlin / Bonn / Munich. As part of the new review process, the Alliance for Sustainable Textiles is examining its member companies for the first time for the implementation of human rights, environmental and corruption-related due diligence obligations. The Supply Chain Act provides for similar obligations. As part of the review, independent experts have analysed the information provided by the companies and requested improvements in accordance with an OECD-compliant risk analysis and remedy. It became clear: In terms of risk analysis and measures, some companies still have a lot to do to comply with future legal requirements. As of today, the released reports will be made available to the public on the Alliance's homepage. More reports will follow in the coming weeks.

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