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As a new state meta-seal for eco-socially produced clothing, the ‘Green Button’ is intended to give consumers more orientation in the cash jungle in the future. The pilot phase is scheduled to start in September 2019. However, FEMNET and the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) warn against misleading statements.

The label suggests a completely fair and sustainable product through its addition ‘social & ecological – state-certified’. However, it does not cover the entire supply chain, but initially only refers to clothing and wet processes (washing, dyeing). This means that the often bad working conditions, for example in cotton cultivation or in spinning mills, are not checked. However, this is not made clear to consumers.

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Bonn / Berlin. The civil society organisations in the Textile Alliance criticise the roadmaps and progress reports of the member companies in the alliance. In its current form, these are not meaningful and poorly comparable. The roadmaps also showed that many companies are still at the very beginning when it comes to living wages. In addition, better working conditions in supply chains could be achieved if companies cooperate more frequently. On Monday, the Textile Alliance published roadmaps and progress reports of its members. In it, they show what measures they want to take in the field of human rights and ecology in textile production for the next year and whether planned measures were implemented in the previous year.

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Bonn. The Fair Trade Town Bonn is richer by one consumer temple. On 13.08. the fashion giant Primark opens in front of the main station with cheap clothes on 8000m2. But really cheap here is only the business model: What the commodity actually costs people and the environment, the prices do not reflect. FEMNET and Bonn im Wandel call on the day of the opening to talk about mass consumption and the future of the city. More than 20 organisations are already supporting the campaign ‘Better living without Primark’.

The Alliance's appeal is against waste, pollution and human rights violations. With information stands and changing clothes, FEMNET and Bonn are showing that things can be different. From 10 a.m., visitors can expect a colourful program in Poststraße. Politicians, organisations and citizens are invited to join the “Live better without Primark-Talk” and talk about better concepts of urban development.

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Öko-Test has tested 21 jeans for residues in the laboratory. But Öko-Test also wanted to know more about the production conditions under which the jeans are manufactured and therefore asked FEMNET for advice on the development of the questionnaire to the companies and the evaluation of the answers.

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Wuppertal. The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) plans to introduce a state metaseal for socially and ecologically produced textiles. This metaseal is to be awarded under the name ‘Grüner Knopf’ on behalf of the BMZ for clothing and other textile products.

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© IndustriAll

Governments and businesses are now required to implement the Convention in practice

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the member states adopted the new International Convention No. 190 against Violence and Harassment in the World of Work by an overwhelming majority at the end of June 2019. This legally binding international treaty, which was supplemented by a recommendation for concrete implementation by the member states, is a historic victory for workers and their representatives:

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Bonn/Berlin. The fashion industry celebrates Berlin Fashion Week – but questions about social and environmental consequences are, as every year, neglected. The Alliance for Sustainable Textiles, founded in 2014, has begun to gradually eliminate the grievances in global textile supply chains. So far, the balance sheet has been meager. A study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recommends adapting the review process. The civil society in the Textile Alliance sees the reform now planned as an opportunity to make the alliance more effective.

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© Textile alliance

On 6 March 2019, the first major conference of the multistakeholder initiative - Tamil Nadu (MSI-TN), which is supported from Germany by some members of the Textile Alliance as part of an alliance initiative, took place in Coimbature. Around 130 representatives from the government of Tamil Nadu, business associations, trade unions and NGOs took part. They came from Germany: Representatives of BMZ, Hugo Boss, Brands Fashion, FEMNET and the Alliance Secretariat of the Textile Alliance. The theme of the conference was: Better Compliance – Better Competitiveness. The question was whether compliance with social and environmental standards would lead to a higher competitiveness of spinning mills, as the German representatives argued, both on the economic side and on the part of FEMNET. A paper on the topic was also prepared by the MSI-TN. The participants discussed the topic vividly in mixed groups and each group developed recommendations.

Further information on the website of the Textile Alliance

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© charles deluvio - unsplash.com

Civil society has long called for more sustainability and the Council and the administration are also clearly positioning themselves: Stuttgart wants to play a special pioneering role in improving global living and working conditions through public procurement. The city no longer wanted to remain ‘at the groin’ and consciously use the considerable purchasing power of municipalities to strengthen fair production conditions and the supply of fair products. FEMNET accompanied the municipality in the successful pilot project for the procurement of sustainable work and safety shoes.

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© charles deluvio - unsplash.com

Civil society has long called for more sustainability and the Council and the administration are also clearly positioning themselves: Stuttgart wants to play a special pioneering role in improving global living and working conditions through public procurement. The city no longer wanted to remain ‘at the groin’ and consciously use the considerable purchasing power of municipalities to strengthen fair production conditions and the supply of fair products. FEMNET accompanied the municipality in the successful pilot project for the procurement of sustainable work and safety shoes.

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In 2019, the International Labour Organization (ILO) celebrates its centenary. With its highest body, the International Labour Conference, the member states of the United Nations meet every year in Geneva to decide on international labour law. This year, the conference will be held from 10 to 21 June and will address the issue of violence and harassment in the workplace. So far, there are no effective regulations at the international level.

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