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Logo of the Textile Alliance Statement by civil society in the Sustainable Textiles Alliance on the 2016 General Assembly

At the end of October, after long, not always easy negotiations, the steering committee gave the starting signal for the next phase of the textile alliance. Civil society in the Textile Alliance welcomes this agreement and sees it as an important first step towards improving working conditions in the value chain. All members now have to create their own implementation targets, so-called roadmaps, by the end of January 2017. The roadmaps will identify the areas where members will gradually commit their suppliers to better working conditions. The roadmaps are therefore central guidelines on what and how much members, especially companies, but also the public sector, are willing to contribute to the textile alliance in the coming period.

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The National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) launched a campaign for higher wages in the Bangladeshi apparel industry on October 14, 2016. Under the title ‘Living wage...fair price of garment products’, the union calls for a fair wage for the approximately 4.2 million workers in the garment industry (of which approximately 3.2 million are women). A demonstration by the capital Dhaka with the participation of various national and local trade unions and other civil society organisations drew attention to the concerns of the workers.

NGWF demo 14.10.2016 in front of the press club in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photo: © NGWFNGWF demo 14.10.2016 in front of the press club in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photo: © NGWF

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Düsseldorf. While the fashion managers of tomorrow are increasingly interested in sustainable business, the Alliance for Sustainable Textiles is making slow progress. This was demonstrated by the conference ‘Fair Fashion Works? Corporate Responsibility in Fashion Studies’ in Düsseldorf yesterday and today, organised by the women’s rights organisation FEMNET, itself a member of the Textile Alliance. The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) launched the alliance of companies, politics and civil society more than two years ago in order to improve the inhumane production conditions in the textile industry.

FairSchnitt Conference 2016 Panel: From left to right: Dr Bernhard Felmberg, BMZ, Niema Movassat (MdB, DIE LINKE), Dr Uwe Mazura (Gesamtverband textile+mode), NGO representative Tim Zahn. Photo: ©FEMNET e.V.FairSchnitt Conference 2016 Panel: From left to right: Dr Bernhard Felmberg, BMZ, Niema Movassat (MdB, DIE LINKE), Dr Uwe Mazura (Gesamtverband textile+mode), NGO representative Tim Zahn. Photo:© FEMNET e.V.

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Buy Good Stuff title KöelnUnder the patronage of the Mayor of Cologne, Ms Henriette Reker, the BUY GOOD STUFF Fair Fashion Shopping Guide Cologne was launched on 22 September 2016! FEMNET e.V. and AMD Akademie Mode & Design, Department of Design at Fresenius University of Applied Sciences, jointly published the first Fair Fashion Guide for Cologne.

Sustainability and conscious consumption - the lifestyle with ecologically sustainable and socially fair products has long since arrived in fashion. Not only the well-known Cologne-based labels ARMEDANGELS and LANIUS demonstrate how it works. BUY GOOD STUFF, the first eco-fair shopping guide for fashion in Cologne, proves that not only the Green Concept Stores, but also numerous fashion shops, offer attractive fashion in many quarters of the shopping metropolis on the Rhine, which is at the same time socially fair and ecologically sustainable produced - for every taste and budget. The green lifestyle conquers the fashion stores and proves: Fashion is not only beautiful, but can also be responsible!

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After four years of public protest and months of negotiations, there is now an agreement to compensate the victims. The victims and relatives of the killed workers of the Ali Enterprise factory in Pakistan are to receive US$5 million in compensation.

The agreement on compensation for victims is the result of long negotiations between IndustriALL, CCC, and KiK, which were conducted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) at the request of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

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If the devastating production conditions in the fashion industry are to change fundamentally, we need legal, binding requirements. These should oblige German and European companies to ensure compliance with social standards along their entire supply chain. If they do not comply with their duty of care, sanctions must follow. Only when companies pay their producers for violating human rights and labour standards can disasters like Rana Plaza be avoided.

FEMNET continues to represent this position. The women's rights organization sees additional voluntary measures by companies as a supplement to legal rules. For two years now, FEMNET has been actively involved in the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles, or Textile Alliance for short, initiated by Gerd Müller, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development. The aim is an action plan for a sustainable textile supply chain.

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Saeeda Khatoon and Nasir Mansoor report on the suffering and struggle of those affected by the factory fire in Pakistan. Photo: © Holger Priedemuth Saeeda Khatoon and Nasir Mansoor report on the suffering and struggle of those affected by the factory fire in Pakistan. Photo: © Holger Priedemuth Justice for 260 dead and 32 injured: This is what the survivors and survivors of the fire disaster in the textile factory Ali Enterprises in Karachi (Pakistan) demand. Four of them filed a lawsuit against the German textile discounter KiK at the Dortmund Regional Court in March 2015. KiK was, according to its own information, the main customer of the factory that burned down in September 2012. Today, the court ruled: It considers itself competent and the applicants receive legal aid. This decision is the first step to ensure that a case of human rights violations by German companies abroad is also heard in a German court.

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Tazreen factory. Photo:© FEMNET e.V.Tazreen factory. Photo:© FEMNET e.V.Berlin. Through the Foundation for the Compensation of the Tazreen Victims, all workers and survivors received their compensation payment in June 2016. The Clean Clothes Campaign and the International Labor Rights Forum welcome this development.

On 24 November 2012, a fire broke out at the Tazreen Fashions textile factory in Bangladesh, killing 113 workers and injuring nearly 200. Only three years later, in September 2015, the Tazreen Claims Administration Trust (TCA) was finally established on the basis of an agreement between C&A, the C&A Foundation, IndustriALL Global Union, and the Clean Clothes Campaign.

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Bangalore's textile industry comprises nearly 1,200 production sites. In about 96% of these factories there are no functional cribs. According to a 2011/12 study by the ‘State Commission for the Protection of Children’s Rights in Karnataka’, 12 out of 118 factories reported having no functioning crèches. In the factories with cribs, there was only one crib for every 1,000 employees. According to the law, all factories with more than 30 permanent women must offer a crib for children under the age of six on the factory premises. In fact, although companies designate a space as childcare, no child- and care-friendly environment is created. That's why mothers don't bring their children to the factory. There is a lack of well-trained educators and toys. The children spend their days sitting around inactive or sleeping.

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Panel discussion at the A+A with FEMNET CEO Gisela Burckhardt. Photo:© FEMNET e.V.Panel discussion at the A+A with FEMNET CEO Gisela Burckhardt. Photo:© FEMNET e.V.More than 65,000 visitors came from the 27th. – 30.10.2015 to the world's largest conference on occupational health and safety in Düsseldorf to gather information from 1,887 exhibitors from 57 countries on trends in occupational health and safety, occupational health promotion and safety management.

Fairly produced protective clothing was exhibited by a total of 9 manufacturers and retailers and presented vividly at the booth of Engagement Global, Eine Welt Netz, FEMNET e.V., CIR and SKEW as ‘Fair Fashion Performance’. In addition, a comprehensive specialist forum and information programme at the aforementioned stand informed about fair workwear and production methods and brought experts and actors from organisations into dialogue with decision-makers and employees of municipal contracting authorities and companies.

Textile workers in Bangladesh. Photo © G.BurckhardtTextile workers in Bangladesh. Photo © G.BurckhardtIt was only after tough negotiations that a number of companies joined the Textile Alliance in June 2015. They had refused to do so when the alliance was founded in October 2014. The action plan they helped develop was too demanding for them at the time, while other companies such as Hessnatur and Vaude immediately joined. FEMNET is also involved in the development of the action plan from the outset and is represented in the interim steering committee. But what ultimately led companies to join?

 

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Textile workers in Bangladesh.Photo © FEMNET e.V.Press release of the Clean Clothes Campaign on the accession of the leading associations and individual companies to the Sustainable Textiles Alliance

The knot in the large textile associations has burst. The majority of the associations (the Handelsverband Deutschland (HDE), the Bundesverband der deutschen Sportarktikelindustrie, the Foreign Trade Association of the German Retail Trade (AVE) and textile+mode) as well as a large number of their member companies have joined the alliance. The basis for a broad impact of the alliance has now been created by the accessions.

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