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Title Report The Myanmar DilemaAmsterdam. After years of sanctions, trade with Myanmar (formerly Burma) is flourishing again. Low wages and favourable economic conditions are attracting garment production to Myanmar. Numerous European brands, including well-known brands such as H&M, C&A and Primark, are taking part in this race to the bottom. in a new report (PDF file of the English summary) detailing the miserable working conditions: Low salaries, massive overtime and child labour are therefore no exception. In the expansion of industry, land rights were also disregarded.

SOMO employee Maartje Theuws: “Clothing brands should think twice about whether they really want to produce in Myanmar. The risk of labour rights violations is very high. Companies should make an accurate analysis of all potential problems. Together with their suppliers, they need to identify and manage the risks before placing orders there. However, our research shows that companies do not.”

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Photo: © Rich LI, lLRFPhoto: © Rich LI, lLRFFEMNET supports the petition the International Labour Rights Forum (ILRF), which calls on companies such as H&M, C&A and Inditex to stand up for illegally arrested workers.

Workers have been protesting in Bangladesh since December for raising the minimum wage. The strikers organized peaceful marches. But instead of making concessions, the factory owners filed criminal charges against trade unionists and workers. At least 24 activists and workers were arrested. A bail release was refused.

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Bangladesh strike. © CCC

The Clean Clothes Campaign is concerned about the safety of trade unionists and workers in Bangladesh. Some of them had apparently been arbitrarily arrested, while thousands of workers in Ashulia, an area in Dhaka, had participated in a strike for higher wages. The strike began on the 12th. December 2016 in the Windy Apparels factory, which was only recently mentioned in the news in connection with the death of an employee in October. The factory produces clothing for several brand companies, including H&M, Inditex (which owns the Zara brand), Esprit, Tesco, Arcadia, s.Oliver and Debenhams. Within a very short time, surrounding factories also took part in the strike. On the 20th In December 2016, 59 factories were closed.

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Living Wages: Explorer's NotebookCan't we just raise the price of every piece of clothing to make workers earn a little more...? In response to this question, the Fair Wear Foundation is presenting a new publication aimed, among other things, at clothing brands.

They often do not quite know where to start and how to introduce living wages. For this reason, FWF has compiled the Explorer's Notebook, which contains a variety of useful tips and examples to help brands take appropriate steps to pay higher wages for workers.

Based on case studies, the guide is the first publication of its kind to raise as many questions as it answers about the realisation of living wages.

The full Explorer’s Notebook is available as a free download from the Fair Wear Foundation:
Living Wages: an Explorer's Notebook (PDF file)

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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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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