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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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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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Cover image of the new brochure

As new data from the Fashion Checker shows, transparency remains the key to holding fashion companies accountable when workers, trade unions and activists ask them not to leave their workers in distress and despair during the pandemic. None of the fashion companies surveyed guarantees that workers in their supply chain will receive the same wage as before during the pandemic - let alone a living wage. In addition, the data from the Fashion Checker show users the gap between a living wage and the actual wages paid in the factories.

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