© FEMNET
Just Transition describes a process of change that focuses on both environmental and social justice. For the textile and clothing industry, this means: Away from exploitative working conditions, towards decent work, fair wages and environmentally friendly production. What this change must look like in order to be feasible is the current topic of our educational work.
© newafrica - depositphotos.com
How can sustainable procurement be achieved at the municipal level? In Hamburg, FEMNET, together with Stadtreinigung Hamburg (SRH) and other stakeholders, has further developed strategies for anchoring eco-social criteria in purchasing. A workshop shows: The will is there – and the knowledge is growing.
Every year in June, many fashion brands are particularly colorful. But is there real solidarity behind the rainbow collections or just marketing?
In the so-called Pride Month, many fashion companies advertise with rainbow flags, ‘Love is Love’ slogans and queer designs. What looks like progress at first glance often turns out to be pinkwashing on closer inspection: The targeted marketing of queer symbols without assuming structural responsibility.
“Because each working day is stressful, I usually cry when I get home from work.” This is how a woman working in Indonesia’s footwear industry described her daily life. On the other side of Asia, a garment worker in Bangalore shared how intense production pressure affects not just her health, but her sleep and appetite.
© FEMNET
Doughnut Economy, Plural Economics, Earth4All – the fashion interACTION Action Meeting on 10 May 2025 was all about alternative economic models that combine social justice and environmental sustainability.
© FEMNET
From 30 April to 4 May 2025, we were able to attend the Evangelical Church Congress in Hanover – and the impressions are still having an impact. For three days, FEMNET was in the Centre of Youth represented with a stand.
The 2024 annual report is entitled 'Together we are strong'. In these challenging times, this commitment is important. It is to be feared that the shift to the right in Europe and Trump as US President will have a negative impact on women's rights. It is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve change as political and financial challenges increase. This makes it all the more important for us, as a civil society, to stick together and stand in solidarity against adversity.
Ten years ago, Dr Gisela Burckhardt published ‘Deathly fashion and morality – why expensive does not mean equally fair’. The book exposes the widespread misconception that expensive brand fashion is automatically produced under fair conditions, and is therefore alarmingly up-to-date.
‘Men and women are equal.’ This is what Article 3 of the Basic Law states – and furthermore: ‘The state promotes the effective enforcement of equal rights for women and men and works towards the elimination of existing disadvantages.’ Is this the case in Germany? No. Gender equality remains a project and has not yet been achieved. Bonn is particularly behind.
Together with more than 75 other organisations from civil society, associations, churches, trade unions and companies, FEMNET has signed an open letter addressed to the current party leaders of the CDU/CSU and SPD. The letter addresses the need to regulate online platforms more closely in order to protect democracy and the common good.
