Civil society members see textile alliance at risk The textile alliance initiated by Federal Development Minister Gerd Müller (CSU) does not sufficiently motivate companies to commit themselves to respecting human rights in their supply chains. This is criticised by the civil society members of the alliance on the occasion of a networking meeting that will take place on 5 June 2018 in Hanover. The companies that have joined the Textile Alliance so far cover slightly less than 50 percent of the German textile market. It is also likely that additional members will have to leave the alliance at the beginning of July if they do not comply with the obligation to draw up an annual action plan. Civil society members pointed out that the voluntary textile alliance could make meaningful contributions to the implementation of standards. However, effective legal rules applicable to all companies are necessary for the realization of human rights in the textile supply chain. Details Published: 05 June 2018 Read more …
Fair is the new standard: Second framework contract with fair-procured service and protective clothing for the Bonn office for urban green successfully concluded Employees of the Bonn Green Space Office sample the potential goods of the new framework contract. High-quality clothing and protective equipment is the basis of good work! Photo: © FEMNETTwo years after the first fair tender for the Service and protective clothing of the municipal employees of the Bonn Office for Urban GreeneryThe procedure is established. For example, cut-resistant trousers, forest jackets and winter vests were purchased – but also forest boots and work gloves. For the 19 lots, there were at least 4 valuable offers almost everywhere, which had to be evaluated shortly before Easter according to quality, workmanship and equipment. From the first experience (described in the Brochure step by step (PDF file)) lessons have been learned. In addition to the criteria use value (30%) and price (40%), social criteria went into the race for the award with 30%. Tenderers who wanted to be considered positively in the tender for socially fair production conditions had to attach concrete evidence to their tenders. This was made possible by a graduated tenderer's declaration on the control of the ILO core labour standards. The more measures bidders were able to demonstrate for credible monitoring of ILO notched labour standards, the more points they were able to score. Details Published: 29 March 2018 Read more …
Lectures on fair public procurement at the Berlin Academy of Administration Impulses for Fair Public Procurement at the Berlin Academy of Administration. Photo: © FEMNETHuman rights and environmental standards are violated on a daily basis in the globalised production of goods – goods that are also purchased by the public sector. For this reason, the European and German legislators have stipulated that ecological and social criteria may or should play a major role in public procurement. How the requirements for staff in the administration have changed over the years and what the current state of public procurement law provides for was a topic in our lectures in the context of the training course ‘Grundlagen des Vergabewesens’ at the Verwaltungsakademie Berlin. However, the questions of ‘how’ were particularly exciting for the participants. The approximately 20 employees from the civil service of the districts and the state of Berlin were informed about the possibilities of using ‘quality marks’ such as the seals of fair trade. In model projects, numerous possibilities have also been developed, which we were at least able to tackle. The two lectures were given by FEMNET employee Anne Neumann on the initiative of the Berlin promoter for municipal development policy Michael Jopp in the course of Thomas Griewald. Our lectures and workshops can be offered free of charge at all training and further education facilities for public service employees who are involved in outreach. Information can be found in our flyer (PDF file). Feedback on the event: ‘Fair awarding is proper awarding, is economic award - cost-effectiveness in a comprehensive sense. Deliveries and services may only be awarded by skilled and knowledgeable staff. Due to the increasing demands on the administration - both in terms of content and quantity - and the central contracting authorities, which are not yet widespread everywhere, employees must be able to deal with the extensive requirements of public procurement law. The methods and experience of other contracting authorities presented by the speakers are very helpful in this regard.” Thomas Griewald,Lecturer for basics of public procurement at the Berlin Academy of Administration Details Published: 14 March 2018
Infringement of OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises-SOUTHWIND files complaint against Adidas The SOUTHWIND Institute accuses Adidas of failing to comply with its corporate due diligence obligations in the event of the unlawful dismissal of more than 300 former employees of its Indonesian supplier Panarub in 2012. Details Published: 13 March 2018 Read more …
Towards an ILO agreement against gender-based violence in the workplace FEMNET supports the campaign for the signing of an ILO convention against gender-based violence in the workplace, which starts on 14 February 2018. The campaign runs until Women's Day on March 8. While the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted by the UN in 1979, does not yet have an international law requiring action against gender-based violence in the workplace. Details Published: 14 February 2018 Read more …
FEMNET Demands on Fashion Companies In the spring of 2018, FEMNET compiled a compilation of demands on fashion companies. These demands are based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines, the ILO MNU Declaration and the National Action Plan. FEMNET Demands on Fashion Companies (PDF file) Read our compilation here in the text. Details Published: 14 February 2018 Read more …
Handing over signatures to Primark for greater transparency - a great success Signatures handed over to Primark in Bonn on 03.02.2018. Photo:© FEMNET e.V.70,000 people ask Armani and Primark to reveal where they have their clothes made On February 3, 2018, FEMNET together with other activists handed over a golden gift box with 70,000 signatures to the low-cost manufacturer Primark in its branch in Cologne. We pointed out that Primark should be transparent about its supply chain and disclose the names of its suppliers. There were also actions in other cities in Germany, Europe and even Hong Kong. This action was a complete success! On February 7, 2018, three working days after our promotion, Primark published its supplier list. We note: Public pressure is working! Thank you to all who have supported us in this. Details Published: 03 February 2018 Read more …
The Textile Alliance: Review of 2017 and outlook for 2018 Control group of the Textile Alliance at the Klausurtagung on 23.11.2017. Photo: © Textile allianceThe Textile Alliance has been in existence for three years now, but it was only since June 2015 that the textile (trade) companies joined the alliance. Today, around 90 companies are members, responsible for around half of textile sales in Germany. In addition, the Federal Government, under the auspices of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), around 20 NGOs, standard organisations such as GOTS and Fairtrade and trade unions are active differently in the alliance depending on the organisation. The year 2017 marks the end of an intensive test phase in the Textile Alliance: All members had to create individual action plans (roadmaps) for 2017. These action plans were thoroughly examined to see whether they were in line with the Alliance's self-imposed objectives and constituted progress for the respective member. Finally, at the end of November, the Steering Committee of the Textile Alliance adopted binding time and quantity targets for the years 2018 to 2020, which each member must work on. So a lot has happened in the Textile Alliance – and yet important decisions are still to be made in 2018. Details Published: 08 December 2017 Read more …
H&M promised living wages from 2018 - campaign for clean clothing reminds of the pending implementation Today, four years ago, on November 25, 2013, the fashion group H&M made a landmark announcement. By 2018, the approximately 850,000 seamstresses producing for the company are to receive a living wage. In Bangladesh, seamstresses in H&M supplier factories currently earn around $87 per month. This average income is just below the poverty line of $88 per month calculated by the World Bank. Details Published: 25 November 2017 Read more …
Textile Alliance needs legal support: Few companies publish their 2017 roadmaps Spinning mill in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Photo: © Gisela Burckhardt, FEMNETPress release of the Clean Clothes Campaign For 2017, the members of the Textile Alliance had to set targets for the implementation of environmental and social standards in their supply chains for the first time in so-called roadmaps. The publication of these roadmaps is still voluntary this year, but mandatory from 2018. The first roadmap process was therefore still in the ‘trial run’ this year and thus a challenge. Contrary to civil society expectations, only a few member companies published their roadmap in 2017. In total, this was 19 out of 87 reporting member companies, i.e. around 22 percent. All the more, civil society in the Textile Alliance welcomes the fact that a total of 40 members (including the Federal Government, two trade unions, 12 NGOs, 4 standard organisations, 2 associations and 19 companies) have already published their roadmap this year. Details Published: 21 September 2017 Read more …
