News about Our Work - 11 February 2019 FEMNET welcomes draft law on corporate due diligence German Value Chain Act to make global supply chains more sustainable Bangladesh textile factory. Photo: © FEMNET Bonn. Many German companies benefit from legal loopholes in order to have their goods produced cheaply abroad. To date, they have only been required voluntarily to take action against human rights violations against their suppliers. This should change in the future: According to media information, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has drafted a value chain law, which is to be published soon. Violations should be punishable by imprisonment and fines. Dr. Gisela Burckhardt, CEO of FEMNET e.V., sees potential in this initiative. “We very much welcome the fact that Development Minister Müller wants to present such a draft law. We have long been committed to binding regulations, because with only voluntary measures we do not get far with the implementation of human rights in the supply chain. A value chain law would also effectively complement the voluntary textile alliance. The fact that the current rules of the market place sustainable players at a disadvantage must finally stop.” FEMNET e.V. has been a member of the Alliance for Sustainable Textiles since 2014 in order to work with other civil society organisations to protect the environment and human rights in global textile production. Read more: taz, 11.02.2019: "Cutting patterns for a better world" & commentary FAZ 11.2.2019: Companies must respect human rights abroad
