News about Our Work - 28 August 2019 Green button: How strict are the criteria? As a new state meta-seal for eco-socially produced clothing, the ‘Green Button’ is intended to give consumers more orientation in the cash jungle in the future. The pilot phase is scheduled to start in September 2019. However, FEMNET and the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) warn against misleading statements. The label suggests a completely fair and sustainable product through its addition ‘social & ecological – state-certified’. However, it does not cover the entire supply chain, but initially only refers to clothing and wet processes (washing, dyeing). This means that the often bad working conditions, for example in cotton cultivation or in spinning mills, are not checked. However, this is not made clear to consumers. Good combination of product seal and company inspection It is positive that not only individual products are tested, but also the purchasing companies must provide evidence to comply with their human rights due diligence obligations. How exactly this is implemented in practice must be shown by the future. No living wages, insufficient audits and weak controls in Eastern Europe FEMNET and the CCC are critical of the fact that the Green Button currently does not provide for living wages. Numerous investigations by the CCC also show massive labour rights violations in Eastern European EU Member States (Romania, Bulgaria). The controls are to take place there only as part of the company audits and it remains to be seen whether products from these countries will receive a green button. Furthermore, the BMZ relies on private sealers for product certifications. However, they award their seals on the basis of factory inspections. FEMNET has often been critical of such audits, as labour rights violations, in particular discrimination against women, are often not correctly recorded. In our view, therefore, the Green Button concept lacks sufficient regulation, evaluation and monitoring of the certification standards used by a state institution. Voluntary product certification still does not see FEMNET and the CCC as the right approach to structurally improve global supply chains. The basis must be clear legal regulations. More information For the detailed opinion of the CCC of 15 July... (before the final publication of the Articles of Association, see below) On the statute of the Green Button as a warranty mark at the German Patent and Trademark Office...
