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18 October 2019 The Green Button in discussion - FEMNET conference on 11/10/2019

With regard to the textile industry, hardly any topic has caused as much turmoil in recent weeks as the Green button – ‘What does the Green Button bring?’, ‘What is the first state seal for sustainable textiles?’, ‘The Green Button – a first step in the right direction?’ are just a few titles of the numerous media reports devoted to the question of the content and effectiveness of the state metaseal of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

FEMNET has also addressed this question – as part of a symposium for teachers from universities and colleges, we were able to invite four experts to discuss different perspectives on the Green Button on 11 October 2019.

Katja Hummelt from Team Grüner Knopf at the BMZ. Photo: © FEMNETIntroduction to the background and structure of the Green Button Katja Hummel, Speaker for Sustainable Supply Chains, Sustainability Standards (Team Grüner Knopf) at the BMZ as a guest. Mrs Hummel first introduced the Green Button (presentation) and was then available for extensive substantive questions. The professionally qualified and detailed audience asked numerous questions, in particular about the planned further development of the Green Button. Here, the closing of the remaining gaps in the criteria (existence-guaranteing wages, value chain, etc.) as well as questions about the financing structures or the appointment of the advisory board played a role.

A catalyst for responsible fashion?

Subsequently, there were Henning Siedentopp An input to the Green Button in business practice. The Managing Director of mela wear GmbH called the metaseal a good building block to strengthen sustainable fashion. Because in order to bring the topic from the niche to the masses, it would need the trio of consumers, companies and the state. Nevertheless, the Green Button would also leave gaps that would have to be closed – for example, the use of organic cotton or a comprehensive regulation on living wages should be required. More opinions about the Green Button and why mela wear participates in the state textile seal can be found in a Podcast Listen to me.

Dr. Gisela Burckhardt, CEO of FEMNET, made it clear to the symposium audience the perspective of FEMNET as a civil society organisation. Among other things, she rated the combination of the Green Button from company and product review or the goal of more transparency through a QR code as quite positive, but at the same time raised questions that still had to be answered in this regard. In addition, she expressed clear criticism of the lack of living wages or the long time windows available to companies to implement the criteria. It still sees the state in the obligation to create legal regulations instead of relying on voluntariness and referred to the need for a mandatory Supply Chain Act. Further contents of the lecture by Dr. Burckhardt can be found in the presentation.

Rapha Breyer, Key Account Manager Textiles and Business Development at Fairtrade Germany sees a clear challenge in the fact that the Green Button currently does not cover the entire textile chain, but only the clothing and wet processes (presentation). He asks why this is not possible? After all, 90% of the seal holders received the Green Button on the basis of a GOTS certification, which in turn includes the entire supply chain. He also sees the move towards living wages as an urgent goal that must be accompanied by clear and credible communication. It also highlights the company criteria as positive, which have not yet been taken into account in this form in the seal landscape.

The Green Button - Opportunity or Risk?

An already well-informed professional audience benefited from the input of the experts. Photo: © FEMNETThe final discussion was very dynamic and marked by a variety of questions: Why do other ‘sustainable’ fashion companies choose not to use the Green Button and why are the criteria of the label not ‘more courageous’? How should the marketing of the Green Button be designed? What sanctions mechanisms can be in place? Why is there an EU exemption? Can the Green Button also set new standards, for example for innovative fibers?

Overall, such an exchange took place at a high level, which was rated very positively by all participants. Above all, the diverse perspectives, opinions and ideas of the input providers and participants allowed exciting discussions, which everyone found enriching. The extent to which the Green Button can establish itself as a "sign of responsibility" in the textile and clothing sector in the future and how it shapes and enforces this responsibility will be shown in the coming months and years. An introductory phase for further training and familiarisation is scheduled until the end of June 2021. So it remains exciting how the state metaseal develops.