News - The Partnership for Sustainable Textiles (Textiles Partnership)

The next phase begins in the Textile Alliance - Our expectations for the members

Logo of the Textile Alliance Statement by civil society in the Sustainable Textiles Alliance on the 2016 General Assembly

At the end of October, after long, not always easy negotiations, the steering committee gave the starting signal for the next phase of the textile alliance. Civil society in the Textile Alliance welcomes this agreement and sees it as an important first step towards improving working conditions in the value chain. All members now have to create their own implementation targets, so-called roadmaps, by the end of January 2017. The roadmaps will identify the areas where members will gradually commit their suppliers to better working conditions. The roadmaps are therefore central guidelines on what and how much members, especially companies, but also the public sector, are willing to contribute to the textile alliance in the coming period.

From the point of view of civil society in the Textile Alliance, the following aspects are central to impact-oriented and challenging roadmaps:

  1. A demanding roadmap must include a goal for the implementation of living wages in one's own value chain.
  2. The goals in these demanding roadmaps must not be limited to the first stage of the supply chain, the assembly, but must also include measures in the deeper value chain, such as an increase in the procurement of sustainable natural fibers.
  3. The publication of the roadmaps is voluntary in the first year. However, civil society expects a large proportion of members to make their roadmaps publicly available as early as the first year.
  4. Transparency is also a decisive criterion for the future success of the textile alliance beyond the roadmaps. Transparency measures include the disclosure of suppliers by companies.

Civil society expects these aspects in particular from the member companies of the Textile Alliance, which are among the ambitious.

The first major hurdles have been overcome by the Textile Alliance this year. "However, in order for improvements through the Textile Alliance to reach workers in the producing countries", says Tim Zahn, the Coordinator of Civil Society in the Textile Alliance “further important decisions have to be made in the Textile Alliance”. This includes the review of the roadmaps and the subsequent progress reports by an independent authority (the so-called independent third party). "For civil society, it is above all important that this body is effectively supervised by a body composed on a parity basis of the stakeholder groups in the alliance," Zahn continued. In order to evaluate the achievement of the objectives, the main focus must be on the effects of all measures taken by the members on workers - and not only on their implementation.

Further information:

27.10.2016: Alliance for Sustainable Textiles sets important course for implementation

Download the press release (PDF file)

Contacts:

Tim Zahn
Coordinator of civil society in the Sustainable Textiles Alliance
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Tel.: 0176 4765 6294

Civil society members in the Steering Committee of the Textile Alliance:

Gisela Burckhardt, FEMNET/CCC, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Tel.: 0152 01774080
Berndt Hinzmann, INKOTA network/CCC, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Tel.: 0160 94 69 87 70
Maik Pflaum, Christian Initiative Romero/CCC, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Tel.: 0911 214 2345

24 civil society organisations are members of the Textile Alliance and are represented by the following three NGOs in the Steering Committee: Christian Initiative Romero, FEMNET, INKOTA network. All three are also sponsors of the Clean Clothes Campaign.

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