News - The Partnership for Sustainable Textiles (Textiles Partnership) © J. F. Briggs 13 December 2022 The Alliance for Sustainable Textiles gives itself a new structure It was adopted at the end of September – the General Assembly on 30 November 2022 launched the implementation of the new concept for the Textile Alliance. In the future, the work of the alliance will focus on three basic elements. Member companies are obliged to provide information on production sites and supplier data in their own supply chain and to engage with concrete projects on site in the textile production countries. The Textile Alliance wants to achieve greater impact on the ground with the help of projects. At the end of September, the Steering Committee of the Textile Alliance decided on a restructuring, the implementation of which was initiated by the General Assembly on 30 November. In the future, the Alliance intends to develop its impact through three basic elements, including with regard to the Supply Chain Act, which will apply from 2023 onwards: The implementation of due diligence obligations Transparency via supply networks Addressing Focus Topics Effectively © graphic: https://www.textilbuendnis.com/mitgliederversammlung-30-november-2022/ The implementation of due diligence obligations under the first basic element requires each member of the Alliance to publicly report on how due diligence obligations are implemented in their own supply chains. For this purpose, companies can use the review process established in the Textile Alliance. From 2023, however, the Textile Alliance will also recognise the report to the Federal Office of Export Control (BAFA) in connection with the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) and the report for the Green Button 2.0 as evidence. This second basic element concerns the following: Transparency via supply networks. Since 2020, the Alliance for Sustainable Textiles has published an aggregated list of production sites and supplier data of member companies on the platform. Open supply hubFormerly known as the Open Apparel Registry. So far, the publication of supply chain data has been voluntary. With the restructuring of the alliance, all alliance companies will have to enter their supplier data into the aggregated list as of 2023. However, this does not make it possible to assign companies and suppliers, unless the companies publish their supplier list themselves. The third basic element is the active contribution of all alliance members to four focus topics. The focus topics include Living wages and purchasing practices Circular economy and climate Gender equality Complaint mechanisms and remedies and should make a positive contribution to key problems in the global textile industry in the future. For each focus topic, there is a reference framework that represents targeted targets. On the basis of indicators, each member company must measure its progress in the focus topics. An important and central innovation in relation to these focus topics includes the now applicable obligation of all alliance companies to engage locally in the textile production countries in at least one initiative or project of the alliance. All members can submit proposals in an idea competition. Together with the other civil society organisations in the Textile Alliance, FEMNET will work to ensure that the alliance's member companies implement the innovations ambitiously and thus go far beyond the requirements of the Supply Chain Act. Particularly in the case of projects, it is important that they are promoted in factories that create structures and processes that lead to better working conditions and guarantee stakeholders a say. Further information on the work of civil society in the Alliance can be found on this website: https://nro-textilbuendnis.de/.
