Femnet e.V.

News - The Partnership for Sustainable Textiles (Textiles Partnership)

31 January 2023 Review of the representatives of civil society in the Textile Alliance after one year of the Traffic Light Coalition

In November 2021, civil society in the Textile Coalition called for a more effective and effective Textile Coalition from the newly launched Traffic Light Coalition.

The discussion on a change or further development of the Textile Alliance was also sparked against the background of further developing framework conditions through regulations (Supply Chain Due Diligence Act in force 2023, EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, EU Textile Strategy, Design and EU Trialogue 2023).

What developments have taken place in the Textile Alliance and how should its restructuring be assessed?

It took around a year for the Textile Alliance to adopt a new structure, which was decided at the General Assembly in November 2022.

The further development was decided in the Steering Committee (28 September 2022) with the document “Total Reorientation Concept” to focus on the implementation of due diligence and impact on the ground and is based on three pillars:

• Implementation of due diligence obligations
• Transparency in supply networks
• Addressing Focus Topics Effectively

Figure: https://www.textilbuendnis.com

In the following, the central changes are briefly presented and classified.

Due diligence obligations

The procedural implementation of due diligence obligations and public reporting on them form the basis for the work in the Textile Alliance and remain a prerequisite for membership.. While so far all member companies (currently 75) had to report on the most important eleven risks in the clothing sector every two years, this is now repealed for all large companies that are covered by the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) as of 1.1.2023. This affects about half of the member companies. Instead, they can submit their report, which they have to send to the Federal Office of Export Control (BAFA) according to the LkSG, to the Textilbündnis Secretariat. Reporting in accordance with the requirements of the Green Button 2.0 (relating to corporate due diligence obligations) is also recognised as proof of the reporting obligation. Recognition of further formats must be decided by the Steering Committee on the recommendation of the Policy Group on Due Diligence. The other half of the member companies must continue to report according to the review format of the Textile Alliance, which is more comprehensive than the report to BAFA. Civil society finds it regrettable that the more demanding reporting in the review format of the Textile Alliance is now no longer required for large companies, but can also understand that the situation has changed as a result of the LkSG.

transparency

Progress has been made here: All member companies must report their suppliers to the Secretariat of the Textile Alliance, which publishes them aggregated on the Open Supply Hub platform. Previously, the notification was voluntary, now it is mandatory for everyone. However, civil society would have favoured the identification of companies and suppliers. On the other hand, there was strong opposition, especially from small to medium-sized companies, who fear that the competition will take their producers away from them. In recent years, however, this has been contradictory, as more and more companies are now publishing their supply chain themselves – also due to campaigns by the Clean Clothes Campaign.

Focus topics

Four key themes were identified as particularly important: Living wages and purchasing practices, gender equality, circular economy and climate, complaint mechanisms and remedies. In order to record and present the impact of the activities of the companies and the alliance as a whole, key performance indicators (KPIs) have been developed on the four topics on which member companies must report as of 2024. The reports will be published on the website of the Textile Alliance. The indicators were developed in the respective expert groups with the various stakeholders of the alliance. However, the decision template was not accepted by the business representatives in the steering committee and the further development was not supported. In turn, the indicators formulated are not sufficient for civil society because they do not set time and result targets, i.e. targets that can be achieved within a certain time. The further development of the KPI is planned according to the decision of the steering committee, but there is an interest on the part of the representatives of the economy in the steering committee to keep the level low.

One of the major innovations is the obligation of all members to engage in a project within a focus topic or in an alliance initiative in a production country. So far, this commitment has been voluntary and only a few companies have participated in alliance initiatives. The members of the Alliance may propose projects for this purpose. The aim of the joint commitment is to establish a ‘level playing field’ through collective action and focus and to promote concrete improvements in working, living and environmental conditions in the producing countries. The current focus topics serve as a tool and should be used as an opportunity to initiate and implement effective (prevention and remedial) measures. The projects to be launched in 2023 aim at structural improvements in working and environmental conditions. However, the discussion on the focus topics at the General Assembly of the Textile Alliance in November 2022, as well as some of the proposals submitted so far by member companies, raise concerns that the KPIs on the respective focus topics, but also the criteria for the initiatives, have so far been insufficiently taken into account and that there is a low level of ambition. The project plans and implementation will show how effective the projects are on the ground and whether there is real bundling of initiatives and real improvements.

Relevant topics are omitted

By concentrating on focus topics, relevant topics are eliminated. By the end of 2022, all existing expert groups had been dissolved. Some of these expert groups will focus on the new topics, but others (see below) will not be further worked on. It is now up to the voluntary commitment of individual members to put these topics back on the agenda (e.g. through own-initiative topics). It is questionable whether the members can be motivated to do so in view of the mandatory commitment in the focus topics.

The restructuring of the alliance means that not all risks in the supply chain are addressed and therefore alignment with the OECD approach to due diligence no longer exists. This is a weakening of the broader approach so far. In addition, some of the previous topics are also not covered by the LkSG. This concerns in particular issues such as forced labour, transparency and corruption or some environmental issues such as wastewater management and sustainable and synthetic natural fibres. Alliance companies will also no longer report on this, making it unlikely that these relevant topics will be addressed in risk analysis and processing.

Further development of the governance structure

Certainly different expectations of the stakeholder groups meet in a multi-stakeholder partnership. This is another reason why the Textile Alliance is once again working on the establishment of a new governance structure that also addresses the self-image of the Textile Alliance: Is the Alliance an initiative that goes beyond the requirements of the LkSG, at least in the focus topics? As important as this governance debate is: The Alliance will have to be implemented in 2023 and will not have to engage in structural discussions again as a matter of priority.

As funding by the BMZ will be secured by the end of 2023, but it is unclear for the future how resources (financial and human resources) will be allocated, it will also depend on the future financing structure, what role the Alliance will play in the political process. Thus, the relevance of the Textile Alliance will also depend on the political will and assessment of the Federal Government.

conclusion

It should be noted that the decisions and activities of the Textile Alliance have made little progress in improving working conditions on the ground over the past seven years. It should therefore be noted that there has been no measurable progress so far on key issues (existence-enhancing wages, sustainable fibre use, phase-out of hazardous chemicals, circular economy, gender-based violence, integrity of business practices and prevention of corruption). The fact that progress cannot be measured and named is also due to the fact that the control group has not been able to agree on a solid instrument for measuring impact.

It is currently unclear how the concept for the further development of the alliance will be more effective on the ground. Some elements – such as the publication of the aggregated list of suppliers, the mandatory involvement of companies, civil society or trade unions in the projects in the focus topics – are moving in the right direction.

April 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of Rana Plaza. It's time. This catastrophe, as well as the factory fires of Ali Enterprise and Tazreen, are the reason that the Textile Alliance exists. The impulses for structural changes that it has put in place, such as purchasing practices, reducing the climate impact, building a circular economy and gender equality, are to be assessed positively. However, against the background of new legal framework conditions, it must show that it seizes the opportunity to join forces with companies and civil society and to achieve improvements on the ground. However, this is only possible if the will to change is present in all stakeholder groups. This is the will of civil society in some member companies, but not all of them.

 

1 January 2023

Representatives of civil society in the Textile Alliance (FEMNET, INKOTA network, HEJSupport) and SÜDWIND Institute