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News - The Partnership for Sustainable Textiles (Textiles Partnership)

23 October 2019 Responsibility of companies: Voluntary measures and legal regulations

The Textile Alliance, the Green Button... What do such voluntary measures do? How can they complement each other? How does FEMNET assess their implementation? And why is there an urgent need for a legal basis to sustainably improve working conditions in global value chains?

This article by Dr Gisela Burckhardt was published in the magazine ‘Salzkörner’ of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) in November 2019.

Hunger wages, excessive working hours, forced overtime – under often inhumane conditions Millions of textile workers in Asia or Africa sew clothes for the global market. Many have lost their lives, for example in the fire of the Pakistani factory Ali Enterprises or the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh. These disasters prompted Federal Development Minister Gerd Müller to launch the Alliance for Sustainable Textiles in 2014. Politics, business and civil society should: together improve the social, ecological and economic conditions in textile production – ‘from the cotton field to the shackle’. Unfortunately, his work is progressing slowly and is primarily perceived by professional circles. Now the minister is relying on consumers and wants to award individual products with the ‘Green Button’, a state meta-seal. Instead of legal regulations, the Minister is once again relying on a voluntary measure.

The textile alliance

It has been in existence for five years now Alliance for Sustainable TextilesThe Textile Alliance is a multi-stakeholder initiative with around 120 members. Around half of the German clothing companies with their associations, 19 non-governmental organisations, two trade unions and six standard organisations such as Fairtrade and Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) are currently participating in this initiative. FEMNET represents civil society in the supreme body, the Control circuit. In addition, we work intensively in Groups of experts on topics such as ‘action plans on human rights due diligence in the supply chain’, ‘complaint systems’ or ‘transparency’.

Publication of the plans and their implementation

All members have committed to submit and publish a one-year, future two-year roadmap. In this Companies must explain how they comply with their due diligence obligations – for example, what they do about labour rights violations and how they want to reduce the use of chemicals. They have also agreed to report publicly on the progress of the measures. It was also possible to agree on binding targets such as the payment of living wages, access to complaint mechanisms or an anti-corruption policy.

However, a look at the company plans is sobering: For example, it is sufficient for companies to fill out a questionnaire internally to analyse their own purchasing practices in order to demonstrate their commitment to ‘existence-guaranteing wages’. Of course, purchasing practice plays an important role, such as price setting, which allows a higher wage payment of the suppliers to the workers. But one More concrete action would be desirable.

The previous Roadmaps are therefore not very informative.; it is not clear whether a company implements the crucial processes for fulfilling its human rights due diligence obligations in the supply chain. For example, not a single company takes action against sexual harassment in the workplace, although it occurs almost everywhere in countries such as Bangladesh and India.

At present, the reporting requirements and format will be revised by the end of the year. In what depth and how transparently companies will report.

Other criticisms: So far, some have refused Companies Still Publish Their Suppliers. This is difficult for us to understand. We also criticise the fact that too few companies are willing to participate in an alliance initiative in a country (e.g. Cambodia) on the subject of living wages in order to pay higher wages there as an example.

Concrete steps with the Alliance Initiative in Tamil Nadu

After all, there are also rays of light: For example, FEMNET was able to initiate an alliance initiative in Tamil Nadu, India, in which four companies (Tchibo, Otto, KiK, Hugo Boss) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) participate. Together we want them Improving the situation of young girls in spinning millsby supporting the establishment of functioning committees against sexual violence.

Conclusion: Long breath required

In multistakeholder bodies such as the Textile Alliance, rapid success is not to be expected, but a long breath is required until the situation of the seamstresses actually improves.

 

The green button

The green button is State Metaseal and responds to the needs of consumers, more Overview in the Siegeldschungel to receive. In doing so, the Federal Government assumes responsibility for the correct application of the seal. This is certainly an important step. The Green Button wants to include human rights due diligence obligations of companies in the evaluation. Thus he is no pure product sealThis prevents greenwashing. That's positive.

Criteria, verification mechanisms and transparency

However, the Green button only believable if its criteria are also demanding enough – and this is not yet the case. Because the seal does not cover the entire supply chain, but only the last stages of processing: Fabrication and wet processes (washing, dyeing). The catastrophic conditions in the spinning mills, for example, are not covered, not even child labour in the cotton harvest. Also, only the payment of a minimum wage, not that of a living wage is guaranteed.

It is still unclear how strictly the criteria and the evidence are implemented. Such are On-the-spot checks in the form of samples It is possible, however, how often these occur, the practice must first show. Also BMZ relies on standard-setting organisations for product testing and recognizes their seals such as the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and Fairtrade as sufficient for compliance with social and environmental standards. These seals are based on factory inspections, so-called audits. However, audits only show a snapshot and do not reflect the full realityt in a factory. Numerous studies show that audits often fail to detect significant labour rights violations, such as discrimination against women, restrictions on organisational freedom and security issues. In addition, seals such as the GOTS do not require the payment of living wages.

Company-owned product labels are also accepted if they meet certain criteria. Here, practice must first prove which seals these are and whether they actually meet the requirements. Company-owned seals are highly questionable because they are not externally controlled.

Above all, it is still unclear how transparently compliance with the criteria and the award of the Green Button is reported. It will show what information can be obtained from the QR code – which is planned in the future – for each product.

Conclusion: The green button is not demanding enough at the moment

During the Green Button especially a Companies' marketing tools is, whose credibility increases the state’s ‘blessing’, a textile alliance offers the opportunity to make a difference together. For some profound problems in the supply chain, such as the lack of living wages, A company can hardly achieve sustainable change on its own.

Statutory rules

The Green Button is just like the Textile Alliance a voluntary initiative, in which many companies do not participate. Therefore, a legal regulation is overdue that places companies under an obligation to uphold social and environmental standards. On the basis of such Supply Chain Act Persons affected by human rights violations must also be able to sue the purchasing companies in German courts..

So has France enact a law, England the Anti-Slavery Act and the Netherlands We have introduced a law against child labour. The German government, on the other hand, wants to continue to regulate everything on a voluntary basis. But we are calling for a legal regulation in Germany, even better at the European level. Voluntary measures such as the Green Button and an improved textile alliance could build on this.

 

 

Author:Dr. Gisela Burckhardt, CEO of FEMNET e.V.