Femnet e.V.

Corporate Responsibility (CSR) & Supply Chain Act

Multi-stakeholder partnership to implement due diligence obligations in Bangladesh's textile sector

The textile and clothing sector is associated with high risks of violations of recognised human rights and environmental damage. Brand companies play a crucial role with their purchasing practices, as they have been obliged to carry out reliable risk analyses since the entry into force of the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG). Together with other NGOs, FEMNET is committed to ensuring that the perspective of rights holders is taken into account when fulfilling these due diligence obligations.

The German organisations FEMNET, SÜDWIND, INKOTA-netzwerk and HEJSupport cooperate with the local organisations Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO) and Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILLS) in Bangladesh to support companies in fulfilling their duty of care in the textile supply chain and protecting workers and their environment.

In order to adequately address existing risks and shortcomings and prevent infringements, an evidence-based approach that incorporates the perspective of rightholders and is regularly updated is key.

This is achieved through two monitoring methods implemented in this project that initially focus on the Savar subdistrict in Dhaka, Bangladesh, but are scalable:

Worker-based Monitoring (WBM)

Through representative surveys of workers outside the factories, reliable data on working conditions are collected and evaluated. These are compared with Bangladeshi labour law and international labour standards, presented online and updated annually. Trade unions can use the data in negotiations to improve production conditions.

Community-based monitoring (CBM)

Negative environmental impacts in communities near the textile industry are recorded, documented and collected in a database together with the residents. These cases will be referred to local authorities so that they can take action to improve them. Additional samples capture the effects of certain chemicals on the environment and humans.

The data collected in this way can serve the brand companies as a valid and up-to-date inventory and can be used for their risk analysis required by the LkSG. In this way, problems can be identified at an early stage and resolved together with factory management and rights holders.

In addition, a publicly available list of violations and evidence-based incidents in producing countries is part of the project. On the so-called Incidents website Labour rights violations are collected and listed in detail in order to make incidents transparent and to be able to track the actions of companies.

Our goals

1. Establish sustainable structures that establish a regular dialogue between local project partners, municipalities, trade unions, companies and authorities based on the results of both monitoring procedures.
2. This is meant to...
   a.) the working conditions in the factories are sustainably improved.
   b.) existing health and environmental hazards for workers and local residents are reduced.
3. Strengthening and complementing already established dialogue structures (such as the Textile Alliance and other multi-stakeholder initiatives) by: Incidents website and the announcement of Community and worker-based monitoring as best practice models.
4. Conduct a joint pilot project in which trade unions, local communities, factory management and international brands work together to develop and put into practice countermeasures to identified labour rights violations and pollution.

Activities and measures

Things to do in Bangladesh

By means of: Worker- and community-based monitoring With the direct involvement of rights holders, both human rights violations (WBM) and environmental damage (CBM) are recorded on an evidence-based basis, viewed in a coherent manner and used for successful negotiations and the establishment of sustainable dialogue structures.

Local trade unions and NGOs will be empowered to independently collect, evaluate and negotiate with factory owners based on the WBM approach.

Representatives of municipalities are trained to identify the extent of environmental damage on the basis of the data acquired using the CBM approach and to use it for negotiations with factories or the competent authorities.

In a dialogue platform consisting of all relevant stakeholders, joint countermeasures to mitigate environmental and human rights risks in the sub-district of Savar (Dhaka) are discussed and finally implemented as part of a pilot project.

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Activities in Germany

The results of both monitoring procedures are presented in various political contexts in Germany, shared with relevant stakeholders in the Textile Alliance and beyond in other MSIs, and companies are recruited to participate in the pilot project.

On the website Textile-Incidents.info Labour rights violations and environmental damage from producing countries are extensively researched and publicly disclosed. In addition to the results of the monitoring procedures, the website thus creates an argumentation basis for the need for improved due diligence obligations (e.g. with regard to purchasing practices, complaint mechanisms and remedies, etc.) of companies.

In the monthly Textile Insight news update Interested parties will be informed about current developments and progress in the areas of labour rights and environmental problems in Bangladesh and beyond.

In cooperation with BILLS and other local actors, a study is being prepared that shows the impact of social and ecological certifications.