Nachrichten & Pressemeldungen - 03 February 2018 Handing over signatures to Primark for greater transparency - a great success Signatures handed over to Primark in Bonn on 03.02.2018. Photo:© FEMNET e.V.70,000 people ask Armani and Primark to reveal where they have their clothes made On February 3, 2018, FEMNET together with other activists handed over a golden gift box with 70,000 signatures to the low-cost manufacturer Primark in its branch in Cologne. We pointed out that Primark should be transparent about its supply chain and disclose the names of its suppliers. There were also actions in other cities in Germany, Europe and even Hong Kong. This action was a complete success! On February 7, 2018, three working days after our promotion, Primark published its supplier list. We note: Public pressure is working! Thank you to all who have supported us in this. The golden gift boxes with the signatures are the culmination of Human Rights Watch's global #GoTransparent campaign, the Clean Clothes Campaign and the International Labor Rights Forum. The campaign introduced a minimum global standard for transparency in the clothing sector – the ‘Apparel And Footwear Supply Chain Transparency Pledge’ and convinced 17 international brands to publish information about their supplier factories, including addresses and number of workers. In Germany, after all, the appeal was followed by Tchibo, Hugo Boss, Aldi, Lidl and Esprit until the end of 2017, whereby only Esprit published all the requested information, the other usually a list of the names of the suppliers with address without additional information about the type of products, number of workers, etc. KiK has so far completely refused to disclose its supplier list, as has Primark. The information the Transparency Pledge wants to disclose is essential for workers and activists to alert brand companies to labour rights violations in their supply chains. Transparency in supply chains helps to prevent such dramatic conditions as after the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh in 2013, when workers and activists searched the ruins for sew-ins and signs with references to the brand companies. They had to risk their lives to uncover who was responsible for the tragedy. Gisela Burckhardt, CEO of FEMNET, member of the Clean Clothes Campaign, says: “Primark is a global player such as H&M, C&A or Lidl and Aldi. They have already disclosed their supply chain in at least some aspects. What do Primark and KiK have to hide that they do not make their supply chains transparent to the public? Do you know where your clothes come from? In order to prevent labour abuse in the supply chain, a company should have a strong interest in creating transparency.” Contact: Gisela Burckhardt, FEMNET e.V., Campaign for Clean Clothes, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.+49 1520 1774080
