Corporate Responsibility (CSR) & Supply Chain Act

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Social audits and certifications – what do they do? We demand more transparency!

The t-shirt reads ‘Made in Bangladesh’. But in which of the thousands of factories was it actually manufactured? And what are the working conditions there? Only when companies disclose their supply chains and factory inspection reports can maladministration be detected and remedied.

Disasters despite audits

In 2013, it crashed Rana Plaza factory buildings in Bangladesh. 1,134 people died and more than 2,000 were injured. Only a few months earlier, TÜV Rheinland had checked the construction quality – safety risks and human rights violations remained undetected.

In 2012 there were fires in the factories. Ali Enterprises in Pakistan and Tazreen fashions More than 350 people were killed in Bangladesh. Ali Enterprises was certified to the highest standard of SA8000, although emergency exits were missing.

In order to find out which brands had produced there after factory disasters, people searched for labels in the rubble. Because often it is not even possible to understand which companies commission which factories, because many companies still do not disclose their supply chain. Reliable information on security deficiencies and human rights violations is hardly publicly available.

It is true that companies commit themselves to social and environmental standards through self-imposed codes of conduct. But who controls whether these beautiful promises are also kept?

Ineffective factory controls

On-site inspections are carried out by private audit companies such as TÜV Rheinland. Bezahlt werden sie jedoch oft von den Fabriken selbst. Because only if they can prove an audit, they get orders from the big brands. This leads to conflicts of interest, so that these social audits often protect the image of the brands rather than the rights of workers.

Our goal

Companies are obliged by binding rules to fulfil their transparency promise.

This is what we want to achieve:

  1. Certifications do not serve as safe harbours. This should be enshrined in the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act in Germany and at EU level.
  2. Social audits are published so that those affected or their representatives, such as local trade unions and NGOs, can gain insight and express their views.
  3. Companies make the names of their supplier factories and data on human rights issues (wages, discrimination, trade union freedom, etc.) publicly available.
  4. Laws regulate transparency obligations and create mechanisms for their enforcement.
  5. Liability rules with regard to contracting companies and audit firms in the event of accidents at work are clear

 

FashionChecker – Exploitation in the spotlight

FashionChecker

 

Together we put pressure on the companies: With the new FashionChecker, we show the purchasing practices of over 100 fashion companies and call on them to improve the working conditions of their workers and to report transparently on them.

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