News & Press Releases - Fair procurement for the public sector © Stefan Klübert ⁇ FEMNET 05 February 2024 Sustainable textile tenders: New guidance for municipalities on circular economy and complaint mechanisms FEMNET asked municipalities which sustainability aspects they would like to integrate more into their textile tenders. The result: Sustainability criteria for "circular economy" and "complaint mechanisms" were desired. In a new guide, FEMNET has elaborated these in detail and informatively. Evidence questionnaires are an alternative means of proof. They focus on the criteria and define in advance which quality marks and alternative proofs are accepted. This creates orientation for bidders and procurers. The new guideline first explains why it is important for municipalities to pay attention to criteria of circular economy and good complaint mechanisms in production when tendering for textiles. In the next step, the handout translates into practice and shows how these criteria are required in tender documents and which evidence can be accepted. The criteria can be integrated into existing proof questionnaires or used on their own. Circular economy When it comes to the term "circular economy", most people think of waste disposal and recycling. In fact, however, these are only elements of the holistic concept of "circular economics". This should provide an alternative to our current, linear economic system. However, within the textile industry, there is still no common definition of what constitutes a circular textile industry. Therefore, there are solutions to individual elements, such as return systems or fibers, but a broad, connecting infrastructure is missing. Increased demand from the public sector has design possibilities right here and can send signals to companies to integrate and connect elements of circular economy. The presentation of three possible starting points of criteria of circular economy in textile tenders: the design for the biological & technical cycle, recyclates & fibres and take-back systems. Background information is presented for each of the starting points and translated into questions for the tender documents. Complaint mechanisms FEMNET has been working on complaint mechanisms for a long time, which are an important element for verifying compliance with human rights. Affected parties can draw attention to human rights violations in supply chains and expect redress through effective complaint mechanisms. They are essential for improving working conditions on the ground. The anchoring of complaint mechanisms in the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act is an important milestone. Nevertheless, in some parts they do not go far enough in terms of content to function sufficiently well in practice. FEMNET's practical experience of working in textile factories and working with trade unions in producing countries was the basis for compiling requirements for effective complaint mechanisms. In the handout, these will then be translated into criteria and evidence for tender documents. Download Criteria on circular economy and complaint mechanisms Background and current possibilities for implementing ambitious requirements for textile procurement (PDF, 0.9 MB)
