News & Press Releases - Fair procurement for the public sector 25 September 2018 "This is how sustainability works!" – cities of Bonn, Cologne and Stuttgart show good approaches to sustainable purchasing Bonn. Today, the report ‘This is how sustainability works!’ is published. The report documents 17 flagship initiatives and projects on how we can organise ourselves more socially just and ecologically clean in Germany and around the world. FEMNET presents initiatives of the cities of Bonn, Cologne and Stuttgart for a fair public purchase of workwear. The report ‘This is how sustainability works! Germany and the Global Sustainability Agenda 2018’ breaks down the Sustainable Development Goals in a tangible and concrete way. The editors want to shake up politics and show in which range sustainability is already being implemented in practice. With its article in the report, FEMNET shows how individual city administrations can become active and make great contributions to a fairer world with their own purchases. From the computer mouse to the police uniform, a significant proportion of all products on the market and required by the public sector are produced in inhumane conditions and in disregard of fundamental labour rights, in particular women’s rights. At the same time, the public sector spends around 350 billion euros annually to buy such goods. This considerable buyer power can be used deliberately to strengthen fair production conditions and the supply of fair workwear. The initiatives of the local authorities in Bonn, Cologne and Stuttgart, which are currently supported by FEMNET, show that fair public procurement of clothing and textiles is possible! Dr. Gisela Burckhardt, FEMNET: Since 2015, we have been supporting pilot projects for the fair public procurement of clothing and textiles. However, we must not stick to individual initiatives – good environmental and social standards should be a matter of course for products purchased with tax resources. That is why federal and state governments need to become more active.” Inquiries should be directed to: Anne Neumann, mobile +49 (0)175 8465560
