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#WerPasstAuf? Mütter und Kinder in Fabriken - Aktiv in Deutschland #WerPasstAuf? Aktiv in Deutschland

07 July 2025 Petition for the campaign #WerPasstAuf? 14,225 signatures handed over to fashion companies

14,225 people have participated in our campaign for better care of the children of seamstresses! We have now handed over these signatures to the fashion companies. From International Children's Day on 20 June 2018 to World Children's Day on 20 September 2018, together with Cividep, we collected signatures for the protection of children and mothers. The petition was addressed to C&A, Cecil, H&M, Primark and Zalando. Many organizations, initiatives, and individuals supported FEMNET in distributing or publishing photo statements urging fashion brands to act.

Together with many children, we symbolically handed over the 14,225 signatures in Bonn's city centre on 10 October 2018 and once again called on the companies to finally take responsibility for better childcare at suppliers and to comply with existing laws.

Your voice counts - for better protection of mothers and children

Imagine that your children are left to their own devices because there is no one to take care of them. What is unimaginable for most of us is a bitter reality for many women in India. Although Indian employers are legally obliged to offer childcare, it is often not implemented. The result: The young children are home alone for hours, while the mothers work in the clothing factories. They often live with distant grandparents and are separated from their mothers for months. Some mothers in India and Bangladesh told us in tears about how their children drowned in the cabins at home during the monsoon – because no one was there to take care of them.

• Report of the General Gazette Bonn

The companies see improvements exclusively as the responsibility of their local suppliers. From our point of view - and from the point of view of 14,225 supporters - transnational companies cannot hide behind their local suppliers in the exercise of their social responsibility and simply pass the costs on to the weakest links in the chain - mothers and children.

This is why ‘childcare saves lives’ applies!

We therefore require companies to:

• adapt their code of conduct and factory verification documents to ensure that qualified childcare in the factories becomes standard and is also verified;
• name us the contact persons at their suppliers so that our partner organisation in India can contact them directly and invite them to trainings,
• Tell us what steps you have taken to improve the situation by the end of 2018.

That's why we say:
Thank you to all the supporters and signatories!
We're not giving up!
We'll be careful!

For this we urgently need support:

Donate to our campaign work or become FEMNET sponsoring member:

GLS Community Bank eG
IBAN: DE 93 4306 0967 0300 800 800
BIC: GENODEM1GLS
Intended use: FEMNET campaign work

Signature handover #werpasstauf. Photo: © FEMNET

Signature handover #werpasstauf. Photo: © FEMNET

Signature handover #werpasstauf. Photo: © FEMNET