Femnet e.V.

Textilien werden häufig unter menschenunwürdigen Bedingungen hergestellt. Neben menschenwidrigen Arbeitsbedingungen machen ein enormer Wasserverbrauch, Chemikalien in Flüssen und hohe CO2-Emissionen Textilien auch in ökologischer Hinsicht zu einem höchst kritischen Produkt. Das gemeinsame Projekt #Fair Wear Works von GNF und FEMNET setzt daran an, das Bewusstsein von Führungskräften, Mitarbeiter*innen und Auszubildenden in Unternehmen für die soziale und ökologische Relevanz eines verantwortungsvollen Textileinkaufs zu schärfen.

Um den aktuellen Stand der Beschaffung von Textilien in deutschen Unternehmen zu erfassen, führten GNF und FEMNET im zweiten Halbjahr 2020 eine Umfrage durch. Ziel war es, den Bedarf an Unterstützungsangeboten für Unternehmen festzustellen, um so im Rahmen der weiteren Projektarbeit passende Schulungsmodule und Infomaterialien anbieten zu können. Die Ergebnisse der Unternehmensbefragung zum nachhaltigen Textileinkauf sind in dem Factsheet zusammengestellt. Es zeigt sich, dass zwar die Mehrheit der Unternehmen bereits nachhaltige Textilien einkaufen, dies aber eher sporadisch tun.

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In dieser fachlichen Stellungnahme haben FEMNET und die Christliche Initiative Romero (CIR) den kürzlich erschienenen „Leitfaden der Bundesregierung für eine nachhaltige Textilbeschaffung der Bundesverwaltung“ kommentiert und auf Mängel hingewiesen.

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Textile products have a tremendous ecological footprint at all stages of their lives. As more clothes are produced, consumed, and thrown away than ever before, the current linear, take-make-dispose model followed by the textile industry is putting an enormous pressure on our planet – its resources, environment, and climate.

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the current situation and goes on to explore the policies and standardisation actions needed to advance towards circular textiles, building on the lessons learnt from the implementation of the ecodesign approach in other sectors.

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The RMG industry, which accounts for approximately 80% of Bangladesh’s total exports, is a major contributor to the country’s economic advancement. As the coronavirus12 spread across the world in early 2020 and a lockdown in Bangladesh became inevitable, businesses were forced to respond quickly to the evolving situation. This report seeks to capture the responses of global brands and the subsequent effects on workers in the immediate aftermath. The report is drawn from indepth interviews with international brands, Bangladeshi suppliers, representatives of the international civil society, and Bangladeshi labour activists. It seeks to understand the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and the workers. It proposes changes to policies and practices that can lead to long-term changes that would benefit global retailers, suppliers, and workers.

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The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed and amplified inequities and instabilities within the global garment supply chains feeding United Kingdom (UK), United States (US), Canadian, and European Union (EU) consumer markets. In March 2020, as lockdowns were imposed and consumer demand for clothes plummeted, MNCs cancelled orders and refused to pay for apparel that had already been produced.1 Even as governments made vast public funds available to help them weather disruption and shocks, many MNCs continued to eschew contractual obligations and transfer losses and risks onto their supply chain partners overseas.

The key aims of the research are to:
1) understand and compare whether, to what extent, and how the Covid-19 pandemic is deepening worker vulnerability to forced labour (Ethiopia, Honduras, India, and Myanmar)
2) determine and compare how company and government responses to the pandemic are shaping patterns of inequity within the garment supply chain
3) investigate how governance in global garment supply chains has changed during the pandemic and with what consequences for workers and companies
To explore these questions, the research complied a new primary dataset between September 2020 and April 2021, consisting of:

• Quantitative digital survey of workers in Ethiopia, Honduras, India, and Myanmar
• Interviews with workers in Ethiopia, Honduras, and India
• Expert interviews
• Database of 2020/2021 annual financial statements and sustainability reports and government information about pandemic business financing and assistance and social protection

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