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The article presents changes that took place in the textile and apparel (T&A) industry in Poland in the years 2004–2020. To describe the changes, we adopted the supply chain management perspective, which allowed for a global view of the changes taking place. We discuss the basic characteristics, such as the size and structure of the industry, innovation, production value, and the use of information and communications technology (ICT). In the research, we used the databases of the Central Statistical Office (GUS) on the sold production of the T&A industry, as well as imports and exports. Our research shows that, at the level of basic characteristics, the industry is close

to the European model. However, it is characterized by a smaller share of small companies in the structure of enterprises. The research showed an upward trend in the production of sold textiles and, to a lesser extent, apparel. At the same time, the operation of the Polish T&A industry is influenced by the import of finished products and raw materials from China, Germany, Bangladesh, and Turkey. The export is directed to the German, Czech, Romanian, and Ukrainian markets. The article provides an overview of the development trends in the Polish T&A industry in the broad context of international conditions.

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The garment industry is an important economic growth engine for the Asia-Pacific region. It is also an industry with a rather poor human rights track record. This study seeks to take stock of developments in the global garment industry. It does so by analysing structural market characteristics and pressing human rights issues as well as existing instruments and initiatives. Specific attention is paid to the role of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI) and to development policies in the global North. Analytically, the investigation is guided by the framework of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP). Important input for the study was obtained at a joint workshop held by the German Institute for Human Rights and the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF) in Bangkok in January 2017 at which NHRI representatives from Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, and Thailand shared their expertise on human rights issues in the garment industry and discussed the challenges their NHRIs are facing.

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This study analyses the limiting impact of using a company size threshold in future due diligence and corporate accountability regulation in the Netherlands and the EU. Based on an analysis of the Dutch textiles and garment sector as a whole and the companies participating in the Dutch Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) Agreement on Sustainable Garments and Textiles (AGT), this study finds that any company size threshold would very strongly limit the number of companies covered by future due diligence legislation. If a high company size threshold, as currently applied in the French Duty of Vigilance Law and the German Supply Chain Law, were to be used in future Dutch and EU due diligence regulation, this would mean only a very limited number of companies would have to comply with mandatory due diligence obligations. In contrast, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), just like large enterprises, face severe risks in their value chains and can be directly linked or contribute to human rights violations or environmental damage.

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The report maps key Bangladesh-based leather manufacturers and foreign buying companies. Understanding production trends and exports and knowing relevant actors in the industry is essential to establish links between the leather industries in Bangladesh, the export markets and all actors involved, as well as for demonstrating gaps in traceability and transparency in leather value chains generally. This mapping lists a number of key manufacturers of leather and leather goods as well as a number of key buyers of these products.

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This publication on mandatory human rights due diligence calls for concrete and comprehensive binding regulations which ensure responsible business conduct. It puts the spotlight on brands’ unfair purchasing practices at the root of human rights violations, their reliance on the flawed social auditing system, the lack of occupational safety, gender inequality, poverty wages, persistent attacks freedom of association, the acute lack of value chain transparency and lack of effective remedy in cases of human rights violations which take place on a mass scale.

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