Alliance for sustainable textiles
The alliance for sustainable textiles ( textile alliance for short ) is a multi-stakeholder partnership made up of around 120 companies, associations, non-governmental organizations, trade unions and standard organizations as well as the German government . The actors came together in 2014 to jointly implement improvements along global value chains in the textile industry. Each member undertakes to implement an individual action plan ("roadmap") every year. The roadmaps are checked externally and have been published on the textile alliance's website since 2018. In the following year, the alliance members publish a progress report. This makes it clear which goals you have achieved and what is being worked on. In addition, the alliance members work together in the producing countries. The aim of these alliance initiatives is to ensure secure jobs and fair wages locally and to reduce negative impacts on the environment.
The textile alliance is based on international standards and agreements in its goals and procedures. Essentially, it is about the performance of corporate due diligence , as described by the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights, the Federal Government's National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights and as set out in the recommendations of the OECD for textile and Clothing industry are concretized.
background
The textile alliance was set up on October 16, 2014 by German Development Minister Gerd Müller in response to the collapse of the Rana Plaza textile factory in Bangladesh. In many production countries, social and environmental standards are often not adequately complied with: child labor , inadequate occupational health and safety and building safety , overtime, insufficient wages, restricted right of assembly, inadequate chemical and wastewater management, high resource consumption and a large climate footprint pose threats to workers and the environment .
The alliance cooperates internationally with other initiatives and organizations. There are cooperation agreements with the Dutch Textile Alliance (AGT), the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF), the ZDHC Foundation, SAICM, Textile Exchange (TE) and the Action, Collaboration, Transformation (ACT) initiative.
Members
In the summer of 2019, the alliance had around 120 members - mainly companies and associations, but also non-governmental organizations , trade unions and standard organizations as well as the German federal government (represented by BMZ, BMAS and BMU). Together they cover around half of the German textile market (based on the 100 top-selling textile retail companies in Germany).
aims
Specific alliance goals were developed in thematic working groups and approved by the alliance's steering committee. The social alliance goals relate, among other things, to the implementation of trade union freedom and collective bargaining, the prohibition of forced and child labor, the protection of young workers and the payment of living wages. In the field of natural fibers, principles of social and ecological sustainability and ethical business practices are to be applied. Ecological sustainability includes, for example, the avoidance of dangerous textile chemicals , the introduction of functioning wastewater management systems and wastewater treatment, resource conservation and the reduction of the climate footprint. In cotton cultivation also supply targets were adopted: By 2020, the baumwollbeschaffenden Businesses should relate in alliance total of at least 35 percent sustainable cotton, of which at least 10 percent of the total amount of organic cotton. By 2025, this share is to increase to a total of 70 percent, the organic cotton contained therein to at least 20 percent.
Working method
The working method of the textile alliance is divided into three main areas of activity: individual responsibility , joint commitment and mutual support . It is based on the recommendations of the OECD for the implementation of corporate due diligence in the clothing and shoe industry.
Individual responsibility (review process)
By joining the alliance, all members of the textile alliance have committed to participate in the review process. This means that they submit an action plan, the so-called roadmap, every year, implement it and account for progress. The review process is based on the due diligence approach of the OECD.
The first action plans had to be submitted in 2017. The publication of the roadmaps on the textile alliance's website has been mandatory since 2018, and this has also been the case for the progress reports since 2019.
Joint engagement (alliance initiatives)
As part of their joint commitment, the alliance members want to contribute to solving structural problems in textile value chains. They do this in the form of alliance initiatives. These projects in production countries are intended to improve the framework conditions on site and to involve suppliers and local actors more closely. The initiatives cover topics that can be worked on jointly by several alliance members and stakeholders . Currently (beginning of 2019) three alliance initiatives are in the implementation phase:
- Improvement of working conditions in Tamil Nadu, South India,
- Strengthening sustainable chemicals and environmental management in the textile sector (regional focus: Asia),
- Promotion of living wages
Mutual support
The textile alliance also serves as a common information, learning and exchange platform for the members. All members can share information on an online member platform. In addition, the alliance secretariat supports the work in the alliance with information materials and instruments such as calculation aids for determining the percentage of cotton. Training offers such as workshops or webinars complement the information offered.
Governance
Steering Committee
The most important decision-making body of the alliance is the steering committee. The members of the textile alliance elect representatives from all five groups of actors from among their number: business (companies and associations), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), trade unions, standard organizations and the federal government. The steering committee consists of twelve full members and meets every one to two months. It makes decisions based on the recommendations currently drawn up by experts in seven specialist groups.
Working groups
In working groups / expert groups, experts meet for a limited time, who work on thematic and / or regional issues according to their mandates and report on them to the steering committee. They develop recommendations for the steering committee. There are currently seven such groups, including topics such as living wages, chemical and environmental management, natural and man-made fibers, grievance mechanisms and wastewater standards.
Alliance Secretariat
The alliance secretariat is responsible for the technical and process-accompanying support of the textile alliance and the support of the members and committees. On behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the secretariat is carried out by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
Results
In July 2017, the members of the alliance presented 129 binding roadmaps, 40 of which were published voluntarily. In 2018, the action plans of all 115 reportable members were published. In it, the alliance members committed themselves to a total of more than 1,300 measures.
The publication of progress reports has also been mandatory since 2019. Since the three federal ministries present a joint roadmap on behalf of the federal government and some other members only have observer status, fewer action plans are drawn up than are members of the alliance. The action plans and progress reports are published on the alliance's homepage.
During the German G7 presidency in 2015 , the federal government made assuming responsibility in global supply chains a key issue. In the final declaration, better implementation of environmental, labor and social standards worldwide and support for multi-actor partnerships were set as goals. Such a declaration was also made at the G20 summit in Hamburg in 2017 .
Reactions
At the beginning, the alliance for sustainable textiles was repeatedly criticized, especially by business, as being unrealistic. In the further course, more and more commercial enterprises and associations joined the textile alliance. Stefan Genth, General Manager of the German Trade Association (HDE), described the jointly developed action plan of the alliance as "ambitious".
A representative of the Federal Development Ministry emphasized that the alliance was bringing about very specific improvements in the textile supply chain through the individual objectives of the members. A representative of the environmental organization Greenpeace saw the future of the alliance critically in 2017, as some companies had left the textile alliance in the course of submitting the action plans. In 2017, more than 30 companies, including Real , Trigema and Walbusch, left the alliance. However, despite the high demands on sustainable improvements, almost all of the members with a high turnover remained in the alliance, including Adidas, ALDI North, ALDI South, C&A, Deuter, Edeka, Esprit, Gerry Weber, H&M, Hess Natur, Hugo Boss, KIK, Lidl, Maier Sports, NKD, Orsay, Otto, Primark, Puma, REWE, Schöffel Sport Clothing, Takko Fashion, Tchibo and Vaude.
The textile alliance is repeatedly criticized for the fact that, in addition to pioneers such as Hess Natur or Vaude , companies such as KiK or Primark are also represented as members. Johannes Merck, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at the Otto Group and representative in the steering committee, does not share this criticism. In his opinion, all actors in the textile industry must be involved in the improvement process. This is the only way for the alliance to have the necessary leverage to bring about changes. The accusation that things are progressing too slowly is repeated again and again. The head of CSR at the Otto Group, on the other hand, regards it as a great success that the different expectations and opinions of all members have been brought together and an agreement on sensible criteria has been reached. This prepares the basis for meaningful and effective action plans. For Jürgen Janssen, Head of the Alliance Secretariat, "a multi-stakeholder approach is certainly not the fastest way, but in my opinion the most effective and, above all, the most sustainable."
Web links
- Website of the textile alliance including a list of members
- Gerd Müller : Quality criteria: The textile alliance . In: D + C Development and Cooperation (print), No. 2/2015, February 2015, p. 18.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, BMZ: German Engagement. Retrieved October 6, 2017 .
- ↑ Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, BMZ: G7: Creating Decent Work. Retrieved October 6, 2017 .
- ↑ International cooperation. In: Alliance for Sustainable Textiles. Retrieved on July 22, 2019 (German).
- ↑ Overview of members. In: Alliance for Sustainable Textiles. Retrieved on July 22, 2019 (German).
- ↑ cotton. In: Alliance for Sustainable Textiles. Retrieved on July 22, 2019 (German).
- ↑ The review process. In: Alliance for Sustainable Textiles. Retrieved on July 22, 2019 (German).
- ↑ Alliance Initiatives. In: Alliance for Sustainable Textiles. Retrieved on July 22, 2019 (German).
- ↑ Committees. In: Alliance for Sustainable Textiles. Retrieved on July 22, 2019 (German).
- ↑ For fairness and environmental protection in textile production | Alliance for sustainable textiles. Retrieved October 6, 2017 .
- ^ G7: Final declaration of the G7 2015 at Schloss Elmau. (PDF) Retrieved October 6, 2017 .
- ^ G20: Final declaration of the G20 in Hamburg. (PDF) Retrieved October 6, 2017 .
- ↑ Industry criticizes "Alliance for Sustainable Textiles" . ( yahoo.com [accessed October 6, 2017]).
- ↑ Clothing: Corporations join textile alliance . In: The time . June 2, 2015, ISSN 0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed October 6, 2017]).
- ↑ Georg Weishaupt: Unstable principle - the commitment to a fair supply chain is in danger . Ed .: Handelsblatt. 105980th edition. Düsseldorf 2nd August 2017.
- ^ Textile alliance wobbles Süddeutsche Zeitung of July 23, 2017
- ↑ Textile Industry: Interview with Dr. Johannes Merck, Otto Group . Ed .: Textile Industry.
- ↑ Is fair clothing possible? (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on October 6, 2017 ; accessed on October 6, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
