A Who’s Who of Purchasing Practices

by Kim van der Weerd created 2021-11-04T18:42:46+07:00
A quick guide to the key actors and initiatives helping the industry to understand and take action on better purchasing practices.

Learning, Guidance & Standards

  • Better Work (a joint programme of the ILO and IFC) supports brands and other industry stakeholders with e-learning and facilitated courses on purchasing practices, as well as an annual review of brands' progress.  
  • The Sustainable Terms of Trade Initiative, a group of 13 industry associations from nine countries (led by the STAR Network, the International Apparel Federation (IAF) and the Better Buying Institute and supported by GIZ FABRIC), consulted with the industry to produce 12 key recommendations for improved purchasing practices.
  • The Industry We Want, a multi-stakeholder initiative launched to drive industry-wide progress across the garment and footwear sector.
  • The Common Framework for Responsible Purchasing Practices provides an aligned reference document for the garment industry. Several multi-stakeholder initiatives have developed the document and hope that the framework will help to focus attention on the changes needed, as a contribution to improved impact.
  • The Better Buying Institute (BBI) collects anonymous, independent supplier data on brand and retailer purchasing practices. Its flagship survey, The Better Buying Purchasing Practices IndexTM, collects in-depth data on seven key purchasing practices categories, while the shorter Better Buying Partnership IndexTM provides an oversight of the quality of buyer-supplier partnerships. BBI works with more than 30 global brand and retailer subscribers, and also provides e-Learning for brands and retailers, The Five Principles of Responsible PurchasingTM.
  • Transformers Foundation, the unified voice representing the denim industry and its ideas for positive change, put forward Eight Ethical Principles for Jeans & Denim Purchasing to govern brand and retailer behavior.  

Research

Better Buying Institute is a research institute that has long collected data on brands’ performance vis-à-vis purchasing practices, published annually.

Evaluating Purchasing Practices 
Fair Wear Foundation’s Brand Performance Check evaluates its member brands against certain Purchasing Practices.

Advocacy & Campaigns
#PayUpFashion is the follow-up to Remake’s #PayUp campaign and calls for brands and retailers to honor contracts with factories.

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