What is the primary purpose of the HREDD Guide?
Sari Puthirith (TAFTAC): The HREDD Guide aims to provide practical guidance to GFT factories in Cambodia regarding HREDD. It is developed with and for the GFT industry to empower factories to develop adequate and credible HREDD processes. The content is tailored to specific risks in the Cambodian GFT sector and encourages factories to build on existing processes to design their own HREDD approach.

Why do you think it was important to develop this guide?
Samuel Schleipman (RBH): The HREDD Guide was created to help suppliers in production countries, specifically GFT producers in Cambodia understand and implement Human Rights & Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD). Tailored for factory management, senior decision-makers, and key personnel in compliance, HR, or operations, it focuses on what HREDD is, why it’s essential, and how to approach it effectively.

Why do you think this guide is particularly important for producers in the textile sector?
Sari Puthirith (TAFTAC): HREDD is a key element of responsible, competitive and resilient business practices. Implementing HREDD can help a company to better deal with human rights and environmental risks in their own operations and their value chains whilst improving their performance, reputation and competitiveness. 

How does the guide address the specific needs and challenges faced by textile producers?
Sari Puthirith (TAFTAC): The content of the Guide is based on the principles outlined in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct. However, instead of replicating existing guidance or presenting a prescriptive step-by-step process, the Guide takes factories on a journey to explore what they have in place, reflect on where they want to get to and what measures they can take to design their own HREDD approach. It includes an overview of helpful tools and resources that can support factories in implementing HREDD. Besides, the content is underpinned by practical exercises and examples from the ground in Cambodia which emphasize that there is no one-size-fits all approach to HREDD.

How can the HREDD Guide be used in capacity building efforts such as training sessions or workshops?
Samuel Schleipman (RBH): The great thing about the HREDD Guide is that it is practical, targeted, and provides real step-by-step instructions on how garment factories or any business can examine their own risks and existing efforts on HREDD. It’s not a prescriptive, one-size-fits-all guide. Instead, it enables companies to assess their strengths and weaknesses and, after identifying those weaknesses, walks them through the process of mitigating and minimizing risks while creating a tailored plan based on their needs.

That’s what makes it great—it’s customizable. Each factory starts from a different place, whether focusing on social achievements, occupational health and safety, or environmental issues. The guide is process-focused and adaptable, building on what already exists rather than starting from scratch. It’s not a rigid instruction manual but a flexible tool tailored to each factory’s unique circumstances.

This customizable characteristic is what also allows to use the Guide flexibly in trainings or workshops. It has become an integral part of our existing HREDD training that we have developed jointly with the Cambodian Garment Training Institute (CGTI).

Do you think the guide succeeds in shifting the focus from a brand or buyer-centric perspective to a producer-oriented approach? Why is this shift important?
Sari Puthirith (TAFTAC): Yes, in my opinion that shift is successful. This shift is crucial because it empowers producers to take ownership of their HREDD journey. By focusing on their own internal processes, identifying risks, and implementing solutions, producers can build long-term sustainability and improve working conditions, rather than simply reacting to external pressures. This proactive approach strengthens their position in the supply chain and fosters a more genuine commitment to sustainable business practices.

How do you think the guide helps producers overcome initial challenges or resistance in adopting HREDD practices?
Samuel Schleipman (RBH): The guide helps producers overcome skepticism or inertia by encouraging them to start where they are, building on existing experiences, policies, and procedures. It boils down the complex theoretic concept of HREDD into core principles that are relevant for suppliers and promotes a mindset shift, presenting HREDD as an opportunity to mitigate risks, leverage strengths, and enhance what’s already in place.

How does TAFTAC see the HREDD Guide benefiting its member companies? 
Sari Puthirith (TAFTAC): TAFTAC believes that the HREDD Guide provides a significant positive impact for our member factories by providing them with the knowledge and tools to effectively implement HREDD. It helps them understand their responsibilities, identify and mitigate risks, and improve their overall performance. By adopting a proactive approach to HREDD, factories can enhance their reputation, strengthen their relationships with buyers and employees, and ultimately contribute to a more sustainable and ethical garment sector in Cambodia.

HREDD regulations are constantly evolving. How can this guide remain relevant and useful for producers in the face of these changes? 
Samuel Schleipman (RBH): The guide is broad enough to apply to frameworks like the German Supply Chain Act and EU laws without being specific to them. By taking good faith steps to improve human rights, worker welfare, and environmental impact using the guide, your actions will align the HREDD principles which form the basis of any legal framework in the field of HREDD. While minor adjustments might be needed, if you're monitoring risks and reporting properly, adapting will be straightforward. The guide teaches you the foundation—like building a house; you might have to paint the door in different color, but the structure is already there.

The guide doesn’t reinvent the wheel or introduce new concepts. What’s new is the way it communicates and presents the topic, using clear and accessible language. This fresh approach helps make it more engaging and practical.

What specific actions will TAFTAC take to promote the use of the HREDD Guide among its members?
Sari Puthirith (TAFTAC): TAFTAC has supported the development of the guide as such, including its translation into Khmer and Mandarin to make it more accessible for local factory management. We have disseminated physical and online books to our members and presented and advertised it during numerous events, including the launch event aimed at our member factories. Besides, the Guide has been included in relevant training courses of CGTI and RBH. We aim to further disseminate the Guide during future events and generally spread awareness of the importance of HREDD for GFT factories in Cambodia.

What kind of strategies or approaches would you recommend ensuring that the guide reaches as many producers as possible?
Samuel Schleipman (RBH): It’s crucial for the guide to be shared, highlighted, and endorsed by high-level trade producer organizations such as TAFTAC. We’ve already done this with TAFTAC. Industry advocates and insiders are key supporters, as their endorsement carries weight with manufacturers. Fashion brands should also actively promote the guide, with support from training institutes to ensure its effective implementation.

Do you have one key message you want to convey to potential users of the HREDD Guide?
Sari Puthirith (TAFTAC): HREDD is a good and necessary investment in your business. The Guide helps ensure a strategic and continuous approach to implementing HREDD in your organization – first understand what processes directed at people and environment are already in place, then build on them to close gaps. Be open and transparent in this process – all your stakeholders will appreciate honesty, even if it means talking about problems. 

Samuel Schleipman (RBH): HREDD is an investment in yourself or your company. Done right, sustainability, human rights, and due diligence should save money in the long term. It future proofs your business, attracts international customers, sets you apart from competitors, and allows you to do good while doing well.

Editor’s Note: The HREDD Guide was created through a collaboration between TAFTAC, Sustainable Links, the Business & Human Rights Law Group, and RBH Cambodia, with support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) via Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH’s FABRIC Cambodia project. To learn more about the HREDD Guide, click here or access it directly here.

Sari Puthirith, attorney at law, is a Senior Officer – Legal & Business in the Legal and Business Department at the Textile, Apparel, Footwear & Travel Goods Association in Cambodia (TAFTAC), specializing in labor, employment compliance, and commercial contract matters. With 10 years of experience in Cambodia's Labor and Commercial Law, he contributed to and reviewed many draft laws and regulations related to the Labor sector as the Employer's representative (TAFTAC).