Codes of Conduct and auditing continue to be the primary methods through which global buyers attempt to uphold labor rights and standards in their supply chains. This form of private regulation was designed and built by global buyers and multi-stakeholder institutions in the global North. Apparel workers in the global South were never consulted in the design and implementation of the codes of conduct that affect their working lives. This begs the questions: “What do apparel workers care about?” “What aspects of codes are most important to them?”
On this edition of Your Call’s One Planet Series, we discuss working conditions and labor rights in the clothing industry. It’s been ten years since 1,134 people died in the Rana Plaza garment factory collapse in Bangladesh. Low wages, harassment in the workplace, and union busting are still widespread in the industry. What has changed since the deadly tragedy?
On 25 April 2023, the JURI committee, leading the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (EU CSDDD) 1 at the European Parliament, adopted a workable position more closely aligned with internationally recognised due diligence standards than the original proposal by the European Commission.
At a discussion on Monday, labour rights activists and trade unionists urged the government to set a new minimum wage for workers, considering high inflation. Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha and the Asia Floor Wage Alliance jointly organised the discussion at the National Press Club.
The EU’s circular economy action plan aims to double the share of recycled materials used in its economy by 2030. The European Environment Agency’s (EEA) assessment, published today, shows that the pace of progress needs speeding up, requiring both more recycling and less overall material use. A second, in-depth report on waste prevention highlights opportunities for stronger and systemic approach for monitoring progress at EU level.
Walk Free’s flagship report, the Global Slavery Index (GSI) provides national estimates of modern slavery for 160 countries.
Sri Lanka’s Government must stay committed to ensuring the country remains in the GSP+ regime if it is to restore its apparel trade and exports to pre-pandemic levels, German investors have warned.
As governments propose regulations to address the environmental and social impacts of the fashion industry and companies consider voluntary reporting of environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) factors, the fashion industry continues to wrestle with a complex reality. The fashion industry cannot avoid the fact that it is operating on a 20th century business model built on production, consumption, and profit while attempting to solve for 21st century-and-beyond sustainability problems that require a foundational paradigm shift.
A total of 200 brands and retailers have now signed the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry since it came into effect on September 1, 2021.
Soil underpins everything – its rich biodiversity and vital function in crop production and carbon storage make it fundamental to life on earth. However, a third of the world’s soils have deteriorated at the hands of erosion and contamination. In this Q&A, we hear from Narjis Ashfaq, Head of Programs at the Sangtani Women Rural Development Organization (SWRDO), in Pakistan, about this important work.
Despite last-minute pushback against key parts of the text, EU lawmakers adopted a common position on the proposed EU rules to make companies accountable for human rights and environmental violations along their value chains, opening the way for negotiations with member states.
A new consortium, Cisutac, wants to remove the barriers that European fashion brands and textile suppliers face on their journey to become circular.
The European Union is cracking down on disposable fashion with mandatory corporate sustainability due diligence legislation that could be finalized by this time next year.
At least one-fifth of Europe’s textile waste could be reworked into new clothing, reports a McKinsey study, which also estimates that a circular economy for textiles could become profitable and create 15,000 new jobs in Europe by 2030.
One out of four garment workers visiting doctors suffers from gastrointestinal problems while 18.5 per cent suffer musculoskeletal and 15 per cent ENT infection and the rest from health complexity, a study revealed on Saturday.
The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which outlines a new strategic partnership with the Apparel Impact Institute (Aii) on an initiative geared towards supporting efforts to accelerate and scale decarbonization programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the entire industry.
New report from Planet Tracker analyses 3,900 companies across the textile supply chain, arguing retailers need to be more actively engaging with suppliers and manufacturers to help them as they work to reduce emissions.
A study report said that training support for women in supervisory roles leads to increased earnings of women by 40 per cent and increased productivity in the readymade garment (RMG) factories in the country.
Asia Injury Prevention Foundation (AIP) is enjoying success with its “Road Safety Policy” projects.
The study, conducted by Drs. Charlotte Goodburn and Soumya Mishra from King’s College London, compares the ‘dormitory labour regime’ in China with two examples from India, the migrant colonies system in the garment sector in North India and the factory hostel system in the electronics manufacturing sector in South India.
Addressing the environmental effect of Pakistan's textile sector necessitates implementing sustainable water management practices, said a senior official.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Climate-Change-convened Fashion Charter today launched the Sustainable Fashion Communication Playbook, a guide for consumer-facing communicators in the global fashion industry to align efforts to sustainability targets, incorporating both environmental and social factors.
For months since March 2022, mass protests engulfed the crisis-stricken Sri Lanka amid food and fuel shortages and skyrocketing inflation.
The 10 billion euros that EU member states have received to stimulate the circular economy have "ended up in the waste bin". The vast majority of the budget was spent on waste management, rather than on innovations to reduce the amount of waste, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) concluded in a study.
As part of a joint project, outdoor equipment manufacturer Globetrotter and the environmental protection foundation Myclimate calculated the greenhouse gas emissions of 40 product groups, such as rucksacks, hiking boots and rain jackets. In addition, they determined the average CO₂ savings achieved by second-hand equipment in the respective product categories.
The Good Fashion Fund (GFF), a Netherlands-based investment fund promoting sustainable practices in the fashion industry, has made its first investment in Bangladesh.
During the 8th edition of the Surat International Textile Expo 2023 (SITEX), India’s first effluent water recycling system for the textile dyeing and processing mills will be launched.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an increasingly important tool in addressing the global issue of textile waste and promoting a circular economy.
The eighth edition of the Fashion Transparency Index ranks 250 of the world’s largest fashion brands and retailers based on their public disclosure of human rights and environmental policies, practices, and impacts, across their operations and supply chains.
Danish companies Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Copenhagen Offshore Partners (COP) have submitted a $1.3 billion investment proposal to the government of Bangladesh to produce 500 megawatts of offshore wind energy.
