This year's Annual General Meeting of Zalando in mid-May provided an opportunity for a critical examination of the company by FEMNET and the umbrella organization of critical shareholders. The focus of the discussion was on the sustainability and social justice of the online mail order company.
Clothing swap events are more popular than ever and have been a central topic in the FEMNET education sector in recent weeks and months. We look back on many successful events and a variety of exchanged garments!
Joint press release from FEMNET, the Clean Clothes Campaign and the Association of Critical Shareholders
Bonn, Cologne, Berlin – On the occasion of Hugo Boss’s upcoming annual general meeting on 14 May 2024, FEMNET, the Campaign for Clean Clothes (CCC) and the umbrella organisation of Critical Shareholders criticise the unilateral sustainability strategy and question whether Hugo Boss complies with its due diligence obligations under the German Supply Chain Act.
Networking, learning from each other and working together for fair fashion is the aim of the fashion interACTION network. In order to get one step closer to this goal, we decided on 5 May 2024 to fashion interACTION action camp in Cologne hit. More than 20 activists from academia and civil society have come together to network and jointly develop ideas for action for a socially just clothing industry.
Press release of the Clean Clothes Campaign 22.04.2024
Wednesday, April 24, 2024, marks the 11th anniversary of the worst tragedy in the fashion industry: the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which killed 1,138 people. On this occasion, Artemisa Ljarja from the Campaign for Clean Clothes Germany draws the following conclusion: "Although unprecedented progress has been made in improving safety in factories since then, the brutal crackdown on the protests for the increase in the minimum wage shows that fashion brands producing in Bangladesh still do not ensure that basic rights are respected in their supply chains."
On 17 April 2024, the first clothes exchange took place at the Realschule Bobingen (RSB). More and more people are interested in sustainable consumption. Clothes exchanges offer an environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative to shopping. One student reported.
With its latest study, our partner organisation Cividep offers a comprehensive insight into the challenges and solutions of grievance mechanisms in the Indian garment industry. The focus is particularly on the role that multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) such as the Textiles Partnership can play in effectively supporting local mechanisms. In addition to the presentation of the numerous existing, but mostly non-functioning complaint options, as well as an overview of existing "back-up" approaches, the study therefore also formulates demands and recommendations for all stakeholders of an MSI.
At the beginning of December 2023, FEMNET was part of a delegation trip to India. The trip was dominated by important topics such as gender equality, rights holders and workers' rights in the textile industry. This mission was carried out as part of the German government's sector project on 'Social and Ecological Transformation of Textile Supply Chains', which is responsible for the Green Button, the Siegelklarheit initiative and the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles.
Clothes Radio presenters Amelie and Anna took to the microphone for a very special episode in the Clothes Podcast and went to FEMNET in Bonn.
They speak on site with the two trade unionists Tithi Afrin and Md. Shahinur Rahman from Bangladesh on "11 years after Rana Plaza" and the current situation on the ground:
Bonn. Over a decade ago, in April 2013, the devastating collapse of the Rana Plaza building occurred with over 1000 fatalities, revealing the urgent need for improved safety measures in the garment industry. Since then, significant progress has been made through the Accord safety agreement, but accidents at work remain a sad reality.
On 12 March 2024, Prof. Dr. Katrina Sark from the University of Southern Denmark visited fashion interACTION. In her presentation, she not only explained her concept of a decolonial sustainabilityIt also showed how decolonial-sustainable processes can provide solutions to the textile industry's biggest problems.
Berlin. A greatly weakened version of the EU Supply Chain Act has cleared the central hurdle: The Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Council of the European Union (COREPER) today voted in favour of the important human rights project. This means that the directive can be adopted before the European elections in June. For weeks and until the end, the FDP had tried to bring down the law. The EU had actually already found a compromise in the trilogue procedure in December 2023. With a further compromise proposal that has been greatly undermined, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union today succeeded in securing a qualified majority of member states for the EU Supply Chain Act. FDP Justice Minister Buschmann also rejected this compromise proposal, which is why Germany abstained from the vote.