Since spring 2020, we have come much closer to a supply chain law. Federal Ministers Heil and Müller have announced that they will present a law. The chancellor and more and more German companies are in favour of this step. However, there is resistance. Minister Altmeier opposes the project in order to protect companies. As part of the Supply Chain Act initiative, we therefore call for joint protest action against this blockade.
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Women and girls are particularly affected by the negative effects of global economies. They are paid less than their male counterparts and experience sexualised violence and harassment in the workplace. In August, the Federal Ministers plan to adopt cornerstones for a supply chain law in the Cabinet. Together with an alliance of 12 human rights and development organisations, we are calling for more gender equality in global supply chains.
FEMNET publishes joint vision for the global textile, apparel, leather and footwear (TGLF) sector with 64 civil society groups.
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On November 24, 2012, a fire broke out in the Tazreen factory in Bangladesh at 6.30 p.m. Of the more than 1000 workers, 600 were still in the factory. There were no escape exits into the open and the windows were barred. Some workers were able to rip the fans out of the window and jump through the gap from a great height into the depths. 125 workers died in the fire, during the jump from above and later as a result, 150 were injured, some seriously.
On November 15, 2019, Amazon published names, addresses, and more details of over 1,000 suppliers on its website. The fact that the world's largest online retailer is taking this important first step clearly shows that the International transparency campaign effect shows. However, the published list is so far difficult to find, not filterable and still too inaccurate to find out which types of products are produced in the listed plants. Included are producers of clothing, electrical appliances and household goods of the Amazon own brand.
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With regard to the textile industry, hardly any topic has caused as much turmoil in recent weeks as the Green button – ‘What does the Green Button bring?’, ‘What is the first state seal for sustainable textiles?’, ‘The Green Button – a first step in the right direction?’ are just a few titles of the numerous media reports devoted to the question of the content and effectiveness of the state metaseal of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
FEMNET has also addressed this question – as part of a symposium for teachers from universities and colleges, we were able to invite four experts to discuss different perspectives on the Green Button on 11 October 2019.
© Initiative Supply Chain Act
The German government must legally oblige German companies to comply with human rights and environmental standards worldwide. This is called for by a broad alliance of 64 civil society organisations, including FEMNET and the CorA Corporate Responsibility Network, on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of the devastating fire disaster at the Ali Enterprises textile factory in Pakistan.
As a new state meta-seal for eco-socially produced clothing, the ‘Green Button’ is intended to give consumers more orientation in the cash jungle in the future. The pilot phase is scheduled to start in September 2019. However, FEMNET and the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) warn against misleading statements.
The label suggests a completely fair and sustainable product through its addition ‘social & ecological – state-certified’. However, it does not cover the entire supply chain, but initially only refers to clothing and wet processes (washing, dyeing). This means that the often bad working conditions, for example in cotton cultivation or in spinning mills, are not checked. However, this is not made clear to consumers.
On the occasion of the World Economic Forum in Davos, more than 150 European non-governmental organisations, including the CorA network, are launching a petition against Investor State Dispute Settlements (ISDS) and for a binding UN agreement on business and human rights (UN-Treaty).
In doing so, they call on the EU and its Member States to withdraw from trade and investment agreements containing special rights of action and to refrain from concluding such agreements with special rights of action in the future. They also call for legal possibilities to hold corporations accountable for human rights violations.
The petition seeks to build pressure on the EU and its Member States to push for a binding UN agreement on business and human rights (Binding Treaty).
Europe-wide petition ‘Protecting human rights – stopping corporate lawsuits’: www.stopisds.org/de
German Value Chain Act to make global supply chains more sustainable
Bangladesh textile factory. Photo: © FEMNET
Bonn. Many German companies benefit from legal loopholes in order to have their goods produced cheaply abroad. To date, they have only been required voluntarily to take action against human rights violations against their suppliers. This should change in the future: According to media information, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has drafted a value chain law, which is to be published soon. Violations should be punishable by imprisonment and fines.
