News & Press Releases - CSR & Supply Chain Law

A Thai worker holds up a sign saying 'Otto - Help us to get our wages back'

"I want to say to OTTO that we have been making clothes for ten years," says Hnin Hnin*, a worker from Myanmar who made clothes for OTTO brands in the Thai Royal Knitting factory. “We have been harmed and feel hopeless, but we want help to get the money we deserve.”

In April 2020, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the management of the Royal Knitting Factory in Thailand dismissed Hnin Hnin and a further 208 employees without notice. More than 90 percent of those affected are women from Myanmar. Their employer unlawfully refused them wages for work done and severance pay. Almost five years later, and despite the Thai court ruling against Royal Knitting, the 209 workers are still waiting for over $1,000,000 in unpaid wages and severance payments.

Category: Unternehmensverantwortung

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Berlin. In the future, large companies in the EU will have to work towards compliance with human rights and environmental standards in their supply chains. Der Rat der Europäischen Union hat die entsprechende Richtlinie, das sogenannte EU-Lieferkettengesetz, heute final beschlossen. This puts an end to months of political tug-of-war, in which the FDP in particular wanted to bring the project down on the German side. EU Member States now have two years to transpose the project into national law. The Federal Government must adapt the existing German Supply Chain Act accordingly.

Category: Lieferkettengesetz

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© FEMNET

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.

Category: Unternehmensverantwortung

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© Pieter van de Boogert

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."

Category: Unternehmensverantwortung

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Titelblatt der Studie 'Behind the Seams'

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.

Behind the seems - Evaluating the effictiveness of grieviance mechanisms for workers in the export garment industry
2023, 70 Pages, 1,2 MB (PDF-Datei)

Category: Bündnis für nachhaltige Textilien

© Initiative Lieferkettengesetz

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.

Category: Lieferkettengesetz

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© Laila Sieber

Major setback for the EU Supply Chain Act: The Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Council (COREPER) today failed to reach a qualified majority in favour of the human rights project. The Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union has announced that it will now enter into negotiations again with the member states and the EU Parliament. Meanwhile, there is great support for the EU Supply Chain Act among the German population: More than two-thirds of people in Germany want the law, as a new representative survey shows.

Category: Lieferkettengesetz

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© Initiative Lieferkettengesetz

Berlin.  The German government will not agree to the compromise on the EU supply chain law negotiated in Brussels under pressure from the FDP and major business associations. This was announced today by Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) to the Reuters news agency. The Supply Chain Act initiative condemns this withdrawal at the last minute. It damages Germany's reputation as a reliable political and economic partner in the EU and shows the low priority of human rights as well as climate and environmental protection for the German government.

Category: Lieferkettengesetz

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