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The garment and footwear sector employs millions of low-skilled workers, many of whom are women and acts as an entry point into the formal economy in many countries. As such, enterprises operating in the sector have the potential to generate growth, employment and skill development through their own operations and sourcing. However, human rights and labour abuses and harm to the environment by enterprises are prevalent throughout the supply chain in this sector. While such impacts are not new to the sector, the characteristics of modern global supply chains–such as stages of the production process spread across diverse countries, short lead times and short-term buyer-supplier relationships- can reduce visibility and control over an enterprise’s supply chain and can create challenges for enterprises to meet their responsibilities. Within this context, the risks of human rights and labour abuses, of environmental damage and integrity risks should be managed throughout the supply chain in order to ensure that the positive impacts of this global industry are maximised.

The purpose of this Guidance is to support a common understanding of due diligence in the garment and footwear sector aligned with the OECD Guidelines. This Guidance provides recommendations for enterprises on how to implement due diligence according to the OECD Guidelines in their own operations and in their supply chains. Due diligence should be ongoing, proactive and reactive and applied with flexibility and should not lead to a “tick the box” approach.

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Despite more than two decades of private voluntary approaches to address workers’ rights abuses in apparel supply chains, workers in the lower production tiers continue to face poor working conditions and chronic violations of their rights. Bangladesh has been emblematic of low wages, poor working conditions, union-avoidance, and a series of mass fatality disasters in garment factories, culminating in the collapse of Rana Plaza in 2013. With the five-year anniversary of the catastrophe approaching, the question arises as to whether the intervening years have seen meaningful gains for workers.

This report finds that gains have been severely limited in regard to wages, overtime hours, and work intensity in part due to the sourcing practices of the brands and retailers that sit at the top of global supply chains. A partial exception is in the area of associational rights, where, in the aftermath of Rana Plaza, pressure from the European Union, the United States, and international organizations resulted in minor pro-union labor reforms. These reforms, combined with the tenacity of workers and their organizing efforts, resulted in an increase in the number of recognized unions. However, in recent years, union growth has once again stagnated, indicating the need for continued international pressure and for an expansion of the capacity of garment sector unions. This report finds one area where gains for workers have been dramatic: building safety. This is largely the result of an unprecedented binding agreement, the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. The Accord, which imposes constraints and obligations on global firms that are absent from traditional voluntary CSR schemes, has overseen a massive program of safety renovations and upgrades.

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Der Index dokumentiert Verletzungen international anerkannter kollektiver Arbeitnehmerrechte durch Regierungen und Arbeitgeber. Seit einigen Jahren enthält dieser "Global Rights Index" auch eine Liste der zehn "schlimmsten Länder für erwerbstätige Menschen". Die Zahl der Länder, in denen Arbeitnehmerinnen und Arbeitnehmer Drohungen und Gewalt ausgesetzt sind, hat sich erneut innerhalb eines Jahres deutlich erhöht. Bereits von 2016 auf 2017 war die Zahl dieser Länder um zehn Prozent gestiegen. Von 2017 auf 2018 stieg sie erneut von 59 Ländern auf 65 Länder an, also innerhalb eines Jahres erneut um mehr als 10 Prozent. Aus dem Globalen Rechtsindex 2018 gehen Beschränkungen der Redefreiheit und von Protesten sowie zunehmend gewaltsame Angriffe auf diejenigen hervor, die für die Arbeitnehmerrechte eintreten. Menschenwürdige Arbeit und demokratische Rechte wurden in nahezu allen Ländern untergraben, während die Ungleichheit weiter wuchs.

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The International Labour Organization (ILO) and its constituents, at the 10thSession of the International Labour Conference (ILC), discussed the need to further assess working conditions deficits as well as governance issues that may hinder the achievement of decent work in global supply chains. Specifically, the Conference asked the ILO to “take a proactive role in generating and making accessible reliable data on decent work in global supply chains” and to “carry out research to better understand how supply chains work in practice and what their impact is on decent work and fundamental rights”. The Inclusive Labour Markets, Labour Relations and Working Conditions branch took action to contribute to fill this gap by carrying out a Global Survey on purchasing practices and working conditions in collaboration with the joint Ethical Trading Initiatives.

This Global Survey is strong in terms of number of workers covered. Since the average number of workers in the surveyed companies was 1,026, the sample covers nearly 1.5 million workers. Finally, this study is able to analyse purchasing practices and working conditions by firm size. We have identified 5 major business practices between the buyers and the suppliers that may influence wages and working conditions: contracts clauses, technical specifications, order placement (and lead times), prices and market power, and requests for social standards. While many of these areas are heavily influenced by the buyers’ policies, we also find that the profile of the suppliers may also play an important role when explaining the working environment and working conditions.

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Mit der vorliegenden Broschüre möchte das Forum Fairer Handel einen Überblick und eine Einschätzung über Initiativen für faire und ökologische Kleidung geben. In Kapitel 2 werden zunächst die Probleme in der Textil- und Bekleidungsindustrie dargelegt. Kapitel 3 beschreibt Siegel und Zeichen, auf die Konsument*innen beim Einkauf von Kleidung achten können und ordnet diese in Bezug auf die Grundsätze des Fairen Handels ein. In Kapitel 4 werden exemplarisch drei Bündnisse und Kampagnen, die sich auf verschiedene Weise für faire und ökologische Kleidung einsetzen, vorgestellt. Die Beispiele zeigen: Es gibt bereits gute Initiativen und Schritte in die richtige Richtung. Doch es bedarf weiterer Veränderungen, um die Situation in der Textilbranche nachhaltig zu verbessern. Dafür sind alle gefragt: Bürger*innen und Konsument*innen, Unternehmen wie auch die Politik.

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