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Low wage women workers are least likely to have access to limited social safety nets, and most earn wages too low to save. As economies contract and millions of workers are fired, older women are among the first to lose their jobs. The unprecedented impacts of COVID-19 are deep and far-reaching, affecting the health and livelihoods of more than 150 million workers in global supply chains and 40 million workers in fast fashion supply chains—a workforce largely made up of women. Government and corporate responses to COVID-19 have exposed vast structural inequalities created by supply chain production models.

This report reviews the gendered impact of COVID-19—and the need for a transformational approach to prevent and end GBVH using guidance from C190*—in the context of Asian fast fashion supply chains which produce primarily consumer apparel and footwear. The report highlights the persistent risk factors for violence that both predate and are exacerbated by COVID-19. It provides detailed guidance for fast fashion lead firms on steps they can take to uphold C190 obligations to address violence on garment supply chains in context of the global public health crisis and the economic shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. While this report focuses on fast fashion supply chains, the guidance for corporate accountability to achieve violence free workplaces provides an important roadmap across global supply chain sectors.

* C190 is the first international labor standard to lay out a gender-inclusive approach to addressing violence in the world of work and measures to end GBVH, including addressing risks associated with discrimination, unequal relationships of power and occupational health and safety

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Dieses Papier des OECD Centre for Responsible Business Conduct gibt einen Überblick über die Herausforderungen der COVID-19-Krise für das unternehmerische Handeln und skizziert erste Reaktionen staatlicher Stellen und Unternehmen. Es beschreibt, inwiefern verantwortungsvolles unternehmerisches Handeln zur Bewältigung der Krise beitragen kann und stellt die möglichen kurz- und langfristigen Vorteile eines solchen Vorgehens heraus.

Ein Kapitel behandelt insbesondere die Auswirkungen der COVID-19 Pandemie auf globale Lieferketten und verdeutlicht dies am Beispiel der Bekleidungsindustrie in Bangladesch.

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This article assesses the impact of the crisis on sourcing operations and spotlights the steps that companies are taking in their immediate response. Then the strategies—and the paradigm shift—that will be necessary to reshape sourcing practices moving forward are pivoted. Two key objectives for this long-term transformation are suggested: a demand-driven supply-chain model and sustainable sourcing. It is emphasized that, for every fashion close collaboration at all levels along the value chain is required.

It was conducted a largescale survey among sourcing executives and a broader group of stakeholders—asking both how companies can respond to the crisis now and how they envision the future of the industry. The survey, conducted between April 14 and April 22, 2020, engaged 116 sourcing executives from fashion retailers and brands predominantly in North America and Western Europe; between them they manage more than $120 billion in sourcing value. Insights from more than 230 other Sourcing Journal subscribers are included, who are stakeholders across the value chain, including suppliers, agents, and academics. The survey was conducted in collaboration with the Sourcing Journal. These sourcing executives and stakeholders make clear that, beyond immediate crisis management, the industry needs to shift towards a more sustainable and demand-centric future.

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Der „Synthese-Bericht: Auswirkungen von COVID-19 auf die Textilindustrie“ (PDF-Datei)stellt auf Grundlage einer systematischen Analyse bestehender Berichte konkrete Handlungsoptionen und Best Practices zusammen. Die Handlungsoptionen zeigen, wie Unternehmen negative Auswirkungen der COVID-19-Krise auf Arbeiter*innen in der Lieferkette vermeiden oder zumindest mildern können und so menschenrechtlichen Sorgfaltspflichten nachkommen.

Mit diesem Bericht will die Zivilgesellschaft im Textilbündnis die Diskussion über Lehren aus der COVID-19-Krise im Textilbündnis weiter anregen und zur Schärfung eines „neuen Normals“ in der textilen Lieferkette beitragen, in dem gute und transparente Geschäftsbeziehungen und nachhaltige Einkaufspraktiken dominieren.

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This research report presents the findings of a survey of 396 garment workers across 158 factories in nine countries, undertaken between August and September 2020. It presents new data about how garment workers’ food security—and linked dynamics of employment status and income—has deteriorated amidst the pandemic. Workers from our sample reported making clothes for over 100 apparel brands and retailers; the brands and retailers that were identified by survey respondents with the most frequency were: adidas, Gap, H&M, Nike, The Children’s Place, PVH, Gildan, Walmart, JCPenney, and Express.

Our data reveal an alarming pattern: garment workers’ declining incomes are leading to widespread hunger among workers and their families, as they are increasingly unable to obtain adequate food and nutrition. These dynamics are a direct result of apparel brands’ responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the long-term trend of low wages for garment workers in brands’ supply chains, which has left workers unprotected.

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