Dear Partnership members, dear readers,  

2023 was a year of change: The Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) came into force and alternative reporting was used in the Partnership for the first time. The last year has been defined by the realignment of the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles (PST) and bringing it to life. Despite the high demands placed on the new processes for members and the secretariat, we succeeded in doing this together. Nine new members joined the Textile Partnership in 2023. 28 companies went through the review process. 8755 data from production companies at Tier 1 level were published in aggregated form as part of the increased requirements for members’ supply chain transparency. The Steering Committee was newly elected and was driven to implement the realignment of the Textile Partnership.  

We are particularly proud of the ten out of the eleven Partnership Initiatives that were developed in 2023, thanks in part to the first Call for proposals the PST held. All eleven Partnership Initiatives are now being implemented with different stakeholder groups and are helping to effectively implement the focus topics together. For instance, the Partnership Initiative (PI) Advancing Worker-led Agreements on Gender Justice supports the Dindigul Agreement by extending the agreement to other suppliers in the Indian region of Tamil Nadu. The PI Living Wage Lab is now entering its second phase – this time with concrete measures at supplier companies in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan to strengthen the exercise of workers’ rights, among other things. In addition, the PI Implementing Circularity uses the example of a capsule collection to recreate a concrete textile cycle and prepares brands, factories, sorters and recyclers for the design requirements of the EU textile strategy. The project “Strengthening factory grievance mechanisms in Pakistan” was successfully completed with a total of 25,500 workers participating in training courses on factory grievance mechanisms.  

In 2023, numerous rights holders, trade unions and NGOs as well as suppliers from the Global South also took part in Partnership events. Hearing their perspectives also played a key role in shaping the commitment of Partnership members and the design of Partnership Initiatives. You can read about this and much more in this annual report.  We also have big plans for 2024. We want to actively shape and implement the Partnership Initiatives launched in 2023 with you and our cooperation partners in the partner and production countries. We want to make ambitious progress and go beyond minimum legal requirements, fill gaps, close cycles, compensate for injustices and strengthen rights. We want to join forces with you and show that we can achieve more if we work together and that we can bring about lasting change in the textile landscape. Especially in turbulent times like these, we should do everything we can to assert ourselves as a strong multi-stakeholder initiative and continue to be among the pioneers of sustainability. Make the Textile Partnership your alliance so that it is more than the sum of its parts, its members. The more actively you get involved, the more impact we have and the greater the added value for everyone. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support as members, the good cooperation with the Steering Committee and especially the secretariat team for their excellent work. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to the strategic partners of the Textile Partnership. 

On behalf of the Partnership Secretariat 

Linda Schraml 

Dear members of the Textile Partnership, dear readers, 

International cooperation is facing increasing criticism in Germany. In the political debate, we are hearing more and more demands to scale down Germany’s international efforts to combat poverty, hunger and climate change. There have been attempts to play our national interests and our international cooperation against each other. And there have been attempts to turn public opinion against development policy and international solidarity by systematically spreading disinformation.  

These demands are short-sighted and dangerous. They will not solve any of the problems that we are facing in Germany and worldwide. Quite on the contrary, they will only make them worse. Germany, as a globally connected economic player, cannot afford to take a back seat. And you, as representatives and experts of the German textiles industry, know this better than anyone else. Every day, you experience first hand that we need our partners worldwide if we want to make change happen in a globalised world. That it requires mutual trust and strong partnerships. And that the crises and challenges of our time can only be resolved by working together. 

You, the members of the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles, are leading by example. In refocusing the Partnership and putting even more emphasis on Joint Action you are taking an important step in the right direction. And in taking this step, you are doing what the Due Diligence Act requires. After all, the core element of this Act is not the reporting. It is more about taking targeted action in order to address shortcomings along the supply chain. By working together, you can achieve more than by going it alone. And you are able to deliver measurable social and ecological improvements along the textile supply chain. So that textile workers can make a living from their work and feed their families. So that fashion becomes more circular and environmentally friendly. And so that women, who account for the majority of the workforce in textile manufacturing, do not have to fear violence or discrimination in the workplace.  

The Dindigul Agreement to End Gender-Based Violence and Harassment in India is a good example of how this can be achieved. Women workers in Indian textile factories experience gender-based violence and discrimination on a daily basis. The Dindigul Agreement, a legally binding agreement between international fashion companies, trade unions and suppliers, holds brands and manufacturers accountable for ending such practices. The Agreement envisages training, protection against discrimination and retaliation, and an independent complaints mechanism. The permanent presence of trade union representatives at the factories considerably improves women’s safety in the workplace.  

The Agreement, which was drafted in close collaboration with the women-led Indian trade union TTCU, is an important step towards enforcing a zero-tolerance strategy on gender-based violence. I greatly welcome the Partnership members’ efforts to contribute to establishing further agreements with textile factories that build on the model of the Dindigul Agreement, getting more companies involved and building local capacity for implementation. This will create a safe working environment for even more Indian textile workers and enable them to participate in the economy and claim their rights. 

The Dindigul Agreement underscores the importance and positive impact of solutions that have been developed by local communities. Solutions that build on local structures and are supported by local stakeholders, especially local trade unions. And such solutions and structures, initiated by local workers who want to improve their work environment, deserve every support. I would therefore like to encourage you, the members of the Partnership, to continue on this path and involve local stakeholders – especially textile workers, local trade unions and civil society organisations – even more closely and systematically in the Partnership’s work. This is the only way to achieve effective and sustainable improvements along the entire textile supply chain. 

Thank you for your dedicated work. I look forward to continuing our cooperation. 

Svenja Schulze 

Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development

Implementing the new strategy

Due to the changed regulatory environment, it was decided as part of the realignment to focus the work of the Textile Partnership on the implementation of specific measures along the supply chain in the four focus areas in future. Stakeholders in the production countries are also to be more closely involved.

With the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG), which came into force at the beginning of 2023, companies based and operating in Germany are, for the first time, legally obliged to assume responsibility and comply with human rights and environmental standards along their supply chains. While members were previously required as part of their Partnership membership to identify risks in their supply chains, define targets and report transparently on their progress in implementing their due diligence obligations in the review process, the LkSG makes this mandatory for all German companies with at least 3,000 employees. For this reason, the report to the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) under the LkSG or reporting in accordance with the requirements of Green Button 2.0 have also been recognized as review reports in the review process since this year.

The Partnership’s work in 2023 was based on the three core elements (BE): 1) implementation of due diligence obligations including the recognition of adapted verification options, 2) supply chain transparency and 3) the effective implementation of the four focus topics (Living Wages and Purchasing Practices, Circular Economy and Climate Protection, Gender Equality and Grievance Mechanisms and Remedy).   

The members of the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles elected a new Steering Committee in June 2023

The Steering Committee (SC) is the highest decision-making body of the Partnership and steers the strategic direction of the Partnership at its meetings, among other things. Representatives are elected every two years and it was that time again in 2023. The new election of the central decision-making body resulted in personnel changes in four of the five stakeholder groups. As a result, the steering committee now has more women than men. Two by-elections were also held in August and December 2023 due to the non-acceptance of the election of a representative of the business stakeholder group and a seat that had become vacant due to the insolvency of a member company. The current composition of the Steering Committee can be found on the Textile Partnership website.

The new Steering Committee will continue to drive forward the strategic realignment decided on last year so that the Partnership can continue to lead the way as a pioneering alliance for fair supply chains, even in light of the new legal requirements. In total, the 2023 Steering Committee held three meetings and a two-day conference. At its meetings, the decision-making body primarily dealt with topics related to the implementation of the realignment, e.g. innovations in the review process, transparency in the supply chain, recognition of alternative participation opportunities and the development of a mission statement. 

In 2023, we welcomed nine new members to the Textile Partnership:  Comdu.it Deutschland e.V., TEXAID AG, Martini Sportswear, Eeaser GmbH, Clinotest, Nordlicht, Boer Group, Münz GmbH, RITTEC (advising member) 

At the end of December 2023, the Textile Partnership had 119 members. 

High on the agenda: Supply Chain Act, Grievance Mechanisms and Remedy, Circular Economy and Climate Protection

As in 2022, there was particularly strong interest in events on legal requirements in the textile industry as the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) and regulatory developments at EU level entered into force. Accordingly, the webinar series “Europe’s Green Transition in the Textile Sector”, which was launched in cooperation with the Green Button in September and examined the EU Green Deal and its impact on the textile and clothing sector, attracted several hundred participants. 

The 9th General Assembly took place in November 2023 with the same thematic focus and was attended by 110 participants. Around 140 participants discussed the impact of the new EU legislation on the textile industry at the “Change of Perspective” working meeting in Berlin last April. Other member-specific events, such as those on the implementation of due diligence obligations and the review process, but also on the focus topics of Grievance Mechanisms and Remedy as well as the Circular Economy and Climate Protection, also attracted large numbers of participants. 

“Change of Perspective” working meeting, April 26, 2023

The working meeting in 2023 was held under the theme “Change of Perspective”. Central to the change of perspective was the panel discussion, which focused on how purchasing companies can better take rights holders at suppliers and in production countries into account in their business practices. The panel discussion was rounded off with inputs on the topic of “Worker-led agreements to address workplace related risks and harms – the Dindigul Agreement and the International Accord”.

In the afternoon, Partnership members and interested organizations worked together in workshops and in a World Café, where opportunities for participation in Partnership Initiatives were discussed. You can find more information on the working meeting in this article. 

9th General Meeting, November 8th and 9th 2023

In November, the members of the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles met for their 9th general meeting in Cologne. The exchange was characterized by one topic in particular: the new EU legislation for the textile industry. On the first day of the meeting, Textile Partnership Director Linda Schraml reported on the results of the Partnership’s work in 2023, highlighting in particular the Partnership Initiatives that all Partnership members have been obliged to participate in since 2023.  

The afternoon of the second day was dedicated to joint work on key issues, which were addressed in various workshops. Here, too, the new EU regulations and their implications for the textile industry were a central topic. Individual workshop sessions dealt, for example, with the new biodiversity criteria for standards and purchasing, the handling of post-consumer waste or sustainability criteria in cotton cultivation. You can find more information on the 9th General Assembly in this article. 

In 2023, the Textile Partnership provided its members with ten new or updated guidelines and other support materials. Most of the documents can be downloaded from the Textile Partnership website.  

General 

• Cooperation Rules (EN) 
• Rules of Cooperation (DE) 

Review 

• Step by Step through the Review Process (EN & DE) 

Fibres 

• Factsheet Polyester (DE)
• Factsheet Polyamide (DE)
• Factsheet Elastane (DE)
• Factsheet chemical fibres (DE) 
• Factsheet cellulosic fibres (DE)
• Factsheet acrylic fibres (DE)

Chemical and environmental management 

• Textile wastewater management for markers, retailers and importers (DE) 

The Partnership for Sustainable Textiles kicked off 2023 with its first Call for Proposals. As part of this, members were able to propose specific project proposals for improved social and ecological sustainability in textile production countries. A funding volume of up to €200,000 was available for the implementation of each project. Of the current eleven Partnership Initiatives, three originate from the competition. In total, the Textile Partnership developed ten new Partnership Initiatives together with its members last year – more than have been implemented since the Textile Partnership was founded. This is clear proof that the strategic realignment – stronger implementation in the production countries along four focus topics – is being actively filled with life. Most of these Partnership Initiatives have now been launched or are about to be launched. In addition to the Partnership Initiatives, a Strategy Circle was initiated for each focus topic and key performance indicators (KPIs) were developed in close cooperation with the Partnership members to illustrate the successful implementation of the focus topics.  

Furthermore, the steering committee has decided on three further opportunities for participation in order to give members without their own supply chain in particular the chance to make a meaningful contribution to the Joint Action. 

A total of 83 members are currently involved in the Joint Action. Of these, 66 are involved in Partnership Initiatives, 14 members organize information and learning events and three members implement alternative projects. 

One of the projects launched to promote the payment of living wages is the Living Wage Lab 1.0 (LWL 1.0) Partnership Initiative. This was completed in March 2023. In this first phase, the Partnership Initiative offered the participating Partnership members the opportunity to agree on what a living wage is and how to achieve it. The activities in Lab 1.0 included, among other things:  

• A review of their own purchasing practices 
• A presentation of tools for wage data collection and wage gap calculation 
• Training and education with companies and suppliers  
• Joint idea development by companies and producers for wage-increasing measures 

In the 2022 Annual Report, you can find more information on the first phase of the Living Wage Lab. 

Building on the experiences and approaches from the first phase, various preparatory meetings and discussions took place in the second half of 2023, both in the Strategy Circle and with the Partnership’s companies, to continue the Partnership Initiative as Living Wage Lab 2.0 (LWL 2.0). The aim of the Partnership Initiative LWL 2.0 is to reduce the gap between current wages and the targeted living wages for textile workers in supplier companies of participating Partnership members.  

In addition to the first phase, concrete measures are being implemented with suppliers in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, such as capacity building for workers in the nominated factories to exercise their rights with regard to living wages, as well as measures to strengthen social dialog. At the same time, the participating Partnership companies are working together to develop strategies to close the wage gap and systematically integrate living wages into their purchasing processes. In addition to workshops, regular peer learning exchanges take place. The first kick-off for the Living Wage Lab 2.0 took place in February 2024. 

These members participated in the PI Living Wage Lab 2.0

Brands:
Bierbaum-Proenen, Chaps Merchandising, GREIFF Mode, Hugo Boss,  Hch. Kettelhack, KiK Textilien und Non-Food, Ortovox Sportartikel, Vaude Sport, Waschbär, 3FREUNDE

Civil Society:
INKOTA Netzwerk e.V., Fairtrade DE

Based on the experiences of the pilot project of the same name, the Partnership Initiative (PI) Organic Cotton was launched in India in September 2021. The aim of the PI is to help establish a fair, environmentally friendly and economically viable supply chain for organic cotton and to facilitate access to organic cotton for member companies. To this end, the Partnership Initiative supported 11,363 smallholder farmers in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha and Gujarat in India to switch to organic cotton cultivation in the 2022-2023 season. Accordingly, the smallholders received targeted agricultural training and access to GMO-free organic seed. In total, around 60,000 people have been supported so far, as the families consist of an average of six people. In the first season, almost 16,000 hectares of agricultural land could be farmed more sustainably in this way. In addition, training modules on “decent work” were developed and successfully piloted in the first workshops for multipliers in 2023. 

 In addition, the participating companies support the farmers through purchase agreements and premium payments. In the first year, 6,288 of the 11,363 smallholders supported received a market link and premium payment from the participating companies for the sale of their in-conversion cotton. As a result, their income per hectare increased by 48% compared to conventional cotton producers. The remaining farmers sold their cotton on the open market without paying a premium. As a result, 846 farmers left the project after the first season (2022-2023). This brings the number of farmers supported in the second year down to 10,517 cotton producers. It would therefore be very important for other Partnership members and, in particular, member companies, to participate in order to ensure market access and premium payments for more farmers. If you are interested, please contact the Secretariat. Further information on in-conversion cotton can be found in this article. 

These members participated in the PI Organic Cotton:

Brands:
ALDI Einkauf SE & Co. oHG, ALDI Süd KG, Brands Fashion GmbH, C&A Mode GmbH & Co. KG, Esprit Europe Services GmbH, Formesse GmbH & Co. KG, H&M Group, s.Oliver Bernd Freier GmbH & Co. KG, Tchibo GmbH

Civil Society:
Global Standard gemeinnützige GmbH (GOTS), Fairtrade Germany e.V.

Other cooperation partners: 
Organisation Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA)

Responsible purchasing practices are an effective lever for positively influencing the working conditions of employees in supply chains. Among other things, they can promote living wages for workers and ensure better planning and economic sustainability among suppliers. With this in mind, companies from various multi-stakeholder initiatives, including some companies from the Textile Partnership, are committed to responsible purchasing practices within the Learning and Implementation Community (LIC). The aim of the LIC is to familiarise itself with the five principles and practices of the Common Framework for Responsible Purchasing Practices (CFRPP) and to integrate them into the purchasing practices of the participating members in order to ultimately improve them. Close cooperation between participating companies and their suppliers plays an important role in this.   

Since 2023, participation in the Learning and Implementation Community has been recognized as a Partnership Initiative within the framework of the Joint Action. Last year, the members of the entire Learning and Implementation Community worked on three of the five principles. Specifically, the participants are currently working on Principle 4 ‘Fair Payment Terms’. In addition to the meetings of the entire Learning and Implementation Community, mentoring sessions are held in the individual multi-stakeholder initiatives, including the Partnership members involved in the Community. At these meetings, the content conveyed at the main meetings is discussed again in depth and experiences and challenges are shared in the sense of peer learning, e.g. on planned or first implemented measures.  

 The Partnership Initiative was launched at the end of 2022, so 2023 was primarily characterized by the further development of the companies’ action plans and the exchange between the companies and their suppliers. 

These members participated in the PI Learning and Implementation Community

Brands:
ALDI Einkauf SE & Co. OHG, Kettelhack, KiK, Sympatex Technologies GmbH, Weitblick, Kaya & Kato (Green Button company)

Other cooperation partners: 
MSI Working Group for Responsible Purchasing Practices, GIZ Global Programme “Initiative for Global Solidarity“ 

In March 2023, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned in its sixth assessment report that global warming of 1.5 degrees will be exceeded within the next decade. The OECD guidance for the clothing and footwear sector lists greenhouse gas emissions as one of the sector risks. With the focus topic of Circular Economy and Climate Protection, the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles aims to specifically address the use of resources.

Partnership Initiatives are intended to enable members to jointly achieve a local impact through circular and resource-conserving textile production, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions. After the Partnership members laid the foundations for the Partnership Initiatives in 2022, the year 2023 was dedicated to the development of key performance indicators (KPIs) within the Strategy Circle. The KPIs serve to make the joint transformation process measurable with regard to the reduction of primary raw materials and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. This is to be presented at various levels in the textile supply chain. 

Further information on the

• Focus topic on the Circular Economy and Climate Protection can be found on the PST website.
• Sector risk climate and greenhouse gas emissions
• Support tools for assessing greenhouse gas emissions (Assessment of GHG measuring tools)
• Multilingual eLearning courses on climate action training available on atingi: English, Mandarin, Khmer, Bengali, Vietnamese.

Down and feathers can be recycled and reprocessed between three and five times. How? As filling material for new bedding, and even then, it doesn’t end there. At the end of their life cycle, they can continue to be used as insulation material in the construction industry or even as fertilizer in horticulture and agriculture. 

To ensure that such sustainable use becomes common practice, the Circular Down partnership initiative has set itself the task of making down and feathers usable for as long as possible and keeping them in circulation for longer as filling material for bedding. As part of the project, discarded bedding filled with down and feathers is to be collected in Germany and recycled.  

Longer-term use and the associated lower demand for fresh down and feathers can reduce longer transport routes and thus CO2 emissions overall. However, in order to obtain a holistically sustainable product, all newly obtained down and feathers must also be produced without animal suffering. Particularly in importing countries such as China, reports of a lack of animal welfare continue to emerge. The PI Circular Down is therefore also campaigning for compliance with animal welfare standards in feather production in China. To this end, training materials for employees on Chinese poultry farms are to be produced and auditors trained over the course of the project. 

These members participated in the PI Circular Down

Brands:
Essenza Home, erlich textil

Civily society:
FairWertung

Other cooperation partners: 
BTE Handelsverband Textil, Verband deutscher Federnindustrie e.V. (VDFI), BEVH

A circular textile collection in which the individual relevant product information of garments is visible at a glance for brands, manufacturers, sorters, recyclers and consumers? What sounds like wishful thinking is set to become reality in the Partnership Initiative Implementing Circularity launched in December 2023. 

The Partnership Initiative Implementing Circularity in the Textile Industry (ICT) aims to support German fashion companies and their suppliers in the production countries Pakistan, Bangladesh, China and India in developing both circular designs and a digital product passport.  

To this end, they are advised on the selection of sustainable materials and the impact of their properties and trained in the application of fully circular design criteria. The garments produced as a result will eventually be equipped with a digital product passport. This will provide sorters and recyclers, as well as customers, with all the necessary information on material composition and chemical treatment at the end of the product’s useful life in order to identify the appropriate recycling process. The associated suppliers are also trained on recyclable designs and the requirements of the future eco-design criteria and can thus achieve a competitive advantage. In this way, all stakeholders involved in the textile value chain will be prepared for the implementation of the EU Ecodesign Regulation for sustainable and recyclable textiles.  

Overall, the aim of the Partnership Initiative is to reduce the use of materials, goods destroyed and CO2 emissions within textile supply chains in the medium term.  

These members participated in the PI Implementing Circularity

Brands:
Aldi Süd, Blutsgeschwister, KiK, Otto Group mit Otto und Bon Prix, Snocks, Tchibo, BoerGroup, Texaid

Civil society
FairWertung

It is estimated that the textile industry is responsible for 10% of global CO2 emissions. The majority of emissions are generated in production countries in Asia during fossil energy production and during production in the supply chains. However, this is mostly outside the scope of European brands and manufacturers. It is often not so easy to convert production facilities to renewable energies, either because electricity, heat and energy are not reliably available or because the costs are too high. Last but not least, data on the emissions of the value chain (so-called Scope 3 emissions) is hardly available. As they cannot be directly attributed to any company, there are few incentives and obligations to reduce them.  

As a result, the population in the producing countries is doubly affected by the impact of emissions due to climate change-related extreme weather phenomena and air pollution in the vicinity of textile factories. To counteract this development, the PI Supplier Decarbonization was launched in September 2023 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the textile supply chain in the long term. To this end, employees from around 50 supplier companies of participating partnership members in Bangladesh and Pakistan are trained in Climate Action Trainings (CAT) on the climate impact of textile production. Each company is ultimately required to implement at least three energy-saving measures and set itself long-term reduction targets.  

A total of 150 energy efficiency measures are to be implemented in the production facilities. In addition to these measures, a study is to be carried out as part of the initiative to investigate the health effects of air pollution on the local population. The idea is to develop suitable remedial mechanisms based on the data collected. 

These members participated in the PI Supplier Decarbonization

Brands:
Adler, DELTEX, Gebr. Heinemann, JAKO, KiK, Lidl, Otto Group, Sockswear, Takko, WIBU

Civil society:
BlueSign, Fashion Revolution Germany, NABU, UBA

Other cooperation partners: 
50 production sites, community stakeholders (Karatchi and Dhaka) 

At present, production and consumption in the textile and clothing industry follow a linear economic model, which means that a considerable proportion of products are not recycled at the end of their life but disposed of. The raw materials they contain, and the energy used to produce them remain unused and are lost. It is therefore crucial to start at the product design and development stage. This is because up to 80% of the environmental impact – from the extraction of raw materials to the manufacture and use of products and their disposal – is already predetermined in the development phase.  

This is precisely where the Product Clones I and II pilot project, which was successfully completed in 2023, came in – in the design and potential barriers to the recyclability and circularity of existing products. The participating member companies selected ten of their products, which were examined in collaboration with the Research Institute for Textiles and Clothing at Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences for circularity criteria such as durability, reparability, material and energy efficiency, minimization of problematic substances and the use of renewable raw materials.  

Based on the investigations, solutions were then developed together with the companies. The result: ‘cloned’ products with the same functionality, but with more sustainable materials or designs. A production report was developed for each product, based on which future products will become more sustainable and, above all, more recyclable. 

These members participated in the pilot project Product clones

Product clones I 

Brands:
Vaude Sport GmbH & Co., Dibella b.v., Deuter Sport GmbH, IVY OAK GmbH, NKD Group GmbH, Brands Fashion GmbH, Ortovox Sportartikel GmbH, Hopp KG, Sympatex Technologies GmbH

Product clones II 

Brands:
Hakro, Seidensticker, s.Oliver, Blutsgeschwister

Other cooperation partners:
Research institute for Textile and Clothing – Hochschule Niederrhein

Despite some progress, discrimination, sexual harassment and gender-based violence in the textile sector remain one of the most prevalent sector risks. As part of the focus topic of Gender Equality, Partnership members are therefore working together to create a dignified, safe and healthy working environment. To this end, it is essential that all forms of discrimination and violence against all workers, especially women and other marginalized groups in production countries, based on their gender, gender identity, ethnicity, migration status, disability or other socially constructed characteristics, are eliminated. The focus here is to be increasingly on implementation and impact on the ground.

You can find more information on the focus topic of Gender Equality on the Textile Partnership website. 

Despite widespread awareness of the potential impact of discrimination, sexual harassment or gender-based violence, the actual extent of gender-based discrimination remains difficult to measure. This is due to insufficient and non-transparent data and low reporting rates. The lack of data also makes it difficult for companies to develop effective measures to reduce gender inequality and discrimination.  

To address this data gap, the Partnership Initiative Gender Data Gap was launched in 2023. The aim of the PI is to develop a practically applicable manual with the aim of measuring, managing and improving gender equality in companies. The manual’s objective is to be scalable so that it can ultimately be used across countries and stakeholders. Once this data has been evaluated, suitable measures will be implemented and monitored locally with the production sites as part of the Partnership Initiative in order to counteract gender-specific discrimination and measure the effectiveness of the measures. After the pilot phase in Tunisia, the manual will be made available to the members of the Textile Partnership through capacity building and accesible for their own use. 

These members participated in the PI Gender Data Gap

Brands:
Hess Natur-Textilien GmbH & Co.KG, Gerry Weber International GmbH, Global Standard gemeinnützige GmbH (GOTS)

Civil Society:
Hessnatur Stiftung, FEMNET e.V.

Other cooperation partners: 
Two factories in Tunisia: Denim Manufacture, Manufacturing International Company  

The Advancing Worker-Led Agreements on Gender Justice Partnership Initiative and its participating members have set themselves the goal of ending gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) and intersectional discrimination in textile factories in the Tamil Nadu region of India. Female workers, in particular Dalit women from participating supplier factories of partnership members, are to be given access to functioning and gender-sensitive grievance mechanisms.  

However, access alone is not enough. Garment workers must also feel empowered and safe to report complaints related to gender-based violence and harassment as well as discrimination in a broader sense and have confidence in the effectiveness of the mechanism. To this end, internal complaints committees and factory monitors consisting of employees from the workforce of participating suppliers are to be trained on women’s rights, gender-specific issues relating to employee representation and how to deal with complaints.  

In addition, following the example of the Dindigul Agreement to end gender-based violence, legally binding agreements between local workers’ representatives and fashion companies and their suppliers are to be concluded with interested brands and their suppliers. Discussions between brands, suppliers and workers’ representatives began in 2023. The next step is to negotiate the agreements. In addition, among other activities, training is to be offered for female employees in the garment industry to strengthen their leadership skills and enable them to move up into supervisory positions. 

These members participated in the PI Advancing Worker-Led Agreements on Gender Justice

Brands:
C&A, KiK

Civil society:
FEMNET e.V.

Other cooperation partners:
Society for Labour and Development (SLD), Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA), Global Labour Justice – International Labour Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF) 

Employees in the textile industry who may be exposed to adverse working conditions should have access to effective grievance mechanisms and effective access to remedy and redress. This is not only an elementary component of corporate due diligence, but can also make an important contribution to equal opportunities and the fight against discriminatory structures. This is what the Textile Partnership and its members are committed to. 

In order to achieve this goal, the Partnership aims to address all relevant implementation stages in the design of its Partnership Initiatives: Promoting functioning in-house grievance structures, strengthening cross-company external grievance mechanisms and supporting local contact points. 

Building on the project experiences and successes of recent years, the joint development of the KPIs for the three implementation stages in the newly established Partnership Initiatives has almost been finalized in 2023. Further information on the focus topic of Grievance Mechanisms and Access to Remedy can be found on the Textile Partnership website. 

If complaints cannot be addressed and resolved at local level, complaints mechanisms from purchasing companies or sector and multi-stakeholder initiatives play an important role. This is because they act as a “safety net”.  

Under the LkSG, many companies have been obliged to set up a complaint procedure since January 2023. This must enable the confidential reporting of human rights and environmental violations that may arise in connection with the economic activities of a company and its direct and indirect suppliers. Alternatively, companies can participate in a cross-company approach. The challenge here is the large number of existing and established grievance mechanisms options.  

In order to avoid making the range of grievance mechanisms even broader and more confusing for workers, the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles has been working closely with the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) since April 2021, which already implements an established cross-company mechanism. Through this cooperation, participating Partnership companies have the opportunity to implement the FWF mechanism in their supply chain and thus improve access to effective grievance and redress mechanisms for workers. Furthermore, the cooperation with the FWF is intended to harmonize the many different approaches to grievance mechanisms and remedy. 

The first project phase ended in April 2023 and has been extended to other countries (Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, Turkey, Eastern Europe), companies and production facilities since the second phase. The second project phase of the Partnership Initiative, which has now started, is once again taking place in cooperation with the Fair Wear Foundation and focuses more strongly on supporting rights holders from the production countries. An additional innovation of the second phase is the increased focus on strengthening and supporting workers during the complaints process. This will be implemented with Femnet and two local organizations, CIVIDEP and BCWS in 2024. Further information on the second project phase can be found in the following article. 

A total of 26 factories have been included in the Partnership Initiative so far. This gives around 25,000 workers the opportunity to use the Fair Wear complaints mechanism. 

These members participated in the PI Joint Grievance Mechanism

Brands
Brands Fashion, Cotton’n’more, Karl Dieckhoff, Esprit, Seidensticker

Civil society:
FEMNET e.V.

Other cooperation partners:
Fair Wear Foundation (FWF), Civil Initiatives for Development and Peace-India (CIVIDEP, Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity (BCWS) 

While previous initiatives in the area of complaint mechanisms and access to remedy have primarily focussed on Tier 1 suppliers, the PI Digital Complaint Management and Capacity Building is dedicated to the lack of complaint structures in the deeper supply chain (Tier 2 & Tier 3). The Partnership Initiative was submitted in the Call for proposals by Bierbaum Proenen, CARE, Deltex, deuter, ORTOVOX and Sympatex.   

The deeper supply chain in particular harbours increased risks for factory workers, as Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers can be changed very easily, often without knowledge of the brands. This makes it difficult for brands to implement a comprehensible and sustainable risk analysis and risk minimisation. In addition, many brands have simply not yet sufficiently included their Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers in the analysis of their supply chain, which is due to a lack of knowledge of the suppliers, for example. However, it is precisely this knowledge that is now required by law (LkSG).  

Finally, there are often hardly any providers of grievance mechanisms that go beyond Tier 1 suppliers, can be used by anyone and do not require membership of a provider organization in the respective country. China and Vietnam are two countries where grievance structures in the deeper supply chain are still largely absent. 

Both Chinese and Vietnamese workers and the management of textile factories in the downstream supply chain are to be trained in labor law and decent work as part of training programs and made aware of the benefits and trustworthiness of grievance systems. The aim is to establish a functioning internal complaints system in the respective factories. 

In addition, an externally managed digital grievance system is to be set up as a back-up grievance tool. This is intended to encourage workers and give them the opportunity to submit their complaints anonymously and without reprisals. 

These members participated in the PI Digital Complaint Management and Capacity Building

Brands:
Bierbaum Proenen, CARE, Deltex, deuter, ORTOVOX, Sympatex

Civil society:
CARE

Some workers, but especially refugees in the textile industry, are often doubly disadvantaged in their everyday (professional) lives. On the one hand, they are often not or only partially aware of their rights; on the other hand, refugees in particular, as vulnerable groups, face discriminatory structures in everyday life and at the workplace. 

The Partnership Initiative (PI) Access to Remedy for (Refugee) Workers addresses this challenge by improving the working conditions of workers from the host society and refugees in the Turkish textile and clothing industry in the long term. To this end, the PI aims to inform workers about their rights and improve the use of complaints systems and the effectiveness of the Worker Support Center (WSC) complaints mechanism. 

Over the entire duration of the project, the NGO MUDEM will carry out a total of 300 factory visits to 200 different factories. During these visits, around 3,000 interviews will be conducted with employees, at least 50% of whom will be female workers. In these interviews, the workers will be asked about their experiences and their knowledge of their rights and working conditions (including awareness raising regarding the WSC) will be sharpened. 

These members participated in the PI Access to Remedy for (Refugee) Workers

Brands:
Primark, C&A, NKD, Jfferys, IVY OAK, KiK, textilekonzepte, Puma, adidas, Ceres Clothing 

Other cooperation partners:
MUDEM – Refugee Support Association

Creating transparency about your own supply chain means understanding how supply chains are structured and which players are involved – this includes all supply chains and goes beyond direct contractual relationships. Individual internal transparency (traceability) is a basic prerequisite for the implementation of corporate due diligence obligations. In the Textile Partnership, this is supplemented by the publication of individual supply chain data – so-called external transparency. This is based on the conviction that public access to supply chain data leads to improvements in due diligence processes. This reveals potential for cooperation that can be exploited as part of our Joint Action.  

We are pursuing the path of external transparency together with our strategic partner Open Supply Hub (OSH). OSH is an open source tool that cleanses and standardizes data from production facilities and makes it available free of charge as a public good with the aim of improving human rights and environmental conditions in and around (clothing) factories. 

The publication of the supplier data of Tier 1 suppliers via the aggregated Partnership List was previously voluntary for member companies. As part of the realignment, participation in the supplier list has now become mandatory for all Textile Partnership member companies. In 2023, all companies therefore submitted at least their Tier 1 suppliers to the Partnership Secretariat for the first time. This data was collected, aggregated and transmitted to the OSH. In addition to the infographics, we rate the following data from this process as worth knowing:  

• A total of nine member companies report directly to Open Supply Hub under their company name.  
• Seven member companies provided data beyond Tier 1.  
• Only 3 companies made use of the possible exemption [1] for individual production sites.  

[1] Exceptions to publication are only possible if it would be possible to draw conclusions from a production site to a company.  

The significance of supply chain transparency was already confirmed in the realignment of the Textile Partnership and reaffirmed in 2023 by the newly elected Steering Committee, which decided to extend supply chain transparency to Tier 2 data from 2025. The approach of an aggregated list of anonymous supplier data for all Partnership members therefore remains in place. This aggregated list not only forms a basis for the publication of additional data from the supply chain and thus greater transparency, but has also proven to be a safe space for companies.

The review process took place again in 2023. It is an opportunity for companies to take a detailed look at the risks in their supply chain and the associated due diligence obligations with regard to the impact on business partners, employees, other stakeholders, the environment and the climate. 

The first reports were published on the website on November 15th, 2023. 28 out of 69 companies took part in the review process in 2023. The remaining PST companies Textile Partnership made us of the alternative reporting for the first time in 2023. 13 companies fulfilled their reporting obligations based on the report to the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) under the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) and 20 companies fulfilled their reporting obligations based on the Green Button 2.0 requirements. Seven companies are currently in the onboarding process and one company is pausing its membership. The members of the stakeholder groups NGOs, associations, standard organizations, trade unions, the German government and advisory members also took part in the review process and answered key questions. 

The review reports are available on the website.