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.