60 members of the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles have revealed concrete action plans to ensure humane working conditions, greater environmental protection and fair wages in their own companies and in their suppliers’ production facilities. The Partnership — a multi-stakeholder coalition made up of companies, associations, NGOs, trade unions, standards organisations and the Federal German Government, formed in 2014 with the aim of making improvements along the entire textile supply chain —considers this a major step forward, as it means that many members agree on revealing even sensible information for the first time.
116 members have submitted their roadmaps for 2018, 60 of which — from companies including adidas, C&A, Esprit, Hugo Boss, Primark and PUMA to coalitions such as the Better Cotton Initiative and Zero Discharge for Hazardous Chemicals — have been reviewed by external experts regarding their target setting and concrete action steps, and are now publicly available.
The Partnership aims at substantial improvements along the global textile supply chain. Therefore the actions of the members focus on uniform, specified targets — for example, all members have to take action to fight child labor — while many members also set themselves additional, individual targets. The planned action steps — roughly 1,300 in total — relate to issues such as risk management and the handling of complaints, the avoidance of hazardous chemicals, the sustainable use of water resources or the implementation of living wages. In the field of hazardous chemicals this approach led to a gradual exclusion of 160 substances from the production line.
Also, the members jointly aim to increase their use of sustainable and organic cotton to 35 percent by 2020. All members using cotton must contribute to this aim as part of the Partnership.
The members will document target achievement levels in progress reports, which the Partnership shall publish from 2019 onwards. The roadmaps and progress reports have been examined by independent external experts. All examined action plans comply with the current requirements of the Textile Partnership and are published here.
When formulating targets, members follow the principle of corporate due diligence, which also underpins the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights. Also, it makes their actions more transparent for society and politics. The creation of a Roadmap is binding to all members. Next year, the Partnership will require them to report about on achieving their defined targets.
"The mandatory processes and higher levels of transparency are cornerstones for building the credibility of the Partnership," said Jürgen Janssen, Head of the Partnership Secretariat. "Along with constructive, fair and open dealings with one another, they lay a solid foundation for making supply chains fundamentally more sustainable. We build on ambitious progress, on cooperation and on the exchange of knowledge and experience — in the future, we will also liaise more and more with our strategic partners in Europe and across the world."
Meanwhile, on October 5, Fashion for Good will open its Fashion for Good Experience — an interactive, technology-driven museum focusing on sustainable and circular fashion innovation — in Amsterdam. The museum aims to open the hearts and minds of visitors by helping them discover the stories behind their clothes, learn how they can take action and explore how they can have an impact on both an industry and international level. Visitors will learn about the history of good fashion, discover more sustainable products and explore future fashion innovations.
Everything on display will have been thoroughly assessed against Fashion for Good’s sustainability criteria; the organisation sought materials that are cleaner and safer than conventional alternatives and designed for more than one use.
Through a series of interactive exhibits and activations, visitors can discover 50+ innovations on the verge of disrupting the fashion industry. At the center of the Experience is a digitally enabled Good Fashion Journey, through which they can discover and commit to ways to make a difference. At the end, visitors can take home their own personalised Good Fashion Action Plan, a digital guide filled with inspiring tips, as well as ways to implement them into their daily lives.
The museum will also showcase concepts that push the boundaries of good fashion through The Good Shop, which features a carefully curated collection built around an inspiring theme that will change every three months. The first collection is themed “Splash: Rethinking the Role of Water in Fashion” and features pieces from adidas x Parley, Kings of Indigo, ECOALF, Insane in the Rain, Karün and Miss Bay.
The museum will contain interactive activations that let visitors get creative. In the Design Studio, visitors can design their own Cradle to Cradle Certified™ GOLD T-shirt and print it on demand. Featuring live projections and digital design technology, this maker space will be an immersive area for interacting with the main themes of the Experience.
Fashion for Good believes that changing the fashion industry is only possible when both the industry and consumers change. That is why the Experience showcases both sides of the story, looking at innovations within the industry on a supply chain and product level, while empowering visitors with a new outlook on fashion and providing them with tangible actions they can take.
The Fashion for Good Experience is supported by founding partner C&A Foundation and corporate partners adidas, C&A and PVH Corp. The museum was developed in collaboration with Local Projects, a New York-based experience design studio known for its creative use of technology to create immersive spaces such as the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum.
Get the latest insights, trends, and innovations to help position yourself at the forefront of sustainable business leadership—delivered straight to your inbox.
Published Aug 24, 2018 11am EDT / 8am PDT / 4pm BST / 5pm CEST