The negative impact on human rights of what we wear is not always well-known
to the consumer. Our clothing consumption has increased over five times since
the Nineties. At the same time, the business model of certain fashion brands is too often dependent on widespread human
rights and labour rights violations to be profitable, cheap, and fast. The 2013
tragedy of Rana Plaza, where more than 1100 garment workers died, gives us just
a small hint of the true costs of our clothes and footwear. Efforts by
governments to tame the negative effects of transnational supply chains have
proven difficult due to the extreme delocalisation of production, and the difficulty to even be aware of
a company’s last tier of
suppliers in certain developing countries.
However, in recent years, initiatives
have emerged which pivot on business’ due diligence and self-regulation, under a process initiated and
supported by governments, international organisations and NGOs. The approval,
in February 2017, of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply
Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector might induce a transformation in the
way the sector deals with the issue. It is a multi-stakeholder-negotiated
guidance tool specifically designed for enterprises in the garment and footwear
supply chain to implement the due diligence recommendations contained in the
OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the UN Guiding Principles on
Business and Human Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and a
host of ILO Conventions and Recommendations. At the national level, just a few
months earlier, in July 2016, the Sustainable Garment and Textile Sector
Agreement was signed by the Dutch Government, trade unions, several business
and non-governmental organisations. When producing in developing countries, the
signatories commit to cooperate on the prevention of discrimination, child
labour and forced labour, to promote the right to collective bargaining by
independent trade unions, living wages, healthy and safe working conditions, and to
reduce the negative environmental impact of clothing production. Also EU
activity is on the rise: the EU Commission in recent years has initiated a host
of initiatives in the framework of external action, and the European Parliament
has recently approved a motion for a EU flagship initiative on the garment
sector calling on the Commission to table a proposal for mandatory supply chain
regulation.
On 29 June 2017, the T.M.C. Asser Institute organises a roundtable on
sustainability in the garment industry to discuss how better regulation can
tame the negative effects of transnational supply chains. The roundtable brings together experts from international organisations, EU
institutions, the Dutch government, non-governmental organisations, and the
business world. The speakers will discuss the evolution of the regulatory
efforts to curtail human rights violations in global supply chain by means of
the establishment of clear, precise and enforceable commitments for the
business community. They will highlight social, economical, and legal
challenges and opportunities lying ahead for public and private partnerships in
the transnational regulation of business conduct.
Program:
14:30 - 14:45 Opening - Antoine Duval
(Asser Institute)
14:45 - 15:15 Keynote presentation
‘Corporate due diligence in the garment
industry. Which role for the European Union?’ Judith Sargentini, Member of the European Parliament
(GroenLinks)
15:15 – 16:30 Panel
Roundtable - Enrico Partiti (Moderator, Asser Institute)
- Mariëlle van
der Linden (International
CSR Unit Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
- Lodewijk de Waal (Chairman, National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines on Multinational
Enterprises
- Roel Nieuwenkamp (Chair OECD Working Party on Responsible
Business Conduct)
- Sibbe Krol (The Sustainable Trade Initiative)
- Jeroen van Dijken (Vereniging
van Grootwinkelbedrijven in Textiel (VGT)
16:30 – 17:00 Q&A
17:00 Reception
Registration: Registration for this event is mandatory, as a
limited number of seats are available. Please register here.