under the global agreement (5years) with several countries including: Bangladesh and The Netherlands
how to achieve the themes?
Discrimination and gender
Discrimination is a major cause of unequal treatment of people in the same situation. In the garment and textile industry, women are in a worse position than men, despite the fact that the majority of the workers are women. Discrimination is based not only on gender, but also on other (personal) characteristics such as being a member of an ethnic or other minority group, a religious group or a status conferred by third parties on account of birth, such as a specific caste, which are irrelevant in terms of doing the job.
Discrimination means unequal treatment of people in the same situation. Discrimination is not only based on gender, it is also based on other personal characteristics which are irrelevant in terms of doing the job, such as membership of a caste or religious group.
The Parties’ joint aim is:
- To eradicate discrimination from the production or supply chain;
- To achieve equal rights, opportunities and pay for women, minorities and other
- groups suffering discrimination in the production or supply chain. C. The Parties expect enterprises to take these or equivalent measures:
To take measures to ensure that female employees and other discriminated or disadvantaged groups have the same rights and opportunities as other employees, including equal pay for equal work and opportunities for senior and management positions.
To make agreements about this in supply contracts.
To communicate company policy on discrimination and achieving equal rights in all stages of the production or supply chain, including in local languages and to flexible workers.
To support suppliers in providing information and training on how to prevent and combat discrimination.
To take joint initiatives with other buyers to protect pregnant female employees and promote parental leave and childcare, paid maternity leave, sufficient time and space for the health care function (e.g. breastfeeding and expressing milk) and a return guarantee.
To investigate by random sampling or by consulting local civil-society organisations and/or trade unions whether discrimination has been eradicated and equal rights are being promoted at all stages of the enterprise’s production or supply chain. If this is not the case in a particular enterprise in the production or supply chain, that enterprise must draw up a time-bound plan for improvement. If this plan fails to produce a result, the enterprise participating in the Agreement will impose sanctions, in the worst case resulting in termination of the contract with the supplier concerned.
To collaborate with local trade unions and civil-society organisations with a track record of fighting discrimination.
Child labour
Child labour is deemed to exist when a child (aged under 18) performs work that infringes on his/her right to education, is harmful to the physical and/or mental health of the child and his spiritual, moral or social development and also when work is carried out by children who have not yet reached the minimum age for admission to employment. Child labour is deemed to exist when a child (aged under 18) performs work that infringes on his/her right to education, is harmful to the physical and/or mental health of the child and his/her spiritual, moral or social development. ILO Convention 138 establishes a minimum age of 15. National legislation laying down a higher standard takes precedence. Exceptions to the minimum age of 15 are permitted in countries specified by the ILO where the economic conditions and educational facilities are not sufficiently developed. The ILO has identified these countries at the request of the countries concerned and after consulting representative employer and employee organisations. A child aged between 12 and 14 may perform light paid work, normally for approximately 12-14 hours a week, depending on the legislation. The work must not interfere with education. Neither must it be harmful, otherwise it falls directly within the definition of child labour. The definition of child labour also applies to young people aged between 15 and 17 who perform hazardous work or work in the worst forms of child labour, including slavery and prostitution. ILO Convention 138 sets a minimum age of 14 or 15 or higher if laid down in statutory regulations;
* Working children generally miss out on education or their education suffers as a result of its being combined with work. This deprives them of future prospects and any possibility of breaking out of the cycle of poverty;
*Child labour has declined considerably over the past ten years in the Cut-Make- Trim (CMT) stage of garment production (the first stage) and it is necessary to maintain this trend and to ensure that child labour, including hazardous work for children up to age 18, is eradicated completely;
* Child labour in the garment and textile sector is still common, especially with the outsourcing of (parts of) garment production, integrated “cotton-to-clothing” production plants and upstream in the production or supply chain, such as in spinning mills, weaving mills, dye works and cotton production;
*Children from minorities and other marginalised groups – such as girls, indigenous peoples, Dalits (“outcastes”) and disabled children – are often the most susceptible to child labour and are sometimes not reached effectively or at all by existing programmes;
The Parties’ joint aim is:
*To permanently eradicate child labour in the production or supply chain, ensuring that child labour is not displaced or relocated to other sectors or countries.
*The Parties expect enterprises to take these or equivalent measures: Not to recruit or employ children to perform tasks considered to constitute child labour and to develop an approach to achieve this throughout the production or supply chain as well. To take advantage of the knowledge and experience of relevant organisations and individuals as well as of relevant guidelines and documents, such as the ILO– IOE Child Labour Guidance Tool for Business.
*To develop and apply reliable methods in collaboration with suppliers and stakeholders to verify the age of children during recruitment procedures and to ascertain whether these methods are also actually used in the production or supply chain.
*To gather specific information on (potential) risks of child labour throughout the production or supply chain and, in addition, to collaborate with suppliers to identify risks of child labour at all stages of production and eliminate them.
*To collaborate, either on their own initiative or by joining existing initiatives, with other enterprises, associations inside (and outside) the sector, employer organisations, the communities involved, civil-society organisations (including children's rights organisations), trade unions and public authorities in order to improve (access to) education and help to find permanent solutions to the underlying causes of child labour (not only poverty, but also aspects including social norms, substandard education, insufficient access to basic facilities and lack of legal enforcement).
*To support local, national and international efforts to eradicate child labour, including by means of awareness-raising campaigns and social mobilisation, as well as through other programmes set up in collaboration with local communities, including children, to combat child labour and promote education. Not to use purchasing or other practices to exert pressure on suppliers,contractors or subcontractors which may result in the infringement of children’s rights (including the right to protection from child labour, the right to education and the right to health and development).
*To identify, prevent and reduce dangers for young employees and protect them from work situations which are prohibited for children aged under 18 or which harm their mental or physical development.
*To participate in and provide support for programmes that encourage employment for young people, promote the development of skills and provide occupational training courses for young employees.
*To help to place production within the requirements of the formal economy and avoid informal work situations that pose a serious risk of child labour.
Forced labour Forced labour , also of children, including people trafficking, occurs on a massive scale, with at least 20.9 million victims according to the ILO. Forced labour also occurs in the garment and textile industry, e.g. in spinning mills in India and in the cotton sector in Uzbekistan. Forced labour is defined as all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily. In the context of forced or compulsory labour, the involuntary nature of the work is not necessarily the result of violent coercion, such as violence or the threat of violence, but can also take more subtle forms, e.g. by withholding identity documents or psychological coercion.
The Parties’ joint aim is: To prevent and eradicate forced labour in the production or supply chain.
The Parties expect enterprises to take these or equivalent measures:
- To make agreements in supply contracts on preventing and eradicating forced labour.
- To communicate company policy at all stages of the production or supply chain, including in local languages and to flexible workers.
- To identify where there is a high risk of forced labour by further investigating the production or supply chain and conducting due diligence.
- To investigate by random sampling or by consulting local civil-society organisations and/or trade unions whether forced labour has been eradicated at all stages of the enterprises’ production or supply chain. If this is not the case in a particular enterprise in the production or supply chain, that enterprise must draw up a time-bound plan for improvement. If this plan fails to produce a result, the enterprise participating in the Agreement will impose sanctions, in the worst case resulting in termination of the contract with the supplier concerned.
Freedom of association
Freedom of association means that employees have the right to organise themselves into trade unions and negotiate their terms of employment collectively. Employee representatives are not subject to discrimination and have access to all the necessary workplaces so that they can exercise their representative function. Employers are positive about trade union activities and maintain an open-minded attitude towards the organisational activities of these unions.
Freedom of association involves at least:
- freedom of association;
- the right of employees to organise themselves into trade unions;
- the right to collective bargaining;
- the right to strike.
Freedom of association is vital as the starting point for a meaningful stakeholder dialogue at factory and sector level.
- In production countries, it is extremely important to enter into a dialogue with
- local trade unions to conduct negotiations between suppliers and local trade unions and conclude collective labour agreements to arrive at a balanced assessment of the socio-economic risks and to jointly find permanent solutions to violations in the production or supply chain.
- Freedom of association and the right to negotiate also result in agreed working conditions, such as in the area of occupational health and safety (OHS), outsourcing of work, working hours, pay, non-discrimination and minimum age limits.
The Parties’ joint aim is as follows:
- By 2017, all signatory parties will make freedom of association an explicit part of their company policy, including their production or supply chain. The texts used by the OECD and ILO will form the basis for the above. The Steering Group will ask enterprises to report on this by the end of 2017.
- By 2018, company policy will be communicated at all stages of the production or supply chain, including in local languages and to flexible workers.
- By 2019, it will be ascertained by random sampling or by consulting local civil- society organisations and/or trade unions whether freedom of association has been allowed at all stages of the enterprises’ chain. Where this is not the case, the enterprise concerned must draw up a time-bound plan for improvement, covering a period of one year. If the period has elapsed and no improvement has been made, the supplier concerned will be dropped.
The Parties expect enterprises to take these or equivalent measures:
*To make freedom of association an explicit part of company policy, including the production or supply chain. The following may be part of the policy:
*to encourage permanent and flexible workers to establish employee representation;
*to to promote the local, independent representation of workers (focusing additional attention on underrepresented groups such as women and young employees);
*to promote the safety of these representatives as much as possible;
* to enter into a consultation that is perceived to be timely, constructive and meaningful.
*To communicate company policy at all stages of the production or supply chain, including in local languages and to flexible workers.
*To include a clause in contracts with suppliers to the effect that they must encourage participation in workshops about freedom of association, e.g. by granting a paid day off or by providing an opportunity to attend an on-site training course;
*To investigate by random sampling or by consulting local civil-society organisations and/or trade unions whether freedom of association has been allowed at all stages of the enterprises’ production or supply chain. If this is not the case in a particular enterprise, that enterprise must draw up a time-bound plan for improvement. If this plan fails to produce a result, the enterprise participating in the Agreement will impose sanctions, in the worst case resulting in termination of the contract with the supplier concerned.
Living wage
In production countries, the minimum wage as set by the government is often much lower than a living wage. In other cases, the minimum wage is high enough in theory but not applied or enforced in practice. To earn enough to survive, employees then have to work very long hours, putting their physical and mental health at risk. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) states that everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity. The OECD Guidelines recommend paying a wage that “should be at least adequate to satisfy the basic needs of the workers and their families”. The ILO describes the living wage in its labour standards as follows: “a wage that is sufficient to provide for the basic needs of a family of average size in a particular economy.” This means that a worker can at all events afford meals, rent, healthcare, education, clothes and transport and, at the same time, is able to save. A living wage may therefore differ from one country, region or even city to the next. The amount can be calculated using the Anchor method. SA8000-certified enterprises conform to this method. Another method is the Asia Floor Wage (AFW), The method uses purchasing power parity to estimate what a living wage is for garment workers in various countries across Asia. The Fair Wage Method defines a fair wage on the basis of twelve dimensions, including not only a living and minimum wage but also overtime, contracts, communication and social dialogue.
*Low wages can keep employees trapped in poverty. This increases the risk of child labour and vulnerability to forced labour.
*In addition to the amount of the wage, problems regularly occur, such as failure to pay the wage on time, wage discrimination, unjust deductions or failure to pay the full rate for the hours and overtime worked.
The Parties’ joint aim is as follows: At least a living wage in the production or supply chain by 2020.
The Parties expect enterprises to take these or equivalent measures:
- To participate in living wage pilot projects in the production or supply chain, based on advice and information from stakeholders and available tools (such as the FWF Wage Ladder Tool, Asian Floor Wage, SKC, local trade unions, ISEAL Alliance Wage Indicator and/or the Fair Wage Method used by the Fair Wage Network).
- To communicate the living wage company policy at all stages of the production or supply chain and also in the local languages. To outline their own role as an enterprise/brand in the Code of Conduct and what suppliers can expect of them in this area.
- To make a living wage an explicit part of company policy, including the production or supply chain.
- To make contact with other enterprises that buy from the same suppliers and/or collaborate with relevant trade unions and civil-society organisations to obtain greater leverage for the living wage.
- To ensure there is a living wage for their part of the purchase22. It will be agreed by consulting with the manufacturing company and employee representatives
- They can use the following calculation method: Enterprises calculate the unit price the supplier would have to charge to be able to pay a living wage. This price can be calculated by dividing the actual living wage by the maximum number of items that a worker can produce in the time available. how the surplus can help to close the gap between the going wage and a living wage. In this process, it is essential not to facilitate discrimination.
- To investigate by random sampling or by consulting local civil-society organisations and/or trade unions what wage is paid and whether the concept of a living wage is familiar at all stages of the production or supply chain and to monitor the progress of the pilot projects. If this is not the case in a particular enterprise in the production or supply chain, that enterprise must draw up a time-bound plan for improvement. If this plan fails to produce a result, the enterprise participating in the Agreement will impose sanctions, in the worst case resulting in termination of the contract with the supplier concerned.
- To analyse how purchasing practices help make a living wage possible. The aspects examined, for example, will include the bonus system operated by buyers and their negotiating methods, sampling, their relationship with the supplier, communication and the placing and amending of orders.
- To join forces with suppliers and employee representatives and/or trade unions to look at the options in terms of increasing productivity, order scheduling, volumes, and other purchase practices in order to make greater allowance for wages in the cost price.
- To reach agreements with governments that enterprises will not relocate their production if the minimum wage is revised or other forms of compensation are introduced.
- To join an initiative that provides support in working towards a living wage.
Safety and health in the workplace
Workers, wherever they are in the world, have a right to a safe and healthy workplace. The fact that, too often, this is not the case, especially in less developed countries, is a sad reality. Some of the problems that arise do not specifically relate to the textile and garment sector, but are typical of the stage of development at which a developing country finds itself. For example, some problems relating to safety and health in the workplace are due to the fact that local governments do not have sufficient knowledge and/or capacity to maintain effective supervision of the safety of buildings. Often, this is not down to a lack of appropriate legislation or regulations, but to a lack of compliance, supervision and enforcement. This means that, to solve structural problems concerning this question, collaboration between several parties is required, both “here” and “there”. Moreover, the problem of safety and health in the workplace is interwoven with other (fundamental) issues, such as freedom of association. Experience has now been acquired from the Bangladesh Accord on how to jointly promote safety and health.
The Parties’ joint aim is as follows: For employees to work in healthy conditions and in a safe environment in the production or supply chain.
The Parties expect enterprises to take these or equivalent measures:
To make agreements in supply contracts.
To communicate company policy at all stages of the production or supply chain, including in local languages and to flexible workers.
To investigate by random sampling or by consulting local civil-society organisations and/or trade unions whether safety and health in the workplace has been achieved at all stages of the enterprises’ production or supply chain. If this is not the case in a particular enterprise in the production or supply chain, that enterprise must draw up a time-bound plan for improvement. If this plan fails to produce a result, the enterprise participating in the Agreement will impose sanctions, in the worst case resulting in termination of the contract with the supplier concerned.
To pursue a zero-tolerance policy on sexual and physical violence, exploitation or abuse inside and outside industrial premises, including inspections and measures to be taken when it is suspected that violence, exploitation or abuse is taking place.
Raw materials
A major share of the adverse environmental impact in the textile chain can be attributed to the production of raw materials. For example, cotton production uses large quantities of water, pesticides and fertilisers, wool production emits large quantities of greenhouse gases and synthetic materials are usually manufactured from non-renewable resources. In recent years, much progress has been made towards a more sustainable use of raw materials, both in terms of the use of recycled materials and in terms of materials being cultivated or manufactured in a more sustainable way;
The Dutch textile and garment sector can promote the use of sustainable materials by the way it develops and sources its products;
Because of the imminent exhaustion of natural resources, it is important for the textile and garment sector to look for ways of promoting the recycling and reclaiming of raw materials in the sector. Efforts will be made to create a circular economy in which raw materials can be recycled to the maximum possible extent and the environmental impact is kept to a minimum.
Raw materials can be saved by combating wastage. MVO Nederland is conducting research to ascertain what percentage of garments remains unsold and is destroyed.
The Parties’ joint aim is as follows: To significantly reduce the environmental impact in the production or supply chain and create a circular economy in the garment and textile sector in the long term.
The Parties expect enterprises to take these or equivalent measures: To make agreements in supply contracts to reduce environmental impact, combat wastage and promote re-use.
- The term “raw materials” as used in the Agreement refers to all types of raw materials that can be used in garments, e.g. raw materials of natural, animal and synthetic origin, from primary production or recycled. This can include fibres and other materials (e.g. leather, felt, fur).
- Examples include: cotton grown in accordance with the Better Cotton Initiative; biological cotton; sustainable forms of man-made fibres, such as lyocell, a sustainable form of viscose.
- To acquire knowledge of the environmental impact of different types of fibres and to carry out an analysis of the fibres used in their collections. They can, for example, use the publicly available “environmental benchmark for fibres” or a “material sustainability index”.
- To set objectives or prepare an improvement plan to mitigate the impact of the total collection by using more environmentally friendly raw materials;
- To establish criteria for sustainable use of raw materials and communicate them to suppliers and chain partners;
- To join initiatives that make a direct contribution to reducing the environmental impact of raw materials, such as the Better Cotton Initiative, the Leather Working Group or initiatives to promote (used) textile collection and fibre recovery.
Water pollution and use of chemicals, water and energy
The availability of sufficient clean water is regarded as one of the major problems to be faced in the near future. The large quantities of chemicals used in the dyeing, printing and washing processes to give textiles and garments the appearance and “handfeel” that consumers want are major sources of water pollution in many production countries. In addition, the industry often uses unnecessarily large amounts of energy in the above processes, which are often carried out at high temperature. Local legislation and regulations are regularly circumvented and not enforced. The water pollution and the use of chemicals, water and energy: Environmental pollution in textile clusters has a major adverse impact on the local population, agriculture and other “water users”. Moreover, uncontrolled use of chemicals in the production or supply chain can result in undesired residues in the end product, such as those regulated in REACH. Improvements that result in a more efficient use of water, energy and chemicals are usually profitable, as projects such as the PaCT project in Bangladesh and the Better Mill Initiative in China have shown. On average, this type of investment has a pay-back period of three to five years, depending on the initial situation. However, this does not apply to improvements in essential sewage treatment systems.
The Parties’ joint aim is as follows: To significantly reduce the environmental impact caused by the use and discharge of water, energy and chemicals in the production or supply chain.
The Parties expect enterprises to take these or equivalent measures: To make agreements in supply contracts on the prevention of pollution and inefficient use of raw materials in textile and garment production;
- In those countries which due diligence reveals to be at a high risk of environmental pollution and inefficient use of raw materials, to place additional emphasis on mapping the production or supply chain and building relationships with the stages (upstream in the chain) where textiles/garments undergo dyeing and finishing;
- To actively request information from suppliers on the current situation and jointly identify options for improvement, e.g. by using the Facility Environmental Module of the Higg Index (SAC), or by issuing their own questionnaire;
- To acquire knowledge and implement trial projects to ascertain how a more aware design and product development process can minimise environmental and product safety risks, e.g. by using the PaCT Decision Support Guidance (IFC and Solidaridad), which will become publicly available in the course of 2016.
- To investigate whether existing certification schemes (e.g. Bluesign, Oeko-Tex STEP) and organisations such as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition or the ZDHC Group and collective improvement projects can help to achieve the targets set; To have a specific strategy after five years, building on the projects and activities which have already been completed, for achieving continuous improvement on this subject throughout the production or supply chain.Animal welfare
ANIMAL WELFARE
Materials used in the fashion and textile industry may be of animal origin, such as wool, angora, silk, leather, down, hides and fur. In the EU, animals are considered to be sentient beings, and the Dutch Animals Act [Wet dieren] recognises that animals have an intrinsic value (Section 1.3) and must therefore be treated with respect. In the EU, animals are considered to be sentient beings. The Dutch Animals Act [Wet dieren] states that the intrinsic value of animals must be recognised (Section 1.3) and that animals must be treated with respect. The Act contains rules on the treatment of animals.
In the EU, most animals whose products are used in textiles and garments fall within the scope of Directive 98/58/EC concerning the protection of animals kept for farming purposes, which lays down minimum standards for keeping and handling animals. Other EU regulations and directives also apply (see the list under References), as well as various recommendations of the Council of Europe, including the recommendation on fur farming. Since May 2005, the OIE has established ten animal welfare standards in the Terrestrial Code and four in the Aquatic Code through the World Assembly of OIE Delegates. These standards are in development and are regularly updated to include the most recent scientific findings. They should therefore be included in this process on an ongoing basis.
The Five Freedoms are the standard principles used in the international animal welfare dialogue. These state that animals must be:
- free from thirst, hunger and incorrect feeding by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain good health and vigour;
- free from physical and thermal discomfort by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area;
- free from pain, injury or disease by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment;
- free from fear and chronic stress by ensuring conditions and treatment which
- avoid mental suffering;
- free to express their natural behaviour by providing sufficient space, proper
- facilities and company of the animal's own kind.
- The production of fur is no longer morally acceptable in the Netherlands. This is reflected in the Dutch Act Prohibiting the Keeping of Animals for Fur Production [Wet verbod pelsdierhouderij] which has prohibited the keeping, killing or contracting the killing of furred animals since 15 January 2013, subject to a transitional period ending in 2024.
- High animal welfare standards can improve animal health, increase yield and improve the quality of animal products. In addition, healthy (stable, not over- exploited) populations of wild animals are necessary to enable ecosystems to function at their best and provide society with important ecological services.
- Legislation governing the welfare and treatment of animals in the production countries is often non-existent and, moreover, enforcement and supervision are often inadequate.
- International animal welfare guidelines and frameworks are often insufficient to guarantee animal welfare as part of the ambitions on international responsible business conduct of Dutch enterprises. It is therefore a necessary step to focus specific attention on animal welfare in those ambitions of garment and textile firms.
The Parties’ joint aim is as follows: To prevent, reduce and eradicate animal suffering in the production or supply chain. To provide animal welfare guarantees when products of animal origin are used.
The Parties expect enterprises to take these or equivalent measures: To make agreements in supply contracts relating to the use of animal materials in the production of textiles and garments;
- To screen collections for the use of animal materials with a risk of animal welfare violations and take suitable action to keep this type of material out of the collection or to buy from suppliers with stricter animal welfare standards;
- To join traceability and assurance systems with independent certification that guarantee that the greatest possible care of the animal is taken when animal- based textiles and materials are being produced;
- To join initiatives which discuss alternative husbandry systems with stricter animal welfare standards, breeds or methods of production so as to exchange knowledge and obtain advice on alternative purchasing methods using suppliers with stricter animal welfare standards;
- To ensure that it is clearly and immediately apparent to consumers when purchasing garments and textiles whether or not they contain products of animal origin. In this way, consumers can choose between textiles and garments containing products of animal origin and non-animal alternatives;
- To contact local animal welfare organisations to find out about any malpractices relating to the use of specific types of animal materials and the possibilities for preventing or mitigating these malpractices;
- To research alternatives for garments and textiles containing products of animal origin and incorporate them in their production.
- To reduce waste in the garment and textile sector in accordance with European ambitions to achieve a circular economy, and to ensure that textiles, leather and other products of animal origin are used as efficiently as possible and, where possible, collected and re-used.
- Enterprises no longer use down from live-plucked and/or force-fed geese and ducks and will endeavour to stop using wool from mulesed sheep by 2018. They will implement traceability and assurance systems with independent certification to guarantee this.
