Living Wages and Purchasing Practices
Living wages are often not paid in the textile industry's production countries, even if minimum wages set by law are respected. A living wage is a “wage level that is necessary to afford a decent standard of living for workers and their families, taking into account the country circumstances and calculated for the work performed during the normal hours of work” (ILO).
Reference framework
a) Common Framework for Responsible Purchasing Practices (CFRPP)
The Partnership for Sustainable Textiles and its members strive for responsible purchasing practices and the payment of living wages in the supply chain in accordance with the Common Framework for Responsible Purchasing Practices (CFRPP). Based on five principles, the CFRPP defines responsible purchasing practices and backs them up with concrete practices that enable effective and collaborative cooperation between purchasing companies and their manufacturers, and support (furthermore,) the payment of living wages in the respective factories. For the Partnership, the framework serves as an official point of reference for responsible purchasing practices. It is taken into account in the design of purchasing processes and successively implemented.
b) List of recognized reference values
The Fair Wear Foundation (FWF, strategic partner organization of the Textile Partnership) has compiled and regularly updates a list of living wages estimates in individual countries and regions. The Textile Partnership recommends that its member companies use this list – or the Partnership’s list based on FWF’s recommendations – to calculate the wage gap that exists between the actual wage and a living wage. Beyond simply analysing the current wage situation in the supply chain, Partnership members are expected to take measures to close wage gaps.
Our projects on this focus topic
Individual commitments
The objective of paying living wages and optimising responsible purchasing practices in accordance with the CFRPP should be individually and bindingly defined by the member companies. A corresponding policy, including a rough description of target-oriented processes and measures, is publicly available and regularly updated.
