On 14th and 15th of May, around 125 participants came together for the 11th Members' Meeting in Berlin - an event full of impetus, dialogue and practice-oriented discussions on key challenges and progress in the sustainable textile sector. With a diverse programme, the meeting offered room for exchange between politics, business and civil society.
The event was opened by Gina Burgard, Head of the Partnership Secretariat, with a review of the past year and a look at the future of the Partnership.
“Looking ahead to the coming year, we see many important development opportunities for the Partnership. The political and economic framework conditions have changed significantly in recent years. This entails a number of challenges, as well as the opportunity to further develop our work strategically. This year, we will be setting the course for some important decisions regarding the future of the Partnership. The increased inclusion of the rights holders’ perspective in our work plays an important role in this.
We as the Partnership Secretariat are highly motivated to pursue this path together with our members and to actively shape the future of the Partnership together. Let’s join forces to come closer to our shared vision: a social, ecological and corruption-free textile and clothing industry.”
Afterwards, the participants had the opportunity to ask questions directly to the steering committee as part of a Q&A session. The decision body was represented by Paul Garaycochea, Isabelle Ilori-King, Berndt Hinzmann and Claudia Kersten. Following on from this, the various stakeholder groups exchanged views in small discussion rounds.
The lively and informative exchange in the afternoon focused on current regulatory changes and the resulting challenges and opportunities for the further development of existing approaches. The importance of joint initiatives on the ground and the strength of the Partnership as an MSI for joining forces and anchoring due diligence obligations were also emphasised.
Political impulses at the start
The second day of the Members’ Meeting started with a special political highlight: in an open forum, participants had the opportunity to enter into a direct dialogue with Dr. Bärbel Kofler, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). One focus of the exchange was on the debate surrounding legal requirements and regulations such as the German Supply Chain Act and the EU Supply Chain Directive (CSDDD). The role that multi-stakeholder initiatives can play in the future in overcoming the current challenges in this complex environment was also discussed.
‘We continue to fight for clear regulations on supply chains and support all those who put forward good ideas to ensure that our German Supply Chain Act remains an effective law. I know that many companies are already far ahead. It is important to utilise this. The BMZ will work together with the BMAS in favour of effective regulations, but this is a challenging political process and we need you for this,’ PStS’in Kofler appealed to the members.
She also emphasised the importance of the smart mix and made it clear that current standards must not be lowered as they have a concrete impact and make a difference for workers on the ground. In the current discourse surrounding regulations, it is also particularly important to realise that there is a crucial difference between deregulation that should be avoided and the desired reduction in bureaucracy.
The dialogue was followed by a keynote speech by Delara Burkhardt, Member of the European Parliament, who joined in virtually and provided further exciting political impetus. On the one hand, she emphasised that the ongoing simplification of the omnibus poses the risk of dismantling important aspects of sustainability legislation. In addition, she stated that CSDDD must remain intact as any argument against it could also be seen as an argument against the principle of due diligence.
In-depth thematic discussions in sessions and round tables
The rest of the day was dedicated to in-depth dialogue. Members and stakeholders discussed practical experiences in varied, thematically focused sessions:
- Due diligence & biodiversity: how can corporate due diligence be combined with biodiversity management? (Organised by Global Nature Fund, OEKO-TEX & Seidensticker)
- Strengthening labour relations in supply chains: Approaches to combining purchasing practices with collective bargaining for higher wages. (Organised by Tchibo & ACT – Action, Collaboration, Transformation)
- Increasing the effectiveness of grievance mechanisms through meaningful stakeholder engagement: Insights and discussion based on a study of existing grievance mechanisms in India (Organised by INKOTA-network, Cividep India & Society for Labour and Development India)
- PFAS in textiles: Discussion on challenges and solutions in dealing with environmentally harmful chemicals. (Organised by Hohenstein Institute, VAUDE, Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC), OEKO TEX & HEJSupport)
- Responsible Contracting Principles & Practice: Sharing experiences from working on contracts with the textile sector (Organised by the Responsible Contracting Project (RCP))
- The implementation of Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement in the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles. (Organised by the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles (PST), Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) & Syspons)
- Circular economy: Insights into the European Ecodesign Regulation and its potential requirements for textiles. (Organised by Öko-Institut)
- The living income gap of smallholder cotton farmers in India and Cameroun. What can be done to overcome this gap? (Organised by Better Cotton Initiative (BCI))
The four focus topics of the Partnership – living wages and purchasing practices, environmental protection, gender equality and grievance mechanisms and remedy – were also explored in greater depth in round tables.
Another highlight was the marketplace where our partner organisations amfori, Fair Labor Association, Fair Wear Foundation, Green Button, MaxTex, Open Supply Hub and STS2030 presented themselves. Participants were able to learn about current projects, tools and opportunities for cooperation in personal discussions.
Conclusion and outlook
Paul Garaycochea (BMZ) closed the meeting. The consistently committed and open dialogue between all participants showed once again that sustainable change can only be achieved through cooperation between all stakeholders along the entire supply chain.
