SDG 1 – Keine Armut

More than 780 million people live below the poverty line worldwide. Unfortunately, employment does not always prevent poverty. Almost ten per cent of the people who work have less than 1.90 US Dollar per day at their disposal — not enough to sustain themselves and their families or to offer their children a proper education. In the textile industry, many people work for wages that hardly support a living.

No enterprise, trade union, or government can solve this problem on its own. To transform the current wages being paid within the textile sector into living wages, all actors must work together and ensure that workers have the opportunity to assemble and to negotiate a reasonable income. At the same time, corruption and exploitation must be prevented. All members of the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles must - among other binding requirements - implement concrete measures or participate in a Partnership Initiative that aims at the payment of living wages for workers in the production countries. The German Federal Government, associations, non-governmental organisations, and trade unions are encouraged to address these goals in political discussions.

In addition, some members are involved in the Partnership Initiative on Living Wages, including representatives of companies and trade unions, civil society and the German Federal Government. Together, they want to develop scalable solutions to increase wages together with their suppliers.