We make things work....2017/08/31 · des hommes Deutschland e.V., Tchibo, KiK, Otto, the German...

IMPLEMENTATION

CLARIFICATION OF FINANCING ARRANGEMENTS

PARTNERSHIP STANDARDS

PRINCIPLES

FACT-FIND

ING

MISSIO

N

CRITERIA

PLANNING

BES

T PR

ACT

ICES

STEERING

IMPLEMENTATION REQUIREMENTS

COO

PERATIO

N

IMPLEMENTATION

STRUCTURE

STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

We make things work.Principles for developing and conducting Partnership Initiatives

Imprint

Publisher

Partnership for Sustainable Textiles

c/o Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 36

53113 Bonn, Germany

T +49 228 4460 3360

E [email protected]

I www.textilbuendnis.com

Author and editors

Partnership Secretariat/Magnus Schmid & Jürgen Janssen

netzhammer & breiholz, Hamburg

Design

Design: creative republic, Frankfurt

Typesetting: Sandra Winter, W4 Büro für Gestaltung, Frankfurt

Photo credits

© Pages 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 15, 16, 17: Partnership for Sustainable Textiles/Magnus Schmid

© Pages 8/9, 16/17, 19, 20/21, 22: shutterstock

© 0: Dr Jürgen Janssen

© Page 21: Partnership for Sustainable Textiles/T. Ecke

As of

July 2017

URL links

This publication contains links to external websites. Responsibility for the content of the listed

external sites always lies with their respective publishers. When the links to these sites were first

posted, Partnership for Sustainable Textiles checked the third-party content to establish whether

it could give rise to civil or criminal liability. However, the constant review of the links to external

sites cannot reasonably be expected without concrete indication of a violation of rights. If Partner-

ship for Sustainable Textiles itself becomes aware or is notified by a third party that an external

site it has provided a link to gives rise to civil or criminal liability, it will remove the link to this site

immediately. Partnership for Sustainable Textiles expressly dissociates itself from such content.

Partnership for Sustainable Textiles ............................................................................................................................. 5

The purpose of Partnership Initiatives ......................................................................................................................... 6

Five steps to a Partnership Initiative ............................................................................................................................ 7

Planning and implementation process ........................................................................................................................ 11

Criteria for Partnership Initiatives ............................................................................................................................... 12

Implementation process ............................................................................................................................................... 13

Evaluation process ........................................................................................................................................................14

Interview with textiles worker Vimale Mary ................................................................................................................16

Financing and help desk ...............................................................................................................................................18

Interview with Dr Jürgen Janssen ................................................................................................................................ 20

Partnership glossary .................................................................................................................................................... 23

Proposal for Partnership Initiative .............................................................................................................................. 29

Contents

Content


The 2013 Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh was the worst accident in the history

of the textile and clothing industry. The nine-storey building, home to five textile

factories, collapsed as a result of construction defects and unauthorised building plans,

claiming the lives of 1,137 workers. Unfortunately, Rana Plaza is not an isolated case.

Hundreds more workers have died in other accidents including factory fires in

Bangladesh and Pakistan. Shortcomings in social and environmental standards are very

common in many places. Child labour, a lack of fire escape routes and fire extinguishers,

inadequate occupational health and safety arrangements, excessive working hours,

disproportionately low wages, the absence of the right for trade unions to meet, and a

lack of chemical/waste management and waste water treatment plants continue to pose

a serious danger to life and limb for workers while also creating environmental problems.

For these reasons, the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles was set up in October 2014

on the initiative of German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development

Dr Gerd Müller. Its members, including associations, companies, trade unions, non-

governmental organisations, standards organisations and the German Government,

work together to bring about improvements at production facilities and along the

entire supply chain. Textiles Partnership members have defined common goals and

requirements which they pursue by means of individual roadmaps. They use Partner-

ship Initiatives to effect broad-based improvements to the structures and processes

of local factories in the producer countries.

Middle: Around four

million workers are

employed in Bangladesh’s

textile and clothing sector.

Right: Parliamentary

State Secretary

Hans-Joachim Fuchtel

during a visit to a waste

water treatment plant

of a textile factory in

Bangladesh.

Left: Site of the collapse

of the formerly nine-

storey Rana Plaza building

in Bangladesh.

5Partnership for Sustainable Textiles

Partnership Initiatives (PI) are broad-based measures by multiple members of the

Textiles Partnership in support of its goals. They are intended to improve conditions

on the ground in the producer countries while involving suppliers and local stake-

holders such as trade unions and non-governmental organisations in the process.

PI are designed by Partnership members and their international and local partners.

According to the criteria for initiatives, they must pass an accreditation process

to obtain legitimation from the Partnership (see Principles for Partnership Initiatives,

2 March 2017).

PI provide individual members with an efficient and effective way of working in the

producer countries to improve environmental and social standards in accordance

with their individually formulated roadmaps. For example, a PI can facilitate collective

action to improve the quality of training for national instructors while at the same

time cutting costs by exploiting synergies. PI also promote continuous exchanges

of ideas between groups of stakeholders in the Textiles Partnership and encourage

pragmatic solutions to specific challenges. As such, they demonstrate the Partner-

ship’s strengths, both internally and externally.

The purpose of Partnership Initiatives

6 The purpose of Partnership Initiatives

Step 1 – Development:The ideas for PI are mainly developed in the Partnership’s Working Groups (WG) and

address the key areas of activity identified by the Partnership. Among other things,

they result from the process of evaluating and summarising the members’ individual

roadmaps. For proposals which do not derive from a specialist WG, it is a good idea

to involve the affected specialist WG in advance.

PI are proposed jointly by Partnership members and their international and local

partners. This means the national partners must be involved in the strategy’s develop-

ment from the outset. A fact-finding mission is a useful way to involve local partners

more effectively and to coordinate activities with other projects and programmes.

It may also be appropriate to run planning workshops in Germany together with

Partnership members and local experts. During this phase, a rough budget is drawn

up for financing the initiative.

Five steps to a Partnership Initiative

Below: In Bangladesh,

people work in about

6,000 factories, often

in cramped conditions.

Fire and building safety

are essential to the

welfare of these workers.

7Five steps to a Partnership Initiative

Fact-finding mission to Tamil Nadu

They got to know each other better on a long bus trip: In November 2016, members

of the Textiles Partnership travelled to Tamil Nadu in order to explore the viability

of a Partnership Initiative to improve the working conditions in spinning mills and

factories. Taking part in the mission were representatives of FEMNET e.V., terres

des hommes Deutschland e.V., Tchibo, KiK, Otto, the German Federal Ministry for Economic

Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the German Embassy in Delhi, the German Consulate

in Chennai and the Partnership Secretariat.

The proposal for the initiative was submitted by FEMNET with support from the Clean

Clothes Campaign and was further developed by all the parties during the fact-finding

mission. The impetus for the Partnership Initiative came from sixteen Indian non-

governmental organisations and three spinning mills which together have established

a multi-stakeholder initiative and entered into dialogue with representatives of the

labour inspection directorate of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

The goal of the initiative is to prevent forced labour among young girls aged 14 to

18 and to improve working conditions in the spinning mills, factories and hostels

of Tamil Nadu. By promoting a dialogue involving private companies, the Tamil Nadu

state government and non-governmental organisations, the initiative should improve

the underlying conditions, for instance, through the introduction of grievance mecha-

nisms and more efficient state control mechanisms. Advisory processes in the

spinning mills and factories as well as awareness-raising discussions and training

will result in a higher standard of occupational health and safety measures and better

working conditions. During the fact-finding trip, Partnership members engaged in

8 Five steps to a Partnership Initiative

dialogue with members of the Tamil Nadu multi-stakeholder initiative and repre-

sentatives of other initiatives and projects already working to address the issue

in the region. The mission participants also met government representatives, trade

unionists and other entrepreneurs and non-governmental organisations. At a

concluding workshop they produced an initial draft of the PI strategy. The intensive

on-site cooperation between the participants in the fact-finding mission provided

the space for dialogue, enabling them to get to know one another and come to

understand each other’s perspectives – ideal conditions for planning and setting

up a Partnership Initiative.

Left: Female workers in

a hostel attached to one

of the spinning mills near

Tirupur in southern India.

Right: Inside one of the

spinning mills.

9Five steps to a Partnership Initiative

Step 2 – Submission:The applicants – the Partnership members and their partners – must submit their

Partnership Initiative to the Partnership Secretariat at least nine working days before

the next meeting of the pre-selection committee (PSC). Additionally, the Partnership

Secretariat is required to submit the proposal for the PI to the PSC and then to the

Implementation and Internationalisation Working Group (I&I WG), at least seven working

days before the relevant meeting. The PI proposal must be submitted in English

using the relevant form (see Annex) along with a detailed strategy where applicable.

Ideally, the applicants should submit a German translation of the proposal in time

for its examination by the WG. Submission of the proposal also involves a binding

declaration of intent for actual implementation on the part of the applicants, i.e.

the Partnership members and their partners. This is provided for through the naming

of the applicants on the title page of the proposal document.

Step 3 – Review:The PSC is a committee of the I&I WG and assists the WG with reviewing PI strategies.

The PSC has a mandate to review the submitted strategies after they have undergone

a formal review by the Partnership Secretariat. The committee consists of one repre-

sentative elected by the I&I WG for each stakeholder group. The applicant indicates

in advance any confidential information or content of proposals for project outlines

that is intended only for PSC members and not suitable for disclosure. The proposal

is compared with the criteria for Partnership Initiatives. The PSC talks with the

applicants and, where relevant, with independent experts. A positive review requires

consensus. If that consensus is lacking, applicants can edit the draft decision-making

document further as part of an optimisation loop and resubmit it to the PSC.

The results of the review are recorded in a brief report containing recommendations.

The applicants present their PI strategies to the I&I WG once the strategies have been

unanimously approved by the PSC. If a simple majority of all I&I WG members with

voting rights approves the proposal, then it is forwarded to the Steering Committee

(SC) with a recommendation for its adoption. If the proposal fails to receive majority

approval by the I&I WG, it can be revised and resubmitted to the I&I WG. Initiatives

can be presented at face-to-face meetings of the I&I WG or in a webinar.

Step 4 – Decision-making:The Steering Committee approves PI on the basis of a recommendation from the WG

for implementation. This does not give rise to any rights or obligations for Textiles

Partnership members. PI are not financed by dividing the costs among all Partnership

members. Approved PI are published by the Partnership on its members’ platform.

Each Partnership member is then requested to make an active contribution or establish

synergies with other existing activities. It is up to each Partnership member to decide

if and how it takes part in a PI. Various forms of support and involvement are possible,

including in-kind or financial contributions.

10 Five steps to a Partnership Initiative

Planning and implementation process

Partnership standardsImplementation requirements

Ideas for Partnership Initiatives

Submission of completed proposal form to Partnership Secretariat

PSC recommendation, I&I WG decision

Steering Committee decision

Signing of implementation agreement

Fact-findingmission

Strategy development

Clarification offinancing arrangements

Step 1 – Development

Step 2 – Submission

Step 3 – Review

Step 4 – Decision-making

Step 5 – Agreement

11Planning and implementation process

A1

A2

A3

A4

B

B1

B2

A

Criteria for Partnership Initiatives

Minimum criteria

The Partnership Initiative makes an active contribution to the Partner-

ship’s goals and has systemic potential: Improvement of general

conditions, transparent communication, platform, further development

of Partnership standards.

Participation: Multi-stakeholder approach or willingness on the part

of several Partnership members/partners to engage in broad-based

cooperation.

Review and minimisation of negative effects: From a holistic and inte-

grated perspective, negative effects must not outweigh positive ones.

Sustainability: Local and, if necessary, international partners are involved.

Other criteria are those which should be fulfilled wherever possible.

Type

• Disseminate best practices widely

• Options for linking to existing initiatives

• Promotion of innovative approaches

Orientation

• Global or regional in focus

• Scalable

• Partnership Initiatives along the supply chain

(SC decision of 11 May 2016)

12 Criteria for Partnership Initiatives

Step 5 – Agreement: It is still possible and desirable for other members to get involved in the PI after

it has been approved by the SC. Following the SC’s approval, members involved

in the Partnership Initiative sign an implementation agreement governing their

cooperation and setting out the substantive and financial contributions expected

from each participant.

Each PI defines a steering structure in its strategy to specify the roles and compe-

tences of stakeholders and the rules governing their cooperation with one another.

Ideally, a PI should begin with a local kick-off workshop. The workshop is designed

to involve all stakeholders, especially local partners, inform them of the initiative’s

activities and operational plan, and review and adjust the proposed steering structure.

PI are generally set up for a period of two to three years and should then be continued

by the local partners in the countries concerned. There are three phases to each

initiative:

1. Launch phase (kick-off workshop, staff recruitment, procurement of materials

and equipment, leasing of premises)

2. Implementation phase (implementation of planned activities)

3. Concluding phase (evaluation, analysis, handover to local partners)

An advisory committee is set up for each PI (see Principles for Partnership Initiatives,

2 March 2017). The advisory committee is the first point of contact within the Partner-

ship for the initiative. The committee’s role is limited to monitoring and reporting.

The applicants of the PI and other participating members choose up to five individuals

to represent them on the advisory committee. This group must include at least one

representative from each of the stakeholder groups involved in the PI. stakeholder

groups not involved in the Partnership Initiatives can only delegate one representative

to the advisory committee. The advisory committee informs the SC of the PI’s

progress at least once a year. The I&I WG will be informed at least every six months

or more frequently if requested. The advisory committee is also required to inform the

Partnership Secretariat immediately of any major events posing a risk to the success

of the initiative.

Implementation process

13Implementation process

Indicators for measuring the results of the PI are produced at the same time as

the proposed strategy for the PI. With these indicators it is then possible to measure

the achievement of the Partnership Initiative’s objectives during the concluding

phase. Best practices and lessons learned are collected in a pool of experience to

be used in the preparation of new PI strategies. The PI should ideally end with a

concluding workshop involving the key participating stakeholders and the handover

of the PI to a local responsible body. During the kick-off workshop, milestones are

agreed in the work plan for the individual phases of the PI. The milestones can be

used during the process to check whether implementation is going according to plan.

The milestones thus provide a key foundation for reporting.

Evaluation process

14 Evaluation process

Vimale Mary is eighteen years old and works in a spinning mill in the Dindigul District of Tamil Nadu, India. In this interview, she talks about her home, her work and her goals.

Vimale, thank you for inviting us into your

home in Sanarpatty. Do you live here with

your whole family?

No, I live here with my parents. My four

sisters are all older and have already

married and moved out. We’ve now got

quite a bit more room in our small

house than we used to have. However,

because our settlement is located outside

of the village itself, it isn’t connected

to the water and waste water system

and so we still don’t have a toilet or even

a proper bathroom. We’re Dalits, the

‘untouchables’.

You’ve been working in a spinning mill for

two years now. How did you get this job?

Three of my sisters had already worked

for a while in spinning mills. Once my

sisters left home, I had to stop my

school education and find a job to help

my family.

‘My father works in a small carpenter’s workshop but spends much of his money on alcohol.’

My mother’s seriously ill. As young

women in this region, working in

the spinning mills is virtually the only

option we have. So I also started working

in one just after I turned sixteen.

Did you also live in the factory hostel?

How did you find conditions there?

Yes, I did at first, as the spinning mill

is one and a half hours away from my

house. But the accommodation was

terrible. We barely had any room to sleep

and the meals were very poor: I once

found cockroaches in my food. After

that, I ran away from the hostel and

moved back in with my family.

And yet you started working at the same

spinning mill again shortly after leaving…

It’s a large mill that always needs new

workers. They came to our village and

recruited other girls. I didn’t have any

other options. The company now has its

own buses to take us to the factory and

back to the village every day. As I often

have to work overtime, I’m frequently

away from home for fourteen hours or

more at a time. And on top of this, our

shifts often change at the last minute.

I have at least one day off a week to

care for my mother.

What are your working conditions like?

The work is hard as we have to stand up

all day long and are barely allowed any

breaks. And then there is the noise from

‘We work standing up all day long and are barely allowed any breaks.’ Interview with textiles worker Vimale Mary

Above: Visiting Vimale

Mary and her family in

Sanarpatty, a village in

the Dindigul District

16 Interview with textiles worker Vimale Mary

the machines. We are reprimanded by

the foremen as soon as we start to slow

down in our work or ask for a short break.

Sometimes they sexually harass us.

Is there some way to report these abuses?

The factory has a complaints office

but you mostly get turned away if you

summon up the courage to make a

complaint. However, we‘re at least aware

of our rights now thanks to the work

of a number of organisations.

What kind of work do these organisations do?

They come to our settlement and inform

us of our rights as female workers.

They also attempt to speak to factory

managers. But it’s difficult. At least

our wages have been increased recently.

I now earn INR 2501 per day.

1 Equivalent to EUR 3.50.

Where do you see yourself five years

from now?

It’s always been my dream to be a

teacher but that’s not realistic. However,

I do have one goal. I’d like to become

a forewoman at my spinning mill and

treat my workers in an honest, fair and

just way.

Above: With over 2,000

spinning mills, the Indian

state of Tamil Nadu

houses more than half

of the country’s total

production capacity.

This includes family-run

small and medium-sized

enterprises as well as

production facilities

with several thousand

employees.

17Interview with textiles worker Vimale Mary

PI are jointly financed by the members involved, with the financing arrangements

set out in the implementation agreement. It is possible that the contributions of

the separate members take different forms (in-kind or monetary), and that those

who are financially strong cover costs incurred by participants with a weaker

financial base.

In addition, applications for public grants for PI can be submitted to the German

Government’s DeveloPPP.de programme via the implementing organisations KfW,

SEQUA and GIZ, and to the funding programmes of the European Commission or

the International Finance Corporation (IFC). It is also possible to enter into integrated

development partnerships with German development cooperation projects and

programmes.

The Partnership Secretariat operates a help desk to provide relevant information

to Partnership members and to assist them in drawing up strategies and dealing

with the financing of PI. The desk can be contacted as follows:

Email: [email protected]

Hotline: +49 228 4460 3360

A section entitled ‘Partnership Initiatives’ has been set up in the Member Area.

It provides an overview of all relevant information about the PI and allows users

to view the current status of each PI.

Financing

Help desk within the Partnership Secretariat

18 Financing and help desk

Mr Janssen, the Textiles Partnership is enter-

ing a new phase. Partnership Initiatives

are designed to promote the observance of

social and environmental standards in textile

factories. What’s the thinking behind this

and what are your plans?

Partnership Initiatives are practical

measures in textile producing countries.

They are designed, supported and imple-

mented jointly by several members of the

Textiles Partnership and local partners.

They are intended to improve general

environmental and social conditions on

the ground. So far, we’ve got three Part-

nership Initiatives up and running: In the

southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu the

aim is to systematically establish social

standards in spinning mills and textile

factories and thereby achieve significant

improvements in working conditions

for women and young girls in particular.

A water management project is currently

being launched in Pakistan to conserve

scarce drinking water supplies by further

reducing the high level of water con-

sumption in the cotton supply chain.

And we’ve also got an initiative off the

ground in several Asian countries to

introduce sustainable chemicals and

environmental management systems in

factories and improve occupational

health and safety for workers. Further

initiatives are being planned.

Why are Partnership Initiatives important

to the Textiles Partnership?

Partnership Initiatives are a motor for

the goals of the Partnership in the

producer countries. They enable several

members to come together and work

with partners locally to tackle structural

challenges, take direct action and achieve

results. Partnership Initiatives address

issues in the priority areas of activity

identified by the Partnership members

and are generally also designed in the

Textiles Partnership’s specialist working

groups. Participation in Partnership

Initiatives is voluntary. They can be used

to achieve individual objectives. They

also promote the ongoing exchange of

ideas between groups of stakeholders in

the Textiles Partnership and facilitate

pragmatic solutions for the achievement

of the Partnership’s goals. Partnership

Initiatives show the progress made by

the Partnership to the outside world and

foster a sense of solidarity between

members as they achieve success

together.

‘The Partnership Initiatives are a motor for the Partnership’s goals in producer countries.’

‘Partnership Initiatives show the progress made by the Partnership’ Interview with Dr Jürgen Janssen, Head of the Partnership Secretariat

Dr Jürgen Janssen is Head of the

Partnership Secretariat.

20 Interview with Dr Jürgen Janssen

What do you expect of Partnership members?

I expect them to take part in Partnership

Initiatives, to contribute ideas for

new initiatives and drive them forward.

Almost all Partnership members are

engaged in activities in producer countries,

whether directly or indirectly. At the

same time, the Partnership is keen to

focus on achieving results in producer

countries and to improve the social and

environmental conditions. Partnership

Initiatives offer a wide range of options

in this regard.

How will the German Government support

Partnership Initiatives?

Through German development coopera-

tion, the German Government has been

promoting initiatives to improve social

and environmental standards in the

producer countries for a number of years

now. Partnership Initiatives can benefit

from these experiences and the project

structures on the ground. Additionally,

the German Government can contribute

substantively and financially to Partner-

ship Initiatives. One prerequisite for this

is that other members also contribute

resources.

Mr Janssen, many members wish to see the

Partnership getting more strongly involved

at the European level. Do you also see options

here for Partnership Initiatives?

We’re closely following the European

Commission’s efforts in Brussels to

improve sustainable development in

textile supply chains. Germany’s Textiles

Partnership has done good work in this

area in recent years. We‘re also in close

contact with the secretariat of the

Netherlands’ Textile Covenant which

was launched with similar goals in 2016.

It would be conceivable for both partner-

ships to conduct a joint initiative on

the introduction of living wages. This

topic in particular is a highly complex

one and requires a strong alliance of

representatives from civil society and

the public and private sectors in the

respective producer countries as well

as international stakeholders to bring

about change for workers.

Photo: Launch of practical

implementation work

at the 2016 Members’

Meeting: from left:

Claudia Kersten (GOTS),

Frank Zach (German

Trade Union Confedera-

tion – DGB), Berndt

Hinzmann (INKOTA-

netzwerk), Dr Gerd Müller

(German development

minister), Ingeborg

Neumann (Confederation

of the German Textile and

Fashion Industry), Josef

Sanktjohanser (German

Retail Federation – HDE)

21Interview with Dr Jürgen Janssen

The Partnership glossary provides an explanation of the terms that have been

specifically defined and agreed within the processes of the Partnership for Sustainable

Textiles. This is a working version in which new definitions of terms can be included

and modifications can be made.

Accreditation

mechanism

Baseline

Basic list

Brands/retailers

Partnership glossary

Procedure for assessing and accrediting standards

systems, initiatives and company-specific processes that

can be used by Partnership members to prove they

have reached their roadmap goals.

Based on the implementation requirements and

indicators drawn up by the working groups, the base

line assessment records the starting point (zero

measurement) of members.

List of all chemicals that Partnership members are

committed to eliminating. This is identical with the

Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL) published

by ZDHC but will be continuously further developed in

a coordinated process.

Partnership members that procure primary and finished

products or production capacity are assigned to the

‘brands/retailers’ group of stakeholders. One Partnership

member can be assigned to several groups of stake-

holders.

Award of contracts

to sub-contractors

The outsourcing of contracts or parts thereof to other

production companies or individuals (including home-

based work).

23Partnership glossary

Business partners1

Companies

(in the Textiles

Partnership)

Deeper supply chain

Field structure

Home textiles

Companies/organisations that are not producers and

maintain a direct contractual relationship with the

Partnership member. Business partners in turn place

orders with producers and/or other business partners.

Examples: importers, agents.

Members of the Textiles Partnership which engage in

profit-making activities (brands/retailers, producers,

agents, etc.).

All preliminary stages in the supply chain without

a direct contractual relationship with the Partnership

members and sub-contractors. This comprises all

stages in the supply chain that are not covered by

‘producer’ or ‘business partner’.

Implementation structure in the producer countries

with tripartite partners (government, industry, civil

society) for exchanging information and supporting

Partnership Initiatives.

Curtains, towels, table linen and bedclothes as well as

upholstery fabrics. The Textiles Partnership continues

to exclude floor coverings and awnings.

Degree of transparency Degree of detail of the information provided by Partner-

ship members within the Partnership and to the public

as part of the review process. This information refers

to the content of the roadmap and the findings of

the evaluation of progress made by members.

Group of stakeholders Institutions, organisations and groups with which

members of the Textiles Partnership are affiliated.

The groups of actors comprise the following: Partner-

ship, retail/brands, production facilities ( deeper supply

chain), German Government, non-governmental

organisations, trade unions, standards organisations

and associations.

24 Partnership glossary

Implementation

requirements

Independent third

party2

Initiatives

Manufacturers

Measures that are defined by the specialist working

groups of the Textiles Partnership (currently, the Social

Standards and Living Wages Working Group, the Chemicals

Working Group, the Natural Fibres Working Group) as

suitable for pursuing Partnership goals.

A body that handles the plausibility check of the

individual members’ roadmaps and the evaluation of

the progress reported by the members, bearing in mind

all the relevant data protection, competition and anti-

trust regulations.

Formalised alliances of actors in the clothing sector who

focus on key issues related to corporate responsibility

and sustainability, develop corresponding solutions and

introduce these within the sector. This includes, for

example, the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety,

BSCI, ETI and FWF.

Partnership members that manufacture or process

primary or finished products at their own production

facilities are assigned to the ‘manufacturers’ stake-

holder group. One Partnership member can be assigned

to several stakeholder groups.

1 The terms producer, business partner and deeper supply chain serve to specify more closely the actors and relationships in supply chains. How-ever, that does not in any way relativise the overarching Partnership objective to aim for and achieve improvements along the entire supply chain.

2 The definition of this term is provisional and may be further specified by the Steering Committee (SC).

Hot spots Priorities related to issues and challenges within the

supply chain and countries/regions for which Partner-

ship members identify an urgent need for action.

Own initiatives Individual measures by single Partnership members

that support the achievement of Partnership goals.

Members’ own initiatives can be turned into Partnership

Initiatives after going through the accreditation process

for Partnership Initiatives if this offers substantive

added value for achieving the Partnership goals.


Partnership goals

(‘specific objectives’)

Partnership Initiatives

Partnership requirements

Partnership standards

The specific Partnership goals relate to defined social,

environmental and economic aspects of sustainability

and make it possible to formulate specific measures

that are designed to achieve these goals.3

Broad-based measures to improve general conditions

in producer countries that involve suppliers and local

actors such as trade unions and non-governmental

organisations. Partnership Initiatives are designed by

a large number of Partnership members to support the

achievement of Partnership goals. They must undergo

an accreditation process in line with the criteria for

Partnership Initiatives and are thus legitimated by the

Partnership.

See implementation requirements.

The social, environmental and economic Partnership

standards spell out the core requirements related to the

pursuit of the Partnership’s specific goals. They provide

the basis and framework for the Partnership’s work and

for the individual activities of members. The Partner-

ship standards are based on established international

standards and regulations4 and may be aligned with

other standards and codes standards and initiatives

recognised by the Textiles Partnership.

Partnership goal

(‘overarching objective’)

The overarching objective of the Textiles Partnership is

to demonstrably improve social, economic and environ-

mental conditions along the entire supply chain in the

textile and clothing sector. The German Government,

the textile and clothing industry, the retail sector, trade

unions and civil society are pooling their expertise and

joining forces to this end.


Risk countries or regions

Risk mapping

Roadmap

(individual roadmap)

Producer

Review process

Countries or regions with an increased risk of having

negative impacts on the Partnership goals.

Specific individual risk analysis performed by the

Partnership members.6

Individual commitment to achieving objectives by

members and report format, see degree of transparency.

Using their baseline and possibly additional criteria,

all Partnership members formulate individual goals whose

implementation is measured and assessed each year.

Directly contracted production facilities that manufacture

end products or textile raw materials and maintain

a direct contractual relationship with the Partnership

member.5

The review process sets the framework for continuous

measurement of the progress made by Partnership

members and the Partnership as a whole.

3 Examples of specific Partnership goals include ‘the prevention/abolition of child labour’ and ‘increasing the use of sustainable natural fibres’.

4 One Partnership standard related to the specific Partnership goal ‘prevention/abolition of child labour’ is enshrined, for example, in ILO Convention 138 concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment.

5 Producers can be prioritised within the scope of application of the implementation requirements, based on individual risk mapping provided they are classed by the Partnership member as being essential for achieving the Partnership goals.

6 The Partnership is still working on recommendations for the methodology to be used when carrying out risk analyses.

Plausibility check The plausibility check is part of the review process.

The baseline of the Partnership member is used

to examine the extent to which the goals the member

has set itself actually represents progress by the relevant

member. Based on this examination, a statement

can be made on the extent to which the roadmaps

of the members make an individual contribution and

a contribution for the Partnership as a whole to achieving

the Partnership goals.


Standards and initiatives

(recognised by the

Textiles Partnership)

Standards or initiatives whose use makes a significant

contribution to pursuing the Partnership goals and

that are accredited as part of a Textiles Partnership

mechanism, which remains to be adopted.

Stakeholder group Depending on their nature and function, the members

of the Textiles Partnership are attributed to the stake-

holder groups ‘private sector, German Government,

non-governmental organisations, standards organisa-

tions or trade unions’. These stakeholder groups are

represented in the Steering Committee.

Technical textiles

Tool

Textile products that have special functional properties

for use in commercial/industrial processes (e.g. abrasive

materials) or for special applications (e.g. airbags or

filter materials). For the time being, they are excluded

from examination by the Textiles Partnership.

Instruments that serve to support several Partnership

members in achieving Partnership goals and imple-

menting the Partnership requirements. The tools

improve members’ individual and united capacity to

act. In contrast to Partnership Initiatives and members’

own initiatives, tools are only indirectly geared towards

achieving improvements in supplier countries.


Proposal for Partnership Initiative

Proposed by:

Appendix:

https://portal.textilbuendnis.com/groups/buendnisinitiativen/filesDownload at:

Topic:

29Proposal for Partnership Initiative

Name/subject of Partnership Initiative

Objective of Partnership Initiative

Country/region

Operational time

[MM.YY–MM.YY]

Summary

Frameworks, problem analysis, methodology

Target groups

Local cooperation partners

On-going related activities by other donors/organisations

coordination necessary/ collaboration possible

Participating organisations

Usually Partnership members, but open to guests

1. FACTSProject outline of the Partnership Initiative

30 Proposal for Partnership Initiative

Existing projects that can be incorporated into the Partnership Initiative

Thematic basis to build on:

On-going projects by participating organisations which make a concrete contribution to this initiative:

Synergies by linking and further develop-ment of existing projects by participants. Need for additional project structures on the ground

Implementing organi-sations and source of funding for additional project module(s)

Total Costs


Minimum criteria for Partnership Initiatives

Covered in implementation proposal by: Criteria met?

A1.

The Partnership Initiative contributes actively to the objectives of the partner-ship and has systemic potential: development of framework, transparent communi cation platform, and continuous develop-ment of partnership standards

A2.

Participation: multistakeholder approach or broader cooperation intent of several partnership members/partners

A3.

Verification and minimi-sation of negative effects: unintended negative effects need to be avoided and mitigated (‘do no harm’) in order to take a holistic approach

A4.

Sustainability:Integration of local and if necessary international partners

2. REASONSCriteria for Partnership Initiatives

32 Proposal for Partnership Initiative

Additional criteria for Partnership Initiatives

Covered in implementation proposal by: Criteria met?

B 1.1

Dissemination of best practices

B1.2

Links to existing initiatives

B.1.2

Promoting innovative approaches

B.2.1

Addressing global or regional level

B.2.2

Scalability possible

B.2.3

Partnership Initiatives along the supply chain



c/o Deutsche Gesellschaft für

Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 36

53113 Bonn, Germany

T +49 228 4460 3360

E [email protected]

I www.textilbuendnis.com

We make things work....2017/08/31 · des hommes Deutschland e.V., Tchibo, KiK, Otto, the German...

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