Organisation

On 4 July 2016, a broad coalition of businesses and other organisations signed the Dutch IRBC Agreement on Sustainable Garments and Textile. The aim is to promote safety and equality for workers and prevent pollution and animal abuse in production countries.

After signing the Dutch Agreement on Sustainable Garments and Textile, the parties set up a Steering Committee to head the implementation process.

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee members represent the signatories to the agreement.

Independent chair: Pierre Hupperts (independent expert on International Responsible Business Conduct)

Government of the Netherlands:
- Wilma van Hunnik (Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management)
- Joost Lina (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Industry associations:
- Jeroen van Dijken ((INretail)VGT)
- Femke den Hartog (INretail)
- Nienke Steen (Modint)

Trade unions:
- Sarah Baghat (FNV)
- Kitty Huntjens (CNV)

NGOs:
- Lonneke Bakker (Four Paws)
- Jeroen van der Heijden(UNICEF)
- Tamar Hoek (Solidaridad)

Company representatives:
- ZsuZsa Kozma (Vanillia)
- Shirley Schijvens (Schijvens Corporate Fashion)
- Marijke Willemsen (WE Europe B.V.)

Secretariat hosted by the SER

A Secretariat has been established to help implement the agreement. The Secretariat is hosted by the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER) in The Hague. The SER also facilitated the negotiations that led to the agreement. The Secretariat assists the Steering Committee with its tasks. It also advises and assists the participating businesses with the activities that they are obliged to undertake under the terms of the agreement. The Secretariat is further responsible for assessing the action plans and for proposing collective activities.

Funding

The National Government of the Netherlands has made funds available to support the Dutch Agreement on Sustainable Garments and Textile. The funds will be drawn from the budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will be available for two years. The SER is contributing 20% of the necessary funding. The agreement stipulates that the garment and textile sector will cooperate with the government on developing proposals for long-term funding.

Complaints and disputes

An independent complaints and disputes committee was established summer 2017.