Multi-Stakeholder Project: Combatting Child Labour in Garment Supply Chains

Greater public disclosure of the human rights conditions embedded in global supply chains is rapidly becoming the norm for multinational companies and export oriented manufacturers managing complex sourcing relationships around the world.

While for some companies, increased supply chain transparency may be the logical result of a maturing social responsibility program, external pressures from civil society and governments, including emerging regulations that carry significant legal and financial risks, are also clearly driving this shift in industry norms – for everybody.

More and more countries around the world, including the Netherlands, UK, France, Germany, and the US, are enacting legislative and regulatory frameworks requiring multinational companies to trace their supply chains and be transparent about the effect of their business practices on human rights.

In particular the Dutch Agreement on Sustainable Textile and Garments (AGT) is requiring Netherlands based companies to map their upstream supply chains that include Cut, Make, Trim (CMT) factories, textile mills, spinning mills all the way back to the raw materials.

The collaborative activities undertaken in the project assist brands and buying companies:

To understand how supply chains function and ensure that they are sourcing ethically produced garments
To support supplying business partners and their suppliers to enhance the application of the local legislations and social standards
The collaborative activities undertaken in the project assist business partners and manufactures:
To gain insights in supply chain performance and strengthen general awareness on labour standards among management and workers
To build internal capacity through tailored training sessions and share best practices with industry peers
Increase job satisfaction of workers, retention and quality of production
Strengthen factory reputation amongst workers and attract more business partners