Purchasing Practices at the core of BMZ's ‘Towards Decent Work for All’
Blogpost, 16 May 2023
To mark the tenth anniversary since the devastating Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh and the fatal fire at the Ali Enterprise textile factory in Pakistan, BMZ in Berlin convened industry stakeholders during a two day event, ‘Towards Decent Work for All: Asia’s Textile Industry 10 Years after Rana Plaza’. The Industry We Want joined to discuss the improvements and challenges in Asia’s textile industry since these tragic events took place 10 years ago.
Rubana Huq, Industry Representative on the Board of Directors, RMG Sustainability Council (RSC) Bangladesh, kicked things off during the first panel discussion by commenting on the need to connect legislation, which is of course necessary, to ‘self-awareness and empathy’. Indeed, improving purchasing practices is an essential part of human rights due diligence. However, HRDD can only be truly meaningful when these efforts no longer resemble the incumbent tick-box compliance model in the industry, and when all stakeholders truly listen to and care about the needs of suppliers and workers. That’s why we, at TIWW, power our purchasing practices metric with an extensive survey, giving suppliers from across the industry the opportunity to anonymously rate their buyers’ purchasing practices.
Panelists from left to right: Tobias Becker, GIZ; Rubana Huq, RMG Sustainability Council; Christina Hajagos Clausen, IndustriALL
Christina Hajagos Clausen, Trade Union Representative on the RSC Board of Directors, Member of the Steering Committee of the International Accord and Director for Textile and Garment Sector, IndustriAll Switzerland, echoed this statement from a trade union-perspective. She shared: 'As trade unions… we want to negotiate collective agreements with manufacturers that hold brands accountable on collective bargaining and decent wages.' Again, TIWW’s annual temperature check on the state of industry-wide purchasing practices offers stakeholders from across the supply chain tangible insights into areas in which behaviours and practices have improved, as well as those in need of attention. With this, we can collectively hold brands to account.
Similar sentiments were shared during the second panel discussion on Day 1. Head of Social Stewardship, C&A Europe (Germany), Michael Reidick, told the audience that in order to create lasting change, rather than repeating the quick fix solutions of the past, our approach has to be ‘all about collaboration’. This is what TIWW is all about. We exist because we know that when the industry convenes as a whole, we can get to the root causes of the problems that face social, commercial and environmental practices. As a final rallying call to end Day 1, Nazma Achter, Founder and Executive Director of Awaj Foundation and President of Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation (Bangladesh), stated that:
'Systemic change needs to happen, we need to have equal power between supplier and brand, man and woman, rich and poor, and workers and suppliers - we want a dignified workplace, we want living wages, and we want freedom of association.'
Panelists from left to right: Conor Boyle, ILO; Michael Reidick, C&A; Dr Bärbel Kofler, BMZ; Nazma Achter, Awaj Foundation.
Day 2 was as equally motivating as the first. Throughout the various sessions of the day, we heard stakeholders from across the supply chain reflect on the shared frustration with the pace of change in the industry. This frustration is what TIWW was born of. However, TIWW’s belief that we can positively transform the industry for both people and planet was also clearly held by all.
All in all, ‘purchasing practices need to change’, as succinctly expressed by Nazma Achter. By providing the sector with insights into where this change is needed and convening those who can make this change happen, we know how vital our role is at TIWW. To learn more about the part we can play, we welcome you to join us during our upcoming deep dive session on purchasing practices on Thursday, May 25, from 12 - 1 pm CEST.