DHAKA - The American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) has called on the Bangladesh government and the country’s major textile industry trade body to end the ongoing detention and the continued threat of detention, of thousands of workers…
GENEVA - Annual profits from forced labour rose to $236 billion globally in 2021 - a 37% increase since 2014, according to a new study from the International Labour Organization (ILO). Forced labour is a major concern in the fashion and textiles…
LONDON - More than 40 fashion retailers and textile and clothing manufacturers have had their Science Based Targets initiative-approved (SBTi) net-zero commitments removed after it emerged that previously agreed scope 3 reduction targets were…
AMSTERDAM - More than 500 garment factories across India, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia have now joined the Life and Building Safety (LABS) programme to improve worker safety. LABS, set up by the Dutch sustainable trade initiative IDH, is…
LONDON - The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has released two new reports to support the design and implementation of beyond value chain mitigation (BVCM) strategies and mobilise increased action from corporations, including fashion and…
DHAKA - Textile workers in Bangladesh have been awarded a 75% rise in their minimum wage - however, the new level of BDT 10,000 ($90) per month has been branded insufficient by trade unions. It comes three months after the country's garment workers…
DENVER - VF Corp has extended its support for a programme that helps women garment workers who have lost their jobs as a result of increased automation, re-enter employment. The owner of major brands such as Timberland, Vans, Dickies and North Face,…
GAZIPUR - Fairtrade has launched an investigation into allegations that union officials were beaten up outside the gates of one of its certified garment factories in Bangladesh. Shariful Islam and Jagdish Babu, of the Akota Garment Worker Federation…
ARTEIXO - Inditex, owner of the Zara brand says it has reinforced its commitment to the emergency programmes of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the refugee relief work being done by the humanitarian organisation in Bangladesh and Mexico,…
GAZIPUR - Union officials who tried to help garment workers set up a trade union at a Bangladeshi supplier to global brands and retailers, including H&M and Next, were threatened and beaten, according to campaigners. Shariful Islam and Jagdish Babu,…
NEW YORK - A comprehensive report on gender inequality in the clothing and textile manufacturing sector has found significant pay gaps in favour of men across the global supply chain. The report, carried out by the non-profit Anker Research…
PARIS - The 10th OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector opened in Paris this morning with an urgent call for direct support to vulnerable actors in supply chains. Antonio Gomes, deputy director of the OECD's directorate for…
WASHINGTON DC / TOKYO - Forced labour in the Xinjiang region was a major focus of the first round of talks between the US and Japan on the implementation of a joint task force on workers' rights in supply chains. Launched last year, the US-Japan…
NEW DELHI - Millions of workers in India, including representatives from the textile and garment sector, carried out a one-day strike last week to highlight the issues of working people ahead of the country’s upcoming general elections this year.…
COLOMBO - Garment workers were attacked by their managers as they arrived at their factory in Sri Lanka where they were set to go on strike, according to the IndustriALL global union. The incident happened at the Hasalaka factory in the capital city…
YANGON - The Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) has urged brands still sourcing from Myanmar to consider withdrawing from the country following the introduction of conscription by the country's military leaders. Myanmar’s junta has declared mandatory…
LONDON - The Ethical Trading Initiative has appointed former diplomat and Tesco group sustainability director Giles Bolton, as its new executive director. Bolton joins from the UK retail giant where over a 15 year career he built and led a team of…
WASHINGTON DC - China is continuing to increase its policy of employing forced labour to subjugate Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic groups in the country's Xinjiang region, according to new research from a leading expert. Adrian Zenz, a senior fellow…
ASKER - Recycling and sorting specialist Tomra has published a new research paper in which it which it outlines some of the strategies and technologies it believes are required for the transition to a circular value chain in the textile industry.…
IZMIR - The Fair Labor Association (FLA) is calling for justice following the shooting of a trade union leader at a garment factory in the Turkish city of Izmir. Makum Alagöz, president of the Leather Weaving and Textile Workers’ Union (DERITEKS),…
LUDWIGSHAFEN - Chemical giant BASF says it is to divest stakes in two joint ventures in the Xinjiang region of China, amid concerns over humans rights violations and carbon emissions. BASF said it would be exiting its partnerships with BASF Markor…
TAKEO - Cambodia-based shoe manufacturer Pontus Footwear, which supplies major global brands such as VF Corp, has agreed to reinstate three local union leaders following their dismissal 12 months ago over the establishment of union representation…
SHEFFIELD - Researchers at Sheffield Hallam University have admitted a significant error in a recent report which claimed that 39 global brands and retailers were at "high risk" of selling goods linked to forced labour in Europe. The university's…
PHNOM PENH - An Adidas sportswear supplier in Cambodia has agreed to reinstate and pay backpay to eight garment workers who were laid off in 2020 after they formed a union to seek better working conditions. Trax Apparel has agreed to take back the…
BERGAMO – Italian chemicals, plastics and synthetic fibres producer RadiciGroup has published its latest environmental, social and governance (ESG) plan in which it sets out a series of targets aimed at boosting its overall sustainability…
LENZING – Cellulosic fibre specialist Lenzing and French fashion conglomerate Kering have been named as two of only 10 companies in the world, and the only ones active in the textile and fashion industry, to achieve a triple A score on environmental…
WASHINGTON DC - Vietnam overtook China last year as the country having the most textile and apparel exports to the USA intercepted under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). The US Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) interactive…
AMSTERDAM / SAN FRANCISCO – The Dutch-based Social & Labor Convergence Program (SLCP) has completed its planned spin-off from the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) to become an independent non-profit. However, the two organisations say they will…
PRETORIA - The National Cleaner Production Centre South Africa (NCPC-SA), in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), has officially launched a new project aimed at advancing the circular economy in Africa's…
WASHINGTON – The US-based National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) has welcomed the launch of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) textile enforcement plan aimed at eradicating unfair trade practices. The DHS has been under pressure to…
BERLIN – A report by Cotton Campaign member, the Uzbek Forum for Human Rights on the country's 2023 cotton harvest, has found that local officials resorted to forced labour in districts with a shortage of voluntary pickers, forcing some employees of…
YANGON - Fashion giants including H&M, Zara owner Inditex and Bestseller have been linked to worsening conditions for garment workers in Myanmar following the military coup of February 2021. New data, compiled by the Business & Human Rights Resource…
AMSTERDAM - A total of 100 global brands and retailers have now committed to the Pakistan Accord on Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry (Pakistan Accord). The milestone was reached this week with Original Marines, Turner Bianca,…
LONDON - Fast fashion giant Boohoo's response to criticisms levelled at the company's working practices have been published by Britain's Environmental Audit Committee (EAC). The EAC has made public a lengthy letter from Boohoo’s chief executive John…
MANDENI - Trade union leaders are calling for action after government inspectors reported "deplorable" working conditions at textile and garment factories in South Africa. Inspectors from the Department of Employment and Labour last month visited…
GENEVA - The International Labor Organisation (ILO) has published a new report in which it calls for the increased use of occupational safety and health (OSH) frameworks to address the root causes of violence and harassment, including in the garment…
DHAKA - Textile workers in Bangladesh have been promised a pay rise following reports of vandalism in factories by disgruntled employees struggling to make ends meet. They point out that garment workers were awarded a 56% increase from the start of…
LONDON – UK waste recycling charity WRAP has published a new report summarising the proliferation of extended producer responsibility (EPR) systems for the textiles waste stream. Outlining the impact of greenhouse gases emitted from textiles…
TUNIS - Textile workers in Tunisia have secured a 20% wage increase over the next three years following negotiations between trade unions and employers. The pay rise - worth 6.5% this year and next, and 7% in 2025 - comes after an agreement between…
DHAKA - The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) is urging more brands to support an initiative which offers social insurance protection for garment workers and their families in the event of factory accidents in Bangladesh. The Employment Injury Scheme…
WASHINGTON DC – The US Department of Labor (DOL) has awarded up to $12.4 million in grant funding for three organisations to reduce child and forced labour in Mexico and support migrant workers. Research by the DOL's Bureau of International Labor…
YANGON - The IndustriALL global trade union has reiterated its call for the European Union to withdraw its support for fashion brands and retailers sourcing from Myanmar. The move follows several years of concerns voiced by the union over the…
LONDON - Forced labour allegations have been identified in the supply chains of nearly half of the major fashion brands and retailers scrutinised in a new report from the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC). A total of 65 of the world’s…
TASHKENT - Organisations campaigning to improve conditions in the Uzbekistan textile industry have received a welcome boost with the signing a two-year memorandum of cooperation that aims to improve working environments and prevent forced labour.…
MAURITIUS - Leading brands including PVH, which owns Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, have agreed to pay more than $400,000 to garment workers in Mauritius after an investigation found migrants had paid illegal recruitment fees for their jobs. It…
GAZIANTEP – Garment factories and fashion brands both disregarded workers’ rights in the wake of the devastating earthquake which hit south-eastern Turkey last year, according to campaigners. The claims by the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) are based…
WASHINGTON DC - US lawmakers have called upon the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) to use its influence to support the demands of Bangladesh’s garment workers for fairer wages and working conditions. The letter follows several months…
DHAKA - A Bangladesh garment manufacturer which supplies major brands, including ASOS, H&M, Inditex, Bestseller and Next, has agreed to reinstate workers who were allegedly sacked for trying to set up a trade union. It follows a complaint about…
PHNOM PENH – The American Apparel & Footwear Association has urged the Cambodian government to take action against the practice of child labour and the burning of mixed garment waste in the country’s brick kiln industry. The letter from the AAFA…
LONDON - One in five suppliers to the NHS is at high risk of employing modern slavery, according to a new review of around 600,000 products including about 30,000 cotton-based items. The 'Review of the risk of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking in…
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