Production and consumption in the garment value chain - Building up momentum for more responsibility

The Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh raised major concerns about working conditions in the garment industry and triggered a discussion in policy arenas and within civil society on how governments, businesses and citizens can take responsible action throughout the whole supply chain: from raw materials, processing, sewing the clothes, to final products.

The Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development bears an opportunity to address this issue on a broader scale and engages all actors of global value chains. Sustainability along global value chains is one of the key strategic goals in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is an excellent example to show how much the SDGs are interlinked. The responsible management of supply chains covers several issues from poverty eradication, decent work creation, growth, gender, and health, to water, energy and environment, and, of course, human rights.

Civil society actors, trade unions and political foundations can take advantage of this momentum to build ground for dialogue and assessment of policy options in an evolving transnational society and raise awareness of how their societies are – via global value chains – linked to the development of partner countries, affecting hundreds of millions of workers worldwide.

Achieving better conditions for workers in garment factories is not an easy task. There are different levels of responsibility. While international brands and suppliers need to implement due diligence procedures, consumers play an important role, too – they can be game changers if awareness is translated into changing consumer behaviour. 

This brainstorming session is addressed at representatives from EU Institutions, CSOs including Trade Unions, and garment businesses. It sets out to discuss how to gain momentum for consumer awareness and more engagement in the garment sector.

Discussions in a world café format address the question of how to translate general awareness of the issue into concrete commitment and develop ideas for policy proposals. All participants are invited to join the discussion with four key experts who will provide different perspectives on garment value chains. The experts will help to formulate recommendations on how to generate impact for and through consumer responsibility, providing background information from production countries as well as sharing their experience on the role of change agents from business and CSOs. 

https://www.eudevdays.eu/sessions/production-and-consumption-garment-value-chain