Key insights: The OECD – OCDE Forum on due diligence in the garment and footwear industry

The OECD – OCDE Forum on due diligence in the garment and footwear industry, which was held in Paris on February 21-22 2024, is an annual global meet-up for governments, businesses, trade unions, civil society and academia. Over 700 people gathered and more online to discuss key topics and good practice on due diligence in global garment and footwear supply and industry.

Ethical Trade Denmark met with engaged members such as DMT (Dansk Mode & Textil), Bestseller and MERK Danmark, good industry colleagues from among others Ethical Trading Initiative Sverige, Ethical Trade Norge, Ethical Trading Initiative, Fair Wear Foundation and OECD center for responsible business conduct and got to know a number of new exciting people, organisations and companies.

Key insights:

🤝 Importance of negotiated and binding agreements with unions: The potential of legally binding agreements such as company-union agreements was emphasized, promoting closer dialogue and collaboration through workers voice and effective grievance mechanisms #bringworkerstothetable

📃 Audits is not due diligence, but can be a useful tool: Audits can provide useful information on compliance with local laws and be a starting point for dialogue, but cannot be the core of a company’s due diligence strategy.

💰 Living wages and responsible purchasing practices: Long-term buyer-supplier relationships, worker voices, training, and responsible purchasing practices are identified as essential for enabling living wages.

🌡 Climate change impact on supply chains: Important to shift to a climate adaptive culture and provide tools to deal with climate change in different countries and measure climate vulnerability through conversation and data.

♻ Circularity and traceability: The importance of traceability, comprehensive analysis, and increasing supply chain visibility was emphasized for meaningful change.

⚗ Chemical management in value chain: Chemical management is recognized as a key topic for emissions, health, pollution, and circularity.

OECD and organisations showcased tools that we will soon share here: https://etiskhandel.dk/videncenter/

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Reach out to Nanna Callisen Bang if you want to hear more about the OECD forum and perhaps join next year? 👉ncb@etiskhandel.dk