ETI at OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector 2024

It’s almost that time of year again. When stakeholders from across the garment and footwear industry flock to Paris, and their computer screens, to take part in the OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector 2024.

Whether you make it to the OECD Conference Centre in-person, or join online, there are plenty of opportunities across the week-long event to engage with. The Forum takes place on 21-22 February and brings together representatives of government, business, trade unions and civil society to review progress on the implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector to address emerging risks, and to share learning on implementing due diligence across geographies in a neutral environment.

As part of the event, the OECD encourages attendees to also participate in a limited number of selected virtual side sessions, organised and hosted by partner organisations. These sessions take place alongside the Forum on 19, 20, and 23 February 2024. This year, ETI are proud to be facilitating a session on wages during the Forum and involved in five side sessions on a wide range of topics. 

Side sessions

09:00-10:15 GMT  |  19 February 2024 

The readymade garment sector is a major economic and CO2 driver in Bangladesh, constituting 81% of its exports and 15.4% of its emissions, along with 2.5 billion litres of polluted wastewater annually and considerable air pollution.  

The Government of Bangladesh, and local and international business, are committed to the transition toward net-zero and a climate resilient industry. The changes necessary may negatively impact workers, particularly if a functional social dialogue mechanism does not exist. 

This session, organised and hosted by ETI, ETI Bangladesh and Ethical Trade Norway, explores the role of social dialogue in achieving a just transition in Bangladesh, with lessons learned and practical examples from our guest panel.

10:15 – 11:45 GMT  |  19 February 2024 

Meaningful stakeholder engagement is a key element of OECD-aligned human rights due diligence, which is even more imminent considering the upcoming EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). However, many questions arise for garment brands: Which stakeholders to include at what level and step of the due diligence cycle? What makes engagement meaningful? What type of engagement is suited at what moment?

STITCH is a partnership between six NGO’s, trade unions and multistakeholder initiatives: CDI, CNV Internationaal, Cividep, Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), Fair Wear Foundation and Mondiaal FNV. These organisations represent and connect different actors across the supply chain. In this session, STITCH, together with industry representatives, will stimulate a knowledge exchange to accelerate industry alignment on what meaningful stakeholder engagement entails. Representatives from civil society, trade unions, brands and multi-stakeholder initiatives will share their initial observations on meaningful stakeholder engagement, based on practical examples and experiences. The audience will be invited to complement the presentation with their own ideas, experiences, and examples. 

13:15 PM - 14:15 GMT  |  19 February

Garment and apparel retailers are increasingly aware of the limitations of social auditing in identifying human and labour rights abuses across global supply chains. In this session, leading experts will share evidenced-based alternatives to traditional social auditing practices. These alternative approaches are designed to help brands and suppliers address their obligations under new and emerging due diligence rules, such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. 

Join Global Rights Compliance with speakers including ETI's Senior Apparel & Textiles Advisor, Laurent Arnone.

12:30 – 13:45 GMT  |  20 February 2024

The Industry We Want (TIWW) is a multi-stakeholder initiative launched to drive industry-wide progress across the garment and footwear sector. TIWW defined a shared vision for the industry after extensive consultation with stakeholders worldwide: an industry that realises its full potential to ensure dignity for workers in decent jobs, thriving businesses along the supply chain and a positive impact on the planet. To achieve this, TIWW developed industry-wide metrics to measure progress on an annual basis and galvanise action.

During the session, TIWW will reveal the third cycle scores of the Industry Dashboard, where we will share results of the monitoring of progress on wages, purchasing practices and GHG emissions metrics compared to last year. The session will connect the third-cycle scores of the Industry Dashboard metrics to the real-life experiences and perspectives of diverse industry stakeholders, with production country voices at the heart of the discussion.

13:45 - 15:15 GMT  |  20 February 2024 

With continued reports of gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) in garment and footwear factories and an increased emphasis in human rights due diligence of supply chains in response to growing regulatory expectations in Europe, what actions can companies take to prevent GBVH happening in their supply chains?

ETI and RISE: Reimagining Industry to Support Equality, invite you to join a virtual panel discussion and interactive workshop with experts, buyers and worker and manufacturer representatives from production countries. Explore how a gender responsive human rights due diligence approach can help prepare for new regulatory requirements through shared responsibility and action among industry actors. Discuss with stakeholders how to approach risk assessments, engage with suppliers, and address social norms.

This event is invite only. Interested in joining? Contact events@eti.org.uk.

15:00 - 16:15 GMT  |  23 February 2024 

ETI and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) have been collaborating on logistics and maritime labour for two years, to ensure companies are taking steps to respect and protect workers’ rights in the shipping industry. With examples of good practice by ETI company members, this session will provide practical insights into some of the challenges workers face and how human rights due diligence by companies can help overcome them. 

The Forum

Wages that don’t satisfy the basic needs of workers and their families are a prevalent risk across the garment and footwear global industry. While wages in the supply chain are in practice a function of a number of factors, some outside of a buying firm’s direct control, this panel will examine different type of strategies and tools brands can use to increase their leverage and mitigate wage risk in their supply chain, taking these factors into consideration. Discussion will particularly highlight how industry collaboration, government engagement and sourcing model structure may be crucial to move towards living wage in their supply chain.

Our Executive Director, Peter McAllister will be facilitating this session.

13:30 - 15:00 GMT  |  21 February 2024

A handful of ETI staff will be attending this year’s Forum in-person. Look out for updates on who’ll be in Paris and be sure to say hello!

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