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The Industry We Want (TIWW) is a multi-stakeholder initiative facilitated by Fair Wear, the Ethical Trading Initiative and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.
It is committed to advancing social, commercial and environmental practices in the garment and footwear sector. In February, TIWW released the 2024 scores of its Industry Dashboard. The dashboard features the third cycle of industry-wide scores on three critical interlinked pillars of change: wages, purchasing practices, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Launched in 2022, the Industry Dashboard serves as an annual barometer of industry progress, encouraging accountability and galvanising action across the sector.
Varied progress in the garment industry
The 2024 Industry Dashboard scores indicate varied progress across the industry, with improved scores in some areas and stagnation in others. This lack of consistent progress may stem from fragmented efforts, alongside an absence of a level playing field, leaving most labour rights violations routinely ignored. The current power imbalances and absence of a holistic approach hinder advancements across social and environmental practices. To achieve The Industry We Want - characterised by dignified work, thriving businesses, and a positive environmental impact - shared supply chain responsibility and effective collaboration between all stakeholders is imperative. This includes brands, manufacturers, workers, their representatives (business associations and trade unions), as well as governments.
“Once more, this year’s Industry Dashboard emphasises the need for greater action and urgency. Dignified work can only be realised with the active participation of all involved in the supply chain. Effective mechanisms for social dialogue between worker representatives and factory management, as well as responsible sourcing dialogue between manufacturers and brands, are fundamental for shared responsibility,” shared Alexander Kohnstamm, Executive Director at Fair Wear Foundation.
Wages
Developed in collaboration with the WageIndicator Foundation, the wage metric illustrates the disparity between legal minimum wages and living wages in 28 garment sector manufacturing countries, providing a comprehensive overview of wage data. The 2024 wage score of 49.5% reveals a 1% increase in the gap between minimum wages and living wages since 2023. This indicates that, despite industry efforts, the average difference between legal minimum wages and living wages has slightly widened. The most significant wage gap increase since last year’s score has been reported in Colombia, Honduras and Turkey; the countries with the widest gaps are China, Egypt, India, and Indonesia.
“The 2024 Industry Dashboard is another reminder that there is a long way to go to meet the vision we set out for ourselves. Industry-wide collaboration is essential to drive more systemic social and environmental progress in the garment industry. The Dashboard clearly shows the need for a greater effort to ensure real wages are increased and the cost shared along the value chain, which needs all involved in the sector to focus on. Due diligence legislation that aligns with the UNGPs brings a focus to this effort with clearer accountability for companies,” said Peter McAllister, Executive Director at Ethical Trading Initiative
Purchasing practices
Attention towards implementing responsible purchasing practices and engaging in constructive sourcing dialogue has increased, especially among brands associated with MSIs like Fair Wear, the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), which has led to a rise in the purchasing practices score. The vast majority of suppliers (79.4%) are rating brands they consider preferred partners. This means that the results reflect industry best practice, rather than industry norm. Indeed, while the score offers valuable insights, it may not fully reflect the realities and challenges faced by suppliers, workers and the broader industry. Therefore, further cycles and more participation from suppliers will be necessary to draw more accurate conclusions.
The metric score has risen by eight points since 2023, now standing at 48. This data is derived from the Better Buying Partnership IndexTM, a brief annual survey available for all suppliers to rate their buyer’s purchasing practices. This year, the number of ratings increased by 21% compared to last year, with 1,413 supplier ratings from 63 countries. The highest performance of rated brands lies in their practices being free of corruption and bribery, enacting good communication, and adhering to fair financial practices.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Drawing data from the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Worldly, Textile Exchange, and Apparel Impact Institute, the metric estimates the annual GHG emission in the apparel sector to be 0.879 Gt CO2e. The GHG metric illustrates 1% decrease in emissions in 2022 compared to 2019. Although the numbers indicate that there has been a slight decrease in GHG emissions, the industry is nowhere close to the progress needed to stay on track for a 45% absolute reduction of GHG emissions by 2030 to limit global heating to an average of 1.5 degrees Celsius. The advances made in efficiency improvements are offset by a growth in material demand and an increase in fibre volumes and subsequent increase in the production of apparel and footwear items.
"This year's Industry Dashboard highlights the critical need for a collaborative approach to solving complex issues, one that is built on open, constructive dialogue among all stakeholders—brands, manufacturers, governments, and civil society organisations—to find sustainable solutions,” said Andrew Martin, executive vice president at the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC). “Inclusive collective action at scale is now an imperative if we are to drive meaningful change to overcome both social and environmental challenges."
State of the Industry
This is a pivotal moment for the garment sector. Emerging sector norms and public regulations are challenging the traditional business model, pushing towards a paradigm shift rooted in shared supply chain responsibility, reinforced by Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD). This transformative approach demands active engagement and collaboration between brands and manufacturers, disrupting the previous trend of brands offloading responsibility onto manufacturers. HREDD, therefore, holds the potential to rectify power imbalances by fostering more equitable sourcing dialogues, opening new avenues to empower workers.
At the heart of these equitable sourcing dialogues lies the recognition that interpersonal connections are foundational. A shift towards a more inclusive and person-centric industry is crucial to rectify these discrepancies, fostering sustainable practices that not only benefit the sector but also improve the lives of those involved in its supply chain. This transformative aspect, embedded in responsible purchasing practices, represents a critical puzzle piece which has the potential to stimulate necessary improvements in social and environmental practices across the entire industry.
“The industry I want is the one where workers are put front and centre. Decarbonisation must happen across multi-tier supply chains; but, context-specific action plans must be created with supplier consultation and representation. This is the most important antecedent to a fair, equitable and just transition,“ shared Dr. Hakan Karaosman, Assistant Professor at Cardiff University, Chief Scientist at FReSCH and Chair at UCRF.
About The Industry We Want
The Industry We Want is a multi-stakeholder initiative facilitated by Fair Wear, Ethical Trading Initiative and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, dedicated to driving industry transformation towards dignity for workers in decent jobs, thriving businesses along the supply chain, and a positive impact on the planet. This can only be realised when the whole value chain works together. That’s why The Industry We Want convenes traditionally siloed stakeholders and galvanises actions across three interconnected challenges: responsible purchasing practices, living wages and GHG emissions. The Industry We Want has developed a set of industry-wide metrics that measure progress on these three issues on an annual basis and represent those whose voices are too often silenced - helping us to hold each other and ourselves accountable.