Responsible purchasing practices in manufacturing industries

Responsible Purchasing Practices in Manufacturing Initiative

The garment and footwear industries have long been at the forefront of efforts to address responsible purchasing challenges, largely due to external scrutiny and pressure. While unethical practices remain, this scrutiny has been instrumental in driving a greater understanding of responsible practices.

However, manufacturing industries outside of textiles have often received less attention in this area. Running from June 2023 to February 2025, ETI's initiative, funded by the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), sought to address this gap by exploring how the principles of the Common Framework for Responsible Purchasing Practices (CFRPP) could be applied to manufacturing sectors and improve human rights outcomes within supply chains.

Over the course of 21 months, ETI assessed manufacturing businesses in improving their purchasing practices and evaluated the effectiveness of the measures implemented. The project engaged diverse stakeholders groups through surveys, group consultations, and direct advocacy with companies, helping to deepen the understanding of how buyers and suppliers engage in purchasing practices and their human rights impacts.