UKFT joined fashion industry leaders, policymakers and stakeholders at the OECD Forum on due diligence in the garment and footwear sector in Paris on 12-13 February 2025.

Representatives from various sectors including government, business, trade unions, civil society and academia from around the world participated in the forum to discuss critical issues and risks associated with due diligence in the garment and footwear supply chains. 

Key themes built on last year’s forum and discussions revolved around the following takeaways:

The need for binding frameworks with international applicability

• The benefits of mandatory and binding agreements that force companies to partake in due diligence were discussed at length – without this, misconduct and adverse impacts are common. Muriel Treibich, Lobby and Advocacy Coordinator at Clean Clothes Campaign emphasised that “voluntary initiatives do not hold the same sort of impact”.
• Due diligence was explained as a great tool to be used throughout the entire value chain to build blocks towards responsible business conduct, but should be tailor made to each stakeholder and country. It is not a one size fits all approach.
• Many companies felt that the playing field is not level. They do not want to be the only ones transparently disclosing information, and they believe mandatory due diligence would help ensure fair competition, as many businesses currently choose to remain silent..

Supporting businesses to implement Due Diligence practices

• It was clear that businesses still remain unsure of the best approach. Lisa Suss, head of industry alignment at Fair Wear, expressed that a shared approach to due diligence is lacking and that clarity on what we mean by due diligence, what action should be taken and how we demonstrate due diligence would help bridge the gap between non-compliance to implementation. She also requested that companies begin to prepare for due diligence and speak up if they support it.
• Establishing a standardised set of tools to support businesses in navigating the complexities and promote due diligence practices continued to be a popular topic of conversation.

• Policies are often designed with a focus on domestic requirements, without considering global regulations, making it challenging for businesses to navigate varied compliance demands. There is a need for tools or guidelines that identify commonalities and promote harmonisation for easier application. Additionally, it was emphasized that multistakeholder initiatives should collaborate when developing standards and frameworks to ensure they align with business needs.

• Another key issue raised was the increasing pressure on sustainability and compliance teams, as growing demands in these areas place a significant burden on them.

Moving beyond legal compliance to promote better purchasing practices

• The link between purchasing practices to promote better human rights and environmental practices.
• The importance of shared responsibility – brands/retailers to support their suppliers and trade unions roles in helping build better relationships.
• It was emphasised to successfully shift to better purchasing practices there is a need to move away from non-binding or voluntary initiatives.
• The importance of ring-fencing labour costs was discussed, although it was said that this alone doesn’t result in higher wages. It was encouraged that businesses shouldn’t negotiate on labour costs and look to strip components to meet cost rather than labour. Lotta Amsen, Head of Sustainability at Sadqvist Bags & items AB, said: “Compliance comes with costs and these need to be factored into pricing.”
• Due diligence alone doesn’t always work and better purchasing practices can go beyond checking a system is present to explore how they manage it. Nandita Shivakumar, Business & Human Rights Independent Advisor, said: “On paper factories look compliant, but in practice they are failing.”

Technology as a solution, not adding to the problem

• New tools are being developed to support factory workers, but they are not always available in local languages, making them inaccessible to many. In some cases, using these tools has led to data breaches. There have also been instances where workers were dismissed after filing grievances through grievance mechanism tools, raising concerns about confidentiality. This has led to questions about who has access to these complaints and whether the systems truly protect workers’ anonymity.

Establishing due diligence processes with circular economy actors

• Low-level human rights risks must be addressed in the circular economy. Criminal groups are known to operate among waste handlers, and just like traditional businesses, transparency is essential to identify key players in the value chain and ensure appropriate due diligence. Stina Billinger, Senior Director Sustainability and Public Affairs at Syre, said: “We only focus on the environmental perspective when it comes to circularity and not the human rights of the people working within the value chain.”
• The OECD general guidelines has a section on recycling responsible business conduct and a set of FAQs for due diligence in the circular economy are currently in development.
• Laura Kohler, Standards Systems Senior Director at Textile Exchange said that in addition to understanding feedstocks and material origins, the Materials Matter suite incorporates due diligence and human rights considerations, with the Global Recycled Standard (GRS) now introducing a social element.
• Claus Teilmann Petersen, Stakeholder Engagement & Human Rights Manager at BESTSELLER emphasised the downside of introducing due diligence to the textile recycling and circularity sector is that it would likely deter brands from taking this route as it would be like restarting again in terms of opening themselves up for criticism.
• Hakan Okmen, Global Business Development at EcoBalance said that digital sorting systems are the best solution to support better practices within circularity as it reduces the human element and makes it more cost effective. As it stands, these businesses do not have the resource to deal with extra demands of due diligence systems.

UKFT is part of the OECD’s manufacturing network, alongside other trade associations and federations from around the world. This aims to share knowledge and best practice and advise OECD on the barriers and gaps to inform its guidance. This year UKFT participated in another meeting which shared best practice and learnings from other countries.

UKFT support for members in implementing effective due diligence

UKFT supports members in implementing effective due diligence by providing guidance, resources and advocacy to help them navigate regulatory requirements, mitigate risks and build responsible supply chains.

UKFT’s Sustainability 101 series provides guidance on best practices for due diligence, examines the role of standards, explores regulatory frameworks and outlines the best approaches to due diligence challenges. Julia Deville and Andrea Schill from the OECD delivered a webinar on OECD framework guidance and due diligence policies. In March, UKFT will launch a report on responsible supply chains in the UK.

UKFT members can access the Sustainability 101 series and other resources relating to due diligence. Contact sustainability@ukft.org for access.

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