ECPR

Install the app

Install this application on your home screen for quick and easy access when you’re on the go.

Just tap Share then “Add to Home Screen”

Detoxing Fashion? The Interactions Between Voluntary and Mandatory Due Diligence in the Textile Sector

Environmental Policy
European Union
Globalisation
Governance
Global
International
Trade
Lena Partzsch
Freie Universität Berlin
Lena Partzsch
Freie Universität Berlin
Helen Breunig
Freie Universität Berlin

Abstract

With cases like the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013, the global textile supply chain is mainly known for human rights violations. However, the textile sector is also a major contributor to global environmental problems like climate change and water pollution. In this paper, we examine the interactions between voluntary and mandatory due diligence requirements for German companies in this regard. Here, the 2021 German Supply Chain Due Diligence Law (LkSG) and the 2024 EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) meet a context previously dominated by voluntary, but not exclusively private due diligence. In 2014, the German government launched the Textile Partnership, for which more than 80 textile companies have voluntarily reported on their due diligence efforts. In addition, in 2019, the government introduced a public certification label, the Green Button, which can be used by companies that adhere to 20 private schemes (e.g. Bluesign, Cradle to Cradle, Fairtrade, OCS). Based on the central NGOs’ demands , we evaluate and compare the voluntary initiatives with the LkSG and the CSDDD: Does the advantage of supply chain legislation lie solely in their binding nature and the coverage of more companies, or do the new laws also go beyond their voluntary predecessors in terms of environmental content? Do they have the potential to improve the environmental impact of the textile sector on the ground?