Global Fashion Summit: STTI Calls for Responsible Purchasing Practices and Global Standardisation on Due Diligence

STTI spokesperson and Vice President BGMEA Miran Ali called for a globally standardised approach to due diligence at the prestigious Global Fashion Summit last week.

Mr Ali was speaking at a panel focusing on the upcoming due diligence legislation, led by OECD due diligence head Tyler Gillard, alongside Maxine Bedat, founder and director of New Standard Institute and author of the book "Unraveled: The Life and Death of a Garment" and Sebastian Herold, deputy head of division sustainable textile supply chains and sustainable consumption at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

He made clear that for manufacturers it is crucial to have a globally standardised approach and not fragmented regulation in different countries, regions and states. He went on to say that "The terms of trade have changed. The Sustainable Terms of Trade Initiative (STTI) was created to give the supply chain a voice. If we are going to make change as an industry there needs to be a discussion on equal terms." Maxine Bedat backed Miran Ali’s pledge and stated that "We have to shift away from passing the buck to manufacturers. There is a tendency of brands to cascade requirements up into the supply chain, but this is old fashioned." She called for approaching legislation and compliance to be two way streets.

This year's Global Fashion Summit was clearly focused on industry wide alliances and the STTI alliance among manufacturers was often referred to. At the same time, the summit also laid bare that despite the steps forward taken by the formation of alliances, much of the heavy lifting is still to be done.

The STTI and its partners are working hard on building the necessary infrastructure to create structural improvement of purchasing practices, working on the development of model contract clauses with Rutgers University, researching options for arbitration with GIZ, creating collaborations with Multi Stakeholder Initiatives building purchasing practices codes, and developing a long-term mechanism for measuring progress on commercial compliance by brands and retailers, among other activities.