The Cascale spinoff recently collaborated with Policy Hub, the Fair Wear Foundation and Amforito to co-pen a comprehensive guide—titled “The Handbook for Due Diligence Implementation in the Textile Sector” or simply the CSDDD Handbook—to support the industry as it adjusts to the EU’s corporate sustainability due diligence legislative framework.
“[I]t is crucial that the guidelines focus on how key due diligence concepts are applied within the CSDDD framework: this may differ from the existing international frameworks as CSDDD operates under mandatory standards and liability,” the handbook reads.
As such, the quartet’s resulting report provides an overview of the textile sector’s existing tools—like Amfori’s environmental performance initiative and the Higg Index—while identifying the gaps where further clarification is needed.
“The textile industry faces a number of unique challenges that need to be on the radar of the European Commission as they develop the CSDDD guidelines. This includes duplication of social and labor audits in factories; wasting time and resources that could be better spent on improving working conditions,” Janet Mensink, SLCP’s CEO, said in a statement. “The handbook stands as an excellent source of information to guide policymakers toward practical, effective and comprehensive guidelines.”
How the SLCP does this, you ask? With its proprietary Converged Assessment Framework, or CAF, which has rolled out in 15,000 facilities in more than 75 countries to “unlock” roughly $26 million in savings that can be invested in workplace improvements since its 2019 debut.
The important thing to note is that the social assessment tool is universal, not proprietary.
“Fair Wear is very proud to be among the contributors to this handbook,” Alexander Kohnstamm, executive director of the Fair Wear Foundation, said in a statement. “It provides a firm starting point of excellent initiatives and organizations working tirelessly to engage rightsholders’ voices and improve conditions along global garment supply chains through practical and impactful due diligence.”
The foundation’s members—including Armedangels and Vaude—have used the universal system since Fair Wear became an SLCP signatory in 2021. Last May, the two Netherland-based nonprofits revealed Fair Wear would onboard SLCP’s harmonized social audit data to promote human rights due diligence implementation while minimizing the repetitive process endured from excessive options.
“We are aware that this is not a comprehensive overview of all efforts on human rights due diligence,” Kohnstamm said. “We view this as an invitation to all concerned to engage in this process and jointly contribute to efficient and effective guidelines.”
That includes “assessing the realities” the textile sector faces, including international alignment, gender equality living wages, as well as “responsible disengagement” and environmental due diligence.
“Due diligence relies on meaningful conversations that reflect the multiplicity of realities—a principle that underpins the development of this handbook,” said Policy Hub’s co-director, Marina Prados Espinola. “The dialogue must continue in order to further advance the representation and deepening of all the realities of the global textile value chain.”
That dialogue includes utilizing SLCP’s CAF.
This is true to the Amsterdam initiative’s mission of achieving its vision—of delivering harmonized, accessible and trusted data—the industry-wide adaption of its proprietary, universal social assessment tool. By reducing duplication in social audits, the CAF helps save resources to redeploy toward improvement actions, the quartet said. As it stands, over 15,000 facilities have adopted the framework, while 90 brands and standard holders have publicly accepted SLCP assessments.
“Amfori believes that industry and multi-stakeholder initiatives play a critical role in supporting companies to effectively exercise ESG due diligence. In times of political uncertainty, collaboration remains key,” said Amfori president Linda Kromjong. “Jointly, we can ensure that ESG due diligence efforts are practical, impactful, and aligned with stakeholders’ needs across industries.”
The expansion reflects Bluesign’s commitment to “driving innovation and sustainability across the global supply chain while making certified solutions more accessible than ever,” the chemical management company said.
As global regulations demand greater transparency and stricter safety standards, the Swiss verification firm wants to remind the industry of its status as “definitive experts in chemical management and compliance,” the Madewell partner said. That said, Bluesign has expanded its Finder database to include Bluesign-certified polymers, which are intended for safer footwear production.
“Polymers are widely used in footwear production, and across apparel and accessories worldwide, their inclusion in Bluesign Finder provides manufacturers access to certified safe and sustainable alternatives—a significant advancement for the fashion and footwear industry,” Bluesign said. “By adding polymers to the database, Bluesign simplifies the process for brands to find reliable sources that allow them to meet stringent safety and sustainability standards [that] mandate unprecedented transparency in supply chains.”
