"German fair textile initiative seeks international alliance", 24 Apr 2015

Almost two years since the Rana Plaza factory disaster in Bangladesh, German textile associations agreed on membership requirements for the government's proposed textile alliance, while apparel manufacturing giants still reject the project...Its self-proclaimed goal is to improve living and environmental conditions for workers in countries where manufacturing takes place...In the interest of incorporating as many medium-sized companies as possible, the partners have made the action plan more precise on certain points. These changes particularly affect the way the alliance members must work towards mandatory targets and how progress can be verified in a transparent fashion...A “mid-sized sector clause” has also been added. The measure indicates that alliance members agree that “the targets cannot be fulfilled by all partners to the same degree and until the same deadline”. Here, the provision is designed to make it easier for small and medium-sized companies to join the alliance...