"The SMCs 1.0"

The Supplier Model Contract Clauses 1.0, also known as the SMCs, are a set of model clauses that aim to improve human rights in the apparel and textiles industry. The apparel sector is vulnerable to human rights abuses and the SMCs are an innovative set of clauses designed to address these impacts. 

Specifically, unfair contract terms and purchasing practices between buyers (e.g. brands and retailers) and their suppliers are key drivers of negative human rights outcomes in the apparel sector. This became abundantly clear during the COVID-19 pandemic when apparel brands and retailers canceled billions of dollars in clothing orders, causing layoffs and wage theft in the supply chain. These cancellations were often justified by contract terms that did not consider and thus undermined the human rights of supply chain workers. You can read more about these dynamics here and here.

The SMCs were drafted by RCP in collaboration with the Sustainable Terms of Trade Initiative (STTI), a consortium of apparel and textile suppliers and manufacturing associations that aims to drive better purchasing practices. They were developed in response to an express request from STTI members for sample or model clauses that they could bring into their negotiations and contracts with their buyer-clients. The initiative also benefits from generous pro bono counsel provided by Linklaters LLP. 

The SMCs are additionally supported by the Initiative for Global Solidarity (IGS), which promotes the implementation of human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD) in global supply chains, and FABRIC (Promotion of a Sustainable Textile and Clothing Industry in Asia), which brings together people from Asian industry, the public sector, NGOs and international buyers and promotes knowledge transfer and cooperation. IGS and FABRIC are working on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and are implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

The SMCs 1.0 were released in September of 2023. We refer to them as version 1.0 to acknowledge that these clauses are an iterative product that is neither perfect nor complete as is. It is possible that, based on future feedback, a version 2.0 could be developed. [...]