English summary - the German article can be read here (subscription required)

The article explores recent years’ exposés of labour abuses in Malaysia’s disposable glove industry. It links suppliers of Germany’s hospitals and healthcare - such as Ansell, Abena, Medline, B. Braun and Paul Hartmann - to major manufacturers in Malaysia such as Top Glove, Supermax or Hartalega. According to the article, hospitals in Germany procure disposable gloves individually or via procurement organizations such as Prospitalia, EK-UNICO and GDEKK.

The article also touches on the US import ban of disposable gloves from Top Glove in Malaysia, and mentions recent commitments by Top Glove, Supermax and Hartalega to repay migrant workers’ recruitment fees.

Finally, the article looks at current developments in Europe, and by the EU itself, towards the adoption of binding legislation on companies to prevent human rights abuses in cross-border supply chains. In March, the German federal cabinet adopted the draft ‘Lieferkettengesetz’, which is expected to be discussed by Parliament before summer. The law applies to companies with over 3000 employees (over 1000 from 2024). Many private hospitals meet this size criterion, the same goes for some glove suppliers such as B. Braun and Paul Hartmann.

The article includes comments from companies.