Time: 2022

By: Alliance of garment industry representatives

The signatories of this joint letter support the commitment of EU decision makers to implement a regulatory approach to due diligence, in order to ensure companies are taking their responsibility to respect human rights and the environment throughout their value chains. We therefore welcome the proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSDD) Directive that was published on 23 February 2022 as a very important step.

Mandatory due diligence needs to be well-designed to promote the creation of an EU wide level playing field. Still, more importantly, it should capture the responsibility of companies to respect human rights and the environment in their supply chain as formulated in the OECD Guidelines, and reflect the obligation of means this duty constitutes: to contribute continually and structurally to positive changes. The law should capture the nature of the process that due diligence is, and not allow for a static box-ticking exercise.

In both the Explanatory notes and the Preamble, the proposal refers to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) [i] as well as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s guidelines for multinational enterprises (OECD guidelines) [ii] including three (high risk) sector-specific guidelines, including Textile and Garment supply chains.

The English version of the document is attached below:

• CSDDD Joint garment industry recommendations

• Directive (EU) 2024/1760 on corporate sustainability due diligence
• Proposal for a regulation on prohibiting products made with forced labour on the EU market
• Report: "Study on due diligence requirements through the supply chain"
• OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector