Netherlands' Fair Wear & GoodWeave partner to combat forced labour

Fair Wear Foundation and GoodWeave International have joined forces to address child and forced labour in hidden and informal parts of apparel and textile supply chains. With European Union mandatory human rights due diligence legislation under development, the organisations’ combined expertise is even more relevant for companies seeking to respect human rights and conduct responsible business.

Fair Wear member companies sourcing from India are encouraged to become GoodWeave licensees and benefit from deep supply chain mapping and inspections for child, forced and bonded labour that reach beyond tier one factories and into sub-contracted and home-based worksites where the majority of exploitation takes place. Remediation and prevention programmes are also carried out, the organisation said in a press release.

Additionally, GoodWeave will serve as a knowledge partner for Fair Wear and as a resource for member companies on child, forced and bonded labour identification, remediation and prevention. “We are pleased to collaborate with GoodWeave to further advance our member companies’ human rights due diligence efforts,” said Suhasini Singh, head of supply chain engagement at Fair Wear Foundation. “We’ve successfully worked together on a previous project and chose to continue partnering with GoodWeave given their expertise in stopping child labour and creating supply chain visibility specifically related to subcontracted and home-based worksites.”

“GoodWeave and Fair Wear Foundation’s work is very aligned, and we both focus on collaborative partnerships with buyers and exporters, which makes this a great fit,” said Silvia Mera, senior director of strategic partnerships and advocacy at GoodWeave International. “We look forward to continuing our work together and to serving as a resource for apparel and textile companies looking to improve their human rights due diligence.”