Garments & textile sector gives greater insight into production chain

The Dutch Agreement on Sustainable Garments and Textile (AGT) has reported a substantially larger number of production sites. The new production site list shows the 4,267 sites where participating companies produced goods in the past year. Publication of the new production site list coincides with the second anniversary of the signing of the Agreement. Modint is part of the steering committee of the covenant from the start.

Since 2017, participating companies have provided insight into their production sites and the latest aggregated list can be found on the Agreement’s. The sharp rise in the number of production sites is a result of more companies signing up to the Agreement, as well as companies gaining more insight into their supply chain and production sites. This is a positive step towards transparency, because if companies gain a better understanding of the value chain, they are in a better position to act on the risks identified.

More companies are participating
Since the start of the Agreement in 2016, the number of participants has risen from 55 to 79 brands, including a large number of Modint-members. This means that 42%-45% of the Dutch garment industry is a party to the Agreement. It is expected that the Agreement will achieve its objective of 50% market coverage in 2018. Participation in the Agreement is voluntary, but not free from obligations. Efforts by companies are assessed according to an established assessment framework.

Knowledge of materials used
The Agreement has, for the first time, systematically identified the materials companies use and the  subsequent quantity of ‘sustainable’ materials. It is clear that cotton is by far the most frequently used material, of which 56% is conventional cotton and 44% more sustainable cotton. This knowledge makes it possible to monitor the sustainable credentials of the choices that companies will make in the years to come.

Identifying risks by company
From next year onwards, the participating companies will also publish individually what the greatest risks are in factories where they produce, together with their policy for dealing with these risks. They will do this on the basis of IRBC (International Responsible Business Conduct) risk management (i.e. due diligence). Modint offers workshops on this.

International
At the end of its second year, the Agreement can show with these results that it has made progress on what was agreed in 2016., but International cooperation is necessary to achieve even more. Parties are therefore working on international upscaling initiatives, such as the German-Dutch cooperation launched at the beginning of 2018.