Textile imports: New resolution pushing for EU rules to curb worker exploitation

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have adopted a resolution calling for a formulation of new rules to oblige textile and clothing suppliers to respect workers’ rights.

"These practices also harm the EU industry, as they result in social dumping," MEPs voted in a non-binding resolution.

The resolution was adopted by 505 votes against 49, with 57 abstentions.

Textile workers around the world, many of whom are young women and children, suffer long working hours, low wages, uncertainty, violence and hazardous conditions.

“We cannot turn a blind eye if our clothes are made at the cost of vast human suffering. Only binding rules could guarantee that products sold on European markets do not violate the dignity and the rights of millions of workers. The EU has the means to act, and we ask the Commission to do so,” said rapporteur Lola Sánchez Caldentey.

According to the World Trade Organisation, more than 70 percent of EU textiles and clothing imports come from Asia, with China, Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia being the largest producers.

Most buyers are global brands looking for low prices and tight production timeframes, the consequences of which usually fall on factory workers.

After the Rana Plaza tragedy four years ago, in which over 1,100 people died when a factory building collapsed in a Dhaka suburb, the EU Commission promised to bring forward an EU-wide flagship initiative but has so far failed to do so.

The European Parliament wants to encourage the Commission to table this package of proposals.

To push the “flagship initiative” aimed at preventing tragedies like the Rana Plaza factory collapse, MEPs have suggested a series of measures:

Due diligence obligations: the EU Commission should table a binding legislative proposal for a due diligence system, based on OECD guidelines and similar to those for the so-called blood minerals, that covers the whole supply chain,

Conditional trade preferences: the EU should ensure that textile exporting countries with preferential access to the EU market comply with obligations and produce sustainable textiles, while member states should promote workers’ rights in their relations with partner countries,

Clothing labels: making the “social impact of production” visible on clothes can help to bring about lasting change, and

Role models: EU institutions should set a good example in their public procurement of textiles.