#GoodClothesFairPay
Millions of people work in textile, clothing and footwear production around the world. The vast majority are not paid enough to fulfil their basic needs.
The people who make our clothes - mostly women - earn less than they need to live on.
These people remain trapped in poverty while big fashion companies continue to profit from their hard work. It is a deeply unfair and exploitative system, and we must demand better. The Covid-19 pandemic has deepened wage insecurity for the people who make our clothes, leaving workers without any social safety net, struggling to pay for food, healthcare and shelter.
This is why the Good Clothes Fair Pay campaign, a European Citizens’ Initiative for living wages in the fashion supply chain, is demanding legislation that helps achieve fair pay for textile and garment workers around the world.
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The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI)
Good Clothes Fair Pay is a European Citizens’ Initiative to call on the European Commission to introduce legislation requiring that brands and retailers in the garment sector conduct specific due diligence in their supply chain to ensure workers are paid living wages.
The ECI - the European Citizens’ Initiative - is a unique instrument enabling citizens to call directly on the European Commission to propose legislation in an area of EU competence. The campaign must collect at least 1 million signatures from EU citizens.
The scope covers brands and retailers who want to trade in the EU, independently of whether they are based in the EU or elsewhere. It calls on brands and retailers to put in place, implement, monitor, and publicly disclose a time-bound and target-bound plan to close the gap between actual and living wages.
It puts a particular emphasis on requiring brands to identify risk groups that are particularly hard hit by low wages, such as women and migrant workers. Our proposal includes measures such as the companies’ pricing, costing and overall purchasing practices, ensuring that workers do not have to rely on excessive overtime to meet their basic needs.
This legislation would be the first living wage legislation at the EU level for garment workers worldwide.
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Why now?
Better laws and regulations in Europe can make sure that companies all over the world do their part in ensuring that the workers in their supply chains are paid fairly.
The momentum required to support fairer supply chains at EU level has never been greater. The European Commission has committed to introducing mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence legislation compelling companies to take action in their supply chains. The ECI also builds on and aligns with other policy instruments such as the proposed EU Minimum Wage Directive, the OECD Due Diligence Guidance, the ILO MNE Declaration and the forthcoming EU strategy for sustainable textiles.
This will be the single biggest EU campaign on living wages in the garment sector to date. If successful, the legislation will be a groundbreaking step in building a fairer fashion system where brands are held accountable for the people who make their clothes. We believe that proactive policy like this is crucial for safeguarding millions of workers in the fashion supply chain, and that the EU can lead the way for positive change.
Please support Good Clothes, Fair Pay
Help us reach our goal of 1 million signatures from EU citizens by contributing to the campaign