Global non-profit alliance Cascale, formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), and non-profit multi-stakeholder initiative Fair Wear Foundation are working together to expand and scale the systemic change needed to address human and labour rights challenges in the apparel sector.
The collaboration between Cascale and Fair Wear, according to Alexander Kohnstamm, executive director of the Fair Wear Foundation, is “so crucial because brands’ responsibilities are individual, but many of them can only be meaningfully addressed through collective action.”
“The need for collaboration is bigger than ever,” Kohnstamm stated, adding that the two groups have joined forces to create clarity on what good looks like in practice. “Due diligence is now fully accepted as the basis for responsible business conduct,” she added.
Cascale and Fair Wear both emphasised the value of working together to bring about significant change, and they have expanded their partnership to include the environmental and social impact data platform Worldly in order to give members access to dependable, high-quality resources and advice about the clothing and shoe industries.
According to Fair Wear, these resources can be used to efficiently manage the intricacies of human rights due diligence by utilising instruments like Cascale’s Higg Index.
Fair Wear and Cascale also acknowledged that they recognise how critical it is to coordinate due diligence initiatives with global norms, including the OECD Due Diligence Guidelines for Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment & Footwear Sector and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).
