Tag: Bangladesh | Together for Decent Leather

Label Check: Leather and Leather-Shoes

29 March 2023

Labour rights and social criteria are neglected by the most common leather and shoe labels. The shoe and leather industry does not sufficiently implement the requirements of the German Supply Chain Act, but hides behind voluntary standards. This is the result of a joint research by INKOTA and Südwind Austria.

„Consumers get no information about working conditions and social standards when buying leather goods and shoes; a blatant lack of consumer information. Companies advertise with standards that are not mandatory”, explains Berndt Hinzmann, senior policy advisor at INKOTA.

The six quality labels examined include the “Blue Angel eco-label for shoes”, “Oeko-Tex Leather Standard”, “IVN certified natural leather”, the “Austrian eco-label” and the two business-to-business certification systems “Leather Working Group (LWG)” and “Higg Brand and Retail Module (HiggBRM)”. Only two, the Blue Angel and the Austrian Eco-label, are based on legal regulations. The other schemes base their selection of technical, environmental or social criteria primarily on the interests of the companies involved. The majority of the certification systems described focus on the collection of environmental and material-related indicators.

None of the quality labels include information on living wages or the risk-based approach to due diligence. The certifications also have major shortcomings when it comes to social criteria: in the case of the Leather Working Group, the Oeko-Tex Leather Standard and HiggBRM, no social criteria are necessary for the award of the seal. With the Leather Working Group, it is even possible to obtain the “Gold Medal” label without a social audit. The HiggBRM does not make public any information at all that gives insight into the risk analysis and the measures companies take to minimise or avoid risks along the supply chain.

„There is an urgent need for action to address the structural risks leather and footwear workers are facing. We need a strong EU supply chain law and a review of the implementation of the German supply chain law. Accepting home-made, non-transparent industry standards is not the solution”, states Berndt Hinzmann.

The Decent Leather Label Check examines a selection of quality labels that companies referred to in the company survey “Human Rights Due Diligence in Practice”. The companies stated that they fulfill the requirements of the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act via so-called business-to-business standards.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has identified leather production as a special risk sector. Massive labour rights violations are not uncommon in the production of leather goods and shoes. Low wages, extremely long working days and hardly regulated working conditions are the rule. In addition, there is intensive use of hazardous chemicals, inadequate protective equipment and far-reaching environmental risks.

Download the report here.

OECD side session on “Working better in leather”

29 March 2023

From 13 – 17 February 2023, The OECD organised a Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector. Arisa, on behalf of the consortium Together for Decent Leather, organised a (virtual) side session entitled “Working better in leather: stakeholder engagement and worker empowerment as key aspects of due diligence”. The session explored stakeholder engagement and empowerment of workers in the leather and leather products manufacturing industry in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

Empower workers

While human rights due diligence laws are developing, research finds evidence of poor labour situations, including challenges for unionisation, regularly accompanied by a shrinking civic space. Challenges to worker’s rights in the leather sector in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan persist. Ashraf Uddin Mukit, executive director at Bangladesh Labour Foundation (BLF), and Farhat Parveen, executive director at NOW Communities (Pakistan), stressed during the side session that national and international stakeholders in the leather supply chain must collaborate with organisations on the ground such as BLF and NOW Communities. Organisations like theirs are in direct contact with the workers and have first-hand knowledge on the situations of workers. They empower and support workers by engaging in regular contact, trust-building, and training.

To improve their due diligence processes, companies should amongst others look into- and understand the full scope of the labour force at all stages of their supply chain, must speak and work with a range of CSO, be proactive in stakeholder engagement and companies should not wait until problems manifest to engage in dialogue to improve their due diligence, be transparent on their sourcing, source from unionised suppliers and factories, and apply fair pricing- and purchasing practices which enable suppliers to pay fair wages.

Improving due diligence

Elmie van Hoof, Sustainability Manager at Goosecraft (the Netherlands), acknowledged that due diligence topics are often complex for companies. According to her, companies are still learning they can benefit from discussions with various stakeholders. These discussions help to gain a better understanding of the realities of sourcing countries, which is essential for improving due diligence processes. According to Goosecraft, stakeholder engagement also helps to build stronger, sustainable relations with stakeholders.

There are multiple ways in which Goosecraft engages with stakeholders in relation to its due diligence practices. The company engages in meetings with stakeholders to gain information on on-the-ground situations. A good example of this is the meeting and continuous collaboration with NOW Communities, SOMO and Arisa. Based on these organisations’ research findings and long-term knowledge and experience of the situation on the ground, all stakeholders involved discuss labour conditions and the possibilities of change.

Meaningful dialogue

Jules Beelen, a representative of the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER), emphasised that the preparation phase of stakeholder dialogue is important to set it up more thoughtfully and be more effective. Their concept guidelines for companies to conduct and achieve meaningful dialogue with their stakeholders helps stakeholders collaboratively bring to light information, challenges, roles, ideas and necessary actions relevant for improving due diligence processes. The SER identified three preconditions to make collaboration work, namely that parties are able to provide a relevant contribution and are willing to cooperate, willing to invest time and resources to build up a collaborative relationship based on equality, and that the roles, tasks and expectations among the various parties are clearly agreed upon. The SER developed a concept of meaningful dialogue that provides information on how companies can engage with their stakeholders in a meaningful way. Download the document here.

Video: Working conditions in Bangladesh

29 March 2023

In this video, we interviewed women and men working in the Bangladesh leather and tannery industry. They tell us about the low wages, poor working conditions, targets they have to meet and the hardship the face in their lives.

SOMO

Unsafe and Underpaid: Working conditions in South Asia’s leather, leatherwear, and footwear factories

14 February 2023

Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India play a major role globally in the export of leather for further processing as well as for products, such as shoes, clothing, bags, suitcases, and belts. It is an industry that contributes significantly to these countries’ economies. There are approx. 200 mainly small and medium-sized tanneries in Bangladesh. Around 80% is produced for direct export and 20% for domestic processing. The main site is an industrial park in Savar, near Dhaka. There are also a smaller number of workshops and factories in the former tannery hub of Hazaribagh in Dhaka’s old town. Leather products, mainly footwear and accessories, are manufactured in the country’s many other production zones. Leather garments are produced in relatively low numbers. It is estimated that the entire sector employs more than 850,000 people.

Four recent regional studies on the leather industry and working conditions in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India conducted in 2022 by the Together for Decent Leather consortium provide comprehensive information on the sector. The studies examine tanneries in Savar near Dhaka, tanneries and leather-processing facilities in Karachi in the Pakistani province of Sindh, and in the cities of Vellore and Ambur in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

All of the selected regions are key leather production hubs. The analysis is based on surveys of a total of 345 leather workers, interviews with local experts from civil society, business, and government, analysis of publicly available commercial data (e.g. concerning leather shoes produced in Bangladesh), as well as a survey of brand[1]name companies and leather importers. This factsheet summarizes the studies’ most important findings. Further details can be found in the respective publications.

Download the factheet here.

SOMO

Government, employers and labour rights organisations work together to improve labour issues in the Bangladesh leather industry

14 February 2023

Bangladesh produces leather and leather products such as shoes, belts, bags and wallets. The leather and leather goods industry are important for Bangladesh’s economy: it is the second-largest source of the country’s export earnings. Social and environmental compliance is poor, unfortunately, which also affects the export.

Bangladesh Labour Foundation (BLF), as well as other organisations, have for long pointed to the poor labour practices in the Bangladesh leatherware industry. Recent research by BLF as part of the Together for Decent Leather programme found new evidence of the low wages and precarious employment conditions of tannery workers.

After years of awareness raising, dialoguing and campaigning, a milestone was reached in April 2022 with the adoption of a National Action Plan for the Bangladesh leather industry. It is a joint effort of the Bangladesh government, industry and the labour movement. The action plan aims to improve the industry’s compliance with labour laws; boost environmental management; and work towards increased certification of Bangladesh’ tanneries by the Leather Working Group.

The action plan was jointly developed by BLF and the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE – under the Ministry of Labour and Employment), and with active participation of many stakeholders including the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Industry, the Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA), the Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters’ Association (BFLLFEA), and the Tannery Workers Union (TWU).

Ashraf Uddin, Executive Director of BLF said the initiative is the first in its kind. “This is the first time in Bangladesh that government, employers, worker representatives and civil society developed together and unanimously agreed upon a plan to improve working conditions and address environmental and social compliance.” BLF and TWU took the lead in bringing workers’ perspectives and priorities to the negotiation table. As a result, the plan includes key workers’ issues such as the formalisation of employment relations, payment of minimum wages, access to social security schemes and the promotion of collective bargaining.

For the implementation of the action plan for the leather industry a Working Committee was formed, comprised of representatives of the various stakeholder groups – employers, unions, and government. DIFE has the lead of this Working Committee and BLF is acting as secretariat.

“Whether the ambitious goals of the action plan will be reached indeed depends on the continued commitment of all parties – government, employers, trade union and civil society” says Ashraf Uddin. He adds that continuous monitoring and applying enforcement measures where needed are also essential elements.

Monitoring and regular inspections of factories is an ongoing DIFE responsibility. So far, under the action plan, DIFE visited 22 factories. Additionally, in January 2023, the newly established Working Committee visited six factories. Ashraf Uddin is positive about the rate of NAP activities so far and has good hopes that this will continue.

The idea is that the DIFE will share individual factory inspection reports with the Working Committee, including with the labour movement representatives on the committee. This means a step forward in the level of transparency shown by government to civil society. DIFE does publishes aggregated inspection reports, but these do not mention names of individual facilities. Employers that are found not comply with labour regulations will be notified. They will be given a timeframe of three months to implement improvements. If failure to live up to labour regulations is not rectified, DIFE may undertake legal steps.

European companies silent about their links to labour rights issues in Bangladesh tanneries

6 December 2022

Leather tanneries in Bangladesh are well-known for their poor working conditions. Although it is clear that companies like Bristol, Scapino, and Wortmann (known for the brands Caprice and Marco Tozzi) source leather shoes from Bangladesh, whether they use leather from Bangladesh remains unknown. When asked, the companies did not answer. Questions to these companies on what they do to prevent labour rights risks in leather production, or to solve actual problems, also remained unanswered.

Martje Theuws (SOMO): “These shoe and leather brands’ supply chains remain hidden, while transparency and open communication should be the norm in such a high-risk sector. It is impossible to engage with buying companies about abuses in a country like Bangladesh if there is no public information about who buys what from where.”

For this research, SOMO contacted 13 shoe companies and 14 leather importers. Only six companies responded to SOMO’s questions.

Insecure, unhealthy, underpaid work

The Bangladesh Labour Foundation (BLF), an organisation that SOMO works closely with, conducted investigations into 26 leather tanneries in Savar, close to Dhaka. This research confirmed that labour rights are grossly violated in the production of leather in Bangladesh: very few workers have a contract; payment below the minimum wage is common; and working days are long. Workers in these tanneries also face severe health problems due to exposure to chemicals.

Ashraf Uddin (BLF): “Despite the efforts of the international labour movement, and the national plan of action of the Bangladesh government to address social security problems in this sector, much remains to be done. Foreign buyers of leather and leather products have a great responsibility in this regard. How they act towards producers and towards the government has a great impact on working conditions in the supply chain.”

Untransparent supply chain

It is extremely difficult to map leather supply chains from slaughterhouse to shop. Shoe brands, factories, tanneries, subcontractors, and leather traders together form an opaque web. This prevents civil society and others from holding buying companies publicly accountable for abuses in their supply chains.

Legislation on transparency needed

Since companies do not voluntarily share information about their supply chains, legislation is needed, according to the researchers. Upcoming legislation on corporate accountability at the European level and in EU members states that will oblige companies to conduct business with respect for human rights, the environment, and the climate should therefore also include firm provisions on supply chain transparency,” Theuws said.

Download Indecent work

Report: Employment and working conditions in Bangladesh’s leather industry

14 September 2022

In this study among 120 tannery workers reveals severe labour rights risks in Bangladesh’s leather industry. Problems include low wages, health hazards due to unsafe working conditions, heavy pollution, insecure jobs and forced overtime. The survey was conducted by Bangladesh Labour Foundation (BLF) and (RAPID).

The survey shows that 111 of the 120 interviewed workers were employed on a non-permanent basis. Of the surveyed workers, 95 per cent were appointed without a signed contract or any other formal employment arrangements, which leaves them without any written confirmation of their employment terms and without any proof of employment. More than half of the surveyed workers (56 per cent) received a monthly wage that was less than the national minimum wage of Tk. 13,500 ($ 158) set by the government for tannery workers. Tannery workers toil for long hours, sometimes with forced overtime, and are subject to the whims of their employers because of scant union activism and weak workers’ representation. A lot of workers in Bangladesh’s leather industry suffer from health problems due to unsafe working conditions like skin diseases (28 per cent), shortness of breath (13 per cent), stomach ailments (32 per cent), and headaches (63 per cent). Three-quarters of those interviewed work without proper protective gear, and 79 percent lack training in how to use chemicals safely during tanning work.

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Download here a short summary in Bangla: Bangla translation Bangladesh field research

Take action for decent leather — Ashraf Uddin Mukut, Bangladesh

29 July 2022

The impacts of the Covid-19 crisis on leather workers in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India

11 October 2021

The coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on the garment and footwear industry, particularly on workers. The Corona chronicles bring to light the dramatic consequences of the crisis on leather workers in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India by portraying six of them. They speak about their experiences during the first lockdowns in 2020 and how the pandemic has affected them in terms of employment, livelihoods, rights, and how they fear for the future.

Millions of people worldwide work to produce leather garments, leather footwear and leather accessories. This global production network includes various phases, from animal husbandry to slaughter; from the tanning of raw hides to the finishing of leather; from the cutting of leather components to the production of a wide variety of leather end-goods, such as jackets, trousers, shoes, gloves, bags, trunks, and accessories.

With the coronavirus outbreak, production came to an abrupt halt. The international transport system, including container shipping, was completely upset. Supply chains were disrupted due to a lack of inputs and later on by the cancellation of orders by brands and retailers.

The six stories in this paper – composed by SOMO – were selected from a substantial number of interviews conducted by BLF in June 2020 in Bangladesh, by Cividep in July 2020 in India, and by NOW Communities in September 2020 in Pakistan. Both Cividep and BLF have published reports and analyses about the impacts of coronavirus on garment and leather workers in India and Bangladesh.

Added to these worker testimonies, the paper presents a set of recommendations to governments and businesses, to ensure better protection of workers’ rights.

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Trends in production and trade: Leather products from Bangladesh

30 July 2021

Bangladesh produces leather and leather goods such as shoes, belts, bags, suitcases, wallets and to a minor extent leather apparel. The leather and leather goods industry is the country’s the second largest export-earning industry. In particular, Bangladesh has emerged as an important producer of leather footwear for the international market. This overview of trends in the production of leather and leather goods in Bangladesh collates information on the main products produced in Bangladesh, and on important export markets for its leather and leather goods. The report further maps key Bangladesh-based leather manufacturers and foreign buying companies.

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