1. Enact transparency and due diligence legislation.

The suppliers are subject to multiple audits with consequences if they do not pass. But what about the brands, retailers, and importers? Real transparency for them is optional and only happens partway in almost all cases. While modern slavery legislation in the UK and California has nudged the industry forward, it has not come with any financial penalties for brands, so they carry on the way they were after adding boilerplate language to the site. Any legislation mandating disclosures, supply chain mapping, and due diligence must come with clear reporting requirements and large financial penalties for non-compliance. The legislation should also fund an effort to gather data about BRIs purchasing practices. 

2. Invite the manufacturing voice to the table.

It’s important to have suppliers as part of any conversation around ethical and sustainable manufacturing, as they are the experts and the ones who will implement these changes on the ground. You need their buy-in and their help, so include them in your panels, conferences, working groups, committees, and government testimonials. Listen to what they tell you, and act on it. 

We realize that governments in supplier countries sometimes have fewer resources and less power than a multinational fashion corporation. But banded together in a trade agreement, they could revolutionize the industry. 

1. Measure and manage garment and fabric manufacturing capacity.

   A factory that exploits its workers and brings prices down for the entire industry is not better than no factory at all, in our view. The denim industry is estimated to be roughly 20% to 30% overcapacity, and every additional factory leads to lower prices and more exploitative hours for the workers. Follow the lead of government programs to measure and manage agricultural output, and explore an effort to similarly manage the output of fabrics, trims, and fashion products. 

2. Create a multinational agreement to ban exploitative contractual terms.

   We want supplier governments to explore an agreement forbidding certain exploitative contractual terms from being signed within their borders, such as overly broad force majeure clauses or a missing force majeure clause on the supplier side of the contract. Then, enforce contractual terms by revoking the export license within all signatory countries of any brand that has walked away from a contract without agreeing to arbitration.