Clothing: Manufacturing Industries

(asked on 17th February 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of creating a garment trade adjudicator to monitor trading practices on (a) pay and conditions, (b) environmental rights, (c) women's rights and (d) trade union representation in the supply chains of UK brands and retailers.


Answered by
Kevin Hollinrake Portrait
Kevin Hollinrake
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This question was answered on 27th February 2023

In response to the Single Enforcement Body consultation published in 2021, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to continue engaging with enforcement bodies and industry partners to strengthen our understanding of the garment trade. We will continue to review this issue and consider options to drive up standards across the sector.

The fashion sector relies on complex supply chains crossing multiple borders. Retailers only have direct relationships with suppliers they have a contract with, not their tier 2 or 3 suppliers, and an adjudicator could not regulate relationships with sub-contractors. This raises issues in terms of feasibility of an adjudicator to effectively regulate the vast complexity of global fashion supply chains, and risks driving even more production offshore.

Since October 2020, a wide group of stakeholders comprising retailers, manufacturers and non-profit organisations have worked with the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority to address poor working, pay, and purchasing practices in UK supply chains.

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