The member state endorsement launches a call to action or ‘The Sustainability Pledge’ |
56 countries in Europe, North America and Asia are backing a new toolkit that provides traceability and transparency for any garment or item of footwear from raw components to point of purchase.
The toolkit of policy recommendations, implementation guidelines and standards has been endorsed by members of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
Its aim is to verify sustainability claims in the garment and footwear sector by providing “an immutable record of provenance and composition for any item of clothing or pair of shoes.”
Armed with such information, consumers, regulators and companies themselves can check claims around sustainability and ethical production, the UN agency says.
Greater transparency and traceability can also contribute to efforts towards building a circular economy, as prioritised by the European Union. With precise information on product composition, goods can be more easily recycled keeping materials in use, and practices that generate waste, pollution or damage the natural environment cannot be hidden from regulators.
The member state endorsement launches a call to action or ‘The Sustainability Pledge,’ inviting governments, garment and footwear manufacturers and industry stakeholders to pledge to apply this toolkit of measures and take a positive step towards improving the environmental and ethical credentials of the sector.
Commitments should be made in time for the next multi-stakeholder policy dialogue, planned to take place on 21-23 September in Milan, Italy.
Workable solutions
“We’re incredibly proud and excited about the highly pragmatic, workable and open source solutions that have been endorsed by UN member States for improving the sustainability and circular practices in the garment and footwear sector,” says Olga Algayerova, executive secretary of the UNECE.
“With this endorsement, we have a clear roadmap for change and I encourage all actors, regulators and governments to join The Sustainability Pledge.”
The support of member States is a reflection of the region’s commitment to more sustainable economic models.
Italy has taken a leading role in exploring the role that digital technologies can play to give consumers reliable and updated information on the life of products, and to help producers, particularly SMEs, increase the efficiency and sustainability of production processes.
While France has recently adopted a series of laws that are front runners in the region’s move towards greater circularity, transparency and more responsible business conduct.
Luxury brand Vivienne Westwood helped develop and test the toolkit, “working with our suppliers to trace their supply chain back to its origins for…
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