The IAF and the OECD will work together on the practical implementation of due diligence principles for the apparel industry, culminating into a conference on the subject in September.
On March 31, the IAF was invited at a ministerial meeting of the Dutch Trade and Development Minister, Lilianne Ploumen, with her French counterpart, Minister Nicole Bricq in Paris. Both ministers called for an international partnership for corporate responsibility. Also present at the meeting was Secretary General Gurria of the OECD. The OECD’s Guidelines for responsible business are central to the international approach envisioned by the Dutch and French ministers.
Through its global responsibility action plan, IAF will work towards creating a harmonized global framework for dealing with labour conditions and sustainability in the apparel industry. Potentially this framework could be the ‘due diligence’ principle, which features centrally in the UN’s Ruggie Guiding Principles and in the OECD’s guidelines.
