Primark, C&A flout ETI and Textilbündnis guidelines

EXCLUSIVE – New guidelines by the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) and the German Partnership for Sustainable Textiles (Textilbündnis) are being flouted by Primark and C&A. The pair, each members of both bodies, have come under-fire in the past week for refusing to honour cancelled orders with suppliers, many of which are partly complete or, in some cases, ready to ship. ETI and Textilbündnis have this week issued COVID-19 guidance for member brands stating explicitly that such practices fall well below standards expected by their members.

The fact that neither brand has shown any sign of shifting its stance on this issue raises huge questions about their continued membership of such organisations.

ETI released guidelines which say it expects brands to pay for completed orders “in reasonable time” while sharing supplier costs with ongoing orders. ETI’s executive director, Peter McAllister, this week told Apparel Insider: “Any brands which is saying they are not going to pay for products just because they cannot use them would be contravening our guidance. I am hearing rumours about some brands and they concern me. If [these rumours] go against our principles … we have a problem.”