Sedex is one of the world’s leading ethical trade membership organisations, working with businesses to improve working conditions in global supply chains.

They provide an online platform, tools and services to help businesses operate responsibly and sustainably. They protect workers and source ethically.

Using Sedex enables businesses to work together to better manage their social and environmental performance and improve working conditions throughout the supply chain.

Over 60,000 member organisations from over 180 countries use the Sedex platform to exchange data, manage business risk, meet compliance and drive positive impact on people.

The Fast Forward audit programme is just one stage of continuous improvement. Suppliers access pragmatic, good practice guidance, resources and training to support them to improve.

Audited suppliers receive graded performance measurement, enabling Brands to focus attention on the highest risk suppliers whilst recognising those with best practice policies and processes that go beyond compliance.

Recognition of suppliers enabling worker voice and access to credible grievance mechanisms is embedded throughout.

Reports are also shared between Fast Forward brands with common suppliers, who collaborate to jointly support remediation.

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) is a non-profit, multistakeholder governance group that promotes better standards in cotton farming and practices across 25 countries and includes more than 2,300 members across the Better Cotton network.

Partner retailers include H&M, Gap, IKEA, and Levi Strauss. BCI contributes towards the UN's goals to achieve better global water sustainability and sustainable agriculture.

BCI farmers receive training on how to use water efficiently, care for the health of the soil and natural habitats, minimise the impact of harmful crop protection practices, preserve fibre quality and apply decent work principles. BCI also promotes use of better irrigation practices with farmers, as well as reducing the use of fertilizers.

OEKO-TEX® enables consumers and companies to make responsible decisions which protect our planet for future generations. OEKO-TEX® consists of 17 independent institutes in Europe and Japan. Together they are continuously developing test methods and limit values for the textile and leather industry.

STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® is one of the world's best-known labels for textiles tested for harmful substances. It stands for customer confidence and high product safety.

If a textile article carries the STANDARD 100 label, you can be certain that every component of this article, i.e. every thread, button and other accessories, has been tested for harmful substances and that the article therefore is harmless for human health.

Vegan fashion – clothes, shoes and accessories that contain no leather, fur, wool, skin, exotic skins or any other animal-derived fabric – is revolutionising the way that we shop and dress. As more and more people vow never to clothe themselves in cruelty, retailers and designers are meeting the demand for animal-friendly clothes in style.

Although you can easily find fashionable animal-free products in many high-street stores, some companies go further, either by ensuring that everything they sell is 100 per cent vegan or by clearly sign-posting their vegan products. The “PETA-Approved Vegan” logo is a way of recognising these progressive compassionate businesses – and helping ethical consumers identify where to shop with confidence, safe in the knowledge that they’re not supporting the exploitation of animals.

REACH is a regulation of the European Union, adopted to improve the protection of human health and the environment from the risks that can be posed by chemicals, while enhancing the competitiveness of the EU chemicals industry. It also promotes alternative methods for the hazard assessment of substances in order to reduce the number of tests on animals.

In principle, REACH applies to all chemical substances; not only those used in industrial processes but also in our day-to-day lives, for example in cleaning products, paints as well as in articles such as clothes, furniture and electrical appliances. Therefore, the regulation has an impact on most companies across the EU.

The textiles sector is a significant contributor to the global economy, creating millions of livelihoods around the world. But global apparel production and consumption continue to rise, and the current ‘take, make, dispose’ model of production and consumption has many negative environmental and social impacts. The industry is criticised for its unsustainable use of water, land, fossil fuels and energy, along with manufacturing processes associated with toxic chemicals, waste and pollution, and unethical labour practices. 

As the world faces the reality of catastrophic climate change, the need for urgent action is paramount. 

WRAP is taking action to transform the way the fashion and textiles industry buys, uses and re-uses textiles and clothing. We are convening the sector for transformational change. Our cross-industry collaborative agreements cut carbon, water and waste from textile supply chains, and bring businesses together in nations around the world to accelerate progress towards a circular textiles economy.