Meaningful stakeholder engagement is increasingly recognised as essential to effective human rights due diligence. Yet many companies still struggle to move beyond consultation towards engagement that inform decisions and lead to better outcomes for workers. Bridging this implementation gap has been a central focus of Fair Wear's work over the past 18 months.
Drawing on Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement pilots across multiple production countries, Fair Wear has tested, refined and translated emerging practice into practical guidance that helps companies embed meaningful stakeholder engagement throughout the due diligence cycle.
Building on years of experience working collaboratively with workers, trade unions, civil society organisations, suppliers and brands, Fair Wear has increasingly focused on how to operationalise practical and impactful MSE at scale. Piloting MSE as a succession of framework and guidance development have resulted in a strong, practical foundation for structured, credible and action-oriented MSE in the garment and textile sector that makes us ready for implementation at scale.
Where we started: Understanding the fundaments of practical MSE in different contexts
Building on the MSE Framework and Technical Guidance, Fair Wear set out to test different approaches to effective MSE in different contexts. To better understand what enables meaningful stakeholder engagement in practice, Fair Wear developed and led pilots across India, Indonesia, Eastern Europe and Viet Nam in collaboration with local stakeholders. These pilots generated practical evidence on how meaningful stakeholder engagement can be organised in different settings while remaining legitimate, accessible, safe and action oriented. Bringing together key industry stakeholders in structured, facilitated dialogue, Fair Wear and participating brands jointly explored how to support human rights and environmental due diligence in a practical way. Stakeholders such as brands, trade unions, civil society organisations, business associations and suppliers engaged on prioritising salient risks, identifying preventive and mitigative actions, and strengthening understanding of what it takes to organise impactful engagement.
Fair Wear actively contributed these insights to policy discussions and industry learning platforms We led workshops and shared emerging practice during events like the Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement from Principles to Practise conference in Berlin and the SER community of practice on meaningful stakeholder engagement. Through these contributions, Fair Wear has helped deepen understanding of what meaningful stakeholder engagement requires in practice and how it can support more credible and impactful due diligence.
What we learned: Core insights into practical MSE across sectors
Across countries and engagement models, six core insights emerged that are relevant well beyond the garment and footwear sector.
- Embed MSE in the HRDD cycle
- MSE must be treated as a continuous process, not a one-off event.
- Ensure brand ownershipBrands must take responsibility for preparation, participation, costs and follow-up.
- Work collectivelyCollective engagement reduces stakeholder fatigue and strengthens joint action.
- Uphold the LASER principlesLegitimacy, accessibility, safety, equitability and respect must guide the process, with safety requiring particular attention.
- Invest in trusted and neutral conveningCredible facilitation and local relationships are essential to build trust. Local facilitation is key in enabling and safeguarding careful stakeholder preparation, strong follow-up and accountability towards stakeholders.
- Move from dialogue to accountable actionMSE is about outcomes, not process; engagement must lead to feedback, follow-up and concrete next steps, with clear responsibility for acting on stakeholder input.
What’s next:
As expectations around stakeholder engagement continue to evolve, the challenge is no longer whether companies should engage stakeholders, but how to do so in ways that strengthen decision-making for brands and improve outcomes for workers. Our extensive experience has laid the foundation for MSE services and expertise we can offer at scale, further supporting the industry with implementing meaningful stakeholder engagement in practice.
Fair Wear will continue working with brands, suppliers, workers and civil society organisations to test, refine and share practical approaches that help turn stakeholder engagement into an effective driver of human rights due diligence.
If you are interested in collaborating with us on this topic, please reach out to [email protected].