Last week, Fair Wear participated in the Cascale Annual Meeting, which centred around the theme Who Pays? Who Profits?.
The theme resonated strongly throughout the event, highlighting a fundamental question for the garment and textile industry: how value, costs and risks are distributed across supply chains, and what this means for workers. The discussions reinforced the importance of responsible purchasing practices as a key driver of effective human rights due diligence. Without business relationships that enable suppliers to operate sustainably, lasting improvements in working conditions remain difficult to achieve.
Beyond the formal sessions, conversations with brands, suppliers and partner organisations demonstrated a shared commitment to moving from policy commitments to practical implementation. We were also pleased to join the networking dinner organised by Inspectorio, which provided valuable opportunities to continue these conversations and exchange experiences with industry peers.
Navigating the policy maze
One of the discussions we contributed to was the Human Library session on navigating the "policy maze". Several key themes emerged:
- Climate and social impacts are deeply interconnected and should be addressed as linked challenges.
- Translating policy into practice requires shared responsibility between brands and suppliers.
- Progress depends less on gathering ever-increasing amounts of data and more on identifying priorities and taking meaningful action.
These discussions reflected a broader shift within the industry: from understanding requirements and collecting information towards using insights to drive change.
Connecting data with credibility
During the panel discussion Connecting the Ecosystem, Fair Wear's Hester Janssens highlighted the importance of stakeholder-validated information in effective due diligence.
While connected data systems can help companies identify and prioritise risks, meaningful action requires understanding what sits behind the data. The discussion demonstrated how different initiatives can play complementary roles in supporting companies' due diligence efforts.
The examples shared by Open Supply Hub, SLCP and Fair Wear illustrated how different forms of information can work together. Industry tools can improve visibility and efficiency, while worker-centred and stakeholder-engaged approaches help ensure that due diligence is informed by credible insights from the people most affected by supply chain decisions.
A practical example from Columbia Sportswear showed how connected information can support better prioritisation and more informed decision-making, helping companies move from identifying risks to addressing them.
Looking ahead
As human rights and environmental due diligence expectations continue to evolve, the industry has an opportunity to focus not only on better-connected data, but also on stronger processes for validating, interpreting and acting on that information.
Ultimately, progress depends on turning insights into action and ensuring that business decisions contribute to better outcomes for workers.
Thank you to the Cascale team for creating space for these important conversations and bringing together stakeholders from across the industry.