Page 14 - TEXtalks November/December 2021

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Big Stakeholders negotiate new

human rights agreement

Garment and textiles industry stakeholders in the Netherlands and the wider European Union are
weighing the 2022 introduction of a new agreement to further human rights, international labor rights,
the environment, and animal welfare in the sector. The parties involved want to help companies
implement the due diligence guidelines and facilitate companies based on upcoming legal require-
ments from a garments sector perspective. The EU will come with a legislative proposal in 2022, while
the Dutch government has committed to drafting due diligence legislation.

The agreement aims to set the most impactful goals in the sector. The initial focus is on the national
and international players active in the Dutch market, but the process is also open to organizations
active in other European countries. It is expected that the new agreement will see the light in the course
of early 2022, depending on the commitment of the Dutch government and the integration in the
extended producer responsibility system of the sector, among others.

The Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER) facilitates the process. The parties are
designed the agreement to be impactful, and the approach focuses on clear, individual, and shared
commitments to drive collective goals.

Promises vs. reality: Gas issues

jolting the textile sector

Before the winter season started, the Government of Pakistan and various stakeholders promised the
export-oriented sector regarding the continuous gas supply. The textile and export-oriented sector
appreciated the efforts of the Government even at increased prices from $6.5/mmbtu to $9/mmbtu.
However, it has been an unrelenting story of prolonged gas shortages across the country. From
domestic to business consumers to industrialists, all suffer from acute disruptions in gas supplies,
which are not entirely unexpected.

It is now being stated that setting up two liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and increasing the
number of cargoes in the next few years would help address the issue of gas shortages in the country.
Such promises we have heard many times, and each promise gives us hope to expect something ‘in
the next few years.

Uncertainty over gas supply creates more problems for industries that are caught unawares. Such
suspicions hamper the overall activities of industries in the affected areas. The decision to shut down
home stoves and general industries to keep the export-oriented industries operational may trigger
confrontation and unrest among business and domestic consumers. It is unfair to suspend supply to
general consumers who are an integral part of the economy and must receive their due share in the supply
chain. The textile sector is asking to do the needful as soon as possible to meet the export targets.

November/December 2021