Celebrating the anniversary of the Green Button: 5 years of commitment to sustainable textile supply chains!
© Kerstin Kater
In the last five years, more than 100 companies have introduced the Green Button standard, which means that around 6500 suppliers benefit from improved social and environmental standards in around 30 production countries. Behind these figures are thousands of workers who benefit from better working conditions.
This is not only an occasion to celebrate, but also an opportunity to look both back and into the future. Yesterday's jubilee and expert conference celebrated the milestones and advancements of the Green Button over the past five years. Furthermore, it was discussed how the government-run textile label can continue to actively shape the change towards a more sustainable and just textile supply chain and conscious consumption in the future. A wide range of representatives from politics, civil society, the private sector and standard organisations took part in the event in Berlin. The conference offered stakeholders a valuable opportunity for dialogue and exchange to create synergies in the implementation of corporate due diligence obligations.
The Parliamentary State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Dr Bärbel Kofler, opened the anniversary event with a speech in which she emphasised the extent to which the Green Button has helped shape the legal landscape. By incorporating corporate due diligence obligations into its testing standards, the textile label has not only raised the bar for production standards in the supply chain but has also played an active role in shaping and progressing the legal discourse on due diligence obligations. The event programme was followed by a panel discussion with Dr Kofler, Johanna von Stechow, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Tchibo, and Michael Windfuhr, Deputy Director of the German Institute for Human Rights (DIMR). As representatives of different interest groups, the three experts shared their findings from the last five years and their perspectives on the further development of the Green Button. Ms von Stechow explained the companies' point of view and how much the Green Button has initiated at company level, and which processes the label has influenced. The key message of the panel discussion was that the state-run textile label remains relevant despite and precisely because of increasing sustainability regulation. The Green Button aims to keep leading the way and challenging companies but also guiding and supporting them in fulfilling the requirements.
© Kerstin Kater
Following the panel, the insights were complemented by an input from Jennifer Schappert, Partner at Due Diligence Design, on current regulatory developments at EU level. Lucia de Carlo, Head of Division 120 ‘Sustainable Transformation of Global Supply Chains’ at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), then gave an outlook on the future priorities of the BMZ as the label provider.
The participants were able to discuss needs and interests and work on specific results regarding the future of the Green Button label in three break-out sessions. In view of increasing regulation at European and international level, companies will be confronted with increasing requirements in the years ahead. Not only will companies be faced with many requirements in the areas of the circular economy and environmental protection as part of the CSDDD, the LKSG and the CSRD, but the Eco-Design Regulation will also place requirements on the recyclability of products. One of the workshops therefore focussed on the question of how the topics of circular economy and climate can be further anchored in the existing Green Button criteria. The Green Button already includes requirements for the use of fibres and recycled materials. In conclusion, the participants all agreed that the topics are very relevant for the Green Button in the future and that these legislative initiatives should be closely monitored.
Another workshop focussed on challenging topics in the standard, particularly in relation to the implementation of the Green Button requirements at level B - the second monitoring audit, in which further indicators are examined in greater depth after two years. The break-out session showed that continuous improvement can be a genuine challenge and how important the exchange on implementation is to raise awareness of problems and find solutions.
The third break-out session prioritised the people in the textile supply chains and the voices of those potentially affected, thereby addressing a core concern of the BMZ. At the same time, it was emphasised that a very good balance and coordination between the expectations of the OECD, regulation, practical implementation and the well-being of the people on site are essential. Further work and learning experiences are needed here. The topic of alignment assessments was also discussed in depth by the participants. The Green Button has undergone a full OECD Alignment Assessment, whose results will be published in early 2025. The alignment assessment evaluates the degree of compliance of sustainability standards with the OECD guidelines.
The input from the break-out sessions will be collected and incorporated into the further development of the Green Button as part of the revision starting in autumn 2025. The government-run textile label is constantly evolving to adapt to changing conditions, promote responsible behaviour as a standard and transform textile supply chains in the long term. A new, improved and more ambitious version of the Green Button is expected to be launched in 2027.