Human Rights Due Diligence
Human rights due diligence is an ongoing effort to identify adverse impacts on human rights that may arise through business activities and business partners, prevent and mitigate them, and verify and explain the response status.
Contents5 sections
Definition and Positioning
Human rights due diligence is a procedure for companies to identify human rights risks related to their own operations, business partners, and raw material sources, and to address them appropriately. It is not a one-time check of risks; it is reviewed according to changes in business operations and sourcing partners.
This is not a standalone certification, material specification, or product label. It refers to a management framework implemented by companies based on laws and regulations in each country and region, business partner codes of conduct, and international ideas of respect for human rights.
Scope and How to Think About Standards
The scope includes forced labor, child labor, discrimination, occupational safety and health, appropriate working hours and compensation, freedom of association, and more. The key point is not the quality risks of fabric or products, but the rights of people affected by business activities.
The priority for checking is determined not only by the size of reputational damage or losses for the company, but also by the severity for the affected people, the extent of the impact, and the difficulty of remediation. Information gathering can be more difficult the deeper the transaction tier.
- Own employment and labor management
- Production sites such as sewing factories and dyeing mills
- Upstream supply chains such as spinning and raw material production
- Workers who are more vulnerable, such as dispatched workers and migrant workers
Checks in Fabric Procurement and Product Manufacturing
When procuring fabric, do not judge only by the material name or country of origin; confirm whether the supplier has a human rights policy, how far they understand their factories and processes, and whether there is a consultation desk or corrective procedure for reporting issues. The necessary scope of checks varies depending on transaction scale, sourcing region, and process.
In product manufacturing, ensure that delivery times and pricing do not lead to excessive overtime, unreasonable subcontracting, or burdens on occupational safety. Order changes, payment terms, and quality standards also affect production sites, so purchasing, planning, and production management are required to work together to manage them.
If a risk is found, immediately stopping the transaction is not the only response. Prioritize the safety of the affected people, and consider dialogue with the supplier, improvement plans, progress checks, and cooperation with remediation as needed.
Notes on Labels and Certificates
Implementing human rights due diligence itself is not a certification that shows fabric performance or safety. Therefore, when promoting human rights considerations on hang tags, product pages, or business materials, it is necessary to clearly state the scope of checks, supporting documents, and implementation date.
Third-party certifications, audit reports, and self-declarations can serve as reference materials for confirmation, but they do not by themselves guarantee that there are no human rights issues throughout the supply chain. Confirm the process covered by the certificate, the lot covered, the validity period, and the scope of the chain of custody.
Certifications related to environmental considerations or recycled materials differ in purpose and scope from human rights due diligence. Even when using multiple certifications and pieces of information, it is important to explain separately what each one is confirming.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is human rights due diligence a certification?
No, it is not a certification. It is an ongoing effort by companies to identify adverse impacts on human rights and to prevent and mitigate them, correct them, and disclose information. Audit reports and various certifications can be reference materials, but obtaining them alone does not mean the effort is complete.
What should be checked when procuring fabric?
Confirm the supplier's human rights policy, how manufacturing processes and subcontractors are being tracked, the scope of audits and self-checks, the mechanism for receiving complaints, and the corrective methods used when issues are found. In addition to information on the material's origin, also confirm process-by-process information such as spinning, dyeing, and weaving.
If the fabric is certified, is there no need to check human rights risks?
No, there is still a need. Certifications have limits regarding the materials, processes, and management items they cover. In human rights due diligence, confirmation includes the impact of your own orders and transaction conditions. Certificates are used as supplementary materials after confirming the covered scope.
