ACT releases Accountability and Monitoring Report 2023: Pivotal Progress in Responsible Purchasing Practices

ACT (Action, Collaboration, Transformation) is pleased to announce the release of its 2023 Accountability and Monitoring Report, highlighting significant progress in reshaping purchasing practices within the garments, textiles, and footwear industry.

The comprehensive report showcases collaborative efforts among brands and retailers to design, measure, and monitor transformative practices.

The ACT Purchasing Practices Surveys for brand employees and suppliers and manufacturers are the largest monitoring tools in the global garments, textiles, and footwear industry. The results give visibility to the perception of suppliers and inform the measurement of key performance indicators in achieving the five ACT Global Purchasing Practices Commitments the ACT signatory brands have agreed. 

The ACT tools stand out as a set of credible measures that form the most comprehensive framework to assess purchasing practices of the industry – The ACT Accountability and Monitoring Framework.

“Alongside supporting sound supply chain industrial relations, purchasing practices are key enablers for creating positive change. For ACT signatory brands and IndustriALL Global Union collective bargaining, backed by freedom of association and responsible purchasing practices, is the only effective, sustainable, and reliable approach to achieving living wages” says Christina Hajagos-Clausen, Director, textile and garment industry, IndustriALL Global Union.

The launch of the ACT Accountability and Monitoring Report 2023 marks a pivotal moment in demonstrating progress in responsible purchasing practices by ACT signatory brands. 

Key findings of the report include a comparison of the Purchasing Practices Survey results and Commitment Reporting of 2023 with 2021. ACT signatory brands shared the ACT Brand Survey with their employees, evaluating the status quo of their own practices. 1,634 brand employees submitted their responses. They furthermore invited their suppliers in their global supply chains to assess their practices in the ACT Supplier Survey. 2,172 survey responses from a total 1,423 suppliers in 2023 were submitted. This is an increase of 6% compared to 2021.

The results of the progress measurement and reporting on ACT Global Purchasing Practices Commitments, comparing 2023 with 2021, show positive progress in the implementation of the Global ACT Purchasing Practices Commitments 1 (including wages as itemised costs), 2 (fair terms of payment), 4 (undertaking training), and 5 (responsible exits), with constant results on commitment 3 (planning and forecasting).

“The 2023 report is a key step in showing how ACT signatory brands are working to improve their purchasing practices. This is not only important for brands to meet due diligence requirements, but enables an environment in which workers’ and employers’ representatives can negotiate collectively on higher wages”, says Mira Neumaier, Executive Director of ACT.

ACT (Action, Collaboration, Transformation) is an agreement between global brands, retailers, and the trade union IndustriALL Global Union to transform the garment, textile, and footwear industry and achieve living wages for workers through collective bargaining at the industry level linked to purchasing practices.

Download the Full Report 

Download the Executive Summary

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