Due diligence in global supply chains

The majority of consumers wants to consume more sustainably. For most of them, however, this is very difficult - not only because they can hardly find their way through a confusing jungle of sustainability labels, but also because sustainable products are still the exception. A legal act governing due diligence in global supply chains can make an important contribution to end child labour, wage dumping and environmental destruction in production processes. Sustainability does not start with the consumers’ shopping decisions but at the very beginning of the value chain.

Since consumers have no influence on production conditions in global supply chains, companies must take responsibility for their production. Unfortunately, only few companies voluntarily take on this responsibility. A legal act governing due diligence in global supply chains would oblige them to analyse risks of human rights violations and environmental damage in their supply chains and take measures to remedy and prevent them.