Eight Dutch financial institutions managing assets worth a combined EUR725bn (US$836) have launched a coalition to campaign for fairer wages in the garment industry.
The Platform Living Wage Financials (PLWF) brings together Achmea Investment Management, ASN Bank, ASR Nederland, Kempen, MN, NN Investment Partners, Robeco and Triodos Investment Management, to “encourage, support and monitor” the companies they invest in to address living wage in their global supply chains.
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“Research shows that in sectors such as garments and footwear, wages paid to supply chain workers are often on the poverty line and well-below living wage estimates,” they say. “Therefore, they are not sufficient to cover workers’ basic expenses, such as food, clothing, housing, health care, and education.”
In some countries, they add, the statutory minimum wage may be equal to living wage, but more often than not it is “too low, not revised regularly, and set without adequate stakeholder consultation.”
The coalitiion is working with 14 garment and footwear retailers – including Asics, Asos, Adidas, Burberry, Esprit, H&M and Marks & Spencer – to identify those leading the issue and “motivate the laggards to follow their better-performing peers.”
The group says the financial sector is in a unique position to encourage companies it invests in to implement appropriate living wage policies.
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By GlobalDataThe move taps into widespread concerns among investors that disrespect for human rights in the supply chains of the companies in which they invest in may expose them to reputational risk.
In July, a group of more than 100 institutional investors managing over $12 trillion of assets sought more information from apparel brands and retailers including Adidas, Gap, H&M, Inditex, Marks & Spencer, Next and Nike on issues such as diversity, workers’ rights, and health and safety in their global supply chains.
In addition, some 85% of institutional investors say non-financial information is critical to their buy decisions; while a generational shift is seeing ageing baby boomers transferring some US$30 trillion in wealth to more socially and environmentally conscious millennials: Sustainable sourcing driven by investors, not consumers.
