In global garment supply chains, internationally operating fashion brands have harnessed tremendous power, illustrating how critical their involvement is in order to improve working conditions and address labor violations in supply chains. In this effort, engaging directly with brands—rather than only with garment suppliers—has become a crucial strategy for Global South trade unions committed to improving labor rights in garment production units.
The Power of Transparency in Trade Unions’ Efforts
For trade unions, effective negotiation with brands relies on having accurate and up-to-date information about fashion supply chains. That is where Open Supply Hub (OS Hub) has become an important tool, providing us at Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union with much-needed transparency about brand sourcing practices—while also being a reservoir for other secondary information which can improve access to remedy for victims of labor rights violation. The transparency provided by OS Hub not only saves time and resources, but also democratizes access to crucial supply chain information, helping level the playing field between local trade unions in the Global South and global brands.
Here are five key ways that OS Hub supports our union’s efforts:
1. Identifying Brands Sourcing from Specific Suppliers
One of the most powerful features of OS Hub is its dual capability to pinpoint brands sourcing from specific suppliers while revealing the source of this crucial data. This essential functionality serves as a linchpin for our advocacy efforts.
For example, when we input the name of a local factory known for labor violations into the OS Hub platform, we can quickly identify most international brands connected to that supplier. That allows us to analyze if the supplier has violated the code of conduct of the brands sourcing from the factory. This knowledge then enables us to precisely target our communications and campaigns, allowing for more effective outreach to relevant brands to address worker concerns.
Previously, this task might have taken several days and required support from international NGOs or research assistants. Now, our trade union leaders can accomplish this independently using OS Hub, significantly simplifying and streamlining our efforts. As more data is added to the OS Hub platform and its search function becomes more responsive to slight variations in the spellings of various supplier names, OS Hub’s effectiveness for our work will continue to grow.
2. Accessing Detailed Information on Supplier Factories
OS Hub provides a general overview of each supplier company in its database, including products manufactured, number of employees, and location. What makes this overview particularly valuable is that OS Hub collates this information from multiple brands working with the same supplier. This consolidation saves us countless hours of research, as we no longer need to check individual brand supplier lists to gather and compare data.
For instance, when we received multiple grievances from workers in a textile mill in Tamil Nadu, we were able to quickly access information about the workforce through OS Hub. In a matter of seconds, we could better understand the potential impact of our advocacy efforts.
3. Identifying Multi-Stakeholder Initiative Memberships
OS Hub also indicates whether a supplier is part of specific multi-stakeholder initiatives such as Fair Wear Foundation and the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles (PST). This information is crucial as it allows us to leverage these initiatives’ complaint mechanisms in our advocacy work. The search feature can help unions identify contributions from a given supply chain stakeholder and use the information in similar cases like the one described above.
For example, we discovered through OS Hub that a local manufacturer with ongoing labor disputes was a member of the PST. Armed with this knowledge, we could engage PST in our dialogue process, which immediately strengthened our advocacy efforts.
4. Mapping Suppliers in Specific Regions
OS Hub’s mapping tool allows users to see all suppliers in a specific region and the respective brands sourcing from them. By using the cursor to draw an area on the map, we can instantly research all the relevant suppliers in the Tamil Nadu region with the list of brands attached to them. This geographical perspective is incredibly useful for planning outreach events, especially when organizing regional-level campaigns involving multiple stakeholders.
This pre-drawn search highlights mapped production locations in Southern India with focus on Tamil Nadu. A user can filter for specific sectors to do a more focused search.
5. Contributing Union Data to the Platform
OS Hub not only provides information but also allows trade unions like ours to contribute our data about suppliers and brands. This feature enables us to share our on-the-ground knowledge and experiences with other stakeholders in the global garment industry.
Trade unions can use this feature to add information about smaller, local suppliers that may not be captured in brand disclosures. By contributing this data, we help create a more comprehensive picture of the supply chain, benefiting other unions, NGOs, policymakers and fashion brands working to improve conditions in the industry.
Open Supply Hub: Helping Unions Advancing Labor Rights
Supply chain transparency is far more than a buzzword; it is a potent catalyst for change in the global garment industry. In the face of persistent challenges, innovative tools like OS Hub not only offer us hope but also demonstrate the transformative power of technology in advancing workers’ rights.
By providing open access to crucial supply chain data through an intuitive platform, Open Supply Hub empowers trade unions like the TTCU to identify key stakeholders, build strategic alliances, and advocate more effectively for workers’ rights.
As we look to the future, we envision OS Hub expanding its reach by offering interfaces in regional languages and continually enriching its database with information on more suppliers and brands. This growth will enable us to collaboratively develop solutions that drive positive change across entire supply chains.
Follow the step-by-step guide to contribute data to OS Hub. Any questions? Email us at info@opensupplyhub.org or reach out to our India Community Manager at bhagyashree@openshupplyhub.org for more information.
OS Hub is a non-profit platform that relies on philanthropic support to sustain the world’s most complete, open and accessible supply chain map. Join us in powering the transition to safe and sustainable supply chains by making a donation today.
