ACT Initiative

LIDL CLAIMS FAIR PAY FOR WORKERS IN THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY

As a large commercial company, Lidl supplies clothing and fabrics manufactured on its behalf, worldwide. In textile producing countries, different working conditions prevail, depending on national legislations and social and economic development.

PARTICIPATION IN ACT

Since November 2019, Lidl has been a member of the international "Action, Collaboration, Transformation" (ACT) initiative, where, together with other companies, it has been exerting greater pressure for remunerations in the textile industry, on an international level, to ensure decent living wages

ACT seeks to raise salaries through collective negotiations. ACT is currently active in Cambodia and is in discussion with other production countries. In this framework, binding volumes of purchases are fixed for a certain period of time, which in turn prevents processing companies from migrating to low-cost manufacturing countries. At the same time, expansion is planned in more production countries.

Participating in ACT is fully in line with the ideas of Lidl’s Code of Conduct and implies a practical implementation of these ideas: In the specified Code of Conduct, binding requirements for social and environmental specifications by conventional partners with which Lidl International works must be met. The goal is to offer products to our customers that are produced in a responsible and environmentally friendly way. By joining ACT, Lidl takes action toward improving living and working conditions in manufacturing countries and fulfils its duty as a company to take care of such matters.

The involvement of companies such as Lidl is particularly important as Lidl has large volumes of purchases and can therefore have a greater influence on its suppliers in Asia. Through collective, improved purchasing practices, ACT members want to shield sustainable wages in the clothing industry and pursue the necessary transformation of an industry that has long had to change

- Frank Hoffer, Executive Director της ACT

ABOUT ACT

ACT is the first global organization to seek general collective agreements in textile, clothing and footwear manufacturing countries. The initiative fights to impose remuneration that ensures a decent living in the above industries and brings together all relevant stakeholders, such as brands, traders, trade unions, manufacturers and governments, who can help achieve this goal through their diverse abilities. In this framework, a living wage is considered as a remuneration that covers the expenses of the employee's household and his or her immediate family, includes sufficient free disposable income and is earned within normal, legal working hours without overtime.
More information on ACT here.