Textile industry 2007 CSR report released
Source: Source from China Daily Date: 2008-07-01
The China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC) recently released its 2007 industrial corporate social responsibility (CSR) report, which illustrates the development of CSC9000T implementation last year.
CSC9000T sets standards for social compliance in the Chinese textile and apparel industry issued in 2005. It was the first, and so far the only CSR industrial guideline in China.
Pilot project
On March 28, 2006, CNTAC began the CSC9000T pilot project with the participation of 10 large enterprises, including Beijing Aimer, Wenzhou Baoxi’niao, Wuxi Hongdou and Suzhou Gaiqi. The first step of the process - "initial evaluation, training and re-evaluation" - began in April 2006.
At this stage, CSR conditions in the pilot firms are assessed through on-site visits, employee interviews and document checks. An evaluation report is generated for each enterprise, assessing its performance and identifying problems.
Based on the findings, each firm is required to make improvements. Meanwhile, the management of each pilot enterprise undergoes on-site training conducted by CSC9000T experts on performance improvement and system establishment and operation.
Following the training, management and experts develop a specific plan for a revised system development. The enterprise then does a trial run for at least two months before re-evaluation.
By the end of 2006, all 10 pilot enterprises had completed initial evaluation and training. And the re-valuation stage began last April. The revaluation also examines whether problems identified during the initial evaluation have been solved.
Performance indicators for each core CSC9000T element were identified before the re-evaluation started. These indicators, involving employment contracts, child worker, forced or compulsory labor, working hours, wages and welfare, trade unions and collective bargaining, discrimination, harassment and abuse, as well as occupational health and safety, form a basic framework to evaluate the management of CSC9000T elements.
The revaluation of the first nine CSC9000T pilot enterprises ended in late July 2007, and marked a new era of CSR practice in China’s textile and apparel industry.
’10+100+1000’ program
CNTAC initiated the CSC9000T "10+100+1000" program in December 2006, selecting 100 key companies from 10 textile clusters to establish the CSC9000T management system while providing CSR training to 1,000 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The project aims to create a supportive environment for CSR development throughout China by setting examples so local textile and apparel enterprises can follow and promote positive competition through improved hiring practices, management systems and self-discipline.
It is also trying to introduce the concept of sustainable development and CSR to the numerous textile and clothing-related SMEs.
The chosen clusters are in Zhejiang, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Fujian provinces, all textile and apparel hubs. The system development at the 100 enterprises is scheduled to be finished by the end of this year. The program is also training about 1,500 CSR managers and professionals for the textile industry.
The program was officially launched in last May. By July of 2007, over 3,600 managers and employee representatives from 940 enterprises in the clusters had received training and 114 major enterprises had been selected to take part in the CSC9000T system development program.
SMEs
The report says the development and improvement of the CSC9000T pilot project and the "10+100+1000" program depends on active participation by numerous related enterprises.
During the process, large and medium-sized enterprises have been playing a major role with their desire to innovate their business operation models and realize sustainable development.
But compared to their larger peers, SMEs face a series of challenges, such as relatively weak management systems and lack of expertise. Therefore, it’s difficult to require them to develop a complete CSR management system in one step. For instance, eight SMEs quit the "10+100+1000" program due to their lack of sound management.
This raises the question of how stakeholders can encourage small- and medium-sized textile and apparel enterprises to develop CSR practices.
The report finds that it is probably more realistic for SMEs to improve their CSR performance in a step-by-step manner rather than all at once. The report suggests that beginning with awareness raising and training, the SMEs should next set up management and control regulations regarding key CSR issues, as well as introducing effective employee participation and communication systems.
