The IAF and OECD Was Invited to Be Present at The Dutch Trade and Development Minister

The IAF was invited to be present at a Ministerial meeting of the Dutch Trade and Development Minister, Lilianne Ploumen, with her French counterpart, Minister Nicole Bricq.

The meeting, held in Paris, produced a common statement by the two Ministers, calling for an international partnership for corporate responsibility. Also present at the meeting was Secretary General Gurria of the OECD.

The OECD’s Guidelines for responsible business are central to the international approach envisioned by the Dutch and French Ministers.

The IAF’s Global Responsibility action plan calls for IAF’s active support in creating a harmonized global framework for dealing with labour conditions and sustainability in the apparel industry.

Potentially this framework could be the ‘due diligence’ principle, which features centrally in the UN’s Ruggie Guiding Principles and in the OECD’s guidelines.

Due diligence helps companies to delimit the extent of the actions that may reasonably expected of them.