Transparentum released an interim report on the remediation plans and improvements of conditions on cotton farms that were initiated after Transparentum contacted international buyers and suppliers about the labor issues they had discovered on Indian cotton farms during an investigation in late 2022 and early 2023. The report was released now to “encourage additional stakeholders to become involved in the positive developments.” Transparentum plans to publish a full report of their findings and the commitments undertaken by the private sectors and other entities in November 2024.
Section 5 looks at company engagement and responses so far. Of the 60 companies contacted by Transparentum, over half have formed working groups and some have begun collaborating on responsive actions. The interim report lists two examples:
- One supplier and 10 of its buyers joined a working group established by Transparentum, which is partnering with a university to conduct a study on labor conditions, experience of workers, contributing factors, and root causes. The study, which is expected by the end of 2024, aims to “identify potential improvements to the supplier’s existing mitigation and prevention systems and to develop a corrective action plan based on identified risks.”
- Another working group was formed by 25 buyers of two other suppliers who engaged with an international multistakeholder initiative to “undertake a “scoping study” and develop a joint remediation “roadmap”. The goals of the study and roadmap are to establish practical and achievable steps, identify potential partners for remediation, and determine a timeline to implement these steps to…establish comprehensive due diligence in conventional cotton” with their suppliers. The first phase, which was shared with Transparentum in early June 2024, focused on “supply chain mapping, stakeholder mapping, reviewing existing programs and the capacity of local organizations, and determining activities timelines and required resources.” As the cotton season had ended by then, the working group plans to conduct a second phase to directly observe the cotton harvest and present a final roadmap in October 2024.