“For many, the push for more regulations is grounded on a series of faulty—sometimes absolutely unjustified and false—premises that there is no accountability in the industry, the industry is not regulated by the government, and regulations are the only solution to ensure accountability,” Lamar wrote in his guest blog on the Better Buying website.
While the industry should be held accountable to make increasingly more responsible products in an increasingly more responsible manner, outside stakeholders like policy makers also need to be held accountable for their actions. Lamar advocates for what he calls first mile thinking—to make sure that before stakeholders take their first step, they are doing so with deliberation and purpose.
Measures must be clear, easy to understand and teach, implementable, and backed by proper technology and resources. Fashion value chains thread throughout the world and employ millions and millions of people in every country. Workers employed in the global supply chains are on the front lines of efforts to impose new traceability and transparency requirements. If stakeholders are not able to equip those suppliers with the proper means to succeed, then their joint efforts will take much longer, he commented.
Lamar cited the work of the Better Buying Institute as an example of creating tools to improve purchasing practices and shining a bright light—such as through the Better Buying Partnership Index—on the work that still lies ahead. Regulators should also embrace this mindset of continuous improvement, recognising when regulations have outlived their usefulness or when they can be updated as new technologies and needs arise.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (NB)
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