The opening ceremony for the Joint Project on Corporate Social Responsibility in the Chinese Textile Industry has been held in Beijing, with representatives attending from the China National Textile and Apparel Council, International Labour Organization, and United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

Sun Ruizhe, vice president of CNTAC and director-general of CNTAC's corporate social responsibility division, heralded the occasion and said, "China is at a very critical moment for sustainable development. CNTA, as a representative of the industry, has taken the scientific approach to promoting sustainability."

Sun stressed that Chinese textile companies would continue to implement  the China Social Compliance 9000 for Textile & Apparel Industry standard, also known as CSC9000T. This is a social responsibility management system based on the Chinese laws and regulations, international conventions and practices, as well as China's special needs.

According to CNTAC, the promotion of CSC9000T aims to protect the legal rights of employees. Enterprises can also benefit from the CSC9000T implementation through enhanced core competitiveness due to improved management systems, human resource management, organizational culture, and brand image. CSC9000T should also benefit other stakeholders because it can satisfy buyers' requirements, make investors more confident in the enterprises, and improve relationships with the local community.

Sun says CNTAC has established relationships with retailers, government agencies, and organizations aimed at both increasing productivity and increasing human resource management.

Constance Thomas, director of the ILO office for China and Mongolia, said, "This is one of the first times the ILO and UNIDO have collaborated at the country level on a project."

Thomas said it will continue to be very challenging to help integrate CSR into the Chinese textile industry, but this means there are many new areas where the ILO and its partners can help develop the textile sector in China.

Thomas added that the textile was a good sector to use for this type of project because the low margins make occupational safety and health, human resource development, and CSR issues a challenge. She said the ILO recognizes these problems and understands that if China raises standards, the entire global industry will have to follow suit.

Zhang Xubiao will be the project manager for this new initiative, which also includes help from the Swiss government.

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5 Responses to “Chinese Textile Industry Gets New CSR Focus”

1. By Yann Ulrecht – June 5th, 2007 at 9:34 am

   Where can I contact with CNTAC? Textiles trades in China have many groups like these or this is biggest one for these textile trades? I want to find more about CSR laws about making clothing in China factories.

2. By sam – June 6th, 2007 at 11:37 am

   Nike dropped their supplier in Pakistan a few months ago. So what will they and Levis and all the clothing retailers do in China with so many new "laws" written? I believe it is time for these clothing companies to start treating their youthful staff much better and then I can buy from them once again.

3. By Deborah Meeks – June 24th, 2007 at 1:14 pm

   What are the laws regarding Chinese youth labor? For example I want to know of any age minimum requirements and any other details that regulate how and when youth can be hired in China. Are the laws nationwide or are they specific to localities and municipalities? Why don't Nike and the others have this information on their own websites??

4. By Matt Ayers – February 8th, 2008 at 3:57 am

   Who are the 100 companies receiving this training with a focus on CSR?

5. By Editor – February 9th, 2008 at 7:49 am

   Contact ILO and also read more about their program at this link.

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