On 27 August, the Danish fashion giant Bestseller announced that the company is not placing new orders in Myanmar until it has conducted an impact assessment and engaged in dialogue with labor experts, trade unions, and other stakeholders with a “clear focus on the wellbeing of garment workers in Myanmar.”
In the statement, Bestseller said, “Following the announcement from IndustriALL Global Union and their Myanmar affiliate, the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM), BESTSELLER will not place new orders in the country until an impact assessment and dialogue with experts, NGOs, trade unions and other relevant stakeholders with a clear focus on the wellbeing of garment workers in Myanmar has been conducted.”
Moreover, Bestseller stated:
We are not placing new orders in Myanmar until we have conducted a thorough impact assessment and been in dialogue with experts, NGOs, trade unions, and other relevant stakeholders with a clear focus on the wellbeing of garment workers in Myanmar.
We take this announcement from IndustriALL and IWFM very seriously. Local and international unions are one of our key partners in responsible sourcing, and we recognize the difficulties they have faced in Myanmar since 1 February.
We have a responsibility to assess the impact our business decisions may have on human rights, and this is a process we will now go through.
We will of course remain committed to our placed orders, enabling crucial payment of wages to workers in the factories.
The duration of the impact assessment is yet to be determined but will not exceed the production time of the orders that have been already placed.
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