Working Paper: An Effective System for Grievances and Remedy in Transnational Supply Chains

This 27-page working paper offers companies and initiatives concrete recommendations for action on institutionalizing, implementing, designing procedures and setting up grievance mechanisms as learning systems specifically in supply chains for leather, leather goods and footwear.

Production conditions along global supply chains are increasingly viewed critically in terms of their impact on working and living conditions at production sites. This is particularly true for the supply chains of leather, leather goods and footwear. Regulatory frameworks to guide corporate and government action are therefore on the rise. In addition to preventing human rights violations and ensuring that working and production conditions comply with human rights, access to effective remedies is playing an increasingly important role. Grievance mechanisms provide redress for rights violations, support corporate risk analysis by investigating the volume of complaints, and have a preventive effect through the possibility to turn to the mechanism at an early stage.

This paper is based on the research report "Außergerichtliche Beschwerdemechanismen entlang globaler Lieferketten - Empfehlungen für die Institutionalisierung, Implementierung und Verfahrensausgestaltung" published by the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection in September 2021. The working paper was developed by Prof. Dr. Ulla Gläßer and Helene Bond from the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder) on behalf of and in cooperation with INKOTA.

Dieses Arbeitspapier ist auch auf Deutsch erhältlich.

Further publications

• Unternehmensbefragung: Menschenrechtliche Sorgfaltspflicht in der Praxis
• Gute Praktiken in der Schuh- und Lederindustrie
• Gute Güte – Gützeichen, Multi-Stakeholder- und Sektorinitiativen in der Schuh- und Lederproduktion