A new report from the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights has called for urgent reforms in the outsourcing practices of the apparel industry, following harmful practices by corporate buyers and their representatives, which have continued during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The report, titled “A Broken Partnership: How Clothing Brands Exploit Suppliers and Harm Workers and What Can Be Done About It”, includes practical recommendations for clothing brands and retailers to establish constructive relationships with outsourced suppliers that protect the human rights and economic well-being of workers.

According to the report, harmful practices by corporate buyers include pressuring suppliers for unreasonable price reductions, delaying delivery and withholding payment, canceling bookings and projections, and relying on sourcing intermediaries who exacerbate exploitative practices. These practices have resulted in reduced worker pay, and the report recommends that buyers end unreasonable price reductions and excessive discounting practices.

The report also recommends that corporate buyers commit to payment timelines that take suppliers’ raw material purchases into account, recognize that a projection or booking is as good as a contract for many suppliers, increase transparency and communication with third-party sourcing agents, and reconcile commitments to factory safety and worker wellbeing with the commercial terms negotiated with manufacturers.

The report’s recommendations provide a crucial roadmap for the apparel industry to ensure that such tragedies never happen again, and to create a fair and sustainable supply chain that benefits workers, suppliers, and buyers alike.