Progress with YESS: Pilot Project Completed, Pilot Report Issued, & Textile Standard Open for Consultation

Upon completion of the year-long pilot for its flagship initiative, YESS: Yarn Ethically & Sustainably Sourced, RSN issued a press release about its pilot findings. The pilot project, which included virtual training and in-person assessments in India, Pakistan, and Malaysia, demonstrated that manufacturers can track all of their cotton through their systems from fabric back to cotton bale suppliers. The manufacturers require in-person training and support to implement a risk-based, due diligence approach to manage their cotton sourcing.

We have incorporated learnings and findings from this pilot into the YESS Standard for Textile Mills, which is now open for public consultation. We invite you to submit your comments to the YESS Textile Standard. Comments are due May 27, 2022.

RSN CEO, Patricia Jurewicz, states, “the results of the pilot demonstrate that training and assessing manufacturers in the middle of the supply chain on due diligence processes empowers them to drive change. Spinners and mills need to be—and want to be—part of the solution to address modern slavery in the cotton industry.”

As noted by Anant Ahuja, head, organizational development at Shahi Exports, one of the YESS pilot facilities, "Through the engagement with the YESS team and auditors both virtually and in person, we have gained valuable insight into improving our due diligence systems in our spinning facility and textile mill. We are glad to be a participant in this pilot project by the Responsible Sourcing Network and look forward to implementing measures that come out of this engagement.”

RSN will complete several exciting projects in the coming months, including the finalization of the YESS Textile Standard, the release of the YESS Action Plan, and the formation of a YESS Implementation Steering Committee.

More than 15 global brands from the apparel, home goods, medical supplies, and footwear industries helped fund the pilot project and are now supporting the rollout of YESS. If your brand would like to get involved with YESS, contact info@sourcingnetwork.org.