YESS Conducts Inaugural Due Diligence Assessments:

Two yarn spinning mills in Pakistan underwent independent assessments of the YESS: Yarn Ethically & Sustainably Sourced Standards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACTS: Emilie S Jakobsen, comms@sourcingnetwork.org, (415) 340-0809; Tina Van Langenhove, tina.vanlangengove@elevatelimited.com

BERKELEY, CA–March 16, 2023–Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN) collaborated with ELEVATE, an LRQA company, as part of its Global Trace Protocol (GTP) project to conduct the inaugural third-party due diligence assessments of its initiative, YESS: Yarn Ethically & Sustainably Sourced. Spinning mills and fabric mills are assessed on their management systems and inventory controls to mitigate the risk offorced labor in their cotton supply chains against the YESS Standards.

The YESS assessments were organized by GTP with funding by the U.S. Department of Labor. They were performed in conjunction with a series of due diligence and traceability workshops held in Faisalabad, Lahore, and Karachi with the theme of Pakistan’s cotton and textile sectors gaining a competitive edge by improving their labor rights due diligence—including the elimination of child and forced labor—and increasing supply chain transparency with enhanced traceability.

Two leading Pakistani textile manufacturers, Artistic Fabric Mills (AFM), Ltd. and Nishat Mills, Ltd., underwent YESS assessments at their spinning facilities to identify and address cotton produced with forced labor that may be in their supply chains. Auditors from ARCHE Advisors conducted the assessments, with a GTP ELEVATE observer in attendance.

“This is a historic event,” said Patricia Jurewicz, CEO of Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN) and founder of YESS. “Several years have gone into researching and developing the YESS Standards for spinning and fabric mills, so it is exciting and gratifying to see them implemented with the first-ever independent YESS assessments. We applaud the mills that took this on.”

To normalize due diligence, introduce traceability tools, and educate stakeholders on growing expectations from international brands and retailers, three YESS workshops were delivered to Pakistani industry stakeholders, one in conjunction with the KnowTex conference at the National Textile University in Faisalabad.

“RSN’s YESS initiative provides a very valuable tool that enhances a robust approach to due diligence, supported by traceability, in line with GTP objectives and the business interests of Pakistan’s cotton and textile sectors,” said Jeff Wheeler, Director of the Global Trace Protocol project at ELEVATE, an LRQA company.

“We appreciate the methods of YESS and ELEVATE regarding forced labor and sustainable cotton inputs. Nishat is committed to only sourcing cotton inputs that are sustainable and free of forced labor. By implementing the GTP tools and YESS Standard, we can demonstrate that we are indeed being
responsible with our sourcing practices,” said Muhammad Mumtaz, General Manager Spinning & Cotton Procurement, at Nishat Mills, Ltd.

“Brands require complete transparency along the supply chain,” said Saba Iqbal, Director of Operations at Artistic Fabric Mills (AFM), Ltd. “We believe the approach that ELEVATE and YESS are promoting will be effective in enabling us to provide this information with ease.”

The Lahore workshop was co-sponsored by the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) and WWF-Pakistan, both leaders in promoting sustainable textile production in Pakistan. The workshops were well received because they come at a time when strict legislation and regulations are being imposed on global brands to protect workers’ rights, secure safe working environments, and minimize environmental footprints within their supply chains.

“WWF-Pakistan supports harmonization across different standards and promotes standards in local supply chains, so their benefits don't remain limited to just export-oriented companies,” stated Arjmand Qayyum Amjad, Sr. Manager Freshwater, from World Wildlife Fund-Pakistan. “The YESS Standards very much address the due diligence gap in textile supply chains since standards for cotton farming, processing, finishing, etc. are already in place.”

"I'm honored to have played a role with the inaugural YESS due diligence assessments and capacity building workshops in Pakistan," said due diligence expert Liz Muller, principal of liz muller & partners. "YESS is great for the industry because it educates spinning and fabric mills on how to strengthen their management systems, conduct risk assessments for forced labor, and collaborate around risk prevention and mitigation. Understanding of a due diligence approach is sorely needed throughout the textile industry, and YESS does it in a way that empowers the manufacturers."

As part of Verité’s STREAMS project, YESS will conduct its first third-party due diligence assessments and capacity building workshops in India starting in late April.

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Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN), a non-profit for-benefit organization based in the U.S., strives to end human rights abuses and forced labor connected to the raw materials found in products we use every day.

ELEVATE, an LRQA company, is an industry leader in sustainability and supply chain services globally that designs, builds, and manages data driven sustainability linked programs with assessment, advisory, program management, and analytics that drive positive impact.