"Fair Wear's response to EP rejection of the JURI position on Omnibus I proposal," 23 October 2025

Yesterday, the European Parliament rejected the JURI position on the Omnibus I proposal, which would have guided their negotiations during the trilogue phase. This means that the rejected proposal will be amended in November, and the Omnibus I process is delayed.

This development offers an important opportunity to pause and ensure that the legislation delivers on its purpose: supporting companies in meeting their human rights responsibilities while creating real impact for workers in global supply chains. At the same time, the delay prolongs uncertainty for businesses and risks undermining ongoing improvement efforts and investments already made.

Drawing on our 25+ years of experience with due diligence for advancing human rights in garment and footwear supply chains across countries such as Bangladesh, India and Vietnam, we reiterate that effective and impactful due diligence relies on five elements working in synergy:

• Broad scope: In the garment and footwear sector, where most companies are small or medium-sized, all must conduct due diligence and collaborate to improve labour and living conditions of workers. Relying on a few large companies to change the industry is unrealistic and pointless as it will not contribute to a level playing field.
• Risk-based approach: Companies should identify and address the most salient risks first, based on continuous, structured information exchange with suppliers and stakeholders. This is the only efficient and cost-effective way to prevent risks or remediate harm.
• Responsible purchasing practices: Lasting improvements require rebalancing power within the supply chain through equitable sourcing relationships. Purchasing practices must enable suppliers to improve working conditions.
• Meaningful stakeholder engagement: Social dialogue and stakeholder engagement are essential at every stage of the due diligence cycle, to identify, prioritise and address risks effectively.
• Access to remedy: Strong (factory-level and sector-wide) grievance mechanisms can serve as early warning systems, inform risk scoping and, most importantly, ensure affected workers receive timely and equitable solutions. An easily accessible and uniform civil liability regime is crucial for accountability.

However, in the rejected position, only one of these essential elements for impactful due diligence was included: the risk-based approach. The others were significantly weakened or deleted, leading to a few large companies carrying disproportionate responsibility and cost with limited impact on workers...

We call on the members of the European Parliament to acknowledge the need for impactful due diligence legislation: one that serves both companies and the workers in their supply chains. We ask the Parliament to repair the current omissions through amendments that align with the OECD Guidelines and the UN Guiding Principles.