From the very start, corporate, NGO and trade union members agree that for ETI to be successful, they must collaborate to identify and promote good practice. Our tripartite approach is born.

In 1998, our first task is to negotiate and draw up a model code of conduct – a Base Code which reflects internationally agreed labour standards – and to approve a set of implementation principles that will lead to best practice in applying the Code.

Today, the Base Code remains almost identical to what it was in 1998. So too is the expectation on members: to work towards the continuous improvement of their ethical trade policies and practices and to report annually against these.

More broadly, the Base Code is still viewed as a gold standard and many thousands of companies work towards it, whether members or not.

Supply chain programmes remain a vital part of the ETI offer, but have evolved to take into account the ever changing business and human rights environment. The first three supply chain projects covered clothing from China, wine from South Africa and horticulture in Zambia and Zimbabwe. But in 1999, their purpose was very specific: to trial different methods of inspection, monitoring and verification and to conduct evaluations.

Since then, our programmes have greatly expanded their focus. We now work where there are good opportunities to learn wider lessons and to embed better understanding of the links between business and human rights – as well as to address specific issues such as the difficulties Syrian refugees face in obtaining decent work in Turkey.

In 2000, the world adopts eight Millennium Development Goals focussed on reducing poverty. The UN’s ask of companies is that they join the Global Compact. This emphasises the implementation of responsible business practices around human rights, labour standards, environmental performance and anti-corruption.

Following discussions with specialist NGOs and trade unions, our first tripartite working group, the Homeworkers Working Group, is set up. At the start of 2002, the group commissions a review of current knowledge and practice in applying corporate codes of conduct to homeworkers. We agree to produce practical guidelines based on the experience of members and to work together to address key issues.

This example of collaboration and cooperation is a precursor to all future ETI working groups, such as our working groups that address migrant labour in Thailand’s seafood and Italy’s tomato sectors.

Between 2002 and 2004, the ETI Homeworker Group, led by NGOs representing homeworkers, and the TUC lobby the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to introduce a fairer system for piece work. They also urge that statutory employment rights be conferred on homeworkers.

The DTI agrees to amend National Minimum Wage Regulations in 2004 and clarifies its application to homeworkers. It phases in a new statutory system for setting piece-rates, for homeworkers and factory workers alike, through an accredited work measurement system.

The support of the retailers is a significant factor in the amendment and improvement of the National Minimum Wage Regulations. This represents a significant advance for homeworkers throughout the UK. Recognising that government legislation is vital, advocating for legal reform becomes another key strand of our work.

In addition to supporting members as they seek to improve local working conditions, we pioneer helping local suppliers understand ETI Base Code compliance and the importance of developing sustainable business goals. The China office subsequently becomes a model for other ETI programme offices that are later set up in Bangladesh, India and Turkey.

Following the Morecambe Bay tragedy, we campaign for better legal protection for vulnerable workers in the UK. We lead a cross-industry alliance to lobby the government to introduce extra legal protection for up to 600,000 workers in the UK food industry. This campaign results in the Gangmaster (Licensing) Act 2006.

Our work globally to protect vulnerable workers continues. We have, for example, recently published a Vulnerable Workers Toolkit as well as Due Diligence Guidance and advised companies on the export of state sponsored forced labour from North Korea.

WIETA was born out of ETI’s 1999 South Africa pilot project, and the development and growth of the relationship in 2005 is indicative of ETI’s partnership and alliance-building approach. It is also the beginnings of a shift in focus, emphasising the importance we place on local leadership in sourcing countries.

WIETA itself became fully independent in 2002 and was the first ever local multi-stakeholder initiative to tackle workers' conditions, bringing together the private sector, labour and civil society organisations in South Africa’s wine and agricultural sectors.

We steer members sourcing from the glassware companies to collaborate with their suppliers and other retailers to agree a joint response plan. This involves removing children from hazardous work, offering remediation and in some cases getting them back into education. Via a local NGO, young people are assisted in returning to college to learn skills such as welding, computing and cookery.

Bringing companies together to broker resolutions and facilitate remediation remains an important part of our approach. As such we seek to promote engagement and reach practical collaborative solutions, rather than find fault.

Following the initial 2007 relationship, in 2011 and 2017, we again team up with the Department of Health as well as the British Medical Association to produce and then revise an Ethical Procurement for Health Workbook. This reinforces the importance of ethical procurement in the health sector, particularly in the NHS supply chain. Crucially, the workbook builds awareness of labour risks in supply chains so that these can be addressed proactively and constructively.

The reported improvements in homeworker conditions in India are a direct result of our Working Group’s decision to expand its remit to include best practice on how to improve the lives of homeworkers around the world. Corporate members start to routinely use its guidelines to trace hidden homeworkers in their supply chains, organise training for buyers and set out policies for company boards…

In China, we train 996 workers and 34 managers on how to communicate constructively with each other to resolve workplace issues. We also deliver three days of bespoke workshops in the Caribbean concentrating on two main areas: labour law and discrimination against women. We train 70 site supervisors and their managers, who collectively oversee an estimated 4,000 workers.

We continue to offer training to suppliers globally. This ranges from training on the basics of ethical trade, to modern slavery and social dialogue. And in China, we have recently started to offer training on social insurance – on the importance of pension provision and other worker benefits.

LOCOG adopts the ETI Base Code and, for the first time in Olympic history, a mechanism is developed so that workers who produce Olympics merchandise can, if necessary, complain about their pay and conditions.

In 2010, we also see the first signs of legislative interest in addressing modern slavery. In September, the Governor of California signs into law the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act 2010 (effective from January 2012). This requires manufacturers and retailers doing business in California to disclose information on how they address the issues of slavery and human trafficking in their supply chains.

Addressing workers' issues in the context in which they occur enables us to develop models for wider change. It is agreed that lessons captured in the course of the collective interventions in each supply chain should be shared widely in order to maximise impact in tackling the root causes of low pay and poor working conditions.

Importantly, in June, there is a step change in international thinking on business and human rights. The UN’s Human Rights Council unanimously approve the Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights, the UNGPs.

The UNGP framework is the first corporate human rights responsibility initiative to be endorsed by the UN. It establishes a common global standard for preventing and addressing adverse human rights impacts of business activity. It also puts forward an approach based on due diligence.

We have always been aware that global supply chains are complex and that sustained change takes time. It is why we choose our entry points with care. In Tamil Nadu, we initially focus on women's health in factories while campaigning against Sumangali schemes (bonded labour disguised as apprenticeships). In Rajasthan, we start by concentrating on occupational safety and health.

In both, starting with health-related work helped us to build trust among stakeholders. But, as the programmes have developed, we are tackling wider workers’ rights issues.

The 8-storey Rana Plaza factory building collapse results in over 1,000 deaths and 2,500 injuries. It sends shockwaves through the international garment industry, galvanising collaborative action.

With a history of championing workers’ rights in Bangladesh’s garment sector (we helped to support a rise in the minimum wage twice in the preceding six years), we provide a forum for IndustriALL to present its proposed Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh to member companies. The Accord (and the American-backed Alliance) are founded and drive forward legally binding changes in factory safety.

We also realise that more needs to be done to address unfair labour practices around wages, working conditions and worker representation. The following year, with our Danish and Norwegian counterparts, we therefore initiate a social dialogue project that focuses on worker empowerment.

Since then, as our social dialogue project has developed. An independent evaluation has found improved understanding of rights and responsibilities. The researchers also say that it has enhanced communication in an industry that too often exhibits deeply entrenched divisions between factory owners, their workers and workers’ representatives.

The UNGPs (see 2011) outline a clear role for states to protect human rights within the business environment. This formally allows progressive companies to lobby governments for better working conditions in their supply chains. It also enables ETI and our members to collectively influence governments when workers’ rights are under attack. In Cambodia, this means working closely with local experts to convene meetings between international brands, global trade unions and the government.

At meetings with senior ministers, we acknowledge the importance of the garment and footwear industry to Cambodia, but also advise a common need to address calls for a new trade union law and an inclusive predictable national minimum wage setting mechanism. This advocacy is credited with helping bring about a 28% increase in Cambodian garment workers’ salaries in January 2015. Despite ongoing human rights difficulties, we and our members continue in our attempts to influence Cambodia and other governments on the rights enshrined in our Base Code and in the UNGPs.

Our engagement with the Home Office spans a year and involves a broad cross-section of member companies, NGOs and trade unions. We take part in consultations and events with a clear call for the Act to cover business activities in supply chains. The TISC clause is consequently included and requires all companies operational in the UK with an annual turnover of £36m or more to complete an annual slavery and trafficking statement.

Constructive lobbying shows what can be achieved when companies combine their commercial leverage and engage in positive conversations with governments. The Modern Slavery Act creates a new understanding about ‘good’ corporate behaviour. It also draws a firmer and clearer line between those companies that recognise the value of responsible business, and those that do not.

Migration has always been a feature of labour markets. But in 2016, with over four million of its citizens fleeing conflict, Syria dominates headlines and migrant working re-emerges as a crisis. Working conditions in Turkey (which is the third largest exporter of clothes and footwear to Europe) becomes a particular concern for international brands. Desperate to escape destitution, Syrian and other migrants seek work in Turkey’s informal sector for poverty wages.

From November, with funding from the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office and companies, we put in place a three year business and human rights programme that brings together retailers, local employers and employer organisations, local refugee and international development agencies and local and international trade unions. The aim is to embed reform and encourage better employment conditions for both Syrian and Turkish workers. The aim is also to encourage local leadership.

There is an increasing recognition that the complexity of global supply chains is resulting in a profound lack of visibility, and that this brings significant risks; not only for workers but for business too. Against this backdrop, our new digital reporting framework, Perspective, will give corporate members access to new insights through data analytics and other functionalities, with the aim of driving further change in business practices. As it develops, it will incentivise members to think more strategically about their ethical trade activities. It will also give us a better understanding of what our corporate members are doing to concretely address labour rights issues in their supply chains.