– Interview with Dr Uwe Mazura, Managing Director at textil+mode –

In an interview with the Bremen Cotton Report editorial team (BBB), Dr Uwe Mazura, Managing Director of the Confederation of the German Textile and Fashion Industry e. V., textil+mode, describes the difficulties faced by textile and fashion manufacturers since the creation of German and European supply chain laws and mandatory sustainability reporting.

Bremen Cotton Report: How do you rate the European Supply Chain Act? Will it make things easier for German textile and fashion manufacturers now that there are finally European standards?

Uwe Mazura: No, quite the contrary. The German government’s claim that the German Supply Chain Act is the precursor and thus a preparation for the European directive has not proven true. The specifications differ considerably and have therefore led to perfect chaos. There are new legal uncertainties. The German government was not able to suspend the German Supply Chain Act until the European directive had been implemented. Now we will have to see what happens to the vague promises that companies will at least not have to write double or triple the number of reports. In addition to the Supply Chain Act, companies must now also produce sustainability reporting, the so-called CSRD.

The Confederation of the German Textile and Fashion Industry, textil+mode, not only monitors the legislative processes in Berlin and Brussels; it has also founded a CSR consulting agency that provides practical advice to companies. What have your experiences been?

The consulting services offered by our t+m-Consulting GmbH, as well as direct dialogue with us as an association and our experts, have been well received. It turns out that both European legislators and the German government have created bureaucratic monsters that are anything but sustainable. When even our Minister of Justice capitulates to this and states that the compliance costs of implementing the CSRD are unfortunately high, but that this cannot be avoided because, in the end, a European directive has to be implemented, I simply don’t understand the world anymore. The legislator estimates the cost to industry resulting from sustainability reporting at EUR 1.58 billion from 2028. This is a gigantic economic stimulus programme for auditors. After all, they are the only ones who will be authorised to scrutinise the reports.

How are politicians responding to criticism from the business community?

We are told that only pressure from legislation will make the world more sustainable. But anyone who argues like this has no idea how economic cycles work. With this type of bureaucratic monster, legislators are damaging the very companies that fulfil their responsibilities along the supply chain every day. These are medium-sized companies, often family-run, that produce quality to the best of their knowledge and belief, maintain trusting relationships with the raw material suppliers and producers, and set standards wherever they operate. Putting such companies in chains is anything but sustainable; it is grossly negligent.

But small and medium-sized companies (SME) are not yet affected when it comes to the Supply Chain Act and the obligation for sustainability reporting, are they?

Oh yes! SMEs receive piles of forms and enquiries from business partners who are obliged to report. If they don’t provide the information, the order is cancelled. This takes an enormous amount of effort. Take a simple men’s shirt, for example. It passes through 140 stations on its way from the cotton field to the hanger. They have to know each one of these and be able to provide detailed information in case of doubt. It’s a vicious circle – especially as the European Supply Chain Directive stipulates that companies should also be liable for this. According to a survey of SMEs conducted by Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, three quarters of companies are affected by the Supply Chain Act and half of them are already avoiding high-risk suppliers. Just under a third are planning to withdraw from high-risk countries.

What does that mean in practice?

That the German government’s appeal to diversify supply chains will not work. In a situation like this, which entrepreneur would risk establishing new supply chains in African countries, for example? They will prefer to stay with their Chinese supplier whom they have known for decades. We now even have sustainability managers speaking out and saying: “Oh God, what a mess the legislator has made with all this red tape! There’s no time left over to work on fundamental sustainability issues. Instead, we have to write pages and pages of checklists and reports.” Yes, that’s exactly how it is. And it’s sad. After all, in a globalised economy, there are already those who transport hundreds of thousands of parcels of cheap goods by air freight directly from Chinese producers to online customers in Europe every day. The sheer volume of this is no longer controllable, not to mention sustainability, which these business models have absolutely nothing to do with. And it is precisely those companies that are concerned with sustainability that are left behind. Don’t get me wrong, the path to a sustainable textile industry is right and important. However, not like this, but with technology, innovation and incentives for research and development. That’s how it’s done!

Thank you very much for the interview!

The interviews in the column “Question Time“ embody the opinion of the respective interview partner and do not represent the position of the Bremen Cotton Exchange as neutral, independent institution.