First findings of our research were presented by Dr. Chika Oka at this year’s OECD roundtable on “Due diligence in the garment and footwear sector”, held at the OECD Conference Centre in Paris, France, 8-9^th February 2017. In a session dedicated to firms purchasing practices and the ACT initiative, Dr. Oka presented insights on recent trends with regards to the changes firms in Australia, Germany, UK, and Sweden made in relation to their purchasing practices since Rana Plaza as well as on their experiences with collaborative initiatives such as ACT.

The annual OECD roundtable brings together over 200 representatives of government, business, trade unions, academia, and civil society to discuss how companies can carry out risk-based due diligence in accordance with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.