This inaugural global due diligence community follows the transition of RSN's YESS to a membership-based model last year, aimed at improving accountability and transparency throughout the textile supply chain.
As the first cohort of multi-stakeholder members, these companies are either beginning to engage with mills or expanding their existing collaborations. The participating spinning and fabric mills receive specialised training and take part in YESS assessments to enhance their due diligence and promote sustainable sourcing efforts.
The initiative has also welcomed the participating spinning and fabric mills as members, including ones from Pakistan and India like Nishat Mills, Raymond Denim, Shahi Exports, and Sree Santhosh Garments.
As active members of YESS, these mills gain access to training resources and contribute to the ongoing development of the YESS programme.
Mill members are featured on the public YESS Participating Mills list, which showcases their participation status. However, detailed YESS Assessment Summary Reports are exclusively available to YESS members.
Beyond brands and mills, YESS also engages key stakeholders such as civil society organisations (CSOs), academic institutions, and industry associations.
Among them are the US Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) and Verité.
RSN anticipates more CSO engagements as it strengthens risk mitigation efforts and the YESS Participating Mills list gains recognition among other sustainability initiatives.
The overarching goal of the YESS initiative is to eradicate modern slavery from cotton production by addressing forced labour issues in cotton harvesting and endorsing the use of ethically sourced cotton.
This initiative aligns with recent regulatory changes like the Corp Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), emphasising the importance of robust due diligence across all supply chain tiers to protect human rights and the environment.
USFIA president and YESS Advisory Committee member Julia Hughes said: "We are excited to see the growth of this industry-wide approach to due diligence. Companies, consumers and government regulators require accountability at every step along the cotton value chain and the YESS approach to due diligence fills a missing piece.
“By training mills to manage their risk and increase transparency through to the raw cotton level, mills and brands are able to demonstrate that they are driving forced labour out of cotton production, in alignment with due diligence and forced labour laws in the US, Canada, Europe, and elsewhere.”
To scale its efforts, YESS uses an e-learning platform and partners with international auditing service providers.
Sumerra, an auditor management company, will oversee YESS assessments in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Vietnam, conducted by third-party auditing firms such as ARCHE Advisors, ASSESS International, and TÜV Rheinland. As demand grows, YESS assessments will be extended to additional countries.
