C&A Foundation launches as a global organisation, driven by the conviction that the apparel industry can be sustainable and that every single person who works within it can thrive. Throughout 2014, we invest €29 million in 26 initiatives and four multi-stakeholder initiatives.

Triggered by the Rana Plaza collapse and deaths of at least 1100 garment workers, Fashion Revolution launches a campaign for a clean, safe, fair, transparent and accountable fashion industry, encouraging people to ask #WhoMadeMyClothes. The campaign goes on to reach hundreds of millions of people on social media, with local teams of volunteers in 93 countries.

In Bangladesh, the Accord on Fire and Building Safety discloses fire, electrical and building safety information of 2300 factories – a landmark for transparency in the industry.

C&A Foundation unites its strategy with the missions of the Brazilian Instituto C&A and the Mexican Fundación C&A, international allies in our work to make fashion a force for good. The collaboration builds on the deep experiences of both the Instituto and Fundación, founded in 1991 and 1999 respectively.

We pilot partnerships to increase transparency and accountability in the apparel industry. We invest in Better Buying, an initiative working with suppliers to rate brand purchasing practices in order to improve business practice and worker protections. We partner with BRAC University and BGMEA to launch a census-based initiative to map the entire RMG sector in Bangladesh. And we work with GoodWeave International to pilot their tested methods (in the rug sector) to eliminate child labour in India’s informal apparel supply chains. Five years on, Better Buying has rated 71 brands, 2526 factories have been entered into the publicly available version of Mapped in Bangladesh and GoodWeave is engaging with five brands in the homeworker sector.

Convened by Forum for the Future, the Cotton 2040 platform is created to accelerate the progress of existing sustainable cotton initiatives by bringing together leading international brands and retailers, sustainable cotton standards and other stakeholders across the value chain. In 2018, the cross-industry initiative releases the CottonUp Guide, a practical resource for sourcing organic cotton. The platform continues to grow, garnering greater investment from brands as it focuses its work on climate adapation, sustainable sourcing and new business models.

The first-ever global, legally binding climate change agreement sets out a framework to limit global warming to below 2°C and pursues efforts to limit it to 1.5°C.

We release our first Partner Perception Survey, identifying two key areas for improvement: the transparency and efficiency of our processes, and the quality of relationships with our partners. We mark our progress with a second survey in 2019.

Partnerships with the Aga Khan Foundation and Action for Social Advancement help accelerate an organic cotton revival in India, with more than 25,000 farmers converting since 2015. In Brazil, the world’s fourth-largest producer of cotton, we launch a partnership with ESPLAR to promote agroecology practices, empower women and increase the production of organic cotton. According to a report by Textile Exchange, led by the initiative, the production of organic cotton increases by 16% in 2018.

We partner with Thomson Reuters Foundation to create the first news desk dedicated to local reporting on forced labour and trafficking across South Asia, increasing awareness of an underreported and misunderstood issue. The contribution from 2015-17 is prolific; in 2016, 494 articles account for 4.7% of all global conversation on the topic. The partnership continues to ensure increased coverage.

Our Forced Labour programme starts in Mexico. We work with REDIM to encourage awareness of child labour in the state of Guanajuato. In 2019, REDIM helps to strengthen the state’s Children and Adolescents Protection law.

25% of migrants in Brazil work in fashion, many in conditions akin to forced labour with severely diminished rights. We partner with Missão Paz, helping to pass legislation that ensures migrants have rights equal to Brazilian nationals. Its Centre of Migratory Studies works to publish subject knowledge, gain media presence and standardise paperwork for migrants, helping Missão Paz advocate for further policy improvements.

The EU Parliament acknowledges the need to make the social and environmental impacts of all production transparent, and to suggest reforms for global value chains. In the same year – influenced by 2015’s UK Slavery Act – The Parliament of Australia opens an inquiry into modern slavery which paves the way for The Modern Slavery Act, while the French National Assembly adopts a Corporate Duty of Vigilance law.

Partnering on the Inspiring World Campaign, C&A and C&A Foundation win the Employee Engagement Award for social responsibility. The annual campaign encourages employees to share stories of inspiration and raise funds for charity, engaging over 32,000 employees and raising €2,890,893 for 87 different organisations.

To combat the underlying causes of discrimination and exclusion, and confront the impacts of bias on our colleagues, partners and constituents, C&A Foundation publicly commits to institutionalising the evaluation and communications of our internal policies, practices, grantmaking and approaches.

The Fashion for Good Experience, the world’s first museum dedicated to sustainable fashion innovation, opens in Amsterdam. In the first year, over 53,000 visitors engage with the experience dedicated to inspiring and educating people about sustainable fashion and how they can each make a positive impact. You can join Fashion for Good on the journey here.

15-year-old activist Greta Thunberg skips school to protest the Swedish government’s lack of action on climate change, inspiring a generation of young people and sparking an international movement.

C&A Foundation receives the prestigious #OpenForGood Award, awarded by Candid (the result of a merger between Foundation Center and GuideStar) for our commitment to the transparent sharing of our evaluations, failures, lessons learned and results.

In cooperation with sustainability and fashion experts, The Future of Sustainability in the Fashion Industry report launches. The report outlines 14 strategies for industry sustainability, evaluating and ranking each for its potential impact and timeframe. Experts paint a bleak future for a fashion industry continuing on its current path but agree that with courage, commitment and strategic interventions, a sustainable sector is possible within 16 years.

Supported by C&A Foundation, the Ex’tax Project Foundation publishes a case study on Bangladesh showing that tax reform could boost GDP and public investments while decreasing pollution. The initiative shows how bold fiscal policy can meaningfully incentivise social and environmental improvements.

Fashion for Good initiates the pioneering Organic Cotton Traceability Pilot, combining on-product markers and blockchain technology to test the tracking of organic cotton from farm to consumer – a first in the apparel industry. Multi-stakeholder collaboration plays an important role in its success, with partners including C&A Foundation, PVH Corp., Organic Cotton Accelerator, Kering and Zalando, and BEXT360 as a leading technical partner.

The International Labour Conference votes to adopt a new ILO Convention and Recommendation to address violence and harassment at work. This sends a clear message that no one, regardless of their contractual status, should be subjected to any kind of violence or harassment in the workplace. Together with four other philanthropic organisations, C&A Foundation endorses the statement as part of our commitment to a future with fair work.

In late 2019, the new Coronavirus disease is identified in Wuhan, China and quickly becomes a global pandemic. As of May 2020, more than 4.3 million cases are reported worldwide. The virus changes daily life everywhere and impacts every industry, including the apparel sector.

Mean global temperature is at 14.8°C, the warmest in tens of thousands of years. 600 million people are living in poverty around the world and inequality is deepening. World leaders gather at the 2020 World Economic Forum to discuss Stakeholder Capitalism: A manifesto for a cohesive and sustainable world.