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HOW DOES THE POLICY ISSUE AFFECT THE FASHION INDUSTRY IN YOUR COUNTRY OR REGION?
1 | TOPIC RESEARCH
Through researching your chosen topic, gathering facts and figures, this will support and strengthen any policy recommendations you may make at the end of your Policy Dialogue process. Topic research will act as an evidence-base upon which you will be able to craft credible and relevant policy recommendations towards the end of the project.
You will analyse and collate academic literature, published research and reports exploring your chosen topic. This could be economic, social or environmental data, this will largely depend on the focus of your topic. However, even if your topic focuses on the environmental impact of something, it is still useful to understand the social impact too. For example, if your topic was the water usage of cotton, you may also want to find out about the social impacts around water usage in the area. If you can show a policymaker that this is both a social and environmental issue, it will strengthen your report. Through your research, you may also identify areas where the issue is concentrated or where the impacts are higher. It is worth keeping this in mind when you choose which stakeholders to approach. Talking to stakeholders in an area which is highly affected by the issue would be a very valuable insight.
EXERCISE E
TOPIC RESEARCH
In this exercise, you should look at gathering the following types of data and information about the industry. Here are some examples looking at cotton farming and the effect of pesticides.
• Economic data – Current value of the relevant market (e.g. GDP, estimated employment numbers, predicted growth of the sector). For example, in the cotton industry, data could cover the quantity of cotton produced in your country per year and how much money that is worth, the number of farm workers employed, what volume your country exports. • Social data – The impact of the issue on the labour force or those otherwise affected and indirectly employed by the industry, including families and communities. For example, in the cotton industry, data could include: the effect of pesticides on human health (i.e. physiological effects, healthcare cost) child labour, forced labour, health and safety issues, working conditions, wages/income, migrant workers. • Environmental data – The impact of the issue on the environment. For example, the amount of pesticides used to grow cotton, the biological effect of pesticides on the environment or the amount of fossil fuels or water used in the production of cotton. • Identify key locations – Is there a particular geographical area in your country where the industry issue is predominantly located? For example, is there an area where textile factories or cotton farmers are most commonly working? These ‘clusters’ can help identify which region or city might be most relevant for targeted policy change and where you should engage with stakeholders.
Where to look for this type of data and information:
• Literature review – It is always helpful to review existing academic research on your chosen policy issue. This gives you further useful context. You can search terms related to your issue through ‘Google
Scholar’ or other similar search engines to gather relevant publications. However, statistics within research papers are often several years old, so if possible try to find out where the original data came from in the first place and see if they have updated the statistics. You may be able to find updated statistics elsewhere.
• Analysis of government data – Official government statistics can be used to assess industries’ contribution to employment, trade, environmental impact, etc. • Analysis of non-governmental data – In many countries, government statistics may not be detailed or reliable enough. So, you may want to look at alternative sources. For example, in some countries private sector businesses produce databases or reports for marketing or other purposes. Trade associations and industry bodies, universities, trade unions or NGOs may also have information that could be used. Most of these should be available online or by request. Make sure you note down where you have found any useful information or data as you want to be able to reference these documents or resources later. Be sure to write the name of the author, the date it was published and the web link or publication details. This will become important to support your policy recommendations later on.
2 | WHICH POLICIES ARE RELEVANT TO YOUR POLICY DIALOGUE?
Policy mapping can help you better understand which policies may support your topic as well as identifying potential gaps within policy. Simply put, policy mapping involves finding and evaluating all relevant international, national and regional policies relating to your chosen topic.
EXERCISE F
POLICY MAPPING
There may be several international, national, regional and local level policies which have an effect on your chosen topic. You may already have a broad understanding of policies that affect the fashion and textiles industry in your country, but this policy mapping exercise is a useful way of ensuring you are aware of all relevant policies, regulations and governmental initiatives. It is important to look at the current policy landscape to understand what is lacking or which policies aren’t working. This will help shape your policy recommendations later on.
How to conduct your policy mapping:
1. Start by looking for international agreements and treaties covering your topic as these are often the easiest to find. We have listed some in Appendix 7 to help you get started. 2. Then move on to national legislation. Appendix 7 has some useful databases which give information on domestic policy in areas such as labour and environmental legislation. An internet search may also provide other useful databases that can help. 3. You may need to go to your local town hall or similar facility to find out about the regional and local policy. When looking at regional or local policies relating to your topic, try to find policies which apply to your ‘clusters’ from the industry mapping. 4. Finally, do not forget to ask your stakeholders about any relevant policies they may be aware of. This exercise is the step in which you are likely to need to seek some external insights. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with experts and academics who might have more knowledge.
Appendix 7 contains examples of policies at different levels and a brief outline of their potential strengths and weaknesses. You will also find further examples of databases you can search to find out more about policies affecting your chosen topic.
EXERCISE G
EFFECTIVENESS OF THE POLICIES
After you find a relevant policy, make a few notes of what it covers and who it affects. Next, try to assess the effectiveness of the policy. This can be challenging as they come in many forms and can fail and succeed in different ways. Here are a few questions start your assessment:
1. Is the policy legally binding? 2. Have any countries/companies not implemented the legal requirements? Why not? 3. Which bodies oversee implementation and how are they kept accountable? 4. Are the goals of the policy being achieved? Why/why not?
However, whilst these questions act as a useful starting point don’t forget that policies can be effective in different ways. For example, policies without any legal commitment can act as a ‘springboard’ for other policies and movements or raise awareness of an issue which results in change, despite no legal obligations being place.
In addition, policies can be successful even if they don’t fully achieve their targets. The targets can act as signposts to be followed; even if not fully met they can sometimes set things in motion along the right path. Also, if a collective target hasn’t been achieved, some individual countries or companies may have overachieved and in the process set great examples for others to follow.
Don’t be worried if you currently can’t answer some of these questions. Finding information about policies can be very difficult and sometimes the information you are looking for might not exist. If you feel as if this is a case, then perhaps it is something you want to incorporate into your dialogue with your stakeholders. You could ask them about relevant policies and whether they think they are effective.
In Appendix 7, we have provided you with some examples of policies at different levels and a brief outline of their potential strengths and weaknesses. There are also some examples of databases you can search to find out more about domestic policies relating to your topic.
EXERCISE H
POLICY GAPS AND YOUR STAKEHOLDERS
By now, you should have gathered as many relevant policies as you can find and have an idea of what they cover and how effective they are. Next, we want you to find any gaps in policy relating to your chosen topic and how they impact your stakeholders. You would hope that effective policy would cover all of the stakeholders involved in the issue. However, this may often not be the case. In this exercise, we want you to pull together all the information on the policies you have researched and look at the information critically in relation to your stakeholders. This should help you identify any areas which you think might need an additional or reformed policy.
How to assess policy gaps:
1. Write on a piece of paper, whiteboard or post-it notes all of the policies you found, and sum up in a line who they affect and, in your opinion, whether they are effective.
2. Next look at your stakeholders link each policy to the key stakeholders it affects (if any). Ideally, you want each stakeholder to be covered by policies at all levels (international, national, regional, local). You could do this by drawing lines between them or by placing postit notes next to each other.
3. Are there any stakeholders which aren’t covered by any policies? If so, then you have identified a gap in the policy! Identifying these policy gaps will help inform where to potentially focus your policy recommendations.
CHECK-IN POINT
