"Lidl Leaving Myanmar by 2025", 13 December 2023

Lidl will “gradually withdraw” its clothing production from Myanmar as part of a responsible exit by 2025, the supermarket chain told Sourcing Journal.

“Lidl takes its responsibility towards the employees in Myanmar and other countries where our suppliers produce very seriously and has been committed to compliance with social standards throughout the supply chain for many years,” a spokesperson said...

The German-owned company’s decision follows a joint investigation by Das Erste’s “Panorama” news program and anti-greenwashing organization Flip, which traced a supposedly “eco-friendly” 8.99-euro ($9.80) tank dress to the beleaguered Southeast Asian nation, which has been under military dictatorship rule since civilian authorities were overthrown in February 2021...

But despite being linked to at least three cases involving gender-based violence and inhumane work rates, according to the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre’s worker allegations tracker, Lidl was sticking with its 30 Burmese suppliers as late as November, stating in an Alliance for Sustainable Textile progress report that month that it had “committed ourselves and our suppliers not to continue to withdraw any orders from Myanmar.”

Speaking to “Panorama” and Flip earlier this month, workers who toiled at Lidl-contracted factories complained of “not even enough for food,” threats, intimidation, and collusion between management and the military. “When the employer wants to say something to the workers, to express himself clearly, he invites the military,” one employee said...

Lidl wouldn’t say if the investigation had anything to do with its change of heart. The spokesperson said it had continued to be active in the nation to “improve the working and living conditions for the local people in the long term,” with “significantly increased measures to fulfill our corporate due diligence.” In addition to a Myanmar-specific grievance mechanism, it had introduced “binding” guidelines, requiring regular independent inspections over at least two days, democratically elected employee representatives and legal reports on military connections for new production sites and the closure of factories in critical zones...

But the political situation in Myanmar is worsening, Lidl said, making it more challenging to comply with human rights due diligence. Following conversations with IndustriALL Global Union, which has developed a framework for responsible divestment, it “decided to follow the call” to pull back, the representative said. Until it exits, the nearly 12,000-store retailer will “continue to implement the increased measures for fulfilling our corporate due diligence.”

“We are committed to strengthening and respecting human rights, fair pay and safe working conditions within the framework of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,” the spokesperson added. “We will continue to closely monitor the situation in Myanmar even after our decision to phase out by 2025 and reassess it should the political situation change.”