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Every time a buyer places an order, negotiates a price, or changes a specification at short notice, they make decisions that can affect workers they will never meet.
Purchasing practices – the everyday commercial decisions companies make when buying from supplying business – are one of the most significant factors shaping working conditions in global supply chains. When these decisions create operational or financial pressures for suppliers, they can contribute to excessive overtime, low wages, and reliance on temporary labour. When purchasing decisions are made responsibly, they can support fair wages, safe conditions, and stable employment. When they are not, they contribute directly to harm.
Responsible purchasing practices (RPP) means aligning commercial decisions with a company's responsibility to respect human rights. This is not simply an ethical aspiration. It is a legal obligation under a growing body of legislation, and a practical requirement for any business serious about human rights due diligence. It is also good business: better purchasing relationships build more resilient, reliable supply chains.
ETI has been working with member companies on responsible purchasing practices for over a decade. Through the Working Group on RPP we co-created the Common Framework for Responsible Purchasing Practices (CFRPP) for the apparel and textile sector and have since adapted it across food and manufacturing. This page introduces what responsible purchasing practices are, why they matter, and how ETI can help your business make progress.
Explore the full RPP cluster:
Responsible purchasing practices and legislation: what companies need to know
How to implement responsible purchasing practices
Responsible purchasing practices by sector
What are responsible purchasing practices?
Purchasing practices are the actions and decisions taken by a buying company to procure goods, raw materials or services from a supplying business. They encompass the full commercial relationship – from design and product development through to planning, forecasting, contracting, order placement, lead times, cost negotiations, and payment terms.
When these decisions are made irresponsibly – through aggressive price negotiation, unrealistic lead times, late or cancelled orders, or delayed payment – they put a supplying business under intense financial pressure. That pressure can flow directly to workers, in the form of forced overtime, below-living-wage pay, unsafe conditions, and insecure employment.
‘Responsible purchasing practices’ are purchasing practices that do not negatively impact the human rights of workers in supply chains. They require a buying company to understand how their commercial decisions can affect supplying business and workers, and to work with suppliers in ways that support fair, predictable and sustainable production.
This does not mean that commercial efficiency is incompatible with responsible purchasing. In practice, better purchasing practices – clearer forecasting, more collaborative supplier relationships, fairer payment terms – tend to produce more efficient, stable supply chains. The business case and the human rights case point in the same direction.
How purchasing decisions affect workers
The connection between commercial decision‑making, purchasing behaviour, and worker outcomes is well established. When a buying company seeks lower prices without allowing for the cost of decent wages, suppliers absorb the difference – and this can place pressure on workers. Similarly, when orders arrive late or specifications change at the last minute, suppliers may need to rely on on unplanned overtime to meet expectations. Delayed payments can also create challenges, making it harder for suppliers to meet payroll obligations on time.
These situations are not unusual, they are routine features of conventional purchasing relationships in many global supply chains. Research consistently shows that purchasing practice shortcomings, alongside supplier non-compliance, contribute or/and cause some of the most persistent labour rights violations, including low wages, excessive working hours, and precarious contracts.
The implication is significant: buying companies cannot fulfil their human rights responsibilities through supplier audits and codes of conduct alone, if their own buying behaviour is simultaneously creating the conditions for harm. Responsible purchasing is not an add-on to due diligence – it is central component of it.
The five principles of responsible purchasing (the Common Framework)
ETI co-developed the Common Framework for Responsible Purchasing Practices (CFRPP) for apparel and textiles with Ethical Trade Norway, Fair Wear, the German Partnership for Sustainable Textiles (PST), and the Dutch Agreement for Sustainable Garments (AGT). Originally developed for the apparel and footwear sector, the framework has since been extended to food and manufacturing. It provides a shared language – five overarching principles – by which companies can structure and assess their purchasing practices.
The five principles are:
- Principle 1: Integration – responsible purchasing requires top leadership commitment and is embedded across commercial and relevant business functions, with clear internal KPIs, accountability structures, and external reporting.
- Principle 2: Equal partnership – buyers and suppliers treat each other as equal business partners, with shared responsibility for improving working conditions, long-term sourcing relationships, and mutually agreed approaches to problem-solving.
- Principle 3: Collaborative production planning – critical path and production planning is done jointly, with any changes mutually agreed and never to the detriment of the supplier – covering forecasting accuracy, sampling, order balancing, and shared accountability for delays.
- Principle 4: Fair payment and contract terms – payment terms are fair, transparent, and agreed by both parties; contractual obligations are honoured; and payments are made in full and on time.
- Principle 5: Sustainable costing – pricing reflects the actual costs of production, supports wage increases – including progress towards a living wage – and allows for a reasonable and maintained supplier profit margin.
Each principle is supported by practical guidance on implementation – from initial groundwork through to more advanced progress. The CFRPP is publicly available and has been widely adopted by businesses, industry initiatives, and policymakers as a reference point for what responsible purchasing looks like in practice.
RPP and legislation – why compliance now requires responsible purchasing
Responsible purchasing practices have long been embedded in international standards – the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and the ILO MNE Declaration all point to the importance of addressing purchasing behaviour as part of responsible business conduct. Legislation is now making those expectations legally binding.
The EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) is the most significant development. It explicitly requires companies to address purchasing practices as part of their due diligence obligations – treating irresponsible buying behaviour as a potential cause of adverse human rights impacts. Beyond the CSDDD, a broader legislative landscape – including the EU Unfair Trading Practices Directive (UTP), the UK Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP), and the EU Forced Labour Regulation (EUFLR) – reinforces the expectation that buying companies act responsibly throughout the purchasing relationship.
ETI's Common Framework aligns closely with emerging legislative requirements and provides a practical reference for what responsible purchasing look like. While it does not, on its own, ensure compliance, it offers companies a structured set of principles and expectations that can guide the development of purchasing practices consistent with human rights due diligence. For a detailed overview of how RPP requirements appear across the legislative landscape, see our page on RPP and legislation. For a broader introduction to the due diligence landscape, see our guidance on human rights due diligence.
RPP in practice – from principles to action
Understanding the principles of responsible purchasing is only the first step. Implementing them requires change – to internal processes, commercial incentives, collaborative producing planning, buyer training, and equal supplier relationships. Many companies find that the hardest part is not commitment at the policy level, but embedding change in the day-to-day decisions of purchasing teams.
- ETI's implementation guidance walks through each dimension of responsible purchasing practice: how to approach pricing, lead time planning, payment terms, supplier dialogue, and measurement and reporting. See our page on How to implement responsible purchasing practices.
RPP across sectors
While the principles of responsible purchasing apply across all sectors, the specific challenges vary depending on the industry, the structure of the supply chain, and the nature of the buyer-supplier relationship. ETI has developed sector-specific guidance for apparel and textiles, food, and manufacturing – and has run practical initiatives with member companies in each. See our page on responsible purchasing practices by sector for sector-specific frameworks, case studies, and resources.
How ETI supports businesses on responsible purchasing
ETI has been working with member companies on responsible purchasing practices for over a decade. Our support includes:
- The Common Framework for Responsible Purchasing Practices – a publicly available tool providing a shared language and practical guidance across apparel and textiles, food, and manufacturing.
- The RPP Resource Hub – a flexible library of video clips, tools, and exercises for purchasing and procurement teams.
- Learning and Implementation Communities (LICs) – peer learning cohorts for ETI member companies working through responsible purchasing challenges together.
- Sector initiatives – practical programmes in apparel and textiles, food (including shrimp and fresh produce), and manufacturing, bringing together brands, suppliers, and trade union perspectives.
- RPP training – tailored training for purchasing and procurement teams, available to ETI member companies.
Work with ETI on responsible purchasing
If your business is looking to meet its due diligence obligations, build stronger supplier relationships, or drive systemic change in its supply chain, ETI can help.