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The five principles of the Common Framework for Responsible Purchasing Practices apply across all sectors.
But what those principles look like in practice varies considerably depending on the structure of the supply chain, the nature of the buyer-supplier relationship, and the specific human rights risks present in a given industry. A fashion brand and a food retailer face different commercial pressures, different supplier dynamics, and different legislative obligations. Responsible purchasing in each context requires sector-specific understanding, not just general principles.
ETI has developed sector-specific CFRPP frameworks for apparel and textiles, food, and manufacturing, and has run practical initiatives in each. This page gathers ETI's sector guidance, resources, case studies, and supplier and worker perspectives in one place, organised by sector.
Explore ETI's responsible purchasing practices cluster:
Responsible purchasing practices: what they are and why they matter
Responsible purchasing practices and legislation: what companies need to know
How to implement responsible purchasing practices
Why sector context matters
Purchasing practices research consistently shows that the same underlying behaviours – price pressure, short lead times, late payment, last-minute order changes – manifest differently depending on how a supply chain is structured. In the apparel sector, pressure concentrates in the relationship between brand buyers and garment factories, with consequences for factory workers in terms of overtime, wages, and employment security. In the food sector, the dynamics of perishability, seasonality, and smallholder production create a distinctive set of pressures. In manufacturing, the diversity of subsectors and the relative novelty of RPP thinking in industries outside textiles calls for adapted frameworks and new ways of building the business case for change.
Understanding these sector dynamics is important for two reasons. It makes responsible purchasing implementation more effective, because companies can identify the specific practices that are most likely to cause harm in their context. And it makes engagement with suppliers more credible, because suppliers recognise when buyers understand the realities they face rather than applying generic frameworks without adaptation.
A consistent finding across all three sectors is that suppliers and workers bear the costs of irresponsible purchasing in ways that are rarely visible to buyers. ETI's sector work has prioritised making those costs visible, through research, supplier feedback mechanisms, and direct engagement with workers and trade unions.
Apparel and textiles
The apparel and footwear sector is where the Common Framework for Responsible Purchasing Practices was first developed. ETI co-created the CFRPP in 2022 with Ethical Trade Norway, Fair Wear, the German Partnership for Sustainable Textiles (PST), and the Dutch Agreement for Sustainable Garments (AGT), building on an extensive review of existing research and wide stakeholder consultation. The framework is now supported as the central reference point for responsible purchasing in the garment industry by ETI, Ethical Trade Norway, Fair Wear, PST, Solidaridad, Ethical Trade Denmark, and the Fair Garment Factory initiative.
The sector has a long history of documented purchasing practice failures. Research on the relationship between buyer behaviour and worker outcomes in garment factories is well developed, and the business case for change is increasingly grounded in evidence rather than ethical aspiration alone. At the same time, implementation remains uneven. Many brands have made commitments that have not yet translated into consistent change in buyer behaviour.
ETI's work in apparel and textiles
ETI's Learning and Implementation Community (LIC) brought together 36 garment brands from Europe and the UK between 2022 and 2024, meeting online every two months to explore practical changes structured around the five CFRPP principles. Every other session included breakout discussions with manufacturers, giving brands direct access to supplier perspectives on their purchasing behaviour. The LIC produced a range of practical resources, now available through the RPP Resource Hub, including video content from live workshops, tools, and case studies drawn from participant companies.
ETI has also engaged directly with suppliers and trade associations on the journey to responsible purchasing, and the apparel and textiles sector has seen important developments at industry level through the ACT (Action, Collaboration, Transformation) initiative, which links brand purchasing commitments to progress on living wages through collective bargaining.
Apparel and textiles resources
Common Framework for Responsible Purchasing Practices – apparel and footwear
RPP Resource Hub – tools, video content, and exercises from the LIC
Case study: Primark – embedding responsible purchasing practices through the LIC
Toward Responsible Purchasing Practices: Updates from India and Bangladesh
Food, farming, and fisheries
The food sector presents a distinct set of responsible purchasing challenges. The perishability of food products, the prevalence of smallholder producers, the complexity of multi-tier supply chains, and the dominance of a small number of large retailers create purchasing dynamics that differ significantly from those in apparel. The EU Unfair Trading Practices Directive and the UK Groceries Supply Code of Practice both reflect a recognition, at legislative level, that the power imbalance between large food buyers and their suppliers creates structural conditions for unfair commercial behaviour.
ETI developed the Common Framework for Responsible Purchasing Practices in Food to adapt the five principles to the specific realities of the food industry, covering the range of product types, sectors, and processes where responsible purchasing practices may look different – from fresh produce and smallholders to seafood and commodities.
Shrimp
ETI's work on purchasing practices in shrimp supply chains has generated some of the most detailed evidence available on the link between buyer behaviour and worker outcomes in food. Research published by ETI identifies buyer purchasing decisions as a key driver of human rights risks across all tiers of shrimp supply chains – including hatcheries, farms, feed mills, processing facilities, and distribution networks. Forced labour, low wages, unsafe conditions, restricted freedom of association, and discrimination are all documented in shrimp supply chains in major exporting countries, and purchasing practice failures consistently feature as structural drivers.
A recurring finding from ETI's shrimp work is that producers experience audit fatigue: repeated inspections without corresponding improvements in prices, payment terms, or longer-term purchasing commitments. Certification has become, in the words of producers themselves, an entry ticket to the market rather than a signal that good practice will be rewarded. Buyers have significant leverage to change this dynamic, but doing so requires aligning purchasing behaviour with the standards they require of suppliers.
ETI has called on retailers and food companies to join the Responsible Purchasing Practices in Shrimp Supply Chains initiative, which draws on the Common Framework for Food to build practical commitments and collective action in the sector.
Fresh produce and beyond
ETI's food sector RPP work extends beyond shrimp. Fresh produce supply chains present their own purchasing practice challenges, driven by seasonality, price volatility, and the reliance on migrant and temporary labour. Banana supply chains are a further area of ongoing attention. The food CFRPP provides a reference framework for all these contexts, with the expectation that sector-specific guidance will develop over time as ETI's work in the area deepens.
Food, farming, and fisheries resources
Common Framework for Responsible Purchasing Practices in Food
Shrimp Supply Chains: Making the link between purchasing practices and human rights – ETI research report
From price pressure to partnership: why it's time for retailers to rethink how shrimp is bought – ETI blog
Purchasing practices, shrimp, and human rights: why acting now matters – ETI blog
The purchasing practices gap: what SENA emphasised and what needs to change – ETI blog
Manufacturing
Manufacturing industries outside textiles have historically received less attention on purchasing practices than the apparel sector. The business case for RPP in manufacturing is well established in principle – the same dynamics of price pressure, unrealistic lead times, and late payment that cause harm in garment factories cause harm in other manufacturing contexts – but the evidence base was less developed, and the frameworks less adapted to manufacturing realities.
ETI's Purchasing Practices in Manufacturing initiative, funded by the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) and supported by the Initiative for Global Solidarity (IGS), ran from June 2023 to February 2025. Over 21 months, ETI worked with 15 companies from diverse manufacturing sectors to explore how CFRPP principles could be applied in manufacturing, assess progress in implementing responsible purchasing practices, and evaluate the effectiveness of measures introduced. The initiative engaged diverse stakeholder groups through surveys, group consultations, and direct advocacy, deepening understanding of how buyers and suppliers engage in purchasing practices in manufacturing contexts and what the human rights implications are.
The initiative produced the Common Framework for Responsible Purchasing Practices in Manufacturing Industries (CFRPP MI), a mapping of the CFRPP MI against CSDDD obligations, and a report and summary of findings. Key lessons include the importance of shared responsibility between buyers and suppliers, the value of low-volume buyers engaging responsibly even where their leverage is limited, and the role of inviting supplier feedback in shifting the dynamic from compliance to systemic improvement.
ETI's work in manufacturing continues, and now encompasses the mining, minerals, and metals sector as an area of growing focus.
Manufacturing resources
Common Framework for Responsible Purchasing Practices in Manufacturing Industries (CFRPP MI)
Responsible purchasing practices in European legislation – CFRPP MI mapped against the CSDDD
Case study: Hardscape – enhancing RPP through mutually agreed policies and practices
What suppliers and workers say
One of ETI's consistent commitments in its RPP work is to ground the evidence base in supplier and worker experience, not just buyer self-assessment. Across all three sectors, ETI has gathered perspectives from suppliers, manufacturers, trade unions, and worker representatives on how purchasing practices affect them – and what changes would make the most difference.
Several themes emerge consistently across sectors. Suppliers across apparel, food, and manufacturing describe the gap between what buyers commit to on paper and what their buyers do in practice. They point to the cost of absorbing last-minute changes, the difficulty of planning production around inaccurate forecasts, and the pressure that delayed payment creates on their ability to pay workers on time. They also describe the difference it makes when buyers engage genuinely: when brands invite feedback on their own purchasing behaviour rather than focusing exclusively on supplier compliance, the relationship shifts from adversarial to collaborative, and outcomes for workers tend to improve.
Trade union perspectives reinforce this picture. The ILO has noted that labour standards and responsible purchasing practices are interconnected, and that buyer actions are essential to make those standards achievable in practice. ETI's tripartite structure – bringing together companies, trade unions, and NGOs – means that worker and union perspectives inform our RPP work across all sectors, not as an afterthought but as a core input.
ETI's research on purchasing practices in manufacturing also documented supplier insights on the implications for accountability – findings that are relevant for companies thinking about how to engage suppliers honestly on purchasing behaviour as part of their due diligence processes. See Purchasing practices in context: manufacturer insights and implications for accountability.
Work with ETI on sector-specific RPP
ETI membership gives companies access to sector-specific frameworks, peer learning, and practical initiatives across apparel and textiles, food, farming, and fisheries, and manufacturing. Whether your business is taking its first steps on responsible purchasing or looking to deepen existing commitments, ETI can connect you with the tools, expertise, and peer networks that are most relevant to your sector. RPP training for purchasing and procurement teams is also available to member companies.
For cross-sector implementation guidance:
How to implement responsible purchasing practices
For the legislative context: Responsible purchasing practices and legislation: what companies need to know
Explore ETI's responsible purchasing practices cluster:
Responsible purchasing practices: what they are and why they matter
Responsible purchasing practices and legislation: what companies need to know
How to implement responsible purchasing practices