Due Diligence Downstream: How Chinese Supply Chain Firms Are (Not) Preparing for European HREDD Legislation

Abstract

A recent national survey conducted by the China National Textile and Apparel Council provides the first systematic assessment of how Chinese supply chain enterprises—predominantly small- and medium-sized manufacturers in the textiles and apparel industry—are perceiving and responding to the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and related mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence legislation. This piece analyses the survey’s key findings and discusses what they reveal about the practical reach and limits of extraterritorial due diligence governance in global manufacturing supply chains.