What Action, Collaboration, Transformation does

ACT (Action, Collaboration, Transformation) is a Dutch-registered non-profit foundation (Stichting ACT) structured as a bipartite agreement between 18 global fashion brands and retailers and IndustriALL Global Union, focused on establishing living wages in garment, textile, and footwear supply chains. The organization operates a Supply Chain Industrial Relations Framework that links binding purchasing practices commitments by brands with industry-level collective bargaining between employers and trade unions, operationalising ILO conclusions on wage policies in global supply chains. Its core technology includes the Accountability and Monitoring Framework (with 360-degree brand and supplier surveys, PPSA and PPA questionnaires covering 55 questions across 16 purchasing practice areas), the ACT Labour Costing Protocol, and country-specific Dispute Resolution Mechanisms, supported by a small Berlin-based secretariat of approximately six staff led by Executive Director Mira Neumaier.

ACT delivers country programs in Cambodia, Bangladesh, and Turkey — including binding collective bargaining agreements in Cambodia covering factories employing 50% of the country's garment workers, the Bangladesh Interim Dispute Resolution Mechanism (158 eligible cases, 76.6% wages/benefits resolution rate, 85.7% Freedom of Association resolution rate), and Freedom of Association guidelines. Member brands include ASOS, C&A, G-Star RAW, H&M Group, Inditex, Kmart, Lidl, Next, Pentland, Primark, PVH, Sainsbury's, Tchibo, Tesco, and zLabels, with HEMA joining in June 2026. ACT is funded through membership dues and project partner contributions (e.g., Levi Strauss Foundation, GIZ/BMZ), is governed by a board with equal IndustriALL and brand representation, and holds no external VC/PE ownership. Its go-to-market is direct enterprise engagement with prospective member brands that must sign the MoU with IndustriALL and a Participation Agreement to join. ACT does not charge fees for its programs; all frameworks, surveys, grievance mechanisms, and reports are made available to members and the public.

Name

Action, Collaboration, Transformation

Legal name

Stichting ACT (Action, Collaboration, Transformation)

Website

https://actonlivingwages.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ACT is a Dutch non-profit foundation operating a bipartite agreement between 18 global fashion brands and IndustriALL Global Union, delivering frameworks, country-level collective bargaining, and dispute resolution to improve purchasing practices and achieve living wages in garment, textile, and footwear supply chains.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Supply Chain Sustainability Services

akta.pro primary industry

Supply Chain Sustainability & Responsible Sourcing (SMETA, supplier ESG) (EUAHAJAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Fair Trade & Ethical Supply Chains (Certification, Traceability, Producer Support) (BPAGALAL)

Keywords

• Living wage initiatives
• Supply chain accountability
• Responsible purchasing practices
• Collective bargaining agreements
• Garment industry collaboration

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership dues: ACT operates as a non-profit foundation (Stichting ACT) funded through membership contributions from 18 global brands and retailers that sign the MoU with IndustriALL Global Union.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ACT brings supply chain actors together through a bipartite agreement framework linking binding purchasing practices commitments by 18 global brands with collective bargaining between employers and trade unions to achieve living wages in garment, textile, and footwear supply chains. It operates accountability and monitoring mechanisms, grievance procedures for workers and manufacturers, dispute resolution mechanisms in priority countries, and publishes annual reports tracking progress.

Product overview

ACT (Action, Collaboration, Transformation) is a bipartite agreement between 18 global brands and IndustriALL Global Union—not a traditional product company. It operates a Supply Chain Industrial Relations Framework that links binding purchasing practices commitments by brands with collective bargaining between employers and trade unions. The core offerings include: the Accountability and Monitoring Framework with 360-degree feedback surveys; the Global Purchasing Practices Commitments covering five key areas (wages as itemised costs, fair terms of payment, planning and forecasting, training, responsible exit); and Grievance Mechanisms for both workers and manufacturers. ACT delivers country-specific programs in Cambodia, Bangladesh, Myanmar (past), and Turkey, including dispute resolution mechanisms and Freedom of Association guidelines. Annual Accountability and Monitoring Reports document progress, while ACT Purchasing Practices Surveys gather feedback from brands and suppliers. ACT also publishes annual account reports and maintains a Memorandum of Understanding governing member commitments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Supply Chain Industrial Relations Framework A bipartite agreement model linking binding purchasing practices commitments by brands with collective bargaining between employers and trade unions to achieve sustainable wage growth in global supply chains.
• Accountability and Monitoring Framework A due diligence tool with shared indicators and monitoring instruments including 360-degree feedback surveys, brand and supplier assessments, and grievance mechanisms to ensure brand purchasing practices commitments have tangible positive outcomes.
• Global Purchasing Practices Commitments Five key commitments adopted by member brands covering wages as itemised costs, fair terms of payment, planning and forecasting, training, and responsible exit strategies.
• Grievance Mechanism for Workers A locally embedded and globally supported grievance mechanism based on UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, enabling workers to file complaints related to Freedom of Association and wage rights.
• Grievance Mechanism for Manufacturers A confidential communication channel for employers and suppliers to raise complaints related to purchasing practices, ensuring external feedback on implementation of ACT Global Purchasing Practices Commitments.
• Bangladesh Interim Dispute Resolution Mechanism Dispute resolution mechanism addressing grievances related to workers' rights including Freedom of Association, retrenchment and due payment of wages and benefits in Bangladesh, launched in November 2020.
• Myanmar Freedom of Association Guideline Guidelines negotiated between IWFM and Employer Working Group covering FOA rights, dispute resolution procedures, collective bargaining mechanisms, and monitoring for Myanmar garment factories (2019-2021).
• Accountability and Monitoring Reports Annual comprehensive evaluations of how signatory brands are progressing in their commitments to transform purchasing practices, using 360-degree feedback models triangulating data from brands and suppliers.
• ACT Purchasing Practices Surveys (PPSA and PPA) Large-scale surveys including Purchasing Practices Self-Assessment (PPSA) for brands and Purchasing Practices Assessment (PPA) for suppliers to evaluate purchasing practices implementation.
• Pilot Complaints Mechanism A first-of-its-kind mechanism open for manufacturers and employers' associations from ACT priority countries to submit complaints and hold ACT member brands accountable on fair terms of payment and responsible exit commitments.

Quantifiable outcome

• 76.6% of wages and benefits disputes fully resolved in Bangladesh DRM
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor and core.

• OECDmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026ACT participates in OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector, presenting sessions on responsible purchasing practices and living wages.
• Global Deal Good Practice Case StudyminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 November 2025Global Deal published ACT Supply Chain Industrial Relations Framework as a Good Practice Case study showcasing the model as the first to operationalise ILO conclusions on wage policies including living wages in global supply chains.
• Partnership for Sustainable TextilesmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2018German multi-stakeholder initiative with members from business, politics and civil society covering around half of German textile market. ACT cooperates on sharing experience in self-assessment of purchasing practices and country-level implementation work.
• Global DealcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2018Global Deal is a global multi-stakeholder partnership launched by Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven with the objective of bringing labour market actors together to increase benefits of globalization. ACT became a partner in February 2018 to accelerate action and facilitate exchange of experiences on social dialogue and industrial relations.
• IndustriALL Global UnioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACT is fundamentally an agreement between global brands and IndustriALL Global Union. The MoU signed between member companies and IndustriALL is the basis for cooperation, outlining commitments to establish freedom of association, collective bargaining and living wages within global supply chains. IndustriALL and ACT members jointly develop accountability frameworks and monitoring mechanisms.
• GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGIZ implemented the Initiative for Global Solidarity (IGS) funded by German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to support the ACT Pilot Complaints Mechanism.
• Levi Strauss & FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner supporting ACT initiatives, including funding for Myanmar operations and related projects.
• ILO (International Labour Organization)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerILO provides technical assistance to ACT country programs, particularly in Myanmar for Freedom of Association Guideline development and dispute resolution mechanisms. ILO conclusions on wage policies underpin the ACT framework.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Global Deal (OECD/ILO): Multi-stakeholder partnership promoting social dialogue and decent work globally; ACT is an active partner. Peer in promoting collective bargaining and industrial relations as routes to better wages in global supply chains.
• Fair Wage Network: Organization focused on measuring and closing gaps between actual and living wages in supply chains. Direct peer to ACT on the living-wage dimension of apparel supply chain reform.
• Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI): Alliance of companies, trade unions, and NGOs promoting respect for workers' rights globally. Direct peer to ACT in structure (brand–union collaboration) and in focus on labor standards in apparel supply chains.
• Better Work (ILO/IFC): ILO/IFC partnership operating in garment-producing countries to improve working conditions and labor rights. Highly comparable to ACT's country programs in Cambodia and Bangladesh, with overlapping buyer and factory constituencies.
• Fair Labor Association: Multi-stakeholder initiative that conducts independent monitoring of labor conditions in apparel and footwear supply chains. Highly comparable to ACT as an industry initiative operating accountability and monitoring frameworks for global brands sourcing from the same factories.
• Social Accountability International (SAI): Developer of SA8000 social certification standard used by brands to audit supplier labor practices. Adjacent peer to ACT in the supplier due-diligence and accountability ecosystem.
• Partnership for Sustainable Textiles (Textilbündnis): German multi-stakeholder partnership covering roughly half of German textile market, with which ACT has a formal cooperation partnership. Direct peer given shared focus on purchasing practices and country-level implementation.
• Worker Rights Consortium (WRC): Independent labor rights monitor focused on apparel and footwear supply chains, operating investigation and grievance mechanisms. Comparable to ACT's grievance and dispute resolution functions in apparel factories.

Broad incumbents

• Fairtrade International: Largest fair-trade certification and labeling organization with apparel product lines. Broader incumbent operating in adjacent ethical-supply-chain space with some overlap on wage improvement in textile supply chains.
• RMG Sustainability Council (RSC): Successor to the Bangladesh Accord operating legally binding safety inspections in Bangladeshi garment factories. Broader-incumbent peer to ACT's Bangladesh DRM with shared factory-level engagement.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/actonlivingwage

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Action, Collaboration, Transformation