The Ethical Denim Council is very grateful to Sourcing Journal for sharing Odak’s reaction to being found unethical by the Council. We appreciate coverage of the Council’s work, including the decision regarding the Odak finding, which was reached by a panel of three non-industry individuals who graciously donated their time to the hearing and who believe, as we do, that unethical buying practices need to end.
Odak Strongly Rebuts Ethical Denim Council Findings
The Ethical Denim Council as an organization facilitates these hearings in case arbitration is rejected and buyers and sellers cannot find an equitable solution to their problems.
We understand that Odak is unhappy with the Council’s decision, but we want all mills and sellers to understand that the Ethical Denim Council works for you—and that the organization was founded to end seller mistreatment in our industry. We stand ready to deal with more cases.
Regarding Sourcing Journal’s coverage of this specific case, we respectfully have three clarifications to share:
1. Odak Denim director Sener Bucuk’s claims that the hearing was one-sided are unfounded. The EDC met with both parties (buyer and seller) multiple times separately and together. At our suggestion, Odak was given an opportunity to go to arbitration outside of the EDC but chose not to.
Additionally, the company was given copies of all the documents we received from the seller and had ample time to produce any refuting evidence. To our regret, they did not.
Furthermore, Odak was given equal time during the hearing to state their side and explain their position to the Council members or to ask any questions.
Ethical Denim Council Says Odak Tekstil Showed Unethical Behavior During Purchasing Process
2. The “extreme market situation” Bucuk mentions was a decrease in cotton prices after the order was booked. Odak expected the mill to absorb this price change. Although Odak continuously said they wanted to be good “partners,” but “partnership,” in this instance, appeared to mean helping Odak at the mill’s expense. This is a good example of the type of unfairness in our industry that the EDG was founded to address. Were the situation reversed and cotton prices had gone up, Odak would have, no doubt, insisted on the terms of the order as booked.
3. Lastly, we would like to address Bucuk’s concern regarding the hearing’s format, which was held as a video conference call, during which nearly everyone had their cameras on and was identified on screen. The Council chair introduced themselves. But to maintain neutral objectivity, we do not require the members of the three-person panel to introduce themselves. Further, these panels are rotated so there may never be the same group in future hearings. EDC founder Andrew Olah was present to view the proceedings but kept his camera off and didn’t speak to prevent any sway over the case. He was and always will be present in EDC hearings as an observer only, just as someone would observe a court case from a seat at the back of the courtroom.
As the EDC has had multiple interactions with the involved parties, we allowed the three panelists to speak with both the buyer and the seller, to clarify details of the case without EDC input. EDC’s role is to be an unbiased, neutral entity without interest in the cases brought to them, allowing the panelists to render their opinion based on the presented facts.
In conclusion, the EDC finds it unfortunate that an order of 100,000 pieces has been canceled and remains unpaid.
The Ethical Denim Council (EDC) is a non-profit entity established to address unethical behavior in the denim industry. Founded following research by the Transformers Foundation in 2020 and the creation of the Eight Ethical Principles, the EDC strives to restore commercial compliance to the denim industry.
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