How a Dutch retailer used Fair Wear's HRDD Academy to upskill its brands on human rights due diligence
By Rosan van Wolveren, HRDD Academy Coordinator at Fair Wear
When it comes to human rights due diligence, one of the most persistent challenges is not awareness, but application. Brands often understand that HRDD matters, but struggle to know where to start or how to build it into their existing ways of working.
Retailers have an important role to play here, and not just as gatekeepers. Many retailers already have questionnaires (e.g. the Retailer Brand Due Diligence Questionnaire) and compliance processes to assess the brands in their portfolio. But there is a more proactive role available to them: acting as a catalyst for building genuine HRDD capability across their brand partners. Rather than simply checking whether brands meet a threshold, retailers can invest in helping them get there.
Our recent pilot with Dutch retailer De Bijenkorf showed how structured HRDD learning, delivered through a combination of self-study, peer exchange, and one-to-one coaching, can make a meaningful difference.
The setup
From November 2025 to March 2026, De Bijenkorf ran a five-month HRDD learning programme in partnership with Fair Wear. The retailer pre-selected a number of brands from its portfolio and led the initiative to build HRDD capability across its supply chain.
The programme was built around the 6 steps of HRDD — the same foundational content covered in Level 1 of the HRDD Academy. The goal was to develop a shared understanding of what HRDD means in practice and to identify where each brand could strengthen its approach.
How the learning was structured
The programme combined three modes of learning:
Self-study first. Brand representatives worked through each of the six HRDD steps independently, using structured learning modules. This gave participants time to absorb the content at their own pace before coming together.
Group and peer sessions. After completing self-study on each step, participants came together to exchange experiences, discuss challenges, and learn from one another. These sessions created space for reflective conversations — something that is hard to replicate in a purely individual learning format.
One-to-one check-ins. Three dedicated moments were built in for brands to connect with a human rights and business advisor. These check-ins allowed for more personalised guidance based on where each brand was in their HRDD journey.
The programme closed with a group evaluation session in March 2026 to reflect on learnings and next steps.
What participants found valuable
Feedback from brands was positive. Participants highlighted the depth of the content and found the learning modules genuinely useful, particularly the sections covering good practices of Fair Wear brands and addressing legislation.
One of the more striking outcomes was what happened beyond the sessions themselves. For example, one participating brand shared that Step 2 of the HRDD cycle — risk assessment and mapping — was particularly challenging for them. They were already planning a visit to their suppliers, and following discussions and resources shared through the programme, they used that visit to ask questions about subcontractors, map their supply chain more thoroughly, and have direct conversations about human rights risks deeper in their supply chain. The learning had triggered them to dig deeper into the risks in their specific market.
This is exactly what effective HRDD training looks like in practice: not just completing a module, but changing how you show up in the field.
A scalable model that works for retailers and brands alike
Several participants already had elements of an HRDD system in place. For them, the programme served as a useful exercise to identify gaps in their approach and an opportunity to build on what was already there. For others, it was a genuine introduction to the topic.
What the De Bijenkorf pilot demonstrated is that the blended learning model works well at a portfolio level. A retailer with multiple brands, or a group of companies operating in similar markets, can use this kind of structured programme to build a common language and baseline understanding of HRDD across their network.
For brands, it can also function as a company-group learning: different teams or entities within a business learning together, building a shared understanding across functions or regions.
What this means for other retailers
The HRDD Academy offers exactly this kind of structured, flexible entry point into HRDD for brands at different stages of their journey. Whether you are a retailer looking to introduce HRDD to your brand partners, or a brand exploring how to build on an existing system, the combination of self-paced modules, peer learning, and expert guidance offers a practical and scalable path forward.
