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Government representatives, garment manufacturers, clothing brands, labor organizations and other key affiliates gathered in Boston last weekend to address the Bangladesh apparel industry’s environmental state at a conference titled ‘Sustainable Models for the Bangladesh Apparel Industry.’ Held at Harvard University, the third-annual day-long event focused on building a greener model for the Bangladesh apparel sector. This will help put the nation in a competitive place while supporting supply chain workers.
Speakers emphasized that for Bangladesh to compete in the global apparel market it must maintain cost-efficiency and comply with employees’ health and safety standards. The discussion recommended improving stakeholder relationships and increasing sustainability in the industry.
Economic adviser of the Bangladesh prime minister Mashiur Rahman inaugurated the conference with a keynote speech about the garment industry’s compliance and sustainability progress. He informed his audience that the Bangladesh government was working with international partners to achieve many initiatives including improving workers’ rights and reducing carbon footprint.
Amy McGann, foreign affairs officer at the US Department of State, noted that the American government will re-evaluate its GSP designation for Bangladesh if it meets all compliance and sustainability requirements. Highlighting the country’s economic potential, World Bank economist Yevgeniya Savchenko said that the nation could easily take market share away from other Asian nations if it makes progress on garment safety and sustainability.
Shawkat Aziz Russell, VP, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), ended the discussion by noting that the country’s old factories have been upgraded to meet compliance initiatives. He also said that although resource access is still challenging, new factories are more environmentally-friendly and safe for workers.
Four panels were also held to address environmentally-friendly solutions which included supply chain compliance and the need for fair price strategy and shared responsibility, trade policy and worker’s rights, strategies for environmental sustainability development. A roadmap for the Bangladesh apparel industry to achieve $50 billion in sales by 2021 was also unveiled.
American clothing giant Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation, that owns brands like Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger could potentially source over a quarter of its garment production from Africa within five years, according to the company’s CEO Emanuel Chirico.
Opening up on the topic, Chirico said that his company has been involved in Africa for over 10 years and it represents a little over 5-6 per cent of its global production. He further said that the production could grow over the next five years to something that would approach over 25 per cent. He was talking at a panel discussion at last week’s US-Africa Business Forum in New York.
Chirico noted that Eastern Africa has been identified as a clothing production destination. The company has already been manufacturing some garments in Kenya and has recently set up a factory in Ethiopia’s Hawassa Industrial Park, a mega facility located 275 kms southeast of Addis Ababa.
Going into details, Chirico said that East Africa shows great promise and it is for a number of reasons. One, the partnership that has been built between the industry, government and also the donor base to really invest behind the training of workers and to make sure the facilities are set up in the appropriate way, from a corporate social responsibility point of view.
While Asian countries like China and Bangladesh remain top sourcing destinations for clothing, they are facing a number of economic and social challenges that are making them less attractive to global brands. These include rising Chinese production costs, labour-rights violations and workplace accidents like the collapse of a Bangladesh factory three years. On the other hand, Ethiopia and Kenya have the potential to become big competitors in global apparel manufacturing, according to research firm McKinsey & Company. These markets already benefit from duty-free access to the US market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
The British Wool Marketing Board (BWMB), is seeking new County members for its regional committees the length and breadth of the UK. County members are the BWMB’s grassroots representatives, attending two regional meetings and one annual conference each year. This is an essential point of contact for the 40,000 wool producers who market their wool through the Board.
BWMB Chairman Ian Buchanan believes that the county members play a fundamental role in the running and success of BWMB through their local contacts and knowledge as well as serving as the public face of the Board in many areas. The support of 81 County members is essential in helping raise awareness of BWMB activity to wool producers helping them to understand how the Board operates and changes which they may be seeing at the farm level.
Washing clothes has been widely reported as a contributor to micro plastics pollution. A study released in June by the University of California Santa Barbara, in association with a clothes company Patagonia found that each wash of a synthetic fleece jacket released on an average of 1.7 gms of microfibres.
Not only that, each cycle of a washing machine releases more than 700,000 microscopic plastic fibres into the environment, says another study. A team at Plymouth University in the UK spent 12 months analysing what happened when a number of synthetic materials were washed at different temperatures in domestic washing machines using different combinations of detergents to quantify the micro fibres shed. They found that acrylic was the worst offender releasing nearly 730,000 tiny synthetic particles per wash, five times more than polyester-cotton blend fabric and nearly 1.5 times as much as polyester.
These micro fibres track through domestic wastewater into sewage treatment plants where some of the tiny plastic fragments are captured as part of sewage sludge. The rest pass through into rivers and eventually, oceans. A paper published in 2011 found that micro fibres made up 85 per cent of human-made debris on shorelines around the world.
The impact of micro plastic pollution is not fully understood but studies have suggested that it has the potential of poisoning the food chain built up in animals’ digestive tracts, reduce the ability of some organisms to absorb energy from foods in the normal manner and even to change the behaviour of crabs. These tiny plastics are just the tip of the iceberg of the estimated 12m tons of plastic that enters the sea every year, revealed Louise Edge, oceans campaigner at Greenpeace UK.
Africa is looking increasingly attractive to US clothing manufacturers. Though Bangladesh and China remain top sourcing destinations for clothing production, China is facing wage pressures and rising production costs and Bangladeshi garment factories are facing safety issues.
American clothing giant Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation, which owns the Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein brands, sources five to six per cent of its global production from Africa. Over the next five years it hopes to make that 25 per cent. However, buyers need to evaluate the region as a true strategic option rather than just a testing ground.
East Africa in particular is a clothing production destination, thanks in part to strong public-private partnerships. Labor is abundant and well educated in Ethiopia, the second most populous African country. Ethiopia has cost advantages: low wages, relatively cheap work permit visas for foreigners, and low electricity prices boosted by investment in renewable energy.
H&M started sourcing from Ethiopian garment producers in 2013. Since labor is cheap in Africa compared to ever increasing wages in Asia, more companies will be looking to move operations to Africa. Ethiopia and Kenya benefit from duty free access to the US market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Both could compete globally in apparel manufacturing.
"The World Fashion Convention kicked off in Mumbai today. The two day convention being held on September 27 and 28, 2016 is being hosted by the International Apparel Federation (IAF) and the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI). In his opening speech Rahul Mehta President IAF & CMAI spoke about how IAF has been working and supporting various countries. Siting Bangladesh highlighted how IAF played a pivotal role to in uplifting the apparel industry. He said “IAF- provides very active n dynamic support to its members."
The World Fashion Convention kicked off in Mumbai today. The two day convention being held on September 27 and 28, 2016 is being hosted by the International Apparel Federation (IAF) and the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI). In his opening speech Rahul Mehta President IAF & CMAI spoke about how IAF has been working and supporting various countries. Siting Bangladesh highlighted how IAF played a pivotal role to in uplifting the apparel industry. He said “IAF- provides very active n dynamic support to its members.” Mehta said, one of the main goals of every IAF convention is to connect in a profound way the local fashion industry of the host country to the global fashion industry. “India stands out for the size of its domestic market, for its enviable growth rate, for its deep rooted own design tradition, but also for its enormous complexity. In a sense it is also a strong metaphor for emerging economies in the world in general."
The event kicked off with 300 leading delegates both from India and across the world. The two day convention has leading industry stakeholders across the value chain deliberating and presenting insights on various opportunities covering the entire spectrum from manufacturing to technology to branding and retailing.
A packed line up of informative sessions
The two day convention is packed with insightful and informative sessions. The first session ‘New opportunities in Sourcing’ focuses on emergence of Bangladesh, India and a few African nations as major sourcing destinations for apparel brands and manufacturers worldwide in the last decade, with China facing issues of a sharp rise in wages in. Moreover, improved business climate in countries like India has worked in favour, making it a preferred sourcing destination. The session highlights emerging opportunities in these 'new' sourcing destinations and prospects of forging partnerships with local players. It focused on how 'traditional' manufacturing economies are retaining their position in global apparel production chain. The session will include brief presentations and a panel discussion by experts who will share facts and give insights in the global context. The presenters include Prashant Agarwal Jt. Managing Director Wazir Advisors, Alex Thomas, Vice President, VF Corporation, Ms. Belinda Edmonds, Executive Director African Cotton & Textiles Industries Federation (ACTIF), speaking for Africa, Faruque Hassan, Senior Vice President, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), speaking for Bangladesh, Ashok Rajani, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), speaking for India, Alexander Shumsky, Executive President, Russian Fashion Council, speaking for Russia among others.
Session 2 focuses on new opportunities in retailing. With growing strength of retail market in emerging nations; Global retailers face the puzzle of combining the specific demands of Indian consumers with their standardized retail structure and operational processes. The session focuses on emerging trends and opportunities in retail sector at the global level and how would these trends translate to the Indian market. How retailers are trying to create a seamless shopping experience while addressing the channel conflict. The session also seeks to answer questions and offer insights into future of fashion retailing. Among the top speakers in this session is B S Nagesh, Founder, TRRAIN and the panellist include Aniruddha Deshmukh, MD& CEO, Mafatlal, Govind Shrikhande, MD, Shoppers Stop, Rakesh Biyani, Director, Future Group, Vinay Nadkarni, MD & CEO, Globus, Manish Mandhana, MD, Being Human & Mandhana Ind.
Session 3 focuses on ‘New opportunities in Technology’. The focus here is on the growing importance of technology in efficient garment processing, use of IT tools in business and business process re-engineering are new driving forces for growth of textile and apparel industry. The idea of the session is to learn from the experts about various technologies, processes and methods that will help in achieving the above mentioned goals. With Mike Fralix, President & CEO, [TC] 2 as the moderator, the session has an impressive lineup of speakers including Mark Jarvis CEO, WTiN, Philippe Ribera, Innovation Director, Lectra, Simon Fernandes, Regional Director, Alvanon, Ms. Vonita Samtani, Vice President (Strategic Channel Partners), WGSN among others.
Session 4 focuses on ‘New Opportunities in Denim’ the session will look to help denim players build on the potential opportunities existing across denim value chain. With Deval Shah, Business Head – Diesel & GAS, Reliance Brands, Harminder Sahni MD, Wazir Advisors as moderator the penalists include Claudio Grotto, Founder, GAS Jeans, Anurag Asthana VP (Sourcing) Myntra, Subir Mukherjee, Business Head (Denim), Bhaskar Industries, Sanjay Vakharia, Director & COO, Spykar Lifestyle among other top names. Session 4 focuses on brand and new opportunities there with. It delves on how should brands look at branding to stay relevant and connected to their core consumers? How are brand strategies evolving in this dynamic world? This session seeks to answer some of these questions and offer insights into new opportunities in branding in global context. The keynote presenter is Bruce Atherley, Executive Director, CCI with moderator Darlie Koshy, DG & CEO, IAM & ATDC and the panellist include Ashish Dixit, President, Madura Garments, Gaurav Mahajan, President (Apparel), Raymond, Ms. Manjula Tiwari, CEO, Future Style Lab, J Suresh, CEO & MD, Arvind Brands among others.
Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is gearing up to organise a national seminar for the organic textile industry in Bangladesh on November 23 in Dhaka. The theme of the conference is: ‘Business Case for Sustainability with Organic Textiles.’ The event will be attended by representatives of brands, senior management of manufacturers and exporters. Professionals from the fields of compliance, regulation, quality assurance, green chemistry and chemical management and technical experts along with media and trade associations would also attend the seminar. Attendees will benefit from the conference by gathering new knowledge and insights in the fields of holistic environmentally and socially responsible textile processing and gain a better understanding of related problems and possible solutions.
Speakers from leading brands and various experts shall talk about Business Case for Sustainability with Organic Textiles, best practices in manufacturing, social and environment issues. There shall also be a panel discussion on challenges and opportunities in a sustainable textile supply chain.
It may be recalled that in 2015, GOTS had organized the 1st International GOTS Conference in India. The theme there was ‘Strong Partnerships for Success’.
After the implementation of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Vietnam Textile and Garment Association (VITAS) and Mexico’s National Chamber of Textile Industry (Canaintex) expects the value of Vietnamese exports to Mexico to double in 3 to 4 years as tariff on Vietnamese goods exported to Mexico would fall to zero from the current 30 per cent.
Representatives of Canaintex said that with TPP agreement coming into effect, Vietnam’s garment and textile exports will rise sharply and its market share in TPP member countries would increase substantially due to preferential tax policies. According to VITAS, Vietnam has targeted to increase its garment and textile exports from $28 billion at present to USD 50 billion by 2020. Of the $28 billion, nearly $11 billion worth of garments were exported to the US, another TPP member country, last year.
A delegation from Canintex recently visited Vietnam to lay foundation for bilateral garment co-operation between the two countries. During their one week stay in Vietnam, the team visited several factories and a garment and textile industrial park.
Major Western retailers like Walmart, Nike, Adidas, Levi Strauss, H&M and Gap Inc among others that source clothing from Cambodia have declined to endorse a proposed hike in the garment industry’s minimum wage that amounts to roughly $40 a month.
Like many of its neighbours in the Southeast Asia, Cambodia is a popular spot for American and European brands to sub-contract production of textiles and shoes. It offers easy market access and above all, cheap labour. Against this backdrop, exports of garment and footwear have more than doubled in the last decade. But the industry is not without conflict. In recent years, its overwhelmingly female workforce has led mass strikes and protests to demand higher wages and several workers were killed in a police crackdown in January 2014.
This month, labour unions representing hundreds of thousands of garment workers proposed a hike in the industry-wide minimum wage from $140 a month to $179.60. They’ve been met with stiff opposition from factory owners’ lobby, the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, which countered with its own monthly minimum wage offer of $144.20. Many Western brands, too, have declined to endorse the unions’ proposal.
In These Times reached out to six of the top U.S. and European brands with contracts in Cambodia—Walmart, Nike, Adidas, Levi Strauss & Co., H&M and Gap Inc.—asking for their position on the unions’ proposed minimum wage hike. None of them endorsed the proposal. Walmart and Nike did not respond; Adidas, Levi’s, H&M and Gap all highlighted their support of ongoing negotiations.
To support capital projects, skills training and research and development, the UK government has launched a £97 million worth Textiles Growth Program. The program focuses on Greater Manchester, Lancashire and West Yorkshire where the country’s textile and clothing sector and home ware manufacturing is concentrated. The program is aimed at businesses within the textiles sector and covers manufacturers from carpets to clothing, as well as industry suppliers, such as textile machinery manufacturers and designers.
As part of the program, a combination of capital and revenue grants would be available for projects related to new or improved premises, plant, machinery, equipment, energy efficiency, workforce training, research and development. One of the companies to benefit from the program so far is Grafea, which makes a range of high-end leather bags, rucksacks and satchels for luxury markets in Italy, China, Russia and America from their site in Dukinfield in Tameside, Manchester. As the popularity of their products grew, directors Yanni and Charis Kioupouroglou, recognised the need for a significant expansion programme, including the purchase of new equipment so they could increase production capacity and cater for the growing demand.
The duo decided to apply for support through the Textiles Growth Program. They have, till now, worked with a number of growth hub services including UKTI that has helped the company expand into new premises and grow their presence overseas.
