The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
The Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) is filing complaints against some of fashion’s biggest companies in major Asian manufacturing hubs in an effort to hold brands accountable for alleged wage violations in their supply chains.
The move comes amid growing scrutiny on the industry’s business practices as the pandemic has resulted in mounting hardship for many of the people who make its clothes. Labour groups have reported increases in incidents of union busting and wage theft, as well as growing debt among garment workers, tracing the issues back to brands that cancelled orders, delayed payments or demanded discounts during the pandemic.
Most brands don’t operate their own factories and typically rely on private audit systems and voluntary codes of conduct to ensure labour rights are upheld in their supply chains.
AFWA said it is bringing claims in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, arguing that global brands should be considered joint employers alongside their suppliers. It is exploring taking a similar course in Bangladesh and Cambodia.
Europe’s Parliament has signed off rules that will make brands more accountable for what happens in their supply chains, ban products made with forced labour and set new environmental standards for the design and disposal of products.
Fashion’s biggest sustainable cotton certifier said it found no evidence of non-compliance at farms covered by its standard, but acknowledged weaknesses in its monitoring approach.
As they move to protect their intellectual property, big brands are coming into conflict with a growing class of up-and-coming designers working with refashioned designer gear.
The industry needs to ditch its reliance on fossil-fuel-based materials like polyester in order to meet climate targets, according to a new report from Textile Exchange.