Let's celebrate: The Asia Garment Hub turns two!

Looking back over the past two years, how has the hub developed since its launch?

David: The Asia Garment Hub was co-founded with the simple goal of bringing people and knowledge closer together to drive the industry's sustainability efforts. With the combined efforts of a dynamic and dedicated team and an engaged and growing industry audience, we believe we're well on the way to achieving this. In two short years we have built a formidable resource library together with curated news, special events and exclusive content that help partners understand critical issues and take practical action on sustainability challenges.

Constantia: Over the past two years, the Asia Garment Hub has undergone significant advancements. We have added innovative features such as "What's going on in…?", thematic and country-specific pages, and a comprehensive array of news & events. Moreover, the number of digital resources has grown to over 800 - an achievement that speaks to our commitment to providing valuable information. Throughout this journey, we have conducted numerous insightful interviews with key industry stakeholders, creating an ever-growing community of proactive members.

In addition, our commitment to improving knowledge in the textile industry has led us to initiate a series of supplier meetings. These meetings provide a safe environment for suppliers to discuss important industry issues with their peers. These discussions have led to significant outcomes, including the publication of a white paper on regulatory mapping in July 2023.

Our endeavors are ongoing as we continue to cultivate meaningful dialogue and collaboration within the industry. The Asia Garment Hub remains dedicated to driving positive change, with our efforts focused on sustained progress and development.

What are some of the key achievements of the Asia Garment Hub?

David: For a small team, I think i'm most proud of the way we've grown our exclusive content -whether it's our thematic resource pages, our country profiles or our supplier meet-ups, the Hub is harnessing community and collective knowledge to bring unique value and new ideas on sustainability. I'm also really pleased to see how our social media community has taken off in the last year, with around 3,500 followers across three channels (and still growing).

Constantia: Our Hub takes pride in its diverse array of accomplishments these past 2 years! Our content range is extensive, featuring data-driven country profiles and insightful interviews with influential figures. These discussions shed light on novel industry initiatives and progress. 

Undoubtedly however, the most significant achievement borne from the Hub's relentless pursuit of collaborating with suppliers is the creation of the white paper "An Apparel Supplier’s Guide: Key Sustainability Legislations in the EU, US, and UK." A resource that we hope will guide the sustainability landscape in the apparel industry amidst the dynamic evolution of regulations, maintaining foresight is paramount for suppliers. This resource was developed through our supplier meet-ups series, a one-of-a-kind safe space where supplier's could delve into the problems (& solutions) that the industry has.

What has been your biggest challenge so far with the Asia Garment Hub?

David: The Hub operates within tight financial and staffing constraints, but i'm really proud of the way our team has been able to maximize the resources we do have to ensure the Hub keeps growing and innovating. One key way is by leveraging the support and contributions of partners and members, who remain critical to the success of the Hub in the long run.

Constantia: We are a small team behind the Asia Garment Hub. Unfortunately, we are not always able to do everything we want in the time we want. Our ambition often outstrips our capacity. Expanding reach and sustaining - and gaining - momentum are two big challenges we face every day. A platform of this nature requires us to be on the move constantly, whether it’s creating new and interesting content and features, growing our membership and user base, or simply troubleshooting day to day operational issues. But it is very rewarding seeing the Asia Garment Hub grow!

What are your favorite features on the Hub? Which do you use the most?

Constantia: My personal favorite among the Hub's features is our country-specific profiles. These profiles keep up-to-date the most vital insights, data, news & statistics for 12 garment producing countries instead of having to scour the web for different sources. What sets us apart is that we're the only platform offering this unique resource. It's a privilege to contribute to such a distinctive feature.

David: It's difficult to choose a favourite, I love many aspects, as you'd expect me to say! But I do particularly like the thematic pages and explainers and the country profiles -because it's so hard to find relevant information that's both reliable and easily digestible for people on the go. I also love the interviews we do, which showcase the work and perspectives of key industry leaders bringing new approaches to common sustainability challenges.

Can you provide a glimpse into the future of the Asia Garment Hub? Are there any new features or initiatives that users can look forward to?

David: We're currently upgrading and improving our thematic pages so they can serve as essential explainers on key sustainability topics. We're also partnering with new organizations to expand our content offerings, and revamping our member area for an enhanced user experience.

Constantia: We will definitely continue our work and we have lots of exciting plans and features moving forward. And we’re obviously going to keep expanding and improving our current features, bringing you an improved range of news, data, resources and events that help you stay informed, stay connected, and take action to improve business and industry sustainability. We will continue the Supplier Meet-Up Series for sure. We have also started working on another white paper together with suppliers which we are very excited about. Stay tuned!

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Constantia Chirnside holds a master degree from the university of Cologne, Germany. She has work experience in Namibia, Australia, Germany and Cambodia. She started working for GIZ HQ in Germany in 2019 and is currently located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, since January 2021. There she works as an advisor for the regional GIZ FABRIC project.

David Williams manages the ILO-Sweden regional programme, Decent Work in Garment Supply Chains Asia. He has almost 15 years’ professional experience spanning labour market policy, working conditions, and global supply chains, with a particular focus on Asia. He was previously deputy programme manager for Better Work Vietnam (an ILO-IFC partnership), and has held technical and managerial roles in Thailand, Cambodia and the ILO’s Geneva headquarters.