Glossary

Climate Change
Climate change is having a severe impact on the textile and garment industry and the textile and garment sector has a disproportionately negative impact on the global environment as well. Textile, garment and tanning industries, compared to other industries, have some of the highest consumption of chemicals for example. In addition, these industries - along with cotton growing - have highly water-intensive processes such as dyeing/printing and finishing.  At the same time, climate change is having an outsized impact on the textile and garment sector. Impacts from business interruptions due to flooding in buildings, with knock on effects in trade and commerce including missed deadlines and orders, impacts and disruptions to water supply and water treatment, damage to utilities causing power outages, damage to transportation and economic networks - are just a few. The response to these issues requires decisive thought and action and highlights vulnerabilities in the textile and garment supply chain in relation to climate change impact.  

COVID-19
The novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has had a significant impact on the global textile and garment industry. What started with supply chain restrictions with shortages of raw materials from China quickly became the biggest disruptor to the textile and garment industry, if not the entire globe, and the true impact of the pandemic may not be felt for several years to come.
Textile and garment manufacturers in Asia have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic. Many have been forced to temporarily or permanently shut down operations, leaving millions of (mostly women) textile and garment workers, unemployed or facing reduced hours and incomes. Actions taken to contain the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in retail store and factory closures, changes in supply and demand, layoffs and unpaid furloughs, and revenue losses, jeopardizing the livelihoods, health, and safety of millions of workers and employers throughout the textile and garment sector.

COVID-19 has acutely exposed the fragility and structural inequities of the textile and garment supply chain, leading the industry to once again question its sustainability. Debates are emerging about how production dynamics and practices must change to survive in the post-pandemic era.
As buyers seek to minimize risk and adjust their sourcing strategies in the wake of the pandemic, some buyers will prefer to work with more professionalized manufacturers with more advanced operations, while others will focus on cost advantages.
Industry experts agree that the pandemic will shape apparel production in Asia into 2021 and beyond. However, with a complex structure and a multitude of stakeholders involved at various points in the supply chain, it is difficult to envisage a single fate or future for the industry as a whole. More likely is that the industry will evolve in multiple, sometimes competing and contradictory ways in the coming years.

Decent Work
What is decent work and why is it a key element to achieve fair globalization and poverty reduction? Here we provide you with a brief definition. Decent work means opportunities for work that are productive and deliver a fair income, provides security in the workplace and social protection for families and better prospects for personal development and social integration. It aims to give people the freedom to voice their concerns, organize themselves and participate in the decisions that affect their lives including equality of opportunity and treatment, for all women and men.

Digitalization
Digitization is a transformation process enabled by the use of digital technologies. It has innovated and redefined our daily lives, from the way we communicate and interact to the products and services we consume. This has led companies around the world to adapt their business models. In this context, the textile and apparel industry, as a resource- and labor-intensive sector, is particularly affected by increasing process automation and the requirements of globally interconnected, digital markets. This changing environment offers both challenges in the form of increased competitive pressure and regulator and consumer demands as well as enormous opportunities, from knowledge and efficiency gains through data analytics to improved market access through eCommerce.

Gender
Women make up a large majority of the workforce in the textile and garment sector in Asia. Despite being a large proportion of the workforce, they continue to face many challenges and are a minority in management positions as well as in leadership positions in trade unions and employers' associations. Although there is ample evidence of positive spill over effects of having more women - alongside men - in leadership positions. Women in the sector continue to experience traditional gender stereotypes. Often, systemic infrastructures lessen and restrict opportunities to taking up leadership positions. Women also consistently lag behind men in pay. Across the textile and garment sector in Asia, workplace sexual harassment and violence is ubiquitous. This highlights a number of key challenges in addressing gender inequality and discrimination in the workplace:

• Lack of a comprehensive gender equality policy agenda that can be taken up by social partners at different levels;
• Lack of meaningful representation and engagement of women in formulating and influencing the policy agenda;
• Limited capacity of tripartite constituents to engage in meaningful dialogue for policy reforms to close gender gaps;
• Persistent stereotypes and practices that lead to underrepresentation of women in leadership positions at various levels, including at the policy dialogue level.

Productivity
How does productivity affect the textile and garment sector in Asia and why is it often looked upon as low in comparison to other manufacturing industries? It’s worth taking a closer look at the causes behind the issue. If we look at the socio-economic factors and development of many countries in Asia, you can see that the textile and garment industry has made a significant contribution. In 2019 alone, 65 million - most of them women - were employed in the industry across the region.
Despite these impressive figures, the textile and garment sector in Asia is characterized by small production units. These businesses have deficits in decent work indicators and are characterized by low productivity levels. Low productivity levels in the industry are the result of several factors: An abundance of low-wage workers, preferential trade agreements helping textile and garment factories in Asia remain competitive without requiring high productivity levels, and a lack of incentivisation as a result for factories to invest in improved decent work practices. In addition, the textile and garment industry is still highly labour-intensive.
Measures to improve productivity hold great potential when it comes to ensuring the sustainability and competitiveness of factories in Asia. In the long term, especially considering the declining profit margins due to rising costs and depressed prices, as well as the changing and increasingly competitive environment in which they operate. Smaller enterprises in particular need support to improve their productivity. In this challenging situation, productivity levels are an important factor in determining overall production costs and ultimately the ability of manufacturers to manage and sustain their operations.

Purchasing Practices
The Manufacturers’ Payment and Delivery Terms Initiative which was initiated by the IAF and GIZ FABRIC project in cooperation with the STAR network and 13 manufacturer associations aims to create a more balanced commercial relation between apparel buyers and their suppliers. It is manufacturer driven and large-scaled, with participating associations covering approximately two thirds of the global exports of manufactured apparel. The initiative, which has already received a great deal of media coverage, has in the first phase agreed on common "red lines" in five working groups and developed recommendations for action. These results are to be discussed and implemented in the second project phase starting in May 2021, in particular with brands and retailers.

Social and Labour Standards
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has established a system of labour standards applicable throughout the world. The most fundamental core labour standards include freedom of association, collective bargaining autonomy and the right to collective agreements; abolition of forced labour; abolition of child labor; prohibition of discrimination in the workplace and the principle of equal pay for equal work. But there are a number of other conventions that provide a normative framework for the world of work. The knowledge on standards and laws in the respective countries as well as the right to strike are such examples.
One way to maintain and improve social and labour standards is to use the framework of social dialogue to open lines of communication. Social dialogue is a powerful tool for promoting better living and working conditions and greater social justice.
In this context, social dialogue includes all kinds of negotiations, consultations or exchanges of information between representatives of governments, employers and employee representatives on issues of common interest relating to economic and social policy. It is a tool through which governance can be improved in many areas. And is relevant to all efforts aimed at more productive and effective enterprises and sectors, and a fairer and more efficient economy. In a practical sense, this means that social dialogue can often found in textile and garment factories being used to form and maintain bipartite worker/employer committees, to provide redress and negotiate agreements, and help to maintain a safe, open, and positive workplace.