Elections do not excite them as successive governments have robbed them of a chance to make a good living. While many have left this line of work, companies do not care as they can always find replacements among migrants.
On 8 March 2023, the Minister of Manpower issued a new regulation that allows certain export-oriented, labor-intensive enterprises to reduce employees’ working hours and/or wages in order to help them survive amid the ongoing global economic turbulence and waning worldwide demand.
In an effort to make textiles more sustainable, a new method allows researchers to break old clothing down chemically and reuse polyester compounds to create fire resistant, anti-bacterial or wrinkle-free coatings that could then be applied to clothes and fabrics.
On Thursday, MEPs backed draft legislation to improve product labelling and durability and to put a stop to misleading claims.
The denim industry is hard at work greening its supply chain, but one of the ways it’s cleaning up its act is currently dominating at retail. In-stock denim options incorporating recycled content have increased 28 percent in the U.K. and 18 percent in the U.S. year-over-year, according to Edited’s report, “The Sustainability Edit.”
In Cambodia 9 unions came together to protest at an Adidas store and offered a letter to store management.
The Life and Building Safety (LABS) Initiative announced the launch of its operations in Indonesia today. The Initiative aims to promote safer working conditions for factory workers by mitigating preventable fire, electrical, and structural building safety risks in key production countries in the apparel, footwear, accessories, and home textile sectors in a targeted way.
With major sectors reporting business closures and considering that the agriculture sector was hit hard by last year's floods, the road to economic recovery and simultaneous employment generation seems tough for Pakistan. The gap in demand and supply in Pakistan's employable youth adds to the woes.
Forearth aims to eliminate virtually all water usage from fabric printing and contributes to lowering the environmental impact of the fashion industry.
A new report, into fair purchasing practices says more needs to be done to address power imbalances in garment value chains.
Fast Retailing has announced its support for the Pakistan Accord. This legally binding agreement, developed through collaboration between brands and unions, aims to provide increased safety measures for vulnerable manufacturing workers in Pakistan.
European textile industry is exposed to global pressures more than ever before; policy makers need to consider that global dimension. EURATEX released today its 2023 Spring Report, which analyses latest trade flows for textiles and clothing products.
Codes of Conduct and auditing continue to be the primary methods through which global buyers attempt to uphold labor rights and standards in their supply chains. This form of private regulation was designed and built by global buyers and multi-stakeholder institutions in the global North. Apparel workers in the global South were never consulted in the design and implementation of the codes of conduct that affect their working lives. This begs the questions: “What do apparel workers care about?” “What aspects of codes are most important to them?”
On this edition of Your Call’s One Planet Series, we discuss working conditions and labor rights in the clothing industry. It’s been ten years since 1,134 people died in the Rana Plaza garment factory collapse in Bangladesh. Low wages, harassment in the workplace, and union busting are still widespread in the industry. What has changed since the deadly tragedy?
Former ASOS Responsible Sourcing and ESG Director Simon Platts has joined start-up RE-UP, which offers a workable solution for circularity and end of life management for retailers.
On 25 April 2023, the JURI committee, leading the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (EU CSDDD) 1 at the European Parliament, adopted a workable position more closely aligned with internationally recognised due diligence standards than the original proposal by the European Commission.
At a discussion on Monday, labour rights activists and trade unionists urged the government to set a new minimum wage for workers, considering high inflation. Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha and the Asia Floor Wage Alliance jointly organised the discussion at the National Press Club.
Polyester is in almost all of your clothing, and it's almost impossible to recycle. Some innovators are looking beyond turning plastic bottles into fabric.
The EU’s circular economy action plan aims to double the share of recycled materials used in its economy by 2030. The European Environment Agency’s (EEA) assessment, published today, shows that the pace of progress needs speeding up, requiring both more recycling and less overall material use. A second, in-depth report on waste prevention highlights opportunities for stronger and systemic approach for monitoring progress at EU level.
Only twelve companies account for a majority of the PFAS production in the world. PFAS production is hardly profitable, but the cost for society is massive.
Walk Free’s flagship report, the Global Slavery Index (GSI) provides national estimates of modern slavery for 160 countries.
Sri Lanka’s Government must stay committed to ensuring the country remains in the GSP+ regime if it is to restore its apparel trade and exports to pre-pandemic levels, German investors have warned.
As governments propose regulations to address the environmental and social impacts of the fashion industry and companies consider voluntary reporting of environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) factors, the fashion industry continues to wrestle with a complex reality. The fashion industry cannot avoid the fact that it is operating on a 20th century business model built on production, consumption, and profit while attempting to solve for 21st century-and-beyond sustainability problems that require a foundational paradigm shift.
The United Nation’s special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter, on Monday said that Bangladesh should move away from its reliance on cheap labour to ensure a rights-based development following its graduation from the least developed country status. Bangladesh’s development has largely been driven by one export sector – the readymade garment industry – which is highly dependent on keeping wages low, he said at a press conference held at the Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka.
Dutch textile innovation company Byborre is committed to shifting towards a circular textile economy and raised nearly 17 million euros in an investment round in early February. With the capital injection, textile designer and ByBorre co-founder Borre Akkersdijk aims to expand internationally and continue investing in automation, materials research and data analysis to make the supply chain more efficient, productive and transparent. Akkersdijk explains to FashionUnited exactly what Byborre has to offer.
A total of 200 brands and retailers have now signed the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry since it came into effect on September 1, 2021.
“Today we’re going to bring together a range of experts to talk about recycling claims,” James Kohm, associate director of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) enforcement division, said Tuesday as he kicked off “Talking Trash,” a roundtable about recyclable claims in advertising.
Soil underpins everything – its rich biodiversity and vital function in crop production and carbon storage make it fundamental to life on earth. However, a third of the world’s soils have deteriorated at the hands of erosion and contamination. In this Q&A, we hear from Narjis Ashfaq, Head of Programs at the Sangtani Women Rural Development Organization (SWRDO), in Pakistan, about this important work.
Back in February, the international materials sourcing show, Première Vision 2023, revealed to professionals the first major trends in spring/summer 2024 fashion, through three themes: Decoration, Essentials and Leather. FashionUnited reported on the event.
Despite last-minute pushback against key parts of the text, EU lawmakers adopted a common position on the proposed EU rules to make companies accountable for human rights and environmental violations along their value chains, opening the way for negotiations with member states.
