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Asia's new territory|Textile industry chain "important town", sustainable evolution of Southeast Asian market

Asia's new territory|Textile industry chain "important town", sustainable evolution of Southeast Asian market
Asia's new territory|Textile industry chain "important town", sustainable evolution of Southeast Asian market

Rich demographic dividend, preferential investment promotion policies, and a good trade environment have made Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and Bangladesh, Pakistan and other South Asian countries develop vigorously in the textile and garment processing industry, and have become the pillar industries of the national economic layer. Driven by resource conditions, regional environment, geopolitics and other conditions, Southeast Asia, South Asia and other regions have undoubtedly great potential in global textile and garment processing and production.

Since entering the 21st century, the center of gravity of the global textile and garment processing industry has begun to shift to Southeast Asian countries. According to China Newsweek, since March 2021, Southeast Asian export trade has ushered in explosive growth, such as Indonesia's exports increased by 40% year-on-year, Vietnam increased by 30% year-on-year, and Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines all increased their exports by more than 20% year-on-year.

The booming textile and garment processing industry has brought more jobs and economic income to the local area. With the improvement of the economic environment, Southeast Asian countries have begun to invest more in workers' well-being and environmental protection, and are carrying out sustainable fashion reform from the supply chain side.

Asia's new territory|Textile industry chain "important town", sustainable evolution of Southeast Asian market

 The issue of workers' welfare security is constantly being raised 

In fact, as early as the nineties of the twentieth century, garment workers' rights activists began a global appeal campaign. In the early 21st century, when Asia developed into the world's largest and most concentrated garment producer, the initiative of trade unions and workers' organizations came into being.

In 2006, the "Asian Minimum Wage" Alliance was born, rooted in the highly integrated global industry of textile and apparel processing, and used it as an anchor for the pay movement, planning to promote the development of other industries in the future. A series of movements have brought workers together internationally, and although the process has been bumpy, it has really brought more attention to "workers' rights" while inspiring workers' morale.

Indeed, Korean pop culture has a wide influence on both Korea and Asia and the world to this day, so luxury goods often choose to partner with Korean idols as their main marketing tool throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

For example, South Korean boy group Enhypen was invited to attend the show event at the 2023 Milan Fashion Week Prada; Blackpink members have partnered with top luxury brands such as Celine, Chanel, Dior, Saint Laurent; The new generation of Korean puppet groups NewJeans has partnered with Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Burberry; Dior signed South Korea's BTS member Jimin as a global brand ambassador, and Valentino also selected BTS member SUGA as a brand ambassador.

Under the influence of popular culture, South Korean residents are increasingly enthusiastic about luxury consumption. Clearly, brands have already seen the growth from this move and continue to use this strategy to drive sales in Asia, including South Korea.

Asia's new territory|Textile industry chain "important town", sustainable evolution of Southeast Asian market
Asia's new territory|Textile industry chain "important town", sustainable evolution of Southeast Asian market

The Asian Minimum Wage Union launched an initiative

As the world's second largest garment exporter, Bangladesh has made great contributions to promoting the well-being of workers in the global textile and garment processing industry, constantly fighting for more rights for the most grassroots workers from the mud and setbacks.

In 2013, the Rana Mall in Bangladesh caused a serious collapse due to aging buildings and irregular operation of garment factories, claiming the lives of thousands of garment workers. After the accident, the Bangladesh Fire and Construction Safety Agreement was officially released, and the Bangladeshi government announced changes to the provisions of the labor law on minimum wages and the formation of trade unions in order to better protect workers' rights.

On May 31, 2021, the agreement expired. Collective pressure from activists, human rights groups, garment workers and fashion brands from around the globe allowed the agreement to extend for three months at the last minute. After a series of negotiations, representatives of international textile retailers and trade unions announced on August 25, 2021, that they had agreed to continue their legally binding commitment to worker safety in Bangladesh and hoped to provide protections to workers in more countries through the agreement. To this end, they issued a more detailed International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry, which further expands the coverage of the agreement on the basis of the feasibility study and strengthens the optional simplified arbitration procedure of the agreement.

Asia's new territory|Textile industry chain "important town", sustainable evolution of Southeast Asian market

The people of Bangladesh have called for the agreement to be extended

At the recently concluded first Made in Bangladesh Week, manufacturers discussed the future of Bangladesh's fashion industry and the key directions for future development at the official Dhaka Apparel Summit. At the meeting, industry experts identified "sustainability", "women's empowerment" and "the ability to manufacture high-end products" as key to improving the competitiveness of Bangladesh's manufacturing sector.

Jill Tucker, director of the Laudes Foundation's labor rights program, said Bangladesh's garment industry leadership is stronger than before; At the same time, organizations such as the Awaj Foundation, Bangladesh's grassroots labor rights NGOs and the Bangladesh Solidarity Centre are growing, and more and more grassroots workers are becoming more aware of their legitimate rights.

 Environmental problems are constantly improving 

In the past, the textile and garment processing industry in Southeast Asia generally adopted extensive management, and the pollution caused by printing and dyeing and production not only polluted the environment, but also adversely affected the health of workers and local residents.

Previously, the non-profit organization Water Witness International discussed the transfer of global apparel manufacturing to developing countries with low labor prices and preferential tax policies in the report "How fair is fashion's water footprint?" Although the topic is sharp, the report also points out very neutrally that the shift of global garment manufacturing has brought economic growth to many countries, caused certain environmental pollution, but also provided more employment opportunities and solved the livelihood problems of countless people.

This also means that while focusing on economic growth, Southeast Asian countries also need to pay more attention to environmental issues, achieve sustainable development and investment in various processes of commodity procurement and production, and balance the relationship between development and environmental protection.

Asia's new territory|Textile industry chain "important town", sustainable evolution of Southeast Asian market
Asia's new territory|Textile industry chain "important town", sustainable evolution of Southeast Asian market

Improved Bangladeshi garment factory

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Export Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Garment Exchange (BAE) are achieving higher quality development in Bangladesh's manufacturing industry through more diversified and sustainable reforms.

While focusing on the well-being of workers, Bangladesh's garment manufacturing industry has made remarkable progress in ensuring workplace safety, improving working conditions, and promoting product innovation. At the same time, efforts have been made to develop environmentally-friendly factories and strengthen modern craftsmanship.

Asia's new territory|Textile industry chain "important town", sustainable evolution of Southeast Asian market

"Made in Vietnam" clothing label

For Vietnam, which has now developed into the second largest supplier of clothing and footwear in the United States after China, environmental protection is a top priority for manufacturing and economic development.

In February this year, Vietnam's Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Xiao said at the 2023 World Government Summit (WGS 2023) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that Vietnam is striving to meet its commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, and hopes that partners and international funds will care about and invest in areas such as green economy, digital economy, climate change and other fields that Vietnam has prioritized investment.

For the labor-intensive textile and garment processing industry, the pursuit of cheaper labor is an inevitable from the perspective of economic benefits, and the shift of industrial focus in the past hundred years has also allowed people to see the tangible effects of "OEM" for various countries and regions. “

Investment, export, consumption" is known as the troika of national economic development, if there are certain conditions, then manufacturing OEM must be one of the fastest ways to achieve economic development.

However, in such a process, respecting the lives and quality of life of workers and people in low-economic areas, and respecting local ecological and environmental development, whether for foreign-funded enterprises or "OEM" countries, is a manifestation of humanistic care, and it is also an inevitable social development. Southeast Asian countries have been working hard to see that only by finding ways to balance workers' rights and corporate responsibilities in different environments and contexts can we unlock the future of the fashion industry more sustainably. WWD

Asia's new territory|Textile industry chain "important town", sustainable evolution of Southeast Asian market
Asia's new territory|Textile industry chain "important town", sustainable evolution of Southeast Asian market
Asia's new territory|Textile industry chain "important town", sustainable evolution of Southeast Asian market

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