Sourcing opportunities: some conclusions

IN_DEPTH_ After spending the last few weeks looking at the world of garment sourcing from all possible angles – consumers, buyers, suppliers and workers – and getting valuable input from our readers, it has emerged that rather than a problem, the recent

crisis is on its way to becoming an opportunity for change. The last installment in our sourcing series sums up how.

Let’s start with the consumers. Here, the initial confusion seems to have been replaced with an urge to want to know more – where clothes come from, how they are made and budgeted and how consumers can influence common practices that will affect workers worldwide. Sure, not all consumers want to be educated and for some, price may still be the deciding factor, but a growing number is already asking the right questions – in shops and online – whenever they purchase clothes.

Buyers are increasing their efforts

On the buyers’ side, more have come forward in support of workers in so-called low wage countries, be it the 68 major apparel brands and retailers that have signed the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh to-date; German sportswear giant Adidas finally paying PT Kizone workers’ compensations in Indonesia and committing to stricter checks along the whole supply chain; Japanese sporting goods company Asics compensating victims’ families and updating safety measures after a factory collapse in Cambodia or Primark compensating all victims’ families of the Rana Plaza collapse, regardless if they made clothes for Primark or not – hardly a day goes by where one does not read in the media about improvements being made.

Sure, more could be done but there are also small- and medium-sized clothing brands and retailers that don't make the news but that have quietly found their own niche and unique way of ensuring fair wages and safe production for the workers and manufacturing units they work with.

Fair factories are a reality

Speaking of which, for every Ali Enterprises, Rana Plaza, PT Kizone and Tazreen Fashions (remember them?), there are suppliers and factories that try to make a difference by paying fair wages and providing adequate medical care, some even childcare, free meals and other incentives that increase the overall well-being of the workers and with it their productivity. They are out there in Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, China and other sourcing countries and if there are not enough, more can certainly be established.

Though to say that happy workers make better quality products may be a bit simplistic, it is not too far from the truth. After all, happy and healthy workers will report more regularly to work and stay longer term, thus increasing the company-specific knowledge base. Workers also need to learn to trust their employers and to not fear the buyers, which goes hand-in-hand with better education about their rights and responsibilities.

Education is key, at home and abroad

Speaking of education, it is important that social responsibility and sustainability starts in the class room, not only in the board room. At the Amsterdam Fashion Institute (AMFI) for example, those efforts are already underway: “AMFI is really working at it and plans to have sustainability at the core of the curriculum through all of the years and departments, that is, design, management and branding. We are also trying out different methods of delivery and discovery in an attempt to get to the hearts and minds of future fashion professionals. It is especially important to get the students excited about the possibilities and not see it as an add-on burden - which is easily the case. We want to make it the heart of the matter- and fashionable”, confirms lecturer Linnemore Nefdt.

Another initiative that looks at education, information and increasing the knowledge base is WellMade by the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF). The project is currently looking for fashion professionals working in all areas of the European apparel industry to take part in a survey. The aim is to gather how much the average apparel employee knows about factory conditions or how to improve them. This in turn will lead to targeted, free seminars that will be offered at trade fairs across Europe over the next three years to support better working conditions in factories in sourcing countries. At this positive note, we’ll end our sourcing series but will keep you updated with more news on the topic as always.

Simone Preuss

Image: Colourful clothes on a rack / Kristen Taylor