Made in Cambodia - Textile supply chains and investor responsibility in Cambodia Clothing of the brands GAP, H&M or C&A can hardly be imagined without German wardrobes. But what about the working conditions in the supply chains of the popular fashion brands? What exactly do investors have to do with this? A new case study by Facing Finance and Südwind, with a view to textile production in Cambodia, provides an answer to this question. Together, they searched international fashion companies for their Cambodian suppliers and compared them with the database and audit results of the Better Factories Cambodia program launched by the International Labour Organization (ILO). The juxtaposition resulted in a long list of labour law violations committed by Cambodian suppliers of popular textile brands. But that's not all, because above all they wanted to know to what extent these companies appear in mutual funds of the banks evaluated in Germany according to the Fair Finance Guide methodology and where the expectations and limits of investors lie. Mehr Details
The state of fashion 2022 The sixth annual report predicts that the global fashion industry will rebound after nearly two years of upheaval. Nevertheless, the industry faces major challenges in the face of supply chain disruption, fluctuating demand and continued pressure on profits. According to the authors, ten topics in three categories will be crucial for the fashion industry in 2022: Global economy: Uneven recovery, logistical standstill; Changes in consumer behaviour: domestic luxury, wardrobe remodeling, metaverse mindset; Mode systems: social shopping, circular textiles, product passports, cyber resilience, talent scarcity. Scope: 73 pagesReference: free of charge to Download
Bitter Seeds - film and workbook The documentary ‘Bitter Seeds’ by Micha X. Peled focuses on the effects of genetic engineering in cotton farming in India. INKOTA has released the film ‘Bitter Seeds’ with German subtitles, accompanied by a workbook. Mehr Details
Unfinished business: Outstanding safety hazards at garment factories show that the Accord must be extended and expanded In this report from April 2021, the Accord witness signatories enumerate uncorrected safety hazards at factories producing for 12 leading brands covered by the Accord. The data show that every brand is sourcing from dozens of factories that have failed to install fire alarms, sprinkler systems, and/or adequate emergency exits. Therefore it is paramount that these brands sign a new legally binding agreement to safeguard the effectiveness of the Accord and ensure these hazards are remediated. Mehr Details
Fast fashion: Theory and Evidence from Portuguese Textile and Clothing Firms The authors study how firms respond to import competition by increasing the speed of trade. We use data on all Portuguese textile and clothing exporters’ monthly transactions and exploit the exogenous increase in competition following the removal of Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA) quotas on Chinese exports. The removal of quotas is associated with an increase in the price and frequency of export transactions and with a reduction in average distance of firms’ exports. We rationalize our findings with a heterogeneous-firm model of exporting where firms decide which markets to serve as well as the frequency of transactions and the quality of exported products in each market. In response to low-wage competition, the more productive firms increase exports of high-quality products to nearby markets, while the less productive firms drop out from distant and low-income markets. These changes in export patterns imply that advanced economies become more specialized in ‘fast-fashion’ — exporting higher quality products to closer markets at higher frequency. Mehr Details
