Bangladesh loss is India's gain in apparel export orders
Updated: Jun 15, 2013 01:21:08pm
New Delhi, Jun 15 (KNN) Bangladesh's loss is India's gain as several global apparel brands are shifting their sourcing requirements to Indian suppliers following a spate of industrial disasters in manufacturing facilities in the neighbouring country.
According to the Apparel Export Promotion Council, Indian garment exporters alone may land themselves additional orders worth USD three billion (close to over Rs 17,000 crore).
“In the current volatility in international buying, brands have preferred expanding their sourcing of the merchandise from India. The flow of expansion of orders in India is expected to fetch additional USD three billion business in the country,” said Apparel Exports Promotion Council (AEPC) in a release.
All big chain stores such as ZARA, Mango, French Connection, Old Navy, Sears and Tommy to name a few, according to AEPC maintain the highest standards of factory compliance. As a result, factory compliant manufacturing in India has surged with new and unprecedented export orders in the current season.
“India has been chosen as the best place due to the persistent improvement in factory capacity building…,” said AEPC President, A Sakthivel.
He also said that over 200 garment manufacturing units had participated in vigorous capacity building, in keeping with the 11 management principles of DISHA.
An initiative of the Ministry of Textiles, Disha (Driving industry towards sustainable human capital advancement) is AEPC’s common code of conduct project, established to bring the Indian garment and apparel industry onto a common platform to prepare for a social and environmentally compliant industrial environment.
The initiative, the first of its kind is expected to help improve the country’s image in the global market and make India the global benchmark for social compliance in apparel manufacturing and export.
Areas that were covered during capacity building programmes were hours of work, wages and benefits, health and safety, freedom of association, prohibit child labour, prohibit bonded and forced labour, prevent harassment and abuse, right to collective bargaining, protect environment and establish and implement management system.
DISHA has also intervened in the areas of environmental protection, health and safety, workers’ wages, responsibilities, recruitment, written policy and identifying and managing legal records and registers, owing to which several garment factories have benefitted.
Significantly, the International Trade Centre and ISEAL Alliance have made a mention of the DISHA structure, ranking it among the top with regard to conditions of work and environment as compared to 110 environmental, 53 social, 19 economic criteria against 6 major global standards and 4 perspectives.
Further, over one lakh workers have been trained under the Integrated Skill Development Scheme (ISDS) of the Ministry of Textiles, thus improving productivity levels in the garment sector.
With regard to security, India factories, most of which are housed in single storey buildings have demonstrated quicker and efficient evacuation plans than in manufacturing units in other countries.
On the wages front, the country has done relatively well, the average monthly wage in the garment industry is USD 170, making it a well-paid average of Rs 9180 per month.
While Delhi pays minimum monthly wage of Rs 7722, Haryana pays Rs 5211.96, Punjab Rs 5699.20, UP Rs 4975, Tamil Nadu Rs 3862 and Karnataka Rs 5031.
Following the building collapse incident which led to causalities among workers in the Bangladesh apparel industry, there has been an outrage against bad working conditions of Bangladesh workers.
The Bangladesh government, owing to pressure from global brands went about bringing strict regulations for ensuring labour welfare. It gave rise to speculation if the move would increase cost of garment production and if it will help the Indian apparel industry which is in direct completion from Bangladesh in the global market.
In Bangladesh the clothing industry which pays the lowest wages in the world is critical to the nation’s economy.
Bangladesh is the world’s second leading garment exporter, trailing only China, and has become a popular manufacturer for top global brands by delivering lower costs, largely because of rock-bottom wages. (KNN)
According to the Apparel Export Promotion Council, Indian garment exporters alone may land themselves additional orders worth USD three billion (close to over Rs 17,000 crore).
“In the current volatility in international buying, brands have preferred expanding their sourcing of the merchandise from India. The flow of expansion of orders in India is expected to fetch additional USD three billion business in the country,” said Apparel Exports Promotion Council (AEPC) in a release.
All big chain stores such as ZARA, Mango, French Connection, Old Navy, Sears and Tommy to name a few, according to AEPC maintain the highest standards of factory compliance. As a result, factory compliant manufacturing in India has surged with new and unprecedented export orders in the current season.
“India has been chosen as the best place due to the persistent improvement in factory capacity building…,” said AEPC President, A Sakthivel.
He also said that over 200 garment manufacturing units had participated in vigorous capacity building, in keeping with the 11 management principles of DISHA.
An initiative of the Ministry of Textiles, Disha (Driving industry towards sustainable human capital advancement) is AEPC’s common code of conduct project, established to bring the Indian garment and apparel industry onto a common platform to prepare for a social and environmentally compliant industrial environment.
The initiative, the first of its kind is expected to help improve the country’s image in the global market and make India the global benchmark for social compliance in apparel manufacturing and export.
Areas that were covered during capacity building programmes were hours of work, wages and benefits, health and safety, freedom of association, prohibit child labour, prohibit bonded and forced labour, prevent harassment and abuse, right to collective bargaining, protect environment and establish and implement management system.
DISHA has also intervened in the areas of environmental protection, health and safety, workers’ wages, responsibilities, recruitment, written policy and identifying and managing legal records and registers, owing to which several garment factories have benefitted.
Significantly, the International Trade Centre and ISEAL Alliance have made a mention of the DISHA structure, ranking it among the top with regard to conditions of work and environment as compared to 110 environmental, 53 social, 19 economic criteria against 6 major global standards and 4 perspectives.
Further, over one lakh workers have been trained under the Integrated Skill Development Scheme (ISDS) of the Ministry of Textiles, thus improving productivity levels in the garment sector.
With regard to security, India factories, most of which are housed in single storey buildings have demonstrated quicker and efficient evacuation plans than in manufacturing units in other countries.
On the wages front, the country has done relatively well, the average monthly wage in the garment industry is USD 170, making it a well-paid average of Rs 9180 per month.
While Delhi pays minimum monthly wage of Rs 7722, Haryana pays Rs 5211.96, Punjab Rs 5699.20, UP Rs 4975, Tamil Nadu Rs 3862 and Karnataka Rs 5031.
Following the building collapse incident which led to causalities among workers in the Bangladesh apparel industry, there has been an outrage against bad working conditions of Bangladesh workers.
The Bangladesh government, owing to pressure from global brands went about bringing strict regulations for ensuring labour welfare. It gave rise to speculation if the move would increase cost of garment production and if it will help the Indian apparel industry which is in direct completion from Bangladesh in the global market.
In Bangladesh the clothing industry which pays the lowest wages in the world is critical to the nation’s economy.
Bangladesh is the world’s second leading garment exporter, trailing only China, and has become a popular manufacturer for top global brands by delivering lower costs, largely because of rock-bottom wages. (KNN)
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