Garment Industry Ushered In "Post Bangladesh Era"

　　 Bennett Modor (Bennet Model) helped China set the stage for exporting garments in 1975, and Mao Zedong died a year later. From then on, Modor began searching for other producing countries for fashion companies, from Guatemala to Vietnam and then to Indonesia.

This year, a multi-storey factory in Bangladesh collapsed and a total of 1127 people were killed. Clothing industry After the worst accident in history, search for new locations became more difficult. Modor said that buying from Bangladesh "has become politically incorrect since then, and the problem has emerged, so many manufacturers have begun to look for alternatives."

Last week, a senior executive of a big American retailer called Modor, worried that he could no longer buy from Bangladesh and plan to go to Vietnam and Kampuchea to see if there was any other possibility. "I asked him to count Indonesia as a stop," he said.

Many Western brand executives have embarked on this journey this spring. Since January this year, Bangladesh has seen 33 regional and national strikes. Since February, hundreds of people have been killed in factional street battles. The collapse of Rana Plaza at the end of April caused many multinational companies to scramble for alternatives. "Now the three characters in Bangladesh make the company a bad name," he said. He is the chief executive officer of Joseph Model Associates, which designs and distributes high-end clothing brand Anna Beller Annabelle New York, New York, and also designs self owned brands for different department stores.

Executives are now searching for possible new suppliers in southern Vietnam, central Kampuchea and Indonesia's Java island. JW Marriott Hotel Jakarta customers who have been protected by Western clothing retailers are all full of customers. Indonesian clothing executives said that western customers continued to visit in recent months. All the questions raised were all about political stability, labor laws, safety regulations and wages.

"On the one hand, people are looking for contingency plans to prevent turbulence from worsening. Some people want to withdraw directly from Bangladesh, but there are few such people. Bruce Rockowitz, President and chief executive officer of Hongkong Lifeng group, one of the world's largest sourcing companies, said Le Yumin.

Clean Clothes Campaign spokeswoman Polyflor Tessel believes that retailers' concerns are nothing more than putting on airs and making excuses to avoid raising safety standards. "In the past ten years there has been political turmoil in Bangladesh, and of course, they should warn the government to stop immediately the bloody crackdown on street protests."

Many underdeveloped countries produce T-shirts and basic clothing. But few countries - in fact only China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Kampuchea and Pakistan - are able to develop highly sophisticated manufacturing and transportation systems within weeks of receiving international orders, producing tens of millions or even millions of quality and standardized garments.

Clothes need to be accurately marked to smoothly pass the distribution centers of large retailers, and every household in the world is on time. This process requires a large number of skilled workers to supervise quality control, clothing codes and transportation, and large retailers. Latest fashion The company has tried numerous options in other countries, such as India, Africa and Latin America, but failed in the end, where infrastructure is in the bottleneck, and skilled workers and managers are in short supply.

Modor said he usually refused to place orders for customers in Bangladesh because Bangladesh was too dependent on high rise factories and had security risks. In contrast, Southeast Asia is totally different. Since 1990s, Indonesia has stipulated that garment factories should not exceed two storeys, and two floors have access to the courtyard or balcony leading to the first floor to escape. Despite the abuse of labor in Indonesia, local union leaders claimed that they were meticulously observing the rules.

Rubana Huq, general manager of Mohammadi Group, one of the biggest garment makers in Bangladesh, believes that the reason why Bangladesh is flooded with tall buildings is because the housing prices in the country are high and it is difficult to persuade public utilities to install electricity and gas in factories. Mo Hamadi, Group

However, a sharp decline in export orders in Bangladesh may soon find a solution: multinational companies that are fleeing costs in China have entered Southeast Asia, where factory orders are full.

Sol Yarde Sass Mita, chairman of India Wacoal (Wacoal) garment subsidiary of India, said: "this year is out of the question, our orders are full." "It is clear that customer demand has exceeded our capability because we all want to withdraw from Bangladesh and China," said Sanjay Kumar Goyal, chief financial officer of Busana Apparel Group, Jakarta.

According to Le Yumin, even if the political violence in Bangladesh is heating up, only 10% to 20% of the output or goods worth 200 million to 400 million dollars will be transferred to other countries in the next nine months.

The National Women's tailor training center in Indonesia - the proportion of female students is as high as 98% - is located in Semarang port, where 12 thousand students graduate from here every year, but this is far from enough. Next year, four factories will be opened in Semarang, with a total of 30000 employees, and more factories in the vicinity.

According to Noureddine Marco Ralph, vice president of the national trade union's Semarang branch (Nurdin Makruf), the newly opened factories have begun competing for scarce seamstresses to provide them with free work meals and medical insurance. Their trade unions mainly represent the interests of garment workers. Construction companies are now trying to find enough workers to build all these factories, which are rising from the coconut trees, banana trees and coniferous forests in Central Java.

Haq said Bangladesh's clothing exports will drop by 5% to 10% this year, but it is expected that the Congress will soon restore confidence to international buyers and maintain strong growth over the next few years. However, it is estimated that if Bangladesh continues to catch orders from large retailers and does not do anything else, the whole garment industry will eventually be unsustainable. In the next 2 to 3 years, big customers will gradually shift to other regions.

Foreign businessmen can choose other suppliers, and for Bangladesh to make clothes, relocation is not a way. The system of national protection of workers is still not perfect. It needs further attention and efforts of the government, local employers and foreign investors. We can advocate humane care, but we can not solve all problems with moral moralism. Ultimately, solving problems still depends on effective policies and economic means.