"Asian garment makers fashion united front to pressure Western brands", 20 January 2021

Manufacturers from the six nations that make most of the world’s clothes have forged a common front to negotiate better terms with Western fashion brands, whose cancelled orders devastated Asian garment workers early in the pandemic.

“We want to come together to tackle the common problems we face. This is not about setting a minimum price for orders. This is about ethical business practice,” Miran Ali, a spokesman for the STAR Network of Asian suppliers, said ...

Ali said that the new initiative … would give Asian manufacturers a “stronger voice” in setting pay and delivery terms with Western high-street brands.

The group represents nine associations in six nations: the world’s largest garment producers - China, Bangladesh and Vietnam - as well as Pakistan, Myanmar and Cambodia…

The aim is to bolster the textile sector, devastated by a pandemic that has worsened widespread job insecurity and low pay.

“We are banding together to create ...standard conditions,” said Ken Loo, spokesman at a Cambodia-based garment association. “No one is under any obligations to abide by these terms but we hope it will be a guideline for all buyers and suppliers.”

… About 60 million people work in Asia’s garment industry and industry experts say the falling sales have left workers open to fresh exploitation, be it out of work altogether or employed by firms that undercut rivals on price to win scarce contracts.

Campaigners have urged manufacturers to use the initiative to improve workers conditions, not just boost their own profits…