The findings of an international report unveiled last week and a webinar on it organised by the UNDP and the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) do not project the major international apparel sourcing brands particularly in a brighter light. What have emerged from the report are the major gaps in supply-chain needs and commitments by these companies, in terms of what they pay suppliers. The trickle-down effect isn't happening and this is causing untold suffering to millions of garment workers who are failing to get fair wages for their work that is the driving force behind the readymade garment's (RMG's) exports from Bangladesh.
The unwillingness of global fashion brands to raise prices of made-in-Bangladesh apparel is in large part a strong reason why RMG producers in the country were not able to meet a middle-of-the-ground deal on wage hike. The government-announced wage board was not acceptable to workers and this triggered violent protests, factory closures, etc. A lot of these unfortunate events could have been avoided had brands been more open to sharing some of the stupendous profits with suppliers of the ware they sell in global markets.
The survey lays bare some of the hypocrisies of the fashion industry. For instance, it was found that 94 per cent of surveyed companies expected suppliers to abide by human rights and / or maintain gender equality but these were not backed up by their responsible purchasing practices or actions. Where is the money going to come from? Bangladeshi producers are already paid rock bottom prices. The report further states that suppliers are often burdened with short-notice orders but payments are not made on time. So, when producers overburden their workers to meet shipment deadline, it is alright, but when suppliers ask for payments on time, it is not? When such an undesirable regime of commerce exists, one can only imagine the power dynamics between brands and suppliers of merchandise!
It is understandable why brands fall short on protection of workers' rights. This is because they themselves dictate terms and set the conditions whereby those rights will be violated. As pointed out in a report published recently in this newspaper, "the industry still fails to fully protect workers' rights' because more than "60 per cent of the surveyed global apparel brands, including Walmart, Target, Next and Nike, having scored less than 20 out of 100 on human-rights indicators. The average score is 18.2 and just one company, Puma, scored above 50 out of 100, according to the 2023 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB) report launched on the day at the webinar."
It is interesting to note that a little more than one in four surveyed companies practice responsible purchasing methods and do partake in short-notice requirement and delay in fulfilling payments. Indeed 56 per cent of the surveyed companies have refrained from "identifying all of their direct and indirect suppliers." As pointed out by the surveyors, when there is so much missing information, it is literally impossible for companies to map their suppliers and identify which of their suppliers are looking after workers' rights. But what is now clear is that a lot of buyers are not really interested in how these apparels are made, in what conditions because they have suppliers right where they want them. Since Bangladeshi producers are overly hungry for those orders and where authorities are bending over backwards to push bigger volumes of RMG export (since RMG is the sole breadwinner in the export category), workers' plight can take a back seat.
These findings would not have mattered at any other time. But then the country has been going through the motions of work stoppages, firing on workers, protests, deaths, arson at factories, etc. This whole ugly scene projects a bad image of the country in the run-up to an already contentious general elections round the corner. Turning a blind eye to the matter will not solve the problem but merely prolong the issue. Workers simply cannot make ends meet. With hyper-inflation taking its toll in the country, something needs to be done to lessen their suffering. It is no longer alright for suppliers to cry wolf and keep wages low. If buyers are not coming forward to pay suppliers more, then suppliers need to form their own collective bargaining group and work towards setting a higher minimum price for clothing made in Bangladesh. It is, after all, the third largest player in the global apparels industry, and to think that buyers will simply cancel orders en-masse isn't very logical. Buyers have built up working relations with Bangladeshi suppliers over decades and there is no reason why understanding on a mutually beneficial pricing mechanism cannot be reached through negotiations. The process must begin now because workers do have a right to a living wage and the industry needs a workforce that will abide by the law.
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