Sourcing

The Big Bro vice-like squeeze of the sweeping tariff hikes will soon be felt far beyond edgy boardrooms and uneasy stock exchanges, and there are sporadic reports of this already starting to take effect. For hundreds of thousands of garment workers—many in the factories across South and Southeast Asia, and Africa to a lesser extent—the arbitrary spike in trade tariffs will be a matter of life and death.

The lesson of the current US tariffs crisis roiling the trade world is this: you cannot keep relying on one country as your export destination. From now on it has to be ‘US Plus One’.

In today's world people move from one outrage to the next with as much ease as they swipe left over to the next reel. Last year’s Brazil cotton controversy has resurfaced not only because it has been a year to the revelation, but also because Better Cotton is itself pursuing the thread. And, the loopholes in Better Cotton's damage control exercise that was pointed out by Earthsight remain yawning.

A report by the European Fashion Alliance (EFA) explores the region’s fashion industry, renowned for creativity and innovation, detailing the hurdles, opportunities, and strategies for advancing towards a more sustainable and technologically integrated future.

The much-awaited report of the US International Trade Commission which looked at the export competitiveness of five Asian apparel-manufacturing countries has been released.

As of now brands and retailers that source from Bangladesh—and that have witnessed the industry’s sizeable safety and environmental investments—remain patient and committed. The long-term scenario, however, could be anyone's guess. texfash.com rounds up voices from across the globe.

Leading US fashion companies are sourcing more from emerging destinations in Asia and the Western Hemisphere as they seek to reduce the China risk, shifting focus to India, Bangladesh and many more non-Asian countries, says the latest edition of the USFIA's 2024 Fashion Industry Benchmarking Study.

A consulting firm in 2020 that transitioned into a membership-based supplier-driven and brand support organisation, Sourcery has since shifted its goal post, evolving into a digital trading platform that empowers supply chain stakeholders to secure cotton fibre with access to assurance and impact data. texfash.com talks to Co-Founder Imran Asghar to learn how their innovative sourcing solution is aiding deeper collaboration between growers and fashion brands.

A clean chit notwithstanding, Better Cotton, in not addressing the loopholes with the standard itself, has only exposed itself to further investigation. And that’s despite the sugar-coated admissions that “we will take action to expand our due diligence process."

UK nonprofit Earthsight’s investigations reveal nearly a million tonnes of tainted cotton from some of the most notorious estates in Brazil to clothing manufacturers in Asia, and being supplied to fast fashion behemoths H&M and Zara.