Apparel November 2019 Apparel November 2019 issue | Page 95

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
are genuine. And while companies such as
Provenance have been active since 2013, they
haven’t been adopted widely. A major reason for
this is that many manufacturers don’t actually
have clear transparency into their own supply
chains as they use third-party contractors and
vendors to save on production costs. It’s this
very reason that enables piracy to foster and go/
remain unchecked, whilst also allowing brands to
maintain deniability in case there is any scandal in
their product manufacturing, such as child labour
or environmental hazards.
TRANSPARENCY IS KEY
The frank reality is that piracy blossoms where
there is lack of transparency. And global apparel
brands are more than happy to keep an arm’s
length from many aspects of their supply
chains. It is no coincidence that Asia is the
largest manufacturing hub for both brands and
counterfeit goods. This is because, when brands
seek out a subcontractor in these regions to
save on costs, regulations, and fair wages, they
also create the circumstances for pirated goods
to be manufactured alongside branded goods.
Oftentimes, the cost of creation for both is the
same; what is different is the quality benchmark.
THE FRANK REALITY IS
THAT PIRACY BLOSSOMS
WHERE THERE IS LACK
OF TRANSPARENCY.
If global brands committed to a high standard of
transparency, and accepted the economic and
other repercussions that go with piracy, we can not
only see the eradication of apparel piracy but also
improvements in a number of other arenas such
as sustainability, human rights, labour rights, and
worker welfare.
The only question is whether such a radically
progressive change is worth the 3.3 per cent of
potential loss to these businesses. And as far as
current actions go, it seems like businesses are
happy to just complain and ask for government
assistance rather than change their ways to fix the
problem they themselves may have caused.
APPAREL
I
November 2019
I
93