Apparel Online India Magazine May 1-15, 2019 | Page 16

SUSTAINABILITY TO ADVERTISE GOING TO A GOOD EVENT? Contact Rani Mahendru [phone] (512) [email protected] Send your industry gossip, photos and news to [email protected] Vietnam: FLA insists brands should not pressurise suppliers Foreign fashion brands should avoid putting pressure on their garment suppliers in Vietnam as it then leads to nominal margins, which eventually forces the factories to make the workers do overtime. This was reportedly stated by Sharon Waxman, President, Fair Labor Association (FLA). Substantiating further, Sharon said that the Government of Vietnam should increase the minimum wage of garment workers and at the same time the fashion brands too should review their costing policies to ensure that the workers are duly compensated. Many brands have been using tactics like pressurising garment factory owners during price negotiations or using short- term contracts. According to a According to a study conducted by FLA, several garment workers work overtime with some of them even putting more than 50 hours in a month without rest and still struggling to make their ends meet. study conducted by FLA, several garment workers work overtime with some of them even putting more than 50 hours in a month without rest and still struggling to make their ends meet. Of the 13,000 Vietnamese garment workers surveyed by FLA, majority of them were earning twice of Vietnam’s minimum wage and yet struggling to meet their basic needs. The minimum wage in the country ranges from US $ 125 to US $ 180 per month. Earlier this year, Oxfam Australia had released a report, which clearly showed how much less attention the renowned Australian brands like CottonOn and Target were paying to the working conditions of garment workers in Vietnam. Apparel workers need better workplace, wages: Dutch PM Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc along with his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte attended the Sustainable Fashion show held in Hanoi. The event was also graced by Alexander Kohnstamm, Director, Fair Wear Foundation (FWF). Impressed by the event, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands remarked that it was a proud moment to co-organise the fashion show together with the Fair Wear brands. The show was organised by the Dutch Embassy in Vietnam and FWF in association with FWF’s partner in Vietnam, CNV International. He also lauded the efforts of Vietnamese Prime Minister for making the garment and textile 16 Apparel Online India | “We need to ensure that women and men who make clothes for us not only have a safe workplace but also get wages that cover the actual cost of living.” – Mark Rutte, PM, The Netherlands sector sustainable. Besides the FWF fashion, outdoor and workwear brands, Vietnamese fashion brands too walked the ramp. The bevy of MAY 1-15, 2019 | www.apparelresources.com models, who wore Fair Wear brands and took to the runway in the middle of Hanoi city, received thunderous applause. The Dutch Premier said that it was necessary to be fully aware of all processes in the fashion supply chain from plants in Ho Chi Minh City to stores in Amsterdam.