Apparel Online India Magazine May 1st Issue 2018 | Page 41

INDUSTRY LIVE
Guest @ AR Headquarter
Impactt Limited to work aggressively in India
H
aving a vision to improve
workers’ livelihoods in a way
that benefits businesses and workers,
Impactt Limited – a UK-based ethical
trade consultancy – is associated
with nearly 500 companies in India.
The company is keen to up its
operations in India and is exploring
fresh opportunities to support the
garment industry.
Talking to the e ditorial team of
Apparel Online during their recent
visit to the Apparel Resources’
(publishers of Apparel Online)
headquarters in New Delhi, Robin
Bishop, Head of Business
Development and Marketing of the
organization, along with Manoj Singh,
Global Productivity Manager and
Retu Singh, Project Officer shared
insights on the organization and
areas that need working upon in the
apparel industry…
In an effort to uplift the global
apparel industry, Impactt Limited is
working diligently in hubs like India,
Bangladesh, Vietnam, Myanmar
and many more such countries via a
collaborative approach comprising
their ethical and commercial
expertise. Boosting ethical practises
along the supply chain, promoting
social dialogue, improving social
performance, unlocking productivity
gains, and supporting workplace
equality are few areas of expertise
that the organization has created.
Talking about the industry and efforts
of the organization, Robin shared
how Impactt is different from other
seemingly similar organizations. “We
accept that there is a disconnection
between the buyer and the exporter,
and which needs to be removed. We
understand the value and importance,
as also the direct connection between
workers’ happiness, productivity,
absenteeism and efficiency. We have a
mission-driven approach, not profit-
driven agenda.” She further added that
apart from this obvious disconnect
there are many other challenges, like
Team Impactt Limited with Apparel Resources management and the editorial team
how to educate the apparel industry to
understand deeply about ethical trade
and to motivate them to invest on new
initiatives. Unlike most auditors, who
have a tick-mark check list, Impactt
has dedicated people who are trained
to interview workers and honestly
observe their conditions. This approach
has resulted in many new areas of
concern being shared by the workers,
which generally do not arise in case of
normal compliance audits.
As nowadays, cost of operations is the
biggest challenge for manufacturers,
as well as buyers; it is prudent to
understand how Impactt Limited
is viable and meaningful from an
overhead perspective. “Following
ethical practices means happiness of
the worker which eventually results in
increased productivity and enhanced
profits. Workers’ happiness is one
of the most important things which
the industry requires and it doesn’t
cost much,” said Robin. Manoj added
that they have factory improvement
programmes and though overall
worker initiatives are still brand-
driven, “we want to flip this and are
trying for a more holistic approach for
a win-win situation for all.”
“During my visit to many factories
across India, we observed that mainly
Robin Bishop, Head of Business
Development and Marketing,
Impactt Limited
Impactt Limited is
also focusing on
developing the
unorganized sector
like hand embroidery
and bringing in
suppliers and brands
together. One such
project is ‘Utthan’,
a skills accreditation
programme designed
to improve wages,
working conditions
and employment
prospects for
Mumbai’s skilled
embroidery artisans.
workers ask for very basic things
like clean toilet, work place with
cool atmosphere, humble supervisor
(should not misbehave or use foul
language), how to calculate overtime,
etc. Many factories were surprised
by these observations and took
immediate remedial action, but even
today many factories are missing out
on this humane angle, as keeping
workers happy is not just only about
raising the wages,” informed Manoj.
He further added that in factories,
planners always overestimate, but the
management has to be very clear that
overtime is not an added capacity,
but only a ‘crisis management’.
Similarly, working hour issue is again
an important point and most of the
industries are unable to find out its
root cause. Many in the industry don’t
know exactly how to calculate the
real capacity.
Most of the innovative steps and
worker initiatives are being taken
by bigger companies and Robin is of
the view that this trend also benefits
smaller companies, as they can
learn and follow similar practices
once successfully implemented by
the bigger ones. “If top players get
convinced, it will not take much time
to change smaller factories too,”
she concluded.
www.apparelresources.com | MAY 1-15, 2018 | Apparel Online India
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