Global retailers will focus on safety standards and compliance in Bangladesh’s garment sector at the sourcing trend meeting in Hong Kong in mid-March.Rick Darling, executive director of government and public affairs of Li & Fung, the world’s largest supplier of clothes and toys to retailers, will present a keynote paper on these issues at the meeting on March 16, organisers said in a statement.SourceTrends is an annual event for apparel and footwear brands, manufacturers, retailers, agents and suppliers. This year, Bangladesh is on the radar for the Tazreen Fashions fire and Rana Plaza building collapse.American Apparel and Footwear Association, American Chamber of Commerce, Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, SGS, Oeko-Tex, Business Social Compliance Initiative, Sustainable Fashion Business Consortium and Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production are organising the meeting.Every year, retailers, brands and manufacturers from all over the world attend the meeting to discuss updates on safety standards, compliance and future plans in apparel and footwear sectors.“Darling’s presentation will focus on compliance and the effect of the issues in Bangladesh over the last two years and their relevant impact on the industry,” according to the statement.Darling will discuss the progress reports of the Alliance, a North American garment factory inspection agency, and Accord, another platform of 190 retailers and brands for factory inspection.Darling will also shed light on how the brands and retailers can use the experiences of both Accord and Alliance on factory inspection globally.In his current position, Darling oversees Li & Fung’s government relations, public affairs and supply chain sustainability on the global industry and multi-stakeholder initiatives, such as improving worker safety in Bangladesh.A full-day event is planned with five panel discussions that address product testing regulations, US customs and supply chain traceability.Each panel will be comprised of speakers from retail or brand organisations, product testing or audit/inspection companies, along with leaders from international trade associations from the textiles, apparel and footwear industry.Ian Spaulding, senior adviser of Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety; Larry Brown, head of global sourcing compliance of Espirit; Kitty Man, senior product safety manager of VF Corporation; and Alex Thomas, vice president of supply chain and manufacturing at VF Corporation, will also speak.
