Apparel and textiles manufacturers of six countries in Asia, including Bangladesh, come together to raise voice on improving purchasing practices saying that power imbalance between buyers and manufacturers have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Representatives of the inter-Asian network of producer associations of textile and garment industry, STAR Network, came together on Monday to start the new initiative calling for better purchasing practices in the textile and garment industry. ‘We want to come together as associations and manufacturers in Asia, to agree on common positions regarding payment and delivery terms so that we have a stronger voice in individual and in collective discussions with brands and buyers on improving purchasing practices’, spokesperson of the network Miran Ali said in a press release. The textile and garment industry had been characterised by a power imbalance between the brands and buyers on the one end and the textile and garment producers on the other, the network said. This imbalance increased and became more visible during the COVID-19 pandemic in which order cancellations, especially from European and US-brands and buyers, left many Asian producers in difficulties, the release reads. The nine associations in six countries are Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, China National Textile and Apparel Council, Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Pakistan Textile Exporters Association, Towel Manufacturers Association of Pakistan, and Vietnam Textile and Garment Association. The network hoped that their stance would be powerful as the countries represent over 60 per cent of all global apparel exports by manufacturers. The STAR Network serves as a platform for dialogue and trust-building to exchange good practices to make textile and garment production more sustainable. Amidst the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, the platform had issued a joint statement, calling for responsible purchasing practices amid the crisis, which they published on their joint website in April 2020. The network was established in 2016 with the support of the German Development Cooperation Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH.
