The US Agency for International Development (USAID) deputy administrator Bonnie Glick recently announced a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a consortium of US retail, apparel and footwear companies and industry associations to pursue much-needed relief to the predominantly female workers in their supply chains in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
Glick signed the MoU with Steve Lamar, president and chief executive officer of the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA), who represented the consortium.The US Agency for International Development deputy administrator Bonnie Glick recently announced a new memorandum of understanding with a consortium of US retail, apparel and footwear companies and industry associations to pursue much-needed relief to the predominantly female workers in their supply chains in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. #
It was signed at the US government’s third annual Indo-Pacific Business Forum hosted virtually out of Hanoi.
The participating companies and industry associations are Carter’s, Inc.; Gap, Inc.; Global Brands Group; Levi Strauss & Company; Nike; Tapestry; Target; VF Corporation; Walmart; AAFA; the National Retail Federation (NRF); the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA); and the US Fashion Industry Association. (USFIA), according to a press release from USAID.
The apparel, footwear, and fashion-accessories sector in Asia has been among the most-affected industries, challenged by constraints on supply and demand that arose from stay-at-home orders, temporary closures of businesses, stoppages in production, backlogs in shipment and cargo delays.
The MoU establishes an intent for USAID and the consortium to work together over the coming year to alleviate hardships faced by workers in these sectors in the countries mentioned above.
Such efforts, in collaboration with local partners, will aim to create more resilience, enhance the rights and welfare of workers in factories and empower women, USAID said.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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