Asia Garment Hub - A digital gateway to sustainability and decent work resources for the garment and textiles industry - is launched

The Asia Garment Hub, a one-stop digital knowledge platform to help industry stakeholders understand, promote and operationalise decent work and sustainable business practices across the supply chain was launched today.

Press release | 11 August 2021

BANGKOK (ILO News) - A collaboration between GIZ FABRIC and ILO’s Decent Work in Garment Supply Chains Asia project, the Asia Garment Hub – www.asiagarmenthub.net – will elevate best practices, foster partnerships, facilitate learning and exchange, and inspire action to address critical challenges in the industry.

The platform is aimed at manufacturers, brands, trade unions, employer organizations and development partners, as well as at journalists, civil society, policymakers and individuals interested in a more sustainable future for the industry.

David Williams, manager of the ILO’s Decent Work in Garment Supply Chains in Asia project said, “Ensuring decent work for all in Asia’s garment sector will only become a reality if stakeholders at every level are actively engaged. However, the sheer volume of information available on these topics can make it difficult to know where to start. The Asia Garment Hub removes that headache by bringing together expertise, insight and resources from across the sector, in one easy to use digital platform.”

“Asia is the heart the global garment and textiles industry. By bringing together information, expertise and knowledge the Asia Garment Hub will become the ‘go to’ destination on sustainability and supply chain governance issues. We strongly encourage all interested stakeholders to visit the site and make use of its resources,” says GIZ FABRIC’s Coordinator for Regional Cooperation, Alexandra Behns.

Key features of the Asia Garment Hub include a comprehensive resource library, an interactive industry map, country data and insights, as well as access to training, expertise, and online discussions.

Access to the Hub is free of charge while to bridge language barriers, its navigation and content is offered in English and 10 other languages including Bahasa, Burmese Bengali, Chinese, Hindi, Khmer, Sinhalese, Urdu, and Vietnamese.

In 2019, the garment sector employed an estimated 65 million workers in Asia and the Pacific -or 75 per cent of all garment sector workers worldwide. More than half of these –some 35 million in Asia and the Pacific- are women, and the sector employs 5.2 per cent of all working women in the region.

About GIZ FABRIC
: GIZ FABRIC is a regional project implemented by the German Development Cooperation Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). GIZ FABRIC aims to foster sustainability in the Asian textile and garment industry. It identifies the common interests of key actors – in the factories, ministries, civil society and international brand manufacturers – and brings them together with the aim of developing a shared vision of sustainability and promoting greater cooperation.

About ILO’s Decent Work in Garment Supply Chains Asia project: funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the project supports Decent Work and sustainability in the Asian garment sector by enhancing regional knowledge and policy coherence, together with industry level support to improve industrial relations, gender equality, environmental sustainability and business competitiveness.

For further information please contact:

Alexandra Behns
Coordinator Regional Cooperation & Country Coordinator China GIZ FABRIC
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH
Email: Alexandra.behns@giz.de

David Williams
Project Manager
Decent Work in Garment Supply Chains in Asia
International Labour Organization
Email: Williamsd@ilo.org