Adherence to compliance norms has become a ‘must do’ for any company that is working for international buyers and for the garment export segment that is predominately dependent on labour for manufacturing, the importance cannot be overstated. In the past few years, the apparel industry is facing audit fatigue as every buyer wants compliances as per their own business norms, though overall the norms are very similar as the two basic foundations are the same – law of the land and international labour conventions as set by the ILO.
Reacting to the urgent need for a unified code of conduct, especially in the wake of continuous criticism of the apparel industry by the US Department of Labour on issues of child labour and forced labour, the AEPC recently launched ‘DISHA’ – Driving Industry Towards Sustainable Human Capital Advancement – which aims to be a single contact point for compliances in the Indian garment industry. Sponsored by the Ministry of Textiles, this initiative attempts to educate apparel exporting members on a code of ethics that covers all critical social and environmental concerns like child labour, health and industrial safety, etc.
The programme will encourage members, even very small exporters, to follow better social practices which will give them a competitive edge in the global market where social compliance is increasingly becoming an important buying decision. “The project has been created with a stakeholder approach after intense consultation of over 14 months and seeks to get a nod from buyers as a universally accepted code of conduct,” said Chandrima Chatterjee, Director (Compliance), AEPC.
Giving a fresh perspective to the ‘compliance controversy’ Rita Menon, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles said, “Some view the increasing requirement of social compliance of the western markets as non tariff barriers. With value realization stagnant, increasing compliance requirements indeed pose a challenge for the manufacturers. However, I would urge the industry to view this challenge also as an opportunity. India is well placed to emerge as one of the most compliant sourcing destinations amongst the developing nations and this can be built upon as our biggest value proposition. It is imperative that the garment manufacturers understand the reputational risks associated with non compliance, as also the long-term business merits of developing compliant workplaces.”
Under the programme, root cause analysis and guidance will be given by a team of experts as part of the capacity building programme. A toolkit will be prepared based on the Common Compliance Code by which the enrolled units will undergo an orientation and training program. Remediation plans will be introduced and after monitoring the improvement, necessary certifications will be given. There will be international agencies that will be empanelled to audit the program.
The AEPC has an ambitious target of enrolling a large number of garment factories for the initial orientation programme and the target is to train and certify 775 units by 2013. The council will help the garment manufacturers comply with the global social standards and norms. ‘DISHA’ will not only give the opportunity for the industry to negate international claims against child labour promotion in the garment industry, but will also help to improve the overall image of the industry on the global front and not the least, to win more international businesses,” added Premal Udani, Chairman, AEPC.
The stage also saw the launch of the official web portal and online e-learning site for DISHA with an aim to create an online community and develop interactive learning modules for anytime, anywhere access by factories, auditors and other participants. “World over, including manufacturing bases like Cambodia, Turkey, China and Morocco such national level programs have been initiated, but this will be the first industry owned and driven program with government support that will change the audit culture to make it more SME-friendly and encourage sustainable change,” concluded Chandrima.
