Actuality
IAF has been very active creating valuable content on all kinds of expertise related to fashion industry. Below, you will find more information on a number of projects IAF is currently working on.
Sustainable Terms of Trade Initiative (STTI) – White Paper
The white paper contains the core principles that manufacturers as part of the Sustainable Terms of Trade Initiative (STTI) do not want to see breached by the companies that buy from them. And it suggests how manufacturers will collaborate to apply commercial compliance in the apparel sourcing business.
The white paper establishes commercial compliance as a leading principle for the manufacturer’s perspective on the improvement of purchasing practices. STTI defines it as ‘purchasing practices that do not cause obvious and avoidable harm to manufacturers’. The white paper lists ‘key recommendations’, defining what purchasing practices manufacturers consider to be breaches of their definition of commercial compliance. The associations participating in the initiative recognise that the breaches of these key recommendations seriously impair their ability to run a commercially viable business, let alone to contribute to stronger and more sustainable supply chains.
Click here for the White Paper
Click here for the STTI website
Shared Risk and Reward
The International Trade Centre (ITC) and IAF have announced a partnership to stimulate innovation towards “full supply chain profitability” for apparel manufacturers and brands. The first phase of collaboration is research that was previewed at the 38th IAF World Fashion Convention in October 2023. Applying learning in autos and electronics, a joint study articulates how material suppliers and garment manufacturers create ‘smart flexibility’ by postponing production commitments closer to actual demand, unlocking capital from unneeded inventory and excess production. It is a new approach that uses a mix of process and data tools enabling suppliers to create additional value for brands and manufacturers alike that supersedes the benefits of lowest cost global sourcing.
The STTI placed ‘full supply chain profitability’ as a research priority in 2021. The STTI, addressing improvement of purchasing practices, sees smart flexibility, or shared risk, as a highly productive alternative to the predominant imbalance of sourcing relationships. Smart flexibility elevates purchasing practices beyond seasonal, transactional contracts to deliver mutual goals for sustainability. Conventional, often adversarial bargaining need not define industry culture as new technology with AI injects fresh insight across one of the world’s oldest, most globalized supply chains.
The official publication of the study, titled, “Under the Banyan Tree: Buyers and Suppliers in Fashion” by author John Thorbeck, will be announced in joint timetable and events by the ITC and IAF.
Archive
Webinars/podcasts
Global Apparel Sourcing Expo
COVID-19
