PRIORITY ISSUE: INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE
IAF believes that the apparel industry needs a better global, institutional industry infrastructure to provide a solid road along which the transition can travel. It is now too fragmented, with too many global initiatives and it is not inclusive enough, with many initiatives not sufficiently including large parts of the industry, including manufacturers and small and medium sized brands. At every forum where it can, IAF has put fragmentation of initiatives on the agenda. Through IAF’s and ITMF’s project to reduce audit and standard fatigue, working with ITC to make progress- or the lack of it- more transparent we are also directly contributing to a reduction of fragmentation.
IAF has worked hard, and often with success, to make sure that manufacturers and SMEs have a seat at the table, including the ILO led COVID-19 response ‘Call to Action’ in which IAF sits in the international working group overseeing this global initiative on behalf of apparel manufacturers. Other examples are the SAC, SLCP and the OECD, where IAF interventions have helped to include the interests of SME brands and manufacturers. IAF will continue to spend considerable time and effort to work within the industry to help create a better institutional infrastructure on behalf of its members.
