The coronavirus that started in the Wuhan area has quickly spread all over the world and is now highly impacting the textile industry. Not only Chinese production has been impacted, but also other production countries depend on supplies like buttons/yarns/zippers from China, etc. We’ve seen that companies are discussing how to cope with this issue in terms of production and delivery in this highly unpredictable situation.

Despite uncertainties, the following issues should be considered:

• Risk of subcontracting due to capacity of production
• Materials now sourced from different sources that could cause chemical/quality issues
• Financial difficulties suppliers/production/agents
• How will this affect the long-term relationship with your supplier
• Flying production in instead of shipping will cause greater GHG emissions
• Reconsider enforcing penalties due to delayed shipping.

Transparent interactions between brands and production, we think, are required to generate trust and solutions. For more info: https://www.fairlabor.org/sites/default/files/documents/reports/fla-brief-coronavirus_020620.pdf

Questions about this topic? Write them down in our comments below. Did you like this? Perhaps you will like our previous article ‘Rising Need for Ethical Behaviour and Sustainable Practices‘.  Do you see mistakes? Let us know! Do you want to stay informed? Sign up for our Newsletter or social via Facebook and Instagram.