California Apparel News

With the recent building collapse in Bangladesh that killed more than 800 garment workers, Harry Van Dalfsen, president of the International Apparel Federation, announced the organization’s launch of an action plan on global responsibility.

The IAF is a politically neutral global association open to entrepreneurs from the apparel world.

Speaking May 7 at the Fashion Retail Summit in Mumbai, India, Van Dalfsen said the manufacturing industry is challenged with improving its performance and working conditions on an international scale.

In Van Dalfsen’s discussion, he stressed the importance of bridging the manufacturing community with buyers, as well as small and large companies, something he emphasized is part of the IAF association. Within this program, Van Dalfsen mentioned how education should be put to the forefront for the clothing industry. It is a good way to improve the industry’s social and environmental concerns.

At the IAF board meeting, it was confirmed that the IAF and the International Federation of Fashion Technology Institutes will work together on this.

U.S. Rep. George Miller (D–Calif.) openly addressed the recent Bangladesh tragedy. For Miller, who has always stressed the importance of workplace safety, shying away from assessing this tragic event would have been inconceivable.

“The major global brands now face a choice,” he noted. “They can attempt to weather the storm, leaving workers in continued danger, or they can take a different road—one that includes healthy profits without the human death toll by signing on to an enforceable safety agreement. … It is time that American consumers understand which brands will accept blood on their labels and which will not.”