http://www.just-style.comDaily apparel and textile comment - from just-style.com© 2013 All content copyright just-style.com. Published by Aroq Ltd.Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:42:39 GMTWed, 19 Jun 2013 05:42:39 GMTjust-style.com - RSS feedjust-style.comhttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss20http://www.just-style.com/images/small_logo_style.gifhttp://www.just-style.com10021In the past few months, some of the world's most powerful institutions have criticised how the apparel industry operates. And while businesses are getting advice from many different directions, Mike Flanagan wonders if compliance has reached a watershed moment.http://www.just-style.com/comment/is-the-tide-of-social-accountability-turning_id118094.aspx?utm_source=comment-feed&utm_medium=rss-feed&utm_campaign=rss-feedSat, 08 Jun 2013 14:51:00 GMTFast product development can become a strategic differentiator for a company when carried out quickly, accurately and thoroughly communicated. And there are ways to achieve better results faster without adding more time or people, according to Anton Wilson and Kilara Le at [TC]².http://www.just-style.com/comment/effective-and-efficient-apparel-product-development_id118020.aspx?utm_source=comment-feed&utm_medium=rss-feed&utm_campaign=rss-feedSat, 01 Jun 2013 10:07:00 GMTThree strategies have emerged among clothing brands and retailers trying to decide what steps to take to raise standards in factories in Bangladesh. But David Birnbaum believes the approach in which customers provide funds to upgrade factory structures is the worst option of all.http://www.just-style.com/comment/whats-the-best-way-to-raise-standards-in-bangladesh_id117924.aspx?utm_source=comment-feed&utm_medium=rss-feed&utm_campaign=rss-feedThu, 23 May 2013 10:02:00 GMTChina ranks number one as the world's largest garment exporter with a 38% global market share. Bangladesh ranks number two with a 5% market share. We all acknowledge that China dominates the global garment export market. But how did it get here, and what are the upcoming challenges? asks David Birnbaum.http://www.just-style.com/comment/understanding-chinas-success_id117691.aspx?utm_source=comment-feed&utm_medium=rss-feed&utm_campaign=rss-feedTue, 30 Apr 2013 09:31:00 GMTThere is no doubt that something needed to be done to improve safety standards at factories in Bangladesh making clothes for western brands and retailers. But the new Accord on Fire and Building Safety - details of which were reported on just-style yesterday - seems to raise nearly as many questions as it answers.http://www.just-style.com/comment/bangladesh-safety-accord-still-raises-many-questions_id117852.aspx?utm_source=comment-feed&utm_medium=rss-feed&utm_campaign=rss-feedWed, 15 May 2013 19:03:00 GMTYesterday (13 May) was a big day for the Bangladesh garment industry, with retailers finally signing an agreement to improve fire safety in the country's ready-made garment industry after two years of being caught in a stalemate. But what exactly does the new accord entail? Petah Marian takes a first look.http://www.just-style.com/comment/what-does-the-new-bangladesh-safety-accord-entail_id117835.aspx?utm_source=comment-feed&utm_medium=rss-feed&utm_campaign=rss-feedTue, 14 May 2013 15:53:00 GMTToday, many if not most importers and retailers are making an honest effort to make Bangladesh a better place to work for customers, suppliers and workers alike. But recent events such as the collapse the Rana Plaza factory building have brought out some important truths, believes David Birnbaum.http://www.just-style.com/comment/the-crooks-and-conmen-among-us_id117736.aspx?utm_source=comment-feed&utm_medium=rss-feed&utm_campaign=rss-feedThu, 02 May 2013 18:39:00 GMTActions need to speak louder than words when it comes to tackling working conditions in the Bangladesh garment industry. And in the wake of the collapse last week of the Rana Plaza building near Dhaka, Mike Flanagan has what he describes as "a modest proposal" for identifying and delisting all unsound factories.http://www.just-style.com/comment/solutions-to-prevent-another-bangladesh-tragedy_id117742.aspx?utm_source=comment-feed&utm_medium=rss-feed&utm_campaign=rss-feedFri, 03 May 2013 11:47:00 GMTIs Bangladesh is a place where workers are safe to make clothes sold by Western retailers and brands - and is the lure of low costs a risk worth taking? Last week's collapse of the eight-storey Rana Plaza factory complex has brought these concerns to the fore all over again.http://www.just-style.com/comment/making-clothes-should-never-mean-life-or-death_id117733.aspx?utm_source=comment-feed&utm_medium=rss-feed&utm_campaign=rss-feedThu, 02 May 2013 15:15:00 GMTThe explosion in proposed trade agreements will probably stimulate major changes over the next decade in how apparel buyers organise their supply chains. But as Mike Flanagan explains, they never deliver what - or when - their lobbyists say they will.http://www.just-style.com/comment/trade-deals-the-devil-is-in-the-details_id117561.aspx?utm_source=comment-feed&utm_medium=rss-feed&utm_campaign=rss-feedWed, 17 Apr 2013 13:29:00 GMTRon Johnson, the man hired just 18 months ago to transform US retailer JC Penney, has been unceremoniously ousted after his radical revamp plans failed to gain traction.http://www.just-style.com/comment/jc-penney-turns-around-its-turnaround-plan_id117482.aspx?utm_source=comment-feed&utm_medium=rss-feed&utm_campaign=rss-feedTue, 09 Apr 2013 17:28:00 GMTFresh from a visit to Burma/Myanmar, David Birnbaum is in no doubt that the local garment industry faces some serious challenges if it is to develop into a first-class garment exporting industry.http://www.just-style.com/comment/burma-in-brief-a-short-garment-industry-study_id117171.aspx?utm_source=comment-feed&utm_medium=rss-feed&utm_campaign=rss-feedTue, 05 Mar 2013 14:59:00 GMTNew pressures on Asian manufacturers are likely to hit apparel buyers on both sides of the Atlantic, including labour issues, minimum wages, raw material prices, abscondment, pollution and financial "redlining". Mike Flanagan looks at the likely impact.http://www.just-style.com/comment/asia-hit-by-multiple-whammy_id117251.aspx?utm_source=comment-feed&utm_medium=rss-feed&utm_campaign=rss-feedTue, 12 Mar 2013 18:38:00 GMTA recent report issued jointly by the Worker Rights Consortium and Stanford Law School claims that serious deficiencies exist in the International Labor Organization's (ILO) Better Factories Cambodia (BFC) programme. What is more surprising is that it has taken so long to reach this conclusion, says David Birnbaum.http://www.just-style.com/comment/cambodia-worker-rights-versus-worker-benefits_id117189.aspx?utm_source=comment-feed&utm_medium=rss-feed&utm_campaign=rss-feedWed, 06 Mar 2013 17:34:00 GMTThe long-running Better Factories Cambodia (BFC) monitoring programme is in urgent need of reform, according to a new report, which suggests the country's reputation as a standard-bearer for apparel workers' rights is "wearing thin".http://www.just-style.com/comment/cambodia-factory-monitoring-needs-urgent-reform_id117121.aspx?utm_source=comment-feed&utm_medium=rss-feed&utm_campaign=rss-feedThu, 28 Feb 2013 13:38:00 GMTThe concept of paying a living wage for garment workers in developing countries is not new - yet its implementation continues to present challenges across the apparel supply chain, as Michael Lavergne explains.http://www.just-style.com/comment/three-cheers-for-a-living-wage_id116916.aspx?utm_source=comment-feed&utm_medium=rss-feed&utm_campaign=rss-feedThu, 07 Feb 2013 17:23:00 GMTHas the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement (BFBSA) campaign struggled to make a mark? In his most recent Flanarant column, which was published on just-style on Friday (1 February), Mike Flanagan suggests that is the case. Campaigners, however, have hit back to say he misrepresented the Agreement on several key points. We publish their comments below.http://www.just-style.com/comment/the-bfbsa-can-make-a-mark-on-factory-safety_id116864.aspx?utm_source=comment-feed&utm_medium=rss-feed&utm_campaign=rss-feedMon, 04 Feb 2013 15:18:00 GMTThe mathematics of Walmart's 'Buy American' plan are a lot less impressive than the company's announcement makes it sound. But in the small print there lies an important lesson for retailers who really want to help their domestic manufacturers, writes Mike Flanagan.http://www.just-style.com/comment/walmarts-buy-american-plan-offers-industry-hope_id116748.aspx?utm_source=comment-feed&utm_medium=rss-feed&utm_campaign=rss-feedWed, 23 Jan 2013 15:05:00 GMTThe fire at the Tazreen Fashion factory in Bangladesh last November was the result of at least one customer's decision that providing minimal working conditions and subsistence wages are not cost-effective. The challenge, now, is to find a solution, says David Birnbaum.http://www.just-style.com/comment/crossing-the-line-on-ethical-behaviour_id116724.aspx?utm_source=comment-feed&utm_medium=rss-feed&utm_campaign=rss-feedMon, 21 Jan 2013 15:13:00 GMTSourcing is influenced by a lot more than wages and fabric prices. Infrastructure, social tension, energy costs, currency rates, power availability and a buyer's ability to control the uncontrollable all make sourcing as unpredictable as ever in 2013, says Mike Flanagan.http://www.just-style.com/comment/hows-sourcing-going-to-be-in-2013_id116566.aspx?utm_source=comment-feed&utm_medium=rss-feed&utm_campaign=rss-feedMon, 07 Jan 2013 18:17:00 GMT