Addressing CSR Issues in the garment supply chain in the Southern India

The textile industry is one of the earliest industries to come into existence in India. It accounts for 14% of the total Industrial production, and contributes to nearly 30% of the total exports. It is the second largest employment generator after agriculture.

In the garment sector, PiC is working on mainstreaming responsible business practices, with the aim of boosting the Indian garment industry’s competitiveness in the regional as well as global markets, and at the same time improving the living and working condition of the most marginalized and vulnerable stakeholders. This PiC seeks to do through a process of effective dialogue and networking between al the very stakeholders in the industry.

PROJECT:

Improvement / Network Programme for Suppliers and Stakeholders in Made-Byr Supply Chain

PiC is collaborating with Solidaridad, A Dutch development organisation on “Improvement / Network Programme for Suppliers and Stakeholders in Made-ByR Supply chain.” The goal of this project is to improve the poverty alleviation impact of textile enterprises in India. The project is divided into different phases and the objectives for the present phase would be accomplished by September 2006.

The objective of the present project is to support activities in the ‘Made-By’ knitwear supply chain (a multi-stakeholder initiative of Solidaridad in Netherlands) to build a flagship chain of suppliers from India for optimal achievement of fair trade objectives. The scope is restricted to Cutting, Making, Trimming units (CMT) for garments.

Present Status :

  1. A comprehensive research report on the existing social and environmental standards in the Tirupur garment cluster has been prepared and released in March 2006 at Tirupur in the presence of various exporters, trade unions, NGOs and other stakeholders.
  2. Partners in Change organized a stakeholders meeting (excluding the employers) in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, on the 5th of August 2005. The meeting, to discuss the draft research study, was attended by workers, trade unions, NGOs, academicians and government officials. The stakeholders agreed that the study captures the major social and environmental issues in the Tirupur garment cluster. As an outcome of the meeting a steering Group comprising of concerned NGOs like SAVE, Conquest, CARE, CSED and PiC, along with trade union TMKTS, was formed, with the target of working on creating unanimity on improvement of standards in Tirupur.
  3. PiC organized a second meeting exclusively for the trade unions on the 21st of September 2005, in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu. The objective was to ensure their participation in the steering group in Tirupur. Eighteen trade union leaders participated in the workshop. It was also agreed that PiC would conduct a series of Capacity Building Programmes on various Codes of Conduct for businesses. The first of such workshop is scheduled for November.
  4. PiC organized the third major consultation with the garment exporters of Tirupur on the 22nd of September 2005, in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu. The suppliers agreed that the initial improvement programme could be initiated with suppliers of the ‘Made-By’ label, which would serve as a model for the region.
  5. PiC organized a major Capacity Building Programme for the trade union members of the Steering Group on the 28th and 29th of January 2006, in Karl Kubel Institute for Development Education, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. With the participation of approximately 40 trade union activists, the programme covered labour issues and the use of Codes of Conduct for the betterment of labour standards. The trainers were trade unionist from New Trade Union Initiative, M. Subbu from Chennai, B. K. Prakash (GM Exports, Prem Durai Group), Sandeep from Conquest-Consultants along with Shatadru Chattopadhayay and Pramod John. Noted writer and environmentalist Subrabharati Manian along with Prithivraj of CARE and Nambi of CSED addressed the environmental issues. This was the first of the series of workshops being planned for trade unions, NGOs and exporters in the coming months.

In order to comprehensively engage with all the stakeholders around complex social and environmental issues at the local level, we have opened a filed office in Tirupur. For more information, please contact Jais Sebastian (jaiss@picindia.org) or Pramod John at pramodj@picindia.org