On March 25, 1911, fire swept through the Triangle Shirtwaist factory in New York City. One hundred and forty-six garment workers perished in the blaze, many of them trapped in the building because management had locked the exit doors. The youngest of the victims were 14. It was a horrifying tragedy, not atypical of working conditions during the so-called Progressive Era. Can we not, however, take comfort in knowing that those times are far behind us?
One well-known and highly respected high-end fashion retailer provides a good example of an end-to-end RFID implementation. They have more than 50 stores across Europe and North America, offering a wide assortment of high-end men's and women's fashion clothing.
In Guangdong province, where nearly 30 percent of China's exports are made, women usually far outnumber men on labour-intensive production lines. Rural women are hired for their supposed docility, nimble fingers and attention to mind-numbing detail. But in recent years Guangdong's workforce has changed.
Bangladesh is a dangerous place to work in a factory as the Rana Plaza building collapse shows. Local health and safety regulations are so weak that last spring, even before the Rana Plaza disaster, executives at Disney decided they would no longer source toys and apparel from Bangladesh. The company felt the risk to its reputation wasn't worth the low cost of production.
The latest supply-chain news, analysis, trends and tools for executives in the apparel industry — which consists of companies that manufacture clothing, accessories and footwear. Learn how apparel companies and their suppliers around the world are managing the flow of products across all channels of the enterprise. Experts sound off on forecasting and demand planning, supply-chain visibility, logistics outsourcing, inventory optimization, transportation management, warehouse management, supply-chain security, corporate social responsibility and more.
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