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Bangladesh at the Crossroads
Bangladesh is now home to the world’s second largest garment export industry. Its success is based on two great advantages Cheap Labor: With a current minimum monthly wage of $36.50 per month (14¢ per...
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The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Plan B
Regional free trade agreements (FTA) are less about trade liberalization and more about trade restriction. The underlying idea is that the insiders will benefit at the expense of the outsiders. To be...
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Super-China v Real China
Imagine you lived in a country where Government retirement funds averaged $30 per month for most of the population; where for most of the population medical services were free unless you wanted to see...
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Return to the U.S. Two-Party System
I want to speak on behalf of the U.S two-party system. Traditionally the U.S. had two mainstream political parties, plus any number of fringe parties. The mainstream parties, whether politically to...
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The Reality of Globalization
I notice that we are still blaming globalization for our economic ills. If our job has migrated from Detroit or Manchester to Dhaka or Mumbai, we blame it on globalization. If our former employer’s...
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Crossing the Line
The global garment industry is very hard: not hard as in difficult, but rather hard as in ruthless. We operate is some of the poorest countries in the world where the value of human life approaches...
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The Myanmar Garment Industry: A Very Short Study
Three weeks ago I completed a short study of he Myanmar garment industry during which time I visited a number of factories and held a series of discussions with the leaders of the Myanmar Garment...
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Cambodia: Workers Rights versus Workers Benefits
A recent report issued jointly by the Worker Rights Consortium and Stanford Law School claims that serious deficiencies exist in the ILO’s Better Factories Cambodia (BFC) program. This news is no...
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Understanding China’s Success
Understanding China’s Success: China’s ranks #1 as the world’s the world’s largest garment exporter with 38% global market share. Bangladesh ranks #2 with a 5% market share. We all acknowledge that...
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The Crooks and Conmen Among Us
Global garment sourcing has undergone tremendous change during the past 20 years. For example, while FOB price is still an important sourcing determinant, 20 years ago FOB price was the only souring...
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Wal-Mart in Bangladesh — The Positive Side
Wal-Mart has been the subject of much deserved criticism for their sourcing in Bangladesh, and I must admit that I have provided more than my fair share of that criticism. However, at least in some...
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The Latest from Bangladesh
The major EU brand importers and retailers have come together to inspect their factory suppliers in Bangladesh and to offer funds for remedial action where required. In this regard customers have...
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The 2013 Name The New China Contest
Once again garment sourcing professionals are gathering for their annual contest, “Name the New China.” This year we have more entries than ever before; although, I regret to say that absent from the...
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Bangladesh and The Failure of Compliance
To work in Bangladesh is to come into contact with a disease with a 100% infection rate, where the first symptom is to be transmogrified instantaneously from the righteous among the gentiles to the...
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Fiber – Textiles and the Captive Customer Syndrome
Fiber and its role in the Global Garment Export Industry
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Operating a Profitable Compliance Business
A middle rank bureaucrat goes to a factory manager to demand a bribe. Bureaucrat: Give me money or I will ensure you fail your next compliance inspection. Factory owner: I paid your people yesterday...
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Benchmark Study India: Part I – The Project
This is the first article in a series describing an ongoing project. It is the hope of the author that industry leaders in other countries and consultants can better understand the problems relating...
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My Garment Industry Predictions for 2014
Garment industry experts confidently predict that the 500-billion ton meteorite that slammed into downtown Chicago yesterday morning, will have a negative impact on 2014 holiday sales. Those of us who...
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The Crooks and Conmen Among Us
Global garment sourcing has undergone tremendous change during the past 20 years. For example, while FOB price is still an important sourcing determinant, 20 years ago FOB price was the only souring...
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Role Reversal in the Garment Industry Drama
In 2009 my company Third Horizon was retained by the Inter-American Development Bank to create a strategy to revive the Dominican Republic garment export industry. From the outset, the situation...
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