Students in FASH455 have proposed the following discussion questions based on the videos about the state of textile and apparel in Asia. Everyone is welcome to join the online discussion. For FASH455 students, please address at least two questions and mention the question number (#) in your reply.
#1 We have seen all the improvements and “upgrading” Vietnam has made toward the fashion industry. What can the garment industry in other countries take away from Vietnam’s experiences?
#2 Is Asia’s highly integrated apparel supply chain unique to the region? Can the Western Hemisphere “copy” Asia’s model?
#3 How can Asia’s textile and apparel industry balance the growing demand for sustainability and the need to remain cost-competitive? What innovative strategies can be adopted to achieve this balance?
#4 As Asian textiles and apparel factories continue to improve their efficiency and expand product offers, will it be beneficial for the US to reach a trade agreement with Asian countries? Or do you believe such an agreement might contradict the goals we try to achieve from CAFTA-DR?
#5 Will Vietnam eventually become the next China, or could its labor shortages be a significant barrier preventing its textile and apparel industry from advancing to the next level?
#6 Should textile and garment factories in Asia make more efforts to appeal to the younger generation (e.g., Gen Z)? Or is automation the solution?
#7 To what extent do you think Asian apparel exporting countries (e.g., Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia) will reduce their dependence on textile raw materials supply from China due to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)? Or, instead, do you think Asian apparel-exporting countries other than China benefit from UFLPA?
#8 The video shows that Asian countries have begun to invest heavily in new production capacities for textile recycling. Do you believe the region will continue to dominate textile and apparel production in the era of fashion circularity? Or will the emergence of textile recycling shift the world textile and apparel trade patterns in the long run?
FASH455 Global Apparel & Textile Trade and Sourcing 
#6 Should textile and garment factories in Asia make more efforts to appeal to the younger generation (e.g., Gen Z)? Or is automation the solution?
I think this question has two separate answers. As we have learned the textiles and the apparel industries are fundamentally different – with the textiles industry requiring an abundance of capital and the apparel industry requiring an abundance of labor. For the textile industry, automation is a viable solution to the lack of workers, as it is naturally more capital intensive. It is important to note, that only a few Asian countries on the flying geese model fall in the category that means they have they ability to solely focus on textiles (ex Japan). The other countries that are less developed, such as Bangladesh, still focus on the apparel sector which heavily relies on labor abundance. As you can see from the strikes in Bangladesh, factories are being halted by their lack of cooperation to appeal to not only the younger generation but all generations, especially when it comes to pay. While I think the solution is to adjust to make factories more safe and appealing, I think that many factories will simply shut down and reopen in different countries that are less developed and looking for opportunity to grow.
#7 To what extent do you think Asian apparel exporting countries (e.g., Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia) will reduce their dependence on textile raw materials supply from China due to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)? Or, instead, do you think Asian apparel-exporting countries other than China benefit from UFLPA?
I think that other countries, such as Vietnam, that have a high reliance to China when it comes to raw materials inputs are suffering due to the UFLPA. It is difficult to conclude when cotton is coming from in this interconnected model in Asia. I think that unless Asia countries can identify new sources of raw materials with no attachments to Uyghur cotton, then the overall result of UFLPA will be negative for these other Asian countries. If they are able to find raw materials sourcing bases, then there is a potential to capture the market and surpass China as a leading apparel manufacturing.
Very thought-provoking! Thank you!
For Q6: I agree that many Asian countries remain at the early industrialization stage, focusing on making labor-intensive garments. For example, over 80% of Bangladesh’s merchandise exports are still garments. Transitioning to the next stage takes time and depends on the overall economic development of the country. That being said, it is crucial to continually enhance working conditions in garment factories and make these jobs more appealing to workers. I recall that a few years ago, garment factories in Vietnam struggled to find enough workers because other export-oriented sectors in the country, such as electronics, offered better pay. There was a prevalent sentiment sourcing executives that “f you are not in Vietnam, it’s already too late” This article might be of interest to you: https://www.vietnam-briefing.com/news/labor-shortages-vietnam-foreign-firms.html/
For Q7: This is what I found recently. Just curious about the long-term impact of UFLPA: https://www.datawrapper.de/_/dGwca/
#6 Should textile and garment factories in Asia make more efforts to appeal to the younger generation (e.g., Gen Z)? Or is automation the solution?
Yes, I believe that Asia needs to make more efforts to appeal to younger generations because at the end of the day, we cannot fully rely on automation being successful and the use of automation will cause more unemployment in factories, which is not necessarily good. I believe there needs to be a certain balance between automation and individuals in factories. If garment factories are only operated by automation this could put businesses, factories, and funds at very high risk due to the possibility of failure and malfunctions within the automation. The bigger issue that needs to be addressed is that factory owners need to make the working environments more appealing and safer for the working class. This will in turn make working in these conditions more desirable for all generations, not just the younger generations. However, the younger generations are important to obtain because now there are much more open job opportunities for younger generations that do not require the amount of labor and are less difficult that could be more appealing.
Will Vietnam eventually become the next China, or could its labor shortages be a significant barrier preventing its textile and apparel industry from advancing to the next level?
In my opinion, I believe that Vietnam could not be the next China. Their labor shortages can definitely be a significant barrier that is preventing its textile and apparel industry from advancing, but that is not the only factor preventing them from advancement. Vietnam is much smaller compared to China when it comes to manufacturing and lacks the amount of labor and infrastructure that China has. China has the biggest manufacturing hubs in the world and Vietnam will just not be able to replace them. China is also very calculated in how they approach their business operations, which makes competing with them difficult. However, I believe that there is some hope for Vietnam to compete with China because they have shown efforts to get to where China is with manufacturing and have a very fast growing economy.
#2 Is Asia’s highly integrated supply chain unique to the region? Can the Western Hemisphere “copy” Asia’s model?
The highly integrated apparel supply chain in Asia provides efficiency and flexibility. I believe that the Western Hemisphere could learn from Asia’s model through fostering collaboration across countries, streamlining processes, and investing in infrastructure. However, it is important to understand that replicating the exact model may encounter challenges due to the differing economic structures and trade dynamics.
#6 Should textile and garment factories in Asia make more efforts to appeal to the younger generation (e.g., Gen Z)? Or is automation the solution?
In order to achieve a long-term goal of sustainability of textile and garment factories in Asia, it is important to appeal to the younger generation. Understanding Gen Z preferences and values, such as sustainability and ethical practices can guide industry efforts and increase efficiency. Through combining technology with initiatives that resonate with younger demographics will most likely result in beneficial results for industry advancements.
#4 As Asian textiles and apparel factories continue to improve their efficiency and expand product offers, will it be beneficial for the US to reach a trade agreement with Asian countries? Or do you believe such an agreement might contradict the goals we try to achieve from CAFTA-DR?
I believe that the US will not reach a trade agreement with Asian countries due to the poor work environments and concerns over working conditions. If the US were to have an FTA with Bangladesh and another tragedy like Rana Plaza were to occur, there would be a lot of questions and concerns regarding the US’s role in that future accident. Also, it would contradict their current goals of implementing CAFTA-DR to expand the US textile manufacturing industry. If FTAs were to be made with Asian countries, the US textile industry would not receive the benefits of domestic and nearshoring expansion.
#5 Will Vietnam eventually become the next China, or could its labor shortages be a significant barrier preventing its textile and apparel industry from advancing to the next level?
I do not believe that Vietnam will become the next China because I am hopeful that production will expand to the Americas before Vietnam “overtakes” China’s #1 production title. This will hopefully occur since Vietnam is struggling with labor shortages and has a slower speed to market when fashion companies would prefer more agility and flexibility from their sourcing base. Since the distance and timeline of transportation from Vietnam to the US are further and more time-consuming than nearshore productions, this will ultimately lead to fashion companies reprioritizing nearshoring over expansion within Vietnam.
2. Is Asia’s highly integrated apparel supply chain unique to the region? Can the Western Hemisphere “copy” Asia’s model?
Asia’s highly integrated supply chain is similar to that of Europe. As discussed in class, Europe has a much more intertwined supply chain than the Western Hemisphere due to differing attitudes and processes. More capital-intensive European countries still export a copious amount of their own clothing unlike in the West. It will be difficult for the Western Hemisphere to copy this model due to the US’s reliance on Asian countries and lack of clothing manufacturing. South and Central American countries are only able to manufacture clothing due to having small economies and the US is the only capital-intensive country in the region.
5. Will Vietnam eventually become the next China, or could its labor shortages be a significant barrier preventing its textile and apparel industry from advancing to the next level?
Vietnam will not become the next China because of labor shortages and other factors. Due to the unique abilities that China leverages such as flexibility and reliability, it will be hard for Vietnam to surpass this reputation. Though Vietnam is growing to be a contender as a sourcing destination for fashion brands, it will not beat out China due to its long establishment as a reliable destination. If Vietnam can leverage other characteristics for their country, they could perhaps take away certain sectors from China.