From STAR to STTI – the apparel endeavour for a fairer treatment

When we had been facing ruin as orders from Western brands collapsed during the Covid pandemic, nobody was willing to take any responsibility – leaving us sink or swim. Fortunately, the government stepped in and saved the day.

That made us realise that we need to build on a common platform. We realised that we need a creative network that will allow manufacturers – regardless of their countries – to be treated fairly and equitably by the buyers. 

That realisation actually gave birth to the Sustainable Terms of Trade Initiative (STTI) in 2020. But the ground for the initiative had already been there quite prepared. 

In 2015 before the pandemic, the then Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Senior Vice-President and now the President Faruque Hassan had initiated setting up the Sustainable Textile of the Asian Region (STAR) network.
The network brought together the associations from six countries – Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, China and Pakistan – to build and foster closer ties and cooperations and find areas of common interest between the countries. 

Of late, the STTI created a ten-country group including the representation from 14 different associations from the countries. In addition to the STAR network's six countries, STTI includes Indonesia, India, Turkey and Morocco. 

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), which funded the STAR network, lent a hand to the STTI too.     

The STTI initiative secretariat is run by the International Apparel Federation (IAP) as the IAP, GIZ and the spokesperson from the BGMEA are together representing the STTI.   

We are working towards fairer and more equitable terms of trade for all manufacturers in all the countries representing over 75% of the global apparel export industry.        

Not just during the pandemic, rather the local apparel industry owners are actually quite familiar with the attitude that they will be left on their own whenever anything goes wrong.  

Everybody who is in the garment business knows that it does not matter how many final inspections the buyer does, the manufacturer still has to write a waiver which says that if anything goes wrong, the entrepreneur is responsible. 

We all accept it as it is a part of the business. But it is also a part of the business that you are treated fairly. 

So, the STTI was formed to bring together the apparel-makers and make them strong enough so that they can take up on some of the issues and areas that they need to work on.

At this moment, the STTI is working on bringing together all these countries and associations on an agreement on what will be the definition of the common standards. We have agreed on these definitions and now we are lobbying various brands and international multi-stakeholders' initiatives to promote our point of view.

At the same time, the STTI is working with the European Union, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition on a multiple number of areas in the matter of supply chain due diligence, transparency, EU legislation – which is going to affect the whole global garment supply chain – and also on the matters related to audit fatigue.         

We have now started taking this platform to a level where we have actually prepared documents, research reports, studies and we are now lobbying brands, governments, trading blocs like the European Union and the New York state legislature.

People in the West generally pass laws or make decisions which affect our lives, but they usually never talk to us about it. 

The STTI is going to try to change that. So, moving forward, we are going to be passing laws in Brussels or in New York or in Washington which affect the lives of millions of people around the world who are supplying these countries -- you must talk to the manufacturers, you must talk to their representatives, it has to be a democratic process. 

Because improvements we make in our supply chain eventually, which are applicable through all the countries, will benefit everybody ultimately. 

It is something that the BGMEA has been strongly promoting in terms of its work on global cooperation, and the BGMEA is very proud of the work done by the STTI so far, as well as this initiative is still being supported by the GIZ.

Miran Ali is Vice-President, BGMEA & Spokesperson, STTI