Three major global retailers have announced plans to halt clothing production in Myanmar, citing concerns about worsening human rights conditions in the country.
Many well-known foreign-funded companies are leaving
Recently, Britain’s Marks & Spencer (M&S) and Japan’s Fast Retailing have decided to stop their OEM business in Myanmar.
In March, Myanmar companies disappeared from Fast Retailing’s list of global OEM companies.
Fast Retailing once entrusted the production of tops and shirts under its brand GU to five Myanmar factories, but “the products for the autumn and winter season of 2023 are the last batch, and production will stop thereafter.” Fast Retailing explained: “This is a comprehensive business judgment.”
Fast Retailing has more than 430 foundries around the world including China and Vietnam, and Myanmar’s impact is considered to be minimal. Liangpin Plan, which operates “Muji”, also plans to stop manufacturing down jackets and other products from Myanmar before August.
Marks & Spencer has announced that it will cease its OEM business in Myanmar by March.
The decision by Marks & Spencer and Fast Retailing follows similar moves by other major fashion brands including H&M and Nike. The companies all cited concerns about conditions in Myanmar as the reason for their decisions.
Primark, a low-price clothing brand from Ireland, has also announced its withdrawal from Myanmar. “We dispatched a team to the local area and discussed it, and finally believed that a responsible exit is the only option.”
The background reason why companies are taking action is that the local labor environment cannot be improved under the military’s rule.
Previously reported:
The news was sudden that two factories of well-known brands were suddenly closed, leaving thousands of employees in trouble
Recently, the well-known brand Primark confirmed that 2,200 workers in Myanmar were in trouble after the sudden closure of two former suppliers. They will receive their due compensation, including wages and severance pay, “no later than this week”.
A spokesman said: “We take our responsibilities to the workers who make our clothes very seriously and are extremely concerned about these allegations, which breach our own code of conduct and the guiding principles under which we responsibly leave Myanmar.”
“While both factories have been suspended for a period for breaches of our code of conduct, we are working closely with them to ensure that their responsibilities to the workers they employ are upheld, including paying all back wages and compensation to them.”
The Ireland-based retailer earlier this month responded to reports that GTIG Huasheng and Primseng Guo, run by GY Sen, both located in Wartayar Industrial Estate, Shwepyitha Township, Yangon City, had failed to notify employees of their Progress is turned off without plans being turned off.
Brand: Exit Myanmar responsibly
Myo Myo Aye, the head of Myanmar’s Solidarity trade union, told media that many workers were caught without compensation, leaving them financially untethered as inflation continues to soar and the military-controlled country slides further into chaos .
Asked for an update on the situation at Primark, union leaders said the settlement was “not yet complete” and there had been “financial discrepancies and irregularities” in the payment calculations. “We are still negotiating,” she said.
Primark said it was “responsibly exiting” Myanmar after the Ethical Trading Initiative assessed it was “impossible” for responsible businesses to conduct normal human rights due diligence in the troubled country, telling Sourcing Journal it was – ground The ethics team will monitor compensation to “ensure it happens.”
“As we work to exit the country responsibly, we are strengthening our due diligence on the ground by doubling the size of our local ethical trading team,” the spokesperson added. “This allows us to visit the approved supplier factories we work with more frequently, gives us a clearer understanding of working conditions and enables us to engage with workers and stakeholders more frequently.”
Christina Hajagos-Clausen, industry director for textiles and clothing at the global trade union federation, said the chain was “actively engaging” with the IndustriALL global alliance in line with the Myanmar Responsible Business Disengagement Framework released in February .
In particular, she said Primark was following its guidance to promote redress opportunities for workers in its supply chain and, where possible, continue to ensure that supplier factories do not breach labor rules. This includes working with relevant stakeholders, including IndustriALL Global Union, to design “appropriate support measures” for affected workers in its Myanmar supply chain.
“More and more brands are winding down operations in the country,” Hajagos-Clausen previously told the outlet. “We call on brands still operating in the country to use this framework to exit responsibly. One of Primark’s responsibilities in the context of this closure is to ensure workers receive adequate severance packages and to ensure that any outstanding Cases of Violation of Workers’ Rights.”
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