The International Labor Organization (ILO) says that 80% of export-oriented garment factories in Bangladesh need fire and electrical safety improvements. This comes despite a recent government report saying that many factories in the country did not need any remediation. ILO country director Srinivas Reddy says that every factory needs to come up with a remediation

Cambodia’s Council of Ministers has approved a new draft union law aimed at enhancing the rights and freedoms of trade unions in the country. The new policy, which the Labor Ministry says it has been working on for 8 years, will govern over 3,400 unions in Cambodia, including over 1,000 in the garment and footwear

Officials in China say that they plan to discuss a trade deal that could rival the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Philippines. The Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) was first proposed in 2006 as a counter to the TPP. Delegates to last year’s APEC meeting

Attendees at the recent Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) conference in Ethiopia say that the country should focus on developing a fuller textile value chain to take advantage of its cotton growing capacity instead of simply exporting it. Ethiopia joined the CmiA group of countries earlier this year and has been touted by international observers

A new report from Bloomberg suggests that India could become Asia’s largest source of workers by 2050, replacing China for the top spot. This comes even as analysts say that the Asia-Pacific region will only account for 50% of the global workforce by this time, down from its current share of 62%. Bloomberg’s analysis says

Officials in Indonesia say the country needs to improve its global competitiveness before joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. During a recent meeting at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta, government leaders noted that the country needs to improve its infrastructure and make the process of industrial construction easier before signing

Morocco is setting its sights high for garment exports, setting a target of US$650 million by 2020. The announcement is part of a larger national Industrial Acceleration Plan designed to grow exports from the country. Morocco’s textile sector employs an estimated 30% of the country’s total labor force. (Fibre2Fashion)

Representatives of one of Pakistan’s major labor-oriented political parties say that the government has failed to protect the country’s millions of workers. Speaking in reference to a number of deadly incidents that have occurred in recent months, including the collapse of a plastic bag factory earlier this month, leaders with the Awami Workers’ Party (AWP)

Juanita Duggan, President & CEO of the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA), says she will be stepping down to assume another position. Duggan joined the AAFA in June 2014 following the departure of Kevin Burke. In a statement, the AAFA says that Duggan will stay on through the end of the year and oversee

Thousands of workers at a hat factory in Bien Hoa City staged a massive demonstration on November 9 after the factory announced it would be terminating nearly all of its workforce citing a fire earlier this year. Officials at the Yupoong Company said that a fire on September 21 caused a severe blow to the