Factory-compliant garment manufacturing in India has surged with new and unprecedented export orders in the current season. Chain stores and international brands like Walmart, GAP, American Egle, JC Penny, Target, Sears, Tommy, Nike, Abecombic & Fitch, Old Navy, Sara Lee, Hanes, Marks & Spencers, CA, H&M, Debenham, Primark, Top Mom, Top Shop, TESCO, Sainsbery, Addidas, PUMA, Paul Smith, River Island, Mango, ZARA and French Connection maintain the highest standards of factory compliance. In the current volatility in international buying, the brands have decided expanding their sourcing of the merchandise from India. The greater flow of orders is expected to fetch an additional $3 billion business for the country.
Dr. A. Sakthivel, Chairman of the Apparel Exports Promotion Council (AEPC), has said that India has been chosen as the best place by these companies due to the persistent improvement in factory capacity building through the ambitious AEPC Common Code of Conduct, DISHA, an initiative of the Ministry of Textiles. Over 200 garment manufacturing units have already gone through vigorous capacity building under DISHA, related to hours of work, wages and benefits, health & safety, freedom of association, ban on child labour as well as bonded and forced labour, right to collective bargaining, environment protection, etc.
The garment factories have immensely benefited through DISHA in the areas of environmental protection, health & safety, labour wages, responsibilities, recruitment, written policy and identifying and managing legal records and registers.
Dr. Sakthivel has also said that over one lakh workers have been trained under the Textile Ministry’s ISDS scheme, thereby raising the productivity levels in garment factories.
Further, an international agency has observed that the average wage paid per month in the Indian garment export industry is $170 per month. The minimum wages in various States are Rs. 7,722 (in Delhi), Rs. 5,211.96 (in Haryana), Rs. 5,699.20 (in Punjab), Rs. 4,975 (in UP), Rs. 3,862 (in Tamil Nadu) and Rs. 5,031 (in Karnataka). Thus, an Indian garment industry worker gets an average wage of Rs. 9,180 a month.