058. Manufactured x GIZ FABRIC: Gladys Tang on How Brands Can Support Supply Chain Dialogue

In this episode, part two of our conversation with Gladys Tang, we talk about why Gladys thinks dialogue is the key to a more sustainable future, and how brands can support it. [...]
15 Jun 2021
00:21:44
Manufactured
Manufactured
058. Manufactured x GIZ FABRIC: Gladys Tang on How Brands Can Support Supply Chain Dialogue
/

Gladys Tang is a Senior Sustainability Manager for Tchibo Merchandising Hong Kong. Tchibo is a German brand selling a wide variety of products across Europe.

In this episode, part two, we get into the meaning of dialogue for Tchibo. What kind of dialogue does Gladys think supply chain actors should engage in? How does Tchibo strive to leverage its WE program to support dialogue? How did they overcome supplier reluctance to participate in the program? We also put some hard questions to Gladys, like how does Tchibo ensure alignment between purchasing and sustainability departments, and how do they address supplier concerns around price?

Want to dig deeper ?

Our episodes this week are thanks to our collaboration with the GIZ FABRIC. The FABRIC project is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and supports the Asian textile industry in its transformation towards fair production for people and the environment.

Gladys was a speaker on the eighth edition of GIZ FABRIC’s online seminar series called “Getting Through the Crisis Together: Asian Dialogues on Sustainability in the Textile and Garment Industry.”

Read Kim’s article: Women Sewing for Fabletics Face Gender-Based Violence: Social Compliance Audits Still Aren’t Working

We’ve also been loving the collaboration between Sourcing Journal and the New Conversations Project. Back in December 2020 they put forward a compelling piece arguing that social compliance audits have failed to deliver for workers. The piece relied on research that looked at over 40,000 factory labor audits over 12 countries and 12 industries. The number of violations found in labor audits “was almost unchanged between 2011 and 2018 across all countries and industries.”

Then, in early 2021, they put forward several theories as to why social compliance audits have failed to deliver for workers. This was followed up by a piece in April 2021 by a piece that goes into more details on the opacity theory.

Jessie Li

Photo by Giorgio Grani

Recent Episodes

92. How it’s made: On Cotton with Rajeev Baruah

92. How it’s made: On Cotton with Rajeev Baruah

25 Jul 2023

On this episode we’re taking a look at cotton value chains in the Indian context with Rajeev Baruah, who has worked in cotton for decades. Though his background is originally in agriculture and tea, his cotton journey started with a spinning facility back in the 90s on a mission to work with organic cotton farmers – something that, at the time, was unheard of. In the years since, he’s gone on to work in a number of different roles with different stakeholders across the value chain. Rajeev gives Kim an in-depth look at the steps that go into growing, harvesting, ginning, and spinning cotton, who the commercial actors are, and what their incentives might be within the Indian context.

read more
91. How it’s made: On Garment Finishing with Rita Castro & Dionísia Portela

91. How it’s made: On Garment Finishing with Rita Castro & Dionísia Portela

11 Jul 2023

On this episode we’re exploring one of the final stages of production in apparel manufacturing with Rita Castro & Dionísia Portela from Confetil, a Portuguese garment manufacturer that has been supplying brands all over the world since 1960. Dionísia is Sustainability Manager and Rita is Sales and Commercial Manager for four of Confetil’s customers. They tell us more about the processes that give our clothes the final look and feel that brands aim for, from solid T-shirts to those with graphic patterns or vintage looks, different types of dyes and dyeing processes, and the sustainability of these finishing processes.

read more
90. How it’s made: On Silk with Hilmond Hui

90. How it’s made: On Silk with Hilmond Hui

27 Jun 2023

To understand the process, benefits and barriers within regenerative sericulture, we go back to Kim’s conversation from November 2021 with Hilmond Hui, Vice President of international clothing enterprise PFG and its subset Bombyx. Hilmond tells us more about Bombyx, which was formed in 2018 with a focus on regenerative silk production and transforming the way silk is produced, traded and consumed. Their Nanchong Ka Fung (NCKF) facility is located in the northeast of China’s Sichuan province, and they’re on a mission to do everything from dirt to fabric and beyond.

read more