Global Fashion Agenda presented in Davos: better wage systems key priority

Global Fashion Agenda presented in Davos: better wage systems key priority

Global Fashion Agenda, a non-profit organization and the leading forum for industry collaboration on sustainability in fashion, presented its most recent CEO Agenda report at the World Economic Forum in Davos at the end of January 2019.

The promotion of better wage systems is one of eight priorities highlighted for the industry to address this year. Global Fashion Agenda had reached out to Dr Frank Hoffer, Executive Director of ACT, to author the Think Piece for this priority.

“Promoting the industry-wide implementation of better wages through collective bargaining has the potential to increase productivity and reduce employee churn, give workers a voice, increase the quality of output, and ensure greater stability and predictability in the industry innovation.”

Dr Frank Hoffer, Executive Director of ACT

The promotion of better wages systems addresses Sustainable Development Goals 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure) and 12 (Responsible production and consumption).

Other areas that Global Fashion Agenda would like to see on the priority list of fashion CEOs include supply chain traceability, combating climate change, and respectful and secure work environments.

In this respect, the report highlights that “secure and respectful work environments can bring numerous economic benefits: higher productivity, fewer sick days, fewer errors and shorter turnaround times. The productivity uplift alone from implementing such measures has been demonstrated to reach 18% in the manufacturing stage” (Pulse of the Fashion Industry 2017)