WELCOME TO THE ARCHIVE (1994-2014) OF THE MAQUILA SOLIDARITY NETWORK. For current information on our ongoing work on the living wage, women's labour rights, freedom of association, corporate accountability and Bangladesh fire and safety, please visit our new website, launched in October, 2015: www.maquilasolidarity.org
The phase-out of international textile and apparel quotas at the beginning of 2005 has had a major impact on the apparel industry. The following resources analyze the impacts of the MFA phase-out on workers in the apparel industry.
(March 2007) Although price remains the main factor in sourcing decisions, brands are also concerned with guaranteeing that their products reach stores at the right time. According to brand representatives, instability in different countries also motivates brands to keep work in different countries located in different regions. For brands selling in the US market, it is quite likely that their strategies first divide suppliers into two big categories: Asia/Americas.
In the Summer of 2008, the Maquila Solidarity Network (MSN) carried out interviews with apparel companies about changes in their sourcing practices since the demise of the import quota system at the end of 2004, as well as possible changes in the next five-year period. Interviewees were also asked what changes in production practices and/or government policy would encourage them to maintain or increase orders to Central America and/or Mexico.
Collected by MSN, this presentation shows statistics that highlight the decline of Mexico's garment industry since the end of the Multi-fiber Arrangement.
(October 2006) As apparel brands and retailers restructure their global supply chains after the demise of the import quota system that was established under a trade agreement called the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA), MSN is receiving almost daily reports from countries around the world of factory closures and massive worker layoffs. It's time to assess what companies are doing in practice, as well as what they should be doing, to live up to their responsibilities to affected workers and communities.
A brief look at the future of the garment industry in post-quota Mexico based on the findings of a one-day conference entitled, "What lies ahead for the Mexican garment and textile industry?"
(2004) Sixty-two page report by AccountAbility examining the predicted impacts of the end of quotas and policy options for different actors, and offering an assessment of predicted consequences in 10 developing countries. View Report.
Speakers, agendas, resources, and participants from the public forum on the impacts of the garment and textile import quota phase-out. View Article.
Program, participants, presentations and materials from the NGO forum on the impacts of the garment and textile import quota phase-out in Mexico, Central American and the Caribbean. View Article
(October 2004) Twenty-one page report on results of a BSR survey of company views on the effect of the phase-out on future sourcing decisions. View Report
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