April 22, 2020
The undersigned organizations, representing the full spectrum of the textile, apparel, footwear, travel goods, and fashion industry across the globe, are coming together in these unprecedented times to make a joint appeal to our governments, our stakeholders, and our supply chain partners.
The COVID-19 Pandemic is a major health crisis that requires the united and undivided efforts of billions of people - including first responders, health professionals, policy makers, essential service providers, and citizens. Many in our industry have been playing their part by suspending/limiting operations to keep their workers and consumers safe consistent with global health guidelines AND empowering or repurposing facilities, factories, and supply chains to produce and distribute items of personal protective equipment and other urgently needed medical materials.
Working with our friends, families, and our communities, together we can AND will stop this deadly Pandemic.
But this health crisis has also triggered a potentially deadly economic crisis. As businesses have closed, revenues and cash flow have dried up. The resulting liquidity squeeze has adversely hit many companies, their workers, and multiple layers of suppliers all around the world. Contracts are being cancelled, workers are being furloughed, and factories and businesses are being closed. With each passing day, this damage is compounding and harming more and more stakeholders. We need to coordinate and accelerate our efforts to limit and mitigate this damage, and make sure it is not irrevocable. As we continue to dedicate our efforts to fight this Pandemic, we must also come together to fight the economic crisis that has also been created.
It is with this in mind that we issue this general appeal and set of principles.
• Governments, with the support of international financial institutions, must enact temporary stimulus measures to ensure liquidity.
o These measures must be as flexible as possible so that employers across the supply chain can gain access to relief as quickly as possible.
o These measures should benefit both employers and their workers. o Although temporary, these measures should be easily extendable, and quickly extended, should the crisis prove more durable than may be currently expected.
• Governments should undertake temporary duty deferral and tariff relief to support liquidity and cash flow, and keep workers employed.
o At a minimum, governments should immediately defer collections of duties for a period of 180 days.
o Where appropriate, such as in the case of items of personal protective equipment or items used by lower income consumers, government should also suspend duties.
• Governments should refrain from imposing new trade restrictions and should not impede production or delivery of PPE, its intermediate products, and raw materials.
We welcome the G-20 statement that speaks to many of these items, but it is now up to individual governments – and others who are not part of the G-20 – to implement and follow through on these commitments. Words mean a lot, but the actions will determine how fast and how well we can emerge from this crisis.
In that vein, supply chain partners need to do their part too. Individual companies should take action that minimize disruptions, facilitate payment for work that has been undertaken, and ensure workers continue to be treated with full respect while ensuring their health and safety. Companies need to continue working, alone and with their supply chain partners, to ensure that supply chains are best positioned to weather this crisis.
These actions in the next 90 days will not only help dictate how fast we can recover, but also will say a lot about who we are as an industry and as a people. Our industry literally touches everybody on the planet, and we have an on-going commitment – to our workers and consumers – to ensure that the industry that emerges from this crisis is responsible, sustainable, viable, and healthy.
Accessories Council
Karen Giberson, President
American Apparel & Footwear Association
Steve Lamar, President & CEO
American Bridal and Prom Industry Association
Stephen N Lang, President
The American Chamber of Commerce in
Cambodia
Allen Dodgson Tan, President
American Import Shippers Association
Hubert Wiesenmaier, Executive Director
Apparel Export Promotion Council
Dr. Arumugam Sakthivel, Chairman
Association des Industries d'Haiti (ADIH)
Georges B Sassine, President
Association of Textile Indonesia (API)
Jemmy Sastraatmadja, Chairman
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and
Exporters Association
Rubana Huq, President
Bremen Cotton Exchange
Jens D. Lukaczik, President
British Fashion Council
Caroline Rush, CEO
California Fashion Association
Ilse Metchek, President
Cambodian Federation of Employers and
Business Association (CAMFEBA)
Sandra D'Amico, Vice President
Canadian Apparel Federation
Bob Kirke, Executive Director
China Chamber of Commerce for Import and
Export of Light Industrial Products & Arts-
Crafts (CCCLA)
Zhongqi Wang, President
China Chamber of Commerce for Import &
Export of Textile & Apparel (CCCT)
Jiachang Cao, Chairman
China Council for the Promotion of
International Trade, CCPIT (CCPIT TEX)
Yingxin Xu, President
China Home Textile Association (CHTA)
Zhaohua Yang, President
China National Garment Association (CNGA)
Dapeng Chen, President
China National Textile and Apparel Council
(CNTAC)
Ruizhe Sun, President
Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the
Philippines (CONWEP)
Maritess Jocson-Agoncillo, Executive Director
Council of Fashion Designers of America
Steven Kolb, CEO & President
Denizli Exporters Association
Huseyin Memisoglu, President
Egyptian Chamber of Apparel and Home
Textile (ECAHT)
Hany Kadah, Executive Director
The European Apparel and Textile
Confederation (Euratex)
Dirk Vantyghem, Director General
European Branded Clothing Alliance (EBCA)
Ignacio Sierra Armas, President
European Footwear Confederation (CEC)
Carmen Arias, Secretary General
Fashion Accessories Shippers Association
Sara Mayes, President & CEO
Fashion, Jewelry & Accessories Trade
Association
Sara Mayes, President & CEO
Fondazione Del Tessile Italiano
Simone Canclini, President
Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America
(FDRA)
Matt Priest, President & CEO
Foreign Buyers Association of the Philippines
Robert Young, Chairman & President
Garment Manufacturers Association in
Cambodia
Mr Van Sou Ieng, Chairman
Gemini Shippers Group
Sara Mayes, President & CEO
German Association of Finishing, Yarn, Fabric and Technical Textiles Manufacturing Industries (IVGT e.V)
Dr. Klaus-Jürgen Kraatz, Director General
Halloween & Costume Association
Michele Buggy, CAE, Executive Director
The Hong Kong Exporters' Association
Benson Pau, Chairman
Hong Kong General Chamber of Textile
Raymond L F Chu, Chairman
International Apparel Federation (IAF)
Matthijs Crietee, Secretary General International Textile Manufacturers Federation
(ITMF)
Mr. Kihak Sung, President
Istanbul Apparel Exporters Association (IHKIB)
Mustafa Gültepe, Chairman
Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association
(JPMA)
Kelly Mariotti, Executive Director
Korea Federation of Textile Industries
Kihak Sung, Chairman
Mediterranean Apparel Exporters' Association
(AKIB)
Hayri UGUR, Chairman of The Board
Mediterranean Textile and Raw Materials
Exporters Association (ATHIB)
Fatih DOĞAN, Chairman of the Board
North American Association of Uniform
Manufacturers and Distributors (NAUMD)
Steve Zalkin, President
Pakistan Knitwear & Sweater Exporters
Association (PAKSEA)
M. Siddique, Secretary General
Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers
& Exporters Association (PRGMEA)
Ijaz A. Khokhar, Chief Coordinator
Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA)
Khurram Mukhtar, Patron in Chief
Promotional Products Association
International
Paul Bellantone, CAE, President and CEO
Spinners & Weavers Association of Korea
(SWAK)
Joon Kim, Chairman
Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA)
Tom Cove, President & CEO
Sri Lanka Footwear & Leather Products
Manufactures Association
P G D Nimalasiri, President
Sustainable Apparel Coalition
Amina Razvi, Executive Director
Swiss Textiles
Carl Illi, President
Taiwan Textile Federation
Justin Huang, President
Textile Council of Hong Kong, Ltd
Henry Tan, Chairman
Thai Garment Manufacturers Association
(TGMA)
Yuttana Silpsarnvitch, President
Travel Goods Association
Michele Marini Pittenger, President
Turkish Textile Employers' Association
Att. Basar Ay, Secretary General
Uludag Apparel and Clothing Exporters'
Association
Nuvit Gundemir, Board Chairman
Uludağ Textile Exporters' Association
Pinar Tasdelen Engin, Chairman of the Board
U.S. Fashion Industry Association
Julia Hughes, President
Uzbekistan Textile and Garment Industry
Association "O`zto`qimachiliksanoat"
Ilkhom Khaydarov, Chairman
Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(VCCI)
Mr. Vo Tan Thanh, Vice President
Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association
(VITAS)
Vu Duc Giang, Chairman
World Federation of Sporting Goods Industry
(WFSGI)
Robbert de Kock, President and CEO
