The International Labor Organization (ILO) released a study titled "Supply Chain Chain Reaction: How coVID-19 Is affecting the Garment industry in the Asia-Pacific Region" on Tuesday. The report details the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the apparel supply chain, related factories and their workers in 10 major apparel producers in the Asia-Pacific region.

The coVID-19 outbreak has hit the garment industry hard in the Asia-Pacific region, with retail sales in its key export markets plummeting, affecting businesses and workers throughout the supply chain, the report said. Since the outbreak of coVID-19, the collapse of consumer demand, blockade measures and the interruption of raw material imports have had a major impact on the garment industry in the Asia-Pacific region. Ten major garment manufacturers in the Asia-Pacific region - Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, The Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam - are the most affected. Imports from Asian clothing producers fell by about 70 per cent in the first half of 2020 for the region's main garment export markets. As of September 2020, almost half of the jobs in the Asia-Pacific apparel supply chain depend on demand from consumers in countries with the most stringent restrictions on sales, but retail sales of apparel in those countries fell sharply during the outbreak.

The asia-pacific region had about 65 million garment industry workers in 2019, accounting for 75 percent of the global garment industry workforce, the report said. Despite the aggressive response of governments across the region, thousands of garment factories in the region have been temporarily or indefinitely closed, with a sharp increase in layoffs and lay-offs, and those that have reopened have recalled only some of their older workers or reduced hiring. In addition, studies show that women, who make up the majority of garment workers in the Asia-Pacific region, are disproportionately affected by coVID-19, a phenomenon that exacerbates inequality in income and distribution, workload, and so on. The ILO's Labour economist said falling incomes and wage delays were common among garment workers who remained in work in the second quarter of 2020.

In response, ILO officials say the COVID-19 outbreak has had a huge impact on all levels of the garment industry. To save the garment industry, it is critical that governments, businesses, employers, workers and other stakeholders work together to improve the harsh environment the epidemic has created for the garment industry and help it forge a more people-centred future. The report points out that improving and strengthening social dialogue mechanisms will help strengthen the response to the epidemic. The report calls on countries in the Asia-Pacific region to engage in more inclusive and meaningful social dialogue at the national and sectoral levels. The report also recommends that governments and others continue to support businesses in expanding social protection for workers, especially women.