The Chien Thang Garment Company in Hanoi, Vietnam may not be a household name, but it produces clothing for labels such as Gap, JC Penny, C&A, Yessica, and Zara. About 95 per cent of the company's production is exported.
International Labour Organization (ILO), announces that almost 40 years of experience in making clothes and leather goods and a network of 10 factories employing 3,200 people, put this state owned enterprise in a good position to make the most of the opening up and growth of Vietnam's economy.
But when the buyers from Hong Kong (China), United States, the Republic of Korea and the European Union initially came calling, Chien Thang hit problems.
Inefficiencies in the established production processes brought frequent stoppages. Although suitable for simple garments like trousers and shirts, the structure of the production lines could not cope with the complex garments that the foreign buyers demanded for their customers, some of which need 80 or 90 separate processes to complete.
The programme was first implemented in Sri Lanka in 2002. The initial phases focused on the garment industry, an important export sector, and particular emphasis was placed on upgrading the working environment to reduce the physical strain on workers and other associated health risks.
When asked for feedback, garment factory managers involved in this initial FIP phase described a “tremendous improvement on the quality and production side” as well as a “remarkable improvement in the management-worker relationship”.
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