Our first part on the “CSR” Guide made in France, what is hidden behind the label is already available right here .
THE STATE OF THE CHINESE MARKET
The year 2010 marked the uncontested industrial hegemony of one country: China. The country then took first place on the world podium of manufacturing production, reaching an annual value of 1995 billion dollars , passing the United States and its 1952 billion.
Since then, China has represented 28% of global production, now ahead of the United States by more than 10 points.
Today, China still dominates global manufacturing output, but is it still “the textile factory of the world?”
To write this guide, we are meeting with our experts Catherine Dauriac and Thomas Ebélé, who had already helped us with the Made in France CSR guide.
Catherine Dauriac is a climate activist. She is today an independent journalist and president of Fashion Revolution France.
A whistleblower, Catherine wants positive but radical change in the fashion industry. For this, she notably wrote a book entitled "Fashion, fake or not", which deciphers the fashion sector, and more particularly fast fashion, raw materials and working conditions.
Thomas Ebélé is convinced that we must act to preserve the environment and ensure the rights of textile employees.
He teamed up with Eloïse Moigno to launch SloWeAre in 2016. He wants to demonstrate that we can have a double positive impact on sincerely committed brands and on consumers by ensuring ethics, transparency and quality in the value chain.
Today the share of industry in Chinese GDP tends to decrease . In 2009, service jobs represented the largest share of GDP.
How does China remain a leader if services take precedence over industry?
By specializing.
After having been for almost forty years the favorite destination for the relocation of cheap products, thanks to its
(Photo by Ryan Pyle/Corbis via Getty Images)
The country remains the world's leading textile exporter (around 30%, or $154 billion in exports in 2020), has modern infrastructure , effective supply chain management and high productivity . Indeed, given its status as "world factory"
Having this asset increases the efficiency and productivity of a factory. This also has the advantage of shortening delivery times.
Additionally, Chinese companies are adopting automated production methods; China is one of the main importers of used robots
But China has become an essential pillar in the production of sportswear and technical clothing , both of which require significant investment in technical and human costs. In fact, these pieces are made using special fabrics; such as Gore-tex or polyamide; and advanced techniques, for example chemical or technological manipulations.
For more details, we have a complete article on the subject.
(Photo credit should read Feature China/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
The law mandates that working hours be limited to 44 hours per week and no more than 36 hours of overtime per month.
Unfortunately, the reality is closer to 60 hours on average , sometimes reaching 80 hours, again according to the Oxfam report.
Indeed, standard working hours are 10 to 12 hours and sometimes 15 to 16 hours per day, with one or two days off per month. The ACFTU (the only union authorized by the Communist Party) itself noted that 62% of employees worked 7 days a week and that a quarter of them did not receive their salary on time.
(Photo by David Wong/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)
To combat these abuses, strict laws were promulgated by President Xi Jinping, but they remain poorly enforced . Authorities monitoring working conditions are regularly accused of embezzlement and negligence.
Many textile companies have relocated to countries with lower production costs, such as Tanzania, Bangladesh and also Cambodia.
For example, a 2007 law requiring a written contract is poorly enforced, allowing the exploitation of ignorant and/or illiterate workers , depriving them of any legal recourse.
In theory, labor law also requires employers to provide old age insurance, work accident insurance, maternity insurance and medical insurance. But in practice, these services are not always provided . It is estimated that 9 out of 10 Chinese companies do not comply with national labor law standards .
In 2017, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) published a report on the working conditions of Chinese workers. This report recommends that the Chinese government must "address the problem of corruption among inspectors", and "ensure that local authorities do not grant exemptions incompatible with national legislation, particularly with regard to overtime and social Security".
The principals are not delicate enough: "Let's be aware at the level of governance, it's always the same problem. If behind the large groups which try to impose their specifications, the specifications must not be only technical, but first social, environmental, then technical" confides Thomas Ebélé.
In 2005, the CNTAC (China National Textile and Apparel Council, a conglomerate of Chinese textile companies) developed a code of good conduct on working conditions in the textile sector, the CSC9000T. Du Yuzhou, the president of the conglomerate promises that the commitments made are in line with the principles of the United Nations Global Compact. However, the code is mainly based on Chinese law and does not respect all the standards of the International Labor Organization (ILO). Even more surprising, the regulation does not provide for an independent safeguard to verify its proper application .
“When you buy a T-Shirt with 5 balls, 6 balls, there is inevitably suffering behind it .” Catherine Dauriac
Since we are addressing the subject of working conditions, it is impossible for us to close the subject without talking about the most publicized controversy: the Uighurs .
(photo by Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via Getty Images)
"It's complicated to give a precise figure. According to my data, 500,000 Uyghurs work in the cotton fields, and some even say a million forced workers." Catherine adds: “All told, this would represent 5 million forced Uyghurs.”
These political prisoners are used as almost free labor by Chinese textile manufacturing companies.
These manufacturers are themselves subcontractors of major international brands, often Western, and well known by consumers.
The Coalition to End Forced Labor estimates that more than one in five cotton products sold globally are tainted by forced labor and human rights abuses occurring in the Xinjiang region.
(Photo by Markus Scholz/picture alliance via Getty Images)
For example, the Quingdao Taekwang Shoes factory produces 7 million pairs of shoes per year for Dirty Laundry , a report published by GreenPeace in 2011, the Chinese phreatic situation is worrying: "China is one countries with the most polluted waters in the world. 70% of its rivers, lakes, reservoirs are affected. The shortage is worsening because of the spiraling demand and the growing effects of global warming. has more access to clean water. Water shortages will worsen across China if action is not taken to tackle the problem.
Until 2014 , laws regarding environmental protection were vague and poorly enforced. That year, President Xi Jinping declared a "war on pollution." Over the years that followed, the laws were strengthened and their enforcement intensified .
For example, government agencies are empowered to sanction polluting businesses and seize their assets , and there are no limits or tiering of fines incurred by polluting industries. In other words, authorities can sanction polluters as they wish, without limits .
As companies rush to comply with increasingly strict legislation, production costs have also increased.
AN OMNIPRESENT GOVERNMENT
China is therefore resolutely moving away from a passive environmental policy which existed only in name before 2015 and is moving towards the strong state interventionism which characterizes it in many other sectors of its economy. Indeed, the Chinese government frequently intervenes in its industry, when it is not already nationalized. For example, China has sent “representatives” to the boards of directors of retail or automobile giants such as Alibaba or Geely.
For American academic Philip S. Golub, this is a strategic maneuver: "State-led cross-sector industrial modernization has enabled China to make steady progress in many industrial areas and capture a growing share of added value."
According to the government, the role of "government affairs representatives" is to foster communication and help businesses complete key projects. In reality, President Xi Jinping's government is tightening its grip on the private sector
Alibaba CEO Jack Ma during his January 2021 homecoming address.
In his online speech, Jack Ma praised the communist regime's efforts to eradicate extreme poverty, President Xi Jinping's flagship project.
He said he was "more determined than ever to help education and the public good", where he had been critical of his economic participation just two years earlier: "Chinese consumption is not directed by the government but through entrepreneurship and the market.
The solution would be “ to stop buying, so that brands stop selling, and factories stop producing. Otherwise, not waiting for the consumer to be conscious, let's be conscious at the level of governance" recommends the founder of the SloWeAre label.
If China wishes to move away from this image of the world's textile factory, its participation in the textile world remains considerable, as does its human and environmental impact.
Still the leader in global textile production, other increasingly competitive countries are trying to regain market share.
For this reason, working conditions are always more and more difficult and precarious: "In India for example, children make carpets in the cellars of slums to limit costs" recalls Catherine Dauriac.
And this is not an exceptional case, in fact, according to the CIDE, there are tens of millions of children who work in the country.
So in the global textile market, what is India's place? What are the working conditions of a worker?
Answer next episode.
