Made In Ethiopia: Challenges In The Garment Industry’s New Frontier
May 2019
A new frontier in garment manufacturing
In recent years, Ethiopia has launched a bold economic and social experiment by inviting the global garment industry to set up shop in the East African country. The CBHR team researched the challenges and opportunities.
Ethiopia has the lowest wages in any garment-producing country.
One place for the apparel industry to start is ensuring that Ethiopian factory employees are well-trained, motivated, and paid enough to afford basic necessities.
Top fashion brands are sourcing from Ethiopia’s Hawassa Industrial Park.
Drawn by newly built industrial parks and a range of financial incentives, manufacturers for some of the world’s best-known brands—among them, H&M, Hanes, and PVH (Calvin Klein, Izod, Tommy Hilfiger)—employ tens of thousands of Ethiopian workers in a nascent sector the government predicts will one day have billions of dollars in sales.
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