Pakistan's Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA) has decided to set up training centres for workers in garment factories with help from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Pakistan Readymade Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA). The plans were unveiled by EPZA Chairman Kamran Y Mirza at an introductory session of the Gender Promotion Program (GENPROM) project recently.The GENPROM project is targetted at garment factories operating in export processing zones, and aims to fill the skills gap and generate employment for female workers in the garment industry.Sri Lanka's apparel industry is pinning its hopes on its 'Garments without Guilt' initiative to give it a competitive edge as an ethical producer in a crowded international market.

It's a bold stance. If the Sri Lankan apparel industry has its way, garments sourced in the country and appearing on sale in stores all over the world could soon be displaying hang tags proudly declaring their track record as 'Garments without Guilt.' This is just one of the initiatives being lined up by the country's Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF), the body that represents all of Sri Lanka's textile and apparel businesses, as it rolls out its industry-wide image building campaign into new markets such as Europe this year.

It has also signed up international auditing company SGS to provide independent assurance to retail buyers that clothing sourced from the Indian Ocean island has been made under ethical conditions. So far, 67 factories have been certified by SGS under the Garments Without Guilt (GWG) programme, and more factories are queuing up for assessment. Ultimately, the goal is to have all of Sri Lanka's 300-350 factories certified, and the belief is that independent verification adds credibility to the GWG campaign.

Under the monitoring programme, textile and clothing factories are checked and accredited to say they're free of child and forced labour, free from discrimination of any kind, and free from sweatshop conditions. A list of certified factories will be hosted by SGS on its website, and reviews will be conducted on an annual basis. In this second phase of the campaign, our objective is to engage with identified audiences world wide and increase visibility," Kumar Mirchandani, Chairman of the JAAF image building sub-committee.

"We want to make sure the message gets through to all key customers. Ultimately, we want consumers to say, 'I would rather buy a product from Sri Lanka than from anywhere else'."

Elevating 'Made in Sri Lanka' launched in August 2006, the Garments without Guilt campaign aims to show overseas customers that Sri Lanka does not use child labour and provides good working conditions for workers. Buyers are likely to be more comfortable in placing orders with Sri Lankan factories, and brands are expected to benefit by meeting growing international consumer awareness of the conditions under which their clothes are made.

The campaign's initial roll-out focused on the US, which accounts for around 51% of Sri Lanka's apparel exports, after buyer research confirmed that Sri Lanka was seen as a low risk sourcing destination when it came to ethical trading practices. The EU is Sri Lanka's second largest apparel export destination, buying 44% of production, and the GWG campaign is ultimately aimed at growing and retaining these markets in the face of increasing low-cost competition. But Mirchandani is at pains to point out that the initiative "is not simply something we've tailored to suit the occasion."

"We've always had a platform of decent working conditions, and to us this was always a given, like quality. We never promoted what we were doing, but because we're now more ethical than anyone else we decided to raise the bar even further." Sri Lanka claims its stringent labour laws already put it ahead of other developing countries.

It is the only country in Asia which has signed up to 27 of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Core Conventions prohibiting forced labour and child labour.

And domestic legislation demands safe and healthy working conditions, governed hours of work, social and security fund contributions and environmental protection standards.

Mirchandani also notes that according to Sri Lankan law, parents can be punished if their children work. "The culture in Sri Lanka is such that parents want their children to go to school," he adds.