Global production networks in the Asian garment industry

   Garment sector as a “heart” of life-supporting industrial complex and one of the most globalized, fragmented and geographically mobile industries provides the basis for empirical research of the international division of production and consumption. The article analyses the processes of formation of global production networks in the garment industry as a result of the activities of transnational companies in various geographical contexts (cities, regions and entire states) in the Asian region. Such production networks are becoming not only more complex from the organizational point of view, but also more and more global in their geographical scope. The main spatial and structural characteristics of global production networks of the leading companies in the industry (Nike, H & M and Fast Retailing) are considered by the method of geocoding and data aggregation using geographic information systems. Cartographic material is compiled on the basis of obtained spatial distribution. Its qualitative analysis, in combination with statistical data on the industry, makes it possible to form a comprehensive picture of the key areas of clothing production in Asia. The results demonstrate that despite the differences (from the price segment of products to the procurement strategy) the production networks of these firms are very similar, and their suppliers are concentrated in the largest cities and metropolitan agglomerations of Asia. The role of the countries of the Asian region is undeniably increasing in the garment industry, as well as on the global economic landscape as a whole. It was revealed that from 55 to 92 % of suppliers of the leading firms are concentrated in Asia.

1. Chester T., Ning C., Zhang Z. How do Industry Clusters Success: A Case Study in China’s Textiles and Apparel Industries, Journal of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management, 2004, vol. 4, iss. 2.

2. Coe N. M. Geographies of production II: A global production network A–Z, Progress in Human Geography, 2011, vol. 36, no. 3, p. 389–402, DOI: 10.1177/0309132511402784.

3. Coe N. M., Dicken P., Henderson J., Hess M., Yeung H. W.-C. Global Production Networks and the Analysis of Economic Development. Review of International Political Economy, 2002, vol. 9, no. 3, p. 436–464, DOI: 10.1080/09692290210150842 .

4. Dicken P., Hassler M. Organizing the Indonesian Clothing Industry in the Global Economy: The Role of Business Networks, Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 2000, vol. 32, no. 2, p. 263–280, DOI: 10.1068/a31172.

5. Donaghu M. T., Barff R. Nike just did it: International Subcontracting and Flexibility in Athletic Footwear Production, Regional Studies, 1990, vol. 24, no. 6, p. 537–552, DOI: 10.1080/00343409012331346204.

6. Ernst D. Global production networks and the changing geography of innovation systems. Implications for developing countries, Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 2002, vol. 11, no. 6, p. 497–523, DOI: 10.1080/10438590214341.

7. Commodity Chains and Global Capitalism, G. Gereffi, M. Korzeniewicz (eds.), Westport, CT, Greenwood Press, 1994, p. 17–20.

8. Gibbon P. Governance, Entry Barriers, Upgrading: A Re-Interpretation of Some GVC Concepts from the Experience of African Clothing Exports, Competition and Change, 2008, vol. 12, no. 1, p. 29–48, DOI: 10.1179/102452907X264511 .

9. Hopkins T. K., Wallerstein I. Commodity Chains in the World-Economy Prior to 1800, Review, 1986, vol. 10, no. 1, p. 157–170.

10. Humphrey J., Gereffi G., Sturgeon T. The governance of global value chains, Review of International Political Economy, 2005, vol. 12, p. 78–104, DOI: 10.1080/09692290500049805.

11. Kudo T. How Has the Myanmar Garment Industry Evolved? Fukunishi (ed.), Dynamics of the Garment Industry in Low-Income Countries: Experience of Asia and Africa, Ide-Jetro, 2012, p. 46–56.

12. Le Q. A., Nguyen B. L., Tran V. A. The Belt and Road Initiative and Its Perceived Impacts on the Textile and Garment Industry of Vietnam, Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 2019, vol. 5, no. 3, p. 59.

13. Liu L., Mei S. Visualizing the GVC research: a co-occurrence network based bibliometric analysis, Scientometrics, 2016, vol. 109, p. 953–977, DOI: 10.1007/s11192-016-2100-5.

14. Mezzadri A. Indian Garment Clusters and CSR Norms: Incompatible Agendas at the Bottom of the Garment Commodity Chain, Oxford Development Studies, 2014, vol. 42, no. 2, p. 238–258, DOI: 10.1080/13600818.2014.885939.

15. Mizuno A. Labour Migration and Relocation of Apparel Production between Thailand and Myanmar, Journal of Southeast Asian Economies, 2020, vol. 37, no. 2, p. 181–198.

16. Natsuda K., Goto K., Thoburn J. Challenges to the Cambodian Garment Industry in the Global Garment Value Chain, The European Journal of Development Research, 2010, vol. 22, no. 4, p. 469–493, DOI: 10.1057/ejdr.2010.21.

17. Pickles J., Zhu S. Bring In, Go Up, Go West, Go Out: Upgrading, Regionalisation and Delocalisation in China’s Apparel Production Network, Journal of Contemporary Asia, 2014, vol. 44, no. 1, p. 36–63.

18. Rahman S. Broken Promises of Globalization: The Case of the Bangladesh Garment Industry, Plymouth, Lexington Books, 2014.

19. Tewari M. Adjustment in India’s Textile and Apparel Industry: Reworking Historical Legacies in a Post-MFA World, Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 2006, vol. 38, no. 12, p. 2325–2344.

20. Zhang M., Kong X. X., Ramu S. C. The transformation of the clothing industry in China, Asia Pacific Business Review, 2014, vol. 22, iss. 1, p. 86–109, DOI: 10.1080/13602381.2014.990204.

21. Fast Retailing Sustainability, URL: https://www.fastretailing.com/eng/sustainability/ (access date 16. 05. 2022).

22. Forbes Global 2000, URL: https://www.forbes.com/lists/global2000/#668a987c5ac0 (access date 14. 03. 2022).

23. H & M Group Sustainability, URL: https://hmgroup.com/sustainability/leading-the-change/transparency/supply-chain/ (access date 03. 04. 2022).

24. Nike Manufacturing Map, URL: http://manufacturingmap.nikeinc.com/ (access date 03. 04. 2022).

25. Porter M. The Competitive Advantage of Nations, New York, Free Press, 1990, 929 р., URL: https://correctphilippines.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Competitive-Advantage-of-Nations.pdf (access date 03. 05. 2021).

26. The Fashion Transparency Index 2020, Fashion Revolution, URL: https://www.fashionrevolution.org/about/transparency/ (access date 14. 03. 2022).

27. United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database, URL: https://comtrade.un.org/ (access date 03. 04. 2022).