In October, SMART’s partner AVE organized a study tour for the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association (MGMA) to Germany. As part of their trip, two full-day consumer awareness & engagement events were held in two German shopping malls.
SMART Project Director Julia Dittenhauser, together with AVE and MGMA, informed and discussed with consumers about “Made in Myanmar” in a pop-up booth in Hamburg and in Duesseldorf, on October 9th and 13th. Myanmar factory owners also brought garments produced in Myanmar and were available as direct contact persons to talk about manufacturing practices in the country. The aim was to raise awareness about garments made in Myanmar, and to enter into a conversation with European apparel consumers to discuss their knowledge and opinions about the garment industry. 43 persons agreed to fill out a questionnaire, and it became obvious that all participants attached value to quality and price, whereas the importance of the origin of a purchased garment increased with age.
In general, consumers across all age groups expect fair wages and compliance with human rights as core elements for what they would consider sustainable garment production in Myanmar. Furthermore, the consumers interviewed showed interest in getting more information, in particular about working conditions and handling chemicals. It was particularly striking that 40% of 14-20 year olds indicated that they do not inform themselves about the garment industry. However, this behaviour changes considerably with increasing age. Middle-aged consumers prefer to receive more information through social media, but especially consumers from elder age groups pointed out that they would like to watch more TV reports about the garment industry in Myanmar and other producing countries.
The two days were an experimental and different approach, in order to bring Myanmar producers directly in touch with European consumers and to inform consumers about the conditions behind “Made in Myanmar” and the continuous progress being made in the country in terms of social and environmental sustainability. This activity was part of a wider agenda undertaken by MGMA during which they met with EU brands and retailers to discuss similar topics.
