Apparel brands squeeze suppliers amid tariff panic

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Major US apparel brands are demanding that supply chain partners provide significant discounts in the wake of US import tariffs – but textile mills and other stakeholders warn this approach will impact workers and the environment if manufacturer margins are trimmed even further. 

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Industry responds to Trump tariffs

Fallout from the on-going tariff trade war is squeezing textile mills and garment factories worldwide as US retailers and brands pressure their suppliers to offer significant order discounts that will eat into already thin profits.

REI, LL Bean, VF Corporation, Cotopaxi, Burton, and Vinyard Vines are just some of the US companies named by suppliers in contact with Ecotextile News, with documented evidence of discount demands.  The fear is that to service these discounts textile mills will cut corners on worker health, safety, wages, and scrap environmental programmes as suppliers struggle to make ends meet.

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