As Ethical Trading Issues Dominate Headlines, Apparel Industry Turns to Specialized Solutions

With fashion companies facing increased exposure to a range of social and ethical issues in the supply chain, iPad applications by DeSL, the apparel industry web solutions firm, have been designed to ensure ethical compliance and enable inspection teams to perform stringent product and quality audits at factory locations. To date, a number of companies have embraced DeSL's applications to help manage their ethical trading process. In January 2013, swimwear manufacturer A. H Schreiber implemented DeSL's solutions to help manage its supplier relationship process.

The DeSL application offers a simple and thorough way for clothing companies and fashion brands to fulfil this due diligence, preventing the likelihood of negative publicity as a result of potential negligence in social and ethical management, such as health and safety issues. The solution is built around the concept of close collaboration between vendor and company, sharing required information and processes via the Internet. Many vendors are remotely located, in disparate time zones, so a real-time web-based solution overcomes many obstacles.

Colin Marks, CEO of DeSL, says, "All processes from start to finish are managed by the application using a real time web based solution, backed up by iPad/Android, off line, synchronised apps. Many factory locations do not have good Internet access, using this technology enables work to be completed off-line at the factory, then simply backed up to the system when Internet becomes accessible. Our solution is extremely functionally rich incorporating inspection requirements management, critical path tracking and performance inspection."

Colin continued, "The beginning of 2013 has already seen a number of ethical trading issues hit the headlines. The consequences of poor ethical trading processes are enormous, often a company will genuinely think they have all the boxes ticked, when in fact nothing could be further from the truth. We would ask any fashion company that has a desire to strengthen its ethical trading process to contact us now to see how we can help."