Apparel-producing areas in Asia will be underwater by 2030 unless they relocate to higher ground, study warns
- The analysis warns that the problem of rising sea levels is receiving little attention
- Smaller-scale suppliers would be most affected, the paper said, highlighting the example of Bangladesh
Large swathes of apparel-producing areas in Asia will be underwater by 2030, an analysis released on Friday showed, threatening thousands of suppliers with submersion unless they relocate to higher ground.
The analysis, which overlaid maps of rising sea levels onto factory locations, warns that the problem of rising sea levels is receiving little attention from those leading sustainability efforts in the sector. The analysis was produced by two Cornell researchers as part of a paper commissioned by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
“Rapid increases in sea level rise and heat that will affect many of Asia’s apparel workers directly have received little attention,” authors Jason Judd and J. Lowell Jackson of Cornell research centre the New Conversations Project wrote.
“It appears some of apparel’s production centres representing a significant percentage of current output will not escape the projected acceleration of the climate crisis.”
While larger, transnational suppliers might be able to shut down facilities in vulnerable areas and consolidate production on higher ground, smaller-scale suppliers would be most affected, the paper’s authors said, highlighting the example of Bangladesh, the second-largest apparel exporter.
