Apparel Brands Aim to Make Southeast Asia a Fashion Hub

In an effort to promote Southeast Asia as a fashion hub, twenty leading global apparel brands — including Marks & Spencer, H&M, Mango, Polo Ralph Lauren, Guess and VF — will meet with Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) textile and garment manufacturers in Thailand this June.

The business matching event is being organized by the Source Asean Full Service Alliance (SAFSA), a group that facilitates alliances between downstream material suppliers and other upstream suppliers. SAFSA aims to make Asean a manufacturing base for international textile and garment suppliers by taking advantage of the tariff elimination under the Asean Free-Trade Agreement.

Asean partner manufacturers are located primarily in Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Vietnam.