This report is the culmination of four years of research in the Australian textiles and fashion space. It takes a systems transformation approach - using an evidence-informed framework to detail a set of practical pathways, to increase and regulate textile transparency, traceability and verification towards achieving the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The research in this report reveals that garment workers in Bangladesh and Cambodia – two prominent garment producing countries for the Australian market – are not earning enough to cover basic living costs for their families during COVID-19.

This report argues that to speed the development of alternate sourcing hubs that are free of forced labor, public and private actors must coordinate to encourage long-term investment in new locations, and international human rights and environmental standards must form a fundamental element of the strategy.

This report first explores the need for supply chain traceability, current approaches, and the challenges the apparel and textile industry faces with forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region context. It goes on to discusses a number of new initiatives and technologies, exploring the roles they might play within an effective traceability scheme.

CSIS spent the past year studying how Australia and India have grown their creative sectors and consider how foreign assistance and development aid tools can help other Indo-Pacific countries build capacity in their creative economies. This report focuses on four major creative industries—film and television, gaming, music, and fashion—that have adjusted well to the pandemic...