PESTLE ANALYSIS FOR THE GLOBAL & LOCAL FASHION INDUSTRY
Submitted by: (List members’ names)
PESTLE DIMENSION GLOBAL
POLITICAL Influential politicians, their spouses and many
celebrities from around the world have
adopted fashion as outward expressions of
their political opinions (Whitfield, 2019).
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ECONOMIC While extreme poverty around the world has
been slowly declining (World Bank, 2018),
global multidimensional poverty levels remain
grim. Of the 1.3 billion people who are
multidimensionally poor, more than two-
thirds of them—886 million—live in middle-
income countries (UNDP, 2019).
LOCAL
Through the Industry Development Program
(IDP) of the Duterte government’s
Manufacturing Resurgence Program, the
Board of Investment is formulating a
Roadmap for the Garments and Textile
Industry so that the country’s garment
industry can gain back its reputation as a
competitive player in both domestic and
international markets (Board of Investment,
2018).
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In INSEAD's latest Global Talent
Competitiveness Index report, the Philippines
is top-ranked in the income category of lower-
middle income countries. However, the
country scored lowest in the talent retention
sub-index (ABS-CBN News, 2020). This
benchmark study refers to the set of policies
OPPORTUNITY OR THREAT?
The practice of using fashion as a vehicle for
political propaganda is both an opportunity
and a threat. This can spur patronage from
buyers whose political views are aligned with
the brand’s. However, customers whose
personal politics are different from the brand’s
or clients who prefer to remain apolitical may
be turned off by this practice. Meanwhile, the
Duterte administration’s efforts in bringing
back the lost glory of the local garment
industry through legislations and incentive
programs is obviously an opportunity for
entrepreneurs who believe in the industry’s
potential.
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The sustained rise in global consumption for
clothes and accessories continue to be
opportunities for fashion entrepreneurs to
provide gainful employment and decent
working conditions to both the unemployed
and underemployed. Locally, the failure of
Filipino entrepreneurs to retain their much-
 Multidimensional poverty encompasses the
various deprivations experienced by poor
people in their daily lives – such as poor
health, lack of education, inadequate living
standards, disempowerment, poor quality of
work, the threat of violence, and living in
areas that are environmentally hazardous,
among others (OPHI, 2020).
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SOCIAL Worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since
1975 (WHO, 2020).
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and practices which enable a country to
develop, attract, retain, and empower its
citizens to contribute towards nationwide
productivity as well as prosperity (Cigaral,
2019).
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Millennials (those aged between 16 and 34)
have the highest proportion of new clothing;
42% of millennials say they have purchased at
least half of the clothes that they own in the
past year alone. This compares with 28% of
baby boomers (those over 55) that say the
same (YouGov, 2017).
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needed talent is a serious threat to a firm’s
competitiveness since skilled labor is lost and
productivity is thus threatened.
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The continuous increase in the number of
overweight individuals in many parts of the
world may be regarded as an opportunity to
manufacture more options for plus-size
clothing. In another light, demand for
inexpensive, trendy clothes for the mass
market remains unabated in the Philippines so
this can be an opportunity for entrepreneurs to
continue manufacturing fashionable garments
at an affordable price.
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TECHNOLOGICAL Big data and artificial intelligence (AI) are
now emerging as critical tools in studying the
unique tastes of global consumers so that their
buying behaviors and preferences can be
predicted well before fashion products are
designed and prepped for production (Kumar,
2016).
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LEGAL Protectionist and retaliatory trade agendas
pertaining to tariffs as well as quotas by
countries like the United States and China will
result in many goods becoming scarce, or
expensive, or probably both. (Amed,
Balchandani, Beltrami, Berg, Hedrich, &
Rölkens, 2019). Also, trade embargos against
certain countries may also result in fluctuating
prices for certain raw materials like fuel and
textile (Suttle, 2020).
Filipinos are increasingly reliant on tech-
based solutions to manage their personal and
professional lives (Escarial-Go and G, 2017).
This has enabled pop cultures from around the
world, like K-Fashion (Sanchez, 2017), to
manifest itself in purchasing decisions through
Information and Communication Technology-
driven globalization.
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Garment manufacturers, exporters, and
subcontractors need to abide by a new set of
government guidelines that require
compliance with global labor standards if they
are to benefit from preferential tariffs (Wright,
2017). This development prompted 28
garment unions in the Philippines to make
coordinated efforts in ensuring that
multinational corporations engaged in apparel
manufacturing are respectful of workers’
rights and complaint in all labor laws
(IndustriAll, 2018).
The use of analytics and AI to predict the
buying behaviors of fashion consumers is an
opportunity for entrepreneurs to rely on
quantifiable data that scientifically forecasts
the market’s behavior before launching a
collection. This increases the likelihood of
purchase for a firm’s intended product or
service offerings. Meanwhile, fashion firm
owners in the Philippines without an online
presence should be threatened by Pinoy
consumers whose consumption attitudes
towards apparel are increasingly influenced
by what they can see and purchase online.
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Fashion relies heavily on a global supply
chain since no country can provide all
building blocks needed in manufacturing a
product or rendering a service. The
uncertainty brought about by trade wars are a
threat to the stability of global prices for raw
materials and finished goods. Meanwhile, the
enhanced labor laws in the Philippines
designed to protect workers’ rights is an
opportunity to improve labor standards in the
country as well as upgrade the nation’s image
before a global audience clamoring for better
working conditions.
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ENVIRONMENTAL The global fashion industry leaves behind a
great environmental footprint along its supply
chain and life cycle (Chavan, 2018). In
particular, apparel production and textile
manufacturing have both been considered as
some of the most widely polluting processes
in modern-day manufacturing (Nayak,
Panwar, Van Thang Nguyen, 2020).
Most workers in small-scale garment
businesses in Cebu do not enjoy stable income
nor legally-required benefits such as vacation
leaves. And while there’s been an increase in
environmental awareness, landfills are
steadily piling up. In the Philippines alone,
29% of clothes which were used just once are
thrown away (Salvosa, 2019).
The insatiable appetite of global consumers
for anything and (almost) everything related to
fashion is clearly a threat to the ecosystem
since most garments are either incinerated or
landfilled. Moreover, the toxic chemicals
used in dyeing fabrics are inevitably absorbed
by the soil and waterways as early as
production all the way up to the point of
disposal.

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REFERENCES:

ABS-CBN News (2020). GTCI 2020: Philippines ranks 1st in income category of lower-middle income countries. Retrieved 25 January 2020 from: https://news.abs-
cbn.com/video/news/01/23/20/gtci-2020-philippines-ranks-1st-in-income-category-of-lower-middle-income-countries
Amed, I., Balchandani, A., Beltrami, M., Berg, A., Hedrich, S., and Rölkens, F. (2019 February). The fashion market and ‘Trade 2.0’. Retrieved 25 January 2020 from
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-fashion-market-and-trade-2-0
Board of Investment (2018). PH garments and textile industry gears up to jumpstart resurgence. Retrieved 25 January 2020 from:
http://boi.gov.ph/ph-garments-and-textile-industry-gears-up-to-jumpstart-resurgence/
Chavan, R. B. (2018). Analysis of Fashion Industry Business Environment. Trends in Textile & Fashion Design 2(4)-2018. LTTFD.MS.ID.000144. DOI: 10.32474/LTTFD.2018.02.000144.
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filipinos-behave
IndustriAll (2018). Garment unions in the Philippines to promote rights in the supply chain. Retrieved 25 January 2020 from: http://www.industriall-union.org/garment-unions-in-the-philippines-
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Kumar, R (2016). 6 Technology Trends That Will Impact Fashion Industry. Entrepreneur (India). Retrieved 25 January 2020 from: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/273353
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fashion
Sanchez, C.J. (2017). K-fashion and Technology-driven Globalization in the Philippine Setting. Proceedings of the 1st Ateneo Korean Studies Junior Conference and Career Talk. Manila,
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Suttle, R. (2020). The Macroenvironmental Factors Affecting the Clothing Industry. Retrieved 25 January 2020 from: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/macroenvironmental-factors-affecting-
clothing-industry-37254.html
United Nations Development Program (2019). The 2019 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). Retrieved 25 January 2020 from: http://hdr.undp.org/en/2019-MPI
Whitfield, Z. (2019). What Does It Mean To Be Political With Fashion In 2019? Retrieved 25 January 2020 from: https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/politics-in-fashion
Worldbank (2018). Decline of Global Extreme Poverty Continues but Has Slowed: World Bank. Retrieved 25 January 2020 from: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-
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World Health Organization (2018 February 16). Obesity and overweight. Retrieved 25 January 2020 from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight
Wright, B. (2017). Philippines to Issue Garment Industry Guidelines. In just-style.org. Retrieved 25 January 2020 from: https://www.just-style.com/news/philippines-to-issue-garment-industry-
guidelines_id131334.aspx
YouGov (2017 December 06). Fast fashion: a third of Filipinos have thrown away clothing after wearing it just once. Retrieved 25 January 2020 from: https://ph.yougov.com/en-
ph/news/2017/12/06/fast-fashion/