𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐃 𝐃𝐏𝐏-𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐨𝐬.

On 7 September, CARE ID and Association of the Lao Garment Industry (ALGI) co-hosted 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐏𝐏-𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐒𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐞, opening the pilot phase of our KOICA Creative Technology Solution (CTS) project to build 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐨 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲.

We were grateful to welcome representatives of KOICA Lao PDR, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (Center of Standardization and Metrology, Department of Foreign Trade, Department of Industry and Handicraft), Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Zero Waste Laos, and colleagues from more than twenty garment manufacturers across Laos. Thank you to everyone who joined this meaningful start; the full list of participating organisations is in the first comment.

The seminar introduced 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐔'𝐬 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐄𝐒𝐏𝐑), 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐏𝐏-𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐞: 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐃'𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬. As EU buyers will increasingly ask for product-level data, Lao manufacturers have an opportunity to build readiness early and turn it into a competitive position.

Our pilot runs with local fashion brands LeLao and Her Works Private Limited, and two production sites. In the days after the seminar, we installed DPP-Lite at both factories and ran hands-on workshops with the people who will use it every day:

• 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬, a small studio and local brand, working in Finished Garment Batch mode

• 𝐊𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐤 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, a factory of around 260 production workers across six sewing lines, working in Line/Batch mode

Over the next three months, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞: 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐏𝐏 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲'𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. At the end of the pilot period we will bring the data together, produce garments carrying CARE ID's DPP linked to Tier 1 production data, and share the results at showcase events in November and December. Stay tuned!