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[00:00.12]A new World Bank study says South Asian countries
[00:04.56]can improve economic conditions
[00:07.68]and provide millions of jobs for women
[00:11.32]by increasing the number of clothing factories.
[00:15.16]The cost to make clothing in China is rising.
[00:21.04]Factories in other countries can make clothes for a lower cost.
[00:27.52]The bank says countries like Vietnam and Cambodia
[00:32.88]are increasing clothing manufacturing jobs
[00:36.96]faster than South Asian countries like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
[00:45.20]But the study says lower costs and an increasing number of young workers
[00:53.84]give South Asian countries the chance to compete.
[00:58.68]Clothing manufacturing is a labor-intensive industry needing many workers.
[01:05.72]These jobs are important for an area where few women work outside the home.
[01:13.56]The share of women who are employed in clothing factories
[01:18.32]is much higher than in other industries.
[01:22.32]In Sri Lanka, about two-thirds of clothing factory workers are women.
[01:29.68]In India and Bangladesh, about one-third are.
[01:35.36]Onno Ruhl is the World Bank country director in India.
[01:42.56]He said the number of women working in the country
[01:46.44]has been dropping over the last 10 to 15 years.
[01:51.16]"It is a trend we would really like to see reversed in India," he said.
[01:59.08]The World Bank study found that in countries where more girls and women work,
[02:06.64]marriages take place later in life.
[02:10.28]Women have fewer children.
[02:12.80]They eat better food and their children are more likely to go to school.
[02:20.28]All these help an economy grow.
[02:25.04]Wages are an important issue for the clothing manufacturing industry.
[02:31.60]Workers in Bangladesh are paid about 50 cents an hour
[02:37.18]while Indian workers are paid more than one dollar.
[02:42.80]That is much less than the amount workers in China are paid -- about $2.50 an hour.
[02:52.76]Clothing manufacturing jobs can improve the lives of women.
[02:59.20]But working conditions in the industry are of great concern
[03:05.04]and are being watched by groups around the world.
[03:10.28]Conditions in the industry were recognized as a major issue in 2013,
[03:17.80]when an eight-story building in Bangladesh collapsed.
[03:22.92]More than 1,100 clothing workers died.
[03:27.56]The collapse increased attention on dangerous working conditions in the industry.
[03:34.44]About five million people work in the industry
[03:38.12]according to the World Bank study,
[03:41.44]which is called "Stitches to Riches? Apparel Employment,
[03:46.72]Trade, and Economic Development in South Asia."
[03:51.12]Several million more work informally in smaller factories or businesses
[03:59.48]that may not be known to government officials or inspectors.
[04:05.56]The study says clothing manufacturing
[04:08.84]can be a valuable industry for development.
[04:13.44]But it also says there is a need for industry supervision,
[04:18.80]better wages and higher-value products.
[04:23.32]I'm Christopher Jones-Cruise.