The fashion industry, one of the hardest hit during the pandemic, has been experiencing job losses and store closures ever since lockdowns began.
The British Fashion Council (BFC) has raised concerns about new data that reveals over 240,000 jobs being at risk in the coming months in the fashion industry. BFC is now calling for support from the Government to safeguard their interests.
The data, released by Oxford Economics, suggests that the recession caused by COVID-19 restrictions could potentially wipe out the growth the fashion industry in the country has achieved in the past decade, and that Britain is likely to be hit twice as hard by the recession as compared to UK overall. That’s a shocker!
The British fashion industry employed a total of 890,000 people in 2019 out of which 240,000 jobs could be at risk.
The same number could rise to a whopping 350,000 if workers indirectly linked to the industry through supply chains are taken into account, making up around 1 per cent of all jobs in UK.
The BFC has a list of seven suggestions that the Government can act on including help in re-negotiation of lease agreements, long-term interest-free loans, supporting SMEs, providing moratorium on taxes and tariffs, setting up funds for supporting research and investment in fashion, among others.
In a statement, BFC appreciated the measures already taken by the Government to support the people but claimed that several fashion businesses did not have proper access to the schemes.
Dedicated actions towards the industry will help avert crisis and save jobs of thousands as retailers continue to struggle to keep businesses alive.
