(Bloomberg) -- Lunch break is over at Plummy Fashions on the outskirts of Dhaka, and the production line hums back to life. Workers return to their stations, inspecting seams and attaching tags to stacks of women’s black T-shirts destined for Zara stores across Europe.
A few steps away, another production hall is silent. Dozens of Juki sewing machines sit idle. Empty chairs line rows of white worktables. Nothing has moved here for three months.
“One of our buyers put polyester orders on hold, hoping prices would come down,” Managing Director Fazlul Hoque said when Bloomberg visited the factory in June.
The dormant factory floor offers a glimpse into how the Iran war is reshaping the global apparel supply chain. Not only are energy and freight costs rising — which can add up quickly as garment production typically involves multiple countries and dozens of steps — the prices of raw materials are, too. The cost of polyester, which is derived from fossil fuels, has surged, and cotton has spiked amid supply concerns, fertilizer shortages and worries that a powerful El Niño could affect harvests later this year. To make the math work, manufacturers are rethinking production processes and retailers are weighing price hikes against thinner margins.
