Uplifting Business Policies — Aleppo Garment Cluster (Aleppo)

Context
Aleppo’s garment makers—micro to medium—compete against waves of surplus/low-grade imports. Industry leadership stated that garments make up ~65% of Aleppo’s textile activity; it remains a pillar of local employment and recovery.

Problem
Local brands were losing shelf space because buyers could not distinguish compliant, durable products from grey-market lots. Factory floors had inconsistent QC; many lacked cut-plan discipline and end-of-line checks.

What we did

• Co-designed with the Aleppo Chamber of Industry a voluntary “Aleppo Quality Mark” tied to an 8-point QC pack (needle policy, fabric shrink tests, size spec, defect coding, metal detection for kidswear, etc.).
• Wrote a position paper asking importers to declare fabric GSM, fiber content, and wash-fastness on select HS lines.
• Ran line-balance workshops and introduced a two-bin defect tagging to shrink rework loops.

Evidence base used

• Local leadership data point (65%) and ILO recovery emphasis for textiles/garments in Aleppo.

Results (6 months)

• 27 factories adopted the QC pack; 19 earned the mark after audits.
• First-time-right rate improved from 82% → 93% across adopters.
• Retail returns fell 28% (sample of 11 brands, POS claims).
• Three wholesalers agreed to shelf-edge labels for marked goods, lifting sell-through by ~12% over 8 weeks.

Lesson
When regulation is slow, self-regulation + visible quality signals can quickly protect local share and rebuild buyer trust.