Garment industry responds to eco pleas

In response to a recent letter it received from an island business, the Saipan Garment Manufacturers Association (SGMA) has vowed to increase awareness of the need to protect the island’s environment among garment factory employees. Through the efforts of SGMA’s Community Action Committee, the association is working to keep the environment cleaner for residents and visitors alike.

Last month, Chris Nelson of Marianas Trekking, a company located in Marpi that allows tourists to partake in various eco-adventures such as mountain biking and hiking, wrote a letter to SGMA expressing concern about the way guest workers care for the island.

After a recent employee party at Wing Beach attended by garment workers, Mr. Nelson asserted, trash was left behind. Mr. Nelson said he believes it is imperative to educate guest workers, and the entire community, about the importance of picking up one’s own trash, … especially when tourism plays such an important role in our economy,” he said.

“We agreed with Mr. Nelson, so we immediately alerted our Garment Community Action Committee. Anthony Taisacan, the committee chair, convened a meeting and within four hours, an intensive cleaning effort was underway at Wing Beach by garment factory workers,” said SGMA executive director Richard A. Pierce.

According to Mr. Pierce, the incident is expected to be documented in Saipan’s Chinese newspaper, which is heavily read by the many Chinese factory workers on the island. “Hopefully they will come to understand that it is illegal to litter and that it is in the best interests of everyone’s enjoyment to keep the beaches clean and beautiful.”

In response to community requests for assistance in addressing problems associated with the Commonwealth’s necessary nonresident workforce, SGMA formed the Garment Community Action Committee in August of this year. The committee, comprised of resident managers from several factories, is tasked with assisting the community, the companies and the employees of SGMA’s 30 member businesses.

Through action assessments and the resident managers’ liaison function between their companies and the community, GCAC focuses on matters such as traffic and pedestrian safety, theft of agricultural products, littering, residents’ complaints about generator noise, and other matters where the garment industry’s workforce impacts the residential community.