Essay Sample on Coronavirus Epidemic: Profound Effects on Society, Economy

Introduction

It is important to note that the coronavirus epidemic will have profound effects on society as well as various economies in general. It cannot be denied that the spread of this new coronavirus has led to the unimaginable public health crisis that is already posing severe risks to economies through the decline in the production activities, cut-off in the supply chains as well as interrupting of movement of labor and people in general (Koshle et al., 2020). Besides the devastating effects of COVID-19 on human life, this virus has a greater potential to greatly slow down not only the Chinese economy where it began but also the world economy. However, because for a long time, China has acted as the primary manufacturing center of several business operations globally, including textiles, the coronavirus disruption has meant that the effects have been felt globally through interruption of both global and regional value chains (Koshle et al., 2020). The report aims to show the various effects and influences of COVID-19 on the worldwide textile industry.

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Globally, since the outbreak of COVI-19 commenced in China, the textile and apparel industry has equally greatly felt its impacts just like other economic sectors. Most companies whose textile industries depend entirely on China as the manufacturing center as well as the market for their textile products. As a result, this massive reliance on China has been exposed as a significant risk and weakness for most textile industries across the world (Koshle et al., 2020). However, this should be understood because China has been embraced as a cheap manufacturing source, and therefore, like other industries, China is ranked as the largest textile producing country.

As workers in China have been prevented from work because of COVI-19, the dependency has been proved to be quite catastrophic for most textile industries across the world. As a result, there have been massive delays in the supply chain in the manufacturing sector of the textile industries (Koshle et al., 2020). These delays are very challenging in the fashion industry because, in most cases, the clothes are sold during specific seasons. For this reason, most companies that receive the textile raw materials may charge such manufacturers for the delays, or they may decide to mark down these textile products. Coronavirus has greatly affected textile industries that mainly deal with private labels or one brand of product because it is difficult for such industries to switch suppliers. The fast-fashion textiles that are trend-focused will also likely be affected (Koshle et al., 2020). It cannot be denied that because of COVID-19, the period from design to delivery of these products has dramatically been reduced and therefore, there is limited time such that if there is any delay, then there cannot be any margin built-in hence compromising the quality of textile products that are being produced currently.

Another significant influence of COVID-19 on textile industries that should be mentioned is the challenges that are posed on the other side of the production chain, and that is the decrease in consumer demand (Koshle et al., 2020). For any product, losing consumer contact is one of the greatest perils that any business can face. Textile industries are not an exception in this case. Currently, luxury textile markets are already facing severe effects because of COVI-19. The downturn in consumer purchase is attributed to the fact that most consumers have been confined in their various homes to avoid the spread of the coronavirus and also to focus on their health. Therefore, they are not shopping for luxury fashion textile products hence affecting textile industries globally (Koshle et al., 2020).

Most importantly, the textile industries that were reasonably stable before the outbreak of COVID-19 will most likely recover from the effects of the coronavirus. However, industries that were struggling before the outbreak of COVID-19 will surely find it a difficult task to bounce back to their feet (Koshle et al., 2020). The loss of consumers, who are quite unforgiving sometimes coupled with the loss of financial strength as well as the loss of employees, will be a major peril to these industries.

Another influence of COVID-19 on the textile industry is the loss of jobs by the employees who were employed in such industries. The outbreak of the virus has meant that workers stay in their homes to avoid its spread, and this means that hundreds of millions of workers in the textile industries across the world have become jobless (Koshle et al., 2020). As a result, the employee demand in the most affected regions has decreased because many textile industries have shut down. Alternatively, coronavirus has affected even the areas in which the pandemic has not affected because of the disruption in the supply chain of the raw materials that are used in the textile industries mainly because China is the primary manufacturer of such raw materials (Koshle et al., 2020).

Because of the outbreak of COVID-19 that caught the world unawares, the textiles products that had already been produced waiting for distribution to various parts of the world have also been significantly affected (Koshle et al., 2020). For example, China is the biggest driver in the textile industry had produced a lot of textile products to be shipped to various destinations globally. As a result, the supply has surpassed the limited demand hence leading to the already existing products in the market fetching low prices (Koshle et al., 2020).

Conclusion

In conclusion, this virus has affected not only textile industries but also the global economy, which comprise of several sectors. Because of its effects, COVID-19 has almost single-handedly brought the whole global economy to its knees. As mentioned above, textile industries globally have halted their operations. The employees are no longer working because of the fear of this virus, production cost has surged because of disruption of the supply chain, and the industry has also lost contact with the customers, which is an essential aspect in any business setting.

Reference

Koshle, H., Kaur, R., & Basista, R. (2020). Breakdown of Business and Workers: Impact of Corona Virus on fashion industry. https://fashionunited.com/specials/coronavirus-apparel-industry.