Haiti’s garment manufacturing sector, which had been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise gloomy economic picture, contracted significantly in 2023 as the escalating security crisis deterred international buyers, disrupted supply chains, and made normal factory operations increasingly difficult. Several major international brands that had been sourcing garments from Haitian factories announced reductions in their Haiti orders, citing supply reliability concerns in a security environment that made production continuity impossible to guarantee.
Factory operators in the industrial parks north of Port-au-Prince reported that reaching their facilities was increasingly challenging as gang activity along access roads created risks for workers and for the movement of goods. Some days when security conditions were particularly bad, factories could not open at all, leaving workers without income and orders unfulfilled. The cumulative impact of these disruptions on production volumes and buyer confidence was severe.
Workers who depended on garment factory wages for their livelihoods — predominantly women from working-class communities around Port-au-Prince — faced the compounding insecurity of a dangerous commute, reduced working hours due to security closures, and the ever-present risk that the factory they worked for would lose its international contracts entirely. The garment sector had provided formal employment and relative income stability for tens of thousands of Haitian women; its contraction threatened to push many of those workers into the informal economy’s increasingly difficult conditions.
Industry advocates called for specific security measures to protect industrial zones and access routes, arguing that the garment sector’s contribution to formal employment and export earnings made it a strategic priority deserving dedicated protection. They noted that competitors in other low-cost manufacturing countries were benefiting from Haiti’s instability by attracting orders that would otherwise have gone to Haitian factories.