The gross domestic product (GDP) of the textile and textile products (TPT) industry is experiencing a decline. In fact, this industry is one sector that provides a large income to the country. Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), in the first quarter of 2023, the TPT industry's GDP growth rate was 0.07 percent, slowing compared to the previous year of 3.61 percent (year on year). The TPT industry's GDP contribution to national GDP in Quarter I-2023 also decreased to 1.01 percent when compared to Quarter I-2022 of 1.10 percent.

As a result, there has been a significant reduction in the workforce in the TPT industry. Until now, there has been a reduction in the workforce in the form of Termination of Employment (PHK) in the textile industry sector up to 70 thousand people.

Member of the Legislative Body (Baleg) of the DPR RI Muhammad Farhan said that currently the Baleg is discussing the draft law on clothing for the future sustainability of the Indonesian TPT industry.

From the various visits and discussions he conducted, Farhan received a lot of input regarding the problem of declining TPT industry growth.

"This bill is being discussed because it is a proposal from the government, especially the Ministry of Industry. We really want good clothing security in Indonesia," said Farhan, while attending the Textile Discussion Club (TDC) at the STTT Bandung Polytechnic Campus, Friday (25/8/2023) .

According to him, the bill is like a double-edged sword. First, the bill must be able to ensure adequate clothing for the community. On the other hand, availability must also have a positive impact on the textile industry.

Drafting the Clothing Bill is a huge challenge because so far Indonesia has been very open to imports of textile products and raw materials. So, he said, the regulation must provide positive stimulation to the textile industry.

Currently, he said, the discussion on the Clothing Bill has included the formation of a working committee (panja) involving the government and the Indonesian Parliament.

A number of data have begun to be collected from TPT industry players. Input from associations, business actors, and related parties began to be collected.

From the incoming data, one of the problems in the TPT industry is the difficulty of obtaining capital from banks. This happened because the bank considered the industry to be in the vulnerable category with changes in policy.