WEAVING POSSIBILITIES Government, industry bodies and business are finally working together to find innovative ways to grow our textile and garment industry. By ANTHONY SHARPE
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outh Africa’s labour intensive, in a country where level of the investment and the part of the once-thriving textiles we are trying to bring down value chain in which the company operates.” industry has fallen unemployment,” says Thandi At the core of the master plan is recognition on hard times. Phele, acting deputy of the role of retailers in developing the According to InvestSA’s Cheap (and director-general for industry, partly because they are the ones 2020 textiles fact sheet, in illegal) imports, rising the DTIC’s Industrial that drive demand, but also to try and return 2017 South Africa imported labour costs, the Competitiveness some of the production lines to South more than R60-billion worth arrival of fast and Growth Division. Africa, onshore new products and rebuild of clothing, textiles, footwear fashion giants and “It’s a sector that economies of scale for local manufacturers, and leather (with duties expensive tariffs predominantly employs work on the supply chain to improve of up to 40 per cent), are just some of the and creates multiple competitiveness, and assist local factories representing between factors that saw more socioeconomic impacts in meeting retail demands. 60 and 70 per cent of those than 160 000 jobs lost and entrepreneurship goods sold here. in 15 years, according to opportunities for women.” industry researcher Simon Appel. INCENTIVISING INNOVATION It’s an issue role players across The CTCP comprises two incentive the industry are attempting to remedy through components, explains Phele – one to provide a combination of innovation, partnerships incentives to factories to invest in innovation and strategic repositioning. At the centre and development, and the other to support of these is the Department of Trade, cluster programmes. “We have focused on Industry and Competition (DTIC), which supporting companies in buying new machines, has been running the Clothing and Textiles modernising production processes, continuous Competitiveness Programme (CTCP) since training and human development capacity, Thandi 2009, and in 2019 launched the Retailand doing research and development. The level Phele Clothing, Textile, Footwear & Leather Master of incentive support differs depending on the Plan to guide the recovery and build new growth programmes. “The textiles, leather and footwear industry is a very important manufacturing sector – THANDI PHELE, ACTING DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL, DTIC INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT DIVISION in South Africa, partly because it’s so
FAST FACT
“FAST FASHION AND FASHION ON DEMAND REQUIRE QUICK RESPONSIVENESS. WE NEED TO REORIENT OUR FACTORIES SO THEY CAN SUPPLY WHAT RETAILERS ARE LOOKING FOR.”
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