Signs of new life emerging in fashion industry

By DITA DE BONI

A new pattern for a re-emerging fashion industry will need to be blueprinted if apparel and textile manufacturing is to survive.

That verdict was handed down last week by rag trade royalty in Auckland, who assembled to debate the state of apparel manufacturing in New Zealand and question if education providers were turning out the right graduates to revive an ailing infrastructure.

The conference, organised by the Apparel and Textile Federation, hoped to reach some conclusions about the "redesign" needed for the domestic industry to survive the challenges of cheap offshore manufacturing, as well as training and education shortfalls.

Other issues discussed included the Employment Relations Bill, the "chaos" in Australia caused by the introduction of GST and how technology would transform manufacturing, design and throughput of garments.

Federation head Paul Blomfield said he believed the Government was keen to get people working and exporting, and hoped the recent loss of business confidence did not become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

He said problems securing machinists and technical and retail expertise would hamper the development of the industry unless urgently addressed.

A huge drop in apparel and textile workers has occurred in New Zealand since 1987, when import tariffs started falling away. Thirteen years ago there were 18,000 workers - today just 8400 remain after a rash of closures, including the emigration of Bendon's manufacturing plants.

Tony Heart, of swimwear-maker Moontide, said: "When we advertise for jobs, the people we get are around 45 [years old], and our workers are around the 40 mark. When I look at those workers, I wonder who are we going to get to replace them?"

Freight forwarding and custom broking specialist Daniel Silva said despite New Zealand's recent emphasis on its high-profile designers, "we have to accept that they are not going to create plenty of jobs for New Zealanders."

But there were several at the conference who reported thriving production lines, with many saying they noticed a re-entrance of younger workers into the trade.

Uniform and industry clothing producer Dean Apparel said it always looked at where it could save costs, but decided an investment in machinery and training a New Zealand workforce was profitable, despite low labour costs offshore, such as in Fiji, where apparel factory workers make 90c to $1.50 an hour.

Donna Whittle, managing director of Rag Trade Recruitment, said the aim of several recent conferences with those in tertiary institutions had been to "get education realigned with industry."

She said the four sectors of the industry - manufacturing, design, retail and import - had specific requirements and expertise was needed in all fields.