The ReDress Consultancy comments on the Vuvuzela and says it will soon become a must have fashion accessory but can it be claimed as Proudly South African?
One result of the Fifa 2010 Soccer tournament is the emergence of the Vuvuzela on the international stage. The Vuvuzela has become a new South African symbol. A symbol or sound of national unity or frustration that is debatable.
We will no doubt shortly see it on national and even international catwalks as a must have fashion accessory.
Creative fashion designers will find innovative ways to dress this cheap plastic tube with textiles and designs and even with branding from the fashion houses and designers of New York, Paris, Italy and the UK and not forgetting South Africa creating a new fashion market.
The question I ask can we claim it as a Proudly Made in South Africa iconic fashion accessory that will see an international audience? Furthermore, who will claim to be the originator? Will we have imported fashion with imported Vuvuzelas seen on our local catwalk? Will local designers camouflage this imported plastic tube with bead work and other traditional African craft and pass it as local? How will consumers determine which Vuvuzela is made in SA and which is imported? Do they have to have Made in labels like clothing? The fact that most of the Vuvuzela's seen at the World Cup were imported is another example of South African design been annexed by greed. Why import when they could have all been made here?
Even Though China did not feature in the soccer extravaganza Chinese factories gained in profits.
The fact that nearly 90% of the Vuvuzelas (some South African’s claim it is part of “our culture”) seen at the soccer World Cup games were made in China is appalling. It is not just the Vuvuzela that was made in China other products were also made by Chinese companies.
For more read below
Chinese factory steps up vuvuzela production
Tue Jun 22, 2010
By Royston Chan
NINGBO China (Reuters) - A Chinese factory making vuvuzelas is having to increase production to keep up with huge demand during the World Cup (June 11-July 11). Chinese manufacturers say almost 90 percent of the vuvuzelas used in South Africa are made in China. The Ninghai Jiying plastics factory based in the gritty eastern Chinese coastal city of Ningbo is one such manufacturer raking in the profits from the vuvuzelas.
Its general manager Wu Yijun said he has been trying to market the vuvuzela for a long time, and South Africa's successful bid for the World Cup was the turning point for them. "We had developed this vuvuzela trumpet in 2001, but we did not manage to sell it back then. During the 2006 World Cup in Germany, we did not manage to market it for the event, even when we sold other kinds of trumpets," Wu told Reuters.
"After South Africa was successful in its bid for the World Cup, we made our hardest push for the vuvuzela to be used for the tournament," he added. His factory also manufactures other plastic products such as toys and water bottles, but he said demand for the vuvuzela has pushed his production line into overdrive.
"With regards to the production volume, from January to April this year, we were producing 250,000 vuvuzelas every day to fill containers that are exported from Ningbo port," Wu said. "The production had stopped in April but there has been a gradual increase in our production in recent days. "We were making 10,000 vuvuzelas a day for the past few days and I estimate we will make 25,000 per day in the next few days. "The demand from the Chinese market alone is surpassing our production capability," he said.
© Thomson Reuters 2010
Made-in-China's at World Cup
June 23, 2010
China failed again to produce a soccer team that could qualify for the World Cup, but a Chinese firm made the list of official sponsors for the first time in history. YingLi Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE) is one of the eight 2010 World Cup sponsors. The company in Baoding, Hebei province, makes photovoltaic modules under the Yingli Solar brand. It presented what it calls the first carbon-neutral commercial display in FIFA history at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg. Yingli also provided solar flashlights as giveaways to journalists, for example, at the event. Yingli spent more than a reported $80 million on the sponsorship. A few more examples of made-in-China products at the World Cup, with at least some plastic content:
1. The official match ball, Adidas Jabulani, is molded from ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) and thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU). The balls are made in China by Taiwan-invested Jiujiang Si Mai Bo Sports Equipment Co. Ltd., using latex bladders made in India, thermoplastic polyurethane-elastomer from Taiwan, ethylene vinyl acetate, isotropic polyester/cotton fabric, glue and ink from China. The company has produced more than 12 million of the Jabulani - which means "bringing joy to everyone" in isiZulu.
2. China Dafeng Industry of Yuyao, Zhejiang, molded more than 40,000 plastic seats for the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
3. Reports say more than 90 percent of the plastic vuvuzelas used at the game are made in China. Chinese manufacturers said the profit averages only 0.20 yuan ($0.03) per piece.
4. Fu Ismail Semiconductor Precision Industry Co. Ltd. in Jiangsu province made for the South African government 50 large outdoor TV screens that measure 20 square meters (215 square feet) each. Fu Ismail is owned by Taiwan's Hon Hai Group. The screens are leased for a total of $1.1 million.
Posted by Nina Ying Sun
Reference http://plasticsnews.com/china/english/chinablog/
0 comments:
Post a Comment