The ReDress Consultancy
South Africa’s fashion sector once again missed an opportunity to highlight specific “fashion-nomics” that are hindering this vital link within the apparel and textile value-chain.
Africa Fashion International through the Africa Fashion Awards could have used this platform to create awareness about one issue that is impacting on the industry providing an educational platform for fashion consumers and that is the illegal imports flooding our country. Is this lack of dealing with fashion economic issues using the outreach that events such as the Africa Fashion Awards presents is not addressed because it is not fashionable, glamorous and just very boring? Or is it because those involved in the industry and socialites that attend these events either do not have a comprehensive understanding of the complexities that intertwines and cross-stitches our apparel sector and or just do not have an interest in this layer of fashion?
Millions and millions of illegal fashion related items enter this country and find their way into both the formal and informal sector. Yes, government, SARS and other related bodies are attempting to deal with the matter and yes containers of illegal good have been detained. However, our fashion sector that has an influential platform can find innovative ways to create more public awareness about the damage these illegal operations have on our designers not only in South Africa but across the continent as well as the negative impact they have on the industry as a whole?
For these syndicates that operate and flood our market with counterfeit products it is all a numbers game. For every container that is detained a number get through. We are still to hear of any company or individual going to prison. Do they just get a fine and continue with their illicit operations? They need to be named and shamed. We may all be surprised if these organizations and suppliers were named to discover that we may be aiding them by using them as suppliers. A further question that is in need of being asked is what happens to the tons of garments that are confiscated? Do they somehow find their way back onto the streets; are they burnt or donated to charities? Action against these syndicates must not only be at the point of entry. We must find mechanisms to trace their Asian suppliers and isolate them as well.
At conferences, workshops and in the press we continually hear designers, the industry and the unions bemoaning the difficulties our apparel sector faces yet as a collective the fashion sector as one entity of our apparel sector seems incapable of mobilizing and taking the initiative in contributing to curbing the surge of illegal counterfeit imports through the many fashion weeks we have in this country. It is time that developmental fashion or as I coined it “fashion-nomics” becomes fashionable by creating innovative styles to tackle this one of many challenges fashion faces.
2 comments:
Comment: It all begins with compliance - from the authorities....and the importers. It is an international fact that FAKE goods are produced in factories world wide. Electronic goods, clothing, textiles...intellectual property designes et al. South Africa is not immune to these international problems - we have porous borders, we have scams of semi-construction of clothing done in China and finished off in SA/Lesotho/Swaziland...Zimbabwe - all are part of SACU - but this union is supported by SA tax payers money - and almost R20 BILLION of the taxpayers money is pumped into this union to keep it going. In fact is SA did away with this customs union, saved our R20 Billion rands - most of the factories in these areas would collapse, as would the manufacturing sectors completely. The full story is that South AFrica Authorities prosecute importers they can find - BUT turn a blind eye to their trading partners that they actually support. These trading partners commit and perpetuate human rights violations against their workers and country people - WHY cause, these neighbouring countries do not respect human rights, they do not allow unions to work in their countries.
DOUBLE STANDARDS -
As a country the rot is Deep, embeded, and self serving. How do you stop giving your neighbours R20 billion? How do you help their manufacturing industries and scammers collapse?
There needs to be open honest discussion on the problem and it stems from COMPLIANCE, with issues that are complex, but that have been imbeded before this new South Africa was established. Our Government need to open and re-discuss these issues and decide IF A SACU is in the best intrests of a soverign country.
Article title: South Africa's fashion industry must take action against illegal imports
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Comment: Renato, in part I agree with you - BUT - we should remember that AFI are a privately funded company and they exist purely for PROFIT. This said, their agenda is to stage fashion weeks...drive bums to seats and be a showcase for the theatre of fashion...make profit.....Nothing more.
Most people feel they are losing their edge, as their motive is pure profit -AFI always seek to make profit - and therefore they partner with Cape Town Fashion Council...and others to bump up their revenue. I doubt, that they are willing to take a stand on these imports.
It is not in their best intrests, and I do not blame them, either.
FAKE imports world wide is possibly larger than the real business of fashion. It is so easy for a small/large operators in China, Vietnam, etc. to "sell off" overruns, that they have produced for the REAL BRANDED company. I personally blame the BRANDED companies for creating this 2nd tier economy of "cheap goods" - they do not control production, volume of goods manufactured and exported to them in their first world enviornments. They cancel orders at the last moment if they are not doing too well and the "cheap" manufacturers in China...East ...are left with the "goods" that they have paid to have made - how do they get rid of it? By selling it discount to anyone who wishes to buy.
It lands up being dumped on international web portals...sold to retailers who are not too shy to pay $1.00 for an item they should be paying $20 for...and so the cycle goes on.
WTO regulations are ineffective in policing these fake goods, as is the importing countries.
Volumes of goods, at the docks of origin and docks of landed goods are far too busy to play policeman.
It is really up to the larger owners of these branded goods to make sure they have every inch accounted for, that they judiciously watch the scraps from the fabrics, and branding - and of course enter into legal binding agreements with their manufactures to protect their property and intellectual property rights.
As said before it begins with COMPLIANCE - from the time the factories are surveyed by their international customers, right down to how they deal with over-runs etc. What will become very important soon in the entire supply chain will be a small RFID - chip for each product maunfactured with factory of origin, contents, compliance certificate number, and also end importer/reseller.......this is only a matter of time before this technology becomes standard.
Tesco and other retailers in the UK are already using this and the customers can view or rather check the entire lifecycle of the products they wish to purchase, (where it is made, contents, dyes used etc)
Hooray Technology, is finally shrinking the world. I have been watching these developments for some time and have attempted to share the knowledge with anyone intrested in SA - but to no avail. We are still approx 15 years behind the rest of the world in this development.
Until, WTO and all the nations affiliated to organisation, agree on simple changes - this will never be a perfect world.
How do we stop this happening in our back yards? Simple, educate, educate and keep on talking and having dialogue. The government cannot have this dialogue, they are there to govern.......therefore it begins with US.
WE CHANGE THINGS.
WE CREATE FORUMS like ifashion.co.za that DO NOT MAKE MONEY - that are not in this for pure profit. We CHANGE THINGS - and create awareness, and educate our designers/factory owners/manufactures to gather together, formulate a vital "vigilante" group and then we advise government to fight the rot in allowing these fake imports.
IT STARTS WITH US - CONSUMER/MANUFACTURER/DESGINERS/MEMBERS OF PUBLIC............
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