South Africa's largest clothing company to shed more workers

South Africa- 24 July 2010

More jobs lost in South Africa’s clothing sector

Commentary from The ReDress Consultancy

The largest South African clothing group, Seardel is considering the need to dismiss a further 800 of its staff from its division that make bras.

This is another wake-up call for government and the South African Clothing and Textile Union. There is so much potential for business and employment growth in the South African clothing, textile and fashion sectors, however, these sectors face unrealistic competition from Asia. Maybe it is time to institute restrictions on clothing imports and encourage local development. I do not fully agree with the argument that this will increase the retail price of clothing and “the poor” will not be in a position to afford such price hikes therefore, an entire industry and thousands of jobs must be lost.  We need to excavate and unpack the meaning of “the poor” and define this sector of the population. Where do they buy and what do they buy? What is their spending on apparel?

The membership of the clothing union is hemorrhaging. It is time that they use some creativity in finding mechanisms to sustain and grow jobs. The days of 1980s union activity is over. Engage with South African consumers do not alienate them. Tell them, show them what it is important to support local design and made clothing.

There is required an effort of intellectual and emotional activism by industry, government, the union and the retailers on ground level in the shopping malls and with the media in their engagement with South Africans to tell of the importance these industries have to the welfare of South Africa and why the support of South Africans is paramount.

The unions and clothing sector complain about the lack of entry of new hands or skills in the clothing sector. Who would want to enter this sector when one only reads about job losses and factory closures? As a collective we need to engage with the youth, show them the growth potential of entering this sector of the economy. We need to demonstrate that they will not be condemned to a life behind a sewing machine but there are and is an array of opportunities for career advancement.

The youth I have and continue to engage with who have an interest in clothing all want to become fashion designers. However, what they do not realize, that without a local clothing and textile manufacturing sector, there will be no local fashion design manufacturing. The design sector requires multi skilled operators to produce design intensive clothing.

The latest proposal to retrench 800 staff from Seardel will have a detrimental effect on communities and the livelihood of nearly 4000 people. Most workers in the apparel manufacturing sector are women and at times the single breadwinner not only for their immediate families but often extended family are dependent on the income of these garment workers.

Policy development, rhetoric and promises and even bailouts by the IDC will not stop cheaper imports, unfair competition or a labour force that is diminishing nearly monthly. What is needed is for the industry, government and unions to work together and find mutual ground and then be prepared to take some drastic economic and trade decisions.

My resources inform me that further retrenchments in the sector is imminent and that that there may be a clamp down on unregistered clothing companies that will lead to further closures and job losses. Our clothing, textile and fashion sector as a collective with all public and private stakeholders must begin vigorous public engagement to diminish the erosion of these industries and the subsequent human suffering that will follow.

In April this year the company had to retrench around 800 people from it suit manufacturing facility and its intimate wear facilities. The last two years has seen its workforce reduce by nearly 5000 people.

In 2009 1400 people from the FRAME Group were retrenched.

In April South African clothing and textile union boss Andre Kriel said that the company need[ed] to focus on “ timeous delivery to customers, constant improvement of the quality of garments manufactured, innovative design, modernisation of production methods, constant skills and equipment upgrades and increased efficiency levels”.

The reason the company is considering having to close Intimate Apparel is according to Seardel CEO Stuart Queen, due to the fact that that” bra's are close skin-fitting items that required significant investment in design, pre-production technical resources and quality processes”. In May Seardel’s CEO reported that the company had spent over R50 m on new plant and equipment.

In September 2002, the company released some of its “smartest profit figures in its long history”. (CBN Archive Oct 02) This was at a time the industry was marred with strikes and when late the year before Cyril Ramaphosa was one of the main players in a consortium that bought a “meaningful stake in the group”.

Exports from Frame textile division in 2002 were targeted to reach R130 million in 2003. Six years later the same division had to close.

In 2005 the company reported a 45% decline in its headline earnings per share (Fin24.com, 28 Sep 05).

The company said cheap imports, dumped and undervalued finished goods were the primary reasons for the decline. For the same period exports revenue was R229 million versus R395 million in 2004.

The company’s 2009 report states remuneration to key management personnel was R21.9 million (2008: 27.4 million.) Hosken Consolidated hold 71% of the Group’s equity via a subsidiary.

For more information on remunerations I suggest you click on the following link and on this link.

For other articles on Seardel click here and here for the Frame Group closure.

Seardel can't support bra maker

Ref: Fin24.com

July 22, 2010
Marc Hasenfuss

Cape Town - Clothing and textile conglomerate Seardel Investment Corporation [JSE:SER] has proposed closing down Intimate Apparel, a division that makes well-known brands of lingerie and swimwear.

This is the second major operational shut-down at Seardel since empowerment giant Hosken Consolidated Investments [JSE:HCI] took control of the company in 2008. Last year Seardel was forced to close down textile group Frame's vertical pipeline.

The proposals could affect over 800 permanent employees. Consultations with unions are already under way.

In an announcement on Thursday evening, Seardel CEO Stuart Queen stressed the decision to shut down Intimate Apparel had been taken in principle – subject to any viable alternatives and consultation.

Queen said the manufacture of niche clothing products in South Africa remained challenging.

But he stressed that Intimate Apparel faced a number of unique pressures, including the fact that the manufacture of bra's was complex and labour intensive.

"The garments produced are generally of a very high minute rate with low selling prices, making it extremely difficult to recover the costs of labour inputs."

He added that bra's are close skin-fitting items that required significant investment in design, pre-production technical resources and quality processes.

"This investment in technical personnel is particularly expensive given their unique skills, and cannot be recovered in the selling price of the garments unless significant volumes with acceptable margins are achieved."

Queen said margin pressures had completely eroded selling prices and made it impossible to recover the costs of raw material inputs, labour and other overheads.

Also wage and other differentials with Seardel's international competitors meant local production was not competitive. Queen pointed out that the average imported landed cost of a bra was typically 20% lower than a locally manufactured item.

"The strategy to source fashion brassieres and core brassiere lines from offshore companies by retailers in order to realise the targeted retail margins has overcome Intimate Apparel's ability to compete".

Queen said the pressures exerted over recent years have translated into significant ongoing losses being incurred at Intimate Apparel.

"We have, over a number of years, looked at every possible avenue to remedy this situation - including major reorganisations, restructuring and the downsizing of operations."

Queen said Intimate Apparel had invested in equipment, facilities and training to improve productivity and efficiencies. He said major strides hade been achieved in terms of "world class manufacturing principles" to improve productivity and efficiency levels at Intimate Apparel.

"Despite the successful implementation of many of these initiatives, it has become clear that improved efficiencies alone will not be sufficient to compensate for the structural and depressed margin issues facing the division."

Ref: Fin24.com

July 22, 2010

Marc Hasenfuss 

South African Clothing industry hard hit by counterfeits

A South African paper report on clothing counterfeits.

Clothing industry hard hit by counterfeits

Textile workers launched mass protests against job losses in the industry in 2005, resulting in Chinese imports being curtailed in 2007, but the limitations were lifted in 2009 and the sector keeps haemorraging jobs.

South African fashion and clothing industry experts are deeply concerned about the increasing volume of cheap clothing imports, counterfeit clothing and other fraudulent activities.

“We are very concerned about illegal activity. We worry when we compete against people who are able to bring their clothes into the market far cheaper than we can because they are importing illegally,” said Michael Lawrence, executive director of the National Clothing Retail Federation.

The market for fake brands of designer wear is growing in South Africa and there has been a surge in clothing imports from Asian countries such as China, Bangladesh and Vietnam.

SARS and customs officials have confiscated more than R219 080 000 worth of counterfeit World Cup-related goods, including more than 366 000 jerseys, since November 2009, said SARS Customs Communications Officer, Sibabalwenathi Mfabe. And in 2008/9, customs officials made 731 seizures of counterfeit goods (including clothing) worth R379 622 919.

According to the US-based National Council of Textile Organisations website, up to 30 million jobs globally could be lost if China continues to dominate and monopolize the clothing and textile trade.

According to statistics produced by Cape Clothing Association and reported by Business Report in 2009, almost 10 000 jobs in the clothing and textile industry are lost each year due to the flood of cheap Asian imports and to trade and policy imbalances between China and South Africa.

To curb the huge volume of Asian clothing imports into South Africa, the government introduced a two-year quota system in 2007. Although the move was successful in terms of limiting the influx of goods from China and other countries, it did not provide the local industry with sufficient time to restructure itself and to increase its production, said researcher, author, and fashion design lecturer, Renato Palmi.

China also has a history of renaging on deals. In 2005, the EU and China signed an agreement limiting Chinese imports but China later reneged by transshipping its goods.

In transshipping, the clothing manufacturer in the sending country exports the clothes to its destination country via a third country. The sending country manufactures the items and pays the third country a fee to provide labels stating the clothing was made there. In some cases, unscrupulous manufacturers partially manufacture garments and sew labels indicating the garments were made there. According to Palmi, the South Africa clothing industry is a victim of this practice.

Although the Department of Trade and Industry has introduced measures to protect the clothing industry, insiders believe that not enough is being done.

“We are not up to world standards. Chinese manufacturers get huge government incentives and subsidies…we therefore need greater efficiency and greater support for our local manufacturers,” said Lawrence.

And South Africa has one of the highest clothing tariffs in the world, which could create incentives for fraudulent activity, said Lawrence, such as international companies under-invoicing their consignments to pay lower custom levies.

There needs to be greater enforcement of laws and regulations, said Lawrence. “People get fined but we don’t know who these people are. We need to make it difficult for them to repeat the offense,” he added. – Fadela Slamdien, West Cape News

Copyright 2010 West Cape News

22 July 2010

Vogue says no to Africa

The publishers for Vogue, Conde Nast has rejected a proposal for an Africa edition of Vogue.

African photographer Mario Epanya's proposition of an African edition of Vogue has been rejected by publishing house, Condé Nast.

Earlier this year, photographer and makeup artist Mario Epanya imagined several covers for what would be a future African edition of Vogue. Though there’s a Vogue Nippon, Vogue India, and even a Vogue Australia, there isn’t a Vogue Africa–and Mario was dedicated to changing that.

Epanya, who created fictitional covers and editorials for his campaign, posted on his Facebook page: "DEAR ALL. The Wait is over. Condé Nast said NO to an African license of VOGUE. So this is the last cover. Enjoy, but it's a beginning of something."

The fashion network is alive with debate on this development. Some are calling for a boycott of Vogue, others have said good because Africa must go it alone and create its own media brand. Others ask if there is really space in the market for Vogue as there are a number of fashion magazines dedicated to Africa and African inspired fashion.

Do you wash your clothing?

I recently spent some time in a clothing retail outlet belonging to one of our largest chain stores which resulted in my observing customers (outside the change-rooms) trying on clothing. I began to think about the amount of germs clothing carry and how many of us actually wash the clothing we have just purchased before wearing them?

During my observation I was strategically positioned to see items that were tried on by consumers being returned to the racks by consumers and staff. I noticed the same pair of jeans entering the change-room to be sampled by three males, and a blouse and shirt each tried on by different people.

I also noticed consumers upon leaving the change-rooms handing a staff member the items they have tried on. In turn these items were placed onto an existing pile of clothing and only at a later stage were these items placed onto hangars and then returned to hang in the front for another consumer to try it on.

This observation and thinking of all those bodies with different odors, possible skin problems etc having fleetingly worn an item that I may purchase helped me decide that I will wash and re-wash every supposedly new item of clothing I purchase.

So, can clothing carry germs?

Yes they do according to a study conducted by Dr. Tirno the director of microbiology from an American University. He conducted tests on 14 items of clothing that consisted of blouses, pants and underwear and discovered bacteria on several of the items. On a blouse he found “… representation of respiratory secretions, skin flora, and some fecal flora”. He found on a jacket evidence of “feces [how the hell do you get feces on a jacket] skin flora and respiratory secretions … by the armpit and close to the buttocks”.

Wait for it.

On a silk blouse he found “vaginal organisms, yeast and more fecal germs”. The report stated that some of the garments were “grossly contaminated … indicating that either many people had tried it or someone tired it on with heavy contamination”. The good doctor concluded by saying that organisms can survive for weeks and even sometimes months on clothing.

So, before you rush home to wear your “new” clothing think about the possibility that a number of people have already worn it. The moral –wash before you wear.

As for the toxin chemicals found in our clothes … that’s another story.

Spanish and American retailers plan to invade South Africa

Global retailers Zara, renowned for its effective production and delivery systems and "empire" Wal-Mart, the retailer that posted more than $14 billion in net profits for the year-to-date January 2010 have plans to enter South Africa in 2011 will most definitely agitate the current apparel retail landscape.

ZARA: Spain is returning to South Africa in the form of Zara the international retail chain that is renowned for its efficient production and delivery systems. The announcement was made at Inditex's annual shareholder's meeting. Inditex is the world's largest fashion retailer by sales. In addition to its global expansion Zara will be launching online stores in Asia, USA and in Europe. Zara currently has 4705 stores in 76 countries. Pablo Isla, Deputy Chairman and CEO of Inditex, highlighted the company’s satisfactory sales performance for 2009, with sales at constant exchange rates climbing 9% to €11,084 million. Net income at Inditex rose 5% to €1,314 million.

WAL-MART: Currently operating in 15 foreign territories and posting revenue of $408.2 billion for the year to January 2010 is according to reports seeking to establish ties with an existing South African retailer to ease its entry into the South African market. Its domestic (US) apparel sales in 2002 were $20 billion. Wal-Mart accounts for nearly 30% of total apparel imports into the US from Bangladesh.

Let’s believe in Nosipho

South Africa: 

A lonely young girl shows talent for fashion design 

Nosipho Xolo is a 15-year-old girl from the Eastern Cape in South Africa. She travelled alone to the province of KwaZulu-Natal earlier this year, looking for her older brother after both her parents died – only to discover that he too had passed away.

Alone in the world, she found her way to the Sinethemba temporary shelter for abused and destitute women and children at Ifafa, south of Durban – a humble lodging that has struggled for eight years as the only refuge of its kind to serve the vast area surrounding it.

The Sinethemba staff have reported her case to the Eastern Cape department of Social Development. Nosipho has spent the last three months at the shelter while DSD officials investigate options for finding her a home.

While she waits, wonders and wishes, Nosipho uses donated pens and pencil crayons to create fashion drawings in a precious exercise book: a page of shoes, boots and sandals; a spread of dresses in imagined fabrics; a collection of swimwear. Her talent is obvious to the few people who have come across it, but who else would know of her potential to be a successful young African designer?

Sinethemba means “we believe”. What does Nosipho’s future hold? As she works on her drawings, mourning the loss of her family and inspired by the beauty within her, what can she believe in?

This Mandela Day (18th July), can you play a part in making the rest of Nosipho’s journey a happy, healthy and fulfilled one? We appeal to you for ideas, resources and support for Nosipho, so that she can find herself in a loving home, resume her schooling, and be sponsored towards a career in design.

If you can help this courageous young girl, even with a small action, contact: Sinethemba’s manager, Rachel Tomlinson, or Charmaine Smit, the assistant manager on: [27] (0)39 977 8220 or [27] (0)72 150 1504

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Supported by Amnesty International-Durban Chapter

Mrs Lesley Frescura
Chairperson, Durban Chapter (formerly National Director)
Telephone: 27 31 266 4150
E-mail: galefra@mweb.co.za






Survivors don’t use rubbish bags: Self-belief at Sinethemba Shelter
By Judith King
on behalf of Amnesty International, Durban Chapter, South Africa
Submitted to the “16 Shelters for 16 Days” Stop Violence Against Women Campaign
AI Action Circular ACT 77/014/2006
September 2006

Ifafa Beach is a quiet, tiny coastal town built around an estuary and lagoon in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, in the district of Ugu. A narrow, patchily tarred road turns toward the sea from the southern highway, and down past some unremarkable 1970’s houses perched on the low cliffs above the shore. The pristine seascape, however - even under a sky cast in cloud - has a grandeur that resonates with the isiZulu name given to it (according to local history) by King uShaka: “place of the sparkling waters”.

Tucked behind a quaint white bungalow that houses the local Library and serves the town’s population of 400, is another dwelling. This neat, simple house, with its small verandah offering a wedge of sea-view, serves a much larger group with infinitely more urgent needs: it is the Sinethemba Shelter for Domestic Violence Victims, the only lodging of its kind on the entire south coast including its inland terrain, an immense area covering rural, peri-urban and urban communities.

Sinethemba, which means “we believe”, offers abused women and children of all ages a temporary haven from the horror of abandonment, assault, rape and the threat of death that makes living in their homes too tortuous to endure. Co-founded by the Ifafa Beach Women’s Action Group in March 2004, with funding from the European Union, daily welfare grants for each victim and donations in both cash and kind from various local benefactors, the Shelter rents its premises from a local owner.

The dedicated Shelter staff are trained to protect and nurture countless victims, injured by every kind of degradation and pain, some more brutal than the imagination can bear. Headed by Rachel Tomlinson, the team consists of an assistant manager, a bi-lingual house-mother, a cleaner, a gardener, a secretary and a driver. Working closely within a referral system of police stations, courts, trauma centres, welfare departments, hospitals, charities, businesses, community organisations and activist networks, Sinethemba meets every need with resolute follow-through, from legal and social support to counselling, skills training and access to medical help.

Tomlinson and her colleagues respond to all the violated guests who come to the Shelter with professionalism, respect and compassion. The house is a refuge in every sense, with its three bedrooms, kitchen, lounge, study and activity room maintained with pride: gleaming floors and windows complement the simple, comfortable furnishings and pretty linen; regular, nutritious meals are prepared with love, and a hand-written poster of house-rules testifies to an ethos of sanctity and communitarian reverence.

For the constant stream of broken, frightened, demoralised and destitute women and children who find their way to Sinethemba, such surroundings and responses are a blessed antidote to the ugliness and cruelty of their daily existence. Their courage in escaping its vicious round of physical and emotional attacks is rewarded with the solace they need to heal and start afresh. Tomlinson describes the enormity of these victims’ agony, and the challenges facing the caregivers, in frank terms.

The Sinethemba Shelter has handled more cases than she can possibly cover in one sitting, and the nature of their plight is painful to describe. Among these were a grandmother of 84, beaten and robbed of her pension by her grandson, another raped and thrown out of her community, women disabled and disfigured for life, shot by their partners, infected with HIV and other STDs, an 11-year-old girl sold into marriage by her father to a 40-year-old man, and a mother whose daughter was killed by her father and his friend dragging her from the house and crushing her skull with rocks – the woman blamed herself for this murder, because she had filed a charge for child maintenance of R150 a month.

The perpetrators are not all men: some grandmothers and mothers abuse their children, and Tomlinson recently counselled a young man whose older wife had virtually imprisoned him. Sinethemba takes in numerous children who have been turned into the street by their mothers, and find safe placements for them. Some victims have had to be relocated to shelters in other provinces to escape their abusers. All guests are given time after their arrival to process the loss and violation associated with their trauma, whereafter interaction is facilitated in group sessions, and the women and children are given physical and psychological space to tell their stories.

These cases belie the culture of rights enshrined in South Africa’s Constitution, and the frequent talk of stopping violence against women and children, dealing with HIV and AIDS, providing poverty relief and curbing substance abuse. The reality on the ground is that our nation is writhing in pain and disease, yet far too little is being done to sustain and extend the few facilities and services that have been set up to address these crises. Despite broad public awareness of the scale and range of the problems, the Shelter’s requests for funding and other resources are often met with refusals or silence. In many instances, the potential donors, be they local government bodies or NGOs, set their own agendas for support, and their priorities bear no relation to the urgent needs of these desperate people.

With the existing Shelter house having been put up for sale, despite frequent attempts to secure larger premises on another site at Ifafa Beach which is soon to be auctioned, Tomlinson has had no response from her letters to the provincial Premier appealing for assistance. Proposals and applications for ongoing funding to the Human Rights Foundation and the National Lottery Fund to launch and maintain the Shelter’s various programmes have been declined.

Tomlinson and her staff want much more for the women and children of our nation. “When I see them getting out of the police van with the few possessions they have salvaged during their escape from the only home they know in black rubbish bags, it is heartbreaking,” she recounts. “There are seldom any personal documents in those black bags, no ID books or marriage or birth certificates – the vital papers they need to establish their claim to citizen’s rights. Those black bags represent the degradation of their humanity; in a very real sense, the bags signify the women’s own self-image – as if they are rubbish, the refuse of society, worn out, worthless and disposable.”

Tomlinson’s concept for an effective intervention campaign to lift these abused and wasted women and children is – literally and figuratively – to turn their deprecation and despair into dignity and self-regard. “We would urge women in abusive relationships to keep original and copied versions of their family’s important documents in safe and accessible places, preferably packed in proper bags along with other emergency items, ready to grab when they need to flee for their lives. We need to mobilise a massive communications drive around this, listing practical steps towards self-liberation, the services that exist to help them, and how they can access them – so that victims can become survivors.”

This philosophy governs the high standards of care to which the Sinethemba staff subscribe. “While we appreciate receiving donated supplies of basic foodstuffs like rice and maize-meal during awareness rallies, we believe that every guest at our Shelter deserves a roast and a dessert every Sunday,” says Tomlinson. “When the women are ready to begin new lives and search for or start their first job, they should leave carrying a decent handbag - they need to set out looking and feeling like women of worth.”

Recently, Sinethemba took in a widow and her five children after they had been evicted from their home by her in-laws and lived in a tent on the beach for six months. “This woman can’t get work if she and her children can’t even live decently. They are members of our community, and the Municipality has a duty to provide suitable facilities for people in these circumstances,” Tomlinson charges. “Why does the Umdoni Municipality not respond to situations like these? The authorities have refused to place our request for another site on their meeting agenda. Our Shelter is offering to relieve local government of this work, and all we ask is for their patronage in helping us to acquire the infrastructure we need, so that our funds can be spent in a more cost-beneficial manner. Why should a women’s shelter be regarded as low in priority and a distasteful topic for discussion and action? If the property we have identified is auctioned, what will the Municipality do with the money from the sale?”

These realities foreground the harsh discrepancies that prevail between the media hype of awareness campaigns like the 16 Days programme and its attendant political rhetoric: hundreds of white ribbons and photo opportunities do not translate into action during the remaining 349 days of the year. “South African civil society must flex its muscles and put an end to lip-service from local officials,” says Tomlinson. She has obtained documentary support for this call from the local Magistrate’s court and a signed petition from community members.

Having said this, Tomlinson is also quick to note the level of concerned involvement demonstrated by the Shelter’s social partners; thanks to a sympathetic Station Commissioner in the district, Sinethemba enjoys excellent working relationships with the SA Police stations in nearby Umkomaas, Hibberdene, Umzinto and Scottburgh, whose officers do regular night patrols and can be relied upon to bring women to the Shelter and take them to Court for their case hearings. A nearby security company helps out by providing vigilance for and around the Shelter to protect its residents from vengeful perpetrators and opportunistic criminals. Because Ifafa Beach is a small town, its inhabitants have adopted a neighbourly approach to the Shelter and frequently bring donations in cash and kind. Transnet donated a sportsground and play-park for the youth and children.

“We receive weekly food parcels from the local branch of Woolworths, but we need other supermarket chains, financial institutions and manufacturers to play their part too. There is little or no public transport infrastructure serving this area, so instead of focusing solely on scaling up such services to meet demand generated by the 2010 Soccer World Cup, we need a vehicle and funds to cover petrol and repairs, monthly electricity and water bills, property rates and insurance fees.”

Other pressing needs include baby-goods, first-aid kits and basic medicines; because many of their intake are HIV-positive, the Shelter has special and urgent requirements for in-house HIV/AIDS training and resources, particularly so that they can supplement government clinic services by offering advice on and referrals for anti-retroviral treatment and support.

The Sinethemba Shelter is committed to strengthening - as and however it can - a range of related social outreach initiatives through participation in programmes targeting the elderly, the disabled and more general youth empowerment projects within schools. It is in this spirit of reciprocity and virtuous agency that Sinethemba does so much with so little.

As it strives to promote a culture of caring, the Shelter is an exemplar of moral responsibility and responsiveness. Indeed, in the place of sparkling waters, the Sinethemba Shelter is a contemporary jewel in our ancestral crown, and deserves due homage.

Exploring Durban’s fashion terrain

South Africa

Renato Palmi imagines a future for designers in the city that has nurtured some of the country’s greatest creative talent

Published in The Mercury 12 July 2010

The South African apparel industries form an extremely important sector for local economic development, and Durban has an abundance of design talent that contributes to these vital industries. Some of the country’s finest fashion designers were born and bred in Durban, and over the last decade, the city began to establish visibility as a location for emerging fashion designers to showcase their ranges and launch their careers in this highly competitive arena.

However, the demise of Durban’s Fashion Week has created a lamentable vacuum: we no longer feature on the national circuit of Fashion Week events, and the city’s aspiring designers are now compelled to travel to either Gauteng or Cape Town to promote their labels. Many promising Durban-based fashion design graduates are migrating elsewhere within the country, as they see very little scope and few business opportunities here.

The Durban Fashion Council continues its consultative work towards establishing a viable forum for Durban designers to network and collaborate on projects. Without the benefit of major monetary support injected by related industry bodies and private sponsors – as enjoyed in other centres – these efforts are largely dependent on government assistance; with competing developmental priorities for this funding source makes the process long and comlicated.

Nonetheless, others have persevered and found alternative means to present their collections, with outlets such as the Fashion Lounge branches in Umhlanga and Florida Road, as well as the Max Institute of Fashion Art, offering local fashion followers access to Durban-grown style innovation. Also, the Vodacom Durban July Fashion Experience constitutes an enduring and prestigious platform for both emerging and established designers to participate in a fashion contest that earmarks Durban as a choice destination in the national fashion calendar. In 2009, 20 KZN-based designers were selected for the semi-final round of this competition. This group proved their abilities in a rigorous judging process, gained substantial media exposure, and learnt valuable lessons about the commercial aspects of fashion.

There are prominent local exemplars of whom we can be extremely proud, designers who call Durban their home, and who through hard work and determination have made enviable names for themselves, nationally and internationally. This group includes, but is not limited to, designers such as Leigh Schubert, The Holmes Brothers, Haroun Hansrot, Terrence Bray, Iqbal Hoosain, Colleen Eitzen, Paul Botha, Dax Martin, Karen Monk-Klijnstra, Peter Bosman, Edward Palm, and Sibu Msimang.

Dark Child Brandz is an entrepreneurial agency that fosters a proactive approach among Durban fashion designers, so that through individual and collective endeavour, the bank of apparel-related business opportunities can be grown. This agency facilitates a deeper exploration of Durban’s fashion terrain, which yields another stratum of untapped creatives, who strive – and in some cases thrive – within a relatively obscure seam of activity found in the CBD centre and along the North and South coasts. These fashion entrepreneurs, some with qualifications and many others with innate and self-developed ability, work from home in cramped spaces with very basic equipment and few resources. Their focused passion for fashion and desire to be financially independent makes them tenacious in overcoming innumerable barriers. They are Durban’s fashion outliers, designers who have created their own networks and avenues to market their skills to a narrowly targeted client-base, blending a uniquely Durban-inspired aesthetic that could languish for want of high-level patronage. Unfortunately, many of these marginalised designers see their creations being appropriated by retailers with financial muscle and marketing capacity, who adapt their ideas for a larger market.

Behind the sparkle and stride that we witness on the catwalks, in magazines and on television, fashion is serious business. It is a vital component of a wider matrix of value-chains that govern the apparel industry. In the South African context, there is still a de-linking between fashion, the manufacturing sector and textile suppliers, and this lack of cohesion hampers the growth of all of these sub-sectors. For instance, a prevailing hurdle for most designers is the identification of manufacturers that are willing to collaborate with them in producing short runs and design-intensive style variations.

Durban still plays an important role in South Africa’s textile and apparel production, contributing nearly 40% of total employment in this sector; yet the myriad opportunities it lost to Chinese suppliers of apparel and fabricated accessories for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was cause for widespread and justified public dismay.

Cheap imports, currency fluctuations, labour issues and retail purchasing preferences continue to challenge and thwart our clothing and textile manufacturers, and this has a substantial impact on the fashion design community. One forward-thinking company is Mediterranean Textile Mills, based in Hammarsdale, which is integrating design, manufacturing and textile development through its new clothing production arm; programmes like these have the potential to ignite a cauldron of entrepreneurship that could change the profile of local economic development.

Durban’s fashion sector is also of great structural importance to our nation’s broader goals in education and skills-training, and to our social and cultural identity. Buoyed by the success of its hosting of World Cup events, the city is poised to accelerate this impetus and regain its reputation as a source of and destination for fashion excellence.

Published in The Mercury
July 12, 2010
Renato Palmi is Director of the ReDress Consultancy, specialising in research, marketing and strategy development for the apparel sector.

South Africa’s Fashion Industry must tackle illegal imports

South Africa:
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.

More Job loss and fake clothing for South Africa

South Africa.

Another textile company has had to shed 100 jobs whilst more fake apparel to the tune of R50 million was found in Durban. The illegal imports consisted of Bafana Bafana soccer shirts, Adidas pants, Daniel Hechter shirts and jeans of the brand Uzzi. I understand from SARS, that it is up to the brand owners to take legal action. Do they? Or do these operators who are destroying South Africa’s clothing, textile and fashion sector just get fines?

We at The ReDress Consultancy feel it is important to name and shame these operators and to trace the value-chain. Where are these items of clothing destined for? Do they end up in the informal sector or in retail? Where are they originating from? We need to know the names and geographical locations of these companies that are producing these items and stop them from doing so.

For the syndicates of illegal apparel imports it’s all a numbers game. They calculate potential loss. One crate will be found but how many get through customs and end up on the backs of consumers?

The ReDress Consultancy firmly believes that there should be more consumer educations from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the South African Revenue Services (SARS), the police and from the industry.

The ReDress Consultancy has lost count of how many times the issue and concern about illegal clothing imports as been discussed by the clothing and textile sector. What are they doing?

Yes, they are talking and working with government but they should be more proactive as a collective.

Use platforms like The ReDress Consultancy to get information out into the public space, develop consumer information booklets.

The South African clothing, textiles workers union (SACTWU) need to take the lead as well. Stop complaining and do something active.

There are people and organizations willing to assist and work with them ask them to help. Stop the talk and take action.