Apparel, Clothing & Garments Industry Overview

The Global Textile Industry, particularly the Apparel Industry has seen remarkable changes in the past few years. The Garment Manufacturing Industry and the Garment Companies in developed countries are now always on a lookout for cheap source of garment production. The days are gone when textile garment industry was concentrated in the consumption hubs of US, EU and other developed countries of the world. The clothing wholesale supply is increasing worldwide in all the sectors of the industry, whether it be mens clothing, womens clothing, kids wear or infant wear. The elimination of global export quotas has led to a shift towards low cost countries having strong and established Clothing Industry especially the Asian countries.

Major Trends in Apparel and Clothing

• Global garment exports are valued at more than US$310 billion a year, of which the world's top 15 clothing exporters account for more than 80%.
• China continues to develop its textile and clothing exports despite the re-imposition of quotas by the United States, Europe and some other developing countries till December 2008 as a temporary safeguard measure on exports from China. The gain is due to the strategy of China to divert its clothing wholesale destinations from US and EU to other Asian countries.
• Developing countries in Asia continue expanding their Textile Garment Industry due to their very-low-cost production. Apart from China, the true gainers of the post-quota period are India, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Vietnam.
• India is the second most preferred country after China for textile and apparel sourcing. Its Apparel industry is likely to achieve an export target of US$ 25 billion by 2010-11. The rise of exports in India is due to several factors like vast sources of raw materials, low labor costs, entrepreneurship and design skills of Indian traders, changes in the policies to open up Indian economy to the outside world etc.
• Bangladesh has emerged as a key player in RMG sector (Ready Made Garment Industry). 76% of its total textile and clothing export earnings comes from the apparel industry. The chief factor behind this is abundant and cheap labour force available here.
• Turkey and Brazil are the emerging markets for investment by apparel manufacturers and traders.
• One of the main beneficiaries of th textile and clothing exports dese drop in US imports from China is Vietnam. In the first quarter of 2008, sales of Vietnamese apparel and dresses in the US market were up by over 30%.
• Cambodia's garment industry is continuing to attract new investors and increase its garment exports. This is due to EU and US restraints on China and also because of its positive 'sweat-shop free' reputation on labour standards. It is the ninth largest supplier to the American market. Its garments exports to the EU are also rising.

Clothing Sector- Future Strategy

Internationally speaking, the Textile Garment Industry is concentrated in the hands of large retail firms who look for few vendors with bulk orders and thus opt for vertically integrated companies. Hence, there is a need for integrating the operations from spinning to apparel making by the sourcing countries in order to gain advantage from the changed scenario. Both, the trade skills and soft skills, viz., design capabilities, textile technology, management and negotiating skills will also be significant determinants.

To conclude, it can be said that in future, the factors that will affect the rise or fall of the Clothing Industry of sourcing countries include labour standards, tariff preferences, access to materials and supplies, political and economic stability among others. With the increase in demand for performance apparel, the sectors like Industrial Clothing and Sports Wear will experience growth and due to the increased fashion consciousness globally, fashion clothing will also see an upward trend.