kabustyleeさんのブログ
Will it Live up to the Hype
Reshoring Fashion Manufacturing: Will it Live up to the Hype?
How Did We Get Here and Can We Get Back?
While the United Stated continues to be a major participant in the $3
trillion global fashion industry, U.S.-based fashion manufacturing – those
involving apparel, shoes, and accessories – has faced a steady decline.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment in apparel
manufacturing has decreased by more than 80 percent between 1990 and 2011.
To put that in perspective, a leading world power with a robust consumer
economy that boasts $250 billion in annual fashion sales has more than the 90
percent of its apparel and footwear manufactured overseas. That’s not to say
that the U.S. doesn’t participate in manufacturing at all, between February 2013
and February 2014, the U.S. exported $5.8 billion worth of apparel; but it also
imported $80 billion worth of apparel during that time.
It would appear that the U.S.is either unwilling or unable to produce
domestically at a scale proportionate to its demand, but this was not always the
case. In the 1960’s the roles were reversed: Over 90 percent of goods sold
domestically were produced domestically. As recently as the mid-1990’s, over 50
percent of the garments sold here were made here. However, with the turn of the
century came a shift in the U.S. (and global) fashion consumption rates and
sourcing trends with the majority of manufacturing jobs now being offshored (the
process of relocating business processes to another country, typically to take
advantage of lower costs as is the case here) primarily to Asia.
In a country that is by many accounts still in the throes of a recession, and
in an industry inundated with global competition, a rapidly changing business
landscape, and mounting supply chain complexities, the reshoring of
manufacturing has been heralded as the solution. Experts consistently assert
that a return to domestic production will remedy everything from rising
unemployment to the unethical labor and environmental practices that are
commonly associated with overseas manufacturing. But is this true?
GETTING BUSINESSES TO COME BACK HOME
With the U.S. accustomed to free trade and the fashion industry adapted to
global sourcing and all the perks that come with it – including rock bottom
pricing – perhaps the most daunting step in the reshoring process is the first
one … Getting businesses to come back home. There has been a recent uptick in
domestic fashion manufacturing. Not the boom economists are hoping for but
enough to point to a possible solution: The power of the consumer. As consumers
express a desire for more ‘Made in the USA’ products, businesses have followed
suit. Big companies like Brooks Brothers and Patagonia have reshored some of
their production. And smaller (once merely startup) brands – like Juicy Couture
(which long bore tags that read, "Made in the Glamorous USA," Shinola, Unis,
Reformation, and Zady – have long observed the benefits of producing in the
U.S.
If we consider the anti-fur movement and its ability to essentially shame
even some luxury brands into using faux fur, the ability of public perception to
dictate business practices becomes apparent. As of 2013, even Walmart, with its
emphasis on low prices, pledged to increase its purchasing of American made
goods by $50 billion over the next 10 years. Though Walmart’s pledge is in
relation to all goods and not just fashion ones, it provides context for the
current business climate.
However, even if consumers are increasingly demanding ‘Made in the U.S.’
products and some businesses are opting to reshore their manufacturing
operations, we cannot expect industry wide changes. It is worth noting, after
all, that as history has proven, consumers tend to be more likely to spend
according to their finances than their political leanings. So, if the reshoring
‘movement’ is to be more than a political talking point or a well-intentioned
marketing slogan, it will have to have the force of the government behind it,
which explains how reshoring manufacturing has made its way into the
conversation of the current presidential elections.
Both candidates have offered their proposals. These include variations of
making offshoring so expensive and inconvenient that businesses decide against
it and making domestic manufacturing desirable in the form of tax breaks.
If you are looking for an analysis of the ‘right’ path forward when it comes
to fashion manufacturing, politics is almost certainly not the right place.
Though it is worthy of attention that government intervention played a
significant role in the offshoring movement, with the implementation of the
North American Free Trade Agreement between signatories Canada, the United
States, and Mexico being a prime example. At this point government involvement
in the reshoring movement seems likely, but anything less than barring U.S.
companies from importing their foreign made goods will not guarantee the steady
return of jobs, only make them more probable. Actually enacting such a ban, if
even possible, will contravene long held beliefs in favor of the free
market.
It is clear the road ahead will be long and tumultuous. Throughout this
series we will explore the potential advantages and drawbacks of reshoring
efforts. Proponents of reshoring have lofty goals, but will it live up to the
hype?
