30 years ago the textile trade was one of the largest industry sectors here in the UK employing over 800,000 people and a major contributor to the UK economy. However over the years hundreds of spinning mills, weaving sheds and dyehouses have closed or moved their businesses to areas where labour rates are cheaper due to the competition coming in from the Asian and Sub-Continent.
In 1999 the BBC reported that in November of that year, the Knitwear, Footwear and Apparel Trades union (KFAT)
estimated that 41,000 jobs had been lost in the past year - the
equivalent of one textile factory closing every day. It was also reported in the FT that the
industry’s annual output in the UK had fallen to about £8bn in 2011, most of which consisting of high-tech industrial textiles for specialised uses and not clothing. You can read this article by following this link
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/dd7c8214-29d4-11e2-9a46-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2Q4bEF7GA
 |
| Poor workmanship |
 |
| oops - |
But what is the real saving in manufacturing in the Far East when a lot of the time quality drops, lead-times are extended, higher stocks have to be held, reaction times to problems are slower and products get copied?
Large companies are starting to try and move their manufacturing bases back closer to their market but are finding it difficult due to the shortage of skilled labour. An industry that used to employ generations of families is no longer there.
So what is left here? In the UK the industry is small, highly skilled, very modern and efficient. A fraction of the size it was 20 years ago but producing the highest quality fabrics at a competitive price for, mostly, specialized technical end uses. And although you will see products that look, from a distance, very similar, look carefully... Just remember "You get what you pay for" and
Buy British.
.
