I was invited to the TCF Council workshop this week to give my opinion regarding what the Federal Government should do to help the Australian Textile, Clothing, Footwear and Leather industries. Industries that are clearly struggling, judging by the looks on the faces of the industry participants on the day.
In the room were mostly Australian manufacturers. And there were a lot of entitled suggestions, and Chindia bashing. From that position quite a few of the suggestions were "push" based suggestions. Like we should get more government funding, the government should buy from us, universities should offer more training courses, we should stop all imports, and we should stop immigration (this suggestion ironically from a woman with a thick foreign accent). The idea being that Australian manufacturers should be supported by the people and the people can be forced to buy Australian made. All of which would be futile exercises.
Fortunately the majority of participants realise that we need to trade with other countries. At the suggestion that we should stop imports, one sage manufacturer pointed out that you won't feel so good about that policy when you want to export. And on the macro level it is important that our trade balance be positive. The majority of participants were passionate about their work and just wanted a fair go to compete.
Of the more promising tactics were the "pull" based suggestions. Ideas to increase consumer demand for our products. These ideas included promoting Brand Australia and the standardisation and certification of products and the enforcement of such rules.
Of these two ideas I am a fan of greater standardisation and certification of products offered for sale. It is something that a government can do and can do well. I don't know if they can create a brand so well.
In the retail market there are currently very few meaningful or enforced standards and certification of products relating to quality, social responsibility, environmental sustainability, etc. As a result, no one knows what they are really buying, is it real leather, where was it made, who made it, are there any harmful chemicals involved, were the makers exploited, was the environment damaged, who designed it. Consumers are also numb to retailers lying to them. They know they can't trust what they are told on the rare occasions they are told.
In the absence of real knowledge, and the absence of a trusted third party keeping everyone honest, the only indicator consumers can use is price. We know price is a poor indicator of any of these things but it is the only one we have. And if we expect to be ripped off anyway, we may as well pay as little as possible. So cheap products prevail, discounting is pandemic and the lowest price wins.
If consumers are mostly going for the product with the lowest price, retailers will give it to them. So they order vast amounts of the cheapest products possible...yes from China and India and Vietnam and Indonesia and anywhere wages are lower than ours. It's not Chindia's fault that our stores are filled with poor quality products from their shores. After all, we ordered it. A lot of those factories, we set up over there. If we order high quality items, they can make those also. But we don't order high priced items, because consumers only buy cheap.
Personally, I don't care where in the world a product is made or what nationality the person making it is...as long as that product is made by a skilled craftsperson, earning a fair wage, in good working conditions, from high quality materials in a way that minimises their impact on the environment and they enjoyed making it.
I like the football (soccer) analogy. It does not matter to me that Manchester United employs players from overseas. It does not matter to me that they often play in foreign countries. The government doesn't need to give them hand outs. The government doesn't need to stifle competition. Man U are free to compete. They must train hard and use all the skill and strategy they can muster to win the match. And I enjoy watching...I am a customer. But there are rules. There are standards. There is certification. The ball must be a certain size. Players are not allowed certain drugs. The field must be a certain length. The cross-bar must be a certain height. You are not allowed to use your hands. You are not allowed to make violent contact. You cannot take the ball outside the field. And there is an enforcer...the referee and his assistants and the fans.
Could Man U prosper if there were no rules? Or no enforcer? Teams would cheat and lie. The worst offenders would prevail. The game would lose meaning. Quickly, consumers would lose interest. The same has happened in Australia's TCF industry. Hence the need for government enforcement of the claims of products.
If the rules are in place and enforced then we can invite customers back to the game. Consumers want to buy well made products, with quality materials, whose workers are happy and not harming the environment. They just don't want to be ripped off again. Presently though, with big retailers and brands legally lying to them, it just isn't possible.
As a frustrated manufacturer at the workshop sighed, "I can compete with any manufacturer in the world and succeed, but only if they tell the truth".
As a consumer, you might be wondering what you can do, if the government does nothing. I suggest you simply ask the retailers. Forget that feeling that says there's no point because the girl in the store won't know anyway. Ask. Who made this item? Was is a craftsman, or a conveyor belt of unskilled workers? What were they paid? How many hours a day do they work? Who is the designer? Etc. If they don't know, assume the worst and purchase some place they know the answers.
[Image from sythe.org - photographer unknown as yet]
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