by Jacqueline Shaw, Director Africa Fashion Guide
When I launched my company 10 years ago this was the general consensus from the international fashion industry. The narrative that the experts believed and spoke was that you can’t produce, source or manufacture fashion in Africa AND that it cannot produce quality product.
The facts tell us that large business investment is needed to drive economies in Africa’s frontier markets. The textile industry is just one of these markets where change is impacting communities. But as well as potential, there are challenges to deal with.
Starting with African cotton farming, at present over 95% of the cotton grown on the continent is exported in its raw form means, this means that the value of cotton leaves the continent. Having a complete supply chain from cotton to finished garment in one place keeps value addition in the local economy.
Then there is garment manufacturing. For example, in the 1970s and 80s Ghana had a textile industry that employed over 25 000 people, today this has shrunk to 3000. In comparison Nigeria in the 1970s and 80s had over 250 textile manufacturing units, which have been reduced to less than 25 units today.
And politically we have seen challenges such as those pertaining to labour rights in South Africa textile industry where small clothing factories were unable to pay their workers the minimum wage, which was due to larger retailers demanding cheaper manufacturing rates; through to the high import numbers surrounding second-hand clothing and footwear which drove an import ban by the members of the East African Community EAC. Kenya which is one of the five member countries backed away from the ban with Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi following suit and leaving Rwanda as the only country in the EAC to continue on.
The industry has had and still reflects a challenging landscape. BUT more and more today we see signs that this is changing.
From a policy perspective we see an opportunity with the AfCFTA opening the biggest trade block that will enhance and expand business throughout Africa; along with the African passport. Then with CHOGM meetings happening in Rwanda, the Brexit and the U.K. Africa summit and further policy agreements between Europe and Africa, Russia with Africa, China and Africa it is clear the African opportunity is causing world states to scramble their way into Africa, to expand their markets and tap into what Africa has to offer.
Maybe you’ve heard of H&M, GAP, Tesco’s supermarket in the UK, ASOS, the Spanish swimwear brand Calzedonia, sports brands Adidas and Puma as well as conglomerate the PVH group… to name a few. They have all produced in Africa and on a large scale! And then the brands such as Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood, Rosario Dawson started her brand with business partner Abrima Erwiah called Studio One Eighty Nine, Diesel collaborated with Edun on a tee and denim range and the stories go on and on.
Africa is becoming a viable landscape for fashion manufacturing and its doors are open for business.
JACQUELINE SHAW has 16 years experience in the global fashion industry (working for brands and retailers such as Puma, C&A, Russell Athletic, Animal, Fila, Wilson) living and working in 4 countries over 4 continents, Professional Fashion Designer Jacqueline Shaw birthed Africa Fashion Guide, the only sourcing consultancy and information based platform for African fashion, as a tool to educate, inform and retune the perceptions of Africa's fashion and textile industry - a vehicle she sees for trade and development. Now an author of the coffee table book Fashion Africa (2011 and 2014), the business book Fashion Cannot Be Made in Africa (2020), an International Public Speaker, a University Fashion lecturer, an African Fashion Business Coach, Sourcing Consultant and industry researcher, Jacqueline, who has a Masters degree in Ethical Fashion (2011) and a Masters in Social Research (2018) is known for being an expert and most proudly an ambassador in the Ethical African fashion landscape. Jacqueline through Africa Fashion Guide Ltd has now launched programs including Fashion Africa Conference, Fashion Africa Voices, Fashion Africa Business Academy, Fashion Africa Trade Expo and Fashion Africa Sourcing Trips.