Masters in Public Administration - MPA / This reseacrh report is about the current role of the government/state in the restructuring of the clothing and textile industry in South Africa / South Africa

The purpose of this research was to analyze US apparel trade building up to and following the MFA IV renewal in 1986, so as to gain insight into the reasons for US apparel industry support of the new fiber inclusions, and to gauge effects of MFA IV on US apparel imports overall and specifically from the PRC. The study focused on the period 1978 - 1988. Total imports from all suppliers (World) were examined by country of origin: China (PRC), and rest of world (ROW); fiber content: MFA IV-fiber or all fibers and whether knitted or woven construction. The imports were then examined to determine the impact of economic variables such as the exchange rate, and US personal apparel consumption expenditure (PCE). Imports were found to have increased from 1978 to 1987 and then to have declined in all categories except one from 1987 to 1988. The MFA IV, implemented in August 1986 was believed to have caused a reduction of import volumes after an initial lag period (expected in international trade). However, other factors were implicated in the trade reduction primarily the fall of the dollar. The dollar was strong through the early 1980s until its peak in 1985, it then declined for the rest of the study. The one category which continued to increase after the trade restriction was items of MFA IV woven apparel. The reason for this continued increase is not clear but it is believed to be the absence of specific restriction, i.e., pure silk had not been included in bilateral agreements so it is possible that suppliers were switching the product mix to increasing quantities of the less restricted group. Also this would have been the case if the items were coming from new and/or unrestricted suppliers. In conclusion, it is felt that the apparel import rate or increase was the primary concern and the factor that determined action not the actual volume of imports as the MFA IV-fibers were increasingly used in apparel production. / Ph. D.

by Wong Yiu. / Bibliography: leaf 100 / Thesis (M.Ph.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1986

This research study examines the challenges facing CMTs in the Durban area. The researcher conducted a literature review on the evolution of the clothing industry, internationally and locally, the emergence of the CMT factory in Durban and the key aspects affecting CMTs in their current environment including yet not restricted to; imports, labour regulation, worker co-operation and CMT distributors. CMTs are the labour components in the clothing sector, providing jobs for woman and unskilled to semi-skilled individuals. Therefore, the poor performance of CMTs are cause for concern in South Africa, a country that is experiencing disturbing levels of unemployment. The evolution of the CMT factory highlights its reasons for coming into being i.e. short-run times and high productivity levels. When large manufacturers restructured to remain competitive, they shed the labour component of their operation. The reason for this move was to do away with labour issues. CMTs, in effect, became this labour component, without the benefits associated with that of a large manufacturing firm. However, the labour regulations that came into effect do not distinguish between a small business i.e. the CMT factory and a large manufacturer, as the same laws apply to both. The current CMT environment makes it difficult for employers to remain competitive, both locally and internationally, when factors such as low productivity hinder performance. The study provides vital information from the CMT employers' perspective and recommendations that have been made are practical and can be made use of with the help of the government. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2008.

Wage rate disparities between industrialized and underdeveloped countries have increased competition in labor intensive industries. To remain cost competitive, U.S. firms have developed alternative production strategies such as relocating labor intensive processes in countries with lower wages and labor costs. This type of manufacturing is known as production sharing. Item 807.0 of the United States Tariff Schedule provides an incentive for U.S. firms to utilize the coproduction process because it offers reduced tariff costs on imported products assembled with U.S. components. The duty paid is lower because it applies only to the value added in the foreign country. Highly labor intensive products, such as apparel, are ideally suited to take advantage of the savings offered under Item 807.0. The U.S. textile and apparel industry faces stiff import competition from low wage countries, and over the last fifteen years the volume of Item 807.0 apparel imports from the Caribbean has increased substantially. examines Item 807.0 and its effect of reducing This thesis the tariff base on an imported article such as apparel. Costa Rica, one of the leading Item 807.0 apparel suppliers, is used to study the relationship between Item 807.0 and the increased level of Caribbean sourcing of apparel production. The conclusion is that the tariff reductions of Item 807.0 should increase U.S. imports of Costa Rican apparel products made with U.S. components. However, Item 807.0 must be combined with low cost labor and competitive U.S. fabrics to be economically feasible. / M.A.

This reseacrh report is about the current role of the government/state in the restructuring of the clothing and textile industry in South Africa

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Architecture (Professional) to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / The home dressmaker is a figure so constant in domestic history that one would be hard pressed to find, even today, somebody who cannot recall a woman from their family sewing at the dining room table. Within a highly industrialised world people rely more than ever on the industry of the machine and it’s endless whirring of fast consumption production. In the process, we have lost the respect for both the process and the product of the hand-made object. The fast-food, fast-living, immediate-access and instant-gratification of a post war America and Europe began an erosion of the morals-of-making which people have relied upon for centuries. Growing industries of cheaply produced clothes, shoes and fabrics from India and China have decimated these formerly strong South African industries. This dissertation aims to address the continued role of home sewing- historically undocumented- as an ‘invisible’ economy and define its position as a driving force for change through a ‘Skills Revolution’. Using the lens of a South African born, Johannesburg based and family run dressmaking and sewing teaching business, Italian Dressmaking School, this thesis aims at addressing the pressing social and economic needs of South African creative industries by providing a platform for personal and community skills development and learning. Italian Dressmaking School was founded in 1961 by my grandmother Irene Sansalvadore, and today continues to provide the tools for women to learn the craft of home sewing. This dissertation aims at providing both the space for women, in particular, to gain a skill in a craft that has historically been considered ‘women’s work’ alongside aligned crafts of weaving and textile dyeing within the historic fabric trading area of Fordsburg. South Africa no longer produces much in the way of textiles, bar traditional shweshwe, which is produced solely in the Eastern Cape and a handful of smaller mills scattered around the country. While pure cotton and linen is hard to come by, increasingly expensive and highly desirable, South Africa on a whole imports all of this fabric from China, Russia and India amongst others. The aim of this project is to build onto an existing nucleus already to be found in Johannesburg, providing South Africas’ residents with the skills to start their own micro businesses centered around the production of cloth, the dyeing/colouring and/or printmaking of produced fabrics and the final garment construction with its dual phases of patternmaking and sewing. This thesis does not aim to compete with industries like China but rather to re-establish a formerly successful craft based industry. The autonomy of people in establishing their own identity is arguably one of the most essential needs after the most basic; survival. This dissertation is not for the fashionista but rather for the woman who has used her hands, for time immemorial, making the cloth that shrouds us all. / XL2018

Traditional African dress is a wide subject area. This study focuses on the influences of art forms such as fashion design on contemporary architectural design. There is past historic influence that can be identified in creating an identity for contemporary clothing and architectural design. Studying South African traditional clothing and architecture will inform the design for the Durban Institute of Fashion. The historic focus on dress has been limited to that of traditional South African origins and evolutions. This study will seek to identify the traditional aesthetics that were used in the history of dress and architecture whose details will be studied to explore the identity that the aesthetics present. The South African cultures studied include the Zulu, Tswana, Ndebele, Swazi, South Sotho, Xhosa and Cape Dutch. African traditional architecture is the main focus of this project. This study will seek to determine the relevance of African methods for a new architectural approach in South African architecture. The study of traditional building decorations will show how the aesthetics are transferred to architecture to express identity. To support this, a study of building technology and culture has been included. A review of contemporary architecture in South Africa studies and observes how the inclusion of tradition African architecture and decoration can address current issues. The link between studying clothing fashion and this architectural project will be achieved by addressing traditional dress, contemporary fashion designs and African identity. This will include an understanding of traditional African influences on dress from historic times to the present day. The cross-cultural influence focuses only on the western immigrants’ influence. The aim of this document is to obtain from the above an informed approach to the design expressing African identity for the Durban Institute of Fashion. / Thesis (M.Arch.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

This reseacrh report is about the current role of the government/state in the restructuring of the clothing and textile industry in South Africa

The importance of automating the garment manufacturing process has been understood since the early 1980s. However, in spite of millions of dollars spent on research, three decades later, the industry is still far from achieving a fully autonomous process. Previous work on fabric control in automated sewing focused on the control of only a single sheet of fabric using an industrial manipulator with an overhead vision system. These methods did not meet the accuracy and robustness requirements of the sewing process with respect to fabric position and fabric tension. To address these issues, a new method for fabric control in automated sewing is described. It uses the current feed mechanism on sewing machines, feed dogs, but modifies them to be servo-controlled. These servo controlled actuators, servo dogs, individually control two sheets of fabric before the fabric reaches the needle and during the sewing process. The servo dogs actuate the fabric 180o out of phase with the sewing needle, providing incremental control of the fabric when the needle is out of the fabric. To achieve this type of control successfully for automated sewing, the servo dogs have been designed for short displacement, high acceleration motions using a cable drive system powered by voice coil motors. Feedback of fabric position has been determined to be necessary and is to be provided by a thread-tracking vision system. This thesis outlines the general design of the system and discusses a prototype used to validate the design, and describes experiments performed to examine how the fabric will behave with the use of this type of actuation method.