TCF on show in Melbourne this month: “There is a local industry and it’s not just fashion”

As this title has written before, there remains a textile, clothing and footwear (TCF) sector in Australia. Its products can confusingly cut across other sectors (for example wound care fabrics or geotextiles) and the companies that contribute to it are regularly on the small side. But it’s still here.

An EY report from 2021 estimated the Australian fashion and textile industry was worth $27.2 billion to Australia’s economy, with $1.5 billion from the manufacturing side.

This podcast and story are brought to you by ECA. To learn more about their upcoming Pop-Up, visit this link. https://ethicalclothingaustralia.org.au/ethically-made-in-australia-popup/

“We have accredited businesses that have been manufacturing here for more than 75 years… and some of those have never gone offshore. Others still have local operations and maybe some offshore operations,” explains Rachel Reilly, National Manager of Ethical Clothing Australia (ECA), of the organisation’s members.

“But in terms of size, they’re relatively small. Most would be considered small to medium businesses. The majority would have an annual turnover that’s less than $2 million a year.”

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show a little over 11,500 businesses, but categorisation can be challenging, and this is the case again with understanding the workforce, Reilly (pictured below) tells us. 

“[Workers are] often considered small business owners or subcontractors or a whole range of other categories and not employees under the textile, clothing and footwear industry,” she adds. 

The ABS suggests about 40,000 people are employed in TCF, “but again, it’s problematic, because of potentially that mischaracterisation, particularly of outworkers…” 

Outworkers or homeworkers – often mature-age women, and sometimes making as little as $10 per hour – are a feature of the TCF supply chain. 

Established in 2000 and operating under its current name since 2010, ECA runs an accreditation scheme based on yearly audits of companies wanting customers and others to know they protect the rights of local garment workers.

“It was really born out of recognition of the high rates of exploitation that existed in the local textile, clothing and footwear or TCF industry,” explains Reilly.

“So their complete supply chain is audited to ensure the labour rights against… relevant Australian workplace laws are being upheld and protected. So: on the right skill level, earning the right wage, under the right employment conditions, getting their superannuation and all their entitlements.”

According to a report last year from left-leaning think tank the Australia Institute, Australia has overtaken the US in clothes purchased per capita, “fuelling a fast fashion waste crisis”.

A huge amount of this is imported, and a figure cited sometimes is that only three per cent of the clothes sold here are made in-country.   

But the local TCF industry endures, in in obvious forms like Redback boots and Hard Yakka, and in countless less obvious examples.

Some of them will be on display at ECA’s upcoming showcase, the Ethically Made In Australia Pop-Up showroom, running from June 25 – 29 at 306-308 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. The week will also include Meet the Makers and Ethical Manufacturing Matters events.

“We want people to know that there is a local industry and it’s not just fashion. So we’ll have display items… and we’ll have a meet the makers,” Reilly adds. 

“But we’ll also be showcasing some of the other types of TCF products made here, such as uniforms and apparel and those sorts of things.”

In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, Reilly shares more about the shape of the industry and its workforce, the importance of government procurement, what international trade issues could mean for the local TCF sector, and more.

Episode guide

0:30 – Career path

1:50 – What Ethical Clothing Australia does

3:54 – The TCF industry in Australia in terms of its economic value

5:10 – Data on the industry’s size and some of the shortcomings of these figures

6:03 – Most businesses are on the smaller side. 

7:10 – The workforce and some of the difficulties in properly accounting for it.

8:24 – The highly-feminised nature of the workforce

9:55 – A large proportion of the workforce is born overseas

10:54 – The market for what’s made here. It tends to be geared towards quality and an ethically-conscious consumer.

11:55 – The importance of government procurement to the sector

13:02 – Regarding trade uncertainties and what they mean for this industry.

15:25 – A maturing workforce, skills shortages, and the ability to ramp up production if needed. 

17:41 – Ethically Made In Australia popup from June 25th to June 29 in Fitzroy

19:16 – Ethical Clothing Week in October

20:25 – Where listeners can find out more

Pictures: supplied