An hour or so ago I got an alert to tell me that the local clothing industry was to be given a massive boost due to the government elections. Confused, excited, wondering about the new policy that would change everything for our local industry, I clicked the link and read the story. It was not was I was expecting.
Apparently 200,000 t-shirts for campaigning at next year's local elections are to be made and the SA Clothing and Textile Worker's Union have confirmed that the tender specifications stipulate that they must be made on home soil. They hope it will create some jobs.
Now this is not as exciting as I was hoping for, but it does focus on what we do best here. Good quality cotton, simple design, easy production. We should be doing a lot more of this. I know that we all want to do the fancy stuff. But honestly, we should be all about focus.
Using locally produced raw materials and focusing on developing efficient, quality production processes is exactly what can revive our flagging industry and create jobs. It is a small step, a boring step. It is not creative fashion or exciting trend. But it is solid and good. I say props to all concerned.