The China's economy has been built on the US’s greed for cheap goods.

Article by @FrancesHarder, Fashion For Profit, exclusively for Focus On Fashion Retail. All rights reserved. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Focus On Fashion Retail magazine.

I do not understand why there has been so many negative insults thrown at the Chinese by certain US politicians accusing the Chinese of stealing US workers’ jobs. There really is only one culprit to blame for this predicament and that is the US consumers who demanded and still do demand cheap bargains for all types of material goods. If tariffs had been imposed on imports from China 50 years ago it could have saved many jobs and made us to invest in new manufacturing infrastructure. It seems to me to be after the fact to imposes sanctions and tariffs at this stage of the game. Of course, China has been guilty of stealing many of the western world’s intellectual property, and has been the center for counterfeiting top brands, which has been a big bone of contention. But it is my experience that they are now trying to rectify this problem by allowing the protection and registration of western copyright, patents and trademarks in China.

Regarding the purchase of clothing, which is my main focus, it is a fact that most of us in the western world buy far too much stuff that we really could live very well without. Our wardrobes have enough clothing to last a lifetime. Yet, part of our relaxation is to saunter around the stores, or go online and mindlessly see what is new, or on sale. Then maybe buy a new top, or a pair of shoes as a reward for a busy stressful week. But if these items of clothing were twice the price, I doubt we would purchase them so readily. The cheapness of all these goods has had drastic repercussions that has resulted in a Global call to action due to the over full landfills of all types of items. Many of these items being textile and clothing. 

As China became more affluent so their own lifestyles have improved. Their major cities have grown into amazing impressive centers. But this new affluence has also increased their own price of living that results in higher prices to produce these goods. The Chinese have resolved this increase in living by either moving factories further inland to cheaper locations or, due to their western worlds’ acquired wealth they are now building new high-tech factories in other countries that can provide even cheaper labor. This allows them to still sell to us at a much cheaper price than we could produce here in the US. The Chinese have the intellect, plus the drive to work hard and build all types of industries to serve the US and Western World with all kinds of goods. From clothing, furniture, toys, IPhones, you name it they can and do produce it very efficiently! I have visited both Hong Kong and the mainland China and have always been so very impressed with their vison and industriousness. I also realize that they have a semi socialistic/capitalistic type government that would not work in the western world. It is capitalist to a point, but if they decide they want to build a road through your house they will! 

So, what is the solution? There is no simple answer, but my feeling is that we all need to try to work together for the benefit of us all. The repercussions from these over full landfills and our plastic polluted oceans is now a huge problem. The odd fact is that once the goods have been discarded here, they are often then shipped back to China or other third world countries for them to discard in their landfills or in the case of India into the ocean. 

But there is another issue that is affecting offshore production and that is the demand for speed to market. This new demand means that we are looking for domestic production or from factories that are nearer to our borders. But, surprise the Chinese are finding a solution for this. Produce the goods in China then ship the goods to a free trade zone and then change out the labels to be made in those countries!

Let’s see what happens with the Japanese summit with President Trump and the President Xi. Interesting times!

Frances Harder authored and published a series of books dealing with starting a fashion business. Fashion for Profit (10th edition), Costing for Profit, Brand Building for Profit and Forms for Profit are industry focused texts used both by new companies and for further education programs. www.fashionforprofit.com.

In 1999 she foundered the FBI (Fashion Business Incorporated), an educational not for profit 501c3 organization, which provided vital business development, resources and certified job training programs to both the US, and to the International apparel industry. Closed in 2017 to relaunch under Fashion for Profit platform as a for profit entity in 2018. Frances is also a consultant to the United Nations assisting small businesses in Peru for producers of Alpaca products & Nepal for Cashmere products. She consults and speaks internationally on product development, branding, merchandising, production and entering the US market. She also serves as an industry expert in legal disputes and is an adjunct professor at Cal Poly Pomona and serves on the Dean’s advisory board.

#focus #magazine #focusonshoes #focusonfashionretail #trade #wholesale #business #article #editorial #fashion #business #tradewar #export #china #asia #us #usa #american #expert #opinion #guide #feature #profit #FrancesHarder #help #factory #factories #trending #advice #consultant #apparel #sourcing #textile #sustainability #eco-design #chine #economy #cashmere #selling #global #market #future #opinion #manufacture #manufacturing #source #cheap #labor #production #shoes #bags #accessories #media #fiber #technology #machinery #shipment #seminars