The price of cotton is the highest it’s been in 150 years @ $1.9US / per pound – double the cost of a year ago (2010.) Raw materials account for 20% to 50% of the final cost, with labour at 20% to 40%, for a low to medium-end garment.
Bad weather has affected the harvest and cut into production, factories in china and other countries have shut down parts of their operations due to the economic down-turn of the last few years, and now with the world economy seeing a slight pick up the labour market is expecting a wage increase.
“On the production side, many Chinese factories that shut down temporarily in the depths of the recession still haven’t returned to capacity. As they ramp up, they’re finding they have to pay workers more because of labour shortages,” said John Long, retail strategist at consulting firm Kurt Salmon.
Unrest in Middle East will increase the cost for fuel, resulting in the cost of tranportation going up.
This is all a perfect storm in the making for rising prices.
Resulting from this, we will see less embellishment or accessories on garments as designers and manufacturers try to keep to a competitive price point, increasing their prices an average maximum of 10% . Therefore, we will see a big divide between high-end and average-end garment application on trimming due to consumer demand for these embellishments and accessories.
ref: Soaring cotton prices, labour costs mean higher prices for clothing this year
Hello everyone! A friend of mine just recently lost his battle to cancer. In honour of his memory, I have designed the “Bob Martin Dress” and will auction off the doll, wearing this exclusive dress. I will also auction off the winning prize of the design competition (hopefully!) and honour Bob’s last wishes by making a donation to a local theater that he frequented.
Here is a rare look behind the scenes at poster art work by