California Apparel News

U.S. consumers were definitely in a conservative mood when it came to buying clothing in 2011.

Clothing and textile imports from overseas were down 
2 percent for the year ending Nov. 30 when calculating imports by units. When it came to dollar value, imports jumped 9.2 percent, due primarily to rising raw-material costs that included cotton and polyester.

“Prices continue to go up while the number of garments goes down,” said Julie Hughes, president of the U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel.

With 95 percent of U.S. clothing sourced from overseas, the country brought in $101.3 billion worth of apparel for the year ending Nov. 30, compared with $92.7 billion the previous year. But when calculated in square-meter equivalents, a fabric measurement, the United States imported only 54 billion SME, compared with 55.2 billion SME in 2010.

Part of the disparity was due to cotton prices, which started on a rocket-like ascent in November 2009, when cotton was at 72 cents a pound, and peaked at $2.30 a pound in March 2011. Since then, prices have leveled off quickly. Cotton now fetches about 90 cents a pound. For months, manufacturers were reluctant to pass on price hikes to retailers when the country was digging itself out of a deep recession. But eventually they had to relent or sacrifice profits.

Even sourcing in China, a country known for its low costs, has been affected. The value of its apparel and textiles shipped to the United States during the 12-month period was up 6.2 percent to $40.6 billion. But the number of units sent was down 2.5 percent to 25.2 billion SME. China accounts for 46 percent of all apparel and textiles imported by U.S. companies.

It was a different story for Vietnam, the second-largest apparel provider to the United States. That country, with its burgeoning garment industry, which accounts for Vietnam’s largest export product, saw the unit value of its clothing and textiles ordered by U.S. companies grow nearly 10 percent while the dollar value of those goods was up nearly 15 percent.

Vietnam shipped 9.85 billion SME valued at $7.2 billion to the United States as apparel companies tried to diversify their manufacturing sources.

India, the third-largest apparel and textile supplier to the United States, is on a growth path, too. Its apparel and textile exports to the United States rose nearly 2 percent in unit value last year to 3.3 billion SME. The value of those goods was up nearly 11 percent to $6 billion.

Many countries are concerned that China’s burgeoning middle class will start spending more money on domestically made clothing, tying up garment factories that have been challenged in recent years with labor shortages and higher wages.

“China’s domestic market is going to create more competition, but we haven’t seen that play out yet,” Hughes said. “But it continues to be a concern.”

China’s new textile plan

China has been trying to get more apparel factories and textile mills to move away from the coastal region, where there is a labor shortage, and move inland. This has been going on for the past three years, but the Chinese government recently released a five-year, 40-page plan for its textile industry that puts those goals into writing.

The country would like to see more textile factories, now located predominantly in the eastern coastal region of the country, move closer to Xinjiang province in the west, where much of China’s cotton is grown. Apparel factories would be set up in inland provinces with lower costs and abundant labor.


China wants the textile industry, during the five-year period, to upgrade in eight areas, including technological innovation, the industrialization of advanced technologies, branding development, sustainable development, the planning of industrial parks, adjustment of the industry structure, mergers and acquisitions, and talent management.
In addition, China will seek more innovations in the fields of high-performance fiber materials such as carbon fiber, and in the research and development of fibers made of renewable resources.


Chemical fiber producers in developed countries produce more than 100 types of products each year, while the production of carbon fiber, aramid fiber and polyphenylene sulfide in China is still in preliminary stages, according to a report released by China Investment Consulting Corp.

The five-year plan calls for the development by 2015 of five to 10 internationally recognized Chinese brands that could be sold overseas and the development of at least 100 national brands for domestic consumption.

Apparel makers should be trained in brand management and development to compete with Western countries that, for decades, have been adept at launching and building international brands.

The plan acknowledges that China has a lot of competition now for U.S. and European accounts. India has been making great strides in apparel production, as have countries in Southeast Asia.