Analysis of sector dynamics

The South African clothing industry is concentrated in three provinces: Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. According to National Bargaining Council statistics, as of June 2004 there were 827 clothing firms in SA, with 327 located in the Western Cape, 239 in the Northern areas, 219 in KwaZulu-Natal and 42 in the Eastern Cape 5 . Nationally, the sector comprises a number of well-established large firms, SMMEs and home industries. There is also a large cut-make-and-trim (CMT) industry in the Western Cape and KZN that range from large, well-established firms to small home industries. In addition, many of the smaller enterprises form part of the informal economy. Similarly, there is a diversity of fabrics that are used across the provinces, ranging from natural fabrics to synthetics and synthetic mixes. However, higher value-added fabrics (e.g. wool) tend to be used mainly in the Western Cape. Even though the clothing sector is concentrated in only a few areas, primarily the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, there are some major differences between the industries in these provinces, as outlined in Table 2. 

Table 2: A comparison of the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal clothing sectors


The single most significant input into the clothing sector is fabric, which accounts for approximately half of the cost to produce a garment. This clearly ties the domestic clothing and textiles industries together, and even more so with various trade agreements stipulating rules of origin requirements for clothing exports (see Section 4). A constraint to the clothing industry is the shortage of domestically produced fabrics, as well as the limited variety of fabrics produced locally. These factors inhibit the ability of firms to meet the rules of origin requirements for exports under preferential trade agreements, and forces firms to import fabrics that are not produced locally. Furthermore, because these rules of origin tie the domestic textiles industry into the clothing production process, any weakness in the textiles sector has a marked impact on the success of clothing exports. A recent survey on the SA textiles industry 7 revealed that although the industry does have operational strengths, there are numerous competitive weaknesses that remain: Long lead times, poor delivery reliability and deteriorating quality performance. Without an efficient, supportive textiles industry, clothing industry expansion is constrained. Additionally, expansion in the export-oriented clothing.

industry should have a positive impact on the textiles industry – at least the part that supplies clothing production (about 48% of the SA textiles industry). 

Clothing is a labour-intensive sector, contributing 1.8% of overall employment in SA. Combined with textiles, it contributes about 13.4% of total manufacturing employment. As a result, overall employment is relatively large, while output per employee is low compared to more capital-intensive industries. Furthermore, the clothing sector requires a relatively unskilled labour force, with 82.2% of employment in the sector attributed to semi and unskilled workers, 13.4% to mid-level skill occupations, and only 4.4% to jobs requiring high-level skills. Nevertheless, there is a serious need to develop skills, particularly middle-to-upper management skills. Although the CTFL SETA through its Centres of Excellence programmes at the Durban and Peninsular Technikons, as well as Johannesburg University, support the skills base of the industry, these institutions are finding it difficult to secure sufficient support from industry to effect positive transformation. The clothing industry is particularly important to the economy because of its labour absorptive capacity and its ability to offer entry-level jobs for unskilled labour. However, the rapid pace of job losses is a major concern. According to a recent Western Cape clothing industry report (the Ralis report), if employment trends continue the sector will disappear by 2012. While this is clearly an overstatement, the general principle is correct: This is a sector the South African economy is slowly losing. Based on current trends we estimate that the two industries are set to lose between 50,000 and 75,000 jobs in the formal and informal sector over the next nine years.

A number of institutions support the SA clothing sector. However, these institutions are fragmented and often act as lobbying associations. Institutions include:

SACTWU: Southern Africa Clothing and Textiles Workers Union   Clothing Manufacturers’ Association (CMA): Employers organisation that is the bargaining council partner to SACTWU  

CMT Employers’ Association: Employers association in the clothing industry

Bargaining Council for the Clothing Industry: Employer–employee regulatory council for the clothing industry  
CloTrade: The Clothing Trade Council of SA (previously Clofed) was formed in 2003 by clothing manufacturers to be the collective voice of members to interact with government and other stakeholders in respect of trade related matters

Industrial Development Corporation (IDC): The IDC has a Textiles, Clothing, Leather and Footwear Strategic Business Unit that is committed to playing an active role in accelerating the development of this industry

Garment Manufacturers’ Association: Association of larger Western Cape CMTs

Clothing Industry Export Council: An initiative of TISA to assist exporters. In collaboration with EMIA, it provides funding for initiatives such as trade missions and exhibitions  

CTFL SETA: Clothing, Textile and Footwear Sector Education and Training Authority  

CSIR: Supports clothing and textiles through, for example, the National Fibre, Textile and Clothing Centre, which promotes growth and global competitiveness of the South African textiles pipeline.