The Garment Industry has been faced with a lot of challenges in many countries across the world. First, Labor shortage is a common problem to the garment industry not only in New York but also in the third world countries. It is accelerated by the fact that few people are skilled to work in the textile industry. In other countries, people simply do not like working in the textile industry which leads to low manpower in the industry. This affects the production in the sense that there are few people to carry out the processes leading low to output. Inadequate labor also causes overstretching and strain to the already existing labor. Some of these workers feel the pressure of working under such situations and opt to quit the job making the already bad situation worse. (Fasanella).
Relocation is another major challenge facing the Garment Industry. This is caused by either internal or external factors beyond which the company is unable to cope. Some of these reasons that cause the relocation of the industry are taxation, lack of labor, increased competition among others. When the industry relocates, acquiring new premises becomes very expensive. On the other hand, adjusting to the new environment and being able to draw a mass of customers in the new location takes a considerable long time.
Failure to acquire government support is also a major challenge in the garment industry. How does the government fail to offer support? First, the government fails to offer support through taxation policies. It imposes taxation policies that are very strict on the company until it is unable to cope. The industry ends up relocating or closing down. Secondly, the government fails to offer the necessary environment for the industry to perform optimally (Smith, and Comyn).
Expenses used on lease property are usually a big blow to the industry’s income. This is because the industries lease this property for a long time and have to pay heavily for the property according to the terms of the lease agreement. Under such expenses the company is unable to expand and increase more labor causing it to lag behind (Smith, and Comyn).
Garment industry has been very pivotal, needless say, the backbone of the BRIC’s economy.The countries provide garments of different kinds all over the world. China is the world’s leading nation in textile production. Two years back textile industry alone contributed to seven percent of the nation’s GDP. The industry has three major benefits. Firstly, the industry provides employment to many people in the country. This helps to reduce the challenge of unemployment and strain to the government resources in an effort to cater for the unemployed people. Secondly, the industry submits a lot of revenue to the government in the form of taxes. This helps the government to provide the members of the public with better social amenities and carry out most of the development projects across the nation. Thirdly, the industry contributes heavily to China’s foreign trade earning a lot of foreign exchange for the country (China Research and Intelligence Co. Ltd).
In India, textile industry comes second after agriculture, providing employment to over thirty five million people exclusive of the ones securing employment in the allied sectors. The country produces high quality products for men that do pretty well in the local and foreign market. The industry has seen exponential growth in this country due to cheap labor rates and the use of advanced technology that incorporates sophisticated machinery during production (Sinha). Textile Industry is, therefore, key in economic growth and should be highly guarded.
Works Cited
Smith, , Belinda and Smith Comyn. "New York - Garment Industry Development Corporation." 10 May 2006. lrrpublic.cli.det.nsw.edu.au. http://lrrpublic.cli.det.nsw.edu.au/lrrSecure/Sites/Web/13289/ezine/year_2006/may_jun/skill_ecosystem_garment.htm. 18 June 2014.
China Research and Intelligence Co. Ltd. Research Report on China's Textile Industry, 2012. 10 July 2012. http://www.marketresearch.com/China-Research-and-Intelligence-Co-Ltd-v3627/Research-China-Textile-7058589/. 18 June 2014.
Fasanella, Kathleen . Labor shortage? 27 March 2007. http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/labor_shortage/. 18 June 2014.
Sinha, Arvind . Scenarios in BRICS regions and Textile potential. 2 September 2013. http://www.textileassociationindia.org/scenarios-in-BRICS-region-and-textile-potential. 18 June 2014.
