Where the bloody hell are your clothes made?

As more and more Australian fashion companies turn to Asia to manufacture their collections, Samantha Docherty asks how the small few staying on-shore keep their stock on the shelves.

The disappearance of industry infrastructure with a lack of component parts, machinery spare parts, skilled technicians and fewer tanneries - coupled with a torrent of imported product, has forced 121 year-old Australian footwear company Baxter to import products from India and China.
Importing 50 per cent of its footwear offering over the past three to four years, Baxter's owner Wallace Baxter says the company has gained more customers by offering cheaper options to its hand-made original welted design.
"As the demand for Australian made diminishes we'll continue to import from off-shore. But while customers are still buying Australian-made we'll also continue to produce here."
A burgeoning occurrence in Australia's manufacturing sector, the increase in fashion companies producing part or their entire offering has increased by ?? per cent over the past ?? years.
With 22 years rag trade experience under his belt Jim Grenenger, owner of men's shirt label Jimmy Stuart, feels most manufacturers are going off-shore because it's too expensive to employ staff in Australia.
"The way this country is structured, we are very much a lucky country that is built around the employee. For employers this can be hard, making it too expensive to employ staff in Australia. That's why everyone is now manufacturing off-shore."
But that's not to say paying too little to off-shore workers is any better.
Upset at the conditions of Asian workers, Grenenger says the decreasing duty on producing off-shore is not helping the situation.
"Ten years ago there were quotas per garment along with 22 per cent duty and a fee of $3 to $4 a garment. Now the government has gotten rid of the quota to make a level playing field and duty is very small. Where is the protection for our industries?
"America protects its industries, but the Australian government wants a level playing field with the rest of the world - including the countries that have no minimum wage or employee protection. They want us to be competitive with them but how is that possible?
China has no human rights, no superannuation, the only policy they have is a one child policy. The workers are getting paid next to nothing and some of the garments are being manufactured by prisoners in jail. The last thing anybody wants is a monopoly and that is what is happening with China. The way the Australian government is structured they want everyone to go off-shore."
With only three staff in his small factory in West Ryde (one of the few remaining in Australia) Grenenger still sews, pattern-makes and grades himself.
Stating on the company's website that his men's shirts are 'made somewhere on the Australian Coast', Grenenger feels Australian-made means nothing today.
"It's all about price most of the time. We might sell four to five thousand shirts a season, but why customers buy from me is not necessarily for the fabric or that it's made in Australia."
There are however exceptions. Taking an order from one of his long standing customers at Fashion Exposed recently, Grenenger was surprised when buyer Liz Watkins from The Hub in Albany, Western Australia doubled her previous order.
"She said I was one of her only Australian-made menswear products and that she had loads of customers coming into the store looking for Australian-made."
Situated in a country town in WA, many of The Hub's customers are farmers who prefer to support Australian-made products because they feel it's better quality.
"If we can "Selling Australian-made is slightly more expensive to buy but for the worth of the customer there is not much difference in price. Our Jimmy Stuart and Gloster shirts sell at $65 to $85, but some of the other brands that we stock can cost around the same price and they're made in China."
A common fact that off-shore designs are generally of lower grade than the Australian equivalent, Watkins feels when brands initially go off-shore the quality can drop.
"We persevere as it is usually a well know label that our customers recognize. It may mean that we spend less with that company the next season if the quality drops."
Vanessa Rowed, co-owner and designer for footwear and accessory brand agathaandme feels the increase in off-shore production has meant a real deterioration of genuinely Australian-made shoes.
Designing shoes, bags and gloves, agathaandme find it exceedingly challenging to find reasonably priced factories in Australia.
"The most difficult part is once you've found them you have to commit to large minimums to make it worth their while. It's extremely difficult for a young company to get started. Currently we don't employ any staff, we're only a young [business] and we work with all our manufacturers and suppliers on a contract basis."
For both Rowed and co-owner Agatha Antonian, being an Australian label lies at the core of their business.
"All our shoes and bags are made in Australia using the finest Australian leathers. Even our gloves, which are made in Italy, are made from kangaroo leather. We feel this is our point of difference, and we are proud of the quality workmanship that is still being produced in Australia even though the amount of good support labour is minimal.
"It's difficult just to begin manufacturing in Australia. Margins differ depending on the product; however we seem to take the smallest piece of the cake! Without very large quantities the manufacturer's prices are non-negotiable, and in order to make your product affordable you need to keep your wholesale price low as the retailers put such large mark-ups on it."
Unable to compete with off-shore suppliers, the brand is positioning itself alongside top-end established European shoe designers.
"The set up costs are huge. We have decided that we cannot compete with the price of items made in China and India; therefore we need to compete on a different level i.e. quality and brand. Our brand is created around Australia; this is what keeps us different to other labels. As long as we ensure the workmanship is always good, we can continue to promote our shoes as a premium quality craftsmanship."
Seeing first hand what changing to off-shore production can do to a brand, men's and women's boutique streetwear brand BAMBAM Cloth's creative manager, Michael Pretsel noticed whilst previously working in retail, that customers stopped buying cult denim label Tsubi when it started producing overseas.
"Customers were unhappy with the quality when Tsubi was produced off-shore. Less people were buying it so it started producing [in Australia] again."
Attributing BAMBAM Cloth's limited offering, due to its level in the market, as its main reason for producing on-shore, Pretsel says this keeps the brand exclusive.
"Since we sell boutique clothing it makes sense that we manufacture in Australia on a smaller scale compared to bigger labels. People who buy boutique clothing are usually paying for quality and everybody knows garments made in Australia are of higher quality than somewhere like China."
Pricing the difference of producing an Australian made shirt for $20 to one in China for $5 to $10 or a pair of jeans for $20 or $30 compared to $75 in Australia, Pretsel still prefers to produce on-shore even at a cost to the company.
"It can be a trial [to keep afloat] sometimes knowing that moving production off-shore could increase your bottom line drastically. You deal with this by knowing that if everyone thought like you then eventually things will get better. We make enough money as it is to survive and if we keep chipping away and growing while keeping business here, its better for everyone. I think [retailers] recognise Australian made stock and support these labels."
One person that does think the same way as Pretsel on this subject is Angela McDonald. Co-owner and designer of childrenswear label Willow and Finn, McDonald has not seriously looked at the savings of manufacturing off-shore.
"I can only imagine it's at least double to produce in Australia compared to China. I've sat down and tried to cost it out slightly but unless you're a really huge company it really isn't worth it. Also you don't have timing issues manufacturing on-shore. We can produce two months ahead as opposed to six months if we were off-shore. We also have greater control over the quality of the end product when manufacturing in Australia."
Trading for three years, the company uses more than 50 suppliers to get its garments from design stage into the 60-plus boutiques it stocks across Australia and New Zealand.
Sourcing these suppliers throughout Australia, McDonald says although the market has shrunk over the past decade there is still enough manufacturing competition to give them good negotiating powers with their suppliers.
"Our decision on which manufacturers we use is not driven by pricing position alone. We focus more on the quality of the end product. We then cost the garments out accordingly. We have a high-end label so for us quality is primary; it's not just about price. When you go off-shore it's all about cost, how beautiful your clothes are and the love of what you do is lost."


Steering clear of department stores and chains, BAMBAM Cloth is stocked in boutique stores.
Agathaandme find it exceedingly challenging to find reasonably priced factories in Australia.
Jimmy Stuart 'made somewhere on the Australian Coast'.