An ethical dilema
Dreamt, inspired, designed in Australia... but made in China - a common occurrence on labels in Australian retail stores.
Under the New South Wales Fair Trading Act there are no legal requirements for the country of origin of a garment to be stated on a label, however the law stipulates that those brands which opt to place this information on their label, must ensure the information is correct.
The Fair Trading Act of 1987 states that in relation to false representations 'a person shall not, in trade or commerce, in connection with the supply or possible supply of goods or services make a false or misleading representation concerning the place of origin of goods'.
Sydney-based provider New Directions Packaging (NDP), which produces packaging, woven swing tags and labels for a host of fashion clients including Versace, David Lawrence, sass & bide, Zambelli and Canturi says around half of the labels it produces are stamped with the 'Designed in Australia/Made in China' tag.
NDP general manager Mohan Nair argues stating a garment is designed locally helps offset perceived concerns about the fact it has been manufactured offshore.
"It's misleading if you like but it doesn't just happen in the fashion industry. It's common with most products that are made overseas but sold in Australia.
"At the end of the day customers want the price of something being made in China but the image that it's made in Australia - they want the best of both worlds."
With the belief suppliers are just trying to express their own brand vision, outside the jurisdiction of regulatory issues about displaying place of manufacture on sew-in labels, Anouk Darling, general manager of Moon Design, says manufacture is just one part of the process.
Darling says today's customer is very aware of all the off-shore manufacturing - particularly as many of the top end luxury brands are now manufactured in China and India.
"Some of the best quality textiles are coming out of China, so there isn't [as much] prejudice about point of manufacture that there used to be," Darling says,
Simply stating '100 per cent Australian-made' on her swing tags and labels and '100 per cent designed and owned' at the bottom of the swing tag, designer Tienna Paisley leaves no doubt her swimwear is produced on-shore.
"I also have satin white labels with black writing saying 'Australian-made' that sit with the Paisley label and size on the garment.
"I think manufacturers distorting where a product is made to make it more appealing to customers is unfair. Any kind of trickery is unfair."
Paisley says as a consumer as well as a designer she always scrutinises labels when buying clothes and where possible always chooses locally made products over those made offshore.
"I hope others do the same as I feel it's the consumer's responsibility to check. I know it's hard to compete sometimes and I can understand that companies might try to mislead people. But at the end of the day I'm also sure that customers know that if it's cheap it's more than likely made overseas anyway, and if they still choose to buy it, well that's their choice."