I’d rather be French!
I recently read a fascinating article about garment making– not my usual reading, but a girl has to branch out on occasion. This article compared the 2 major hubs of garment manufacturing Cholet, France and New York City, NY to find how they had sustained the industry in face of difficulty. It seems that the two locations have two very different models.
NYC has employed what the authors term a “Sweatshop Model” that is a model in which they stay alive in the face of globalization by becoming hyper-efficient. Cholet, however, is surviving not through hyper efficiency but rather through entrepreneurial endeavors. In particular, they promote collaboration between small and local producers. In doing so they have abandoned the traditional hierarchical system of mass production. While these two models seem antithetical to each other, they are both incredibly successful.
How can though can the two models improve further? Can the systems cross-pollinate and lead to one model which is both hyper efficient and entrepreneurial in nature? Nothing about hyper-efficiency excludes entrepreneurship; yet, using small scale local producers may be an impediment to efficiency as by its nature it is higher cost. Nonetheless, the nature of the fashion industry allows for ever escalating prices and price points. Therefore, cost efficiency may not be as pertinent as production efficiency.
The reports authors argued and, in fact, I would argue too that the Innovation model may be no better than the Sweatshop model. Yet, both are central to the functioning of the industry. Innovation to be successful needs a mass market for consumption. Fashion, like any industry which relies on constant innovation, necessitates both an entrepreneurial model and a means of mass manufacture.
What then does this mean for innovation? Innovation creates a value-added component of the Cholet industry whereas mass market production leads to a devaluation of the New York market. Both results have pluses and minuses but the most important aspect of the entire article for me is the knowledge that innovation provides a necessary, valuable and specific contribution. Innovation does this in every industry, even if it is not the main focus in every locality.
What can your industry to inspire entrepreneurship? Can your area become a hub? How can other geographic localities factor into this model? Do you think there are other models that affect the fashion industry in other places?
If you are interested in learning more about the business side of fashion, I suggest checking out the NOLCHA website.
Tags: Cholet, france, garmet making, Nolcha, NYC