Clothing exporters innovate to trim costs

07 Oct '09

2 min read

The recessionary trends and the accompanying slowdown which also has brought along with it pressures on pricing as buyers look for lower prices, have brought out the best in innovation from the clothing exporters in India, in a bid to trim costs.

Companies are mainly experimenting and replacing high cost accessories with viable and sturdy alternatives. One apparel manufacturer has replaced acetate or viscose fabric with cheaper polyester to line the inner side of a garment.

Polyester and viscose blended suits are replacing high priced premium woolen suits, which are witnessing a demand drop in the western economies. Production costs of Polyester/Viscose blended suits are 50 percent cheaper, than their woolen counterparts.

According to a well-known exporter, the demand trends in western countries has shifted from premium to value based clothing, but which also should look good, due to which they have to find various measures to meet this demand.

Other measures include using sewing threads of lower counts or more cost effective designs, which meet the expectation of the buyer, who wants a good looking clothing which also feels the same, at half the price than he paid earlier.

Exporters are also switching to lower priced fabrics to prune costs. Also, others are reducing embroidery costs by switching over to embroiderers who do it relatively cheaper. Experts aver that the way ahead is through value engineering of products, price reduction and product innovation.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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