Editorial: Can Apparel Still Be Made Competitively in Developed Countries?

4 pages, published in Issue 143, February 2010   Report price: Euro 275.00; US$ 365.00

Of seven major regional clothing trade flows identified by the World Trade Organization (WTO), only four increased in 2008. Three of the four involved exports from Asia, and comprised:

- exports from Asia to Europe, which rose in value by 16.7% to US$59.7 bn in 2008;

- exports from Asia to Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries1, which rose by 14.4% to US$16.1 bn following a 95.0% surge in 2007; and

- intra-Asian trade?ie trade between Asian countries?which grew by a more modest 1.6% to US$39.7 bn.

The fourth major clothing trade flow to exhibit growth in 2008 was that of intra-European trade, ie trade between European countries. Moreover, this trade flow was the biggest of the seven. Having grown by 5.2%, it reached US$108.0 bn in 2008 which equated to about 30% of world clothing trade in the same year.

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• Editorial: Geographical Proximity May No Longer Be a Critical Factor in Textile and Apparel Sourcing, (September 2009)
• International Comparison of Production Costs: Spinning, Texturing, Weaving and Knitting, (June 2009)
• Talking strategy: new ideas on sustainability, managing waste and technological innovation, (1st Quarter 2009)

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