Tomatoes that seem to be identical to one another have lost their eternal appeal to the public, who now search for tasty tomatoes grown closer to home, even if they are more expensive. Children need to learn once more that milk comes from cows and not from supermarkets. The veggie and health food trend has
become tantamount to local production. Now it's high time that the fashion sector follows in suit. But do we still have the knowledge and technological possibilities for local production? Can we make jeans in Europe, produce bags and purses and knit sweaters? And where? In this series FashionUnited investigates garment production in six European countries: Spain, the UK, The Netherlands, Germany, Italy and France - to shed light on the production possibilities that lie within our backyard.
In 1977, the clothing sector accounted for 650,000 jobs in France. By 1997 this number had dropped to 250,000, and in 2010 to 90,000. Brands have, to a certain degree, relocated their production due to the hourly cost of labour, which is about 30 euros in France according to the Coe-Rexecode observation centre. That amount competes against the hourly wage of 21 euros in southern Italy, 3 euros in Morocco and 0.3 in Bangladesh.
Although some higher-end clothing brands have relocated their production, a number of them have decided to continue producing in France. This rings particularly true for a many French luxury brands that require local expertise. It is also the case that certain brands see it as a question of patriotism. We remember Agnès B's call, launched in 2011, advocating the safeguarding of French "savoir-faire"; a call strongly echoed in pre-election period.