South African Textile Industry Research Articles

THE IMPACT OF THE CHINESE TEXTILE IMPORTS ON EMPLOYMENT AND VALUE ADDED IN THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN ECONOMY

With the increased trade linkage between China and African economies, this paper endeavours to assess the dynamic impacts of Chinese textile imports on employment and value added in the South African textile industry. This paper makes use of the structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) methodology with sign restriction. Moreover, based on this methodology, this paper conducts a counterfactual analysis to uncover what would have happened to employment and value added trends in the South African textile industry in the absence of trade with China. The results of the empirical analysis show that total employment responds negatively to shocks to import from China. Moreover, the results of the counterfactual analysis show that the South African economy could perform better without textile imports from China.

Translocal Activism and the Implementation of Equal Remuneration for Men and Women: The Case of the South African Textile Industry, 1980–1987

AbstractThe struggle by women workers has largely been overlooked in the historiography of trade unions in South Africa during apartheid. This article analyses the strategies of the National Union of Textile Workers (NUTW) to end wage discrimination against women as part of the struggle against poverty wages in the South African textile industry during the last years of apartheid, c.1980 to 1987. The first South African equal pay legislation came into force in 1981, covering the minimum wages of just a small number of the workforce; it was not until 1984 that legislation set minimum wages for all workers. Before the legal reform, new domestic and foreign political opportunities helped the NUTW to create new mobilization structures and offered possibilities to connect levels of scale and make local action visible at home and abroad. Global framing of wage equality combined with a translocal repertoire was used in the cases of multinational companies to make relevant connections between levels of scale (international, transnational, national, and local) to add to the visibility of the violations. After the reform of labour legislation in South Africa, the union made reference to domestic legislation, but translocal activism remained important in bringing foreign companies to the local negotiating table. Drawing on these cases, the NUTW developed a national strategy to make wage setting more transparent across the entire industry, adding to the visibility of all forms of wage discrimination.

Potential of dyes as draw solutions in forward osmosis for the South African textile industry

The textile industry produces large volumes of wastewater that requires appropriate treatment before being released into the environment. Research globally has focused on advanced desalination technologies to augment the limited freshwater resources. Forward osmosis (FO) technology has gained substantial interest as a possible lower-energy desalination technology. However, challenges such as the availability of effective draw solutions (DS) have limited its implementation. This study evaluated alternative feed water resources and assessed the potential of dye solutions as DS. The aim is to dilute a concentrated dye DS to a target concentration for direct dye-batch use, thereby reclaiming water resources. The measured osmotic pressure (OP) of the alternative feed solutions (synthetic brackish water; syntethic seawater; seawater from the Atlantic and Indian Oceans; and wastewater from two textile factories) were 414, 2 761, 2 580, 2 614; 1 716 and 7 822 kPa, respectively. Three basic dyes (Maxilon Turquoise, Red and Blue) and three reactive dyes (Carmine, Olive Green and Black) were selected based on common use in the South African textile industry. The dye samples were prepared without and with lt at different concentrations and different dye-to-salt mass ratios ranging from 1:10 to 1:60. The OP trends for the basic dyes followed Blue >> Red > Turquoise and for the reactive dyes Black >> Olive > Carmine. The overall OP trend was Black > Olive > Carmine > Blue > Red > Turquoise. The OP at different dye concentrations and different dye-to-salt ratios was mostly influenced by the dye chemistry and molecular weight (Mw) rather than the type of dye, i.e., reactive vs basic.The OP trend for the dye-to-salt ratios was 1:60 > 1:50 > 1:40 > 1:30 > 1:20 > 1:10. For both the basic and reactive dyes a linear relationship exists between OP and dye concentration; as well as between OP and Mw. The dye DS exhibited larger OP compared to that of the FS evaluated, thus rendering them suitable DS.

An analysis of buyer-supplier collaboration in the South African textile industry

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to explore perceptions regarding buyer and supplier collaboration around product development. The aim is to gain an understanding of which factors influence buyer-supplier collaboration outcomes in the South African textile industry. Methodology: This study comprised two data collection stages. The first stage comprised the design and administration of a questionnaire survey. The second stage utilised a qualitative interview methodology and entailed interviewing a subset of the questionnaire respondents in order to probe respondents’ own experiences in collaborative product developments and their perception of the factors that determine collaboration outcome. Findings: This study has shed light on the experiences of South African firms in the textile industry engaging in buyer-supplier collaboration around product development. While this study is exploratory, it has provided evidence that there are certain factors which are perceived to have a significant influence on collaboration. Implications: Under the past protective shield of tariffs, South African clothing and textile manufacturers could afford to allow an adversarial mode of operation to perpetuate inefficiencies. However, the increasing external pressures, including the very real threat of overseas competition, heighten the need for collaboration between buyers and suppliers. This relates, in particular, to collaboration aimed at new product development, which can be seen as a new imperative for the survival and growth of this industry. Currently, there are numerous barriers to effective collaboration. The overwhelming power of retailers in the value chain is one such barrier, as it creates an environment which is pressurised, strained and not conducive to buyer-supplier collaboration. Contribution and Value: Studies on collaborative new product development have primarily been done in developed countries, with a focus on technology intensive industries. This study sheds light on the dynamics of collaborative new product development in the South African context. It is a mature industry which is facing severe challenges. Factors which influence the performance of collaborative projects in this context were explored and hold important implications for managerial action, and government support for buyer-supplier collaboration initiatives.

The role of new technology in the South African textile industry's quest for survival in the 1990s

At the beginning of the 1990s the South African economy faced turbulent times and multiple challenges; not least of which was the competitiveness of firms in the manufacturing sector. During the apartheid years, South African firms had been fairly insulated against foreign competition as a result of government protection and trade sanctions. This was particularly true of the textile industry, where protection increased steadily over the better part of the twentieth century.

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:“Problems of Transition” (University of Natal Press, pp. 285, R2.75), is the record, edited and revised by J. F. Holleman, Joan Knox, J. W. Mann and K. A. HeardThe Research Needs of the South African Textile Industry — A Techno‐Economic Survey by D. G. Van der WaltThe Economies of Large‐Scale Production in British Industry: An Introductory Study. By C. Pratten and R. M. Dean, in collaboration with A. Silderston.Economic Analysis and Policy in Underdeveloped Countries. By P. T. Bauer. Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd.Statistical Year Book 1964. Compiled by the Bureau of StatisticsMultilateral Commercial Diplomacy: The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and its Impact on National Commercial Policies and Techniques. By Gerard CurzonFinancial Intermediaries in India. By M. S. Joshi.In the Common Interest — The Story of the Transvaal and Orange Free State Chamber of Mines