MANILA, Philippines — The Board of Investments (BOI) will roll o ut a roadmap to revive the garments industry and position the country as a big player in the sustainable fashion segment.
BOI executive director Corazon Dichosa said in a press conference Wednesday the agency would unveil the roadmap developed for the garments and textiles industry during the Philippine Garment, Leather Industries and Textile Expo 2019 slated from Dec.5 to 8, at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.
She said the roadmap, which covers a 10-year period or until 2029, would outline initiatives to address issues affecting production capabilities, human resource development, and concerns on the ease of doing business.
“Given the lower costs of production and more integrated garments and textile manufacturing hubs in the region, it has become difficult to compete in fast fashion. The current profile of our garment exporters – which predominantly serves more premium brands, is reflective of the difficulties in competing in a highly cost sensitive market,” she said.
Based on the performance of the manufacturing sector in the last three years or from 2016 to 2018, only the textile manufactures and wearing apparel sub-sectors posted a decline in gross value added (GVA) compared to average GVA of the sectors in 2013 to 2015.
For wearing apparel, GVA declined 2.7 percent to P31.316 billion for the 2016 to 2018 period from P32.194 billion in the 2013 to 2015 period.
For textile manufactures, GVA slid 7.7 percent to P27.460 billion for the 2016 to 2018 period from P29.749 billion in the 2013 to 2015 period.
As such, the BOI is looking at niche segments in the industry where the Philippines can actively participate.
As sustainability is now dominating fashion and there is growing interest in sustainably sourced and produced goods globally, the BOI sees opportunities in this segment for the local industry.
“This is a market that BOI is looking at – not only because it might make good business sense, but also because we want to support the values and principles of industry players in this space,” Dichosa said.
To tap opportunities in the segment, the BOI is working with Fashion Revolution, a group of designers in sustainable fashion, as well as small players engaged in manufacturing or upcycling of scraps from different garments manufacturers, to identify assistance they would need.
Dichosa said among those identified by designers are for government to give assistance in sourcing raw materials; provide a platform for raw materials suppliers, designers and manufacturers to meet; and support in participation in international expositions.
To kickstart the promotion of sustainable fashion, the Philippine pavilion during the upcoming expo would feature local manufacturers in the wearable industry supporting sustainable and inclusive business practices.
Andrew Kay, managing director of CP Exhibition Ltd. of Hong Kong, which is organizing the upcoming expo, said while there are many garment firms in China looking to relocate due to trade tensions with the US, the Philippines is not top of mind for these companies.
He said if the Philippine government would want to push the development of the industry, it needs to step up efforts in promotion.
“They can send a delegation to America, Europe, Japan so people will know the Philippines can be a good supplier. Of course, they can also go to China to see more sourcing because now China is the biggest supplier of basic products, textile,” he said.
The upcoming expo is expected to feature 82 exhibitors from the Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Italy and Vietnam.
Through the expo, the BOI hopes to promote the capabilities of Philippine wearable manufacturers and exporters to produce high-quality products, and opportunities to do business in the country and with the local garments and textile industry.