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Adele's Mohair (Supplied)
Cape Town - Over the past few years, the South African textile industry has shed jobs at a rapid rate as a tsunami of generic Asian-manufactured goods has pushed local producers out of the market, says Nicholas Owsley, assistant project manager at Fetola.
Despite this development, certain South African producers have been able to carve themselves a place in niche markets.
Adele’s Mohair in the Eastern Cape, a small producer of hand-crafted textile and clothing products, has trebled its sales and quadrupled its employment since 2003.
This is the same period that Chinese imports made their major surge through the local economy.
The business has also seen its wares exported to as many as 20 different countries worldwide.
The success of this small handcraft business alludes to the potential that lies in high-quality production.
"The race-to-the-bottom mentality of low-cost production appears to be a cul-de-sac for South Africa’s clothing and textile industry, as we simply cannot compete with the Far East in the arena of mass production," explains Owsley.
The principal opportunities in textiles and clothing, therefore, lie in the development of niche markets for products with strong local and international demand and in the move to higher-value production.
This view is confirmed by the Eastern Cape Development Corporation.
The key to Adele’s Mohair’s success lies in exactly this philosophy.
Each of their items is handcrafted using locally-sourced wool and mohair from sheep and angora goats.
Most of the products are hand-dyed and are found in a myriad of colour combinations. The range of colours offered is unmatched by global competitors, and this is one of their major value-adds.
Each item is shaped and accessorised by hand to give it a unique and fresh finish, an approach which has seen three of the business’s accessory collections displayed at the Paris Fashion Week.
"By customising our products and focusing on the high-end of the market we’ve been able to keep the soul in our work and still grow sales," says owner Adele Cutten.
In 1998, the South African craft sector was flagged in the Cultural Industries Growth Strategy (CIGS) as an industry that holds tremendous developmental potential due to its labour-intensive nature and the traditionally strong place of women in the industry.
Since then, the industry has seen growth and has become more commercially-minded.
Research conducted by the Cape Craft and Design Institute also shows that craft producers in the Western Cape, most of whom are relatively low income earners, are achieving strong improvements in market access and increased personal incomes.
The sector, however, is still saturated with survivalist micro-enterprises.
Art-Aid director, John-Anthony Boerma says a lot of South African crafters try to copy foreign designs and therefore find it difficult to find a gap in the market.
Adele’s Mohair’s growth proves that when the emphasis is on product quality and innovation in design, businesses in the craft sector can achieve sustainability and make an economic impact.
Adele’s Mohair recently celebrated 30 years of operations, making it a benchmark of sustainability in the sector.
As Adele’s case shows, local crafters have the potential to use local raw materials to produce high-value finished goods at home.
This practice elevates South African production up the value chain and allows locals to gain the maximum value from our natural endowments, says Owsley, who sees scope for much more work of this nature.
Adele recently joined the Old Mutual Legends programme, which works with entrepreneurs looking to grow their business.
- Fin24
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Despite this development, certain South African producers have been able to carve themselves a place in niche markets.
Adele’s Mohair in the Eastern Cape, a small producer of hand-crafted textile and clothing products, has trebled its sales and quadrupled its employment since 2003.
This is the same period that Chinese imports made their major surge through the local economy.
The business has also seen its wares exported to as many as 20 different countries worldwide.
The success of this small handcraft business alludes to the potential that lies in high-quality production.
"The race-to-the-bottom mentality of low-cost production appears to be a cul-de-sac for South Africa’s clothing and textile industry, as we simply cannot compete with the Far East in the arena of mass production," explains Owsley.
The principal opportunities in textiles and clothing, therefore, lie in the development of niche markets for products with strong local and international demand and in the move to higher-value production.
This view is confirmed by the Eastern Cape Development Corporation.
The key to Adele’s Mohair’s success lies in exactly this philosophy.
Each of their items is handcrafted using locally-sourced wool and mohair from sheep and angora goats.
Most of the products are hand-dyed and are found in a myriad of colour combinations. The range of colours offered is unmatched by global competitors, and this is one of their major value-adds.
Each item is shaped and accessorised by hand to give it a unique and fresh finish, an approach which has seen three of the business’s accessory collections displayed at the Paris Fashion Week.
"By customising our products and focusing on the high-end of the market we’ve been able to keep the soul in our work and still grow sales," says owner Adele Cutten.
In 1998, the South African craft sector was flagged in the Cultural Industries Growth Strategy (CIGS) as an industry that holds tremendous developmental potential due to its labour-intensive nature and the traditionally strong place of women in the industry.
Since then, the industry has seen growth and has become more commercially-minded.
Research conducted by the Cape Craft and Design Institute also shows that craft producers in the Western Cape, most of whom are relatively low income earners, are achieving strong improvements in market access and increased personal incomes.
The sector, however, is still saturated with survivalist micro-enterprises.
Art-Aid director, John-Anthony Boerma says a lot of South African crafters try to copy foreign designs and therefore find it difficult to find a gap in the market.
Adele’s Mohair’s growth proves that when the emphasis is on product quality and innovation in design, businesses in the craft sector can achieve sustainability and make an economic impact.
Adele’s Mohair recently celebrated 30 years of operations, making it a benchmark of sustainability in the sector.
As Adele’s case shows, local crafters have the potential to use local raw materials to produce high-value finished goods at home.
This practice elevates South African production up the value chain and allows locals to gain the maximum value from our natural endowments, says Owsley, who sees scope for much more work of this nature.
Adele recently joined the Old Mutual Legends programme, which works with entrepreneurs looking to grow their business.
- Fin24
* Add your voice to our Women's Wealth Issue and help empower others this Women's Month.
Write a guest post
Share your coping tips
Ask the experts
