Cebu’s Garments Industry

The garments or wearing apparel industry generally refers to the “aggregation of business enterprises engaged in the production of ready-to-wear apparel from either locally-manufactured textile materials or imported fabrics”. Examples of these products are men’s and ladies’ wear, children’s and infants’ wear, underwear, nightwear and other articles of apparel or clothing.

The start of the garments industry in Cebu can be traced to the cottage firm that existed in the early 1900s. During that time, dresses and other wearing apparel were custom tailored for clients in small operations that were confined to common households.

In the early 1960s, a few of these cottage-sized dress shops initiated factory level operations. Following fashion trends, the consuming public started to buy ready-to-wear clothing. The first incident of a firm in Cebu catering to the export market was in 1965, when the Niesters Dry Goods went into a labor subcontracting agreement with a foreign firm.

And so, from a fledgling industry back in the 1960s when the main line of business entered on subcontracting activities for American principals, Cebu’s garments exports have grown tremendously - with the first million dollar mark reached in 1987.

As the demand for wearing apparel increased in the last thirty years, more factories have been established in Cebu. Cebu’s garments sector leads the Visayas and Mindanao regions in export volume and sales and is one of the province’s top foreign exchange earner.

The industry is labor intensive. Composed mostly of small and medium-scale enterprises, the garments sector employs more or less 10,000 direct and indirect workers in Cebu. Added to this are the number of households who benefit from the employment. Other indirect beneficiaries include those in support industries such as shipping, trucking, storage, insurance, packaging, trade and banking.

The attraction in investing in the garments industry is that demand is always expected to rise as population is continually growing. With life expectancy expected to increase tremendously due to technological advances and with clothing remaining a basic need among people, the upward trend in trade is almost certain to continue.

Source: DTI Information Network