o f f s h o r i n g

I took a fashion merchandising class in Long Beach, and the off shoring flattener was right on with what I learned in that class.

Garments, from the time they are designed, to the time they reach the retail stores, take 8months! That's why fashion shows and collections are showed a season or two ahead. This is because off shoring takes time (especially shipping). Fabrics need to be designed, then shipped over to the country it will be cut in, then shipped over to another country that will be sewn together in, then shipped to the country where the trims will be put on, then back to the designer. If there is anything wrong with the garment, it has to be shipped back out to be fixed! Then the final product is finally shipped back to the country it will be sold in, and distributed to retailers.

In my merchandising class, we had to actually go out to department stores, look at the tags on the garment, see where it was made, and take notes (what brands make what where, etc.)
I'm pretty sure you've all seen the 'made in China' tag in your T-shirts and stuff. It's really funny when you pay attention to these things. The really good stuff might be made in Italy, or in Japan. When I was going around looking at tags for the class, I always did a double take on the ones that weren't made in China, because it was so rare. Sometimes, the tags would even say things like 'made in China, assembled in Indonesia'

When I started reading the book, I didn't think off shoring would be a flattener. But it makes sense! Countries take each other's resources to advantage. I think it's cool. It helps the U.S. get the work done. It helps China and other countries that mass produce too, because the people have jobs and the money flows better.