Australia’s fashion and textile industry is charting a new course, unveiling its first national roadmap aimed at bolstering local manufacturing. This ambitious strategy emerges at a critical juncture, as the sector grapples with mounting supply chain disruptions, exacerbated by geopolitical tensions and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Developed by the Australian Fashion Council (AFC) in collaboration with R.M. Williams, the national manufacturing strategy is the culmination of a year-long consultation process. It involved over 300 stakeholders, encompassing manufacturers, brands, educators, and policymakers from across the textile, clothing, and footwear sectors.
Samantha Delgos, General Manager of the AFC, highlighted the pervasive concern within the industry. “There’s definitely a lot of concern in the industry about what the future is for fashion textile manufacturing,” she stated. Over the past year, the industry has weathered a perfect storm of global instability, including geopolitical tensions, international tariffs, and now, the conflict in the Middle East.
The current reality for the Australian fashion industry is stark: a staggering 97 per cent of clothing and textile products are manufactured offshore. Ms. Delgos pointed out that this reliance on overseas production leads to “complex supply chains,” where garments often traverse multiple continents before reaching Australian consumers or being exported. Each leg of this journey, she explained, incurs additional costs. “When we do have these kind of recurring global supply chain shocks, which are kind of happening more and more frequently now, it just keeps putting the spotlight back on what can we do here locally,” she added.
Crucially, Ms. Delgos clarified that the new strategy isn’t about recreating large-scale manufacturing overnight or engaging in direct competition. Instead, the focus is on learning from international best practices to foster growth and scalability within Australia.
A Boost for Australia’s Cotton Growers
The 10-year strategy is multifaceted, divided into three key pillars: public procurement, workforce revitalisation, and investment in modern machinery. A significant beneficiary of this initiative could be Australia’s own cotton industry.
Despite being a major producer and exporter of raw cotton, Australia currently lacks the domestic capability to spin this fibre into yarn. This crucial step in the textile production process is typically outsourced to countries in South-East Asia.
Adam Kay, Chief Executive of Cotton Australia, described this as “the missing link here in Australia — that’s where the fibre is turned into a yarn.” He explained that many of Australia’s major spinning mills were forced to close in the past due to prohibitive labour costs.
A core component of the new strategy is to explore how advanced technology can facilitate the return of this spinning process to Australian shores. Mr. Kay noted that while modern spinning mills require substantial upfront investment, their operational labour costs are significantly reduced due to high levels of automation.
Cotton Australia represents the nation’s 1,500 cotton producers. Mr. Kay expressed concerns about the impact of rising fuel costs on these businesses, anticipating a repeat of the supply chain challenges experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw “crazy increases in shipping costs.” He acknowledged that increased operational costs are often passed down the supply chain. The conflict in the Middle East, he stressed, serves as a potent reminder of the imperative to enhance domestic manufacturing capabilities. “It’s important that we can manufacture some of these things, and whilst food obviously is more important than clothing, which is a more discretionary item, it’s still important,” he remarked. “People like to be fed, but they also like to be clothed.”
Championing Australian-Made Goods
Beyond technological investment, the strategy aims to actively stimulate and drive consumer and institutional demand for Australian-made products.
Tara Moses, Chief Operating Officer of R.M. Williams, a brand renowned for its commitment to local manufacturing, believes the government has a pivotal role to play. “One of the biggest things that government already does today is, it buys lots of products, it buys lots of garments, it buys lots of footwear, and we want to, with the coordinated industry approach, make government procurement focused,” she explained.
This focus could extend to critical areas such as defence uniforms. Ms. Moses observed that many long-standing Australian manufacturers have historically benefited from defence contracts, which provide consistent demand and volume, thereby supporting their infrastructure and enabling business growth.
Cultivating a Skilled Future Workforce
The third vital pillar of the strategy addresses the need to empower and develop a future workforce for the Australian fashion and textile sector. This industry currently contributes approximately $28 billion to the national economy and employs nearly 500,000 people.
However, a significant disparity exists in remuneration, with workers in this sector earning, on average, $30,000 less than their counterparts in other manufacturing fields.
Dr. Harriette Richards, from the School of Fashion and Textiles at RMIT University, emphasised the dual need for enhanced training pathways and improved wages and career perception. “Not only do we need more sort of training pathways… but there’s also other things that need to be done in terms of raising those wages and raising visibility and perception of the viability of that as a career path,” she stated.
Dr. Richards attributes the industry’s lower perceived value, in part, to its historical association with a feminised workforce, with women comprising 58 per cent of its manufacturing employees. “So there’s a sense of it as being insignificant or unimportant,” she noted.
She urges the government to take the industry seriously, especially in light of global workforce shifts and widespread job cuts in large private sector companies. “It seems like weekly, if not daily, we’re seeing job cuts in big private-sector companies, so we’re needing to think about future jobs for our young people,” she advised. “If we don’t jump on this opportunity now, the boat will sail and we’ll lose those skills entirely.”
Dr. Richards expressed both optimism and a degree of caution regarding government buy-in. “I can see the opportunities here and [the AFC] made an incredibly strong case, but that’s the piece that I am concerned about, whether there will be that buy-in and uptake from government to ensure its success, because historically there just hasn’t been the same generosity.”
In response, a spokesperson for the Minister for Industry and Innovation, Tim Ayres, stated that the Albanese Labor Government’s “Future Made in Australia agenda is the biggest pro-manufacturing package in Australia’s history.” The spokesperson added, “The government wants to see a thriving local fashion and textile, clothing and footwear sector, delivering jobs and economic opportunity for Australians.” They highlighted existing government support mechanisms, such as the Industry Growth Program (IGP), which is accessible to the fashion and textile sector. The spokesperson pointed to a recent round of IGP grants that awarded nearly $5 million to Xefco for the commercialisation of technology aimed at improving textile dyeing sustainability.
