INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION AND RESEARCH:

C.T. Benjamin and K.F. Pun: Evaluation of a Development Plan for the Trinidad and Tobago Fashion Industry

16 ISSN 1000 7924

The Journal of the Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad and Tobago Vol.43, No.1, April/May 2015, pp.16-21

Evaluation of a Development Plan for the Trinidad and Tobago Fashion Industry Cilla T. Benjamin a,Ψ and Kit Fai Pun b Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies; a E-mail: [email protected] b E-mail: [email protected] Ψ

- Corresponding Author

(Received 24 January 2015; Revised28 April 2015; Accepted 20 May 2015) Abstract: A government may choose to approach industrial development through providing the environment for general business inception and growth or by selecting specific industries for special attention. In the case of the T&T Fashion Industry, the government selected the latter approach, singling out the industry as one of several creative industries earmarked for development assistance under the auspices of the state’s implementing agency, the Creative Industry Company Limited (CreativeTT). This paper is based on the supposition that policies developed for industry development would yield greater results if they were based on inputs from industry participants. For the TT Fashion Industry, it presents the evaluation of a proposed Fashion Industry Development Plan (FIDP) by six (6) entities including all three (3) major Fashion Industry Business Membership Organisations (FIBMOs), two (2) local industry experts and one (1) international consultant to the fashion industry. The FIDP was developed during an empirical study consisting of an expert opinion study and two Q-Studies from the same concourse. Keywords: Conceptual model, fashion, industry development, evaluation, Trinidad and Tobago

1. Introduction The Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) fashion industry has failed to live up to its potential despite the existence of creative designers who have received international acclaim. This occurred despite the fact that the government and its agencies have supported the industry for decades with state-led initiatives such as a Negative List which effectively restricted imports of clothing, tax incentives for equipment purchase, sponsorship of local fashion events, and financial support for regional and international fashion event attendance. The fact that there was inadequate organisation within the industry would have partially contributed to this predicament. It is only within the past five (5) to ten (10) years that industry participants have formalised themselves by membership in Fashion Industry Business Membership Organisations (FIBMOs). The state’s umbrella organization for the creative industries, CreativeTT, was formed in 2013 amidst much controversy, following an earlier failed attempt (Andrews, 2014; Dickson, 2013a). The fashion industry stakeholders were of the opinion that such an entity overseeing the various Creative Industries including Film, Music and Carnival Arts would not be sensitive to the issues affecting the development of the fashion industry (Young, 2013). They postulated that mistakes of past state-led initiatives would be repeated, whereby the viewpoints of the definite stakeholders would not be the prominent ones in determining policy for interventions aimed at the development of the industry. The arguments of the fashion industry stakeholders, as

presented by the Fashion Industry Business Membership Organisations (FIBMOs), were considered, and the FashionTT Company was formed, under CreativeTT, to deal specifically with the affairs of the fashion industry (Dickson, 2013b). The FIBMOs present the interests of industry participants to the government and their participation is now invited on state-led industry development committees (Carr, 2013). This augers well for the development of this or any industry, since the people who actually make their living in the industry are finally able to contribute to policy governing the development of the industry. This study presents the evaluation of a proposed Fashion Industry Development Plan (FIDP). The proposed plan was developed as a result of an eighteen (18) month unpublished empirical study conducted within the sector, which sought to determine the views within the private sector with respect to the fashion industry environment and the development of the industry. The study consisted of an expert opinion study, and two (2) Q-Studies from a single concourse. The expert opinion study was conducted over nine (9) months and involved in-depth interviews with ten (10) peer-recognised industry stalwarts who averaged more than twenty-five years’ experience, respectively. Based on the results of the expert interviews, as well as desk research, a concourse of statements on the industry and recommendations for its development was prepared. These were then subject to analysis using QMethodology, involving forty-six (46) participants from the formal fashion industry. Participants were required to


rank thirty-six (36) statements according to their level of agreement or disagreement with each. Simultaneously, they were also instructed to arrange the statements with respect to each other, according to a quasi-normal distribution pattern. Factor analysis conducted in IBM SPSS® delivered five (5) definitive viewpoints of the fashion industry environment but only one dominant opinion on the preferred approach to developing the T&T fashion industry. It was this latter result that played the most prominent role in developing the FIDP, summarized in this paper. 2. Literature Review 2.1 Background on the local industry development A number of policies, local and global, have affected the development of the fashion industry in T&T. The eclectic nature of the T&T population resulted in creative manners of styling during and post African slavery (Stone, 2011). This was manifested in diverse types of clothing construction, fabric design, accessory design and use of indigenous materials by the different ethnic groups, including African, Indian, Chinese, European and ‘French Creole’ or ‘Trinidad Whites’ (Stone, 2011). Notwithstanding this, the commercialisation of the formal industry failed while the large informal industry consisting of village seamstresses and tailors earning a subsistence living, flourished (Newsday, 2003). According to Stone (2011), larger, more formal enterprise did not prove to be sustainable due to local and global environmental forces. Some of these are outlined in this section. 1) The Negative List In the 1980s, a Negative List was enforced whereby imports of clothing were severely restricted within T&T (Stone, 2011). Within the framework of this protectionism, the local industry grew, but this success was not sustainable as the industry quickly went into a slump when the markets were reopened, with residents choosing to purchase foreign clothing as opposed to local. 2) Multi-Fibre Arrangement Simultaneous with and subsequent to the local Negative List, foreign initiatives in the form of a quota system called the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA), worked to attract business to the country in the form of garment assembly. Again, this was no longer sustainable after the end of the MFA. As such, market distortion failed to stimulate sustainable growth within the industry (Stone, 2011; Heron, 2006; Robertson and Lopez-Acevedo, 2012). In fact, the MFA was designed in such a way that the markets of beneficiaries such as Trinidad and Tobago would not develop beyond the low value added garment assembly operation since it only provided incentives when raw materials originating in either North America or Europe were shipped to the region for assembly and then

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the finished product shipped back to the 1st world nation (Heron, 2006). The MFA worked against potential vertical integration into lead activities for the fashion supply chains such as fabric production, design or retailing (Heron, 2006; Robertson and Lopez-Acevedo, 2012). 3) Other State Initiatives Alternative state initiatives over the years have been focused on subsidising the cost of selected designers’ attendance at foreign fashion events around the world and sponsorship of local fashion events, with minimal results. Most recently, in 2010, the state funded Caribbean Academy of Fashion Design (CAFD), the first school of its type in the English speaking Caribbean was opened, under the auspices of The University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT). The school provides diplomas and degrees in the two areas of Fashion Design and Fashion Management. Acceptance into the programme is based on the possession of traditional GCE or CXC Certificates for entry into tertiary institutions which act as a barrier to a large number of individuals operating within the formal and informal industry who do not have these certificates (Headley-Atherley and Griffith-Perez, 2013). Despite their interest in formal training, they are not candidates for entry into the programme (Headley-Atherley and GriffithPerez, 2013). 3. Elements of the FIDP The Fashion Industry Development Plan (FIDP) describes a proposed holistic system of support by the state, as developed from all elements of the study, with special emphasis on the results of Q-Study B which sought viewpoints on suggested recommendations for developing the local industry. The FIDP is demarcated into long, medium and short-term interventions. The short-term interventions had the most potential for resulting in market distortion, so they were temporary, only meant to be implemented for a total of six (6) years, with enterprises limited to accessing it for up to a maximum of three (3) years. Medium-Term interventions ran the length of the formal FIDP, a total of six (6) years. Long-term elements were meant to remain in place indefinitely or until a review of the industry indicated that they should be varied or eliminated altogether (see Table 1). 4. Methodology This paper presents the evaluation of the proposed Fashion Industry Development Plan for T&T. The evaluations were conducted through e-mail and phone calls to gather further information respectively, with the international consultant sending his response solely by email, albeit a very detailed one that addressed all aspects of the FIDP, and areas of concern. Table 2 provides the profile of the evaluators who were invited to comment on the FIDP. Opinions from the


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Table 1: Elements of the Fashion Industry Development Plan Time Period Short Term

Element

Description

Design-toMarket (DTM) Work Cells

An open-concept linked cell type arrangement to accommodate design, rapid prototyping, pattern making, cutting stations and assembly are proposed. The DTM work cells would actually be physical incubators in selected industrial estates in the north, east and south of Trinidad and in the Cove Industrial Park in Tobago. They are suggested for the purpose of providing working space for new enterprises or existing enterprises wishing to expand. Marketplaces associated with each incubator should also be provided. These marketplaces do not need to be in the estate, but rather in a more commercialised area. The equipment leasing/hire purchase programme is recommended because of the under-capitalisation existing within the industry among new and long term industry participants. The precedent for this programme is that which existed under the Caribbean Leasing Company Limited, now disbanded, whereby individuals could lease equipment through the company and either choose to replace or purchase the leased equipment at the end of the initial lease period. The Modified On-the-Job Training programme caters for fashion academy graduates as well as current industry participants who may not be in a position to offer jobs and paid internships at this stage of the industry development. It differs from the general OJT Programme in terms of the payment method which would see the real-time payment grant being up to 100% for first times users of the M-OJT under the FIDP. This component would revolve around Fashion Event Assistance which would be available to all enterprises while registered under the FIDP, through their FIBMOs This pertains to the government supporting the industry with funding and professional services in the development of online portals, and offline advertisement of such portals. Furthermore, special financing for trade would be negotiated and funding for trade activities made available to enterprises registered for the FIDP, for its duration. Tax free equipment imports without the restrictions associated with being in an approved free trade zone are recommended here. This means that enterprises should be able to import equipment tax free, even if they were only selling within domestic markets. Business Development Services (BDS) for private entrepreneurs and capacity building in Business Service Facilitation (BSF) for Business Membership Organizations (BSOs) are proposed. These services have a precedent in the defunct Research and Development Fund (RDF). It is proposed that the fund be reinstated for these areas as well as research related to the fashion industry, especially in areas identified in this or subsequent studies. The FIDP endorses the state’s provision of diploma and degree programmes Fashion Design and Fashion Management. The industry needs to standardise measures and through its agency, the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards (TTBS) should enforce its adoption. A gap was discovered in technical and vocational skills in support of a high functioning fashion industry. As such, it is recommended that current programmes be upgraded/modified to supply such. The government should continue to have oversight of the industry, to ensure that targets for growth are met and determine whether further development plans are necessary. This may be done through CreativeTT and FashionTT.

Technology Upgrade Funding (TUF)

M-OJT Funding

Medium Term

Show and Sell (SOS) Support Online Fashion Marketplaces (OFM) Special Free Trade Zone Status (SOTZ) Business Development Services (BDS)

Long Term

Fashion Academy Standards/ Certification Fashion Trade School Industry Oversight

most prominent Fashion Industry Business Membership Organisations (FIBMOs) were sought. The three (3) most active FIBMOs in T&T (Evaluators A, B and C) include the Fashion Association of Trinidad and Tobago (FATT), which is based in the capital city of Port-of-Spain, the Fashion Entrepreneurs of T&T (FETT) which is very active in the southern city of San Fernando and Designers United Stores (DUS), with which Tobago’s designers are typically associated.

Table 2: Evaluators of the FIDP Invited Evaluators A B C D E F

Representing Bodies, Organisations and/or Institutions Fashion Association of T&T (FIBMO) Fashion Entrepreneurs of T&T (FIBMO) Designers United Stores (FIBMO) Designer and Owner of “The Cloth” Fashion Enterprise Managing Director of Sunburn Clothing Factory International Sector Development Consultant

Moreover, two local industry experts (Evaluators D and E), a designer and manufacturer/designer respectively, each with over twenty-five (25) years’ experience in the industry evaluated the model. Finally, an international fashion consultant (Evaluator F) with experience in over thirty (30) countries including T&T, agreed to provide his viewpoint regarding the efficacy of the model.

5. Findings and Discussion This section presents and synthesises the feedback from the evaluators on the short-term, medium-term and longterm components of the FIDP, with indications as to how the plan may be adjusted based on this feedback. While the general consensus among the evaluators was positive with endorsements from each entity and an unconditional endorsement from the FATT, this section chooses to focus on the areas which were emphasised or critically discussed. In terms of sustainability, it is better to wean the industry off of government funding so the percentage


support for the industry could gradually be reduced over the years as the FIBMOs seek to raise their own funds through innovations which may include collaborations with other local industries such as music and film. The entertainment component and increased sales based on product placement would generate the necessary funds to cover the promotion of the fashion collections. The T&T government has already funded an equipment leasing programme, now defunct, through the Caribbean Leasing Company Limited. While a study was not done on the programme, it set a precedent for the recommended leasing arrangement which could assist the undercapitalised industry in gaining some of the necessary technological upgrades. Furthermore, graduates from the Fashion Academy would have an easy option regarding setting up their own enterprises and building capacity locally. The major change suggested by all the evaluators concerned the duration of the FIDP. While the FIDP was initially proposed for just six (6) years in order to create a sense of urgency among stakeholders and reduce the effects of market distortion, all the evaluators argued that six (6) years was too short, given the state of underdevelopment of the industry. As such, the FIDP is being doubled, in order to accommodate the stakeholders to better plan and strategically take advantage of the benefits. Furthermore, individual elements of the FIDP, such as tax breaks for the purchase of equipment regardless of free zone status, are recommended for the entire length of the FIDP. Support for fashion trade events should be more focused, as per the advice of the evaluators, except in exceptional circumstances. This is necessary to gain recognition in specific markets. Individual enterprises,

once established and based on their own returns, should then seek to launch themselves further afield. Also defined in the plan, is the gradual reduction of funding for activities such as fashion events, which should force the FIBMOs to increase innovation for those types of initiatives so that they would pay for themselves. Ways in which they may accomplish this is by collaboration with entertainers or film makers where the fashions may be showcased as part of another event that patrons would pay to attend. They may also seek to show their fashions at the traditional high profile fund raisers which may be well attended by upper-middle to high income patrons. The FIDP deals with the financial shortcomings of stakeholders within the industry, recognising that it is impossible to develop the industry in the environment of undercapitalisation which, for many stakeholders may contribute to factors such as long lead times to delivery and poor quality, which reflects poorly on the entire industry. As such, the leasing and tax break proposals are retained in the plan. Related is the upgrading of technical, operational and management skills within the industry. All of these are addressed through the support of a wellappointed technical/vocational school and an R&D fund managed by professionals to will provide funding for business development service provision or industry consultants. Designer grade fabric stores which would supply fabric and notions should then be registered with FashionTT and be under surveillance of the T&T Bureau of Standards. Through an active partnership with the private sector, the industry will assure that the required quality and quantity of raw materials would be supplied. The feedback of evaluators and experts’ is summarised in Table 3, and conclusions detailed in Table 4.

Table 3. Summary of Evaluators’/Experts’ Feedback on the Fashion Industry Development Plan Evaluator FIBMOs (Evaluators A, B and C)

Local Experts (Evaluators D and E)

International Expert (Evaluator F)

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Feedback The main issue raised by the FIBMOs included the length of the FIDP which they found was too short to yield the intended benefits, based on their respective knowledge of the current state of the industry, which has digressed. They particularly endorsed the Fashion Trade School and the Certification of workers, citing the lack of these factors as an impediment to the industry's development. Technology upgrades were also endorsed but again, they argued that support for the upgrades as outlined in the FIDP, in the form of the leasing programme and tax breaks should be open to all enterprises in the industry and last for at least twelve (12) years. The question of quality standards was raised. T&T has had no official standard for garment sizing and these standards should either be officially developed from first principles or another country’s/region’s standard should be adopted in its entirety for use in the industry. Even though an initiative to simply adjust existing standards for use by the T&T industry was acknowledged, this was rejected by the evaluators. The fashion designer/manufacturer stressed the importance of technical support for enterprises to improve all areas of their operations. He argued that this had to be a major part of the FIDP. The other concern here was the support for fashion events. The local experts postulated that while it may seem important to send designers in diverse global events to showcase their talent, what would being more benefits would be consistency in targeting a more narrow audience initially so that partnerships may be formed through familiarity with local fashion enterprises. The means of granting assistance in this area should, however be documented in advance so that there is transparency in the process and no enterprise is unfairly favoured over the others. The Expert advocated for less state and more private sector involvement and control, and argued that the FIBMOs should be the ones responsible for the Fashion Events with private sector support. The Expert also doubted whether the state would wish to involve itself with web portal/trade assistance and equipment leasing.


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Table 4. Conclusions from the Evaluation of the Fashion Industry Development Plan Time Period Short Term

Medium Term

Element

Conclusions

DTM Work Cells Technology Upgrade Funding (TUF) M-OJT Funding

Accepted as proposed Inclusion as an option is recommended. Tax breaks on all equipment for use within the industry are also recommended, since a technology upgrade is presently critical. The OJT programme is important for the industry to develop skills. The M-OJT was accepted because in the case of the fashion industry, many of the new ‘employers’ would also normally qualify under the programme as recent graduates. Accepted, with qualification. Closer management and greater transparency were recommended. This should ideally be an area for development by the private sector. It was, however acknowledged that the profile of the fledgling firms and young ‘new’ entrepreneurs within the industry means that they are unable to afford professional services at the levels required. Assistance for this, under the FIDP, was therefore recommended. Accepted as proposed. Extension for the duration of the FIDP recommended.

Show-and-Sell (SOS) Online Fashion Marketplaces (OFM)

Special Free Trade Zone Status (SOTZ) Business Development Services (BDS) Long Term

Fashion Academy Standards/ Certification

Fashion Trade School

Industry Oversight

R&D funding for technical assistance was acknowledged as being important under the FIDP. Specialist personnel trained in this field were thought to be a key to its success and proper utilisation of any government funding for R&D in the industry. The Fashion Academy should be supported by other recommendations in the FIDP such as the Fashion Trade School and the M-OJT programme. Urgent attention is needed in this area. Some foreign standard should be adopted for use by the industry OR T&T develop its own standard from first principles. This is a developmental block for the industry at present. Suppliers to the industry should also be monitored by the TTBS. Fashion Trade School was deemed critical. In fact, one of the evaluating organizations has plans to establish this, despite their limited resources, since it is an area that they consider to be stifling the growth and development of the industry. Acknowledged and accepted provided that the policy for industry development is guided by the private sector and not public officials.

6. Conclusion There are certain aspects of the proposed Fashion Industry Development Plan (FIDP) that must be revised based on feedback from the evaluators. The initial duration of six (6) years for the FIDP was recommended in order to reduce market distortion effects which lead to a lack of sustainability. However, the evaluators thought that this period was too short based on the current state of the industry, which is far from the level of development portrayed in the media, with prominent businesses in existence for decades, still at the ‘start-up’ stage of development. They argued that existing and new fashion entrepreneurs would require more time to strategise and take full advantage of the FIDP. As a result, the FIDP is being doubled to a total of twelve (12) years in the interest of seeing tangible results. This would be subject to review on a yearly basis, however, with adjustments being made where necessary. Basing a considerable part of the growth of the industry on new graduate entrepreneurs who are themselves expected to become employers, means that selected existing or past market development interventions need to be incorporated and tailored to the needs of the industry. Among them are the modified On-the-Job training programme (M-OJT), and a technology upgrade and equipment-leasing support programme. It must be noted that not only equipment but also the technical, operational and managerial capacity of enterprises must be upgraded for the industry to develop beyond what has remained an informal, cottage type, industry. It is

proposed that the R&D fund facilitates this through supporting training and business service provision to fashion industry enterprises. Finally, the government should seek to utilise specialists in business development facilitation to administer their programmes. This would prove to be a critical factor in gaining positive results and using funding effectively in developing the industry. References: Andrews, Erline (2014), “CreativeTT debuts with controversy”, Guardian Media Limited, Accessed 14 November 2014 from http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2014-01-27/creativett-debutscontroversy. Carr, Sandra (2013), Interviewed by Cilla Benjamin (4 March 2013). Dickson, Dixie-Ann (2013a), Creative Company Proposal to be Revised Again, Accessed 26 June 2013, from http://jupiter.guardian.co.tt/business/2013-03-28/creativecompany-proposal-be-revised-again. Dickson, Dixie-Ann (2013b), “Creative Industries put on hold: Back to the Drawing Board”, Guardian Media Limited, Accessed 27 June 2013, from http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2013-0128/creative-industries-put-hold. Headley-Atherley, Lynette, and Shaun Griffith-Perez (2013), Interview by Cilla Benjamin. (29 May 2013). Heron, Tony (2006), “Caribbean basin after the multi-fibre arrangement”, Bulletin of Latin American Research, pp.264-281. Newsday (2003), “Garment Industry needs new suit”, Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Port-of-Spain: Daily News Limited, 18 September 2003.


Robertson, Raymond, and Gladys Lopez-Acevedo (2012), Sewing Success? (Directions in Development), Kindle Edition, World Bank (14 March 2012) Stone, Rosemary (2011), A Spirited Butterfly: A History of Fashion in Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean Studies Press, Coconut Creek Young, Robert (2013), Interviewed by Cilla Benjamin (10 June 2013).

Authors’ Biographical Notes: Cilla T. Benjamin is presently instructor in Industrial Engineering of the Faculty of Engineering at The University of the West Indies (UWI). She is pursuing a Doctorate degree at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business and has extensive experience in the productive sector. Her qualifications include MSc Industrial Innovation Entrepreneurship and Management from The University

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of Trinidad and Tobago and MSc Production Engineering and Management and BSc Industrial Engineering from the UWI. Kit Fai Pun is Professor of Industrial Engineering of the Faculty of Engineering and the Chair and Campus Coordinator for Graduate Studies and Research at The University of the West Indies. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in Australia, Europe, Hong Kong, and The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Professor Pun is a Fellow/member of several professional bodies and learned societies. His research interests and activities include industrial engineering, engineering management.

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