Fibers and Fabrics

No. It would only be a crutch. It's not the governments job to subsidize industry.

Jame

Look at your history. In the US techtile started in New England because of the cheap energy "water" and cheap labor in small towns. The companies then decided that they could move South to be closer to the source of cotton and the abundant cheap labor in the South. Textron made its name by buying textile mills in the North for less than the value of the machinery and then selling it to Southern mills. The move to overseas is just the next step in lower cost. I cringe when I see a picture on TV of mills in China with brand new equipment producing at a very low cost.

A recent, several months ago, an article in Business Week stated that mill were moving from Thailand to China, Companies were paying $12,00 US a dozen for shirts but could get them for $10.00 a dozen in China. Those are the shirts we pay $25 to $35.

I moved to South Carolina in 1958 and saw the whole thing. You were either on the floor attending looms or you were in Textiles that means in the office.

The big problem is that business will always be looking for the cheapest price. I do not know how we can survive unless we protect certain core industries to employ our citizens. I do not know the answer but I do know it cannot continue this way.

Really I impressed with your Answer. I did not know about this. I am textile nanotech student, My all family members are related to Surat Textile Business, as Surat India is great place textile industry , I opted for this course.

Anju From Surat, India

I have travelled extensively in SE Asia but unfortunately have not been to India. I would say that your interest in Textiles will work just fine for the next 20 years or so until business finds that Africa can supply even cheaper labor. Any job (textiles) that can be taught in a short time to undereducated people will migrate to the lowest cost. I remember my father telling me about how his mother and father worked in the mills of Fall River, Massachusetts and when his mother got hurt he had to go into the mill to replace her, so they could earn enough to eat, at the age of 13.

The outmigration of jobs from the US, will in the near future, maybe 10 years bring down this great country to second class or less. The return of the robber barons (rich bisiness interests like Bill Gates) who have so much money they could spend millions a day and not run out in their lifetime want more. as example instead making sure that colleges graduated people who could be an asset to his company by financing programs he wants the cheap way import more foreign labor (especially India, since they already speak accceptable English). He can pay these people a portion of what he would have to pay Americans so he can get richer. Greed is ruining America.

Sorry about the long harangue but it is an important topic for the US and needs to be addressed.

You can add to the cost of labor and management higher taxes and safety conformance costs. This is the one area where I agree with the unions: physical safety and pollution prevention are not an issue in China to the level that they are in the USA. I don't know about India. This makes manufacturing more expensive here.

Also, people in China are still happy with a moped and three square meals a day. They aren't that concerned with plasma TVs and a nice car - yet. So the wages are just going to be lower no matter what.

I won't get into a lack of foresight by management. That seems to be affecting Thailand as well as the USA.

As I look at my closet full of freaking shirts I have to wonder how many I really need. The answer is probably close to seven. As consumerism grips my mind I find that I actually have closer to 20. That is slowly going down as I realize that a few well made shirts are more than sufficient. It only took me 30 years to figure that out....

I wish only to add one or two comments to this blog. i am from the UK and for a few years I was a dyer, I studied for my ASDC qualifications and like a few hundred more in the UK have this as my letters. I agree that textiles as a whole is a very simple business, but legislation is on the way that could start to bring a change in the textile industry, REACH. The legislation reads that any chemical intended for release must be registered, well the UK like most of the world has a lot of cheap imports, a lot with questionable colour fastness. If the colour fastness is very poor, I would argue that it is intended for release, and if not registered will land the importer and retailer and manufacturer in hot water. I believe that well made quality items are actually sought after by the populus, but don't seem to be available in many places.

To actually answer the question, Yes the US government should help the textiles industry, because if you don't it will only go the way of other industries, televisions for example, and we don't really want that. Levies and increased importation tax could self fund this help, let there be a level playing field where a person manufacturing in the US has the pride of knowing he is making a quality item for sale in the US.

It is to late to help the Textile industry in the US it is already gone. I live in NC and it WAS a very large textile manufacturer but it has all gone overseas primarily SE Asia.

Absolutely, blame the Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese governments for not including the U.S. government in their support groups

Your textile industry isn't gone! There are still lots of companies producing good items. There are lots of people who have worked in the textile industry and whose knowledge isn't lost yet. Here in the UK we have lost so much expertise, no one teaches any technical aspects of textiles any more! I offer a dyeing and finishing seminar that has no chemistry in it! simply because the participants are too stupid to know what I am talking about. Your textile industry could be revived, slowly one piece at a time, it just takes the will to do this. Has anyone got the political will to do this? You're going to see an election soon, is it one of the topics for election? Or is everyone too interested in lining their own pockets? This is a small area of the American Dream that has turned into a nightmare, the levies would be self funding and help could be given directly to your textile industry making it leaner, more experienced and better than before.