Buying local goods will strengthen our economy
In the year 1999, just before the dawn of the new millennium, ordinary township folks woke up to the news that a child was born and named Loxion Kulca.
The brand that every Tom, Dick and Harry embraced was launched to bring township style to their hood as a form of celebrating loxion style. People bought into the idea.
You did not need to be a pantsula to fall in love with this clothing label. Even those in the suburbs identifiedwith it. The label also wanted to break the monopoly of international brands in SA and gatecrash the fashion industry.
In their strategy to gag the loud noise local brands were making, international brands endorsed our local celebrities as ambassadors to boost their image visibility. This did not stop local fashion designers penetrating the fashion market.
The hegemony of international brands saw their monopoly declining as local brands such as MaXhosa by Laduma, A Brand Called You, Bathu sneakers and Grip emerged. These brands not only give relevance to customers but also contribute to our GDP.
According to the study titled Assessing the Economic Value of the Designer Fashion Sector in South Africa, carried out by GQ magazine, SA fashion designers contributed at least R1bn to GDP in 2019. As the study records major international interest in local design, it suggests there is a significant opportunity for local designers to establish a meaningful presence in the global fashion market, which it valued at an estimated $1,5trillion. Completed just prior to the March 2020 Covid-19 lockdown, the study was the result of a collaboration between the department of trade, industry and competition and SACotton Cluster.
The R1bn may sound like a lot as a contribution toGDP but it is just a drop in the ocean compared to other sectors. The fashion industry is unfortunate that unscrupulous counterfeit syndicates have thwarted its growth in SA. These syndicates are illegally making a living off their work. Music piracy hurt our economy and if we to buy these goods, the fashion industry will head in the same direction of the entertainment industry.
When Edcon group, the largest retail group in SA, closed some of its shops, many people lost their jobs after dwindling sales and profits. As SAgrapples with the effect of the lockdown, our brothers and sisters became victims of job losses, but fortunately, other local brands remained resolute in making sure that jobs were not lost.
After years of trying to stamp its authority in the fashion industry, Bathu has now created employment for more than 100 people. From this milestone, it is evident that jobs can be created and saved by supporting locally produced goods. By supporting itsmission of being the biggest sneakers retailer in SA, the sustainability and viability of its business depends on us supporting the brands by not buying counterfeit goods.
As local patrons, we can only support the Buy Black Week campaign from December 7 to 14. According to Buy Black Foundation, the aim is to urge all South Africans to support it by spending their money on blackowned products to reduce the country ’ s inequality, poverty and upgrade the township economy.
Supporting black businesses by buying their products during a Buy Black Week could result in more than R7bn being circulated in black communities. While unscrupulous syndicates are busy capitalising on the intellectual property of our brothers and sisters, the least we could do is to buy local brands this festive season.
Mogotlane is a social commentator and a public servant. He writes in his personal capacity