Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 15, 1994 TAG: 9403150148
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: F-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By Richard Alm DALLAS MORNING NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Today, T-shirts, as outerwear, are ubiquitous.
They come in all the colors of the rainbow.
They're plain. They're fancy.
They're short-sleeved and long-sleeved.
Small, medium, large, extra large.
Men's, women's and children's.
On the chest, on the back, on the sleeves, words and images celebrate schools, rock groups, sports teams, companies, bars, restaurants, 10-Ks and marathons, art, humor, trips, triumphs, tragedies, philosophies of life and whatever else silk-screeners can conjure.
All told, Americans bought more than 900 million T-shirts in 1992 - three for every man, woman and child.
There's something intriguing. Just about every T-shirt Americans own bears a label: Made in the U.S.A. Even the plain-white T-shirts that are still underwear are American-made.
Go through your drawers. It's probably the same.
Overall, imports are swamping the U.S. clothing business. According to the American Apparel Manufacturers Association, an industry group in Arlington, Va., imports grab more than half the U.S. market, up from 35 percent in 1980. The surge comes despite restrictions on how much other countries can sell in the United States.
For T-shirts, the U.S. experience with imports is quite different. Bob Blanchard, executive director of the apparel manufacturers' knitwear division, figures import penetration at a mere 15 percent of the market, or about 140 million shirts.
"We can compete with virtually anyone in the world," said Ron Sorini, senior vice president for international development for Fruit of the Loom Inc., a major producer of T-shirts. "American manufacturers dominate the market, no question about it."
So the unassuming, utilitarian T-shirt might be in a small way remarkable. Here's a product, not fancy, not high-tech, not expensive, where U.S. manufacturers still dominate the American market.
What's the secret?
Terry Allen, vice president of marketing for Jockey International Inc. in Kenosha, Wis., ranks cost as the biggest factor in determining where companies produce. They'll make their T-shirts in the United States if it makes good business sense.
For starters, American T-shirt makers can obtain cotton, their key natural resource, from U.S. suppliers at good prices. The most important factor in staying competitive, however, turns out to be advanced technology that minimizes labor. In apparel, low wage rates often create a big cost advantage, especially for the Far East, the part of the world that's flooding the American clothing market.
Dress shirts, women's fashions and other garments require extensive cutting and sewing. T-shirts, in contrast, use far less labor. U.S. companies use a highly automated cylindrical weaving technique that makes the body of the shirt in one piece. Only the collar, sleeves, shoulders and hems need sewing - and machines do much of that work.
"It's a very high-tech product," Sorini said. "If you go into our facilities, you'd be amazed. We put bales of cotton in one end and get T-shirts out the other end."
Competitors in other countries haven't adopted the latest technology, largely because of cost. Without the cylindrical knitting, foreign T-shirt makers take extra steps. They cut front and back panels, sewing up the sides of the garment. T-shirts made in Brazil, Mexico, Hong Kong and Japan all have seams up each side.
In the past two years or so, data are showing a revival of U.S. fortunes in automobiles, semiconductors, steel and other industries. Measured against all that, producing the best T-shirts may not seem a great triumph. Yet a drawer full of American-made T-shirts reminds us of the simple secrets of winning in an increasingly competitive world: technological leadership, quality and low cost.
by CNB