Fashion and Leather Working Group Position Paper 2018/2019

Fashion and Leather Working Group Position Paper 2018/2019 - 时装与皮具工作组2018/2019 Go back »

Published on:

2018-09-18
Category:

Position Paper
by:

Fashion and Leather Working Group / Forum
Keywords:

fashion, leather

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President Xi’s report at the 19th Party Congress stated that the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development, and people’s ever-growing needs for a better quality of life, is now the ‘principal contradiction’ as China’s economic development gradually shifts to higher-quality growth.

For millennia, humans have needed to express themselves as individuals. Often this has been done through clothes and accessories. The shift in China’s economy and the expansion of its middle class, which now has more disposable income than ever before, has seen a large increase in the consumption of high-quality, luxury products that allow individuals to express themselves. In fact, Chinese consumers contributed to nearly one third of the global consumption of luxury goods in 2017.

The word ‘luxury’ may be interpreted by some as referring to something useless and wasteful. In fact, it is the opposite. European commodities are renowned for their safety and quality. In particular, the European fashion industry is well known for having high standards for design and manufacturing, and a long history of traditional workmanship. This means that these products are extremely sustainable and retain a high second-hand value.

In addition to exporting safe, high-quality and luxury fashion products to satisfy domestic consumers’ increasing demands, more European companies are bringing their manufacturing to China. These are long-term commitments that will contribute to the Chinese Government’s goal of building China into a global manufacturing leader, and will transform Chinese goods from merely being ‘made-in-China’ to being ‘created-in-China’.

Established in 2016, the Fashion and Leather Working group is comprised of 10 European fashion and leather enterprises that produce and import high-end apparel, leather bags, suitcases, shoes and other fashion-related products in China. The working group represents the high-end consumer goods industry when communicating with relevant policymakers on common industry issues. Some of these issues include ‘professional shoppers’, legal and regulatory compliance for imported products, the aligning of Chinese and international standards, and supervision over laboratory testing. Since its establishment, the working group has actively followed relevant legislative developments and offered recommendations for creating an orderly market environment that protects rights and interests of consumers.

The Fashion and Leather Working Group contributes directly to satisfying people’s growing needs for a better quality of life, not only through the increased diversity, beauty and variety of products manufactured in the fashion and leather industry can bring to the market, but also by providing an environment that is focused on safety, environmental protection and innovation. Furthermore, the fashion and leather industry is becoming increasingly integrated into China. It not only manufactures products in China but involves China throughout the global supply chain.

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