The textile industry in South Africa can be segmented into the following major sectors:

• Fibre production
• Spinning
• Weaving
• Knitting
• Non-wovens
• Carpet production
• Fabric Coating

There is also a wide range of other consumer and industrial converting sectors, including : Apparel Home Fabrics, Woven and Knitted packaging, Tyre and belting packaging, Webbing and Narrows Hose Manufacturing, Cordage Filtration fabrics Tarpaulins, Geotextiles Sewing, Thread Sleeping bags, Fibre Production.

The major fibre types used are cotton, staple and filament polyester, acrylic, nylon, polypropylene, PP/HDPE - Raffia , viscose, and jute/sisal. Textiles, Clothing and Footwear.

The textiles, clothing and footwear industry in South Africa is well-established, but has been under siege for some years. Key issues for the industry include:

• the negative impact of cheap imports, the effect of which is exacerbated by the reduction of import protection
• stemming the flow of illegal imports
• the effect of the discontinuation of export incentives

Before World War II, the textile industry in South Africa was largely confined to the manufacture of blankets, rugs and sheeting. However, after the war, the sector developed rapidly and today the industry consists of around 300 manufacturers, based mainly in Kwa-Zulu-Natal, the Western Cape, the Eastern Cape and Gauteng, although there is some activity in the Free State and Mpumalanga.

Activities include the production of synthetic fibres and yarns (especially polyester, nylon and acrylic), the manufacture of home textiles, automotive textiles, apparel textiles and technical/industrial textiles. Recent years have seen major restructuring in the industry.

There have been major changes in ownership of textile companies as the industry has braced itself for the challenges and opportunities of globalisation. The South African Government's 7 year tariff phase down for textiles and clothing was introduced in 1995 and by September 1999, duties had been substantially reduced so that the country was ahead of its WTO commitments.

ACA Threads (part of the ACA Group (Pty) Ltd), Beier Albany & Company (Pty) Ltd, Bonwit Group (Pty) Ltd (The), Da Gama Textiles, Dreamweaver Holdings (Pty) Ltd, Finitex (Pty) Ltd, Garment Finishing Supplies cc, Glow Gear, Hooligans Kids Clothing, Impact CC, Lucon Clothing, National Flag (Pty) Ltd, Net Labels cc, Ninian & Lester Holdings Ltd, Pakedi South Africa cc, Pep Stores, Pinard Estate CC, Precision Label Manufacturing, Printa-T, Psycho/I-Catch Designs ::[ View All ]