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Trade Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon says the ministry continues to be an advocate of the local fashion industry which is a catalyst for economic diversification, employment creation and foreign exchange generation.
In citing the value of the local and global garment manufacturing sector Gopee-Scoon said during 2016 to 2021 T&T exported over TT$121 million in garments to various destinations.
The minister made the remarks while touring the MADE868 Local Production Facility the at University of T&T (UTT) at the John S Donaldson Campus Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain, last Friday.
Gopee-Scoon also noted that the global apparel market was estimated to be more than US$1.5 trillion in 2021 and is forecast to expand to approximately US$2 trillion by 2026.
The minister said the facility, which was launched earlier this year, is testimony of Government’s commitment to boosting the production capacity in the fashion industry and has the potential to contribute to the country’s non-energy transformation.
“This state-of-the-art facility has the potential to place our local fashion industry on the global fashion stage and is the first of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean,” she added.
Additionally, Gopee-Scoon said the facility also serves as a hub for both local and regional designers who, because of in-house capacity constraints, are unable to fulfil large orders and are seeking to increase capacity.
Hence, this avenue can provide quality products and increase export activities.
“I encourage our fashion designers, garment manufacturers and other Industry stakeholders to utilise this facility as we seek to build capacity in the fashion industry and expand our market share for fashion products locally and internationally,” Gopee-Scoon said.
The facility is a collaborative undertaking the T&T Fashion Company Ltd (FashionTT) and the University of T&T (UTT).
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The core manufacturing services include digital fabric printing, laser cutting, 3-D printing and the traditional cutting and sewing of garments.Read more at: https://www.formaldressau.com/collections/formal-dresses| https://www.formaldressau.com/collections/short-formal-dresses