Fashion Week the Future for Hard-hit Montreal Clothing Manufacturers

Fashion Week the Future for Hard-hit Montreal Clothing Manufacturers
Quebec designers unleashed some glitz Tuesday at the start of Montreal Fashion Week.

However, industry insiders say the four-day event isn't just about what people will be wearing next spring, but whether they'll still be working in an industry that has been ravaged by competition from cheap producers like China.

"It's certainly not the same old game it was," said Alan Herscovici, executive vice-president of the Fur Council of Canada. "You have to be creative and innovative."

The province's clothing manufacturing industry - second only to that of Los Angeles in North America - has been hard hit by competition from China and other offshore producers.

Herscovici estimates the garment industry in Quebec is half of what it was in its heyday.

Statistics Canada estimates that national employment in the manufacturing sector fell by nearly 149,000 to about 2,173,000 between 2002 and 2005. Losses were most pronounced in clothing and textiles.

To underline the trend, Cardinal Clothing announced Tuesday it is moving some of its production to China from its factory in Montreal. Up to 50 employees will be laid off at the end of the month.