Part one

I have just returned from an interesting and thought provoking 8 day trip to Germany. I was invited by the German Federal Foreign office to be part of a foreign delegation. The visit included four cities which highlighted sustainability, green technology and to see firsthand what the Germans have in place to support their creative industry.

Why were we invited on this fascinating trip? To begin with this was a question on all our minds, but it soon became clear that this experience was a PR trip to educate the world about Germany’s support of creativity and entrepreneurial endeavors. They also wanted to highlight the importance of small creative entrepreneurial businesses to the world economy and the importance of supporting small business.

First stop Munich, my favorite city in Germany. A place I know very well from living there for four years in the 70’s and then later for two years with my family in the 80’s. We stayed in a wonderful boutique hotel downtown near the center. The first evening after my near 24 hours trip from LA via Zurich I was introduced to the other members of the delegation who had also arrived that day from various other parts of the world.

Including me there was a total of nine people in the delegation; a shy professor of fashion from Beijing, an extravert and renowned reporter from Shanghai, a glamorous new age Marilyn Monroe fashion reporter accompanied by a delightful professor of knitting from Oslo Norway, the exuberant talented and bight business journalist from Luxemburg, a talented designer from Tehran who will be showing her fashions at the Victoria and Albert museum in London in November 09. A rugged science journalist from New Zealand and last, but by no ways least, a delightful Harvard masters graduate and professor of fashion from Boston.

Our Munich itinerary included visits to a new young “How to make your own thing” magazine. A visit to a boutique with a social conscience, which featured interesting organic cottage industry clothing, and accessories. Followed by a SBahn train ride to a small but very interesting trade show that featured sustainable furniture. But, the highlight in Munich was the visit to the new very impressive modern art gallery which was a treat for us all. Packed full of valuable art work that would have cost millions to purchase. The building is a master example in the use of space and light.

Next we flew to Dusseldorf to visit Germany’s center of fashion and architectural fame. A city that combines green technology with old and not so old historic buildings. From there we drove to Essen the past heart of the industrial center of Germany. We visited a rebuilt and preserved brewery and an old coal mine, which our guides likened to the “pyramids” in engineering and architecture. The Germans have reworked these places with precision, a quality for style and workmanship for which they are famous.

Our final destination was Berlin to experience firsthand their relatively recent rebirth of a city from the ashes of the east and from the division of a country to the newly reunited Berlin. This year marks 20 years since the wall came down. Berlin is a tribute to their master planning with its incredible architectural buildings that highlight Germany’s ability to heal and rebuild a city.

In Berlin we had many meetings and lectures at different locations, maybe too many as we were all rather exhausted at this point. One meeting that we all agreed was refreshingly honest and insightful was presented by Sven Harpering, Senior Managing Media, ICT & Creative Industries. Sven discussed the contributions made to the economy of the creative industries. Small new companies that pop up in all sectors of creativity, from fashion, music, film, art, software design, performing arts and many more. These small companies contribute massively to the economy. Hundreds of thousands of small companies with maybe one or two employees, which are struggling to make their company bigger or more profitable.

Most of us are aware that many types of jobs have been lost to off shore cheaper labor. As a result we are now looking at our struggling economy and what has resulted from the massive lack of planning and rebuilding of any new infrastructure. If we do not begin to support our own western creativity to create new businesses and help existing businesses then the east will soon take over as the leaders in entrepreneurial endeavors.

What they are doing in Germany is something we at the Fashion Business Incorporated www.fashionbizinc.org in LA have for the past ten years been trying to achieve. That is, to support creative entrepreneurs realize success and profits, while at the same time creating new jobs. We must rapidly realize that it is extremely important to rebuild our countries infrastructure by developing new manufacturing methods that will serve the needs of today’s textile and fashion industry.

The apparel industry is the largest industry in the US if you consider the retailing segment. Bigger than the auto industry! When has our industry received support from any bailouts? But if the industry is not supported soon our creative entrepreneurs and the money they generate for our western economies, and whose trendy fashion goods that are sought after globally will disappear. We can then all expect to be looking to China’s new designer/entrepreneurs to fill our shoes as well as produce the product!

However, back to our trip which was truly memorable. The new friends I made were all so different in many ways with very diverse experiences and life styles, and yet we all really bonded. It could have been the good wine that helped fuel this realization. I feel confident that we will all stay connected to find more solutions to support global creativity.

Global Creativity Network - to be continued.

Cable channel HBO premiered their documentary entitled “Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags” on October 19, 2009. If you missed it the first time, I’m sure it will be replayed soon and is most likely available through some cable providers “On Demand” services. Whatever you do, don’t miss this program! It’s an 80 minute history lesson that everyone in the garment industry needs to watch.

First of all “Schmatta,” or the more literal transliteration “Shma-teh,” is a Yiddish term for a “Rag, or anything useless” and is usually used to describe a worn-out piece of clothing, but it’s generally used to describe any piece of clothing – high fashion to yesterday’s rags. It’s also a great way to introduce us to the history of the garment industry in New York. The documentary takes us from the late 1880’s to present day in New York’s garment center – seven square blocks of some of the most important history in our industry. Immigrants fresh off the boats from Europe trying to make a living cutting, sewing or designing clothes through the Triangle Shirtwaist factory tragedy in 1911 through unionization to modernization of equipment, a thriving and profitable industry and all the way to the outsourcing of most manufacturing related jobs.

Some parts made me laugh – I recognized many similar personalities in the people I’ve worked with in LA’s garment industry. Some parts made me cry – so many talented people out of work, with no prospects, as more and more jobs disappear from NYC. I’m quoting this directly from the Tenement.org website: “In 1950, the garment industry made up almost 1/3 of all manufacturing employment and 1/10 of total employment in NYC. Today, as a result of the shift from a production and distribution-based economy to a service-based economy, the garment industry is 8% of all manufacturing and 2% of total city employment. This is a drop of almost 75%.”

One of the most worrisome statistics from this documentary is the fact that in 1965, 95% of all clothing worn in the USA was MADE in the USA. Today, it’s less than 5%. How do we bring those jobs back to the US? How do we create living wage jobs in New York or right here in Los Angeles for contractors, cutters, sewers, textile manufacturers, trim suppliers and more. Working conditions around the world are a reflection of the consumer’s desire for quality merchandise at the lowest prices, regardless of the cost. Watch this documentary and note the similarities between NYC in the late 1880’s and present day manufacturing plants. The documentary shows examples of abusive foreign manufacturing plants, underage workers and a scene eerily reminiscent of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in modern day India.

The entire documentary is not an expose on horrible labor conditions around the world. There is plenty of interesting historical and political information as well as a number of colorful “garmento” characters from past and present. There are plenty of recognizable faces and a number of familiar personalities. Interestingly, if you go to HBO’s website or even search directly on Facebook, there’s a page where you can post your stories about your personal experiences working in NYC’s garment center. How many of us out there had relatives working in NYC’s garment center 100 years ago? What will be left of it 100 years from now?

Some may place the blame on all of these outsourced jobs on unions, minimum wage, compliance or labor laws, but that’s not the real issue here. After watching the documentary, you’ll know – you already do – what the issues are and what we need to do about it.