Wow, talk about synchronicity. Conversely, I just published an article on my site about why I don't recommend producing apparel off shore. Not anymore (not that I did much before). At least in apparel, with it being so market driven, buyers want to buy closer to season. Off shore, with 4 weeks on the water, a specialized product can't be delivered fast enough; styles change too quickly. You need to respond overnight; everything moves faster now, expectations of nigh immediate delivery have been raised by web 2.0. You need those 4 weeks to design, cut and sew those orders. Plus now, there are more and more stores who won't buy from lines produced in China. There's too many risks, pilferage, piracy (brand dilution), products being held up at port, that a buyer doesn't want to tie up their OTB (open to buy) budget on products that may never be delivered. They need inventory; they prefer to pay more and get certain delivery from a domestic producer. To whit, most of my designers biggest problem is not getting sales, they're getting more draw than they can handle. Their issue is meeting the demand for their products. All kinds of people in the garment industry are trying to get back to the states creating a labor shortage of cut and sew. It's kind of weird...the rest of the economy is slowing down but the US garment industry is cooking. Most everyone I know doesn't have any production slots open till the end of June. As such, some are going to Mexico because it's overland. They'd been hurt bad by Asian outsourcing but they're picking up again too.
If you're making something that doesn't change from month to month like electronics -or commodities like t-shirts- China could be a good deal. Otherwise (in apparel), I'd keep an eye on developing relationships as close to you as is possible. Otherwise, by the time you figure out the trend, it'll be too late. You'll have to wait till the industry expands to absorb new demand. Btw, apparel has long been considered to be a bellwether industry...so it could be a sign of the times, particularly with respect to confines of sustainability and increasing energy prices.
~Nurture people, not products~
http://www.fashion-incubator.com
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