Western media said that Monica Mosquera, a tailor in Galicia, the center of Spanish clothing production, joined with three other clothing workshops to launch the “Latitude” movement in an attempt to rebuild the clothing industry that has been severely impacted by Asian factories. Their main weapons are environmentally friendly materials and high quality.
According to a report by Spain’s El Pais on June 22, in addition to the above-mentioned four clothing workshops, Maria Almasan, the head of a multinational company, also participated in this event. Almasan said that he had personally seen some Asian factories causing serious water pollution, and many workers suffered from silicosis due to poor working conditions. This experience made her determined to contribute to the clothing industry around the world from another aspect, because behind an industry that creates beauty, these ugly phenomena should not exist. She also said that the clothing industry created 400,000 jobs in Spain in the 1990s, but this has dropped to 170,000 today.
According to reports, the “Latitude” movement was launched in October 2014. Participating clothing workshops supply high-quality clothing to companies across Europe according to strict standards. They chose Galicia as a starting point because it has a strong foundation for reconstruction. Almasan said that garment processing in Asia is a very simplistic job, and everything is done on the assembly line. However, in traditional clothing workshops in Spain, the workload of the staff is very huge, because everyone has to participate in all aspects of design, sewing and marketing. At present, the “Latitude” movement has launched 4 series of clothing and has started negotiations with more than 40 clothing brands.
These clothes mainly use natural raw materials such as cotton and linen as well as recycled materials. High-quality environmentally friendly fabrics impress almost all designers. The older generation of designers has rediscovered the sophistication of traditional craftsmanship, while the new generation of designers is finding more inspiration in these environmentally friendly materials.
According to reports, another purpose of this movement is to improve the working environment of workers in the garment industry. In these participating clothing workshops, the environment is comfortable and does not harm human health. Mosquera’s workshop employs between 20 and 45 people depending on need, all of whom are women between the ages of 27 and 43. One of her main challenges is stabilizing production. During periods when there are fewer orders, the workshop will provide products to some companies that produce off-season clothing and establish a stable sales channel.
According to reports, the cost of clothing produced in China is 1.5 euros, while in Galicia it costs 7.5 euros. But people are more willing to spend more money to buy better quality clothing than inferior quality clothing. Moreover, the situation in China has also changed, and raw material and labor prices are also increasing secretly. The European garment industry, which was once cornered by Asia’s garment manufacturing industry, is gradually recovering.