Clothing prices, not the price of cotton

Autumn rain came, the weather was cold, and the price of autumn clothes rose.

The price of cotton has always been the focus of the textile industry. As the basic raw material of the textile industry, the price of cotton has a negligible impact on the price of textiles. Today, cotton prices no longer play "roller coasters" this year and gradually decline steadily. Clothing prices, instead of being "move with the shadows," have soared, leaving consumers unable to hold on. From this point of view, the skyrocketing prices of clothing this fall are not the cause of cotton prices.

So, what exactly is the culprit that caused the soaring prices of clothing this fall?

First, the cost of clothing has gone up. Cost increases, in order to ensure profits, clothing prices must rise. The cost mentioned here is naturally not the price cost of raw material cotton, but the processing cost of garment production. The textile industry is a labor-intensive industry. After experiencing the "recruitment difficulties" and "employment shortages", companies have invested money for workers in order to retain workers. In addition, the notice of the State Council also emphasized that the wages and benefits of workers in the first-line textile and silk production should be appropriately increased to ensure the sustainable and stable development of the textile and silk industries. The National "Twelfth Five-year Plan" proposes that during the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period, efforts should be made to achieve an average annual increase of over 13% in the minimum wage standard. The rising cost of labor in enterprises has naturally pushed up the price of clothes.

Second, circulation costs have risen. The data shows that the ex-factory price of clothing is far from the final retail price, and the retail price is often several times or even more than ten times the ex-factory price. This is a direct manifestation of the cost of circulation in clothing prices.

In the apparel sales process, labor, logistics, warehousing, shop rental, utilities and other costs are rising with the rise in prices, which will inevitably lead to the final sales price of clothing will rise, forming a huge gap with the factory price.

Again, brand competition drives up the price of clothing. As the saying goes, there is a price for the goods. The price is naturally a manifestation of the quality of clothing. In order to promote the construction of the clothing brand, the price of clothing is naturally gradually being brought into line with international standards. Not to mention the growing awareness of modern people's health, more emphasis on green, environmental protection, and also put forward higher requirements for the safety performance of clothing. In order to protect brand reputation, improve brand competitiveness and develop “organic garments”, garment enterprises must strengthen self-inspection of garments in order to achieve various international safety indicators, and the costs therein will increase virtually. Manufacturers and distributors can only transfer all their costs to apparel prices in order to ensure that their profits are not compromised.