What?
Production of product placed locally to either development, material production and/or retail.
Why?
Local production can:
- Minimise use of resources i.e. transport costs, CO² emission and logistics.
- Enable design innovation in collaboration with manufacturers within production.
- Support local communities.
- Support transparency in the supply chain.
Challenges
- Lack of locally situated manufactures in Denmark, Scandinavia and Western Europe due to the general outsourcing.
Examples
- High-end textiles company, Wallace & Sewell use their choice of local production as part of the product history build-up.
- Local production can be used to promote and invigorate a specific geographical area through a joint platform, see for example MINYC.
- Adidas has launched a Women’s Empowerment Programme to improve knowledge and skills and help female workers within their supply chain.
Further Reading
Clark (2008). SLOW + FASHION—an Oxymoron—or a Promise for the Future …? Fashion Theory, 12, pp. 427–446.
Lifestyle and Design Cluster. Franske erfaringer med lokal produktion