Subsidy for outsourcing by UK government

Making a name in China
a practical guide to marketing and expanding your design business to China
When: Monday 12.09.09 at 18:00 followed by drinks and netwoking (arts centre closed Mondays)
Where: Chinese Arts Centre, Thomas St, Manchester , M4 1EU free to Own-it North members
Why:UK subsidies to business draw no clear line between subsidising a designer who wants to sell in Burma or China, and subsidising a clothes shop that wants to outsource their production from the UK or a democracy. In effect, this event is subsidising out-sourcing and picking a favourite autocracy for employers to outsource to.

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"China supports the British economy with more goods [...] than any other European country,"

A government-funded seminar next Monday is advertised with this unusual use of the word "support" from a government agency, particularly one that's subidised by people in the UK to provide support for UK employment at a time when three million people are unemployed. There are other options.

• Fair exchange rates based on manufacturing capability, not hype
• EU tariffs against autocracies, based on their civil and human rights records
• Technical colleges
• Accesss to machine tools for small designers
• introductions from embassy trade attaches
• occasional initiatives like the Italian government's support for clusters of related firms
• support for cheap open source software

If you wonder whether these words have been toned-down for the Manchester market by someone from London or Washington, they have.

Creative Connexions, a group run by an ex Monsanto employee with a business degree from Washington, uses similar wording on its web site and is funded by the economic development agencies including London Development Agency. The director has given lectures in favour of globalisation at all costs and her government quango is now one of the funders of Own-it. This is the wording chosen for a recent London event, "Making it ethically in China - a practical guide for fashion and textile designers".

"Sourcing materials or manufacturing in China should be considered seriously if you want to compete in a global market and keep production cost low. Many do not think that China should be your first port of call if you have decided to build your brand on a sustainable business model in which worker's rights are recognised, the materials used are environmentally friendly and your carbon footprint is as small as possible. However..."

The event organisers were given £210,000 by the London Development Agency last year, and this year's money is paid £7,380 from Creative Connexions, which is also funded by the LDA. Creative Connexions provides training and introductions to those who want to outsource. It's explanation of its own funding reads, "The Government provides full backing to the scheme, with a £5 million grant from the Higher Education Innovation Fund covering our first two years.", and lists UK Trade and Investment, London Development Agency and Think London among it's "partners". The company shares West End offices at 65 Davies Street with University of the Arts photography courses and the student union. It is headed by an American-trained former Monsanto employee with experience in "global sourcing". Officially the company doesn't favour China but "seeks to link the creative skills of the U.K. with the developmental opportunities in China and India." However Indian factories would have trouble competing with their rivals in a more autocratic state; Labour Behind the Label notes a report of other far-eastern garment workers being told by Western retail chains to keep their prices as low as China and Vietnam. Back in London, Dee Doocey of Liberal group on the London assembly was "very happy to pass on ... concerns about this event to the London Development Agency", while Darren Johnson of the London Assembly Green Group tabled a formal question to the Mayor of London.

"Do you think it appropriate that the LDA funded a seminar entitled "Making it ethically in China - a practical guide for fashion and textile designers" given that the LDA's remit is to promote employment prospects and enterprise in London rather than encourage businesses to outsource their production abroad?"

A similar event planned in Manchester "Making a name in China – a practical guide to marketing and expand... has had it's date and time removed from the Own-it web site but remains advertised on Own-it North. It will be held at Chinese Arts Centre, Thomas St, Manchester , M4 1EU, on 12.10.09, 6-8pm

link to similar Ethical Fashion Forum post

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Laura Hoke biography
Laura is currently the Director of Creative Connexions with responsibility for the overall operation of the business. She has led the development of the programme from a ‘project concept’ to an international, commercially focused operation. Laura has extensive experience in international operations having spent 18 years working for large (US$3-9 billion) multi-national corporations Monsanto, Solutia and JohnsonDiversey. Her work in Asia Pacific began during her time with Monsanto (and later Solutia) when she held several business development and operations management positions focusing on the creation and implementation of growth strategies in the region. When Solutia spun-off from Monsanto in 1997, Laura moved to Singapore as Asia Regional Director to rebuild the company’s infrastructure across Asia Pacific and lead a team of country directors to achieve double digit growth. During this time she also served on the Board of Directors for three joint ventures in China. Laura has lived and worked in the United States, Singapore, Belgium, the Netherlands and now calls the U.K. her home. Laura holds an MBA with an emphasis in Marketing and Finance from Washington University in the United States.

Contact email: via Veganline.com/ask.htm