ISSBE IN JUNE

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 121, 25 May 1942, Page 5

ISSBE IN JUNE

RATIONING BOOKS

Standardisation Of Clothes

In Australia

Special Australian Correspondent. United Press Association.—Copyright. Rec. 1 p.m. SYDNEY, this day. Shopping hours in the Australian clothing trade are expected to return to normal this week. A lull in sales has marked the past few days as the panic,buyers have exhausted their spare-cash. Ration books will be issued throughout Australia on June 13 and 14. The proposed standardisation of clothing is now widely discussed. It is suggested that a man's standard suit will be two-piece, without trouser cuffs and coat lapels. In Britain, where tne yearly clothing ration for an adult is 66 coupons, 26 coupons are required for a suit. No list of coupon costs in Australia has yet been issued. Substitute materials will replace leather for civilian footwear wherever possible. Wooden clogs may be used by factory workers. A Federal directing authority on leather, states that the army is making unprecedented demands on Australia's supply of sole-leather. Officers of the Department of War Organisation of Industry are concerned with the problem of occupational clothing—where special uniforms and frocks are worn by staffs during working hours. Waiters, waitresses, theatre usherettes and commissionaires are among the workers affected. It is considered likely that the employee will be held responsible for the continued provision of such occupational clothing and that some small compensating reduction in the normal civilian ration will be made. Complaints have also been voiced of the shortage of certain materials, particularly working flannels. Employees in munitions and defence works regard such flannel as essential to stand up to the heat, perspiration and strain of heavy work. The Government will be asked to step up production of this line.

Furniture Industry Affected The ban on the manufacture of many items of furniture has also had the effect of stimulating public demand. Thirty-three furniture factories in Sydney alone are now occupied with war work. The demand for furniture of the better class and the increased spending power of tens o r thousands of workers engaged in essential war industries have assisted the boom, which extends to second-hand goods. Storage space for furniture is also at a premium, the heavily increased numbers entering the armed forces having quickened this demand. Removal firms have had to lease disused garages and other premises to accommodate the overflow. At a recent Sydney auction sale blankets, bought four years ago at 37/6 per pair, were sold at £5. Sheets worn thin were sold at 10/ each. Contributing to the demand for both furniture and clothing, particularly in Sydney, are the evacuees returning to the city from country districts, where they have been since the outbreak of the Pacific War Estate agents report a keener demand for houses and flats than at any time since the beginning of the war with Japan.