Piece-Goods Attacked

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31098, 29 June 1966, Page 1

Piece-Goods Attacked

The New Zealand woollen piece-goods industry needed to pull up its socks, said the Canterbury Clothing Manufacturers’ Group representative on the New Zealand Women’s and Girls’ Outerwear Manufacturers’ Federation (Mr B. Zeff) in Christchurch yesterday.

There were constant complaints from clothing manufacturers about goods being delivered that were not up to sample, he said. Mr Zeff said that he had been authorised to make this statement by a meeting of the Canterburv Clothing Manufacturers’ Group. Mr Zeff said that some of the statements by the general manager of Alliance Textiles (N.Z.), Ltd. (Mr B. A. R. Spence, of Timaru), printed in “The Press” yesterday appeared to be very wide of the mark. “Whatever Mr Spence might say, high-class woollen goods for the better part of the women’s garment trade are not available in New Zealand,” said Mr Zeff. ' “And the constant cutting back of licences for imported woollen materials is gradually debasing the standards of the clothing industry here. There have been some large returns recently to the comnany for which Mr Spence is the general manager. “The fact that most types of synthetic materials are being imported free of licence is the result of a political promise, whereas the restrictions on woollen piecegoods has been brought about by back-room pressure by the woollen mills, which have been rather ambitious in describing the quality and variety of their production. “Mr Spence’s statement that fanners wanted more woollen niece-goods available to justi-j fy their expenditure on wool I production can only; be de-'

scribed as arrant nonsense.” The chairman of the New Zealand Retailers’ import committee (Mr J. Barr) criticised allegations that pressure groups were seeking to sabotage New Zealand woollen mills, according to the Press Association. Mr Barr said Mr G. S. Ray, secretary of the Canterbury and Westland Woollen Knitting, Hosiery and Carpet Trades Union was understandably ill-informed about the facts regarding the availability and local production of woollen piece-goods. “His somewhat extravagant remarks about Timhru’s industrial future being in the balance must be viewed in this light,” Mr Barr said. “Mr Ray’s trenchant criticism of pressure groups ill

becomes him, as pressure from the Woollen Mills Association resulted in the Government reversing its decision to permit the free import of light-weight woollens, after initially accepting the board’s recommendation. “If, in fact, the board’s recommendation affects the output of locally-made light and medium weight fabrics, and this is open to, argument, Mr Ray would do well to reflect on the reasons why this is so. “The public is entitled to a wide range of woollen piece-goods in all weights, and at competitive prices, and if the public shows a preference for imported woollen piece-goods, then either the local product is not suitable or it lacks variety or perhaps it is too expensive.”