Tendencies of the Global Development of the Textile and Clothing Industry of Developing Countries

The current world economy and market economy are moving today in the direction of directed trade and strategically programmed flows of goods, services, capital and knowledge in global value chains, which generally leads to stronger competitiveness, increased productivity and employment, as well as general economic development, because global industrial changes have caused tectonic changes in the market in which, it can be said, all classical notions about the functioning of the international economy have been destroyed, in which countries organize their economies in the same way and pursue the same interests. The obvious turn industrial sector at the global level, as well as the fact that it maintains competitiveness, in times of general and business globalization, is no longer in quantitative and qualitative aspects of production, but in new materials, elements of production specialization, adequate and timely implementation of technical and technological innovations, in timely and adequate organizational innovations, cluster way of doing business and globally generally efficient business, as well as close and flexible connection of production, production technologies, design and planning, with the possibility of quick response (Just In Time and Quick Response System).

Therefore, it can be said that, from the aspect of globalization and global trends of development in national industrial policies, the introduction of standardization and formation of multifunctional teams, implementation and exploitation of innovative materials, as well as the existence of innovation capacities, incentives and performance, are elements of creating globally adaptive, prosperous and intensely competitive companies, in fact, that it is about creating of modern and profitable industrial infrastructure of textile and clothing industry with sustainable competitiveness, which is shown through missions and visions of creative and original specializations, as well as through adequate and timely implementation of organizational and technical-technological innovations.

Actually, as a modern and profitable industry today is inconceivable without timely and rapid implementation of quality and efficient process tools, as well as complementary and adequate work and development strategies, with a strong reliance on information technology, so every participant (states or company), has an essential need to build and implement a clear and sustainable, original and indigenous strategy, in order to efficiently generate and capitalize on possible strategic advantages that should be created in the new conditions of modern business. This means that for the effective progress and development of the economy of a country, it is necessary to have an increasing participation of technical-technological innovations, or an increasingly aggressive implementation and exploitation of the so-called innovative business, with a strong potential of human resources and their knowledge, as well as effective cooperation of scientific and research institutions with companies and entrepreneurs, where of course innovations should be rapidly adapted and implemented as soon as possible in the production system, in order to efficiently exploit their potential.

On the other hand, it should be noted that the creation of industrial infrastructure requires long-term planning of technological development, extensive investment and permanent education of the required workforce, with special emphasis on higher education and knowledge of new and sophisticated technologies, while creating a quality human resource base, because new ways of doing business require the implementation of modern and sophisticated business/production information systems that have a high degree of automation of all activities. As a result of such requirements is the response of industrial policy through the introduction of new technologies in the processes of design and direct production, and especially new technologies based on flexible automation and use of computers. By the way, it’s obvious that the development of scientific research capacities alone is no longer sufficient for the generation and implementation of innovations, but a strategic turn in innovation policy is necessary, through the provision of many other preconditions for the capitalization of knowledge.

However, scientific-industrial cooperation in developing countries is weak and sporadic, and the contribution of the scientific-research community in the textile and clothing industry is minimal, which shows that there is a lack of greater mobility of scientific-research works and workers towards the economy, while it should be emphasized that (on unfortunately) the current focus of scientific and academic works is not in the domain of effective and practical applicability. Regardless of all the problems, new business style of textile and clothing industry in modern business conditions, must be based on, among other things is based on innovation, speed, flexibility, connectivity, involvement in global business chains, quality, building a critical mass of capital and of production potential, but yes requires a team approach at the local or cluster level. Unfortunately, companies in in developing countries are in a system of short, closed and value chains that are not sufficiently interactive, and are not sufficiently included in international value chains, primarily due to the obsolescence of existing technologies, import inputs, high share of unproductive work, energy intensive equipment and outdated corporate governance model, resulting in products of low export competitiveness, i.e a low degree of added value.

As it is obvious, that the problem of small and medium enterprises-SMEs of the textile and clothing industry of developing countries is not in product fragmentation of products or the defragmentation of the reproductive cycle, but in the fact that they do not have a market, nor resources, it can be said that it is for the realization of the aspirations of economic growth and the economy of a society in general, a clearly defined industrial policy is always necessary, but also a dosed state intervention in the form of a heterodox approach, which integrates key economic policies (monetary and fiscal) with (horizontal and vertical) industrial policies. Yet, Diversification and diversity of the enterprises textile and clothing industry, with innovative solutions that can be converted into quality and above all globally successful and sophisticated products, enable a significant market presence and small companies-SMEs of the textile and clothing industry, which through innovation, new technologies, quality, design and high added value of products [15], as well as meeting the specific needs of customers (which are otherwise elements in the focus of new competitive advantages), to be able to find an adequate market niche.

It is known that cases of small volume of production with small series and a large number of models, which are otherwise the basis of the work of SMEs textile and clothing industry, and by definition they are not optimal, so they are a selection of production program, i.e planned reduction of products and increase of production volume, i.e reorientation to special product types (from high quality designer clothes or special purpose clothing, to industrial and nonwoven textiles in medicine, transport, energy, ecology, etc.), as well as cluster association, the recommended invariant of efficient, competitive and sustainable business. Of course, it is necessary to monitor and establish compatibility of work and development of national policies with such recommendations, but with obligatory consideration and inclusion of local, regional or national specifics and elements of industrial policies, as well as insisting on original and autochthonous elements, as new elements of competitive advantage, with partially adapt to the trends of the current world economy of changed profile, initiated effects of globalization and the penetration of new technologies. All of this implies consistency with the mission, vision and goals, but also compatibility with the possibilities of work and development of the textile and clothing industry, which ultimately ensures the long-term competitive advantage of SMEs, where the key prerequisites are an activist approach, unreserved support of the state and general national consensus.

Therefore today, the possible development of the textile and clothing industry of developing countries must inevitably rely primarily on the adaptability of scientific research activities and the relevance of the education sector, as well as their synergy with production and public administration. This is in order to ensure efficient acquisition of new knowledge and skills, along with creation and productionally economic valorization of innovations and diffusion and implementation of new technologies and technical-technological innovations. In addition to all the above, it also implies the coherence of production technologies and flexible production, as well as the coexistence of traditional and newly created digitally transformed industrial sectors, maintaining employment and creating consistent values, with a priority reliance on information-communication technologies-ICT, cluster way of doing business, original design and adequate planning, but also reorientation to technical textiles and market segmentation. In fact, the perspective of the SMEs textile and clothing industry can be anticipated as a close flexible connection and inclusion of new designs, production technologies, planning and production, with the tendency and possibilities of exploitation of new types of raw materials or reproductive material, as well as the possibilities of quick responses (JIT and QRS) to changes which the market requires, which automatically implies the efficient implementation and integration of modern technologies in production processes, as well as investments in innovative businesses and human resources. In the end, it should be pointed out that as essential components of the efficient work and business of SMEs in the textile and clothing industry of developing countries, on which the creation of globally adaptive, prosperous and intensively competitive companies are based, the following can be mentioned: coexistence of traditional and digital sectors, a high degree of applied automation, diffusion and implementation of innovative production technologies with a high degree of applied automation and flexible organizational innovations, adequate consideration of quantitative and qualitative aspects of human resources, the inevitability and need for the generation and inclusion of new materials, smart specialization, flexible organizational innovations, expansion of exploitation of technical textiles, consistency of “cluster of strategies”, integration into the global market but with “elements of state protectionism”, successful circular economy, etc.