Abstract

The textile industry has a long tradition in Portugal and is one of its most important sectors. The relocation of production to emerging countries - India, Pakistan and China where manufacturing costs are significantly lower (e.g. labour costs, taxes and transport costs) and governments grant subsidies brings unemployment to countries that previously produced for major international brands. If, on the one hand, in Portugal there are companies where it is possible to make textile production, on the other hand, Portugal has a lack of design of products and own brands. When large brands relocate production, unemployment increases in countries where large brands previously made their production. But there is another big problem. In emerging countries the product quality is low and many times, they do not respect intellectual property.

The objective of this work was to determine the importance of quality in the portuguese textile firms, as well as, the problem that exists regarding the lack of design of own products. Data from 60 textile firms were examined. One the main reason for clients to seek other markets is price. Other important conclusion is that the majority of the firms stated that the implementation of quality programs led to higher profits and an improvement in the quality of their output. Overall, the implantation of a quality program has improved their competitive position and their overall performance.

Keywords: Portuguese textile industry; Quality management system; Intellectual property; Product design