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THE Industry Ministry will develop a digital platform to support the fashion industry by connecting material suppliers, designers, tailors and the industry, in a concept called the “Fitting Room”.
According to the ministry’s Director of Small and Medium Industries of Chemistry, Clothing, Crafts and Various Industry, E. Ratna Utarianingrum, said in addition to integrating the fashion industry supply chain, this platform will provide convenience to consumers in buying fashion products according to their size, without having to come to tailors.
“Fitting Room will be created this year, according to the Making Indonesia 4.0 plan which is the government’s strategy to participate in the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0).The fourth industrial revolution refers to automation and data exchange, driven by Internet advances in the manufacturing sector,” she said.
Ratna also mentioned that the pilot project would be carried out by fashion industries in West Java. We hope that small and medium sized fashion enterprises in other cities could also implement Industry 4.0.
Moreover, she added, the national fashion industry has experienced positive growth every year. Indonesia exported fashion products valued at US$14.29 billion in 2018, an increase of 7.75 percent from 2017, reaching US$13.29 billion.
“It shows that the Indonesian fashion industry has a comparative competitiveness that is quite high in the international market,” Ratna explained.
In addition, the fashion industry contributed to the resounding growth in the textile and apparel industry sector in the first quarter of 2019, which recorded the highest position at 18.98 percent. This performance exceeded economic growth of 5.07 percent in the same period.
Previously, Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto said that the domestic textile and textile products industry were able to compete in the global arena, noting its high levels of competitiveness.
The industry is supported by a structure that has been integrated from upstream to downstream, and the products are also known to be of high quality in the international market.
“With economic growth and a shift in demand from basic clothing to functional clothing, such as sportswear, the national textile industry needs to build production capabilities and increase economies of scale in order to meet demand in the domestic and export markets,” Hartarto said. [antaranews/photo special]
