The South African flag is increasingly decorating labels on garments at major retail chains across the country. It’s an effort to bolster the country’s clothing and textile sector.

More than half of the textiles sold by South African retailers are imported from abroad, according to the government, and nearly 60% of those imports come from China.

Retailers signing on to a master plan by the government to support local businesses say there are more benefits than just job creation.

Hazel Pillay, general manager of retailer Pick n Pay Clothing, said, “Being able to have the product made locally means that you can actually respond to what the customer needs more efficiently, which is really what every retailer wants — to move towards more fast response.”

Pick n Pay Clothing is among the retailers such as Woolworth’s, Mr. Price and Truworth’s increasing their supplies of locally sourced products from 28% in 2019 to 40% today. The shift is now gaining momentum on the heels of global trade disruptions due to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as record unemployment.

Katekani Moreku, a young designer recruited to aid in the effort,” said, “It gave me a lot of attention and gave me a lot of publicity. In the times that we live in when there’s a very high rate of unemployment, I think that it will have a very large impact that will create more jobs for all generations.”

Moreku estimates his collaboration with Pick n Pay in 2020…