Cape Town - All of the clothing, textile and leather Cape Town International Jazz Festival memorabilia will be sourced by local manufacturers, thanks to an agreement with the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (Sactwu).
The “groundbreaking” procurement agreement with festival organisers espAfrika had been signed recently, the union said in a statement.
“The parties recognise that the clothing, textile, footwear and leather industry is the source of employment for thousands of workers and the source of income for great numbers of families, communities and the unemployed,” it said.
This agreement could provide some relief to the hard-hit clothing and textile sector after a number of factories had been forced to close their doors, leading to the loss of thousands of jobs.
It applied to the purchasing of all clothing and textile products by espAfrica for the festival and its events, marketing and promotion.
“EspAfrika undertake that all the clothing, textile, footwear and leather products they or their agents or suppliers procure will be manufactured in the Republic of South Africa,” said the commitment part of the agreement.
An additional agreement was made that all these products would carry a label indicating they had originated in South Africa, which would prevent fake imported products from substituting originals.
“Sactwu has undertaken to work together with espAfrika to implement this agreement.
This was a significant step in the union’s “Save Jobs Campaign”, it said. - Cape Times