We are forced to operate in a world where plausibility takes precedence over ability, where know-how is less important than knowing who, and where the Internet has become the tool of crooks and crooks.

You are a factory. You see the need to move from low added value raw materials to higher value added fashion. You need a qualified engineer. Where are you going? Certainly not the Internet!

Are you a professional. You want to deepen your knowledge. You are a designer and you want to follow a short training in costing and / or quality assurance. You are a marketer. You want to learn more about IT and AI. Where are you going? Certainly not the Internet!

You are a transnational group of factories. You invest heavily in a subsidiary in Africa. To successfully carry out an operation, you must understand the country and its people. Let’s face it, moving to Gitega is different from moving to Patterson, New Jersey. Where to go to find a qualified industrial sociologist who knows Burundi? Certainly not the Internet!

You are a government or an international institution. You want a strategy to develop a national clothing export industry. In today’s world, you post a Request for Proposal (RFP) which is typically 40 to 120 pages long. The solicitation is so complex that the project is invariably awarded to the organization that has the best knowledge of filling out application forms and for which industry knowledge and experience has become irrelevant to the process. Selection. Where do you go to find people who actually understand the problems and can come up with workable solutions? Certainly not the Internet!

You are a clothing professional. You have an original idea that just might earn you industry profits and real money for you. Where are you taking your idea? Where are you going to turn your idea into a business concept, then into a business plan, then into a capitalized start-up? With a few exceptions, the answer is nowhere!

The Singapore Global Garment Institute (SGGI) will be the place to meet the needs of the new industry:

• Provision of databases of qualified professionals;
• Provide qualified instructors, from industry or academia, to teach the courses required by industry;
• Provide R&D facilities with knowledgeable and experienced professionals to design and implement practical strategies that truly meet customer needs;
• Provide facilities for talented people to develop their original and creative ideas and bring them to market.

However, to be successful SGGI must overcome the biggest hurdle our industry faces.

In a world where we cannot tell the difference between crooks / crooks and legitimate professionals / organizations, how can we trust SGGI to operate ethically and transparently? Why should SGGI be any different?

The answer is Singapore.

The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks Singapore third after New Zealand and Denmark.

Many of us in the clothing industry have never heard of Transparency International or their annual Corruption Index.

But we all know that whatever games we play, whatever our tendencies, in Singapore we play straight.

If we are looking for a place for the center of the global post-virus clothing industry, Singapore is the only place we can trust.

David has previously written on Just Style about Hong Kong’s waning appeal as a benchmark for apparel professionals – and why Singapore has been the big beneficiary thanks to its stable government and rule of law. But what is still needed is the pull of a Singapore Global Garment Institute.

Singapore’s potential as a benchmark for garment professionals

About the Author: David Birnbaum is an internationally renowned apparel industry specialist who works for major importers, retailers, suppliers, governments and institutions. His latest book The Guide to Cost to Value Analysis is available on Amazon.