Fifty per cent of UK fashion and textiles manufacturers are reporting an increase in new business enquiries linked to the ongoing impact of coronavirus according to a survey carried out by Make it British.

Commenting on the situation is Kate Hills, CEO of Make it British. “Coronavirus is causing chaos for big retailers and their supply chains. Many factories in China remain largely closed, where a large proportion of the world’s fashion brands are made.

“A lot of retailers are worried they’ll have no stock in their stores soon. So much comes from the Far East now, particularly in textiles. They’re urgently looking at how they can plug gaps for products that are due on shelves in as little as eight weeks. And that’s where UK manufacturers can offer a solution.”

Amongst the products being ordered is high summer stock including dresses and swimwear.

This is alongside raw materials to make winter stock, such as wool yarn and cloth. Sewing factories are also receiving requests to make face masks.

Whilst the increase in enquires for these manufacturers is good news, many are cautious of taking on lots of new customers. They fear that the work will be taken away from them again once the Chinese factories reopen.

UK manufacturers have had their fingers burnt in the past by retailers turning to them for a quick fix solution to supply chain issues; often expecting to be given the same cost prices as they were paying the Chinese factories.

Whilst the current influx of enquiries might just be a flash in the pan, one thing the coronavirus outbreak has shown the industry is how fragile global supply chains can be.

35% of the UK manufacturers surveyed are reporting disruption to their own supply chains because many of their raw materials come from China or Italy.

Alkesh Kapadia of Barcode Design says: “A lot of UK manufacturers are relying on imported fabrics. The impact is growing and the prices of the raw materials have gone up by 4% already. The UK fabric manufacturers will get busy. However, they will have to source yarns from different countries and that may affect the prices too.”

Brands that manufacture locally and source their raw materials from the UK are in a much better position. When the whole supply chain is local and not reliant on crossing borders, it is much less vulnerable when something like this happens.

Steff McGrath of Something Wicked echoes this sentiment. “We’re relieved that we manufacture in the UK and use UK suppliers wherever possible. I would be extremely worried if I outsourced to China.”

Jenny Holloway runs Fashion Enter, a social enterprise garment factory in London, and describes coronavirus as a “dual-edge sword”.

“There’s been a spike in sampling,” says Holloway. “We have opened two new accounts for bulk production almost immediately, but the downside has been yarn supplies. This has created a further opportunity with retailers panic-buying stock fabrics, which is then coming to the UK manufacturers.

“Many knitters had bulk yarns in reserves. However, these stocks are going to run out – so what then?  Surely this all points to a new type of collaboration between retailers and manufacturers and not before time. We are already aware of one retailer giving shares to their supply base binding them together. It’s a start, but there’s a long way to go yet.”

China has been the dominant player in manufacturing for the last 20 years.

However, this worldwide disaster could be the turning point that UK manufacturers need to make people realise that sourcing closer to home is a better option. Some feel that the government should be doing more to help protect the UK manufacturing base.

Commenting is Ihthshaam Sheikh of Ask Trading. “Government should be providing funding to increase capacity so that we can show customers how great it is to manufacture in the UK. This will, in turn, bring customers back once they see the speed and quality.”

Hills concludes: “The spread of coronavirus is happening fast. There is no doubt more disruption to come. But, if there is one bittersweet outcome to the tragic situation, it is that this might just be the wake-up call that the industry needs to relook at the wonderful manufacturers that we have closer to home.”