SELA holds “Seminar on the fashion and garment industry and economic development in the Caribbean”

Caracas, 2 July 2015.- The Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) conducts the “Seminar on the fashion and garment industry and economic development in the Caribbean” in St. Lucia until today.

The two-day seminar seeks to publicize, among the Member States of SELA, the potential for developing the textile sector as a mechanism for economic growth and job creation. The event also aims at raising awareness about the importance of value chains in order to facilitate opportunities for manufacturing goods, exchanging knowledge, and gaining access to inputs and export goods.

This activity, organized with the sponsorship of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the collaboration of the Trade Export Promotion Agency (TEPA) of Saint Lucia, is addressed to the governmental focal points for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of the Caribbean States, private entrepreneurs, fashion training and vocational and technical institutions, and experts in the subject.

Participants in the seminar also review successful programmes for implementing activities related to the fashion industry, in addition to promoting the creation of a network of institutions and experts linked to that industry, and enhancing knowledge about best practices in other regions.

The member countries of CARICOM – to which Saint Lucia also belongs – are making efforts to develop actions within the fashion design industry so that its products can make a strong entry into international markets. There is a large number of SMEs, especially micro-enterprises, dedicated to the fashion design sector.

It should be noted that the “Seminar on the fashion and garment industry and economic development in the Caribbean”, held in Bridgetown, Barbados, on 14 and 15 August 2014, first informed about the problems faced by SMEs in the Caribbean region and the potential of this sector.

Within the global economy, the textile industry has always been characterized by its intense activity. Particularly, the fashion design sector grew to US$ 1.7 billion in 2012 and currently employs about 75 million people worldwide.