ABSTRACT
Textile manufacturing was industry's major exporter contributing some 25%. The Spinning (Re-equipment Subsidy) further propagated the vertical organisation against all technical requirements, whilst the organisation of the most successful textile industries, including USA and Japan, are horizontal. Consistent with previous government legislation to assist the industry, the vertical sector that should have been given maximum assistance was penalised. In the ten years since participating in the Cotton Industry Act, market penetration had increased by a further 16% to 51%, the UK industry now a minority supplier to the UK market. The US and European textile organisations negotiated directly and permanently with their Governments and maintained permanent well-staffed organisations in headquarters adjacent to Government. The Department of Trade and Industry provided the initiative for a new industrial strategy, associating textile manufacturing and clothing as a single industry. Three years have now elapsed since the Textile and Clothing Strategy Group set out to prevent the two industries reaching ‘a critical mass' situation.
