School uniforms - why do they cost so much?

Friday, 25 January 2019

Twenty families a day are calling the Christchurch City Mission seeking help paying for new school uniforms.

Amongst them is single mother-of-two Victoria Harlan who faces an $1800 bill to buy her children's Shirley Boys' High and Avonside Girls' High uniforms for the new year.

'I understand the quality of the uniforms is very good but it's just the initial cost is a lot,' she says.

Harlan says her other option was taking out an education costs loan with Work and Income – something 32,564 Kiwi families did last year to the tune of $7.25 million.

Embroidery machines stitch school emblems into 500 to 700 garments per day at Barewood Apparel in Auckland.

But school uniform suppliers extolling their clothes' quality say the inflation-adjusted cost has hardly shifted in 20 years, despite massive change in New Zealand's garment industry.

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* The great New Year fear: buying school uniforms**

Buying new school uniforms can be daunting for parents at this time of year.

THE MARK-UPS

The mark-up on school uniform items often exceeds 100 per cent after passing through importers, embellishers, and retailers.

One importer, who supplies fabric to several large uniform companies, says he's seen a kilt produced from his fabric sold at a 700 per cent mark-up.

A bird's eye view of the Barewood Apparel factory. The company is one of three Auckland businesses that embellish The Warehouse's school uniform items.

He says each link in the chain adds a mark-up. 'There's generally a basic rule if you go from the factory to production there's a 10 to 15 per cent mark up, production to the retailer is another 15 to 20 percent. The final product going into stores, it's pretty much open slather – could be anything from 66 per cent.'

Eric O'Brien, director of Auckland importers and embellishers Barewood Apparel, said two to three mark ups were applied between uniforms being imported, embellished, packaged, distributed and sold.

'It varies, but you world expect the average mark up margin to be around 50 per cent.'

Designing a uniform with a school, sampling, ordering, manufacturing and distributing it usually takes about six months. Suppliers rely on their past order history and a bit of 'crystal ball gazing' to get the right numbers and sizes of each item into stores by January.

Cheaper items like school polo shirts, generally sold for $20 to $30, are generic, bulk sourced items that are later embroidered with school's emblem.

Depending on logo's complexity – anything from 5000 to 22,000 stitches – they can add $3.50 to $18 to the price of a shirt or blazer.

The more expensive uniform pieces bespoke, produced for a specific school. Collars, unique colour schemes, and detailed piping all add costs for suppliers and reduce opportunities for economies of scale.

Larger sizes, wool blends, ands heavier fabrics chosen for their durability also push up the price of some garments – that's why a polo, dress shirt or pinafore can cost $20 more than another garment that looks the same to the naked eye.

But O'Brien, the former chair of a school board for eight years, said 'the reality is the ownership of the sale of the uniform is with the school board'.

Every supplier Stuff spoke to said schools ultimately decide uniforms' retail price.

Barewood Apparel director Eric O'Brien says school uniform production has changed during the 30 years he's been in the business. 'I've seen everything from when there were tariffs and protection for the industry to now, [when] there are none and everything in between.'

'NATURAL CAP' ON PRICES

Education Minister Chris Hipkins has taken aim at alleged 'covert fundraising' via uniform sales.

The Ministry of Education is developing advice for Hipkins on 'a range of payments by parents to schools' after he raised concerns that schools were applying 'big mark ups'.

'If you look at the variability and cost of uniforms between schools it is clear that some schools are making quite a lot of money,' he said in 2017.

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A Fijian garment factory worker, pictured here in 2000. SPARTECA, a 1981 trade agreement, has made Fiji a destination of choice for New Zealand clothing companies. The industry has since become one of Fiji's largest, employing roughly 7000 people.

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New Zealand School Trustees' Association president Lorraine Kerr could not be reached for comment, but schools Stuff spoke to say they are not upping the price.

The Commerce Commission advises schools to be transparent with families about their uniform supply and pricing, and to 'think carefully' about entering contracts lasting longer than three years.

In practice, contracts for uniform supply often roll over automatically and there are no legal restrictions on schools applying their own mark ups to uniform sales.

Suppliers say schools are increasingly opting for unique colour schemes and 'more modern and technical' styles, such as softshell jackets and less scratchy wool blends, or moving back towards traditional tailored garments like blazers.

These designs are inevitably more expensive, but suppliers say schools shop around to get the right balance of price and quality.

Tight competition in the school uniform market places a 'natural cap' on prices, Bunnell at NZ Uniforms says.

'Schools are quite savvy in getting the best deal for parents. We go in with the attitude that a school uniform is an investment.

Ningbo Ideal Apparel is one of 18 Chinese factories used by The Warehouse to manufacture its Schooltex range.

'It's not just price, you do need to perform. We feel a great sense of responsibility.'

OFFSHORE PRODUCTION

Chinese workers making clothes for The Warehouse work 65 hours a week on average. Pictured is Ningbo Ideal Apparel, which employs about 200 people.

Most New Zealand school uniforms are made in Fiji or China.

Which destination suppliers choose depends largely on economies of scale. A 1981 trade agreement means New Zealand can import certain quantities of clothing from Fiji duty free, while in China factories staffed in the hundreds or thousands can produce millions of garments a year.

Apart from the odd merino item, nearly all the fabrics used for school uniforms are imported, usually from China. Some come from Thailand, Vietnam, India and Italy.

Australia is also popular because its UV-treated textiles don't bleach as quickly under the New Zealand sun, and companies here take advantage of our like seasons to order smaller runs of pricier fabrics.

Fiji, which also makes many Australian school uniforms, has the cheaper labour force – the minimum wage for garment workers is NZ$1.87 per hour. Consumer prices, including rents, are about 29 per cent lower than in New Zealand, according to global cost of living website Numbeo.

While its government is reviewing the minimum wage, Fiji's Textiles, Footwear and Clothing Council has warned calls to hike it up to $4 or $5 an hour would place 7000 garment workers' jobs in jeopardy.

New Zealand companies using Fijian factories must first import fabrics before shipping it to companies like United Apparel, the country's largest garment manufacturer and a factory of choice for several large uniform companies.

**READ MORE:

Year 9 Avonside Girls' High School student Maggie Scott tries on her uniform. Suppliers say uniforms engender a sense of pride, with many schools across New Zealand returning to more traditional styles.

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A student tries on a Shirley Boys' High School blazer. While some people buy online, suppliers say most families still want to try school uniforms on in store.

Despite higher freight costs, China has a competitive advantage when it comes to school uniforms.

Countless specialist factories can be subcontracted to meet the full run of production – materials are woven, dyed, cut, sewn and trimmed into garments ready to be embroidered or printed on arrival in New Zealand.

Schooltex, The Warehouse's school uniform label, has contracts with about 600 local schools. Its school socks are made in Palmerston North, Gisborne and the West Coast, many primary schools' polo shirts come from Fiji, and the company uses 18 Chinese factories.

The Avonside Girls' and Shirley Boys' High School uniform shop in Linwood, Christchurch. Uniform stores are experiencing their peak season in January.

Third-party audit firms report to The Warehouse Group's Shanghai-based team on those factories labour practices but its head of ethical sourcing, Trevor Johnstone, says they don't have 'a direct line of sight' further back in the supply chain.

While the company has never encountered child labour at its primary suppliers, 'we cannot categorically exclude the possibility of more systematic and abusive child labour practices existing with the subsidiary levels of our supply chain', such as parts manufacturing and raw materials, its 2018 ethical sourcing report says.

The average Chinese factory worker making clothes for The Warehouse worked 65 hours per week for an average weekly salary of NZ$221.59 in 2017. In the regions The Warehouse contracts its garment manufacturing to, the minimum weekly wage varies from NZ$91.88 to NZ$114.85.

Johnstone said it was difficult for clothing brands contracting to China to 'try enforce a standard that might be idealised' elsewhere.

'The normal working hours are longer and you are faced with the dilemma of either being blind to the thing, asking suppliers for a piece of paper that doesn't mean anything … or [you] base your dialogue on real information.'

Sourcing and merchandise chief executive Tania Benyon said The Warehouse Group tries to work with factories to improve conditions when problems are found.

'It doesn't help those communities if we just say 'you have done something wrong so we're moving our business'.'

Good working conditions were also front of mind for other suppliers contracting offshore. 'I would be very uncomfortable about using a factory for our school uniforms unless I have been there and visited,' NZ Uniforms chief executive David Bunnell said.

Brent Ellis, owner-operator of Academic Schoolwear, cuts out a pocket in his garage workshop. Ellis makes about 500 school blazers a year, among other clothes, from home after leaving his central Christchurch factory last year.

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It takes Ellis roughly a second to attach a button. 'I've been doing it 40 years so I can pretty much whip through it.'

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He said there was an 'emotional layer' to keeping most of his company's production in Fiji.

'It's probably true that it's cheaper in China than Fiji but as long as we can produce to a price point … it's kind of a philanthropic approach. We like to support the region.'

Suppliers wanted to do more onshore production but said New Zealand didn't have the labour force they needed.

Brent Ellis presses a Garin College blazer in the living room of his Christchurch home. A moment's lapse in attention can cost him hundreds of dollars, he says.

Many Kiwi dressmakers, tailors, and sewing machinists were approaching retirement and new trainees don't last long because the pay is underwhelming, suppliers said.

Ultimately, producing more school uniforms here would push their price beyond what many families could afford.

As one supplier put it: 'Everyone loves to buy New Zealand made but no one's prepared to pay for it.'

Little Yellow Bird founder Samantha Jones visits a cotton field in India, where the company's clothes are produced. It tracks its products from farm to factory floor to ensure they're ethically made.

MUM AND DAD SHOPS

Brent Ellis has an industrial fabric fuser in his conservatory able to heat up to 264C.

His home in the Christchurch suburb of Redwood also features a press, a button-holer, and a cutting table in the garage next to a row of school blazers, Garin College, Southland Girls' High and Wellington's St Patrick's College's chief among them.

One of the Indian factories that make Wellington-based company Little Yellow Bird's clothes, pictured here in 2016.

The owner-operator of Academic Schoolwear produces up to 500 blazers a year, cutting and fusing the fabrics before sending them to three other suburban 'one man bands' for sewing. He also sells shirts and kilts imported from China.

Ellis used to have a factory and four staff in Christchurch's CBD.

'After the earthquake in 2011, we were shut out of our factory for three months because we were in the red zone. During that time one of the big guys from Auckland came down and told the schools we were finished and they went off with them. We had to start all over again.'

When the annual rent on his earthquake strengthened site shot up $10,000, Ellis moved his business into his home.

Though many uniforms are produced offshore, suppliers say some 'mum and dad shops' retain a strong foothold, particularly in smaller regions.

They can handle small orders, like 10 or 20 summer dresses, that big suppliers sometimes turn away, and can tailor the fit of different items to a specific child.

Ellis has held on to some of his clients for 10 years: 'We know them and and what we want; we know the kids' names.'

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He says it's not unusual for others to come calling: 'We get mums and dads ringing us up because we're in the White Pages asking do we do this school, this school, this school. They know that Mainland has the uniforms but they want a better price.'

Mainland Uniforms supplies 90 South Island schools. Manager Carolyn Rhodes says the company tries to keep production local for 'the smaller stuff'.

Its knitwear is made in Auckland and Palmerston North while George Roy in Springston, a small Canterbury township, makes Mainland's skirts, pinafores and culottes. Its merino items come from Banks Peninsula.

The company also contracts what Rhodes describes as 'little old ladies in their garages' to make hundreds of kilts and dresses per year.

A 100 per cent wool Burnside High School kilt made in New Zealand costs $175, compared to a $75 Cobham Intermediate kilt made in Fiji.

Rhodes says families might be able to buy similar tartans from Spotlight but they're a quarter of the weight of Mainland's Italian and Indian-made textiles.

'There are some fabrics that we've kept going for 40 years.

'There's a very fine line between making an acceptable [price per] piece but still having a really good quality garment.'

Ellis agrees. He works 60 hour weeks, and says a distraction as minor as a telephone call can cause mistakes that cost him hundreds of dollars.

He intends to keep his business going for another 10 years.

ETHICAL UNIFORMS

Helen Pearson liked the look of some overseas school uniforms until she learned they were made with Teflon.

The principal of Horizon School at Snells Beach, north of Auckland, says complaints about the poor quality of their old uniforms, and rebranding from Mahurangi Christian School in 2015, means it's time for a change.

'We're wanting a look for our uniform that is contemporary and enjoyable for our students to wear, and what we saw in New Zealand didn't inspire us,' Pearson says.

'We felt what was more in-keeping with our school's values was to look at something sustainable and ethical … When I knew we could wrap it around children's learning, that's kind of what clinched it for me.'

Now in production, the school's new uniform will play a part in science lessons on the chemical processes involved in their creation, and inspire classes on the sustainability and impact of Western clothing factories in developing countries.

Horizon School parents have had their say on the uniform's design – its cost is still being negotiated.

Samantha Jones, founder of ethical clothing brand Little Yellow Bird, says Horizon is the company's first school uniform contract.

Although some of their school uniform pieces will be 'substantially more expensive', others are 'competitive' with major uniform suppliers, she says.

Little Yellow Bird tells its customers how many litres of water and pesticide, and hours of free trade labour were used in the production of each garment.

Jones' colleague, Angela Lewis, says more parents are seeking that kind of information.

She says the business receives 15 to 20 calls each year from parents who can't access uniforms that align with their values. 'It's genuinely upsetting for them that their child will have to wear polyester clothing with unknown origins.'

But they are limited by economies of scale: 'We would love to offer them a solution but we can't produce [just] one size 12 blue shirt.'

Clare Hart, education and advocacy manager for Tearfund, which produces the Ethical Fashion Report annually, says price is not necessarily an indicator of ethical production.

If a supplier has a code of conduct on their website and nothing else, that's a red flag.

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'It's easy to do it but it doesn't necessarily mean it is being implemented,' Hart says.

She encouraged parents to ask schools where their uniforms were coming from, and have the schools ask the same of their suppliers.

'The uniform companies need the schools' business … There's nothing like that consumer pressure.'

Pearson, from Horizon School, says she understands schools wanting to avoid those discussions – uniform is 'the most fraught conversation that a principal will have' outside the daily business of education.

In her experience, half of parents feel strongly one way, 30 per cent are committed to the opposite, and the rest are indifferent about a school's uniform.

'You always have ones at the extreme end. The intensity with which people have those discussions is incredible.'

COMPARING SCHOOL UNIFORMS

Here is a sample of prices for a polar fleece, polo shirt, and pair of shorts at 10 primary schools across New Zealand:

Glen Innes School, Auckland, decile 1 – $99

Allandale Primary School, Whakatane, decile 2 – $97

St Patrick's School, Invercargill, decile 3 – $72

Ngongotaha School, Rotorua, decile 4 – $85

Clinton School, Otago, decile 5 – $69

Solway School, Masterton, decile 6 – $115

Tauranga Primary School, Bay of Plenty, decile 7 – $95

Puahue School, Te Awamutu, decile 8 – $95

Red Beach School, Rodney, decile 9 – $119

Thorrington School, Christchurch, decile 10 – $73