With the ever-prosperous Chinatown garment industry struggling on the edge, industry insiders are kicking off a new strategy to keep this so-called “sunset” industry afloat. On Jan. 4, a delegation of 15 Chinatown garment industry people will head to Hong Kong and mainland China to seek help from their homeland. New York City Councilmember Allan Gerson today presents a flag to the delegation and said he hopes their trip will help the economic recovery of downtown Manhattan.

The delegation, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce and Hong Kong Department of Commerce, will visit Hong Kong, Shanghai and Guangzhou from Jan. 4 to 18. They will visit garment factories in China and try to figure out ways to cooperate.

One of the leaders of the delegation, Teddy Lai, is the Executive Director of Greater Blouse, Skirt &Undergarment Association. Lai explained that the delegation will try to sign an agreement with China’s wholesalers to promote clothes labeled “made in Chinatown” in the big market in China. At the same time, they will seek cooperation between Chinatown garment factories and those in China. If they succeed, the Chinatown garment industry will offer packaged orders to the manufacturers. This means that Chinatown’s factories will filter big orders to their partners in China, which provide cheap labor, cutting costs for the manufacturers. At the same time, smaller quantity orders would be processed in Chinatown factories, which could save time on shipping and provide products faster. Lai said that Chinatown’s garment industry should be made aware of the strengths and weaknesses of “made in Chinatown.” Compared to “made in China,” “made in Chinatown” is not competitive on cost, but is on time. The package orders could combine the strength of these two locations and attract more orders for both.

The trip to China is a brainchild of Lai and his colleague after other strategies they tried failed to rescue the industry. Although no one can guarantee its success, the trip instills new hope to the old industry, which is in dire straits now.

The garment industry has been one of the major industries in Chinatown. Without knowledge of English nor any special skills, many first-generation Chinese immigrants work in the industry. Their hard work in the garment shops also benefits their children, the better-educated younger generation. Many successful Chinese businessmen and politicians are from families that worked in the garment industry. This includes the newly-elected New York State Supreme Court Justice Doris Ling, the first female Asian judge in the Supreme Court. Therefore, some say the garment industry is a stepping stone for Chinese immigrants walking towards a new life.

However, since the 1990s, the prosperity of Chinatown’s garment industry has been slowing. Developing Asian nations, including China and Vietnam, have seized business from Chinatown’s garment industry because labor costs are cheaper. The once-aggressive information technology industry began occupying space that once housed garment factories, driving up rents. After September 11th, the government defined the area that would receive assistance as south of Canal Street. This closed the door of financial help to most garment industries, which are concentrated north of Canal. The industry has been pushed into a corner by all of these factors. People started to call it a “sunset industry,” meaning it’s going to be abandoned by history soon.

But to people like Lai, calling his industry “sunset” is premature. Lai cited the statistics from the New York State Labor Department as proof. According to the statistics, in 1992 there were 4,000 garment industries state-wide. By the end of last year, the number of registered factories was 3,700. These numbers show that generally speaking, the garment industry is not shrinking. However, things are different in Chinatown. Ten years ago, there were 600 hundred factories in the area, while now, there are only 130 left.

Lai said that there are many reasons attributed to this disparity. For example, the establishment of Chinatowns in Brooklyn and Queens provide as much convenience as Manhattan’s Chinatown. The comparatively low rent in those areas attracted some factories, which relocated.

For Lai and his colleagues in the Association the most important thing to do now is generate more orders for the factories. “We used to only focus on the manufacturers in New York City. But now that the cake in the city is smaller, we have to look at the broader area,” Lai said. Their first try bore fruit last June. After a long effort, the Association signed a five-year, two-million-dollar contract with Vanity Fair, a Virginia based clothing company.

Encouraged by that success, the Association is going further, this time is to China. “Garment factories in Asian area are a threat to us. Especially after China’s entry into the WTO, we felt more pressure here in Chinatown,” Lai said. “But I believe we could use the convenience of language and culture to cooperate with our homeland and turn it into a partner, rather than a rival.”