Fashion firms need to think about raw materials, their mill relationships and emerging sourcing destinations differently. Apparel companies can’t be in too much of a rush when it comes to diversification. Businesses sourcing in China are eager to get out, but they have to be careful about jumping out of one problem and into a host more if the new country can’t meet the productivity, quality, speed and sustainability they need. For instance, the items that cost the most may not be the first ones they should move. They may need to accelerate the low-cost items more. Even though the impact from the tariff on those is lower, those are the ones that don’t have a lot of margin and so the possibility to absorb any impact to speed to market is lower.

Beyond trade-related levers, there are several strategies for lowering fabric-related costs. The first is the cost engineering the automotive and electronics industries have developed to manage cost of goods. Essentially, they’ve figured out how to determine what the inputs they purchase should cost rather than relying on prices set by suppliers. It saves money and alleviates the need to negotiate. Further, it puts more power in the hands of the designers.