A question of materials
Home » Blog » Sarah Marquet » A question of materialsTo count as 'New Zealand made', is it enough for something to be designed and made in NZ, or do the materials have to be made here too? Sarah Marquet continues her quest for reasonably priced NZ-made clothing … and Easter eggs!
Image by trekkyandy via Flickr
The easter egg hunt
I looked for New Zealand-made Easter eggs for weeks. When I told my flatmates that I may have to hide Peanut Slabs for our egg hunt, they were outraged and demanded I make some eggs myself.
I didn’t think I would be able to find New Zealand-made chocolate molds, so I didn’t bother checking out the shops, heading to Trade Me instead. I thought I would struggle to even find secondhand ones, but the first listing that showed up was from a couple who actually do make molds.
So, with my own molds and some Whittaker’s I thought I had Easter sorted. Unfortunately our flat Easter egg hunt didn’t go ahead so I never made them.
I did find out that marshmallow eggs are made here though, but by the time I got to the supermarket they were all gone. A few people told me to look out for Richfield’s eggs, but I never found any of them either.
The winter clothing hunt continues
Image by House of Sims via Flickr
As it was so easy to find Easter egg molds, and I was still looking for affordable locally made clothing, I typed “NZ made” into Trade Me’s search bar. It uncovered a lot more than I expected. Some of it was second hand but there was quite a bit of new stuff. It seems small businesses are using Trade Me as another outlet for their products; most had links to their own websites.
This seems such a good way for them to compete with established New Zealand clothing companies. Small businesses can’t afford advertising as big companies can, so Trade Me is a perfect. I got a really nice, brand new merino jersey for $20. I’m sure I would never have found one of that quality for that cheap in a shop.
This got me thinking though. I could ask my local dressmaker to make me clothes. They would be made here and the money would stay here.
For an item of clothing to be considered NZ-made, I figure it has to be designed and made here, but the material can be imported—since that's what all the designers who sell 'Made in NZ' clothing do. No matter where I get my clothes, someone at some point in the chain has had to buy the material.
If I do have to buy my own material, it makes sense to buy it from someone who goes overseas and brings material back, rather than a big store like Spotlight, but it would still mean buying something that isn’t 100% NZ made.
Can I skip a step and make stuff myself then? Maybe not. Paying someone to sew for me is a lot easier than getting frustrated and giving up, which would be the inevitable conclusion of doing it myself.
