From the perspective of a tie manufacturer, I often wonder about the future of ties, particularly the role of school ties within the landscape of school uniforms. However, I do think that if there are no school ties, then there are no uniforms. This is how integral I believe school ties are to school uniforms.

For a tie manufacturer who only manufactures ties, this thought is quite significant in a way because if for example, a decision had to be made or a law passed that school ties are no longer a necessary part of a school uniform, then where am I, the tie manufacturer in all of this? If school ties were to fade into history, what would become of the tie manufacturer in this evolving tapestry of style and identity?

Tie manufacturers are a relatively small breed of individuals in our country and many of them do not exist purely on the makeup of school ties, but also manufacture or CMT (Cut, Make and Trim) other types of clothing or uniforms to complement their offering or increase their turnover.

So, this means that whilst a tie manufacturer may dedicate some or the bulk of his or her factory to ties and scarves, there are generally other opportunities to do turnover by making as much use of the people they employ.

Those tie manufacturers who do make other garments are generally the more forward-thinking generation who realise that making ties and scarves can be extremely seasonal and as a tie manufacturer, it makes extremely good sense to have other offerings within your factory. For example, winter clothing is made in summer and summer clothing is made in winter.

Again, as a tie manufacturer, it is not important what other lines are manufactured as long as there can be some kind of synergy between the key things manufactured and other items.
It also stands to reason that the factory floor is only capable of manufacturing so many items in a day, after all, we are all only human and have a certain work capacity.

So, in a tie manufacturer factory, there will no doubt be certain well-trained individuals who are adept as tie manufacturers, but who are also highly adept and knowledgeable about other clothing items such as golf shirts, tracksuits, and hoodies. In fact, pretty much anything that can be manufactured in tandem with or instead of school ties or just ties and scarves.

In my opinion, this approach is vital in today's world where the demand for ties and scarves is declining, yet the school tie market remains robust. By diversifying and confidently expanding into various clothing lines, tie manufacturers can unlock the full potential of their factories.

Keeping in mind that first and foremost, I am a tie manufacturer and as tie manufacturers, we owe it to our core product to keep things in line financially if we are short on some tie and scarf business to bring in the bacon.