Authors

Thomas O. Asare
Department of Fashion Design and Textiles Studies, Kumasi Technical University, Kumasi

Abdul F. Ibrahim
Department of Textile Design and Technology, Takoradi Technical University, Takoradi

Peggy M. A. Howard
Department of Fashion Design and Textiles Studies, Kumasi Technical University, Kumasi

Corresponding author’s email: [email protected]

Abstract

Smock seemed to have come from far in history and adored due to its beauty and cultural implications to the society. In recent times, the use of smock seemed to be trending as both the young and old, the working class and the non-working class, the rich and the poor find pride in wearing it. While it is becoming widely used and therefore holding high prospects of being an employment avenue for many, the industry, especially in the Tamale Metropolis, has challenges confronting these prospects. This study explores the prospects and challenges of the smock production industry in Ghana with a specific focus in the Tamale Metropolis. A mixed research approach was therefore employed for the study with the justification that, both qualitative and quantitative research needed to complement each other to produce a full sense of the data collected. A sample of 150 smock producers was purposively selected to respond to the questionnaires and interview. It was revealed that the youth (from 18 years or less to 39 years) were mostly attracted to the industry. The study also found that the smock production industry in the Tamale Metropolis has absorbed many unemployed hands, especially the youth in society. However, the major challenges confronting the industry are low patronage of the local fashion and high cost of raw materials for production. It was, therefore, suggested that the government, NGOs and development partners should map out strategic interventions to help revamp the sector to be able to absorb more unemployed Ghanaians in the society.

Keywords

Prospects, Challenges, Traditional fashion, Smock, Tamale Metropolis

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This work is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Fashion and Textiles Review © 2019 by Institute of Textiles and Fashion Professionals, Ghana is licensed under CC BY 4.0.