The Internet-based fashion brand Lativ — which had previously marketed itself as a made-in-Taiwan brand — recently angered consumers with its decision to move some of its production lines abroad, triggering a consumer backlash.
Since its founding about five years ago, Lativ has marketed itself as a fashion brand that aimed to help the ailing local textile industry, as most of its goods were manufactured in Taiwan. The Internet fashion outlet also attached a “Made in Taiwan” tag to its products.
Recently, however, many of Lativ’s customers noticed that this label was being used less frequently and raised the issue with the company.
Lativ issued a statement on its Web site on Thursday stating that since 2010, it had moved some of its production to China, Vietnam and Indonesia. The statement said that higher costs and the limited production capacity of Taiwan’s textile industry were the reasons behind the overseas move.
“If you only purchase ‘made in Taiwan’ products, then we sincerely suggest that you do not place an order with us,” the statement said.
However, Lativ’s decision has angered customers, with many vowing to boycott the brand.
“Of course Lativ can choose its customers, and as a consumer, I can choose which brand of clothing I buy,” a Facebook user named Gil Chen said. “The quality [of Lativ’s products] is not as good anymore, so, goodbye, have a safe trip.”
“Why are we buying Lativ? Because we thought Lativ could help keep jobs in Taiwan’s textile industry, so that grandma could have a job,” wrote Claire Hong, another Facebook member. “Now that Lativ is making money, it’s firing the grandma, so it’s time for us to fire Lativ.”
Hong was referring to a Lativ advertising campaign that showed how it insisted on keeping its entire production process in Taiwan to help local garment factories stay open and provide employment for senior workers.
Originally, garment tags also said that the entire production process was completed in Taiwan and thanked the buyer for supporting Lativ’s efforts to help the country’s textile industry.
“I have no problem buying stuff that’s made in China or in Southeast Asia, and I do it all the time,” another blogger called Zen wrote. “The problem with Lativ is that it has reached sales figures of NT$4 billion [US$135,000,000] a year because it advertised itself as a ‘made in Taiwan’ brand with some touching stories.”
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
China has reserved offshore airspace over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts that are usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Sunday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. The alerts, known as notice to air missions (NOTAMs), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert
RSS