As economies open up to international competition, it is critical that firms undertake joint interventions and pool their resources to meet the intensive competitiveness challenges that emerge. Clustering is therefore a progression from operating in isolation to recognising that there are certain support activities that can be better performed in conjunction with firms confronting similar challenges. Whilst competitiveness pressures exist between individual firms in any operating environment, a strategic perspective on the long-term challenges confronting an industry, and a willingness to embark on innovative programmes to grapple with these challenges, is ultimately what will determine the future success of these industries.

Given this reality and the specific challenges confronting the South African Clothing and Textile industries, the KZN Clothing and Textile Cluster (KZN CTC) was launched in August 2005 after the completion of a five-month pilot project that ran from February to June 2005. Based on international cluster best practices, the KZN CTC is a public-private sector partnership, generously supported by both the Department of Economic Development of KwaZulu-Natal and eThekwini Municipality, with the KZN CTC's three business plans fully endorsed by industry representatives, provincial government, and local government.

The key to the success of the KZN CTC lies in its three programmes, based on business plans formulated and controlled by the industry and facilitated by Benchmarking and Manufacturing Analysts (as the KZN CTC's service provider). These are World Class Manufacturing, Human Resource Development, and Value Chain Alignment. Technical Steering Committees (TSCs) comprising senior managers and directors of KZN CTC firms are directly responsible for the implementation of each programme. The programmes report to an Executive Committee consisting of the chair of each TSC, along with government officials and two senior facilitators from B&M Analysts.

The KZN CTC is founded on the principle that collective interventions are likely to deliver far better results to companies than individual attempts that are lacking in resources. Based on this principle, the Cluster focuses on undertaking rigorous research, followed by an aggressive facilitation service securing firm-level input into the Cluster opportunities, and then delivery of a variety of services and joint interventions to enhance the competitiveness of member firms.