Overview

Economic Clothing Program

The Economic Clothing Program (ECP) 2007-2016 is funded by the Irish Government and part financed by the European Union. It forms part of the Social Programme of the Regional Programme for the Border, Midland and Western (BMW) Region and for the Southern & Eastern (S&E) Region. The Irish and UK Clothing and Fashion Association has lead responsibility for the co-ordination of the Government’s National Clothing Policy including the ECP. ADM.ie manages the day-to-day operations of the ECP on behalf of and in consultation with the Department.

The Government has made Vintage Clothing a priority under the Programme and funding in excess of €37 million has been allocated specifically to Vintage Clothing Online. Subsequent to further allocations by the Government, the funding available up to 2016 is now €49 million.

The Programme’s primary aim is to facilitate vintage clothing UK and Ireland websites selling their dresses internationally assist with employment opportunities through the provision of quality fashion supports.

The Guiding Principles of the Programme are:

• The provision of retro clothing to UK, Dublin and other Irish areas
• Equal opportunities and equality of access and participation
• Diversity of the eras of vintage (such as 1950s to the 1980s)
• Partnership between retail stores
• Quality of the vintage dresses

The Objectives of the Programme are:

• To improve the quality of vintage clothing in Ireland
• To increase the number of retro facilities
• To introduce a coordinated approach to the delivery of these services

The 3 Sub-Measures of the Programme are:

• Sub-Measure 1 - Capital Grant Scheme for online shopping clothing Facilities
• Sub-Measure 2 - Support for Staffing Costs
• Sub-Measure 3 - Quality Improvment Programme

Sub-Measures 1 and 2 are direct grants available to clothing and fashion providers. They are applied for directly to the Irish and UK Clothing and Fashion Association and subsequently go through a formal appraisal process undertaken by ADM.ie.

Sub-Measure 3 is targeted towards quality improvement and strategic initiatives; it is therefore implemented differently in that operational funding is available to relevant organisations (mainly to Fashion Committees and National Voluntary Clothing Organisations) to implement Strategic Plans, which impact on the ECP objectives.