The devaluation of the Thai currency, the baht, has restored some competitiveness to its exporters. However, the pressure remains to seek differentiation. The Thai Garment Export Company, for example, has developed systems to meet the exacting standards of buyers such as retailer, Marks and Spencer, which demands that there be no loose metal in the workplaces where its children's clothes are manufactured, or the US department store chain, JC Penney, which requires supplier to be linked to its electronic data interchange network. Smaller companies are also becoming more sophisticated in their operation. It sees improved productivity as the key to maintaining competitiveness.
Technology is an issue for the industry.
The weaving industry is moving to an era of shuttleless production, but more than 80 percent of Thai textile companies still use shuttles. In the spinning sector, the average age of machinery is more than 10 years old. It is reported that across the entire Thai garment industry, there are only two computerised cutting machines. The Thai government has obtained some funds to support the renovation of the industry form the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. The Thai Textile Institute has been established.