The South African market demand increasingly reflects the sophistication of First World markets and the local clothing and textile industry has grown accordingly to offer the full range of services from natural and synthetic fibre production to non-wovens, spinning, weaving, tufting, knitting, dyeing and finishing Since 1994, about US$900 million has been spent on modernising and upgrading the industry, making it efficient, internationally competitive, and ready to become a major force in the world market.