An international quality certification program, the Social and Labor Convergence Program (SLCP), has been launched in Tirupur. There are many certifications and audits in the market. Each buyer has their own certification, which is really a problem for exporters as they have to spend a lot of money and time on them. SLCP will address alternate measures for all these issues. SLCP will eliminate multiple social audits. It eliminates the need to go to each buyer with various certifications. International buyers will have the information to compare facilities and decide with whom they would like to work with. 

SLCP uses a multi-stakeholder and inclusive organization and approach. Signatories include manufacturers, retailers and brands, agents and audit firms, service providers, as well as organizations in the public sector, standard holders, civil society organizations and multi-stakeholder organizations with an interest in converging assessments and improving labor and social conditions. SLCP will be accountable to signatories through an annual meeting. The International Trade Centre is also a part of SLCP.

This program will help the industry to eliminate audit fatigue, avoid duplication and reduce the number of social and labor audits by replacing current proprietary assessment tools, increase the opportunity for greater comparability of social and labor data and redeploy resources to improvement actions.

There is a lot going on in the field of textile recycling. The main raw material is textile production waste, which is easy for companies to collect. Cotton, wool and all synthetic fibers are thus recycled and at least partly mixed with new materials. Even recycled laminates and zippers are already on the market.

Down can also be recycled. This does not come from waste, but from the collection of old bedding. If it has not previously been possible to break fiber mixtures down into their starting materials in order to recycle them, there are also new solutions from the side. Numerous companies and laboratories around the world are working on the chemical separation of cotton and polyester. Polyester becomes polyester again and cotton cellulose powder, which can be used for cellulose fibers such as viscose. Work is also underway on new plastics that are easier to recycle.

Recycling of old clothes is still a problem because clothing consists of a mix of many materials and is seldom pure. In addition, finishing processes such as dyeing, impregnating and laminating change the fiber properties. Because no one knows exactly which fibers and chemicals are in old clothes, no new fibers can be made from them.

Polyester staple fiber (PSF) prices were range bound in China, India and Pakistan after the Lunar New Year holidays. PSF offers in China were kept firm in the second week of February underpinned by stable polyester chip markets. Market sentiment was largely quiet after the holiday week while PSF producers were slowly restarting their units later in the week. Market supply is expected to increase due to plant restarts and new start-ups. Prices in India and Pakistan were steady during the week.

Polyester filament yarn (PFY) prices rolled over in China amid relatively high inventory during the week. Trading activity was thin and PFY units were resuming operations gradually after the spring festival holiday. However, products will still not be available until the last week of February. Overall, PFY offers are likely to remain range-bound in coming weeks. In India, PFY producers were stable in the week. In Pakistan, PSF offers were largely unchanged.

Polyester spun yarn prices moved up in China and India while they remained flat in Pakistan after the spring festival holidays. However, inventories of yarn producers have been increasing in the low demand market. In India, spun polyester yarn prices jumped that week. In Pakistan, polyester yarn makers kept firm offers underpinned by flat PSF cost.

In 2018, export earnings of Myanmar’s garment sector touched nearly $4.6 billion dollars. And by 2024, total export earnings are expected to reach $20 billion. While the garment sector has seen a five-fold increase in the number of workers their income has increased tenfold. There are 356 garment factories in the country. The garment industry has been on an upward trend. In 2022, export earnings from the garment industry are projected to reach eight to ten billion dollars. The industry is expected to create 1.5 million jobs. Most of workers will be female.

Myanmar exports items from seven major commodity groups. These include: manufactured goods consisting mainly of garments as well as agriculture produce, minerals, cattle, fisheries and forestry products. Myanmar’s major import items are divided into four groups — capital goods, intermediate goods, consumer goods and cut-make-pack garment products. The higher volume of exports reflects the government’s efforts to reduce the trade deficit by screening luxury imports, encouraging import substitutes and boosting exports. They also come at a time when foreign direct investments into the country have eased over the past year. Myanmar’s current account deficit, which includes the trade deficit, is financed mainly by foreign direct investments into the country.

Kingpins will release a list of top 10 most sustainable products found on its show floor. This is because the trade show is often asked by buyers for help find sustainable products. These are products that have truly set themselves apart when it comes to environmental impact. The list for most sustainable products will be completed after each Kingpins Amsterdam show and shared with attendees via a newsletter.

Kingpins prepared one such list and at the top is Advanced Denim’s product, thanks to its impressive resource reduction properties. Artist Fabric Mills guarantees that no virgin cotton is used in the production of its fabric which is made entirely of recycled materials, specifically recycled cotton, polyester and elastane. Orta’s fabric is manufactured from recycled pre-consumer fiber.

Retailers are trying to find more ways to bring sustainable alternatives to the consumer. However, mining sustainable denim fabrics in a sea of blue and sustainable buzzwords is a challenge. Designers and brands are actively searching out sustainable products and trying to determine fact from marketing when making their fabric buys. At the same time, mills and garment makers are making great strides in sustainable production and products and would benefit from increased exposure of their efforts, developments and innovations.

India might impose retaliatory tariffs after the US withdrawal of GSP benefits. Almost 30 items imported from the US, including walnuts, lentils, boric acid and diagnostic reagents, will face higher duties, cutting benefits to US exporters.

Indian exporters feel the withdrawal of GSP will not make much difference to them. The withdrawal is only going to inject an estimated additional burden of $190 million, which is miniscule compared to India’s overall exports to the US. In fact even the US was benefiting from the GSP regime, since the intermediary inputs provided by India helped keep its industry competitive.

India was the largest beneficiary of the GSP program in 2017. India’s top exports to the US under GSP in 2017 included motor vehicle parts, ferro alloys, precious metal jewelry, building stone, insulated cables, leather products, garments and wires. India’s trade surplus for merchandise goods with the US is around $19 billion. Also, most of the exports are of intermediate goods not produced in the US. From 2015 to 2017, imports of capital goods (machinery, equipment, aircraft, semiconductors, engines, tractors etc) and industrial equipment (lumber, chemicals, aluminium and copper, iron and steel, cotton and wool, plastics, fuels etc) together accounted for 55 per cent of the total imports of the US.

The Infrastructure Development Company (IDCOL) in Bangladesh will push in funds worth $166 million to improve energy efficiency in the textile value chain in th country. Out of this, the company will seek $100 million in loans from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and a further $66 million through borrower co-financing. The funds will have a five-year disbursement period and a 10-year repayment period with a two-year grace period.

IDCOL, a non-bank financial institution working in the medium to large-scale infrastructure and renewable energy financing space, is accredited by the GCF to handle loans of up to $250 million. The company includes both senior government officials and three private sector representatives on its board. The proposal to GCF is likely to be submitted by September this year. If approved, IDCOL will be authorised to identify local recipients of funding. There are currently three approved GCF funded projects in Bangladesh.

Based in South Korea’s Incheon, GCF is a fund established within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as an operating entity of the financial mechanism to assist developing countries in adapting practices to mitigate impact of climate change.

GST on textile products may be reworked. The move is expected to help the sector be more competitive in the global market. The main reason is the labor-intensive nature of the sector. As of now, barring raw silk, khadi yarn and some other items, there are three rates — 5, 12 and 18 per cent — for various textile items. Though there is a refund mechanism for exporters, it takes time and affects exporters’ efficiency. In countries such as China, Indonesia, and Thailand there is a single rate. It is 16 per cent in China, 10 per cent in Indonesia and 7 per cent in Thailand, making them more competitive.

There are issues with customs duty. India has more than 300 tariff lines for textiles items, making things more complex for global buyers. For example, Bangladesh imports yarn, fabric etc from China as it is cost effective and then produces readymade garments for the export market in a big way.

However, any work on trade tariff will be watched very carefully by global trade partners and there could be allegations of WTO norms violation. The foreign trade policy allows fulfillment of export obligations under various schemes through third party exports. Such a provision of getting exports goods without payment of GST from textile manufacturers will lead to ease of doing business and also a seamless flow of credits.

Brands can no longer resort to short-term contracts for garment workers in Cambodia. A legal clarification it makes it clear that, aside from an initial probationary period, those who have served for two years or more are entitled to contract upgrades, to permanent positions with bonuses and benefits.

Workers on short-term contracts are seen as less likely to be involved in unions, to report abuses, or to push back against bosses racing to meet rising production targets, for fear of losing their job. Under increased scrutiny as the world becomes informed of abuse faced by workers in fashion supply chains, Cambodia’s garment sector has been overhauled in recent years. But as salaries and standards rise, so do production targets as factories look to offset increased costs. Threats of contract non-renewal are used to force workers into working regular overtime, meeting excessive production targets and from engaging in independent trade unionism. Short-term contracts mean that as soon as a worker is brave enough to stand up for their rights, they can be silenced.

The garment industry is a pillar of Cambodia’s economy, accounting for 40 per cent of gross domestic product and employing more than seven lakh people, mostly women. But it is rife with labor and human rights violations.

The Cotton Association of India (CAI) has retained its cotton production estimate at 315 lakh bales. In the last cotton season, total output stood at 365 lakh bales. The cotton season runs from October to September.

The total cotton supply from October 2018 to May 2019 was 325 lakh bales. Total supply includes arrivals of 287.72 lakh bales up to May 31, 2019, imports of 9.28 lakh bales and the opening stocks of 28 lakh bales at the beginning of the season. Cotton consumption during October 2018 to May 2019 stood at 209 lakh bales. Export shipments till May 31 are estimated at 44 lakh bales. Stocks at the end of May 2019 are estimated at 72 lakh bales, including 32.68 lakh bales with textile mills and the remaining 39.32 lakh bales with the Cotton Corporation of India and traders and ginners.

Total cotton supply till the end of September 2019, is estimated at 374 lakh bales, which includes the opening stock of 28 lakh bales at the beginning of the season. Imports are estimated at 31 lakh bales, this figure is higher compared to the previous year’s import estimate of 15 lakh bales. The carryover stock at the end of the season is estimated at 13 lakh bales.