For the nine month period US imports of blue jeans from the western hemisphere rose 43.46 per cent.

Imports from Mexico rose 46.53 per cent. The countries of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) combined for an increase in imports of 32.69 per cent. Among CAFTA countries, shipments from Nicaragua rose 34.57 per cent while imports from Guatemala were up 24.73 per cent. Imports from Colombia were up 25.52 per cent.

The western hemisphere supply chain for textiles and apparel is a core pillar of the partnership between the United States and the countries of the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement. The CAFTA-DR rules of origin provide the certainty needed by industry to invest and expand operations in a way that promotes economic opportunity for both US workers and those in the region. The US textile industry has invested over $20 billion in the United States and billions more in the hemisphere over the past decade to grow economic opportunities in the US and in the region.

Meanwhile US imports of jeans from Bangladesh increased 31.4 per cent in the nine month period. Shipments from China rose 15.02 per cent. Imports from Pakistan were up 63.4 per cent.

Making a grand return post-pandemic, the upcoming edition of Techtextil India will be held in a hybrid format from November 25 to 27, 2021 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Goregaon, Mumbai. The event will attract all leading technical textile players from across application areas. Some top technical textile brands participants are: JB Ecotex, PARK Nonwoven, Loyal Textiles Lenzing, Mehala, Meera Industries, etc. The event will also host a few leading German brands in the German pavilion.

The juxtaposition of a physical exhibition and online business matchmaking platform will offer greater networking opportunities to visitors. The ‘MFI virtual app’ will host live knowledge sessions and product demonstrations for visitors unable to attend the event physically. The event will also offer visitors access to specific products like fibers, yarns, nonwovens, machinery, coated textiles. Visitors to the physical event will have to follow government-authorised safety protocols of ‘MFI SafeConnect’. These protocols will enable visitors to engage in secure face-to-face interactions with exhibitors and witness the latest technical textile technologies and innovations in-person.

Tie up with Tamil Nadu government

The nodal agency for investment promotion and facilitation for the Government of Tamil Nadu – Guidance has signed up for Techtextil India 2021 to reduce import dependency and bring investments in R&D, manufacturing, innovation by partnering with global technical textiles companies, says Pooja Kulkarni, IAS MD & CEO, Guidance Tamil Nadu.

International exhibitors

Techtexil India 2021 edition will feature an exclusive German Pavilion showcasing products and technologies from top German manufacturers, including Autefa Solution Germany GmbH, DILO Systems GmbH, Emtec Electronic GmbH, Georg Sahm GmbH & Co, Karl Mayer Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Merz Maschinenfabrik GmbH and Oerlikon Barmag Zweigniederlassung der Oerlikon Textile GmbH & Co. the Indian representatives of brands from Austria, China, Italy, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, the UK and the USA are also participating at the exhibition.

Product launches and live demos

New product launches and latest technological offerings from brands will be one of the major attractions at Techtexil India 2021. The physical exhibition format will showcase a series of key product launches from brands, including like Autefa Solutions, DiloGroup, Meera Industries, Sicam, Suntech Geotextile and Weavetech, etc, while the virtual exhibition format will feature live product demonstrations exclusive for the visitors tuned in live.

Raj Manek, Executive Director and Board Member, Messe Frankfurt Asia Holdings says, Techtexil India 2021 aims to provide a collaborative atmosphere that the industry needs to get back on its feet and look ahead towards the future. The return of face-to-face exhibition combined with the virtual model will open doors to excellent sourcing, collaborative and learning opportunities for professionals.

Trend forecasting firm WGSN’s Fall/Winter 2023-2024 palette developed with color authority Coloro, colors reflect the different journeys consumers will encounter as they adjust their lifestyles and set new directions for the future. The colors have been chosen for their renewing and energizing qualities. The colors are described as motivational forces that will help consumers reconnect with qualities they might have lost sight of during the pandemic, like healing, discovery, transformation, simplicity and pleasure.

The gender-inclusive hue of Astro Dust is expected to update outerwear, knitwear and makeup. Glossy finishes, stained wood effects, anodized and leather applications will dial up the color’s richness and tactility. It also serves as a promising commercial and directional color for the interior category, suitable for large-scale furniture, carpets and bedding.

Galactic Cobalt, a new hyper-bright shade of blue, makes a natural choice for functional outerwear, consumer tech and virtual experiences. Galactic Cobalt’s richness, however, lends itself as a key jewel tone for occasion wear, accessories and cosmetics.

Sage Leaf is a quiet and settling green that instills a sense of contemplation, rest and reflection. The color will be important for reductive, considered design in the home as a color for walls and furniture. Apricot Crush, a mid-tone orange, is a natural companion to neutral colorways in bath and bedroom products while its gender-inclusiveness is fit for loungewear, active wear and outerwear.

A strike in Bangladesh by truck and van owners has caused losses to RMG exporters. Many factories are facing a raw material crisis, while some are resorting to costly air freight for shipments to meet buyers’ deadlines. No exporter is able to shift goods to washing plants or embroidery units while at the same time factories are facing a shortage of accessories. BGMEA Vice-President Rakibul Alam Chowdhury feels exporters are worried about shipments as of raw material shortage has hampered production. Similarly, Mohamad Hatem, Executive President, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) reported, at least three exporters have had to bring back their goods from Chattogram port to send by air.

Air freight accounts for 55 per cent of a product's export price. Following a hike in diesel and kerosene prices, transport owners and workers called for an indefinite nationwide strike, demanding either a rise in fares or a reversal of the hike. They have halted the transport of goods across the country until their demands are met.

Meanwhile export orders remained stuck at ports. Goods-laden containers are not leaving the ports. Most products are readymade garment exports. As many as 300 Indian trucks carrying goods remain stranded at Bhomra port in Satkhira following the truck crisis on Bangladesh’s side amid the nationwide transport strike. Because of the strike, importers are unable to unload imported goods from the Indian trucks.

Denim brand Diesel has launched a resale program and so far collected and re-conditioned some 900 jeans. Upon collection, the pre-owned jeans are shipped to a facility, washed and treated with Polygiene’s ViralOff and OdorCrunch technology, a combined treatment featuring anti-microbial and odor-resistant properties that the denim brand began using during the Covid-19 pandemic. The treatment helps mitigate the need for water- and energy-intensive home washing, further lowering the jeans’ environmental impact. Each restored pair features a red logo stamped across the back of the garment to indicate its resale status. A rating system provides insight into the condition of the garment ranging from one, or slightly worn to three, or like new.

The buyback program began in Italy, with plans to expand to other countries. For spring/summer 2022, Diesel has launched an evergreen collection of genderless garments backed by responsible manufacturing methods, including fabrics made with low-impact components such as organic and recycled fibers and finishing treatments using water- and chemical-reducing techniques.

The secondhand market has been growing and shows no signs of slowing down. Brands such as Levi’s, Madewell and Guess have followed the movement, each recently launching its own take on a resale program.

Polyester spun yarn manufacturers association NITMA India is protesting zero duty imports from Indonesia and Vietnam. On the other hand polyester staple fiber is not included in the free trade agreement and is cleared at the full duty rate of five per cent.

The domestic industry wants a level playing field. Domestic mills say that in the presence of this anomaly they have no chance of competing with imported goods. Imports have grown from 486 tons a month in 2015 to 5,109 tons a month in 2020-2021. Estimates are that the current market share of imports has reached 25 per cent of total domestic consumption. The domestic polyester spinning industry fears it will be wiped out very soon.

Industry representatives have suggested alternatively removal of basic customs duty on polyester staple fiber or its inclusion in the Asean FTA would also give a level playing field to the domestic industry. As both these options would take a long time to materialize, they feel that the anti-dumping duty be imposed till such time the FTA is modified to include polyester staple fiber or till such time that the basic customs duty on polyester staple fiber is removed. Since the rate of duty on input raw material and finished goods need to be the same, which is currently not the case, an early imposition of the anti-dumping duty is required.

Nike plans to use 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025. Currently, Nike already uses 80 per cent renewable energy. Nike is looking to improve its sustainability credentials by focusing on materials. Almost 80 per cent of the brand’s carbon footprint comes from the sourcing materials and manufacturing. Nike is one of the largest users of recycled polyester in the world.

The company did its first recycled garment in 2006. But now recycled polyester alone reuses more than a billion plastic bottles a year. Space Hippie, a new shoe line Nike debuted last year, is made of 90 per cent recycled materials. Seventy per cent of all products made by Nike have at least some recycled material in them, but Nike wants to aim higher. Nike tracks the percentage of recycled material used in each product. Nike has an alternative to leather called Flyleather. Currently, Flyleather is made from 50 per cent recycled leather material.

While Nike’s commitment to 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025 applies only to own offices, stores and factories, encouraging manufacturing partners to make the switch to renewable energy will help bring down the company’s overall emissions. Nike has also been focused on using the weight it has in the manufacturing space to influence its partners.

Centric Brands and WHP Global Partner have teamed up on a deal to buy the premium denim brand Joe’s Jeans. Centric and WHP have a definitive agreement and court approval for the deal, under which WHP will own the brand’s intellectual property, outside of China. Centric will continue to operate the business under a long-term exclusive license for its core categories and geographies.

Centric Brands which itself was caught with too much debt in the pandemic and went through bankruptcy court, coming out with a restructured balance sheet — has a portfolio of over 100 owned and licensed brands and sales of about $2.5 billion. In addition to Joe’s, the company makes men’s and women’s apparel under license for Buffalo, Hervé Léger and Izod.

Joe’s Jeans is trading hands just as denim picks back up. The brand was part of the wave of names driving the premium denim rush in the first decade of this century but times were leaner as consumers and the industry pivoted to athleisure looks. Now, after more than a year of lockdowns and leggings, and with a more casual approach to return to work and life, jeans are seeing a stronger comeback. A new denim cycle is gathering steam.

Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the United States in September 2021 grew by 43 per cent reveals latest OTEXA stats. The trend indicates buyers have shifted a portion of their sourcing to Bangladesh from China.

Readymade garment exports to the US from Bangladesh in January to September 2021 increased by 26.37 per cent. Apparel imports by the US from Vietnam in the nine months of 2021 increased by 15.11 per cent. Vietnam’s apparel exports to the US in September, however, grew only one per cent as factories in the country were closed due to a surge in Covid infection cases.

Readymade garment imports by the US from India in January to September of 2021 grew by 33.29 per cent. US apparel imports from China in the first nine months of 2021 grew by 25.13 per cent. Apparel exports by Cambodia to the US in January to September 2021 increased by 14.97 per cent. Readymade garment imports by the US from Indonesia in the nine months of 2021 increased by 7.45 per cent. Apparel exports by Mexico to the US in January to September of 2021 increased by 30.19 per cent.

Overcoming the pandemic shock, the US economy has started performing well and buyers have placed additional work orders to meet an increased demand for apparel items.

The planned GST hike on garments priced less than Rs 1,000 from January 1, 2022 is likely to increase prices of 80 per cent final products, opine experts. The government had decided to increase the Good and Services Tax (GST) rate on readymade garments and fabrics in September this year. The planned hike is likely to affect almost 85 per cent of the garment market in India, as per reports. It will create a greater stress on the working capital requirements of the industry, especially the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

Majority of industry to be impacted

The government had proposed the hike to correct the problem of Inverted Duty Structure faced by a small segment of the textile value chain. The duty structure involves levying higher taxes on input and lower tax on output of the final product. Though the GST Council has addressed this issue for many other industries, it continues to persist for footwear, textiles, pharmaceuticals and fertilizers.

However, the issue impacts only 15 per cent of the textile sector while the proposed GST hike is likely to increase prices of 85 per cent products, say experts. Furthermore, the continued shutdown of retail outlets in the country is likely to force domestic garment industry to continue operating at 65 per cent of pre-COVID levels.

Effect on employment levels

The industry also faces a 20 per cent decline in employment as most units have either scaled down or shut operations due to the pandemic. Though the festive season looks optimistic and encouraging, it may not last long as the GST hike on clothes below 1,000 may severely hit the textile industry, particularly MSMEs, says Kumar Rajagoplan, CEO, Retailers Association of India.

As a solution, the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India has urged the government to impose a uniform 5 per cent GST across the entire value chain. The sharp increase in cost of raw materials such as yarn, fabric, fuel, packaging materials and transportation is likely to hit sales even more.

Sales drop as raw material costs surge

Sales are likely to drop by over 50 per cent as people have lost their capacity to spend. The prices of raw materials have also shot up significantly. In such a situation, hike in GST rates to 12 per cent will hit the industry hard, adds Sajjan Raj Mehta, Karnataka Hosiery and Garments’ Association.