The Tamil Nadu government plans to establish 10 mini handloom parks across the state including in Coimbatore, Gudiyatham, Jayakondam and Kancheepuram. Each of these parks will house 100-150 handloom weavers, besides a market expert. Together they will form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to manufacture products based on requirements as assessed by the market expert.

The third largest handloom market in India after Assam and West Bengal, Tamil Nadu employs around 2.2 lakh people with 50 per cent of them being women and about 50 per cent of them being covered by the cooperative support system.

However, increasing mechanisation and powerlooms are impacting the handloom industry in Tamil Nadu with these products no longer being partronised by the common man. 

Currently, handlooms in Tamil Nadu focus only on saris. The profession needs to be made remunerative by adding more niche products and tapping on the export potential, says K Vivekanandan, Commissioner-Textiles, Government of Tamil Nadu. 

Traditionally, handlooms are housed in individual homes and collectively come under a cooperative society. The mini-handloom parks will bring them under one common roof to jointly produce for the market, adds Vivekanandan.

The government along with Co-optex has been diversifying products to include shirts, kurtis, home and kitchen furnishings as well as accessories. The handlooms department has conducted awareness programs in 150 colleges to create a market for handloom products among students.

Another problem with handlooms is that mostly a particular community is involved in the trade. Since the focus of these handlooms has been on one product, their income has being limited. To secularise the sector, the state government has started several weaver induction training programs. 

The sector also needs to expand its product range to attract young buyers, opines Jawahar Singh, Cofounder and CEO, Avishya Trading. Removing middlemen would ensure higher returns for weavers, he adds. 

The fashion industry’s presence at the COP28 conference in Dubai has been getting progressively strongly. However, its transition to renewables has been slow and scattershot, says HakanKaraosman, Assistant Professor, Cardiff University. 

The tools and technology promoted by most fashion giants cannot bring any change if the industry does not focus on the real problem: production volumes, adds Karaosman, who also chairs the Union of Concerned Researchers in Fashion. 

Just before the close of COP28, negotiators from 196 countries struck an unprecedented deal to phase out fossil fuels.

Environmental advocacy group, Stand.earth, together with Oxfam Bangladesh, launched a call to the 100 UN Fashion Charter for Climate Action signatories, which include names such as Adidas, H&M Group, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and The North Face owner VF Corp. These brands committed to phase out fossil fuels in their supply chains by 2050.

Currently, only the Kering group, among the luxury brands, has declared its commitment to use 100 percent renewable energy in the supply chain by 2030.On the other hand, LVMH announced the redoubling of its biodiversity and climate initiatives. The brand signed an agreement with the Foundation For Amazon Sustainability to combat deforestation and improve the environmental footprint of its stores in partnership with real estate developers in the United Arab Emirates and Miami.

The 75th Cairo International Textile Machinery Exhibition, co-located with Cairo Fashiontex, promises groundbreaking advancements in Egypt's textile sector from October 3rd to 5th, 2024. 

With over 80% of Egyptian textile companies upgrading machinery, global industry leaders have a strategic opportunity to engage in this transformative phase. 

Egypt's central geographical location offers a key hub for international collaboration, fostering essential connections within its dynamic textile market. 

The exhibition, hosting 450 pre-arranged B2B meetings, amplifies business networking opportunities. Egypt's textile industry, with 3,243 companies and a 3.2 billion USD investment, stands as a major global player annually producing 315 million apparel and exporting 305,000 tons of cloth and apparel.

Diesel's innovative concept, Diesel Loves, spearheaded by creative director Glenn Martens, challenges industry norms by encouraging the denim community to collaboratively share materials and resources, disrupting traditional brand partnerships. 

The inaugural collaboration with Lee, titled "Diesel Loves Lee," transforms unsold stock into unique designs, fostering sustainability. 

With a limited edition of 3,000 pairs available exclusively on diesel.com, the collection, priced at $350, echoes the power of denim to unite, featuring co-branded labels and diverse styles. 

All proceeds support the UNHCR, embodying Diesel's commitment to positive change in fashion.

In a recent meeting, the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) proposed furnishing customs houses with yarn scanning machines, shouldering the cost to ensure accurate measurements. 

BTMA Director Khorshed Alam highlighted concerns about misdeclaration at new land ports like Bhomra and Sonamasjid. He emphasized BTMA's readiness to contribute equipment to address the issue. 

While RMG industry leaders opposed halting yarn imports through land customs stations, the customs department expressed support for a stricter import process. 

Unregulated yarn and fabric imports, fueled by misdeclaration, pose a threat to the domestic textile industry's export potential. 

Despite differing opinions, the National Board of Revenue clarified that yarn isn't currently imported through the new land customs stations.

Pakistan and China have solidified their economic partnership through a series of groundbreaking Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) totaling $10 billion. 

These agreements span crucial export sectors, including textiles, agriculture, food, and car spare parts. 

The CCCT supports a 10% boost in textile imports from Pakistan, aiming to elevate overall textile exports to China.

Minister Gohar Ejaz's upcoming discussions in China and reciprocal visits by investors signal a deeper engagement and potential benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences Plus scheme for European markets.

In a strategic move to position itself as a global textile powerhouse, Uzbekistan is set to host the ITMF Annual Conference and IAF World Fashion Convention 2024 in Samarkand from September 8-10. The nation, historically renowned for cotton production, has rapidly transformed into a major player in textile and apparel, boasting over $3.5 billion in exports to 75 countries.

Uzbekistan's Textile and Garment Industry Association (Uztextileprom) reveals its ambition to become a sourcing hub for socially sustainable cotton textiles worldwide. The conference, a collaboration between ITMF, IAF, and Uztextileprom, is expected to unite over 1,000 global textile leaders.

Highlighting Uzbekistan's remarkable strides, Ilhom Utkurovich Khaydarov, Chairman of Uztextileprom, emphasizes the sector's pivotal role in the nation's economy. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's commitment to achieving a $5 billion textile export target underscores Uzbekistan's emergence as a competitive international player.

The forthcoming conference, attracting heads of 500 international organizations, signals a pivotal moment for Uzbekistan's textile industry. The country's transformation into a recognizable global supplier, as evidenced by President Mirziyoyev's participation in ITMA 2023 in Milan, underscores its growing influence and positive reception in the global textile market.

Over 20 members of ACIMIT, including key players in the South American knitting sector, will exhibit at Colombiatex in Medellin, Colombia, from January 23 to 25, 2024. 

Italy's textile machinery prowess, evident in a country pavilion hosted by ACIMIT and the Italian Trade Agency, aligns with Colombia's booming textile industry, anticipating €58 million in machinery imports for 2023.

Italian exports to Colombia surged by 50% in 2022, reaching €9 million in H1 2023. ACIMIT President Marco Salvadè emphasizes their commitment to fostering collaboration for qualitative growth. 

Featured companies include LGL, Lonati, Santoni, and BTSR, showcasing Italy's technological partnership in Colombia's modernization efforts.

Between January and September 2023, Eurostat, the Directorate-General of the European Commission responsible for European data, reported a historic shift in the EU's trade landscape. Notably, the import of knitwear from Bangladesh surpassed that from China for the first time. As per Eurostat, the EU's combined import of knitwear from Bangladesh during this period reached €8.3 billion, surpassing China's €8.2 billion.

This development underscores Bangladesh's significant strides in the knitwear sub-sector, positioning itself as a leader among knitwear-exporting nations in South and Southeast Asia. A key contributing factor is Bangladesh's focused efforts in this specific industry, coupled with the advantageous duty-free status granted by the EU, which China no longer enjoys.

The ongoing and protracted conflict between Russia and Ukraine has further influenced trade dynamics. The strained relationship between China and the EU due to China's alignment with Russia has prompted European countries to reduce engagements with China, impacting imports, including knitwear. Moreover, China's emphasis on exporting high-value products has opened opportunities for Bangladesh to gain traction in the knitwear sub-sector.

Notably, Bangladesh's market share in the EU stood at a substantial 22.1 per cent, a close second to China's 29.2 per cent in 2022. This shift in trade dynamics signals a notable change in the EU's sourcing patterns and highlights Bangladesh's growing influence in the European knitwear market.

Chinese textile and apparel exports decline steadily

As reported by business journals, the first nine months of 2023 witnessed a notable downturn in Chinese exports of textiles and apparel, totaling $245.7 billion. This was a 9.2 per cent decline compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. Within this, textile exports amounted to $112.5 billion, reflecting a 9.8 per cent decrease, while garment exports were $133.1 billion, experiencing an 8.7 per cent drop compared to the same period in 2022.

The downturn persisted into October, with textile and clothing overseas shipments totaling $22.9 billion, a 4.8 per cent decrease from the previous year. Textile exports for the month stood at $10.7 billion, showing a 3.3 per cent decline, while apparel exports were $12.2 billion, down by 6 per cent compared to October 2022.

Notably, Chinese exports of textiles and garments to key markets such as the US, the EU, and Japan saw significant reductions of 15.6 per cent, 20.5 per cent, and 12.3 per cent, respectively, year over year between January and September. Conversely, exports to Russia, Kazakhstan, and Singapore experienced growth, with increases of 20.4 per cent, 52.4 per cent, and 24.9 per cent, respectively.

The challenges faced by Chinese exporters are attributed to various factors, including US-imposed regulations related to cotton and cotton-based items from China. Additionally, the strained political relations between China and European countries have further impacted Chinese exports, particularly in the textile and apparel sector. Chinese manufacturers are grappling with uncertainty regarding the continuity of orders, as political stand-offs with Western democracies, especially the US and the EU, show no immediate signs of resolution.

Bangladesh playing to its strengths

As per Fazlul Hoque, former president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), the remarkable performance of Bangladesh's knitwear exporters is due to the sector's proficiency in manufacturing high-quality products at competitive prices. Hoque emphasized Bangladesh's duty-free status has played a pivotal role in bolstering export values. Notably, in 2022, Bangladesh surpassed China in the global export of readymade garments, a trend that has brought joy to Bangladeshi exporters as Western markets adopt the "China Plus One" strategy for sourcing.

Against the backdrop of the European Union's (EU) ongoing political, social, and economic challenges spanning over three years, the impact is reverberating across major exporting countries. In the first nine months of 2023, EU imports amounted to €63.5 billion, representing a significant contraction of 14 per cent compared to the €73.9 billion imported during the same period in 2022. This contraction has resulted in a double-digit decline in major exports to the EU, creating a foreign exchange earnings gap that particularly affects countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, which heavily rely on textile and apparel exports as a key source of foreign exchange. The shift in global trade dynamics has created opportunities for Bangladesh, with its knitwear sector standing out and benefiting from strategic shifts in global sourcing strategies.

In a strategic move, Wazir Advisors, a prominent global management consulting firm headquartered in India, has strengthened its foothold in the textile, garment, technical textiles, and retail & consumer goods sectors. Renowned for delivering meticulously researched strategic solutions, the firm facilitates business transformations to expedite growth and bolster profitability. The company specializes in turnkey implementations, joint ventures, and mergers & acquisitions.

Wazir Advisors' recent collaboration with the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) has garnered attention in the industry. Christian Schindler, Director General of ITMF, praised the firm's inclusion, emphasizing its valuable contribution to the federation's knowledge base. Recognized as a leading consultancy in the global textile industry, Wazir Advisors brings unparalleled expertise and insights, enhancing the collaborative environment within ITMF.

Joint Managing Director, Prashant Agarwal, highlighted the ease of the decision to join ITMF, attributing it to the unique and informative ITMF Annual Conferences. These conferences serve as a platform for industry leaders worldwide to discuss trends, exchange opinions, and establish international networks. The move not only benefits Wazir Advisors by providing access to valuable data but also enriches ITMF with the firm's global perspective and extensive network. This strategic alliance positions Wazir Advisors at the forefront of international textile and retail industry collaborations, fostering growth and innovation.