Burberry, the British luxury fashion giant, plans to hold its Fall 2020 runway show in Shanghai on April 23, 2020. The show will include new looks designed specifically for the Chinese market, which will be available to purchase exclusively in China in stores and online.

The brand’s Fall 2020 show will be presented in London on February 17, during London Fashion Week. Its catwalk last season saw the brand leverage the star power of its brand ambassadors — singer Kun Chen, actress Dongyu Zhou, and rapper Lucas Huang.

Burberry has 61 stores in China and is set to open a social retail store in Shenzhen Bay as part of an exclusive partnership with Tencent during the first half of 2020. Previously, Burberry hosted a holographic show in 2011 for the opening of its Beijing flagship store and another catwalk in 2014 for the opening of the Shanghai Kerry Center. Nonetheless, this is the first time the brand has chosen to show a full collection in China and with new looks created entirely with Chinese consumers in mind.

In a classic case of administrative delays hampering development, tax refunds worth Rs 5,000 crore ( .70 billion) are pending with the government. In March 2019, the government introduced a new scheme for the garment exports sector. Called the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL), the scheme sought to refund the taxes on inputs paid by the sector. However, it’s been 10 months since the introduction of the scheme and refunds are still stuck with the government.

In a classic case of administrative delays hampering development, tax refunds worth Rs 5,000 crore ( .70 billion) are pending with the government. In March 2019, the government introduced a new scheme for the garment exports sector. Called the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL), the scheme sought to refund the taxes on inputs paid by the sector. However, it’s been 10 months since the introduction of the scheme and refunds are still stuck with the government.

Tax rebates and subsidies to deal with capital crunch

Schemes including RoSCTL and the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) total 9 per cent of the total sales of these exporters. There is no clarity yet on the new rates under the two schemes, which has pushed Indian garment exporters into distress. Dominated by small businesses, these exporters face a huge capital crunch with salaries of their employees and vendors remaining unpaid. Some stakeholders say, the garment industry is on a ventilator and is about to die. To revive, the industry needs urgent action including tax rebates and subsidies. Any inaction, on part of the government is likely to push the industry towards bankruptcy and unemployment.

Employment generation and policy revamp

One of the government’s biggest worry is creating jobs for the masses. In the January 2018 edition of Economic Times, Arvind Panagariya, the ex-vice chairman of NITI Aayog noted the Indian apparel sector needs to create jobs like RIL and Shahi Exports do. For this, it needs to tackle its shortcomings like low productivity levels of its garments. For this, India can create plug-and-play hubs with facilities like effluent treatment plants and dormitories for workers.

India also needs to revamp its trade policies and provide duty free access to its markets like Vietnam and Bangladesh who have grabbed the majority pie of the global apparel market.

Use of smarter fabrics

Another change that India needs to make is the adoption of smarter sophisticated fabrics that are capable of absorbing moisture, are heat resistant and have greater stretchability. Measures such as lowering the duty on synthetic raw material, strengthening weaving and processing industry and becoming FFI compliant will help the industry to grow.

Though the government has introduced initiatives such as flexible labour laws and wage subsidies, these efforts thus far have been half-hearted and piecemeal. To capture a major share of the $480 billion industry, we need a more coherent and coordinated strategy.

Technology is making big strides across the global apparel industry.  However, India lags behind countries like Vietnam and Cambodia in the adoption of these technologies. “Around eighty percent of our players own medium to small units. They need to be directed in terms of increasing their exports. They also need big plug and play workstations to operate their businesses,” says HKL Magu, Ex-Chairman of AEPC.  

The investment required for this trade is not easy to absorb.  “To avail of this investment, we need to exploit available technologies and upgrade our operations,”  opines Magu. One of the factors that ails this industry is increasing competition. “To survive, we too need to more competitive. However, this is only possible if our production increases,” he adds.  

Compliance is also increasing. Most of the factories, especially those in the international areas are becoming safety and environment-complaint.  “Without compliance, even smallest of our importer would not be in a position to take order,” states Magu adding, “It’s also a time to be sustainable. We need to be sustainable in order to grow in this industry.”

The Prime Minister has also called for certain suggestions from the industry which it plans to duly incorporate in the upcoming budget. 

The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), shows the full spectrum of U.S. textiles from fiber through finished sewn products, it stated the following statement on the Phase One Deal on 301 tariffs signed today by the U.S. and China.

“While we are still studying the details of the deal signed today, we applaud the administration for finally pressing China for a more rational and equal trade relationship,” said NCTO President and CEO Kim Glas. “Our industry has been severely damaged by China’s predatory practices over the past 30 years and we are anxious to see a new era of sound trade principles and balanced trade.

On the same end, we question the last-in, first-out approach to the tariff reductions.  In our sector, this means that the penalty 301 tariffs on finished apparel and sewn products the areas where tariffs have the most potential to effect reforms in China while bolstering the Western Hemisphere supply chain are cut in half while U.S. manufacturers continue to face full tariffs on certain inputs and equipment not available domestically.

NCTO is a Washington, DC-based trade association that represents domestic textile manufacturers, including artificial and synthetic filament and fiber producers.

All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has opposed Pakistan government’s decision to charge more than 7.5 cents per unit for providing electricity to the textile industry. 

The association says, the government has already imposed various surcharges after the withdrawal of zero-rating alongside GST and income tax. Besides, the textile industry is burdened with Quarterly Tariff Adjustments (QTA) and introduction of the Additional Distribution Surcharge to the industry retrospectively from the beginning of the current fiscal 2019-20.

The addition of extra charges in the tariff will further burden the industry with an additional 30 to 35 percent on account of electricity charges. Therefore, the industry is demanding electricity supply at the committed tariff of 7.5 cents per unit with no other charges added to it.

Ireland has formulated a ‘radical’ new strategy to focus on reducing plastic packaging waste and waste generated by fast fashion and food items in the country.  Ireland’s department for communications says, climate action and environment, the country generates over 200 kg of waste packaging, 59 kg of which is plastic per person every year.

More than half of fast fashion is disposed of in less than a year, and food waste alone costs the country’s homeowners €700 a year and accounts for a loss of €1 billion to the country’s enterprises, according to Irish media reports. The department has sought views on measures to tackle fast fashion, better labeling for recyclable goods, targets to ensure correct bins are used, providing clearer information on what goes into each bin, measures to halve food waste, ending the use of non-recyclable plastic, how to further crack down on illegal dumping, incentivising the use of recycled materials in the construction industry, working with other European Union (EU) member states to design the structure of an EU-wide plastic packaging tax to encourage the further prevention of plastic packaging and raising awareness on how best to manage their waste.

The Irish government plans to ban single use plastic plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks, cotton bud sticks, polystyrene cups and food containers and introduce fees on non-recyclable plastics, like on food packaging in supermarkets.

Set up by top European clothing brands to check worker safety standards in Bangladesh, Accord will close operations in May, more than six years after the collapse of a garment factory prompted the intervention by retailers. With its five-year mandate long expired, Bangladeshi manufacturers have been demanding Accord shut shop, as they feared the group would widen its scope to areas such as workers rights.

Recently, Accord and Bangladeshi garment manufacturers signed an agreement to set up a new Ready-made Garment Sustainability Council (RSC) to take over the work of the Accord by May 31. Retailers, unions and manufacturers will have representatives on the council, a national initiative, which will carry forward the work of Accord to ensure safety in factories.

It takes a special kind of focus for a company to achieve the status of a recognized ‘industry leader’. Maintaining that position is even more challenging, with a constant drive for maximum efficiency, optimized quality and total customer satisfaction. The Chinese company Esquel has exactly those attributes. 

Its commitment to innovative processes and business methods makes it an ideal partner for Uster Technologies, which helps Esquel deliver great quality and productivity through world-class data analysis and transparency.

“During the numerous years of cooperation between Esquel and USTER, we have learned that both companies have much in common: We share the pursuit of quality,” says Li Guanghai, General Manager Xinjiang Esquel Textile Co., Ltd.

This means Esquel aims not only to meet its customers’ quality requirements but also works to improve its processes and guarantee a constant product with optimum use of resources. For example, Esquel benchmarks its yarn production against that of other companies, to control quality with the help of USTER® STATISTICS. High quality standards and investments in USTER systems, qualifies Esquel as a certified USTERIZED mill. This seal of quality proves that a mill passes regular audits and spins yarn of a consistently high quality. 

The future, connect and prevent

Esquel uses its collaboration with USTER to stay ahead of the game. Optimizing production by checking the status quo is the present. Combining transparency over the entire production is the future. It integrates real-time information from production with data analysis. In this way, possible errors can be eliminated at earlier production stages, long before machines have to be stopped or the end-product is defective. 

This preventive action improves the future outcome of an entire production cycle. Here, Esquel again stands at the forefront of innovation, able to share its positive experience with the Quality Management PlatformTM. Instead of processing information from unconnected laboratory instruments separately, USTER QUALITY EXPERT combines data. “We can now bundle all data, from raw material to yarns, combining laboratory and in-line tests. This enables us to respond faster, react during running production, and so guarantee consistent quality at the outcome,” says the General Manager.

Relief for the quality manager

For Hai Yang, Deputy Quality Control & Assurance Department, working with USTER® QUALITY EXPERT pays back in time savings for his entire team: “Combining all data in one system, USTER® QUALITY EXPERT significantly reduces the workload of our laboratory staff. And the recommendations and hints by Assistant Q make my daily work much easier my workload for data input and evaluation has decreased a lot and I can even identify long-term quality trends.”

This allows Esquel to produce yarn to a consistently high quality level. Additionally, the Management Platform gives peace of mind. “USTER® MOBILE ALERTS allow me to solve issues much faster than before. No matter where I am, I can connect to the system and check if everything is running smoothly – or intervene immediately if changes occur,” Yang says. 

Esquel aims at productivity gains through preventing quality issues instead of reacting to them, as well as careful use of all resources. 

Many factories in Bangladesh’s readymade garment sector are shutting down. Almost 60 garment factories have shut down and 25,900 workers have lost their jobs in the last seven months. The sector registered a negative growth of 7.64 per cent. Most factories that shut down come under the small and medium enterprise category. They failed to maintain strict compliance and pay their workers under the new wage structure. Unplanned industrialisation, lack of skilled workers, lack of proper research and development, cost of doing business and the downward trend of prices in international market add to the challenges.

After China, Bangladesh is the world’s biggest garment exporter. This sector experienced negative growth in the first six months of fiscal 2019-20. But has immense potential for bagging more work orders. Currently, the accessories and packaging manufacturing sector has more than 1,700 factories. West Bengal in India and Myanmar are potential markets because they have started setting up new factories. So there is ample opportunity to supply more accessory items to them. Entrepreneurs need bank loans at a lower interest rate. Policy development, research, and incentives are necessary for further advancement of the garment industry.

Ludhiana’s hosiery industry is troubled by delays in refunds. The delays pertain primarily to the Technology Upgradation Fund and the Rebate on State and Center for Taxes levies (ROSCTL). For the past nine months, garment exporters have not received their ROSCTL refunds, valued at around Rs 5,800 crores. Due to this, the working capital of the industry is stuck. Exporters have urged for refunds on time, increase in duty drawback, faster loans and subsidies and incentives. Another problem is cheap imports from Bangladesh. Bangladesh's share of apparel exports worldwide was 2.6 per cent in 2000, which rose to 7.7 per cent in 2018. India's share has increased from three per cent to just 3.3 per cent in these 18 years. The uneven duty structure plagues exporters. The duty on raw materials and machinery is too high while the duty on imports of finished goods is too low. There is a 22 per cent to 24 per cent custom duty being levied right now.

There are about 12,000 hosiery units in Ludhiana. Most are in the small and unorganized sector. These small companies want yarn banks to be set up which can buy yarn from mills and give it to small entrepreneurs at low prices and so keep down their cost.