Most exhibitors at the yarn show Pitti Filati, June 26 to 28, 2019, had a natural element to their collections or went all out for natural, contemporary looks using muted shades and undyed yarns to soften the tone and soothe the soul. The Pitti project on sustainability included a broad definition from production through a sustainable chain to the use of biological raw materials and the salvage of pre or post-production waste from factories.

Iafil showed ceramic pima wool made of Pima cotton and wool with manmade ceramic crystal thread, absorbing UV-A and –B rays as a skin barrier, and thermal insulation allowing retention of body heat. Stoll showed spectacular 3D effects and referenced trad-African tribal dress with fabrics draped on a model mannikin as avant-garde fashion, accompanied by the extraordinary speed of machines knitting complete garments on the stand.

Filclass Re-Fashion collection used discarded fibers and overstocked materials and garments made into new material, inspired by creative recycling with fancy yarns, with a modern look for seasonless knits. Cotton, mostly with certificates or assurances of sustainable production, including the Better Cotton Initiative also made its presence felt, and linen is now a winter fiber, blended with animal fibers.

Grasim’s viscose staple fiber brand Liva has been extended to the home textile category with the launch of Liva Home. Liva partners over 40 retail brands and is available across 3,500 outlets in exclusive business outlets and large format stores, in addition to many more MBOs in 250 cities of India.

Meanwhile Grasim’s revenue for the year is up by 23 per cent. A total capex plan of Rs. 6,454 crores is under execution for raising capacities in Grasim’s viscose staple fiber and chemical businesses, apart from ongoing modernisation capex at various plants. The acquisition of Soktas is aimed at expanding Grasim’s leadership in premium fabric, complementing its existing linen business.

Grasim’s viscose business has been registering a double-digit growth in the last few years and its market share in the overall fiber basket has gone up from 3.5 per cent to five per cent in the last four years. The company’s viscose staple fiber business will continue to focus on expanding the market in India by partnering with the textile value chain, achieving better customer connect through its brand Liva, extensions into new categories and enriching the product mix through a larger share of specialty fiber.

India has taken measures to increase the competitiveness of the textile industry.

GST on manmade fiber yarns has been reduced from 18 per cent to 12 per cent. Garments and made-ups have a special package. Rebate of State Levies has been replaced by the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies and will remain in force up to March 31, 2020. Rates under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme have been enhanced from two per cent to four per cent for garments and made-ups, and five per cent to seven per cent for handloom and handicrafts.

Products such as fiber, yarn and fabric in the textile value chain are being strengthened and made competitive. Assistance is also provided to exporters under the Market Access Initiative scheme.

Interest equalization rate for pre and post shipment credit for exports done by micro, small and medium textile units has been enhanced from three per cent to five per cent. Benefits of the interest equalization scheme have been extended to merchant exporters. Earlier this scheme was limited to manufacturer exporters. To contain the increase in imports of textile and apparel, the basic customs duty on 504 lines comprising apparel, carpets, fabric, made-ups and others has been increased from ten per cent to 20 per cent.

India has been implementing various schemes for the welfare and development of textile workers/weavers including handicraft artisans. Under the group insurance scheme, insurance cover is provided to all power loom weavers/workers in the case of natural death, accidental death as well as partial and permanent disability due to accident. Additionally, weavers/workers enrolled under this scheme are entitled for an educational grant for children for a maximum period of four years. Under the scheme, total number of power loom weavers/workers enrolled was 1.11 lakh in 2015-16, 1.32 lakh in 2016-17 and 1.62 lakh in 2017-18.

Welfare programs being implemented for handicraft artisans are the Rajiv Gandhi Shilpi Swasthya Bima Yojana, BimaYojana for handicrafts artisans, Aam Admi Bima Yojana, support to artisans in indigent circumstances, credit guarantee scheme, interest subvention scheme and issue of identity cards and creation of a data base.

Under the Textile Workers Rehabilitations Fund Scheme, which has been merged with the Rajiv Gandhi Shramik Kalyan Yojana, textile workers rendered jobless due to permanent closure of mills are provided a relief of 75 per cent of the wage employment in the first year, 50 per cent in the second and 25 per cent in the third year. Under the Handloom Weavers Comprehensive Welfare Scheme, life and accidental insurance is provided to handloom weavers/workers in the age group of 18 to 50 years.

Sangam has reported net sales of Rs 464.74 crores during the period ended June 30, 2019, as compared to Rs 491.44 crores during the period ended March 31, 2019.

Net profit was Rs 1.14 crores for the period ended June 30, 2019, as against Rs 0.71 crores for the period ended March 31, 2019. EPS was Rs 0.29 for the period ended June 30, 2019, as compared to Rs 0.18 for the period ended March 31, 2019.

Net sales were Rs 464.74 crores during the period ended June 30, 2019, as compared to Rs 476.68 crores during the period ended June 30, 2018. Net profit was Rs 1.14 crores for the period ended June 30, 2019, as against Rs 4.09 crores for the period ended June 30, 2018. EPS was Rs 0.29 for the period ended June 30, 2019, as compared to Rs 1.04 for the period ended June 30, 2018.

Sangam which opened in 1984 began with weaving and later integrated backward and forward and started expanding its capacities. Today it is a vertically integrated unit, starting from yarn right up to garments. It does cotton and synthetic yarns, denim fabrics, suiting fabrics, PV suitings. Sangam supplies fabrics to other companies which dye, finish their own way. As of today, it is 20 per cent into shirting.

Bangladesh’s garment exports to non-traditional markets have grown by 26.37 per cent in the first ten months of the year. The US, Canada, and Europe are considered traditional markets. All others are known as non-traditional markets. Among these are Chile, China, Japan, India, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, South Africa and Russia.

At one time Bangladesh apparel makers hesitated to go into a new market because of the trouble and effort involved. Moreover, when a manufacturer entered a new market, they needed to lower the product price. So garment manufacturers were dissuaded from exploring markets. But since cash incentives were offered in 2010, garment owners started exploring new destinations and markets. Presently, non-traditional markets contribute 15 per cent to 16 per cent of Bangladesh’s total export earnings. These markets offer duty-free access to Bangladesh apparel exporters. China, for instance, the world’s biggest apparel supplier, allows duty-free access to over 5000 Bangladesh products. Bangladesh’s earnings from exports to China have grown 37.48 per cent.

Accord and Alliance have helped to remediate factories in Bangladesh and prompted factory owners to emphasise workplace safety, which has eventually lifted the country’s image in the eyes of foreign buyers. Among the top ten green garment factories in the world, the first seven are located in Bangladesh.

Miami Swim Week is on from July 11 to 16, 2019. The event features men’s, women’s and children’s swimwear, beachwear, active wear, resort wear, cruise and accessories for sale. It is a chance for retailers, fashion consultants, stylists, influencers and other industry leaders to find out what’s trending in the industry and to make purchases for upcoming seasons. The event is expected to attract some 5,000 buyers from 60 countries. Shows and activations are being organized in a variety of locations. The packed schedule is seeing labels including Badgley Mishka, Seeker of Sunshine, Agua de Coco, Chloe Rose and many more take to the catwalk. A range of runway presentations will be open to the public. Brands presenting in this format include Fernando Alberto Atelier, Sauvage Swim from San Diego, and local Miami label Liliana Montoya.

Furthermore, a pop-up shop called the Paraiso Bungalow is offering resort wear, accessories and beauty products from brands including Aloha Collection, Chopard, Olivela and Tropic of C.

The location will also serve as a venue for panel discussions on topics including influencer marketing, inclusivity and sustainability. A platform called The Upcycle Project is raising awareness on the waste that the fashion industry creates. Debuting this year is Nu Wave Swim, which is a brand new experiential platform for designers and buyers.

Bangladesh's exports to India are up 42.91 per cent from the compared to previous fiscal. Of the total earnings, apparel exports were up 79.09 per cent from the previous year. Bangladesh offers apparel goods at reasonable prices, while global retailers are opening more outlets in India. As a result, demand for Bangladesh goods increased in India, which pushed up Bangladesh’s export earnings.

In addition, exporters enjoy cash incentives in exporting apparel goods, which is another big reason for the sharp rise in export earnings. Currently, Bangladesh provides a four per cent cash incentives against export of apparel goods to non-traditional export destinations. India is a non-traditional export market. Also, India as a friend has given duty-free market access to all Bangladesh goods except alcohol and tobacco. This has given opportunities to Bangladesh exporters to attain a leap in export earnings. In terms of population, India is the second largest country after China with a better purchasing power. So there is a huge scope for Bangladesh to grow its exports of consumer goods.

Apart from apparel, Bangladesh’s major exports to India are vegetable textile fiber, paper yarn, animal and vegetable fat, jute and jute goods and leather and leather goods.

Texfusion New York will present a program of seminars and talks dedicated to sustainability for its event at the Penn Plaza Pavilion in Manhattan from July 24-25, 2019. Organised by the London Textile Fair’s Textile Events, the event will promote an ‘eco-friendly culture’, which will reduce the impact of the fashion industry on the global environment. The primary theme of the event will be sustainability and new trends within the fashion industry.

The two-day event will include talks by speakers on topics such as marketing ethical, sustainable, and fair trade fashion led by Amanda Farr, marketing chair of the of NYC Fair Trade Coalition; introduction of fabrics China overseas promotion project led by Bo Li, vice president of the China Textile Information Center (CTIC); how brands are marketing their sustainability story led by Melissa Hall, founder of The Emerging Designer and Melissa Hall Consulting; design for sustainable manufacturing led by Tara St James, founder of Study-NY and Re:Source Library; and (we)design your future led by Simon Collins, CEO of WeDesign.org.

The London Textile Fair first debuted in New York in January 2019, running the premiere Texfusion New York event from January 16-17. The event presented over 100 manufacturers of fashion fabrics, accessories, technical fabrics and denim to the North American apparel and manufacturing market at the Penn Plaza Pavilion.

In the first quarter of 2019, the Chinese textile machinery industry earned CNY 22.98 billion of prime business income, registering 14.57 per cent year-on-year increase. The segment’s assets increased by 8.56 percent year-on-year to CNY 102.5 billion from 2018.

From January to March 2019, the total profit of enterprises above designated size in the textile machinery industry reached CNY 1.4 billion, up 13.01 per cent year-on-year; total loss of loss-suffering enterprises was CNY 145 million, down 24.05 per cent year-on-year; the scale of losses was 20.35 per cent in the first quarter of 2019, the operating profit margin of the textile machinery industry was 6.10 per cent, seeing a decrease of 0.10 percentage points over the same period of last year.

According to the General Administration of the Customs, China's import and export of textile machinery totaled US$ 1.72 billion in the first quarter of 2019, declining by 1.50 per cent year-on-year. The export of this machinery increased by 1.58 per cent to US$ 902 million, while its imports declined by 4.69 per cent to US$ 819 million.

In the first three months of 2019, China imported US$ 819 million worth of textile machinery from 58 countries and regions, declining by 4.69 per cent year-on-year. The top five suppliers of China's imported textile machinery are Japan, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Taiwan, with a trade volume of US$ 698 million.