To increase the quality of apparels and boost value addition, Bangladesh denim fabric and apparel manufacturers are opting for more advanced technologies. This is helping manufacturers reduce production costs by at least 30 per cent and lead the global high value denim market.

Technologies aid eco-friendly denims

World’s first LEED platinum-certified denim manufacturer Envoy Textiles has set up a state-of-the-art laboratory to manufacture sustainable products at lower costs. Set up in collaboration with Spanish company Jeanologia, the eco-efficient lab facility will cost Envoy Textiles €270,000 (some Tk2.62 crore) for every 12 months. The lab will be first of its kind at commercial level across the world, says Kutubuddin Ahmed, Chairman, Envoy Textiles.

Adoption of such technologies are helping manufacturers produce eco-friendly denims by using sophisticated washes and curbing water and chemical use. Pacific Jeans another denim manufacturer is also using latest technologies. This helps the company get all technology samples from the world’s most renowned denim technology providers, notes Mohammad Tanvir, Managing Director.

Meeting consumer demand

The only Bangladeshi denim exporter to work with Dutch Fashion brand G-Star Raw for the last 10 years, Genesis Denim adopted sophisticated technologies to meet consumers’ demand in terms of styles, washes and chemical usages. Today, the manufacturer supplies one million jeans worth about $20 million, to the company every year, points out Shafur Rahman, Regional Operations Manager. In return, G-Star RAW pays them up to $35 for a pair for denim pants, while low value denim exporters get $6 on an average, explains Munir Ahmed, Managing Director.

Strong backward linkage help retain position

Strong backward linkage has helped Bangladesh become a global leader in denim manufacturing. The country has maintained its position in the global market despite the ongoing economic recession. As the economic situation in the country improves, more buyers are expected to place new orders as the county offers denims at lucrative price and shorter lead time, points out Kutubuddin Ahmed, Chairman, Envoy Textiles.

Prolonged lead times prevent value addition

Bangladesh denim manufacturers also have an opportunity to add more value to their denim by exploring new quality washes. However, exporters are yet to tap this potential due to long lead times, says Sharif Zarif, Managing Director, Annata Apparels. Also, to produce high-value jeans, these manufacturers need to import fabrics from Turkey, China and Pakistan, he adds.

The restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID led to a marked decline in sportswear sales in Western Europe in 2020. However, the sector rebounded in 2021 and is expected to continue growing over the forecast period. As per a Euromonitor report, growth in the sector is being supported by the development of digital capabilities, increasing emphasis on sustainability and growing focus on health and wellness.

Expanding reach of sportswear

Sportswear brands such as adidas and Nike have started offering new athleisure styles that can be worn all day. The pandemic helped expand the reach of sportswear amongst adult consumers who earlier prioritized convenience over appearance. The category is being increasingly penetrated by general apparel brands as against earlier sportswear specialist.

adidas has launched innovative solutions to reduce and erode plastic waste. It has also ventured into several partnerships through its Three Loop Strategy. The brand has pledged to make all products virgin polyester free by 2024 besides reducing the company’s carbon footprint by 30 per cent by 2030, and acheiving climate neutrality by 2050.

High e-commerce penetration boosts market growth

High e-commerce penetration is boosting the sportswear market in Germany. The pandemic significantly boosted sales in 2020 with digital fashion platforms such as Zalando contributing hugely to this growth. Future e-commerce growth is likely to be supported by traditional brick-and-mortar players

Growth to slow down from 2023-2026

While annual growth will remain elevated in 2022, it is likely to slow down to around 1-2 per cent a year from 2023 until 2026. Consumers will continue to focus on health and well-being besides participating in various sporting activities. This will boost demand for sportswear and footwear.

The Q2 net sales of US lingerie maker Victoria’s Secret fell by 6 per cent year-over-year to $1.5 billion.

The brand’s adjusted gross margin slumped by 36.1 per cent owing to supply chain and raw material costs, in addition to uptick in promotions due to slowing footfall.

While the Q2 physical store comps dropped by 7 per cent, digital sales went down to touch low double digits.

The operating income of brand also fell by 37 per cent to $126.9 million during the quarter. The net income too dipped by 41 per cent to $ 89.3 million.

Amongst the products, bras continued to be the best performing merchandise segment for the company in the second quarter.

So, it wasn’t surprising to see the retailer lower its outlook for the full year. Victoria’s Secret now estimates the sales to fall in the mid- to high-single digit range.

The operating income, the retailer believes, is expected to be between $525 million and $575 million, while earlier it estimated the numbers to match last year’s US $ 870 million.

Despite the fall in traffic, the retailer, however, continues to bet on physical locations.

Leading computerized knitting machine manufacturer Shima Seiki along with its Turkish sales representative Tetas A.S., will exhibit its Whole garment knitting technology at the CAITME 2022 Central Asian International Textile Machinery Exhibition in Tashkent, Uzbekistan next month.

The Whole garment knitting technology can knit an entire garment and requires no post-process sewing. On display will be the MACH2VS Whole garment knitting machine. The flexible and versatile MACH2VS is capable of knitting a range of production styles. As a conventional shaping machine, it is capable of all-needle knitting in its available range of 8 to 18 gauge, while WHOLEGARMENT knitwear can be produced in half-gauge fabrics.

The range of usable yarn and material has also increased, thanks to i-DSCS+DTC as standard equipment. The R2CARRIAGE system that yields quicker carriage returns for greater efficiency, now features a lighter carriage for even higher productivity. MACH2VS is even capable of gaugeless knitting whereby a number of different gauges can be knitted in a single garment.

Meanwhile the N.SSR112 computerized flat knitting machine offers leading technology in an economical yet reliable package. Featuring industry-leading innovations such as the R2CARRIAGE, spring-type moveable sinker, DSCS Digital Stitch Control System, stitch presser and takedown comb, Made-in-Japan quality, reliability, productivity, user-friendliness and cost-performance combine to satisfy the high expectations of the world's fashion industry.

Demonstrations will be performed on Shima's SDS-ONE APEX4 design system. At the core of the company’s Total Fashion System concept, SDS-ONE APEX4 provides comprehensive support throughout the production supply chain, integrating production into one smooth and efficient workflow from yarn development, product planning and design, to production and even sales promotion.

Vietnam’s export earnings from the textile and garment industry are expected to increase to $45 billion, compared to $40.4 billion, as per an Vietnam Plus report.

Truong Van Cam, Vice Chairman, Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), says, the industry has been growing at the rate of 26 per cent annually since the last five years. Vietnam is currently the world’s third largest exporter in this regard.

Textile and garment products exports from the country hold a global market share of 5.2 per cent, with the biggest importers being the US, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and Europe.

Cam held that to sustain the growth trend, the State should quickly disburse the financial aid package for enterprises and reform the mindset in attracting investment to textile and garment material production.

Meanwhile, businesses should adopt green manufacturing practices, including reducing and recycling waste, to meet the growing preference for environmentally friendly products, he added.

PVH Europe has been signed on by Kingpins Shows as a sponsor of its Most Sustainable Product (MSP) initiative with plans for PVH to produce a collection of garments featuring select MSP fabrics and washes.

As per the Spin Off report, PVH will produce the garments in its Amsterdam atelier using fabrics and processes selected by Miguel Sanchez, Textile Engineer and Kingpins Technology Leader and Piero Turk, Denim Designer and Industry Consultant. The garments will be washed by Italian finishing machinery maker Tonello. The Most Sustainable Garment collection will be showcased at Kingpins Shows in Amsterdam and New York.

The MSP initiative was launched by Kingpins to showcase new sustainable innovations, developments and practices from exhibitors at Kingpins shows.

Prior to Kingpins shows in Amsterdam and New York, Sanchez reviews sustainable products and processes from Kingpins exhibitors and then meets with companies at the shows to scout additional sustainable innovations.

Kingpins publishes a list of MSP development on its website, Kingpinsshow.com, as a resource for designers and brands looking for the latest sustainable developments to help them make informed choices about their production and their products.

Spanish clothing giant Inditex, French biological recycling specialist Carbios, and French group Michelin are participating in the initiative titled Whiltecycle, a consortium of 16 European entities, both public and private.

Announced on August 9, the new gathering of businesses aims primarily to achieve the objectives set out by the European Union for 2030 concerning CO² emissions. The consortium predicts that, by the end of the decade, adopting circular solutions will make it possible to recycle over 2 million tons of PET (complex waste containing textiles) per year and to reduce local CO² emissions by two million tons.

The consortium has an overall global budget of €9.6 million and funding for Europe totaling close to €7.1 million. The business Michelin will be in charge of coordinating its operations and the group’s partners are based in five countries: France, Spain, Germany, Norway, and Turkey.

The consortium has highlighted four areas of innovation comprising the development of sorting technology for complex waste streams, pre-treatments and enzyme-based processes to sustainably decompose materials, the repolymerisation of recycled monomers into like new plastic, and the production and quality verification of new products made from recycled plastic.

Exports orders to the Cotton Textile Export Promotion Council of India, popularly known as Texprocilmay have crossed Rs470 crore ($59 million) at the three-day reverse buyer-seller meet held recently in Mumbai.

Having over 50 stalls of Indian suppliers displaying yarns, fabrics and home textiles, the show also featured international buyers from over twenty countries invited by Texprocil visited the event.

ManojPatodia, Chairman, Texprocil said the exhibitors and visitors had made on-site bookings to the tune of $6.4 million (Rs51 crore), while orders worth $59 million (Rs470 crore) are in the negotiation phase.

Given the current global market dynamics for cotton textiles, the orders reflect encouraging business prospects in the coming months, he added.

The China Plus One strategy of most international buyers has helped textile companies in India bag good orders at the event.

During the show, region-wise B2B meetings were held. Also, Indian sellers had the opportunity to meet all the overseas buyers during these pre-scheduled B2B sessions, said Texprocil.

After delivering two strong back-to-back editions this year, GartexTexprocess India aims to unite the industry once more by providing exemplary business opportunities through its eighth edition which will be held from May 11 – 13, 2023 at JioWorld Convention Centre, Mumbai.

Backed by strong support from the Ministry of Textiles and chief industry associations, GartexTexprocess India came to a resounding conclusion with a footfall of 11,258 visitors in its seventh edition at PragatiMaidan, New Delhi. The trade fair also proved instrumental in promoting India’s domestic capabilities in denim and fabric production.

The trade fair also attracted international visitors from 21 countries including France, Indonesia, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, UAE, the UK and the USA, owing to an extensive display of over 1,000 products and machinery from 207 exhibitors.

Incorporated with Denim Show, Fabrics & Trims Show and Screen Print India, the trade fair received immense support from the Ministry of Textiles and trade bodies such as The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), Retailers Association of India (RAI) and the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC).

Moreover, the trade fair’s organisers MEX Exhibitions and Messe Frankfurt India also joined hands with industry bodies like Denim Manufacturers Association (DMA) and Fabexa / the nodal arm of Maskati Cloth Mahajan to bring India’s top denim and fabric manufacturers to showcase their production capabilities.

With the state’s garment manufacturing sector worth Rs 2,500 crore, Rajasthan is the largest manufacturer of garments and textiles. Jaipur, its capital has become the hub of garment manufacturing in India with over two lakh machines to produce 20 lakh garments daily. With a turnover of Rs 5 crore, the garment manufacturing sector in Rajashtan employs 5 lakh people in Jaipur alone. Of the current $44 billion exports by India, garment and textile exports account for $16 billion. The industry also employs around 4.5 crore workers and its value is expected to reach over $ 209 billion by 2029.

RoSCTL leads to loss of 15% profit margins

However, the garment sector in the state remains troubled by a 15 per cent loss in profit margins due to Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) reports MENAFN. The scheme is likely to result in a decline in the state’s export competitiveness. Launched with an aim to make India’s textile industry competitive, RoSCTL also aims to boost exports. However, changes made in the scheme in September 2021 have led to eroding of export margins for domestic textile exporters.

Resume cash reimbursement instead of scrips

Vimal Shah, President, Garment Exporters Association of Rajasthan (GEAR) urges the government to resume cash reimbursement instead of tradeable scrips, as these scrips are trading at 20 per cent discount. Sold by exporters to importers, the scrips are leading to substantial cash transfer from exporters to importers.

Vijay Jindal, Member, Export Promotion, AEPC & President, GEMA explains, exporters can sell scrips to importers and importers, in turn, pay import duty with these scrips as an alternative to cash import duty payments. The discount on scrips has also increased 3 per cent to about 20 per cent. This is benefitting importers, who are taking undue advantage at the cost of exporters.

Scrips discounting hurts sector’s competitiveness

The scheme aims to make India’s textile sector competitive against other low-cost producing countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam. It conforms to the government’s intention to reimburse exports but is unable to achieve this due to discounting scrips.

Currently, the discounting on scrips benefits only importers, thus defeating the purpose and intent of the RoSCTL Scheme. To maintain the industry’s competitiveness, the government needs to make certain amendment to the structure of the RoSCTL scheme, else, demand may once again shift to low-cost countries.