The 55th edition of the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts’ ‘Indian Handicrafts and Gifts Fair’ kicked off on March 15th at the India Expo Centre & Mart in New Delhi.

The fair is witnessing an overwhelming response from buyers from 110 countries, making it one of the largest and most prestigious trade fairs in the country.

The event was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Textiles and Railways, Darshana V Jardosh, and is spread across 16 halls showcasing a range of accessories, homeware, handicrafts, and other products from different parts of India. The fair is an opportunity for Indian exporters to showcase their unique products and craftsmanship to the world.

EPCH chairman, Raj Kumar Malhotra, called the event a testament to the entrepreneurial spirit and creativity of their member exporters who have been promoting Indian handicrafts to the world for nearly three decades.

The IHGF is designed to act as a global platform for the Indian handicrafts sector to promote exports and boost international business. Exhibitors can network with international buyers to expand their distribution networks across the world while forecasting trends in the industry.

The fair promises to be a significant step towards a more vibrant and robust handicrafts sector in India.

Lucky Brand, the denim and lifestyle brand, has teamed up with Laura Ashley, a quintessential British-inspired style and iconic floral print brand, to create a limited-edition women's fashion collection.

The collection celebrates self-expression for a new era while staying true to the hallmark styles of both brands. The 15-piece collection features a range of pieces, including jeans, dresses, shirting, shorts, and jackets, embellished with patchwork, embroidery, and floral patterns.

The collaboration highlights the best of both brands, bringing together Laura Ashley's iconic British designs and Lucky Brand's classic American style. The festival-ready denim corset lined with a pink floral print, mid-rise distressed denim boy shorts, and loose jeans set the tone for the denim offerings. The collection also includes spring-ready white denim shortalls with embroidered blue florals and two workwear-inspired sleeveless coverall shorts in charming floral prints pulled from the Laura Ashley archives.

The standout piece in the collection is the coordinating trucker jacket and jeans adorned with faded floral accents, perfect for seasonal transitional dressing. The collection also features a romantic floral midi dress and jumpsuit, two boyfriend-style relaxed button-down shirts with floral patches, and a pair of floral corset blouses. The tiered baby-doll dress featuring complimentary prints rounds out the collection.

Inditex, the Spanish fashion retailer, achieved a significant increase in sales in 2022, with sales reaching €32.6 billion, an increase of 17.5 per cent compared to 2021.

Sales in constant currencies increased by 18 per cent. The company's gross profit increased by 17% to €18.6 billion, with a gross margin of 57 per cent. Inditex's EBITDA increased by 20 per cent to €8.6 billion, and EBIT increased by 29 per cent to €5.5 billion. PBT increased by 28 per cent to €5.4 billion, while net income increased by 27 per cent to €4.1 billion.

Inditex reported that its store and online sales in constant currencies between February 1 and March 13, 2023, increased by 13.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2022. Adjusting for the operations in the Russian Federation and Ukraine in 2022, store and online sales in constant currency increased by 17.5 per cent.

In 2022, store sales for Inditex grew by 23 per cent, reflecting increased footfall and store productivity. The company opened stores in 33 markets during the year, with 201 openings, 186 refurbishments, including 94 enlargements, and 349 absorptions. At the end of FY2022, Inditex operated 5,815 stores. Online sales also increased by 4 per cent to reach €7.8 billion.

Inditex ceased operations in 514 stores and online platforms in the Russian Federation on March 5, 2022, and 82 stores and online operations in Ukraine remain closed since February 24, 2022.

Mills in Surat reported a substantial drop in business around Diwali 2022. The estimated decline compared to the same festive season of 2021 was 60 per cent, a near death-knell for the synthetic textile sector in Gujarat’s second largest city. What are the main reasons for this sharp decline in an otherwise buoyant economy? The South Gujarat Textile Processing Association points out three key factors: GST, high inflation and sharp increase in prices of raw material.

Known as India’s synthetic textile capital, Surat used to supply 90 per cent of synthetic material produced by India annually. The President of the South Gujarat Textile Processing Association disclosed production per day is 250,000,00 meters a day whilst a year ago the figure was 450,000,00 per day. This situation has had a large impact nationally as over 100,000 migrant workers from the northern states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were rendered jobless and forced to return to their home states.

The issue of GST

A controversial subject, GST, according to the sector’s experts has been identified as a problem that has contributed to the sharp decline in business. The GST’s inherent structuring and stringent compliance has unsettled a vast number of mills as prior to the implementation of GST, they were conducting business in a more informal way. As traders are required to pay taxes and keep track of them at every stage, the Surat hub was ill-prepared to become a part of the Indian government’s bid to formalize its economy. This in turn had traders in a situation wherein they were unable to submit returns on time or just not be able to pay on time.

The Surat hub has a two value-chain functioning and in it, the first value chain is comprised of huge number of small-scale garment manufacturing factories of which many actually knit, print and embroider as well. Then there are others that not only produce yarn but also transform the yarn into textiles. With about 70,000 textile traders in this mix, the formalized GST system created chaos as small companies that didn’t play with a formal system ran into unknown grounds and were at a loss.

Rising cost of raw material and operations

Synthetic textile manufacturers have witnessed raw materials getting costlier by two to five percent over the past months due to a sharp increase in crude oil prices. A further increase in prices of raw materials in the short term is also on the cards. Due to an increase in crude oil prices, polyester staple fibre prices have risen by 10 percent over the past two months to S 1 per kilo. Purified terephthalic acid (PTA) is a crude oil derivative and an input for polyester fibre has increased by 4.5 percent in November 2022 and three months later shows no signs of contraction.

MEG (mono-ethylene glycol) has also become costlier by 2.8 per cent in November 2022, priced at $ 9 a kilo. China, a large producer for recycled polyester staple fibre produced from PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles, has stopped procurement of such bottles, resulting in a shortage of raw material for their fibre manufacturing plants. Hence, prices of recycled polyester staple fibre have gone up.

Operational cost from high-inflation is another major issue. Prices for commercial use of water have been increased in a bid for the local state government to generate more revenues to fund the state’s ambitious infrastructural projects at the cost of textile mills. Lignite coal, the staple source of energy powering these mills is another bone of contention between the state government and the mill owners as they continue urging the government to increase supply and decrease prices. Today lignite costs between $ 47 and $ 67 per ton compare to between $ 33 and $ 26 per ton.

In light of so many issues hitting all at once, synthetic textile manufacturers are not only feeling the heat but also questioning the reason to continue operation or abandon to manufacture something more lucrative.

Indonesia's Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Minister Teten Masduki has firmly rejected the sale and purchase of imported used clothes or "import thrifting" to safeguard the textile micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and shoe textile products.

The import thrifting trend poses a risk to jobs because the textile industry is a labor-intensive industry that employs many workers, Masduki explained. He urged customs to be stricter and improve their monitoring of illegal imports of used clothes, which have been banned.

Masduki stressed that the government has a strong rationale for rejecting imports of used and illegal textile products. He added that such imports are not aligned with the government's drive to encourage local product consumption through the Proud of Indonesian Products National Movement.

Under this national movement, the government has implemented a policy requiring 40 percent spending on MSME products in goods procurement. According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), this policy could lead to national economic growth of 1.85 percent and the creation of 2 million jobs without new investment. Masduki believes that similar efforts can improve national economic growth when it comes to household consumption.

The global market for textile fibers is expected to reach $66.5 billion by the year 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6% over the analysis period of 2022-2030, according to a recent report by Research And Markets.

The market, which was estimated to be worth $41.7 billion in 2022, has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent global recession, but future prospects remain optimistic.

The United States market for textile fibers is estimated to be worth $11.4 billion in 2022, while China, the world's second-largest economy, is projected to reach a market size of $14.6 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 9.7% over the same period. Japan and Canada are also expected to experience growth at rates of 3.3% and 4.8%, respectively, over the 2022-2030 period. In Europe, Germany is forecasted to grow at a rate of approximately 4% CAGR.

The Asia-Pacific region remains the dominant consumer of textile fibers, while synthetic fibers are expected to post healthy expansion. The scarcity and volatility of natural fibers production drive demand for synthetic fibers. The cotton fibers market is also discussed, along with cellulosic fibers and their sources.

The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) has announced the 3rd Global Textile Conclave (GTC) which is set to be held on March 15th to 17th, 2023 in Jaipur, India.

T. Rajkumar, Chairman of CITI, expressed his excitement for the event, which is themed "Strategies for Balancing Sustainability & Profitability in Textile Value Chain." The aim of the Conclave is to discuss the business cases of sustainable production, citing that sustainability is the future of the Textile Industry.

The GTC 3.0 will be inaugurated by the Union Minister of Textile, Shri Piyush Goyal, while the Minister of State for Textiles and Railways, Ms. Darshana Vikram Jardosh, will be the Guest of Honour at the event. The Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Shri Ashok Gehlot, has been invited as the Chief Guest for the event.

The event will feature renowned international experts, industry leaders, and policy experts who will brainstorm to devise a roadmap that will hedge against the future costs of inaction while remaining economically viable today. The event will also host the first-ever edition of the "India Textiles and Apparel Fair (ITAF)," along with the "CITI Textile Sustainability Awards" to recognize and motivate good practices that help provide more value propositions to the global buyers through sustainable responsible productions.

Rajkumar noted that the event is being organized at the most opportune time, with India having assumed the G-20 Presidency, providing an opportunity for India to contribute towards matters of global importance, with textiles being one of those.

The subsequent sessions will have micro-level discussions such as sustainable options in the fibre value chain, investment opportunities for sustainable units, sharing global and local practices that promote responsible production and consumption, and discussion on technology that can support better material and water management, among others.

BGMEA has called on the European Union to extend the transition period of GSP (EBA) from the current 3 years to 6 years in order to ensure a smoother graduation for Bangladesh.

Speaking at a seminar on “50 Years of EU-Bangladesh Partnership: Charting Ahead on A Legacy of Success” in Dhaka on March 14, Faruque Hassan, President BGMEA highlighted the challenges faced by Bangladesh after its graduation from the LDC category and stressed the importance of economic diplomacy and industry capacity development to overcome these challenges.

The seminar was attended by Dr. Mashiur Rahman, Economic Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister, and Charles Whiteley, Ambassador and Head of Delegation, Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh, among others. In his speech, Hassan emphasized the need to build the capacity of the industries and improve the overall efficiency of the country's trade logistics infrastructure, noting that the government is implementing several mega projects to address these issues.

Adidas CEO, Bjorn Gulden, has pledged to rebuild the company's core business after the split with Yeezy, which resulted in the end of the lucrative Yeezy sneaker line.

The way forward for Adidas will depend on a variety of factors, including consumer demand, market trends, and the company's internal capabilities and resources. However, it is anticipated, by focusing on its core strengths, reducing inventory levels, and exploring new sustainability initiatives, Adidas can work to rebuild its brand and position itself for long-term success in the sportswear industry.

In addition, Adidas may need to focus on its core sports-based roots to regain its market position. The company has a long-standing reputation in the sportswear industry, and it may need to emphasize its core strengths and values to regain consumer trust and loyalty.

Another option for Adidas could be to focus on sustainability, as consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of their purchases. Adidas could explore more sustainable manufacturing processes and materials, as well as develop more sustainable products and marketing strategies to attract environmentally conscious consumers.

Nanollose and Birla Cellulose's tree-free lyocell made from bacterial cellulose, Nullarbor, has been named the "Cellulose Fibre Innovation of the Year 2023" by the nova-Institute.

The product is significantly stronger than lyocell made from wood-based pulp, with even small amounts of bacterial cellulose added to wood pulp increasing the fibre toughness. The companies are now focusing on increasing the production scale and amount of bacterial pulp in the fibre.

Renewcell's Circulose made from 100% textile waste came in second place, while Gencrest Bio Products' Vybrana, a sustainable cellulosic fibre upcycled from agrowaste, won third place.

The "Cellulose Fibres Conference 2023" was held in Cologne and featured 42 international speakers from 12 countries, who presented the latest market insights and trends, and demonstrated the innovation potential of cellulose fibres. The conference also highlighted new technologies for recycling cellulose-rich raw materials and practices for circular economy in textiles, packing and hygiene, discussed in seven panel discussions with active audience participation.