German machinery producer Bruckner has developed a new stenter concept with double heating system. The concept enables the company to operate production lines with not just gas or oil but also other combinations with steam or renewable energies are possible. In addition, Bruckner has developed intelligent assistance systems for its machines that allow the machine operator to use the best possible process to operate the line as energy-efficiently as possible. It also saves energy with its energy-efficient motors or heat-recovery and exhaust air cleaning systems.

To reduce chemical usage, Bruckner has developed Eco-Coat Minimum Application Unit for knitted, woven fabrics and also nonwoven fabrics. With the minimum application via an engraved roller, a single-sided application of up to 100 g/sq m can be achieved. The unit enables double-sided and higher application quantity, by impregnation in the nip. Irrespective of the selected fabric path, a very small liquor reservoir means that only minimal quantities of waste water are produced when changing batches or liquors, and the use of chemicals can also be significantly reduced. In addition, less water has to be evaporated in the subsequent drying process than, for example, in the case of impregnation in a water bath, so the energy requirement is significantly reduced.

With the company shifting production away from China, knit fabric manufacturer Teejay Lanka is seeing a surge in demand for its products. Bloomsberg reports, the company, which manufactures about 45 tons (of fabric a day in Sri Lanka, plans to expand operations by next month. It predicts, current strong demand will continue until July this year. However, slowdown in the US economy may impact retail sales, says Hasitha Premaratne, Director, Teejay Sri Lanka.

Inflation in Sri Lanka accelerated to its highest levels of 39.1 per cent in May this year as citizens suffered from food, medicine and fuel shortages besides enduring daily power outages of as much as 13 hours. Teejay is coping by using generators during the electricity cuts to ensure uninterrupted operations. The company increased its net income by 8.6 per cent in the Q4FY’22 The depreciation of the local currency in Sri Lanka will currently offset the rupee cost increase. This will help the nation keep overheads intact at the dollar level.

Yarn prices in the country will gradually stabilize by the beginning of FY24 while increased towards high margin synthetic fabric and enhanced market share will help Teejaky Lanka to cushion negative impact arising out of rising cost pressures, says Hiruni Perera, Analyst, First Capital.

Brokerage First Capital downgraded earnings for the financial year ending March 2023 to Rs 3.6 billion ($10 million), and for the year after to Rs 5.7 billion, considering higher commodity prices and the resultant impact on margins.

Latest rankings by Business of Fashion lists sports brand Puma the most sustainable brand in the industry. As per a Business Wire India report, Puma was ranked amongst 30 largest companies in the fashion business. The brand achieved high scores in the water & chemicals, workers’ rights and transparency categories. It was also applauded for improving its emissions score compared to last year. Overall, PUMA scored 49 out of 100 points, well above the industry average of 28.

However, much remains to be done to bring the brand in line with the Goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change as well as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, says Bjorn Gulden, CEO, Puma. Earlier this year the brand announced it had reduced carbon emissions by 88 per cent from own operations and 12 per cent from supply chain, as a part of its Forever Better sustainability strategy. Puma collaborates with the Fair Labor Association and the ILO Better Work Program to improve workers’ rights in supply chains. It also publishes wage data and other social performance indicators in its annual report.

Subject to its compliance with some conditions, the Bangladesh government plans to extend the 15 per cent Corporate Tax for the textile sector for another three years.The government will also extend benefits to spinning, yarn dyeing, finishing, coning, fabric dyeing, printing or any other such industries. To enjoy these benefits, both companies must be registered under the Companies Act, and comply with all provisions of that ordinance.

From July 1, 2022, the extension will remain effective until June 30, 2025. Currently, the corporate tax rate is 30 per cent for non-listed companies and 22.5 per cent for the listed ones. This has helped Bangladesh secure second position in RMG exports globally. Extension of reduced tax rate will help Bangladesh sustain this achievement and get expected revenue from this sector. Hailing this as an encouraging move, Mohammad Ali Khokon, President, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) urged the government to continue this facility till 2030 to deal with post-LDC challenges.

Kautubuddin Ahmed, Chairman, Envoy Textile, says, extension to thereduced tax rate is not enough for the sector as its total tax burden has increased due to the Source Tax. He requested the government to provide more facilities to the textile sector such as easy access to gas and electricity connections and loans at low interest rates. Meanwhile, the government plans to slash wholesale rates of fabrics at the local market to 2 per cent from 5 per cent from the next fiscal year.

Monsoor Ahmed, CEO (in-charge), BTMA, said the VAT rate cut will give a relief to local consumers as product prices have already gone high due to hikes in raw material prices. He also demanded that VAT on synthetic and viscose yarns be reduced in line with cotton yarns.

Producing one meter of woven fabric from cotton 1-1/8" in a continuous open width process (COW) costed $1.36 /metre on average in 2021. Cost was highest at $1.91/metre in Italy and lowest in India at $1.11/metre, reveals latest edition of International Production Cost Comparison (IPCC) from International Textile Machinery Federation.

The report calculates production costs of different textile products in primary textile industry markets based on various elements at each stage of value chain. Besides traditional markets of Bangladesh, Brazil, China Egypt, India, Indonesia, Italy, Korea, Pakistan, Turkey, the US and Vietnam, the edition also analyzes production costs of different textile products in Central America and Mexico. Analyzed products include texturing, weaving, knitting, and finishing segment.

Woven fabrics forms 19% of total fabric production costs in 2021

The report states, cost of finished woven fabric formed 19 per cent of total fabric production cost across the world in 2021.Fabric production costs ranged from 15 per cent in Korea to 22 per cent in Central America. Rise in yarn prices led to an increase in production costs by 19 percentage points on average. Fabric production costs increased in the range of 14 percentage points in Egypt and 26 percentage points in Italy in 2021. Weaving increased production costs by 31 percentage points and was in the range of 26 percentage points in Egypt and 33 percentage points in the US, Turkey, and India.

Average cost of raw materials needed to produce a meter of woven fabric formed 31 per cent of fabric’s production cost. Raw material costs ranged between 22 per cent in Italy to 40 per cent in Egypt.

Energy dominates fabric production cost in Mexico, Central America

With power costs forming 28 and 25 per cent of production costs, Mexico and Central America remained more dependent on energy cost for spinning NE/30 yarn then other countries. On the other hand, the US, and Egypt were less dependent on energy cost for apparel production. Energy costs formed 10 and 11 per cent of their total manufacturing costs, respectively.

Labor costs determine fabric production in Italy and the US

Fabric production costs in Italy and the US remained more dependent on labor costs during 2021. Labor costs constituted 40 and 30 per cent of production costs in these two countries. However, labor costs made up only 2 to 3 per cent of total manufacturing costs in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Egypt. Capital costs was 40 per cent of production costs for spinners of NE/30 yarn in Egypt, Central America and Pakistan. In 2021, spinners in Italy and Korea Rep faced lower capital cost at 21 per cent.

Turkiye’s apparel exports surged by 20.79 per cent Y-o-Y in January-April 2022, shows data from the Turkish Statistical Institute and Ministry of Trade, Turkiye exported apparel worth $6.78 billion, in the first four months of the current year compared to exports of $5.61 billion during the same period of 2021.

Turkiye’sknitted and crocheted clothing and accessories (HS chapter 61) exports grew by 18.6 per cent to $3.742 billion in January-April 2022 as against $3.156 billion earned during the same months of the previous year.

Exports of non-knitted apparel and accessories (HS chapter 62) increased by 23.6 per cent to $3.042 billion compared to $2.460 billion exports made in January-April 2021.

Exports of old clothing and other textile articles and rags (HS chapter 63) also grew by 9.5 per cent year-on-year to $1.046 billion during the period under discussion.

Meanwhile, Turkiye’s imports of cotton, cotton yarn and cotton textiles (HS chapter 52) increased by a sharp 69.4 per cent to $1.733 billion over $1.023 billion in the first four months of 2021.

Likewise, man-made filament (HS chapter 54) imports too shot up by 78.1 per cent year-on-year to $1.172 billion, the data showed.

Japan-based leading fashion tech solutions provider Shima Seiki has launched its new digital content web service known as ShimaDatamall.

An online service, ShimaDatamall allows users to search, browse and purchase a variety of useful data for the planning, production and sales of fashion items. With SHIMA Datamall, users of the SDS-ONE APEX series 3D design system, APEXFiz Design subscription software and Shima Seiki flat knitting machines will be able to streamline their operations and further promote the digital transformation of textile manufacturing, thereby realizing a shift toward sustainable manufacturing.

Digital content available on ShimaDatamall, together with yarn data from the yarnbank digital yarn sourcing web service, are meant to support knit manufacturing from planning and design to production and sales, by arranging the data on SDS-ONE APEX and APEXFiz.

Membership is not limited to users of Shima Seiki products. Anyone can search and browse from digital data comprising over 6000 items, free of charge. Information gathered on SHIMA Datamall is useful for product planning and ideas for new collections. Shima Seiki users can furthermore purchase and download data to facilitate communication with suppliers.

Japan’s textile and apparel imports declined by 12.9 Y-o-Y and 15.9 per cent M-o-M to 197kt. Of these, imports from China declined by19.7 per cent Y-o-Y and 20.9 per cent M-o-M. Japan’s textile and apparel imports declined by 2.9 per cent Y-o-Y and 3.9 per cent from 2019 levels to 844kt during the period. Both in terms of import volume and value, Japan's textile and apparel import demand did not perform well in April, showing a sharp decline, while the decline in Japan's textile and apparel imports from China was greater than that of total imports.

As per a CCF Group report, In April, Japan imported most of its textiles and apparels from l China, followed by Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. From the perspective of YoY changes, in the major markets, except for the textile and apparel imports from Thailand and Myanmar, the others all declined to varying degrees, while the imports from China, Voyage, Malaysia and India dropped to a greater extent. As the imports from China accounted for a large proportion in the Japan's textile and apparel imports, it had a greater impact on Japan's total imports.

In recent years, the proportion of import volume and value of Japan's textile and apparel imported from China in total imports had a certain seasonal rule, accounting for the largest share in September or October every year, then gradually falling back to a relatively low level in April or May of the next year, and then fluctuating. Japan's textile and apparel imports fell sharply in April from a year earlier because of weak Japanese demand and seasonal effects.

Vertically integrated NFT-based metaverse real estate company and subsidiary of Canada’s Tokens.com, Metaverse Group has teamed up with Miami Fashion Week to host fashion week events in the metaverse on Fashion Street Estate. Miami Fashion Week is currently underway and will end on June 5.

The virtual grand opening will take place from June 3-5. Miami Fashion Week will be the second event hosted on the Fashion Estate this year. The metaverse event offers an immersive experience featuring fashion shows, catwalks, avatar models, and give attendees direct links to purchase virtual goods via marketplace for quick and seamless transactions.

The runway showcases Dressx in partnership with MTA Kollectiff. Additionally, inside of the L’Atelier, a reveal will take place where participants can register for a whitelisting spot for 'The Key' NFT later this year.

The Key is Miami Fashion Week’s membership which unlocks a host of benefits in both the physical and digital world. Guests will also find Barbara Hulanicki’s fashion illustration NFTs displayed on the walls of the L’Atelier and available for purchase. To wrap up the event, a sustainability panel with Dressx will be live streamed from the physical Miami Fashion Week location on the L’Atelier rooftop, encouraging both physical and virtual attendance on Sunday June 5, 2022.

New garment buyers from the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Jordan, Mexico, Spain, Turkey, Panama and South Africa among others plan to replace China with India as their major garment supplier. The extended COVID lockdowns in China have restricted supplies, forcing buyers to look for other options to diversify risks.

A buyer from South Africa, Lizzard Pty, which has 180 stores, wants to buy women's clothing, he said, while a buyer from Greece wants men's garments.v The Noida Apparel Export Cluster has 3,000 units with an annual turnover of ₹35,000 crore and employs around 9,00,000 people.

China eased COVID restrictions in Shanghai after two months of lockdown on Tuesday, but the country's "zero Covid" policy continues and nearly 650,000 will remain confined to their homes.

The entry of new buyers at Noida export cluster has also raised hopes for the Tirupur garment manufacturers.

India recorded its highest-ever textiles and apparel exports in FY22 at $44.4 billion, a rise of 41 per cent compared to FY21.

The US was the top export destination for the country's textiles and apparel shipments accounting for 27 per cent share, followed by the European Union, Bangladesh and the UAE. Export of ready-made garments grew by 31 per cent to $16 billion.

However, the high cotton prices are dampening the export opportunity that has opened up for Indian manufacturers.