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.

Exporters of apparel and made-ups in India will be entitled to a special one-time additional ad hoc incentive of up to one per cent of free on board value. The incentive will be provided to offset the difference between the newly notified rebate on state and central taxes and levies (RoSTCL) and the previous rebate on state levies (RoSL) and the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS). The period for which exporters can make claims for the incentive is from March 7, 2019, to December 31, 2019, with the amount capped at Rs 600 crores. While claims are applicable for those exports that received MEIS at four per cent, the RoSL provides for rebates anywhere between 1.2 to 3.9 per cent for the exports in question.

Indian readymade garment exports fell by more than six per cent in November 2019 as compared to the previous year. Due to the delay in disbursements under the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies Scheme and the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme, exporters are facing a severe cash crunch and are not able to compete with garment manufacturers of other countries who have various advantages. Reimbursements worth over Rs 5,000 crores are pending.

Sevin Kasran’s design language merges the modern and the traditional. This streetwear brand founded in British Columbia in 2017 brings to the fore designs that are stemmed in Indian beliefs and principles but are global. It offers lounge pants, bomber jackets, slogan T-shirts and jumpers. Festive colors and prints are translated into easy streetwear that doubles up as both staples as well as statement pieces. Vivid color palettes and Indian motifs are inspired by the principles of non-violence, integrity, and pride. The aim is that the bright colors in Indian culture and ceremonies should not be reserved for traditional events but for people to embrace in their everyday lives through fashion. The design aesthetic is not to make a strictly consumable and marketable garment, but rather a piece of art that has a story and meaning behind it.

Asian streetwear has grown in popularity around the globe because it is of an increasingly high standard. The world is looking east because of the tremendous amount of young talent that has emerged in recent years. It is a reflection of Asia rising. The big increase in the worldwide popularity of Asian streetwear has been further helped by fashion bloggers and others in the online and social media sphere. These individuals are increasingly focusing on Asian designers, who had previously been ignored by established fashion publications.

Chinese trading company Shandong Ruyi is having difficulties paying off debts. A textile group from Bangladesh, Valleycot Marketing, bought 7,000 tons of cotton from Shandong Ruyi between 2016 and 2017 but the Chinese company delivered only a portion of that order. Valleycot initiated arbitration against Shandong Ruyi and was awarded compensation but Shandong has not paid even part of it. Shandong was then placed on an industry blacklist, adding it to the list of companies that have failed to pay arbitration awards connected to corporate disputes. The move has the potential to freeze Shandong Ruyi’s access to purchasing cotton from major suppliers and squeeze production at its brands.

Shandong Ruyi was founded as a textile manufacturer in northern China in the 1970s but began rapidly expanding into the world of fashion starting in 2015. Many Chinese groups which made costly overseas acquisitions in recent years, have struggled to manage, and pay for, their new global empires. Shandong Ruyi has bought global brands in recent years including France-based SMCP, UK clothing maker Aquascutum and Savile Row tailor Gieves & Hawkes. As a result, its total debt ballooned. Over a period of three years Shandong Ruyi agreed to more than 15 global acquisitions that eventually put it in control of a long list of name brands.