India may extend the rebate scheme to other textile categories like yarn and fiber. As of now the scheme to rebate embedded central and state levies is confined to the garment and made-up sectors. The decision may be taken in the light of the urgency to do away with the popular merchandise export incentive scheme (MEIS), which is against World Trade Organization rules. MEIS which offers incentives based on the markets the goods are being exported to has to be withdrawn as Indian textiles have graduated out of the group of items allowed export sops at the WTO.

The embedded taxes include central excise duty on fuel used in transportation, embedded CGST paid on inputs such as pesticides and fertilisers used in production of raw cotton, purchases from unregistered dealers, inputs for transport sector and embedded CGST and compensation cess on coal used in the production of electricity. Also funds for exporters under the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) will be cleared. GST issues on textiles and clothing, including inverted duty structure in the manmade fiber sector, will be addressed. The hank yarn obligation may be reduced from 30 per cent to 15 per cent.

India slipped to the fifth position among garment and textile exporters in 2018.

The global industrial hemp market is growing at 14 per cent. Its driven by hemp’s nutritional and cosmetic qualities. Hemp is seen as a sustainable, organic and regenerative agricultural crop.

Almost everything that can be made with cotton or soy or corn can be made with hemp – with less impact on the earth. Hemp is a weed, so it grows prolifically with little water and no pesticides. It takes up relatively little space, produces more pulp per acre than trees and is biodegradable. Hemp crops even give back by returning nutrients to the soil and sequestering carbon dioxide.

Hemp is cultivated for a medley of biodegradable materials including plastic polymers, building products, fabrics, wood, biofuel, paper and even car components. Virtually every part of the plant can be used. The stalk’s outer bast fiber can make textiles, canvas and rope while its woody core – hurd – is used for paper, construction and animal bedding. The seeds are high in protein, fiber, omega-3 fats and other nutrients. The oil can be used for paints, adhesives, cooking and plastics. Even the leaves can be eaten and used to make juice. This fiber from industrial hemp has been used for thousands of years to make paper, rope, cloth and fuel.

The Indian government may impose anti-dumping duty on imports of certain types of filament yarn from China, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand as the commerce ministry has started investigation into alleged dumping of the product following complaints from domestic players.

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), under the commerce ministry, has initiated the probe as it has found "sufficient evidence" of dumping of nylon multi-filament yarn from these countries.

If the DGTR establishes that dumping is impacting domestic players, it would recommend imposition of a certain amount of anti-dumping duty, which if levied, would be adequate to remove the injury to the domestic industry. The finance ministry will take final call on imposition of the duty after considering recommendations of the directorate. Two firms, including Century Enka have filed application for imposition of anti-dumping duty on the imports. The period of investigation covers 2018-19. However, for the purpose of injury investigation, the period will also cover data for 2015-18 periods.

Destination Maternity has initiated job cuts which would generate cost savings of $4 million to $4.5 million on a projected annualised basis. The company, which operates the Motherhood, A Pea In The Pod and Destination Maternity retail chains and e-commerce sites, aims to become a more efficient and profitable organisation through this initiative.

The workforce cut back is expected to result in a one-time severance charge of approximately $1.3 million to $1.5 million during the second quarter of 2019, with severance benefits paid out ratably. The company reported a decrease of 8.7 per cent in its net sales for Q1of fiscal 2019. Impacted by the net closure of 32 owned locations and 88 lease locations, the company sales decreased to $94.2 million, Net income in the quarter also declined by 50 percent to $100,000 from $200,000 in the prior-year period

Durst has unveiled its fifth generation Alpha printing systems. They feature improvements in material handling, efficiency and material diversity. The technology platform offers sustainable, flexible and scalable solutions for every application, even enabling waterless one-step production with the new Durst advanced digital pigment ink.

The Alpha Series 5 printers, including dual roll, are all equipped with the new Durst workflow print and the monitoring tool Durst analytics to become a production unit from day one. To integrate e-commerce businesses, Durst offers a scalable solution with Durst smart shop. Backed by consultancy and seamless integration provided through Durst professional services, the new workflow software give users access to key functions in production such as color management and RIP. Expansion modules are integrated with the printing system to create a production process from pixel to output. The Alpha 190 / 330 Series 5 with SuperMultipass provides 30 per cent better performance than comparable systems. This next generation of high performance printing systems integrates new technologies in the print heads, inks, drying units and in the interaction of software. The Alpha Series 5 can also have a patented SwiftJet pretreatment system positioned upstream of the Alpha printer. Digital pretreatment is particularly valuable for short-run and fast-turnaround jobs.

Fabric inventory is accumulating in China though the operating rate has been cut. Feedstock inventory in weaving plants is at a four year low. With better anticipation and higher feedstock prices, speculative inventory or processing will increase, which is good for the upstream market. The Zhengzhou cotton futures market rebounded driven by the lower trading proportion of reserved cotton, the narrower price spread between domestic and foreign cotton, the lower yarn inventory and the release of sliding-scale duty quotas. Inquiries and sales of imported cotton have improved somewhat. In the short run, the price spread between domestic and foreign cotton is still likely to narrow.

The good news from the Sino-US trade negotiation was favorable for the international market. Though previous tariffs have not been cancelled, and no confirmed agreement was seen, the news was still good for the industry. Especially at present, reserved cotton is the best choice for spinners to make profits. Orders tend to transfer to scaled enterprises. Cotton prices may tick up shortly. The good news at the weekend gives an upward momentum to cotton prices. The downstream market still needs time to follow up, which is related to the consumption of cotton. Consumption is expected to reduce and the cotton market needs de-stocking. Cotton prices may rise and fall periodically.

Telaketju, based in Finland, is a network promoting sustainable recycling of textiles. The project covers the value chain of a textile product, starting from product design. Its goal is to find out how clothes and other textiles can be made to last as long as possible and to adapt to changing tastes and needs of consumers. One solution may be a textile-as-a-service concept. Through the Telaketju project, Finland has created significant expertise in textile recycling as well as a wide network of cooperation. They will help in finding sustainable textile solutions in line with the recycling and circular economy goals of Finland and the EU.

Telaketju has established a value network that collaboratively enables the implementation of a chained production demo, in which end-of-life textiles collected from consumers are sorted and delivered to France for fiber extraction. The research partners and companies then use these to make their demo products, such as nonwoven fabrics, composites and acoustic panels.

The EU’s edict to require separate collection of textile waste by 2025 has made it necessary for Finland to build up its system for recycling of textiles. However, sorting technologies must also be developed to ensure sufficient volume and quality of material for industrial recycling processes.

The 125th exhibition of Canton Fair Brand Zone (Canton Fair or "the Fair") has achieved a trade volume of $8.56 billion accounting for 28.8 percent of total turnover. Companies at the fair presented their accelerated research and development capabilities offering technological breakthroughs, product innovations and brand cultivation by showcasing quality and value-added self-owned branded products at the Fair.

Buyers showed a growing interest in home-grown technologies, with an emphasis on quality and service rather than price. Some of the best sellers this year included a robot vacuum, real-time voice translator, and virtual reality gaming and full-screen home theatre devices.

Value-added products were also widely appreciated by international businesses at the Fair. Pearl River Bridge, one of the earliest brands of Soy Sauce for the global market, now presents in over 120 countries and regions, launched the brands first organic soy sauce and gluten-free product range as a response to growing demand. The demonstration of its innovation development helped the brand to establish its businesses in BRI countries and raise profits in Russia by more than 10 percent.

One of the key factors driving the wool market is increasing disposable income across various geographies, which has significantly boosted spending capacity on apparels and interior textiles. Other favorable conditions, such as textile production, the availability of raw material and significant growth of the manufacturing sector in China, are expected to boost the consumption of wool from textile industries. A prominent share of global wool production is consumed by textile producers located in China. East Asia, with a significant contribution from China, is expected to provide attractive opportunities for the growth of the global wool market.

Growth in demand for wool apparel is further boosted by increasing retail sales of clothing across different geographies. Growth in the retail sales of clothing has been substantial over the past few years owing to changing lifestyles of consumers. Aggressive marketing strategies are being adopted by clothing industry participants, which have boosted the popularity of woolen athleisure among the young population. In regions such as North America and Europe, consumer awareness about clothing fibers has increased. Consumers are now more concerned about the adoption of apparels made from natural fibers. This factor has significantly increased the sales of textile products made of wool.

The US has introduced a new integrated data collection, measurement, and verification procedure for the cotton industry. Its objective is to document US cotton production practices and their environmental impact. The data will benchmark farmer gains towards the industry’s sustainability goals of 2025 as well as provide the global textile supply chain additional assurances that the cotton is produced in a responsible manner.

A pilot program will be fully implemented for the 2020 cotton crop year. Practising growers will have to adopt data tools that allow quantitative measurement of sustainability metrics like FieldPrint Platform, a pioneering assessment framework along with a self-assessment checklist.

US cotton is already among the most sustainably produced in the world. Though US cotton growers continue to embrace new technologies and management techniques that reduce impact and increase yield, the trust protocol is meant to address that need with a tangible and transparent snapshot of US cotton growing practices and the gains resulting from them. For the next decade and beyond, US cotton producers and industry organizations are setting new environmental targets to keep pushing the frontier of sustainability and leading the worldwide effort in responsible cotton production. Target areas and goals are established using science-based evaluations, including key performance indicators for producing each pound of cotton and pathways to achieve them.