The Tamil Nadu government has announced a host of incentives for the textile sector. The just released Integrated Textile Policy 2019 includes a 2 per cent interest subvention for investments on technological upgrade and modernisation in existing spinning mills, increase in interest subsidy for handloom weavers, cooperative societies to 6 per cent, scheme for free supply of power to powerloom weavers at 750 units bimonthly, and 10 per cent credit-linked capital investment subsidy for processing the sector under the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS), among others.

The state government will also extend 2 per cent interest subsidy for modernising spinning machines, a 10 per cent capital subsidy for the weaving and garment sectors,a subsidy of up to 25 per cent of project cost with a ceiling of Rs 10 crore for a trade facilitation centre, a 10 per cent capital subsidy for wider width fabric processing, a 5 per cent interest subsidy for common effluent treatment plant, a 15 per cent capital subsidy for the individual effluent treatment plant, and a Rs 1-crore R&D assistance for effluent treatment plant.

This apart, the state government also announced incentives for technical textiles, including a 9 per cent capital subsidy, a 6 per cent interest subsidy, 100 per cent stamp duty exemption and also Rs 1-crore assistance for overseas study. The sops also include setting up of mini textile parks with 50 per cent subsidy.

AIC-NIFTTEA Incubation Centre for Textiles and Apparels will join hands with ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology (CIRCOT) to promote ‘Salt-free dyeing technology’, which would not use salts for setting dyes on fabric or yarn resulting in reduced virility of effluents. The eco-friendly method, already successfully tested in woven fabric, was developed by the Mumbai-based CIRCOT, and the institute wanted to take it to the knitwear industry now.

Since cotton gets negatively charged once soaked in water, negative-charged reactive dye would not get transferred on it. To convert cotton into positive charge, common salts are utilised. But in the technology developed by CIRCOT, cotton would be pre-processed to positive charge by cationisation. So fabric or yarn can absorb dye without using salt as catalyst.

For one kg fabric or yarn, 0.5 to 0.6 kg salt is used in the current technology. It would result in formation of effluents which would even carry TDS up to 80,000ppm, and after the treatment of effluents, it will be reduced to 16,000 ppm.

With the salt-free technology, TDS of the effluents would be reduced to 1,600ppm from 16,000ppm, below the CPCB permissible level — 2,100ppm. This technology will save cost of the dyeing process as the units have no need to buy salts or spend more in the effluent treatment process.

India has extended rebates for apparel and made-ups manufacturers and exporters. Rebates of state and centre levies and taxes will be done through IT driven scrip system thereby preventing delays and ensuring speedy disbursal. The decision is important as apparel and the made-ups sectors have a combined share of 55 per cent in the total Indian textile export basket. It will have a direct impact on these segments thereby increasing the competitiveness of India’s textile exports globally.

The proposed measures are expected to make the textile sector competitive. Rebate of all embedded state and central taxes and levies for the apparel and made-ups segments would make exports zero-rated, thereby boosting India’s competitiveness in export markets and ensure the equitable and inclusive growth of the textile and apparel sector. So far, apparel and made-ups segments were supported under the Scheme for Rebate of State Levies (RoSL). However, certain state and central taxes continue to be present in the cost of exports.

There are many levies outside GST that are embedded in export prices, and so Indian apparel exporters often demanded higher duty drawbacks and RoSL rates. The ROSL scheme is in tune with the recognized economic principle of zero rating of export products.

Poland’s fashion exports have soared by 21 per cent in three years. In 2018, the country’s sales to the European Union amounted to €11.39 billion, while in 2016 the figure was €9.4 billion.

In 2014 the sector began a process of modernization following this the country managed to carve a niche in proximity sourcing. Its advantages are: price, geographic position and the development of the industry. Wages are below that of other European Union countries. The transformation process of the textile industry in Poland began in 2010, when investment was made in modernizing production of yarns and fabrics and developing clothing manufacture. The investments were possible thanks to the support of the European Regional Development Fund.

Poland has increased imports of clothing machinery to strengthen its textile industry. Poland is, in fact, the main destination of German clothing machinery exports. German machinery exports to Poland exceeded €30 million in 2015 and reached €90 million a year later.

Poland has a privileged position regarding logistics, since it is located in the center of Europe and next to Germany. Traditionally, the Polish fashion industry has operated with its own fashion brands, which were affected by the entry of international competition after Poland became a member of the European Union in 2014.

India International Garment Fair (IIGF) will be held in Greater Noida from July 4 to 7, 2019. IIGF is a business to business trade show where brands showcase their upcoming collections to buyers, exporters, and other industry professionals. It has grown in scale and scope and emerged as one of the largest and most popular platforms in Asia where overseas garment buyers can source and forge business relationships with India’s finest in the apparel and fashion accessories domain. For the upcoming season of the bi-annual event, IIGF will see brands present their collections for spring/ summer 2020, a year before the garments themselves are launched in stores. Participants showcase women’s wear, accessories, kids’ wear and men’s wear. The trade show will feature runway shows and brands will also display their products at dedicated booths. Networking opportunities will be fostered and delegates from both India and abroad will be present.

This is a B-2-B fair that started in 1988. IIGF offers participants a unique business opportunity to express their business message to a specific and focused target group of apparel buyers, importers, retailers, chain stores and agentsWith GST stabilising and the industry hopeful of policy support for improving the sector’s cost competitiveness, a turnaround in export trajectory is expected.

Harassment and the unfair dismissal of workers who become actively involved in labor union activities is commonplace in Myanmar’s footwear and garments sectors. Moreover, those who are fired for labor activity often find it difficult to find jobs at other factories, with some suspecting that factories share information on workers they consider troublesome. One factory is said to have forced workers to carry loads even though they were employed as machine operators and silk printers and not as general laborers. Even requests like graded bonuses for workers conducting more skilled tasks or adequate time for toilet breaks or partitions between male and female toilets are ignored.

This is the case at factories supplying to major European brands and retailers, despite these companies having policies in place that explicitly acknowledge workers’ right to unionise. Supervisors routinely use abusive language. Many of these practices are in violation of the brands’ policies, and in some cases appear to be breaches of Myanmar law.

The allegations come at a time when Myanmar’s garment sector, whose exponential growth has been a rare economic success story, is threatened by the EU’s decision to review Myanmar’s duty- and quota-free access to the European market, where the bulk of garment exports are currently destined, because of allegations of human rights violations.

Lenzing has collaborated with Solvay to develop a new fabric. The back of the innovative fabric is made of Lenzing’s Tencel Lyocell fiber derived from renewable, responsibly managed wood sources while the front is enhanced by Solvay’s Amni Soul eco yarn, which is the world’s first biodegradable polyamide 6.6 fiber.

Lenzing is an Austrian cellulosic fiber producer. Solvay is an international chemical and fiber group. The new fabric is designed to optimise the benefits of the two fibers. Since it is in direct contact with the skin, Tencel Lyocell offers microscopic fibrils of cellulosic fibers with cross sections structured to regulate the absorption and release of moisture providing breathability that supports the body’s natural thermal regulation. Also, it provides a less favorable environment for bacterial growth, enhancing the fabric that possesses better hygiene qualities.

On the fabric front, Amni Soul eco polyamide provides better abrasion resistance with great benefits in terms of dimensional stability, color retention and drying speed. Where other polyamide fibers take decades to decompose, Amni Soul Eco is designed in such a way that it biodegrades in around five years when disposed off in well-controlled landfills. The combination of Tencel active fibers and Solvay’s Amni Soul Eco polyamide fibers enhances biodegradability, which in turn results in a more sustainable, comfortable, easy-care fabric that advances the concept of the circular economy.

India will ship 8,00,000 bales of cotton to China. Demand has surged from the world’s biggest consumer of the fiber due to a rally in prices in China.

India has already shipped around 6,00,000 bales to China so far in the 2018-19 marketing year that started on October 1. Exports from the world’s biggest cotton producer will help China in augmenting supplies, but could weigh on global prices.

The United States, the world’s biggest exporter of the fiber, has cornered the bulk of Chinese imports for at least a decade. But China’s decision to impose a 25 per cent import tax on cotton, in retaliation for tariffs enacted by the US, has allowed India to grab a bigger share of the Chinese market. China has also been buying cotton from Brazil in the last few days due to depleting stocks. Cotton ending stocks in China are forecast at 6.58 million tons in 2018-19 down from 7.43 million tons. China’s buffer cotton stocks began depleting since 2015.

Despite good demand from China, India’s cotton exports in 2018-19 could fall 27.5 per cent, the lowest in a decade, due to a drop in production, low closing stocks and higher minimum support prices.

As per GOTS, the number of certified facilities in 2018 increased 14,6 per cent to 5,760 facilities. These certified facilities are located in 64 countries around the globe, GOTS certification covers the processing of certified organic fibres along the entire supply chain from field to finished product.

Countries and regions with the largest growth in percentage terms include Bangladesh (+29 per cent), North America (+25 per cent), Pakistan (+23 per cent) and South Korea (+23 per cent). In terms of total numbers, the highest increase is reported from India (+315), followed by Bangladesh (+155) and Europe (+98). The top 10 countries in terms of total number of certified facilities are: India (1973), Bangladesh (689), Turkey (519), Germany (500), Italy (340), China (301), Pakistan (238), Portugal (215), USA (127), and South Korea (85). The 18 GOTS accredited independent certification bodies reported more than 2.02 million people working in GOTS certified facilities.

The China-Chile free trade agreement has been upgraded. With this, Chile has abolished tariffs on Chinese textiles and clothing. The China-Chile free trade zone has become China’s free trade zone with the highest level of open trade. This is also China’s first FTA upgrading agreement with a Latin American country.

With the upgraded FTA, 98 per cent products under bilateral trade would enjoy zero tariff. The agreement further explores the potential of bilateral economic and trade cooperation, enhances the level of trade liberalisation and facilitation between the two countries, and enriches the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, which is of great significance for further deepening the economic and trade cooperation between China and Latin America. The agreement has also revised and supplemented the chapters including the rules of origin and economic and technical cooperation, and added new rules on topics including e-commerce, competition, environment and trade.

The China-Chile FTA was signed in 2005 and was implemented in 2006. In November 2016, China and Chile launched the FTA upgrading negotiations and signed the same in November 2017. In 2018, China-Chile bilateral trade registered an increase of 24 per cent year-on-year. China now accounts for almost one-third of Chile’s total foreign trade.