Fabric imports by the south Asian island nation of Sri Lanka remained volatile during the first seven months of 2022.

The country’s fabric imports declined in March when the country faced economic problems, but it managed to control the damage quickly and imports rose again in the subsequent months indicating normal textile and apparel manufacturing.

Import declined in March from February 2022, but recovered in April. Sri Lankan inward shipment of the product again increased in May and June but dropped once again in July. Of the island country’s total textile imports in January 2022 to June 2022, fabric was the most important component, with a contribution of 81.18 per cent. Sri Lanka imported 39 per cent of fabric from China and 26 per cent from India. Taiwan, Pakistan and Hong Kong were among the top five suppliers.

The country’s imported yarn during the first half of 2022 accounted for 17per cent of total textile imports. Fiber imports were 0.85 per cent. In comparison, during the first six months of last year, out of Sri Lankan textile imports, fabric imports were 79 per cent, yarn 19 per cent and fiber 0.92 per cent.

Efforts are being made to attract key players in the fabric segment to invest in fabric mills in Sri Lanka.

Several companies in China are launching new sustainable innovations. For instance, a leather handbag specialist, Guangzhou-based Veshin Factory has collaborated with Ralph Lauren-backed material science company Natural Fiber Welding to use its plastic-free leather-like textile Mirum. Similarly, Hong Kong-listed Crystal International Group has reduced the carbon footprint of products by 40 per cent since 2007. The group also reduced freshwater consumption per garment by 52 per cent compared to 2017 levels, says a Business of Fashion report.

Other Chinese firms such as Chenfeng, Erdos, Esquel and High Fashion Group are moving towards stronger traceability and accountability across the value chain. Esquel Group has constructed a green manufacturing park in Guilin, China that sustainable innovation leader Edwin Keh describes as state of the art. China has been in news owing to its environmental record and commitments. The biggest global emitter of greenhouse gases, the country aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. This announcement has given manufacturers a purpose to operate.

Supply disruptions compel manufacturers to diversify

Fashion manufacturing in China has been deeply impacted by the government’s zero-COVID policy and supply chain disruptions intensified by the Russia-Ukraine war. Rising tensions between China and the West are also compelling fashion companies to diversify and nearshore their manufacturing bases.

However, despite these challenges, China continues to be the world’s largest apparel exporter, reveals World Trade Organization stats. After taking WTO membership, China has been growing in prominence as the ‘world factory’ in recent decades. The country has been focusing on sustainable apparel manufacturing for the last 29 years.

Rise in entrepreneurship culture

A long-standing challenge in implementing sustainable practices in China’s fashion industry is the huge capital required investment it needs. Esquel’s new campus in Guilin requires about two to three times more investments than that required by a conventional factory with the same production capacity.

A few suppliers are benefiting from brands launching more products with lower-impact materials. However, they are not being paid for it. William Lam, Managing Director, High Fashion Groups says, brands allocate minimum funds for suppliers as they have to achieve a certain percentage of sustainable products.

The rise of start-ups in China is creating a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation, adds Wenjian Hu, Founder, Qingdao Amino Material Technology. This year, the start-up bagged H&M Foundation’s Global Change Award for chemical recycling technology that successfully breaks down polyester-elastane blends commonly found in activewear.

Market troubled by labor concerns

The sustainability push in Chinese manufacturing industry is however troubled by labor rights concerns. The country has constantly been accused of forced labor of Uyghurs and other minority groups in its Xinjiang region. However, a few progressive manufacturers like Crystal International are seeking their own social responsibility policies. Manufacturers in China are also shifting their approach to sustainability in lateral ways. They are planning to step-up automation and efficiency across the country.

Manufacturers are also focusing on creating a talent pool of highly skilled professionals with sustainability training. For instance, High Fashion Group’s Womenswear Institute in Hong Kong has launched new courses to equip students with technical knowledge of environmental sustainability.

More subsides for fashion manufacturers

China also has an upper hand in forming new public-partnerships and creating a strong supporting infrastructure to drive sustainability in the fashion industry. Through its net zero emissions and textile waste recycling initiatives, the country has given a direction to fashion manufacturer besides introducing subsidies and tax incentives for them.

Financing mechanisms like Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs) allow businesses to sign long-term contracts to buy renewable energy in China. However, even without these incentives, many Chinese fashion manufacturers are taking the sustainability route.

Indian exporters are ramping up their production capacity. This includes getting into the manmade fiber segment, lowering their cost of production and working on meeting global standards.

Indian apparel exports rose by about 32 per cent during April to June this fiscal as against the same period last year. Free trade agreements with countries including the UAE, Australia and the UK are expected to help neutralise the advantage which India’s competitors used to enjoy in some of the important markets. Now the apparel sector is awaiting the new Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme and the production-linked incentive scheme.

Efforts are being made toward promoting brand India at various global platforms as a trusted supplier by showcasing its strength on sustainability, circularity and ethical sourcing. The demand for Indian textiles in the domestic and overseas markets is high.Especially after the pandemic, one sector under textiles which has really got a boost has been home textiles.

The seven mega textile parks that have been launched are aimed at reducing the high logistics costs as well as the fragmented value chain which obtains now. Most of India’s major exporting destinations like the US and EU are going for a China plus one strategy, which will prove to be beneficial for India.

For the first quarter of this fiscal year Indian apparel exports grew by 31 per cent.

The country has signed free trade agreements with Mauritius, the UAE and Australia. These agreements are expected to neutralize the advantage which India’s competitors use to enjoy in some of the important markets because of GSP and other NTBs.

Further, there have been efforts to increase export competitiveness with policies like PLI Scheme, PM MITRA etc. These schemes are aimed at making Indian manufacturers global champions as they will get a level-playing field for Indian apparels as against competing countries.Most of India’s major exporting destinations like the US and EU are going for a China plus one strategy, which will prove to be beneficial for India since the cost of labor is low in India as compared to that in neighboring countries.

Indian exporters have asked for raw material security, owing to the spiraling prices of raw cotton and cotton yarn. Another pressing issue is related to RoSCTL. Exporters want the deletion of the condition in the notification issued by DoR for holding the transferee liable for the non- realization / excess availed by the exporter, which will curtail its misuse.

Additionally, the new Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) is awaited as the ATUF scheme expired on March 31, 2022.

Flooding and drought are having a crushing impact on the global cotton industry.

The impacts of climate change are being felt in multiple major cotton-producing countries. Floods have been devastating in Pakistan, with nearly 1,200 people killed to date. More than 33 million people have been affected. The impact on the cotton crop will not be fully realised until the water subsides but sources on the ground are reporting a large reduction in the expected crop for the 2022-23 season. The ICAC is reducing the estimated production for Pakistan from 1.5 million tons to one million tons.

In the United States, the effects on the cotton crop in Texas have been devastating and currently amount to an estimated loss of over a million tons compared with the previous season. This puts the current US crop at just over 2.7 million tons. And while the West Texas region has received a good amount of rain in the past few weeks, the precipitation has come much too late to help the dry land cotton — and if bolls are open in irrigated fields; it could spell trouble for quality.

Globally, we will see continued volatility and potentially higher prices throughout the entire 2022-23 season.

India is planning to make Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) mandatory for viscose staple fiber.

The aim is to check imports of low quality viscose staple fiber. A quality control order will be imposed on imports.Viscose staple fiber is a manmade, bio-degradable fiber used for manufacturing various textiles.

The move comes just a year after anti-dumping duties on imports of viscose staple fiber from China and Indonesia were revoked to make the domestic user industry, including manufacturers of garments and yarn, more competitive. Domestic production of viscose staple fiber is mostly done by Grasim Industries, which is the dominant producer of the fiber in the country.

Viscose staple fiber needs to conform to the corresponding Indian standard and should bear the standard mark under a license from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). BIS will be the certifying and enforcing authority and, in addition, an officer not below the rank of Assistant Director, Textiles Committee, Ministry of Textiles, shall also be the enforcing authority.

The quality control orderwill not apply to viscose staple fiber meant for export, which conforms to the specification required by the foreign buyer.

As of now, more than 450 products are under the ambit of mandatory certification. Consumer products under mandatory certification include toys, cement, electric iron, electric immersion water heater, domestic food mixer, switches, helmets, domestic pressure cookers and automotive tires.Several consumer electronic products are also under the ambit of compulsory certification such as mobile phones, laptops, TV, power adapters, power banks and digital cameras.

Première Vision has launched a new trade fair to complement the July event in Paris. The new show Fashion Rendez-Vous will take place from September 7 to 8, 2022, in central Paris, while the flagship Première Vision Paris show is on a new calendar, taking place for the first time in July earlier this year.

Fashion Rendez-Vous would allow support for brands and buyers as they finalise their fall-winter 2023-24 collections.Out of the total 122 exhibiting companies at the event, 93 will be weavers, eleven are accessories and components manufacturers, eight are design studios and designers, another eight are tanners and two are garment manufacturers.

The majority of exhibitors are from Italy, at 50, with 34 from France, and the rest from countries including Turkey, Portugal, the UK, Japan and China.

The July 2022 Premiere Vision show focused on climate change. The physical fall/winter show marked industry-wide acceleration and cooperation in addressing climate impact in the fashion supply chain. Designers applauded the global textiles fair’s major calendar change to July from September. They felt July was much better for sourcing since lead times are much longer now. Menswear designers, with little break from showing to starting the next collection, lauded the switch. They were able to combine winter ’23, spring ’24 and winter ’24 at the July show, which meant they did three seasons.

Nigeria is looking at strengthening its ties with the Indian textile industry to revive its cotton integrated industry.

A 12-member delegation on a week’s study tour to India held discussions with the industry in some of the textile hubs to learn more about the best practices adopted across the textile value chain.Indian investments in the textile sector in Nigeria are very high.

Nigeria has 84 million sq km of fertile land and nearly one million sq km is under cotton cultivation. However, the textile industry in Nigeria, which was once a thriving sector, is facing challenges because of import of garments at low prices. The influx of low cost Chinese garments through the unorganised route has undermined the local industry. Hence Nigeria is looking at strengthening cooperation with the Indian textile and garment industry in the areas of cotton production, trade, investments, and capacity building.

India is working to boost its technical textile industry and is willing to partner with and support Nigeria in terms of provision of textile machinery, technology, capacity building and training in the entire textile value chain. India recognises the immense potential of Africa as the home of the world’s largest free trade area by the number of participating countries and the fastest-growing economies in the world.

Bangladesh’s readymade garment exports grew 35 per cent in 2021-22. However in the first month of the new fiscal year the growth was only 16 per cent. Consumers in the US, the UK and European Union countries, the major markets of Bangladesh’s readymade garments, have been facing the pressure of inflation.Sales in apparel shops in those countries have dropped and stocks have been piling up in warehouses. As a result, the rate of new orders for the next two seasons has been declining.

Retailers are suspending current orders as their sales have reduced due to high inflation whereas new orders have decreased as well. Therefore, Bangladesh’s trade will remain low for two to three months. Walmart, an American multinational retailer, has cancelled orders worth billions of dollars given to manufacturers across the world for August. This worries many garment traders of Bangladesh as Walmart is one of the top buyers of Bangladeshi apparel products.

On the other hand buyers are shifting their business from China because of the trade war, coronavirus restrictions and the ban on the use of Chinese cotton. This could give a raise to Bangladesh’s exports. Many buyers are hoping to shift a significant portion of their business from China and expand their business in Bangladesh.

Investments in sustainable dyeing technologies are increasing amongst South American denim manufacturers. Peru-based Nuevo Mundo is the first South America-based manufacturer to adopt a sustainable dyeing technology after it abandoned chemical production of liquid indigo. Switzerland-based Sedo Engineering has developed Smart-Indigo™, a disruptive new technology to produce liquid indigo with oxygen being the only waste product. The technology uses electricity to produce liquid indigo for denim dyeing.

Creating healthier workplaces

As per a Textile World report, this makes the entire process free of hazardous chemicals, emit 90-per cent less carbon dioxide, consume 70-per cent less energy and 30 per cent less water at different stages of the process. A great protector of the environment, this technology helps create safer and healthier workplaces besides making production more economical. The technology is being used by 20 installations in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, China and Italy in addition to this first installation in South America. It enables Nuevo Mundo to create a unique value starting from the indigo dye that is one of the two main components of the denim indigo imills, says Mayo, Owner,

Facilitating an ecological transaction

Being cleaner, the technology helps decrease the environmental impact of dyeing and facilitates an ecological transaction, adds. It liquefies the indigo powder by adopting a new approach that consumes fewer resources than existing methods. Using only indigo pigment, caustic soda, water and electricity, the process is fully automated with the clean liquid indigo produced, metered and fed directly into the dye bath. This is the most sustainable method to dye denims, believes Sedo Engineering as it enables consumers and clothing brands to drive the change towards sustainability.

Cost advantages

The process also gives producers the advantage of producing their own dye on-site in required quantities. This leads to cost savings due as no costs are incurred to procure chemicals or pre-reduced liquid-indigo. Additionally, it also reduces the costs or water, energy and wastewater treatment, and, is independent from suppliers.

With the textile world moving towards increased sustainability, brands and manufacturers need to change accordingly. Currently being driven by pioneers like Nuevo Mundo, the change is highlighting the requirement of balance between planet, people and profit.