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The Cotton Corporation of India has set up 59 centers in Telangana this year. These are an addition to the 84 centers already existing. The centers usually run for two or three days a week. Now they will be open on all working days. Reason: an estimated cotton produce of 2.81 million metric tons is expected to reach market yards in Telangana in 2017-18, from 1.86 million hectares of land sowed. In 2016-17, the area sowed was 1.24 million hectares, which yielded 2.47 million metric tons of produce.
There has been a 50 per cent increase in sowing. Cotton has been sown on 1.86 million hectares of land for the first time in the history of Telangana. A huge amount of produce is anticipated to come in from October. Although cotton enjoys a minimum support price, there are fears excess production might cause some unrest among farmers in case they do not get the price they are expecting. Earlier, in May, excess production caused a price crash. The minimum support price for cotton this year is Rs 4320 per quintal and was Rs 4,160 last year.
Farmers have gone in for cotton expecting higher returns. Telangana is taking every step to maintain transparency in minimum support price operations and also to mitigate problems if they are identified.
Mausmi Ambastha had seen at close quarters the amount of fabric being wasted every day as she has been associated with the garments industry for 12 years. Ambastha was quick to capitalise on the scope for boosting the fabrics industry by cutting wastage and saving on labour and time offered a promising business opportunity.
The startup provides enterprise material management technology to enable manufacturers to buy just the right amount of fabric and use that fabric with minimum wastage. The product has managed to cut down wastage to less than 1 per cent. This translates into savings of up to 10 per cent and millions of dollars for manufacturers, says Ambastha, Co-founder and COO.
It took some time to explain the viability of their product and how it could help companies save money and improve operational efficiency. At first, many apparel manufacturers were skeptical about the product, later they were willing to try. The company may have received a delayed response but it has never faced rejections, says Ambastha. Now Threadsol, which operates out of Bengaluru and Delhi, has a presence in 15 countries.
It’s more than 85-strong client list includes manufacturers of Zara, Adidas, Nike, Levi’s, Victoria’s Secret, JC Penny and Walmart. Indian client list has Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (formerly Pantaloons), Blackberry’s and Raymond, among others. Despite this impressive list, getting the garments industry to adopt technology is still a challenge for Threadsol.
The startup, which has drawn investments of more than Rs 20 crore from Blume Ventures and Narayna Murthy’s Catamaran Ventures, at one time struggled to stay afloat. Its staff strength across the globe has swelled to 130, and the startup has added several awards to its kitty: Microsoft Bizspark 2012, Grace Hopper Women Entrepreneur of the Year, 2013, Venture Engine 2014, Parivartan Award for sustainability, among others.
Textile Asia was held in Pakistan from September 16 to 18, 2017. The textile machinery fair aimed to increase productivity and enhance competitiveness. Textile Asia is a landmark event, which has provided an effective podium for joint ventures and collaborations among the local textile industry and international entrepreneurs, more than 50,000 trade and corporate visitors visited the fair during the three days, besides more than 600 foreign delegates.
Exhibiting countries included: China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Austria, Czech Republic, UK, and USA etc. Textile Asia is jointly organized by the Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association and E-Commerce Gateway Pakistan.
Pakistan is taking several concrete steps to increase the volume of overall exports. Changes will be made to the scope and coverage of the export package. Pakistan’s apparel exports grew by 5.55 per cent in 2016-17.
Value-added textile is being considered as a key priority area. Efforts are being made to set the right policies and incentives that encourage private sector investment in value addition. The apparel segment happens to be the highest value-added link in the entire textile value chain. Pakistani products do not get a proper market share due to high input costs.
The yarn sector, affected by high cotton prices in the past six months, might become normal within a fortnight. Demand for yarn in markets like Bhiwandi, Ichalkaranji and Kolkata has picked up with the requirement for fabric going up in view of the festival season. In addition, the unsold yarn stock with spinning mills is also low now. Because of the stable and lower cotton prices, India would have a competitive advantage in the international market also.
India is likely to get a record crop with a 15 per cent increase in area and a favorable monsoon and weather. Cotton prices would also be comparatively lower throughout the season and therefore the domestic demand is expected to pick up.
The Indian textile and clothing industry had been passing through continuous recession during the last three years mainly due to poor offtake in the global market. Competing nations like Vietnam and Bangladesh have competitive advantages through free trade agreements and preferential trade agreements. In addition high tariff rates have been imposed on Indian textile and clothing products in the the European Union, the US, Canada and China. The global cotton position is expected to be very comfortable during 2017-18 due to an increase in area under cultivation by around 11 per cent.
With GSP Plus, Sri Lanka hopes for a further $400 million in revenues from apparel exports to the European Union. The country has regained the GSP Plus that was lost in 2010. Last yearm Lanka’s apparel exports totaled $4.8 billion and in the first six months of this year they stood at $2.7 billion. Sri Lanka's export basket has not changed much since the 1990s.
If Sri Lanka is to substantially increase export revenues, diversifying to new sectors is the key to success. Similarly diversification of markets is also a priority for Sri Lanka. While the UK is currently an important market for Sri Lanka, with Brexit becoming a reality, Sri Lanka will immensely benefit if it also focuses attention on accessing non-traditional markets among the EU countries. This will not only cushion the potential negative impact of Brexit on Sri Lanka but will also help contribute towards the country’s target of doubling its export revenues.
The EU aims to support Sri Lanka’s economic growth by launching a series of initiatives which includes support to design and implementing a coherent trade strategy for export competitiveness, support for trade policy development and regulatory reforms, enhancement of Sri Lanka's WTO trade negotiations capacity, support Sri Lanka's regional integration process and help Sri Lanka maximize the use of the EU GSP Plus scheme.
Street Legal Clothing, based in Canada, will start sourcing garments from Tirupur. But this will be done only if manufacturers based there are able to match the prices offered by the Bangladesh factories. Nevertheless Tirupur remains a strategic sourcing hub for the company.
The company works with three vendors from India. Another plan is to import cotton and polyester cotton blend fabrics from India and get the cutting and stitching done in Bangladesh. Fabrics are imported from China as well. Street Legal, an import house, sources uniforms, work wear, sportswear and hunting jackets from Bangladesh, India, China and Cambodia for the Canada market.
Price is the key point for the company. It is trying to work with vertical units so that the profit does not split and it gets the advantage of complete in-house production while getting benefits on the price issue. If the price is right, Street Legal sources millions of pieces. Otherwise it has to make do with only 2,000 to 3,000 pieces a style. In terms of basic products like men’s shirts and tees, it does 1,00,000 pieces. With a business of $8 billion, the two decade old company has an office in New Delhi.
Retailers and brands are choosing virtual warehousing coupled with a strong omni-channel supply chain system to meet the challenge of a constantly evolving product demand. Virtual warehousing allows inventory to be physically housed anywhere – including a distribution center, a temporary facility, or the back room of a store – and distributed on an as needed basis.
With virtual warehousing, a brand’s supply chains work as a network, and this network is then considered for fulfillment. So when an order arrives, the network is consulted, irrespective of where the product is stored, to identify the best possible way to fulfill the order as quickly as possible.
A supply chain is sporadic and can fluctuate at any given time for any given reason. Consumers are fair weather, fickle and their needs can change instantly. What this has meant for suppliers is that some inventory may be critical and in high demand in one geographic area in the supply chain but too expensive and slow moving for stocking in another location. The suppliers that are winning are those that have decentralized their supply chain to meet consumer demand.
With the right omni-channel planning and Enterprise Resource Planning integration, big retailers can segregate inventory, provide transparent financial ownership and tracking, secure inventory availability per channel and even share warehouse shelf space.
Asia Pacific is the largest and the fastest growing market for polyester fibers. China and India are the key markets in the Asia Pacific. Rising demand for products that use polyester fibers, such as industrial and consumer textiles, home furnishings, non-woven fabrics, apparels, carpets and rugs etc., will speed up polyester fiber sales in the region from 2017 to 2035.
Polyester fibers are long chain synthetic polymers that are formed through chemical reactions between an alcohol and an acid. Polyester fibers are majorly composed of ethylene glycol and terepthalic acid. Polyester yarns and fabrics made from this type of polyester are very elastic, strong and have high wrinkle and abrasion resistance.
Polyester fibers are extremely strong, resistant to most chemicals and shrinking, stretching, abrasion, wrinkle and mildew resistant. They are hydrophobic in nature and dry quickly and withstand wear and tear longer than cotton and retain their shape in extreme climatic conditions and are thus preferred for manufacturing outdoor clothing.
Polyester fabrics are used to make a wide variety of products – this includes jackets, shirts, pants, blankets, bed sheets, cushioning and insulating material in pillows, upholstery padding, comforters and upholstered furniture. Due to its tenacity and high strength, polyester is also used to make ropes and yarns that are further used in safety belts, conveyor belts, tapes, tire reinforcements and in plastic reinforcements.
As per Fashion Transparency Index 2017 only 32 per cent of the top 100 global fashion brands are somewhat transparent about their value chains, publishing complete supplier lists for their customers to make informed purchasing decisions. The Fashion Transparency Index ranks clothing brands every year according to how much they disclose about their suppliers, supply chain policies and practices, and social and environmental impact.
In 2016 only 12.5 per cent of the 40 companies surveyed by Fashion Revolution, a not-for-profit ethical initiative catalysed by the Rana Plaza disaster, were publishing supplier lists. This year, Adidas and Reebok came out on top with 121.5 out of 250 points, closely followed by Marks & Spencer and H&M.
By 100 per cent transparency, Fashion Revolution means brands being aware of exactly who make their products -- from who stitched them right through to who dyed the fabric and who farmed the cotton. And crucially, it requires brands to share this information publicly. Three brands, including luxury fashion brand Dior, scored zero as they disclose no information at all. In light of this, the seventh edition of Mostafiz Uddin's pet project, Bangladesh Denim Expo, due to be held on November 8-9 in Dhaka, will be set around the theme ‘transparency’.
The exhibition will highlight the need for transparency within the entire denim development chain, showing the progresses made by Bangladesh denim factories towards achieving greater transparency. A total of 61 exhibitors from 11 countries will showcase denim products at the expo to be held at the International Convention City Bashundhara. Of the exhibitors, 44 would be foreign and 17 local.
There would be at least eight seminars and sessions for the CEOs, merchandisers and managers of globally-renowned fashion brands to speak on the matter of transparency in the apparel supply chain.
"What gives luxury designers such as Schiaparelli, Ralph & Russo, Chanel, Dries Van Noten, Stella McCartney, Guo Pei and Ermenegildo Zegna, an edge over others? It’s the unique textile that brings life to the entire ensemble and couture. These designers and couturiers are increasingly focusing on creating unique textiles to highlight craftsmanship, inspire designs and promote sustainability. For haute couturiers, exclusive textiles are as crucial as designs. Some houses will go as far as acquiring heritage ateliers and fabric mills to ensure the uniqueness of their creations."
What gives luxury designers such as Schiaparelli, Ralph & Russo, Chanel, Dries Van Noten, Stella McCartney, Guo Pei and Ermenegildo Zegna, an edge over others? It’s the unique textile that brings life to the entire ensemble and couture. These designers and couturiers are increasingly focusing on creating unique textiles to highlight craftsmanship, inspire designs and promote sustainability. For haute couturiers, exclusive textiles are as crucial as designs. Some houses will go as far as acquiring heritage ateliers and fabric mills to ensure the uniqueness of their creations.
Schiaparelli’s Crystal dress, shown at Paris Haute Couture Week in July, featured 3D crystal embroideries on finecrystal mesh, which is one of Swarovski’s latest innovations. With the multicoloured crystals, the iridescent dress reflects light from more than 4.7 million facets. Bertrand Guyon, Creative Director, Schiaparelli, points out there are only crystals on the dress, nothing else. The crystals are specially made for Schiaparelli – the purple tinted with lilac and the iridescent pink.
Chanel is another pioneer in the field. It has 10 prestigious artisanal ateliers under one roof – including Lesage and Montex, who are known for their embroidery work, Guillet, which specialises in creating delicate fabric flowers and plants, as well as Lognon, the pleater. Company’s official say, the purpose for the investment in these artisan ateliers is to preserve and nurture the valuable heritage and a vital part of its luxury style.
Ralph & Russo – the pride of the wearer
British haute couture house Ralph & Russo creates every single piece of textile from scratch with suppliers from around the world, from Switzerland to Italy and France. Tamara Ralph, Creative Director of Ralph & Russo, says textiles are crucial because, for their clients, it’s not just about the exclusivity of a dress, but also exclusivity of the different techniques that go into the designs. This is what makes haute couture, what it is. For such designers, in addition to exclusivity, technical excellence is also important. Ralph cites the ornate bridal gown at the finale of its 2017 couture show, which featured embroideries that took artisans 6,000 hours to complete, and a delicate ball gown featuring hand-cut petals, each shaped with curling irons for a more natural and realistic look. It’s hard to say whether design or textile comes first as it’s a marriage of the two observes Ralph who works closely with a team of artisans and embroiders to develop textile swatches and tweak the elements as they go forward.
Subtly luxurious textiles and fabrics are more common in men’s suiting as well. High-end luxury menswear brands such as Ermenegildo Zegna and Cerruti have mills that make exclusive fabrics in-house and consistently invest in R&D of new textiles. Zegna’s Wool Mill, established in 1910, is known for its high quality, ‘satin-like’ wool, cashmere and noble fibres.
Sustainability drive
Ready-to-wear houses, such as Dries Van Noten and Stella McCartney, are collaborating with textile innovators for creativity and sustainable causes. Dries Van Noten is known for developing his own textiles. Van Noten, known for his unique prints and patterns, has long been working with artisans and embroiderers in India – some for 20 years. He appreciates Indian artisans’ skill and always gives them enough work so they can continue their workshops instead of joining big commercial factories in the city.
Van Noten the vegan designer works extensively with textile innovators for alternatives to animal products such as leather, silk and suede. One of her recent collaborations was with Bolt Threads – a biotechnology company known for sustainable materials such as a yeast-based vegan silk. Stella McCartney’s eco-friendly fashion is fuelled by her innovative and tenacious spirit.
