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The Garment Manufacturers’ Association of Cambodia (GMAC) has officially launched the GMAC Human Resources Club to build a knowledge bank, share information, experience and expertise improve the industry. Kaing Monika, Deputy Secretary-General of GMAC, says the administration and human resources management of the industry are important. They are relevant to people management, policy, rules and regulations of the country. The club is open to all GMAC members. This is the part of the initiative to collect all industrial insiders at management level from the administration and human resources department of all garment, footwear, and travellers’ goods sectors to come together to exchange experience, knowledge, and information, he stated.
Members feel the club will play an important role to build more capacity for industry insiders. GMAC HR Club has also laid out some policies, training activities, knowledge sharing and information sharing that’s critical to improve the skills and make decisions in the job. He feels the club is important especially for those who have just joined at the management level as it helps to solve issues in the daily work.
Nou Mun, human resources manager of Master King, he is glad to be a member of the club as it will give him more experience and knowledge from the peers in the industry. Around 512 garment export-oriented factories, 59 footwear factories and 48 sub-contracting factories have come together to share experiences, information and knowledge for the improvement of the industry says Monika.
Bangladesh may permit foreign direct investment (FDI) in the readymade garment sector. Japan is particularly interested in investing in Bangladesh’s apparel sector both in high end and basic garments. Foreigners usually want to invest in high end fashion garments where local manufacturers hardly have any stake.
Local manufacturers oppose foreign investment in the apparel sector outside export processing zones (EPZs) fearing a chaos in the industry as foreign companies will employ workers paying higher wages compared to them. Over 300 foreign-funded apparel factories are being operated inside the EPZs.
When a joint venture factory offers wages higher than the government wage structure, workers in local factories also demand the same. Local manufacturers are not against allowing FDI in the apparel sector but they say foreigners should also invest in the backward linkage industry.
They reiterate that Bangladeshi manufacturers are good enough to invest in basic garments and don't want any competitor in these products. They add that they have built the apparel industry with great effort and over a long period and that any foreign investment would undercut their main competitive advantage, which is low wages.
Apparel is the main exports in Bangladesh. In fiscal 2015-16, Bangladesh’s earnings from the export sector was $31.21 billion of which over $28 billion was from apparels.
The global textile staple market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 4.9 per cent from 2017 to 2027. Growth in per capita spending in the Asia Pacific region will boost the textile staple market.
Textile components are widely used in transportation vehicles and systems including cars, trains, buses, airplanes and marine vehicles. The automotive sector is witnessing rapid development in China along with parts of Southeast Asia. In a fluctuating economic environment, the Chinese automotive industry has registered steady sales growth. Also, India’s economy is expected to grow at a robust pace in the coming years as most economic indicators predict a positive outlook towards the automotive industry, driven by strong consumer demand. This in turn will have a positive effect on the textile staple market during the forecast period.
China and other developing countries such as India are significant producers of textile staples. However, the region is slowly becoming an important consumer as well, because of consistent growth in incomes driving demand for textile staples. In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in household cotton consumption in developing regions than in other parts of the world. The increased penetration of organised retail is also likely to boost the consumption of textiles in domestic markets, especially in India.
Alessandro Zucchi is the new president of the Association of Italian Machinery Manufacturers (ACIMIT). He succeeds Raffaella Carabelli. Zucchi has many years experience in the textile machinery sector, and is currently managing director and a partner at Ferraro, a manufacturer specialising in finishing machinery. In addition, he is a shareholder in another company in the sector, Burocco Valvole, of which he is executive vice president.
Since 2015, he has been involved with ACIMIT’s delegation at Cematex, the Committee of European Textile Machinery Associations. ACIMIT represents 300 manufacturers, employing close to 12,000 people and producing machinery for an overall value of about euro 2.7 billion, with exports amounting to more than 85 per cent of total sales.
Along with the new president, the assembly also elected new vice presidents Federico Businaro (Isotex, Santex Rimar Group), Cristian Locatelli (Marzoli, Camozzi Group), Andrea Piattelli (Unitech) and Michele Riva (Reggiani Macchine).
Italy is the world’s second largest producer of machinery for the textile industry. In the production of machinery for tanning, and for the footwear and leather goods industry, Italy accounts for over 50 per cent of world production. A renewed climate of enhanced trust is currently perceived in the textile sector, triggered by the government’s commitment to enact a range of significant incentives for the country’s manufacturing system.
"The cotton supply situation is expected to improve in the next one year, supported by favourable weather conditions and prevailing remunerative cotton prices, which are expected to trigger an increase in cotton sowing for CY2018, highlights recent report on the Indian Spinning Sector by ICRA Ratings. A few initial weeks of the cotton sowing season have already witnessed increased acreage vis-a-vis last year and the trend is expected to sustain."
The cotton supply situation is expected to improve in the next one year, supported by favourable weather conditions and prevailing remunerative cotton prices, which are expected to trigger an increase in cotton sowing for CY2018, highlights recent report on the Indian Spinning Sector by ICRA Ratings. A few initial weeks of the cotton sowing season have already witnessed increased acreage vis-a-vis last year and the trend is expected to sustain. This is likely to be complemented by the forecast for normal monsoons, with the possibility of El Nino formation gradually waning.
As per ICRA estimates, domestic cotton output is expected to increase by 6 per cent to 36 million bales in CY2018. Says Jayanta Roy, Senior Vice-President and Group Head, Corporate Sector Ratings, ICRA, “The expectations of higher output in the upcoming cotton season supported by increased sowing and a favourable monsoon forecast is likely to create a downward bias in cotton prices from Q2 FY18 onwards, vis-a-vis the peak levels witnessed during the past one year. This augurs well for the domestic cotton spinning industry.”
Withstanding challenges
The Indian cotton spinning industry has been facing twin challenges of subdued demand and high cotton fibre prices as a result of tight cotton availability since Q2 FY17. Amid a decline in exports to China and subdued domestic demand following the demonetisation drive, the growth in total spun yarn production declined to a five-year low in FY17. On demand side, the weak trend in production during FY17 was primarily due to a steep decline in cotton-yarn exports, which typically account for roughly one-third of India’s total cotton yarn output. The cotton yarn export quantity was lower by 12 per cent on a y-o-y basis, primarily driven by a steep decline in overall yarn imports by China.
“As the previous round of reserve cotton auctions in China ended, India’s cotton yarn exports recovered temporarily in Q3 FY17. The trend, however, was not sustainable as the commencement of fresh reserve cotton auctions in China from March 6, 2017 again resulted in a steep decline in yarn exports from India in the months of March and April 2017,” Roy added.
Despite the weakness in production and sales volumes, domestic cotton yarn prices continue to be firm following the high cotton prices. However, the possibility of a further increase in cotton yarn prices is low due to weak export prospects. Further, the likely downward bias in cotton prices from Q2 FY18 onwards may soften the domestic cotton yarn prices on a y-o-y basis. Given the weak prospects for exports, yarn demand is expected to remain subdued. Accordingly, capacity utilisation and hence, profitability of spinners is likely to remain range-bound at a modest level sustained during the past three years.
In a partial relief for manmade textile units, GST on texurising, twisting, weaving and yarn dyeing has been reduced from 18 per cent to five per cent.
But despite the relief, several looms and fabric makers will still have unutilised credit on their books, raising the cost of fabric by eight to ten per cent.
Partially oriented yarn, polyester filament yarn and staple fiber manufactured by virgin chips/granules are covered under the umbrella of manmade fibers and liable to be taxed at 18 per cent under GST. But other processes of textile yarn units, such as twisting, warping, doubling, dyeing, printing, bleaching, mercerising, texturing, multi-folding, cabeling, air mingiling, air-texturising, sizing etc, are not covered under the umbrella of manmade fibers. The job work rate of such processes at textile yarn units falls under the five per cent GST slab.
Merchant exporters who make garments and buy fabric or do all the processes outside will also suffer as the duty refund will have to bear the burden of unutilised credit. They will be at a disadvantageous position as compared to composite mills that do all processes in-house.
The textile industry has a pivotal position in the Indian economy. It is strong and competitive across the value chain. India has an abundant supply of raw material like cotton, wool, silk, jute, and manmade fiber.
The Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) has welcomed the GST era for the textile industry.It says a seamless tax structure for the entire cotton textile value chain is a great step forward.
With the implementation of GST, all indirect taxes would be merged. So far the textile industry had been suffering with numerous taxes and different types of cess which were not duty drawback compatible and therefore adding to the cost, thus making the industry uncompetitive especially the micro, small and medium enterprises and decentralized segments.
Various exemptions and loopholes in the laws enabled a major portion of manufacturers and traders in the textile value chain to opt for tax evasion by mis-declaration and by various other methods but that would end. The country, after independence, for the last 70 years was struggling with a complex tax structure, rigid and antiquated laws that were major stumbling blocks to achieve a sustained economic growth rate.
Tamil Nadu accounts for a third of the textile business in India. SIMA feels 2017-18 will be a good year for the cotton textile industry with a sound tax ecosystem and real time governance coupled with availability of surplus cotton.
SIMA now wants certain taxes and levies that are not subsumed in GST like the market committee fee and various other municipal taxes to be similarly scrapped.
Positioned as the first ever global B2B textiles event in India, Textiles India 2017 inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad yesterday is on from June 30-to July 2, 2017. The show, aimed to showcase the strength of the value chain in India, brings to the fore the PM’s inspiring vision ‘From Farm to Fibre, Fibre to Factory, Factory to Fashion, Fashion to Foreign Exports’. It lays immense thrust on innovations in craft and design. Describing India as a bright spot in the global economy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged global investors to invest in its textile industry and said the domestic market for apparel and lifestyle products will reach $160 billion by 2025.
Claimed to be the largest curated presentation of Indian textiles on the runway, the event unfolded the story of growth and development of Indian textiles sector and its transformation to become a global power. Giving it a unique touch, IMG Reliance Industries, curated and produced ‘Symphony of Weaves’, a unique fashion presentation celebrating the story of Indian textiles in the form of exquisite innovations in craft and design. The Symphony of Weaves fashion show was also attended by Union minister of textiles Smriti Irani, Ajay Tamta, minister of state for textiles, and industry commissioner of Gujarat Mamta Verma.
Inspired by the seven key notes of music that make up ‘Sargam’, the show celebrated textiles of India and showcased the entire spectrum through seven key segments covering cottons, silks, wools, embroidery, hand-dyed and hand printed, modern/industrial and futuristic sustainable textiles of India. .
Attracting global investors
Describing India as a bright spot in the global economy, Prime Minister Modi urged global investors to invest in its textile industry and said the domestic market for apparel and lifestyle products will reach $160 billion by 2025. “India has emerged as one of the most attractive global investment destinations. This has been made possible by a series of sustained policy initiatives.” Modi said “Ours is a nation of aspirational youth who wish to spend on textiles, apparel and handcrafted lifestyle products. The domestic market for apparel and lifestyle products, currently estimated at $85 billion, is expected to reach $160 billion by 2025. This growth will be driven by the rising middle class.” He said based on the ‘Make-in-India’ initiative, the organised textile industry was being infused with the mantras of ‘skill, scale, speed’ and ‘zero-defect, zero-effect’ for scaling up employment, production and exports. “There is also a high global demand for textiles and apparel manufactured in our country. India is the world’s second largest exporter of textiles, commanding a global share of around 5 percent. Indian textiles, including traditional handloom and handicraft products, are exported to more than a hundred countries.”
“Each state should appoint nodal officers dedicated to a few well-known products who would facilitate producers and traders across the value chain. The intervention should start from production to export of garments. It should meet the specific requirement of domestic as well as export markets.” He called for an action plan to study and map the requirements of people in large global markets and monitor new trends in fashion and textiles in these areas on a real-time basis.
Celebrating Indian artisans’
Leading Indian designers joined hands with master-craftsmen to showcase their work in heritage handlooms, handicrafts as well as modern and futuristic textiles. The textile panorama spans across regions and states of Northeast India, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Assam and many more. The fashion show featured the designs from a combination of 31 established and emerging designers and master craftsmen/weavers from across different textile traditions, languages and states of India.
The story of the evolution of cottons in India was showcased by designers such as Anavila Misra, mastercraftsmen Chaman Siju from Kutch and Richana Khumanthem from Manipur as well as Wendell Rodricks for Goa Kunbi Cotton Handlooms. The rich legacy of Indian silk included Banarasi Silks by Sanjay Garg, Meghalaya Ryndia Silk by Daniel Syiem and Tussar handlooms from Jharkhand by Shruti Sancheti. Rahul Misra and Rajesh Pratap Singh among others showcased the story of evolution of Wool.
The embroidery category was presented by eminent designers such as Anamika Khanna, Anita Dongre, Manish Malhotra, Ritu Kumar, Rohit Bal, Sabyasachi, Tarun Tahiliani among others. Young gen next label Poochki collaborated with Master craftsman Berulal Chippa from Rajasthan to showcase Bagru handicraft and Vineet Rahul collaborated with Mohammed Yusuf Khatri from Bagh, Madhya Pradesh to showcase Bagh handicrafts in high end fashion. Gaurav Gupta and Pankaj & Nidhi presented modern textiles and in the final segment Abraham & Thakore, Amit Aggarwal, Hemang Agrawal and Manish Arora presented modern and futuristic textiles that included man-made fibres, metal yarns and sustainable recycled fabrics.
Designers’ take
A strong artisans and designers’ partnership is paving newer avenues of growth for textile growth in India. Anita Dongre says it's for the first time that such a large initiative is done by the textile industry that everyone has come together to showcase what they got or are known for. Our textile industry is very versatile and no other country has this versatile textile industry like ours, so it's good to see so many foreign buyers coming under one roof.
"The recently held Pitti Uomo brought about trending men’s streetwear fashion. Among the most favoured ones are sporty and rapper-style inspired tracksuits, mixed with roomy shorts and comfy sweatshirts or hoodies. Roomy, boxy and oversize came out to be to the trendiest. Side stripes on trousers and sleeves, huge logos and visible patterns are some of the trends that are here to stay. These relaxed, young and cool aesthetics seem to be bringing a new vitality to the men’s and no-gender market."
The recently held Pitti Uomo brought about trending men’s streetwear fashion. Among the most favoured ones are sporty and rapper-style inspired tracksuits, mixed with roomy shorts and comfy sweatshirts or hoodies. Roomy, boxy and oversize came out to be to the trendiest. Side stripes on trousers and sleeves, huge logos and visible patterns are some of the trends that are here to stay. These relaxed, young and cool aesthetics seem to be bringing a new vitality to the men’s and no-gender market. Despite usually trends originate from the women’s world, this specific trend originates from a male and unisex world.
Burberry has launched its newest collection signed by Gosha Rubchinskiy. During the recently held June 2017 Paris shows, Valentino opted for sporty inspired looks, Vuitton reinvented surfer looks. In Milan, I’M Isola Marras revamped basketball tank tops and shorts. Andrea Pompilio played with huge logo tops. Marni mixed huge striped motives in the same outfit and Diesel Black Gold reinvented nylon windbreakers transforming them into cool coats, playing with stretch trousers, converting them into sexy urban fashion.
Upcoming new brands, who presented in Milan, have sported street collection. The newly relaunched Frankie Morello, has mixed inspiration from the surfing, biking and street life worlds for a new unique and fresh menswear collection.
A sense of belonging
Sabina Zabberoni, owner & executive buyer of the luxury stores Julian Fashion of Milano Marittima, Italy, has recently redesigned her men’s store in order to sell more brands such as, for instance, Nike, Puma, Reebok, and contemporary ones such as MSGM, GCDS, Common Projects and Maison Kitsuné. According to Zabberoni, streetwear is a dominating trend right now. It’s a perfect and very versatile companion for our frenzy lifestyle, but it also expresses an image that is comfy and glamour at the same time. Streetwear brands clearly express a sense of belonging – by simply wearing a streetwear piece – be it a t-shirt or a pair of shorts – the fashion addict can immediately identify with this world.
The start of streetwear
According to experts, Los Angeles is the place where this new streetwear fashion grew and developed as authentic street fashion culture. This trend has a great appeal among high-end fashion fans. Many brands are drawing inspiration from the streetwear world as they see that such products sell really well, commented Antonio Cristaudo, responsible for marketing and development at Pitti Immagine. Differently from authentic brands, prices for this new generation of high-end streetwear fashion are generally high. The reason being they are often made with fast forward thinking materials and innovative fibres, making it worth their price.
"Textile Exchange recently released Quick Guide to Organic Cotton, an overview of positive impacts of organic cotton, including frequently asked questions and supporting facts that indicate organic cotton is the preferred fibre choice compared to its chemically produced counterpart.“The Quick Guide to Organic Cotton, highlights the benefit of organic production as a pathway to restorative, resilient and regenerative landscapes and communities,” said La Rhea Pepper, MD, Textile Exchange."
Textile Exchange recently released Quick Guide to Organic Cotton, an overview of positive impacts of organic cotton, including frequently asked questions and supporting facts that indicate organic cotton is the preferred fibre choice compared to its chemically produced counterpart.“The Quick Guide to Organic Cotton, highlights the benefit of organic production as a pathway to restorative, resilient and regenerative landscapes and communities,” said La Rhea Pepper, MD, Textile Exchange. “Cotton production has evolved over the last 15 years, and greater awareness of the health, economic and environmental benefits of organic farming practices by farmers and buyers has influenced corresponding improvements in many cotton production systems, including the input intensive practices of chemically grown cotton.” Textile Exchange reports that adoption of preferred cotton production methods has grown to 8.6 per cent of the cotton market but organic cotton, in general, continues to have the lowest environmental impacts.
Health and environmental impacts
The current research work reveals three top reasons to support the expansion of organic cotton agriculture. The first one concerns health and environmental impacts of pesticides that must be acknowledged in a comparison of organic and chemically grown cotton production. According to the USDA’s National Organic Program, organic farming is defined as the application of a set of cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that support the cycling of on-farm resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. These include maintaining or enhancing soil and water quality; conserving wetlands, woodlands, and wildlife; and avoiding use of synthetic fertilisers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering.
Organic cotton is grown without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides or fertilisers while chemical cotton is dependent on both. According to the Pesticide Action Network UK, cotton crops cover 2.4 per cent of the world’s cultivated land but use 6 per cent of the world’s pesticides, more than any other single major crop. Chemically intensive agriculture, especially in irrigated systems, push the ecosystem year-on-year for higher yields. This requires the use of an ever-increasing amount of chemical inputs, including growth regulators.
Water pollution – the real cause?
Whether the cotton is grown with chemicals, or organically, each farm and geographic region of the world will have different water usage and impacts. However, the notion that chemical cotton uses less water than organic cotton is false. Textile Exchange initiated a peer-reviewed Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) on organically grown cotton that uses the same methodology and the same LCA consultancy as was used for chemically grown cotton to ensure the most reliable information to base comparisons. Based on the LCA findings, organic production of cotton for an average sized t-shirt resulted in a savings of 1,982 gallons of water compared to the results of chemically grown cotton. The real issue about water is pollution. Toxic chemicals used in conventional cotton production are poisoning the very water it claims to save.
Towards attaining growth pastures
“Textile Exchange believes that consumers who care about the environment and the farming communities which produce the cotton for their clothing, should support brands and retailers using organic and preferred cotton,” advocates Liesl Truscott, Materials Strategy Director, Textile Exchange. According to the latest Textile Exchange report, the top 10 users of organic cotton by volume are C&A; H&M; Tchibo; Inditex; Nike, Inc.; Decathlon; Carrefour; Lindex; Williams-Sonoma, Inc.; and Stanley and Stella.
