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Cotton planting in India is likely to rise by 15 per cent in the 2017-18 planting season. Higher output in India could kill a rally that pushed global cotton prices to their highest in three years this month.
A 15 per cent rise in crop area would lift India's cotton planting to around 12.08 million hectares in the marketing year starting in October. Most Indian farmers start planting cotton - a crop that requires lots of moisture - with the onset of rains in June, although some with irrigated fields start as early as May. India looks likely to receive above average monsoon rainfall as concern over the El Nino weather condition has eased.
Oilseeds and pulses compete with cotton in key producing areas like Maharashtra and Gujarat. Prices of oilseeds and pulses plunged as much as 60 per cent due to bumper production this year, which will force many of them to switch to cotton. Pakistan, Bangladesh, China and Vietnam are key buyers of Indian cotton.
However, in the last few months Indian textile mills have been aggressively importing cotton due to an appreciation in the rupee. The country is likely to import a record three million bales in the current year.
Bangladesh’s garment exports rose two per cent over exports in 2015-16. Kintwear shipments, jute and leather products and leather footwear helped the country maintain positive export growth amid a protracted slowdown in the European Union and uncertainty in the US.
Knitwear exports rose 4.81 per cent in July-April. Exports of raw jute, jute yarn and twine and sacks and bags all went up 25.22 per cent, 12.91 per cent and 15.17 per cent respectively. Furniture sales also grew 10.36 per cent. Leather products shipments rose 19.08 per cent while that of leather footwear went up by 14.05 per cent in the July-April period.
Home textiles registered a growth of 6.58 per cent in the first ten months of the ongoing fiscal year. On the other hand, overseas sales for woven garments decreased by 0.14 per cent during the period. Exports of frozen fish fell by 10.46 per cent, shrimps 3.02 per cent, terry towels 9.34 per cent, leather 6.34 per cent and bicycles 11.05 per cent.
At the current pace of growth, Bangladesh could beat last fiscal year's total exports, but may find it difficult to hit the full-year target for 2016-17, which is eight per cent higher than receipts in 2015-16.
Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles will take place from August 23 to 26, 2017. The event caters to buyers with various sourcing needs. The show also helps buyers access the finest suppliers of upstream designs and printing technics. Top suppliers from around the world will demonstrate their latest collections. This year, exhibitors from Belgium, India, Morocco, Pakistan, Taiwan and Turkey will participate in pavilions.
Fine products including sun protection, wall coverings, carpets and rugs and bedding and toweling round out the product categories. The estimated ten million couples getting married every year in China contribute strongly to the demand for home textile products. Moreover rising living standards resulting from increased urbanisation along with flourishing hospitality industry are driving the market.
Apart from the domestic market, Chinese home textile industry is also opening up new markets around the world, particularly in the Asean region, where exports continue to increase. Synergy among products, especially those between home textile products and furniture, is the emerging trend at present.
The Chinese home textile industry will be modernised by incorporating innovative, technological and artistic elements. An annual growth of 5.5 per cent and 3.2 per cent for revenue and exports is targeted, while automation is to be further promoted to enhance productivity.
"Set to host its 24th edition, the Hong Kong Fashion Week-Spring/Summer is slated to open door from July 10-13, 2017 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The four-day fair will host around 1,100 exhibitors from across the globe, showcasing an array of spring/summer clothing, garment, designer collections, fashion & clothing accessories, fabrics and related professional services. Informal clothing has become a fad these days, all thanks to the fast fashion retailers, sports retailers, and even luxury retailers. It’s raining adoption from the western countries such as England and Japan."
Set to host its 24th edition, the Hong Kong Fashion Week-Spring/Summer is slated to open door from July 10-13, 2017 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The four-day fair will host around 1,100 exhibitors from across the globe, showcasing an array of spring/summer clothing, garment, designer collections, fashion & clothing accessories, fabrics and related professional services. Informal clothing has become a fad these days, all thanks to the fast fashion retailers, sports retailers, and even luxury retailers. It’s raining adoption from the western countries such as England and Japan.
Lately, athleisure has carved out a niche in the clothing industry. Morgan Stanley's 2015 report estimates that the sportswear industry will represent $83 billion in sales by 2020 or more than 30 per cent growth. The Chinese mainland attributes the projected growth in the sportswear market to its booming middle class whom are now more aware of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Trend zones once more
Following the Fall/Winter edition held last January, the two new zones – Fashionable Sportswear and Urban Essentials will again take centre stage at the Spring/Summer edition to encompass sportswear and casualwear respectively. The Thai female fashionable sportswear retailer, Wakingbee, offers all kinds of sportswear for yoga, fitness and running as well as leisurewear. Its co-founders, Ornwassa Siamseranee and Chalita Hongsakul said in January’s Fall/Winter edition that they made good contacts and successfully got orders from a Hong Kong buyer through their first participation at last year’s Spring/Summer edition. They also added that new Fashionable Sportswear zone enabled buyers to find related suppliers easily and allowed them to meet with new buyers from Australia, Bahrain, the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Korea and South America and they will definitely come back next year.
The fair is zoned to provide maximum exposure to different sectors. Highlights are: Fashion Gallery, which features high fashion and brand labels, as well as Fabrics & Yarn, Clothing Accessories and Menswear. Adding to that, the debut World of Fashion Accessories will house all fashion accessories-related zones such as bags, footwear, leggings & socks, gloves, scarves & shawls for buyers’ easy sourcing all at a glance.
Fashion parades to attract buyers
To provide more promotional channels, fashion parades will be arranged for exhibitors and designers to present their latest collection to astute buyers. While the fair promises to be the region’s premier sourcing and marketing platform, it is also a golden opportunity for information exchange within the industry. Renowned international trend forecasters, including Fashion Snoops, will unveil the latest trends ahead. Co-organised with Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA), a seminar on wearable technologies for fashion will also be held. A networking reception will be hosted during the fair for buyers, exhibitors and industry representatives to expand their business network through personal contact.
Brands of VF Corporation will no longer use fur, angora or exotic leather in their products. The animal-derived materials most often used by VF and its brands are leather, down and wool.
The policy outlines which animal material are prohibited and sets formal guidelines for the procurement and use of approved materials by the company’s brands and global supply chain partners.
VF has a history of animal welfare actions. Its brand Timberland partnered other footwear brands, tanneries and retailers to form the Leather Working Group to promote responsible practices within the leather industry. Another brand, The North Face, has a global standard through which any brand can evaluate and certify its complete down supply chain. Also VF participates in programs centered on best practices in the wool industry.
VF believes all animals within the global commercial supply chain should be treated with care and respect. As it continues to promote the development of viable commercial substitutes to animal materials, this policy will help to ensure that the materials used today are procured from sources that prioritize animal welfare and responsible business practices.
The company also developed and adheres to existing policies for the purchase and use of Conflict Minerals, Cotton Country of Origin, and Forest Derived Materials, in addition to a Restricted Substances List for its chemical management program.
German safety, testing and certification giant, TUV SUD, will organize a seminar for textile manufacturers on May 12 at Crown Plaza in Jaipur. The focus will be on technical solutions for textile manufacturing and lean management with an aim to help them access global markets by improving overall quality of their products.
In the textile and apparel industry, pressure to be cost effective and dealing with complexities of global supply chain can be challenging to ensure end-to-end quality control. At the same time, rapidly evolving fashion trends require businesses to constantly update their offerings. The seminar on technical solutions will help manufacturers overcome such challenges. TUV SUD supports manufacturers with safety and quality guidance while helping minimise costs with testing, inspection, certification and training services. Similarly, the session on lean management will focus on identifying each step in a business process and eliminating the steps that do not add value. This concept is known to help businesses improve the long-term operational efficiency.
Announcing the seminar, Ezhilan Neelan, Vice President, Consumer Product Services, TUV SUD South Asia, commented that the Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), India is the second largest textile exporter in the world. There is immense potential in the sector to further strengthen its global position and contribute more to the growth of the country. Such technical sessions help manufacturers grow their business and raise efficiency levels alike. TUV SUD offers a one-stop solution across the entire textile product lifecycle. The global expertise in lean management can help businesses go a long way in reducing operational costs. The company looks forward to interact with the textile industry in Jaipur through this seminar.
In 2015-16, textiles and apparel industry employed 105 million people, 13 times more than the information technology sector. If managed well, it has the potential to grow immensely in the coming years. The sessions will be conducted by globally acclaimed experts at TUV SUD. TUV SUD has state-of-the art textile testing labs in Tirupur and Gurgaon and leather testing labs in Ambur and Ranipet areas. These labs have extensive resources for the products to achieve compliance to national and international chemical, quality and performance standards.
Innovation awards were presented at Techtextil. Among the products were a bicycle lock made of high-tech textiles, an intelligent knee brace and a seamless load-securing net.
Centexbel from Belgium presented an intelligent knee brace that supports patients during the rehabilitation phase after knee operations. A textile sensor identifies the angle of the knee in real-time and informs the patient of this accordingly. It also offers personalised exercises via an app.
Peterseim Strickwaren presented a basalt knitted fabric that protects maritime systems, such as buoys, from environmental influences and cuts maintenance costs by up to 40 per cent. Start-up Texlock was chosen for its innovative, textile-based bicycle lock, which is light, flexible and does not scratch the bicycle’s paintwork thanks to its soft surface.
Vetex from Belgium is a company specialising in coating and laminating technology. Its OC2PUS technology permits a polyurethane coating to be applied to flexible substrates, i.e. to functionalise textiles, without the use of solvents. To this end, specially developed polyurethane resins, which harden chemically during the coating process, are used.
Durafiber Technologies from France was chosen for an alkaline-resistant polyester HT yarn. The yarn retains its original technical properties almost unchanged even after being in contact with alkaline products at high temperatures for several days. Techtextil is being held in Germany, May 9 to 12.
By 2020, 70 per cent of the tanneries LVMH sources from will be Leather Working Group certified. The aim is to make that 100 per cent by 2025.
For the past year, Louis Vuitton has been using salpa, a type of reconstituted leather, to produce some of the models for its leather goods products, which enables it to avoid using real leather. LVMH took part in drafting the new version of the Animal Sourcing Principles in 2016. The document sets out general principles of animal well-being in supply chains and is part of a long-term commitment to improve and monitor breeding practices.
Exotic leathers, including crocodile leathers, are also the subject of particular attention. LVMH owns an exotic leather tannery and several crocodile farms. Luxury group LVMH has determined a best-practice matrix, working with recognised independent experts, which is used as a benchmark during the audits conducted at the farms.
The group uses leather offcuts to reduce waste. The group is working on eliminating chemical substances that are not compliant with the LVMH restricted substance list by specifically targeting hexavalent chromium in its leathers. LVMH has been setting an example through its dynamic growth since its creation in 1987.
ITEMA has finalized agreements to acquire 61 per cent of shares in Lamiflex, a leading supplier of technical composite products, and a minority stake in NoeCha, provider of high-tech, wide-format printing solutions.
The acquisitions are part of a wider strategy of ITEMA and its shareholders, namely the Radici family with 60 per cent shares and the Arizzi e Torri families with the remaining 40 per cent. The aim is to accelerate continued expansion and secure long-term profitability of ITEMA by diversifying into complementary, high-growth markets through stakes in innovation-driven companies which offer significant economies of scale to fuel the joint development of each other’s’ core businesses.
Headquartered in Ponte Nossa, Bergamo province, Lamiflex specializes in composites materials, such as carbon, glass and Kevlar and offers a portfolio of innovative solutions and patented new products with exceptional versatility and adaptability for industrial applications, catering to industries as wide-ranging as weaving machinery, medical and aerospace, among others.
NoeCha, is a Bergamo based quickly scaling up young company which offers high-tech printing solutions, such as the revolutionary wide-format industrial UV-LED flatbed digital press, the NoeCha ONE, for photo-realistic, high impact graphics. NoeCha ensures excellent printability on different type and size of material up to 3.2x2meters at production speeds with a native 600 dpi x 600 dpi image resolution.
These acquisitions will lead to optimizing processes and improving product performances, as well as providing advantages derived from a shorter, more sustainable supply chain, lessening the environmental impact of the joint operations, in line with the principles of a circular, greener economy.
Year 2017 has started on a positive note for Italian textile machinery manufacturers. For the first quarter, orders have increased both in Italy and abroad. Orders confirm a positive trend in major foreign markets, and a climate of trust for Italy’s textile industry.
The order index for the country’s textile machinery, from January to March, grew 24 per cent compared to the same period in 2016. The index value stood at 113.7 points. This growth came mostly from markets abroad, where the index came in at an absolute value of 124.1 points, a 26 per cent rise. In Italy, the increase compared to the period from January to March 2016 was 16 per cent, with an absolute value of 71.5 points.
The index data for the first three months of the year confirm positive signs registered by businesses in various foreign markets. The dynamic trend for Italy’s domestic market originates from a renewed climate of enhanced trust that is currently perceived in the textile sector. This has been triggered by the government’s commitment to enact a range of significant incentives for the country’s manufacturing system.
Creativity, sustainable technology, reliability and quality are the characteristics which have made Italy a global leader in the manufacturing of textile machinery.
