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The US is the largest exporter of cotton, accounting for 29 per cent of global exports. Exports for 2016-17 is forecasted to increase 53 per cent year-on-year. This is mainly driven by higher demand from Taiwan and China.
As a result, the US share of global cotton exports is set to reach 39 per cent, the highest level seen in six years. Prices shot up in July after Chinese cotton stocks were forecast to fall by 1.9 million tons y-o-y to touch 11.3 million tons in 2016-17, raising concerns over low supply. These speculations caused panic buying in the market, which saw prices rise. In fact, Chinese cotton stocks have been revised down further, currently forecast at 10.7 million tons, down 15 per cent y-o-y.
For the upcoming 2017-18 season US cotton planted area is expected to rise by over 20 per cent y-o-y. As long as the weather remains favorable, production would be expected to rise. This is the second consecutive year that global ending stocks have fallen. Ending stocks are forecast down six per cent y-o-y for the current 2016-17 season and down 19 per cent since the 2014-15 season. This is mainly driven by reduced ending stocks in China, as well as global consumption outweighing production.
Pakistan’s textile and clothing exports rose 6.2 per cent year-on-year in March. The increase was mainly due to value-added products such as garments. Customs duty was brought down to zero from four per cent. Likewise, sales tax was brought down to zero from five per cent.
Exports of value-added products grew during the month, both in terms of value and quantity. Exports of readymade garments rose by 19.5 per cent and that of knitwear grew by 5.4 per cent. Exports of bed wear edged up by 5.4 per cent and those of towels 15.8 per cent during the month. Exports of cotton yarn witnessed a year-on-year increase of five per cent while those of cotton cloth and yarn, other than cotton, dropped by 5.5 per cent and 26.9 per cent.
Made-up articles exports, excluding towels, increased by 16 per cent, while export of tents, canvas and tarpaulin grew by 71.8 per cent. The country is looking for a $500 million increase in textile exports in the next three months.
Pakistan is helping the entire textile sector chain to adopt and upgrade new technologies. Funds have been allotted to carry out research activities and bring about a qualitative improvement in industry-academia linkages.
Poor implementation of laws and excessive attention to garment sector are the major challenges for ensuring workplace safety in Bangladesh. This was reiterated at a social dialogue on ‘Safety Situation at Workplace: Progress, Challenges and Remedy,’ jointly organised by Debate for Democracy and Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment (OSHE) Foundation. The speakers also listed the absence of compensation standard, lack of training and awareness about occupational and health safety at workplace, poor and irregular monitoring and no special scheme for workers in the government safety net programs as other challenges.
In 2016, some 1,240 deaths occurred in different workplaces while the highest number of death-486-had been recorded in the transport sector followed by 147 in construction, 88 in garment, 87 are agricultural labour and 69 day labourers. Between 2012 and 2016, 4,616 workers died, while 4,373 were injured due to workplace accidents in the country. The presentation also included the progress so far made in recent years including occupational health and safety policy and move to reform the national council for industry, health and safety, assessment of some 3,500 garment factories under the national initiative and western retailers' platform, database of some 4,808 garment factories, upgrade of chief inspectorate office to a full-fledged department and insurance scheme for construction workers.
State minister for labour Mujibul Haque said about 20,000 inspectors would be needed to inspect some 8.3 million industrial units across the country and this would require much time. Though there is a specific law regarding child labour, children were employed as domestic workers, the minister said, admitting that labour law is not fully implemented.
Explaining the progresses especially after the Rana Plaza building collapse, the minister said the government was continuing its activities in compensating workers taking into consideration the socio-economic condition of the country. OSHE chairperson Rezwana Saki, former fire brigade director general Abu Nayeem Md Shahidullah, and BUET professors Ishtiaq Ahmed and Rowshan Mamtaz were also the part of the discussion.
Thai chemicals producer Indorama Ventures (IVL) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Glanzstoff Group, a major European manufacturer of tyre cord fabrics and single-end-cords (SEC) for high performance tyre applications.
Glanzstoff offers a broad range of solutions in tire cord fabrics and single-end-cords in high-performance rayon, aramid, nylon 6.6 and polyester in addition to hybrid filament yarns for the high-growth and high-performance automotive applications. Glanzstoff is Europe’s largest converter for tire cord fabrics and a global leader in SEC and is vertically integrated into high tenacity Rayon technology. It has manufacturing sites in Luxembourg, Italy and the Czech Republic.
Aloke Lohia, Group CEO of Indorama Ventures says the acquisition provides a unique opportunity for Indorama Ventures to consolidate its leadership position in the tire cord business and strengthens our high value-added (HVA) portfolio.
IVL entered the high-growth tire cord business following the acquisition of PHP fibers in 2014. Thereafter, it acquired Performance Fibers in 2015 and created a global scale as a result of these acquisitions. The company continues to invest and announced sizeable expansion of its tire-cord manufacturing line at Performance Fibers in Kaiping, China in January. On a pro forma basis, the combined revenue of PHP Fibers, Performance Fibers and Glanzstoff in 2016 was $602 million. On an all-inclusive basis, the HVA segment of IVL achieved sales revenue of over $2 billion in 2016.
Lohia says the company continues to pursue a transformational journey to consolidate our leadership position and pursue profitable growth opportunities in the high value-added segment. The Glanzstoff platform will expand the footprint beyond polyester and nylon 6.6 by entering into rayon technology. It focus remains on delivering best-in-class propositions, while driving our global innovation agenda to strengthen the company’s capabilities in the value chain in which we are present.
India may be the world’s number one home textile supplier in the coming years. Right now China is the world’s largest home textile producer. India’s home textile industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of eight per cent to reach $5.29 billion by the end of 2018. Curtains and upholstery, rugs and carpets will be some of the top growing home textile categories in the coming year, posting a CAGR of eight per cent and 9.4 per cent.
India is responsible for almost 21 per cent of towels in the global market and has a 19 per cent share in the global bed linen market. India is also one of the top suppliers for the world’s biggest home textile consuming market, the US. Increasing efforts in quality improvement, innovations through R&D and value-added features have helped India’s home textile products become more popular in the global market.
The home textile sector in India is the second largest employer in the country’s textile industry after the apparel sector. The made-up sector includes products like towels, bed sheets, blankets, curtains, crochet laces, pillow covers, embroidery articles and other home textile products. This sector gets production incentives and subsidies similar to what the garment sector gets.
The H&M group has made a landmark pledge to use 100 per cent recycled or sustainable-source materials in its products by 2030 as a part of its commitment to be “climate positive” throughout its supply chain. The commitment was announced as retail giant published its 2016 Sustainability Report.
This Swedish company which owns the eponymous H&M chain is also aspiring to become climate positive throughout its value chain by 2040 by reducing electricity use in H&M stores by 25 per cent by 2030 and by using 100 per cent renewable energy in its own operations.
The H&M group is stepping up its ambitions and announces a new goal closely connected to its circular approach; to annually collect at least 25,000 tons of textiles in its stores by 2020. In total, 39,000 tons of textiles was collected which is equivalent to 196 million T-shirts since the start of the Garment Collecting initiative in 2013.
Regarding sustainable production process, H&M aims to achieve zero discharge of hazardous chemicals in production procedures and complete installation of water-efficient equipment in H&M’s operations by 2020 and. Talking about this ambitious step, Karl-Johan Persson, CEO of H&M Group stated the company has always been important to act in a way that makes it possible not just for the present but also future generations to enjoy fashion.
Anna Gedda, Head of Sustainability at the H&M group said in a statement the company wants to use size and scale to lead the change towards circular and renewable fashion while making our company more fair and equal this is the reason why the company has developed a new strategy aiming to take our sustainability work to the next level.
The VDMA Textile Machinery Association will host B2B forums and technology conferences on November 6, 2017 in Charlotte (NC), USA, and on November 8-9, 2017 in Mexico City. Experts from well-known VDMA member companies will be present practice-oriented technology topics to decision-makers from the local textile industry.
Germany holds the top position in Europe and world-wide with €13 billion in annual sales in technical textiles. The this event is aimed at technical management, production managers, quality and maintenance managers as well as mill owners, among other decision-makers. The event will also focus on sustainability and recyclability.
This year's partner countries are Austria and Switzerland; and the host city for this important European textile conference is Dresden, which is Germany's center for lightweight engineering and one of the leading German locations for new materials. The event will have presentations along the entire textile chain will show how to increase competitiveness by innovative technology, higher productivity, resource efficiency, higher value-added textiles and industrial internet. The networking will be supported by B2B, interactive discussions with the professional audience and by a conference dinner in a comfortable atmosphere.
Santoni and Lenzing have collaborated on a knitted denim project. Santoni is a seamless knitting machine manufacturer and Lenzing is a fiber manufacturer. Innovative knitted denim is a contrast to the traditional woven denim fabric.
The new project involves the knitting of an innovative denim double-face quilted fabric produced by Santoni’s double jersey circular knitting machine, the Mec-Mor CMP, and Lenzing’s Tencel fiber.
The Mec-Mor CMP is a circular knitted garment length machine complete with rib border separation. It offers both high quality finished items, and high-level productivity with its large number of feeds. One single machine can produce all sizes without waste by means of the variable width of the fabric panels that allows the exact number of working needles to be selected for the required size of product.
Tencel is the sustainable lyocell fiber derived from wood pulp with only wood from certified or controlled sources used. This closed loop production system means the fiber production process is extremely eco-friendly.
Textiles made of Tencel are not only sustainable but soft and comfortable. The yarns can be smoothly knitted on Santoni seamless knitting machines while the garments can undergo the same traditional indigo dyeing process used for denim fabrics.
The new totally-reversible seamless denim quilted jacket produced on this machine provides greater comfort due to its dedicated areas of increased fit and well-being.
Monforts will demonstrate its full range of new coating units for the first time at Techtextil’17. On display will be Knife over roller/air system; magnetic roller system; and printing head systems. The Monforts coating range ‘Textcoat is now available worldwide and follows recent acquisition of renowned manufacturer Timatec; who was previously active mainly in Central European markets.
Single sourced solutions ranging from single sided applications of finishing agents such as, outdoor clothing, home textiles sector, to sophisticated lightweight construction using innovative textile-based coated materials in the automotive and aerospace industries are now available.
The coating systems are available in four versions – basic, multi-functional, universal and multi-functional. All Monforts coating systems feature simple and user friendly PLC techniques with on-screen visualisation for all operating modes. Recipe management for different coating processes are integrated in to the proven Qualitex control system of the Montex stenter.
Designed for constantly changing technical textile coating process applications, the systems coating modules can be quickly and easily changed by a specially designed undercarriage from the side of the unit; allowing it to be adapted for different applications. Monforts can also provide ex-proof ranges for solvent-based coatings and for high temperature processes up to 320°C such as, for example, PTFE sintering.
The GTE held from January 19 to 22, January in New Delhi saw around 300 participants from over 800 companies. The GTE is India’s largest event committed to apparel technology. Groz-Beckert was present with its sewing division in Hall A, Booth A11. Partnering the textile industry, Groz-Beckert also satisfies the needs and requirements of sewing and apparel industry.
At this year’s GTE, the company demonstrated how high-quality sewing needles are decisive element for success. It also provides a comprehensive service that supports customers before, during and after the sewing process. This is the key approach of the service concept Sewing5, based on the five Ss: Supply, Solutions, Service, Superiority and Sustainability. Together, these key factors represent the consistent customer orientation and service competence for the brand.
Another competitive edge of Groz-Beckert’s sewing is the online customer portal where comprehensive information on sewing technology and a digital product catalogues are available. It gives exclusive access to animations on different types of stitch formation and completes versatile presentation.
The latest service highlight offered by the brand is the INH Quality Management (Ideal Needle Handling). It allows a trouble-free and time-saving handling of broken and damaged sewing machine needles. It also helps meet the different specifications and compliances of brand owners and buying houses in a uniform procedure.
Currently the brand also offers a digital solution for documentation of needle breakage which is called Smart INH. It has two software components: A mobile app called INH@site and an administration software or INH@office. They enable digital storage of needle breakages (in form of picture-data sets) as well as the administration of machines, production orders and inventory.
Groz-Beckert is the world’s leading provider of industrial machine needles, precision parts and fine tools as well as systems and services for the production and joining of textile fabrics. The products and services support the fields of knitting, weaving, felting, tufting, carding and sewing. The family-owned company, founded in 1852. Groz-Beckert operates with agencies, production and distribution subsidiaries in more than 150 countries around the world.
