FW
Lenzing has developed a new fiber based on cotton scraps and wood. Called Refibra, it is the first cellulose fiber featuring recycled material on a commercial scale. Refibra stands for Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. This fiber is made of recycled materials and promises reduced reliance on natural raw materials. The fiber is produced in tencel production process. Tencel itself is an environmentally responsible fiber of botanic origin. Because Refibra is based on the tencel fiber, which has been internationally recognized for its environmentally responsible closed loop production process, Refibra offers a deep sustainability profile that clearly contributes to circular economy.
Refibra is expected to build Lenzing’s reputation as a leader in the field of environmental fiber technology and push for new solutions in the textile industry toward a circular economy by recycling production waste.
To assure customers that the fiber, made from recycled material, is really in the textiles, Lenzing has developed a new identification system. The system makes it possible to identify Refibra in the finished textile. This is said to guarantee transparency in the overall processing chain. The Refibra fiber itself is part of the global Lenzing Branding Service and the brand is licensed once the textile has undergone a certification process.
Haryana is coming up with a new textile policy aimed at making it a global hub for textile manufacturing and a preferred investment destination. The policy is packed with fiscal incentives and contains provisions for infrastructure augmentation, setting up of textile parks and facilities for skill training. It aims at generating 50,000 new jobs by attracting investment in the textile sector to the tune of Rs 5,000 crores. It aims to boost textile exports by a compound annual growth rate of 20 per cent during 2017.
The policy proposes a capital subsidy of 10 per cent for eligible new projects of all textile enterprises across the state. It has been formulated with an eye on the cotton belt of Haryana. The state is one of the leading cotton producers in the country. This sector provides employment to about one million people and readymade garments worth two billion dollars are exported from the state annually.
The textile policy will incentivize setting up of new units and ensure growth and modernization of existing textile industry in the state. Help will be offered for setting up textile parks exclusively for garmenting units with provision of labor, housing and built-up sheds (to be provided on a lease basis) to facilitate the expansion of the garmenting industry in the state.
Planet Textiles will take place in Bangalore on May 24. This is an annual summit on environmental issues for the textile sector. This year’s event will highlight the crucial issue of textile waste, water pollution, chemical management and natural resource conservation, including energy and water use. Planet Textiles will attract companies along the entire global textile supply chain to accelerate their sustainability initiatives in order to meet the market’s demands.
Speakers will present methods for improving and managing global sustainability measures with emphasis on third party, independent certifications as important and effective business tools. Planet Textiles is the leading international event on sustainability in the textile sector because it discusses real-world practical issues and ideas on how the global supply chain can move to a more sustainable future.
This is jointly organized by Messe Frankfurt, the leading trade fair organizer, and Sustainable Apparel Coalition, an industry-wide group of leading apparel and footwear brands, retailers, manufacturers, NGOs, academic experts and the US Environmental Protection Agency that aims to reduce the environmental and social impacts of apparel, footwear and home textile products around the world. The last edition attracted over 440 industry leaders – from fiber and textile suppliers through to the world’s largest clothing brands and retailers. The first edition of Planet Textiles took place in 2009 in Hong Kong.
"Q3-2016 saw a rise in global yarn production on a quarter-on- quarter basis. Thereby, output in Asia and South America rose. However, in Europe and the US, yarn production fell. On an annual basis, global yarn production in Q3-2016 increased versus Q3-2015. Global yarn stocks climbed in Q3-2016. Yarn stocks reduced in South America while in Asia, they increased. However, year-on-year, global yarn stocks declined. Yarn orders in Europe and in South America fell quarter-on-quarter. Compared to the same quarter a year ago, yarn orders increased in South America and fell in Europe."
Q3-2016 saw a rise in global yarn production on a quarter-on- quarter basis. Thereby, output in Asia and South America rose. However, in Europe and the US, yarn production fell. On an annual basis, global yarn production in Q3-2016 increased versus Q3-2015. Global yarn stocks climbed in Q3-2016. Yarn stocks reduced in South America while in Asia, they increased. However, year-on-year, global yarn stocks declined. Yarn orders in Europe and in South America fell quarter-on-quarter. Compared to the same quarter a year ago, yarn orders increased in South America and fell in Europe.
In contrast, Europe’s fabric production decreased. Global fabric output improved moderately year-on- year in Q3-2016. Thereby, Asian and South American output climbed moderately, while it fell in Europe. In Q3-2016, worldwide fabric stocks fell quarter-on-quarter. Fabric inventories were reduced in South America and increased moderately in Asia and North America. Year-on- year, fabric stocks declined. European and South American fabric orders decreased quarter-on- quarter. On a yearly basis, South America’s fabric orders increased and Europe’s fell.
Global Projections
The global outlook for yarn and fabric signals a decline for Q1-2017. In Q3-2016, global yarn production increased by 3.4 per cent quarter-on- quarter. Thereby, Asian yarn output strengthened by 3.7 per cent quarter-on- quarter and by 2.6 per cent in South America. In Europe and North America, it fell by 13.3 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively. Global yarn output increased by 3.7 per cent in Q3-2016 versus Q3-2015. In Asia, yarn output improved 3.5 per cent year-on-year and in South America by 21 per cent. In Europe and North America, yarn output declined by nearly 4 per cent year-on-year and by 7.8 per cent, respectively.
Global fabric production
Fabric production went up by over 3 per cent in Q3-2016 across the world against previous quarter. While Asian and South American output grew by over 4 per cent each, European fabric production fell nearly 15 per cent quarter-on- quarter. Year-on-year, global fabric output improved moderately by 0.6 per cent in Q3-2016. Thereby, Asian production increased by 0.6 per cent and South America’s output improved by 4.7 per cent. Europe’s fabric output fell by nearly 7 per cent year-on-year.
Global yarn inventories increased in Q3-2016 by 4.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter with increases of 5.7 per cent in Asia. In contrast, in South America inventories fell by 1.4 per cent. In Q3-2016, the annual percentage change of global yarn inventories saw a dip of nearly 6 per cent. Thereby, European yarn stocks increased by 5 per cent year-on-year. Asian yarn stocks, however, fell by nearly 7 per cent annually and South American stocks diminished by 0.6 per cent.
Worldwide fabric stocks fell by 1.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter in Q3-2016. The major culprit was South America, where stocks reduced by nearly 8 per cent. In the Asia and North America fabric stocks increased moderately. On a yearly basis, global fabric inventories in Q3-2016 decreased by 5 per cent. Asia’s fabric stocks decreased by 0.4 per cent annually and South America’s inventories fell by over 16 per cent. In Europe stocks declined by over 2 per cent, while in North America they increased by 0.8 per cent year-on-year.
In Q3-2016, European yarn orders fell by 5 per cent quarter-on-quarter and by 2 per cent year-on-year. In South America, they fell by over 11 per cent quarter-on-quarter and increased by over 100 per cent year-on-year. European fabric orders in Q3-2016 fell by nearly 10 per cent quarter-on-quarter and by 11.5 per cent year-on-year. South American fabric orders in Q3-2016 fell by 3 per cent quarter-on-quarter and increased by 10 per cent year-on-year.
Uzbekistan’s cotton fiber processing volume reached 40 per cent in 2016. Now the country aims that by 2020 it will process all available capacities of cotton fiber within Uzbekistan.
Cotton yarn accounts for nearly 50 per cent of exports. The share of finished products in the total volume of production amounts to 47 per cent. In future, Uzbekistan plans to increase this figure to 65.5 per cent. Export of products with high value added will be increased along with a gradual reduction of yarn exports.
Textile complexes will be launched on the basis of a four-phase system that includes all processes, starting from processing and ending with the production of finished products. More than 27,000 new jobs will be created. About 120 new enterprises will be created and ten will be upgraded.
Allocation of credits for projects will be implemented based on a completely new mechanism. Commercial banks will co-finance the projects and open a credit line for the purchase of modern spinning, weaving and painting equipment. In projects implemented at the expense of attracted funds of commercial banks, banks or investment companies can participate with a share up to 100 per cent in the share capital of the company.
Noida’s garment export industry is seeing a slowdown. It has got only about 40 per cent of its usual volume of orders from the US for the back to school season. Noida is known as an apparel city. It accounts for 15 to 20 per cent of India’s garment exports. There are some 800 garment exporters operating over 4,000 units and employing over six lakh people. Major importers of Noida's garments are labels like Zara, Mango, Tesco and the products are largely sent to Brazil, US, Canada, Europe, England.
These garment exporters were already hit by a slowdown in 2016. Over 60 to 70 per cent of Noida’s garment exporters do not have orders from anywhere in the world after March 2017. Demonetization brought about systemic changes in business operations and added to costs. Existing orders have slowed down and the worry is that export orders may shift to Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia.
Worldwide, importers are taking a wait and watch approach towards India because they are wondering if Indian exporters will be able to deliver at all. Meanwhile plans are on to develop an apparel cluster on the Yamuna Expressway in Noida which will involve an overall investment to the tune of Rs 300 crores. More than 100 factories will be set up in the land cluster spanning 200 acres generating jobs to lakhs of people.
Myanmar’s garment factories cater to leading international brands including New Look and H&M. But these factories indulge in violations like low wages, unlawful deductions, very low levels of unionisation, excessive and unpaid overtime, a lack of proper contracts and child labor.
The development of some garment factories has been linked with land rights violations. Local and international labor laws are completely ignored, despite continued protestations by brands sourcing from Myanmar that they are working to bring the country's garment sector in line with internationally accepted CSR standards. Many factory workers do not even receive the minimum wage, which in Myanmar is one of the lowest in the world.
There is a need for companies to carry out a risk assessment of human rights or labor rights violations before starting business in a particular state, region or production facility. The garment industry is one of the most labor-intensive manufacturing industries in the world. Clothing companies are constantly on the lookout for production locations that can make clothes more quickly and at lower costs. Over the past few years, Myanmar has rapidly become a popular sourcing destination for the garment industry – due to a huge pool of cheap labor and favorable trading conditions.
Indorama has released a new Inviya variant named I-400. This is a fourth generation polymer. I-400 polymer is robust in terms of chemical composition along with high elongation and excellent recovery at the finished garments stage. The high elongation provides a wider window to yarn manufacturers during ring spinning and texturizing. Robust chemical composition is achieved by a proprietary recipe which leads to stronger resistance to alkali, acids, chlorine, a characteristic vital for garment wash and finish.
The modulus properties of the polymer in terms of running load lead to excellent recovery and minimal growth at the garment stage, which is a key requirement for active and sports clothing, whether it is a woven or knitted outfit. Above all I-400 strongly contributes to retaining the shape of garment after even repeated washes and hence enhances the active life of the garment, leading to customer satisfaction.
Indorama is synonymous with pioneering advancements in manufacturing of polymers for applications in textile and apparel production. Indorama launched Inviya, the freedom fiber, in 2012. This is an advanced spandex fiber that can be readily used together with cotton or synthetic filament yarns. Inviya is specifically conceived for applications expanding across stretch denim, sportswear, active wear, bottom wear, intimate garments, innerwear, socks, surgical, medical applications and much more.
US specialty retailer Gap’s same store sales for the fourth quarter of its 2016 fiscal year were up two per cent compared with a decline of seven per cent in the same quarter last. Net sales increased one per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016.
The quarter included good business from the crucial holiday season. Same store sales were up two per cent for the holiday months of November and December. Comparative sales for its Old Navy global division increased 12 per cent during the holidays. Same store sales for its Gap Global division experienced an uptick of one per cent. The Banana Republic global division reported a decline of seven per cent.
The apparel and accessories retailer is struggling to attract shoppers to its Banana Republic stores. It has been controlling inventories and trying to replicate the success of its low-end Old Navy brand at its Gap and Banana Republic chains. Gap has been trying to reduce promotions and sell more merchandise at full price. However, shoppers are increasingly looking for deeper discounts. Chic and trendy clothes at lower prices from off-price, online and fast-fashion retailers such as H&M, Forever 21 and Inditex’s Zara are also luring shoppers away.
The 8th edition of Shanghai International Digital Printing Industry Fair (TPF 2017) TPF, the digital printing fair, will be held from April 19 to 21, 2017. The fair is expecting to attract over 230 exhibitors and 16,000 visitors from home and abroad.
The exhibits will include digital printing machines, printing consumables, design software and all the products on the supply chain of digital printing related to technology, dyeing, textile digital printing, textile machinery, printing, paper, ink and various printing products. Over 25 workshops and technical presentations will be held.
As the most influential digital printing trade fair in Asia, TPF 2017 will integrate overseas media and information to provide the best solutions to the challenges and applications of the digital printing industry. The show will facilitate exhibitors to gain more opportunities to identify overseas purchase requirements, display new products and technologies, and acquire overseas orders.
With China’s focus on environmental-friendly development, the textile industry is keen on implementing sustainable development and green manufacturing. Speedy sampling, green and environmental-friendly, cost-saving digital printing are the watchwords. TPF is built around the concept of professional, scientific, innovation in purchasing, ordering, and technology development.
The worldwide digital textile printing market for garment, home décor and industrial applications is expected to experience a growth of around 34 per cent CAGR to 2019.
