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Techtextil North America and Texprocess Americas took place from May 22 to 24, 2018. The co-located events brought together latest innovators in technical textiles, nonwovens, textile machinery, sewn products, equipment, and technology.
Cooling fabrics, smart light technology, recycled fibers, 3D body scanning, and cloud connected smart machines were just some of the highlights. The events attracted 567 Techtextil North America and Texprocess Americas exhibitors representing 32 countries, attendance grew by four per cent over 2016 events. Techtextil North America and Texprocess Americas have become premier events where professionals from all industries visit to witness latest trends and technologies.
The co-located events were buzzing with visitors and speakers discussing new technology, game-changing research and cross-industry collaborations. Among the topics in focus were: smart textiles, wearables and the future of the technology that powers them proved to be top of mind for many attendees. In addition, how automation, robotics and connected machines are contributing to the industry‘s evolution made an evident impression on both visitors and exhibitors alike.
The spotlight was also on Industry 4.0 - communication between fabrics, the machine, the human, the CAD. The events showcased numerous new equipment, products etc updating visitors on what’s next for the textile industry.
Recent increase in cotton prices has become a cause of concern to the textile industry, the main consumer of cotton. Rates are likely to remain high next season due to China imports. Cotton stocks with small and medium-scale mills are likely to remain low affecting those who buy for daily needs. The mills that had bought cotton at the beginning of the season are likely to benefit now. These mills fear that he prices might go up further as the season ends, affecting the entire textile value chain.
Apart from price, the mills also faced quality issues in domestic cotton this year. Further, the industry fears that prices might remain high next season as well as China was importing cotton. According to textile mills, the higher cotton prices reflected on yarn prices. For, some yarn varieties, the prices had increased by 15 per cent
American fashion house Ralph Lauren aims to increase sales by a billion dollars by 2023. Marketing spend will go up by $100 million over the next five years. The last few years have been about cutting costs including closing 50 stores, eliminating more than 1,000 jobs and removing three lines of management.
The goal is to woo next generation consumers and increase gross margins by improving the core product (which makes up 60 per cent of overall revenue), amplifying under-penetrated categories (including women’s, outerwear and denim) and operating with discipline, which constitutes being more careful about discounts and promotions, more strategic when it comes to price, and cutting costs in creative-but-impactful ways.
One example of this is fabric platforming. At Ralph Lauren, different categories (i.e. home, kids, Polo, ready-to-wear) use different quality of fabrics. Instead of each sub-brand buying its own fabric, Ralph Lauren is buying higher quality fabrics, which brings down the cost and increases the quality of lower priced products.
Fashion-tech firm (Wear) and a forward-thinking fashion brand (Sabinna) have teamed up to transform a collection of wardrobe essentials into new, completely biodegradable materials. The aim is to improve sustainability practices in the fashion industry.
Sabinna has designed a capsule collection of wardrobe essentials, focusing on garments such as bomber jackets, jeans or shirts. There is no compromise on design but the product is still sustainable, biodegradable and recyclable.
The novel process centers on the concept of circularity. The materials used in the collection – in this case cotton and viscose – take full advantage of circular production and recycling processes. This means that the clothing created won't be worn and then at some point thrown away. Instead, at the end of the garment’s life, the materials used to make it can be dissolved and turned into new materials. These materials are then transformed into garment packaging, tags, shop interiors and a range of other applications.
Using non-toxic chemical processes, the garments are dissolved into cellulose fibers and reformed into new, 100 per cent cellulose-based materials. The new, fully recyclable and biodegradable materials created are later compressed into flexible sheets similar to tissue paper, paper, cardboard, plastic and even wood.
M&S believes advancing both ethical and environmental causes must be tackled together to facilitate systemic and transformative change. The company exercises due diligence is carried out always and employers in its supply chain recruit responsibly.
The company has highlighted the steps taken to ensure human rights are considered at every stage of the value chain. This area of development has been divided into three categories: taking the lead on modern slavery, tackling in-work poverty and fostering an inclusive economy.
These three principles are underpinned by M&S’ commitment to robust governance and upholding decent work. Specific examples of where the company intends to improve include; developing a financial literacy microsite for employees, running a second Diversity and Inclusion Festival, expanding its gender program with the British High Commission in India and, something which has been a hugely divisive in the apparel sector, signing the Bangladesh Transition Accord.
This is a garment sector regulatory body. It is seen as a credible means of ensuring that the Bangladeshi workers in the supply chain don't have to fear for their lives in the factories they work in. Bangladesh Transition Accord is seen as an improvement over corporate-led initiatives to monitor factory safety which have in the past failed to prevent disasters like the Rana Plaza collapse.
Sri Lanka hopes to export garments worth $5 billion in 2018 especially since it enjoys the benefits of GSP Plus. With anti dumping laws in place, entering into trade agreements will have far reaching benefits. The sector is considering a new business model for growth which is expected to provide a significant boost to exports.
The country recorded $4.88 billion in apparel exports in 2017 and earns 43 per cent of its foreign exchange through apparel and textile exports. With the limited supply base, however, the apparel industry faces competition for labor. So skill development will be given consideration and more youth will be encouraged to join the industry. The supply chain will be integrated while meeting the needs of international buyers.
Sri Lanka’s competitors are Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, China and Ethiopia. Sri Lanka is also hoping to convince India to remove the existing quota system for the apparel industry and instead request a 500 million dollar worth trade deal.
Negotiations are currently underway between the two countries to ascertain whether the existing quota system for the sale of garments to India that is limited to eight million pieces annually worth $30 million could be altered to a higher $500 million worth value-based system.
Reebok has hired Karen Reuther as global creative director. Reuther will provide brand-defining and consumer-relevant creative leadership across all design disciplines, including brand identity and design implementation, across every brand and consumer touch point. She will partner with Reebok’s product and marketing teams to deliver fitness and style-based products.
A BA in industrial design from Purdue University and an MBA from Lesley University, she is a frequent speaker and lecturer at universities and events. She spent 12 years at Nike, including as global creative director, where she led global design strategies for the brand across footwear, apparel and equipment. Most recently, she was creative director and brand psychologist at Cast Collective, a collective of consultants working in the areas of design, innovation and technology. At Cast, she served clients including Puma, Vans, Timberland, Pantone, Piaggio Fast Forward, TJX Corporation, Everybody Fights and IDEO.
Her expertise, vision and leadership skills will guide Reebok’s design excellence, inspire creative rigor and craft and deliver a unified global design strategy. She aims at helping Reebok merge the past and the present–bringing fitness and fashion together to create the very best products on the market.
Pakistan’s garment industry is looking for help to increase the country’s exports to overcome trade deficit. Exporters therefore want payment of refunds to be expedited. They say, exports should not be taxed and that the Export Development Surcharge should be withdrawn which could lead to great dividends.
Pakistan’s textile exports rose 7.2 per cent during the first eight months of the current fiscal year. Comparatively competing countries like China, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam increased their exports at a compound rate of 20 per cent or more during the same period. Textiles make up around 60 per cent of the country’s total exports. The textile sector has the largest share in Pakistan’s exports.
Pakistan’s competitors are upping the ante in textile to gain strength in global markets. While China’s share in global textile exports is 36 per cent, Vietnam contributes 12.4 per cent, and Pakistan is seven per cent. The textile sector in the country faces numerous problems which include: high cost of doing business, multiple taxes and surcharges. Pakistan predominantly being a textile export economy is struggling to maintain its share in global markets both in basic and value added textiles.
Countries such as the US and Egypt have been able to create their own brand of cotton like Supima and Egyptian Cotton. Now, India is planning to move on similar lines. The idea is to project Suvin cotton produced in Tamil Nadu and Shankar 6 produced in Gujarat as global brands.
Egyptian and US cotton fetch premium over the conventional fiber in import markets, including India. Despite Indian cotton’s having a better quality and a huge potential for fetching a higher price, lack of a branding has yielded lower income for Indian farmers and traders.
India is known for fine and beautiful cotton fabrics. Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Rajasthan are the important cotton cultivating regions. Cotton in India is one of the most important commercial fibers and commodity exported due to its uses in the textile industry, mattresses etc. India is one of the largest producers as well as exporters of cotton and cotton yarn. Cotton plays an important role in the country’s economy as its textile industry is predominantly cotton based. But the quality of Indian cotton is not standardized due to varying practices adopted by various stakeholders including farmers, ginners, and traders. Major markets for Indian cotton are: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Turkey, Thailand etc.
H&M and Gap have announced support for an ILO convention seeking to combat workplace harassment. This has been heralded as a historic time for women workers by the US director of Global Labor Justice since these were the first brands with a predominantly female workforce to have come out in support of such an initiative.
Earlier the retailers had said they would investigate allegations on violence and sexual abuse in both companies’ supply chains. Sexual harassment, physical violence, verbal abuse and forced overtime are in no way isolated instances in garment factories.
Gap and H&M are the first brands in the garment sector or any other sector where women dominate the supply chain and to publicly support an ILO convention on gender based violence.
Gap wants its Tier I suppliers – approximately 800 factories in about 30 countries – to make the transition from a cash-based system to digital payments by 2020. By having suppliers pay garment workers digitally, Gap aims to accelerate the transition toward a more transparent workplace for women and men who make its clothes.
Swedish fashion retailer H&M has a network of 4,700 stores around the world. It is one of the world’s largest clothing manufacturers and produces hundreds of millions of products each year.
