FW
Bangladesh Denim Expo will be held in Dhaka from November 8 to 9, 2017. The expo will highlight the importance of the need for transparency within the entire denim development chain, showing the progress made by Bangladesh denim mills and factories towards achieving greater transparency.
The demand for transparency in textile and garment supply chains is growing and today more and more customers want to know about the origin of products and the conditions in which garments are produced. The core objective of having transparency as the main theme is to empower the apparel industry in Bangladesh through three key actions--promoting transparency in practice, growing enthusiasm toward transparency and transparency through public dialogue.
A transparency wall will give a graphic and detailed display of the progress in transparency made by the Bangladesh denim industry. There will also be a 3D virtual tour of denim mills, jeans factories and laundries in Bangladesh. Also on display will be denim outfits made transparently. Eight seminars and workshops are planned to run across the duration of the two day event covering issues regarding sustainability innovation and development.
A trend zone will show the latest novelties in denim fabric, garments and washing for spring/summer 2019.
Exports of readymade garments from Tirupur dipped to eight per cent in 2016-17 from 10 per cent of the previous year. Readymade garment exports fell 15 per cent in July compared to a year ago. From October, export incentives will be slashed, including the duty drawback scheme, from 11.2 per cent to around five to six per cent. This, along with rupee appreciation, will be a deterrent to exports.
Exporters feel cut in incentives will reduce price competitiveness of Indian products in global market. The threat is forcing exporters to go slow on orders. From second largest exporter after China in 2005, India has fallen to the sixth position now, behind Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Soon, India could slip to the ninth position, behind Myanmar and Ethiopia.
At Rs 25,000 crores, Tirupur accounted for 45 per cent of total exports of readymade garments from the country last year. Exports fell short of the targeted Rs 30,000 crores with Brexit and subsequent fall in the pound value upsetting exporters calculations. Trade has already seen export revenue fall in the first five months due to confusion over GST.
Indonesia’s upstream textile industry wants raw materials supplied by local manufacturers to be exempt from VAT. Currently, tax exemption for imported raw materials is provided only to those companies that use these relatively cheap imported raw materials for output that is shipped abroad. However, domestic textile manufacturers supplying raw materials to domestic facility owners are subject to a 10 per cent value added tax.
For facility owners, this situation makes it attractive to opt for imported raw materials instead of buying from local suppliers. Scrapping the 10 per cent VAT is expected to boost demand for local raw materials. Indonesia’s textile and garment exports increased 0.62 per cent in the first half of 2017.
Boost in exports is also said to be a result of the introduction of automated processes in textile and garment manufacturing. Automation has made the exporters even more competitive in terms of pricing and delivery, thereby boosting the country’s exports.
The country is looking to attract foreign importers with improved economic and political stability. This could, in turn, be a deciding factor in reinforcing Indonesia’s position in global textile and garment industry. The country’s clothing and textiles go mainly to the United States, Japan, Turkey, China, and Germany.
Taiwan’s textile exports showed steady signs of recovery in July amid improving industry sentiment. Exports rose 0.73 per cent year-on-year from July 2016. Exports from January to July edged up 0.05 per cent year-on-year. This was an improvement from a 0.04 per cent annual decline in the first six months.
Taiwanese textile and fabric makers are likely to benefit from rising demand ahead of next year’s FIFA World Cup. The Taiwanese textile industry has developed environmentally-friendly concepts and done recycled polymer and polymer blends. From yarns for apparel to industrial and sport accessories, recycled yarns are growing in importance and are a core part of Taiwan’s textile industry.
Mixtures of new technologies and fashion allow new design elements that were hard to imagine in the past. Polymer based yarn developments in polyester, nylon, recycled and blended with natural fibers, lead the way. It is possible to have the look and feel of natural fiber fabrics with the performance and flexibility of synthetics. Comfortable, breathable, wind and water resistant textiles are mixed and matched in breathtaking design elements. Odor control and a myriad of product enhancements allow new and innovative design directions bringing the consumer endless options.
The final piece of Taiwan textile value equation is the vertical integration of many of its core textile suppliers into the finished garment business.
SPG Prints has comprehensive machine and ink solutions to drive the uptake of digital textile printing. Javelin, a digital production scanning printer aimed at companies taking the first step into digital printing or supplementing an existing digital capability. It is designed for textile printers requiring up to two million linear metres per year. For larger volumes, SPG Prints also offers the Pike, a single-pass, high-speed production printer.
Both Pike and Javelin use SPG Prints’ unique Archer technology and Fujifilm Dimatix Samba print heads to fire variable drops of ink from a distance of up to 4 mm onto the substrate, to deliver optimum saturation, precision and speed, on a wide variety of natural and synthetic textiles.
SPG Prints offers high accuracy and high productivity screen imaging solutions to meet the requirements of all textile printers. The direct laser engraver can image screens in as little as half an hour without films, chemicals or exposing and washing processes. The laser imaging system uses multi-beam diode technology for fast, precise screen imaging.
SPG has rotary screen offerings with fine meshes to meet exacting standards. The Nova Screen offers high quality, durable, reuseable, nickel screens in mesh sizes from 135 to 245. The 245 mesh offers the highest possible resolution in printing with sharp lines and geometrical designs. The Random Screen is a 125 mesh screen with the position of each hole slightly out of line. This eliminates moiré when printing problematic textiles or designs.
Bangladesh’s garment manufacturers and exporters want full exemption from paying value-added tax on different service charges for export-oriented sectors, particularly readymade garment industries. They want a withdrawal of VAT on bills for utility consumption including gas, electricity and water, since the export-oriented readymade garment sector is completely VAT-exempted as per a 1991 act.
Service providers collect VAT at different rates ranging from 1.5 per cent to 15 per cent with service charges. Currently, export-oriented industries enjoy 80 per cent VAT waiver on electricity and gas bills and 60 per cent on water bills. But entrepreneurs have to pay full VAT with bills and later get rebate from the revenue board which is very time-consuming and complex. Factory owners say they have to employ additional manpower for the purpose and have to spend a huge amount of money for receiving the services as part of regular production activities.
Their argument is such exemption on service charges will facilitate the sector to grow and maintain competitiveness in the global market. Bangladesh’s exports of apparel products experienced negative growth in the first few months of this year while its competitors like India, Vietnam and Pakistan posted significant growth. The price of Bangladeshi apparel items went down in the global market while the cost of production increased by almost 18 per cent in the last two years.
Textile Asia will be held in Pakistan from September 16 to 18, 2017. Textile Asia is an international textile and garment machinery show. The exhibition aims to present the potential of textile and garment machinery, accessories, raw material supplies, chemicals and allied services from local and international markets under one roof. More than 50,000 trade and corporate visitors are expected to visit and more than 600 foreign delegates.
This year's theme is the advantages of the China Pakistan economic corridor for the textile industries of both countries. The event will provide an effective platform for collaborations with the textile sector’s small and medium units, most of which have no financial capacity to attend international exhibitions.
Textile Asia attracts businessmen looking for new solutions to bring more efficiency in their production systems. Textile Asia is an ideal platform for generating new business contacts and to establish new alliances and joint ventures. Exhibitors also can launch new products and generate awareness of their innovative services.
Textile Asia is organized by the Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association in collaboration with Ecommerce Gateway Pakistan, which is the largest trade fair owner and organizer in Pakistan and certified by UFI France for international quality.
La Moda Italiana has sued Versace USA and Gianni Versace in the New York federal court as a preemptive lawsuit in a long term trademark battle between the companies and the Versace 1969 label. Los Angeles-based La Moda Italiana became the licensee for all US marketing and distribution of Versace 1969. It is asking the court to tell Gianni Versace brand its use of Versace is legal and does not infringe on Versace’s well known trademarks.
The Gianni Versace brand has been using its registered Versace mark in fashion since 1978. Versace 1969 has no relation to Gianni Versace. It was started in 2001 by Alessandro Versace who is not related to Gianni or Donatella Versace. Instead, Versace 1969 is distributed by Italy-based In Moda.
The Gianni Versace brand has been making threats and harassment about the use of Versace mark that have interfered with La Moda Italiana's business. Allegedly retail partners including Bluefly.com have pulled Versace 1969 products to avoid being sued.
There already has been a trademark fight between these brands. Last June, Versace USA and Gianni Versace filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in federal court in California. It claimed consumers would be confused between the Versace mark. That case is still pending.
India has reported only a marginal five per cent growth in apparel exports for the April to July 2017 period. Despite significantly higher raw material prices, revenues of fabric manufacturers grew a modest four per cent in the first quarter of 2017-18 pointing towards a steeper fall in sales volumes vis-a-vis production volumes.
The country’s apparel exports are likely to see only a marginal single digit growth this year, due to GST, rupee appreciation against the dollar, rise in raw material prices, increase in labor wages as well as poor global demand.
Global apparel trade has also shown no signs of revival, due to poor demand in key importing countries, which could affect India’s apparel exports. Incidentally, the Indian rupee rose to 64.2 against the dollar from 66.5 last August, which is in contrast to six consecutive years of depreciation.
The apparel and fabric industry has been facing headwinds as a result of temporary disruptions caused by demonetisation and the transition to GST regime. The impact of these developments has been more pronounced on the highly fragmented fabric segment, with fabric production declining by one per cent in the first quarter of 2017-18 following flat production in 2015-16 and a two per cent decline in 2016-17.
India’s cotton yarn exports have declined 9.79 per cent in the April to July period of the current financial year. The main reason was slow pick up from China and Bangladesh, which comprise around 50 per cent of overall shipments from India. Exports to China declined by a staggering 48.58 per cent.
Domestic cotton yarn manufacturers have been reeling under tremendous pressure since demonetisation and GST. The appreciating rupee aggravated the situation. Between April and July, the Indian currency appreciated by over one per cent.
Meanwhile, Chinese textile mills have built a large inventory of cotton and yarn over the past few years amid fears of a sharp increase in prices. Following the price hike, mills there started to use local cotton and yarn, resulting in a sharp decline in their imports not only from India but from other surplus countries.
Chinese traders are more inclined towards imports from Vietnam. Vietnam’s exports to China have zero tariff; imports from India attract a tariff of 3.5 to five per cent. Apart from that, Chinese textile mills have invested in the textile and apparel sector in Vietnam. So they are buying back yarn to China from their own manufacturing units, thereby cutting down imports from other countries including India.
