FW
High prices always result in a market taking a huge hit and Karur’s home textile mart seems to be reeling under it. Surprisingly, it is not demonetization but the government’s export policy, which is to blame for the crisis. The biggest downturn is the struggle for regular export business, as orders are not being met. Prices of yarn have crossed 35 per cent and this has put a spook in the wheels of the Rs 4,000 crores Karur textile market. Explaining the situation M Nachimuthu, Karur Exporters' Association president says even if it is made available, the price of lower count yarn is very prohibitive.
Exports businesses ply with fixed prices, which are pre-discussed and valid for the entire year. Once contract is made with overseas clients prices cannot be changed. With other cheaper markets like Pakistan and China making inroads, the leading home textile market in Karur is taking a hit. It is time for the government to rectify its pricing and policies. High yarn prices are affecting India’s position as a global leader of home textiles.
Currently, production units use higher count yarn to meet contractual obligations of their overseas clients. If spinning mills do not have sufficient cotton then it could spell disaster for the looms. The association is now worried that the premium being put on exports is eating into domestic market. Unable to meet commitments, many sellers are now facing a financial crunch. The Central government needs to step in to check rising prices of cotton yarn.
Vietnam has seen an increasing in FDI from China in the first two months of 2017, reveals Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) data. In January and February Chinese investors have registered to implement 123 projects. Among the the Chinese investments during the period is the $220 million in Billion Vietnam polyester synthetic fiber plant in central Tay Ninh province.
As per local economist Le Xuan Nghia Chinese investments are likely to continue. In fact, this trend would spill over into other Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand. The reason: Vietnam is participating in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations.
Chinese investors have been pouring their money into giant projects in Vietnam and China has become the second largest FDI contributor to Vietnam, after Singapore. In the January-February period a total of $721.7 million came to Vietnam from Chinese FDI. In the two-month period, FDI investments in Vietnam were up 152.78 per cent year-on-year and investment in textile plants now accounts for 21 per cent of the country's total FDI. Chinese investment in Vietnamese textiles will enable Vietnam to have more advanced technology in their textile plants.
The 33rd India Carpet Expo (ICE) was held in New Delhi March 27-30-2017. Touted as the biggest expo on carpets in Asia, it showcased diversified, quality designs that local artisans can produce. Minister for Textiles, Smirti Irani, inaugurated the Expo which had 300 exhibitors showcasing their fares and getting access to some of the best markets in the world. The cottage industry for handmade carpets and rugs has already revived the sagging fortunes of generations of weavers and handicraft looms that spin the oriental magic of carpets.
The Expo’s popularity saw 410 international buyers visiting the show. Business was expected from Australia, Canada, Brazil, Singapore, South Africa, UK, USA, Russia and Mexico. Virender Singh, MP, Bhadohi said they are planning to provide special privileges to shepherds for the first time, as they play a crucial role in the process of carpet manufacturing. Until now all the focus was only on weavers and manufacturers but now they are looking at upliftment of shepherds as well.
ICE is an ideal platform for international carpet buyers, buying houses, buying agents, architects and Indian carpet manufacturers and exporters to meet and establish long term business relationship, feels Mahavir Pratap Sharma, Chairman, CEPC. Markets like Europe and US absorb most of the exports of handmade carpets and rugs Made in India. The labor-intensive industry looks forward to more material gains as ICE continues its efforts to provide roof and earnings to the carpet makers and shepherds.
European importers are poring over the new alliance schedules to work out which ones best fit their supply chains.
For many UK clothing retailers, Bangladesh continues to be one of the most important sourcing locations, but its principal port, Chittagong, is unable to handle deep sea mainline Asia-Europe vessels. Shippers are reliant on feeder connections between the Bangladeshi gateway and Colombo in Sri Lanka.
However, the source told the port call rotation of THE Alliance’s Far East-Europe 5 (FE5) service, the only one to call at Colombo and which has London Gateway as its last port of call after Rotterdam, Hamburg and Antwerp, meant the service was simply not suitable for the faster transit times required by clothing retailers.
The importer retailer told perhaps that it is due to a call further up the route in Asia, and that there are a lot of shippers in Northern Europe who are taking cargo from there – time will tell whether the carriers revisit that decision. At the moment, it [the FE5] is useless for us, but if in six months the rotation is changed then we will be happy to look at it again.
The FE5’s elongated transit time between Colombo and the UK will also work to the detriment of Sri Lanka, which itself has a sizeable clothing and textile industry.
At the recent Brexit seminar organised by the Freight Transport Association, the chairman of Sri Lanka’s Shippers’ Council, Michael Joseph Sean van Dort, said the UK represented a $1bn market for the island, with 10% of its exports bound for the UK.
He added: “Articles of apparel make up our biggest exports and 41% of them are shipped to the UK. Sri Lanka has competencies that Britain demands,” he said.
The world’s most popular textile fiber has been linked to slavery in Uzbekistan and thousands of farmers committing suicide in India. Indeed, programs such as the Better Cotton Initiative and Cotton Connect are doing remarkable work to alleviate cotton’s impact on human rights and the environment. And to their credit, more apparel companies — from Adidas to C&A — are incorporating more sustainable sources of cotton into their clothing lines. One company, however, wants to go even further in guaranteeing that its cotton comes from a reliable and responsible source.
PimaCott, owned by a large Indian supplier, says it has a solution. The company partnered with Applied DNA Sciences, an American biotechnology firm, to treat its cotton so that it can be easily scanned and identified. Molecules with DNA tags are added to cotton during the ginning process, so someone on a company’s supply chain team is able to track the authenticity of the cotton from the field to the store.
From a business perspective, this is critical for the Central Valley’s pima cotton farmers, who are subjected to far stricter environmental and labor standards in the Golden State than other countries, or even other U.S. states.
The problem is that consumers who seek textiles made from coveted Californian or Egyptian cotton can be misled by wayward suppliers. Last fall, Walmart and Target were nailed by lawsuits alleging the retailers mislead consumers about a line of “100 percent” Egyptian cotton sheets, made in India.
This technology shows promise, and could eventually help other organizations that are trying to scale fair trade or responsibly-sourced cotton. But it will take a while for DNA tagging to score widespread acceptance.
These tagged molecules need to be added to cotton at its point of origin. From the point of view of farmers, many of whom face thin margins and other risks such as bad weather or global slumps in commodity prices, DNA tagging could come across as yet another expense.
PimaCott says it is helping cotton growers with the upfront costs. And if farmers see the value in having their crops verified and prevented from becoming blended with lower-grade cotton, we could see an industry transformed — and down the road, witness improved traceability in other agricultural supply chains as well.
Li & Fung Limited outlined its next Three-Year Plan (2017-2019) focused on speed, innovation, and digitalisation to create the ‘Supply Chain of the Future’. The company has also announced its annual results for the year ended December 31, 2016. In the logistics network, the company continued double digit growth with e-commerce logistics outperforming.
The new Three-Year Plan ‘Building the Supply Chain of the Future’ represents the company’s continuing business transformation with the goal of creating the supply chain of the future, helping its customers navigate the digital economy.
For the full year 2016, the company reported resilient results against a challenging macroeconomic environment and ongoing disruption at retail. Excluding the impact from the strategic divestment of the Asia consumer and healthcare distribution business in June 2016, total turnover decreased by 8.3 per cent to $16.2 billion on a like-for-like basis. Reported 2016 total turnover decreased by 11 per cent to $16.8 billion.
Sustained efforts to improve operating efficiency and productivity through the use of technology and streamlining of the cost base reduced operating costs. Core operating profit decreased 17.7 per cent to $408 million on a like-for-like basis. Turnover from the trading network continued to be affected by a reduction in order volume, deflation and relative currency weaknesses against the US dollar and declined by 8.7 per cent on a like-for-like basis. However, in the logistics network, the company continued to grow profits organically through increased market share with existing customers, new customer contracts, and geographic expansion.
Commenting on the future outlook, William Fung, Group chairman of Li & Fung, said, “While geopolitical and economic realities are in flux, this uncertain environment also presents opportunities for Li & Fung. Our breadth and depth of experience in global supply chain management, gained over 110 years, together with our extensive global network of vendors will be a competitive advantage.”
The European Union has suggested Bangladesh comply with the ILO-recommended labour right standards by mid-June 2017 to avoid “consequences” with regard to its current trade privileges in the EU. The suggestion was put forward by a four-member EU delegation that wrapped up its three-day Bangladesh tour.
The EU team also stressed on the need for a uniform labour law for all workers -- including those employed at factories in export processing zones. The team pointed out that the EU and other partners of the Sustainability Compact would review the progress Bangladesh made in the RMG sector in terms of ensuring workplace safety and labour rights.
Following the Rana Plaza disaster in April 2013, Bangladesh signed the Sustainability Compact with the EU in September that year, committing itself to responsible business behaviour and improvement of workplace safety and labour rights.
EU is currently examining the whole issue of fairness in garment supply chains across the globe. “The Accord and Alliance are encouraging examples of what can be achieved when companies, government and workers pool efforts to improve standards.”
The delegation led by Arne Lietz, a member of the EU Parliament, met the prime minister, the speaker of parliament, the commerce minister, the labour minister, leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and labour unions, representatives of brands and retailers, and also ILO officials.
Lietz said, “We felt a readiness and goodwill from all parties to engage on this issue and are hopeful this will translate into concrete progress before the May review of Sustainability Compact in Dhaka and the Geneva ILO Conference in mid-June. As members of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, our engagement with Bangladesh, as with other countries, is guided by our core values where respect for human rights and labour rights, in particular freedom of association and collective bargaining, ranks high. That is why the full implementation of the Sustainability Compact is so important in our view.”
Bangladesh raked in $18.68 billion from its exports to the EU in fiscal 2015-16, which was 54.57 percent of the total receipts for the year. Of the $18.68 billion, $17.15 billion was from apparel shipments. The EU currently accounts for more than 62 percent of Bangladesh's garment export receipts in a year.
This year, Arizona could plant more than 150,000 total cotton acres as California might push past 250,000 acres. California and Arizona are poised for significant increases in cotton acreage in 2017, putting the U.S. on track for a total of 11 million acres of the fiber crop.
Preliminary estimates from California and Arizona suggest acreage increases in the neighborhood of 25-30 percent for Arizona and upwards of 20 percent in California.
California cotton plantings for 2017 could include 186,000 acres of Pima and 70,000 acres of Upland varieties. Reports from the various seed companies suggest some cotton seed is sold out or in short supply in California. If this holds, this will be a 22 percent increase for Pima acreage and 6 percent boost in Upland acreage.
Arizona last year reported over 129,000 total acres of cotton, according to Leighton Liesner, director, Arizona Cotton Research and Protection Council. California produced nearly 219,000 total acres of cotton in the same period.
If projections hold, total cotton acreage in Arizona could climb to between 160,000-170,000 acres. It is expected that extra-long staple Pima varieties could account for a little over 13,000 acres of that – unchanged from last year.
Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services (Bureau Veritas), leaders in testing, inspection/audit, advisory and certification services, have announced an exclusive partnership for the next 5-years with the Cotton Egypt Association (CEA) to provide conformity assessment services to verify that the materials are traceable to confirmed lots of true Egyptian Cotton at any stage of production.
The Egyptian Cotton Logo is a mark that helps restore faith as to the authenticity of products bearing the claim, Egyptian Cotton. It demonstrates that the CEA has certified that the product is true Egyptian Cotton by conforming to the requirements in the Factory Audits and Testing services and is ready for retail. The exclusive agreement with Bureau Veritas brings global scale and reach to the scheme thanks to Bureau Veritas' leadership position within the retail / consumer goods marketplace with test labs and auditors worldwide.
Bureau Veritas will be providing the services of Factory Audits, Retail Surveillance and Information Managment to companies making or selling products with the Egyptian Cotton Logo.
Mark Agius, Senior Vice President for Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services in Europe, Middle East & Africa commented, "This exclusive partnership with CEA for the next five-years takes our support for producers and buyers of Egyptian Cotton to the next level, enabling retailers, brands and their supply chain to easily access this scheme."
The ASBCI Spring Conference 2017, titled DOING THE RIGHT THING? Best practice for sustaining our people, planet and profits will take place on 5 April 2017 at the Marriott Hotel in Peterborough, UK. Ten years ago, a leading retailer Marks & Spencer launched its Plan A placing sustainability on top of the global fashion industry agenda.
Since then the majority of big brands and retailers have implemented their own robust ethical and environmental sustainability programmes with the collective objective of protecting people and the planet. The best sustainability practices, processes and products are reducing waste, transport and material costs and boosting brand image, efficiency, customer loyalty and share prices.
The ASBCI sustainability conference has some expert speakers with experience of the most effective and commercial, sustainable initiatives and innovations lined up like Rakesh Vazirani, Director – Product Traceability & Environmental Information Management, TUV, Hong Kong, Keynote speaker Mike Barry, Director Plan A, Marks & Spencer. Prof Tim Cooper, Professor of Sustainable Design and Consumption, Nottingham Trent University, Robin Anson, Editorial Director, Textiles Intelligence, and Graham Burden, Director, Sustainable Textile Solutions.
The second part of the conference, will have Elaine Gardiner, Sustainability Manager, Berghaus, Guido Rimini, Head of Marketing, Apparel Europe, Freudenberg Performance Materials Apparel SE & Co., Ross Barry, Lawrence M Barry & Co and finally, Tara Luckman, Fabric & Sustainability Manager, ASOS.COM
The Association of Suppliers to the British Clothing Industry (ASBCI) was formed in 1992, arising from the British Interlining Manufacturers Association. Since 1992, the ASBCI has grown from 20 members to over 100 including some of the most prestigious names within the clothing and textile industry, forming a huge pool of expertise.
The Association organises a series of specialist conferences and seminars throughout the year on various key subjects. The ASBCI is concerned with new technology, new ideas and new care labelling standards; and has an effective representation of members' interests in the UK, European and International standards committees
