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Pitti Bimbo, the fair dedicated to junior fashion, will take place from January 19 to 21, 2017 at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence. The new winter edition of the event, whose theme is ‘Pitti dance off’ will be an international showcase for 503 collections, 280 of which come from abroad. They will be presented in stands or with ad hoc events and fashion shows. The event confirms its dual focus on the best-known brands N°21 Kids, Little Marc Jacobs, Twin-Set, Blumarine, Petit Bateau will be among the exhibitors and on the niche brands and those that are the result of the creativity of small companies that need visibility.
At the moment, junior fashion is experiencing a delicate moment. When there is uncertainty, there is a tendency to purchase fewer products and to chose, especially for younger children, less expensive clothing and accessories, said Pitti Immagine CEO Raffaello Napoleone. As per National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), exports of children’s clothing reached €101.8 million in the period of January to August recording a growth of 5.4 per cent compared to that of the same period last year, disclosed Sistema Moda Italia.
Driving sales across the border were European countries that absorbed almost 67 per cent of the exports and registered a +7.6 per cent. This, despite a drop in purchase by Spain, the most important client for ‘Made in Italy’ children’s fashion. Standing out among the most dynamic markets are the United Kingdom (+19.1 per cent), Switzerland (+17.6 per cent), France (+8.3 per cent) and the US (+24.1 per cent), while Saudi Arabia (+57.3 per cent) and Poland (174.1 per cent), both in list of the top 15 destination countries, have registered a veritable boom.
In the coming year, the fashion industry is expected to pick up speed, albeit not in double digits, posting an improvement compared to 2016, says a recent survey ‘The State of Fashion 2017’ by McKinsey and The Business of Fashion. The principle is fascinating: if we calculate the value generated by the global fashion industry, we come up with a figure of $2.4 trillion, equal to the GDP of a hypothetical seventh-biggest economy in the world after the US, China, the EU, Japan, India and the United Kingdom, because a trillion is equal to one million of billions.
According to the survey, in 2017 revenue in the fashion industry will grow on an average 2.5-3.5 per cent at a slightly faster pace than 2-2.5 per cent in 2016. The figure is however, still far from the historical annual growth rate of 5.5 per cent in the industry from 2005 to 2015. In the decade, the industry’s growth rate exceeded by several percentage points that of world GDP.
Year 2016 was a particularly difficult for the global fashion industry and more so for the medium-high and high-end segments of the market: luxury brands and medium-sized fashion companies posted a lower growth rate (0.5-1 per cent lower) than the overall average.The figure is in line with the data elaborated by Bain & Company for Altagamma Foundation. According to Worldwide Market Monitor, in 2016 sales of personal luxury goods fell by 1 per cent to € 249 billion, but a 3 per cent increase at constant rates is expected in 2017.
Spinning mills in Thailand are expected to recover from the economic downturn of the past few years. Therefore, cotton imports 2016-17 are expected to increase to around 1.4 million bales, up approximately 6 per cent from2015-16.
Imports of US cotton in 2016-17 are expected to increase to 450,000 bales, up 6 per cent from 2015-16. Large-scale spinning mills which account for approximately 60 per cent of total cotton yarn production still maintain their competitive edge in domestic and export markets as they have invested in new machinery and improved their production efficiency. However, competition from cheaper yarn imports from Vietnam and India will likely remain a challenge to domestic yarn producers, particularly for small-scale spinning mills.
Cotton imports in 2015-16 were lower than expected at around 1.3 million bales, down 13 percent from 14-15. This reflected a reduction in cotton and cotton-blended yarn production which declined approximately 5 percent as spinning mills were forced to hold large inventories of yarn. Imports of cotton yarn increased 44 per cent from 2014-15 with cotton yarn imports from Vietnam and India doubling. Additionally, exports of cotton yarn declined 28 per cent, particularly to China and Japan due to an economic slowdown and competition from Vietnam.
Imports of US cotton in 2015-16 declined to 424,113 bales, down 15 per cent from 2014-15. However, US cotton still maintained its market share accounting for approximately one third of total cotton import demand. Meanwhile, medium-scale spinners who limited their purchases to cheap cotton to maintain their operations imported more Brazilian cotton.
Joachim Maier, Head of Marketing at Rieter Machines & Systems says the textile machinery market is not as stagnant as it might appear. This is because demand continues to be steady due to the need for increasing competitiveness through equipment upgrading, especially in growing Asian textile producing countries. Compared to a few years ago, the number of new machines delivered to the market is going down, he said.
Maier was speaking on the sidelines of the ITMA Asia + CITME 2016 where he shared his understanding of the current Chinese market. Coming to know that China is the largest air-jet spinning market worldwide, Rieter presented its J 26 automated air-jet spinning machine for the first time in China.
Designed for processing viscose, combed cotton and blends, this machine is said to have been further enhanced and enables a wide range of yarn to be produced economically. Maier added that it is believed that the Chinese market will still grow though not as fast as it did in recent years. Due to high labour costs and labour shortage, many Chinese customers have started moving to Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and Indonesia, and to the province of Xinjiang in Western China on the other.
In order to gain sufficient experience with the various types of polyester, Rieter works closely with customers. The company not only focuses on a practical and market-oriented machine development, but also on a close and sustained partnership with its customers, Maier added.
Although the referendum to exit the European Union had sent major shocks for shipments from Bangladesh, Britain's almost certain exit from the European Union did not impact on Bangladesh's export receipts, according to last four months' trade data. There was concern after the referendum in the UK that produced overwhelming ayes on the question of breaking away from the EU. But recent data shows so far there has been no impact however, the government will observe further whether it will impact trade in the near future. According to the Ministry of Finance, the referendum result did not to have a major effect on exports from Bangladesh.
Demand for Bangladesh's products in the EU market and in other parts of the world is more or less immune to any kind of changes. Exports had grown by 10.8 per cent in the EU zone, one of the key export destinations for Bangladesh and just 10 per cent on the US market.
Woven garment shipments rose by 2.38 per cent dung the first quarter on average, knitwear at 4.64 per cent and leather as well as leather goods at 16.69 per cent, the official documents revealed. The government also kept unchanged the revised export-shipment growth at 10 per cent for the current fiscal year. Exports fetched the country $10.79 billion in the first four months of the current fiscal until October, with the growth rate calculated at 6.53 per cent. The growth accounts for over 29 per cent of $7 billion target for the period.
Leading fashion and lifestyle conglomerate, Arvind has bagged the ‘Top Rank Award’ in Energy Conservation and Efficiency at the National Energy Conservation Awards 2016. The event was organized by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Ministry of Power. The Top Rank Award recognizes an industrial unit that wins the first prize for three consecutive years. Arvind is the only textile conglomerate to reach the milestone. Competing against 43 players, Arvind clinched the top position yet again by displaying consistent efforts towards energy conservation at its Santej plant in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Compared to FY2015-16, Arvind was able to further reduce specific consumption in thermal energy by 12 per cent besides achieving 12 per cent reduction in specific electrical energy consumption. Arvind has also installed 1.30 MW roof-top solar power generation at the Santej plant, the largest of its kind in the Indian textiles industry.
The award was presented by Union Minister of State with Independent Charge for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy in the Government of India Piyush Goyal to the CEO Lifestyle Fabrics (shirting, khaki and knitwear) at Arvind, Susheel Kaul. Kaul said at Arvind, improving the plant’s energy efficiency has always been a focus and the company continues to invest in new technologies for sustained energy conservation. This award means a lot to the team at Arvind.
Commenting on the award, Harvinder Rathee, Head Engineering - Lifestyle Fabrics (shirting, khaki and knitwear) said the company was able to achieve power and thermal savings through various innovations, new technologies, continuous monitoring and all the efforts have paid off. Going ahead, the company has introduced various initiatives in its plant to conserve energy such as mechanical vapor recompression for evaporation, polymeric multi-effect evaporation, efficient pumps, artic master on chillers, LEDs, use of renewable energy, such as day-light sheets and natural exhaust and gravity ventilations in production halls.
"The hometech textiles market has been projected to grow at a healthy CAGR between 2016 and 2026. The said market comprises of a strong part of the technical textile market including upholstered furniture industry. A textile product manufactured for non-aesthetic purposes is called a technical textile. A technical textile used in home furnishing and clothing is called hometech textile. Hometech textiles range from filter products used in vacuum cleaners to fiber fills in mattresses and pillows."
The hometech textiles market has been projected to grow at a healthy CAGR between 2016 and 2026. The said market comprises of a strong part of the technical textile market including upholstered furniture industry.
A textile product manufactured for non-aesthetic purposes is called a technical textile. A technical textile used in home furnishing and clothing is called hometech textile. Hometech textiles range from filter products used in vacuum cleaners to fiber fills in mattresses and pillows.
Hometech products are made of both synthetic and natural fibers. Hometech textiles are widely utilized in furniture and interior decoration, sun protection, cushion materials, carpeting, fireproofing, wall coverings, flooring and textile reinforced fittings etc.
Hometech textiles ranks 4th largest in sales of all the other technical textiles. Western Economies account for the biggest market share of hometech textiles followed by Asia Pacific. Hometech Textile products are in continuous use by household as well as commercial sectors.
The global hometech textiles market can be segmented on the basis of geography, applications and end-use types. On the basis of geography, the global hometech textiles market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and Japan. On account of applications the global hometech textiles market can be segmented into commercial and household.
Hometech textiles are widely used in commercial sector like offices and business organizations as well as domestic and household purposes. Considering end use types, the global hometech textiles market can be segmented into fiberfill, mattress and pillow components, carpet backing cloth, stuffed toys, blinds, HVAC filters, vacuum cleaner filter cloth, non-woven wipes, mosquito nets and furniture fabrics.
Wrangler Jeans has announced that it has achieved a milestone of saving three billion liters of water since 2007. The global leader in jeans and casual apparel also announced methods to reduce water usage at its facilities by 20 per cent by 2020.
The three billion liters that the company saved equals the annual household water needs of more than 21,000 Americans. Water plays a significant role in manufacturing of denim. The finishing steps in producing a pair of jeans typically require multiple water baths. By merging steps, Wrangler reduced water use without compromising quality. This improved wash down process, combined with increased water recycling yielded this significant resource conservation.
Wrangler brand's water recycling program invested in advanced wastewater treatment systems is to improve effluent water quality. This allows treated water to cycle back through the system.
For example, the company's owned Torreon facility in Mexico has achieved a 45 per cent water-recycling rate through a combination of disc filtration and biological treatment processes. The company plans to invest in additional technology at the site to achieve a 75 per cent recycling rate by 2018.
Initially, Wrangler pioneered a major water conservation effort with its water miser program a decade ago. This finishing process applied detergent more strategically, reducing the water used in the company's wash formulas by up to 28 per cent. This was a technique that was then applied globally across internal manufacturing. It's one of many initiatives that Wrangler has taken up for years.
Welspun India, the home textiles company, has announced it is trying to revive ties with US retailer Target. The latter had severed ties with the former following Egyptian cotton controversy. Then, Welspun allegedly passing off cheap sheets as premium Egyptian cotton, eventually it got E&Y on board to clean its supply chain. Welspun Group chairman B K Goenka says his company did accept its mistake and voluntarily set up audit. Unfortunately, the textile supply chain is not as robust as that of automobiles. However, now the root cause of the problem has been identified and the company is trying its best to get back Target. Goenka was speaking on the sidelines of launching Rs 600 cr flooring solutions facility in Gujarat.
Welspun would manufacture carpets, area rugs and carpet tiles in the new facility at Anjar, Gujarat. The facility will have an annual capacity of approximately 7 million square meters. Most of this capex will be achieved over next 18 months and the upcoming facility will house one of the most modern plants in the country. Goenka said the project will provide direct employment to around 2,000 people and indirect employment to 3,000 others.
Japan’s Teijin, the chemical, pharmaceutical and information technology company has announced it would soon launch Xfire denim, a practical and fireproof denim-like aramid fibre fabric for firefighting uniforms. The new aramid fabric is expected to meet the growing demand for extra-manoeuvrable clothing for volunteer fire corps.
While sales of Xfire Denim will be underway this month, Japanese manufacturers will start selling uniforms for fire corps made with the material in 2017. Made with Teijinconex meta-aramid fibre, Xfire Denim is produced with a proprietary technology to realise a pliant texture similar to that of denim, a universally popular fabric.
The material is also designed to offer comfort and design flexibility. The fabric’s appearance is also practical because it enables professional and volunteer fire corps to be easily distinguished when working side-by-side, the company detailed. The launch of Xfire Denim is expected to strengthen Teijin’s position in the Japanese market for protective apparel. The company is renowned for incorporating high-performance materials in innovative hybrid safety solutions. Looking ahead, Teijin has forecast global sales in its safety and protection field to rise to 20 billion Japanese Yen by 2020.
Over the decades, Teijin’s durable, heat-resistant and flame-retardant aramid fibres have provided police, firefighters and chemical-plant workers with high-performance clothing for added protection and safety. It says that it is the top-selling brand of protective apparel for professional firefighters in Japan who highly value the heat-resistant and flame-retardant properties of Teijinconex.
Teijin is a leader in aramid fibres. It is renowned for its strength, sustainability, safety, heat resistance and low weight, Twaron, Technora, Teijinconex and Teijinconex neo that are used for applications including automobiles, ballistic protection, marine products, civil engineering, protective clothing, and oil drilling.
