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Honduras is aiming to become a textile export leader in the Americas. This will be achieved through a textile hub with world class talent that pushes the frontier of knowledge in sustainable textile development.
The existing textile and apparel industry infrastructure in Honduras has outstanding conditions for investment and expansion opportunities. There are 18 industrial parks that together have a construction area of more than 1.8 million square meters, and advantages like availability of airports, ports, highways, telephones, water and electrical supply, customs paperwork, low working costs, machinery and logistics.
The textile and apparel industry has the capacity of biomass production as well as wastewater management technologies allowing high productivity in a sustainable manner. The current investment in the country’s fabric and clothing manufacturing is estimated to be around $7.8 billion. Focused on corporate social responsibility, manufacturers also promote training initiatives, housing access opportunities, safety and occupational health standards, and also a new pilot project of child care centers. This provides residential areas with security, stability and comfort for textile and garment sector employees and their families.
The country is aiming to be the new destination for textile and apparel investment. It is providing a solid platform of facilities and benefits articulated with the purpose of promoting foreign investment and ventures with outstanding conditions that are strengthened every day.
Cotton Council International, Cotton Incorporated and Supima will jointly exhibit at fabrics trade fair Première Vision, France, September 19 to 21, 2017. At one cotton pavilion they will showcase innovations in cotton technologies, fabric blends, and performance, design and fashion applications that will inspire brands with new ideas for cotton and cotton blended fabrics, such as US cotton garments that help one feel better faster after a workout, sweat-resistant tees and denim that keeps one cool on hot days.
The objective is to inspire everyone in the textile business to think about the many opportunities in US cotton. Cotton USA also invites visitors to its booth to learn about its collaboration with worldwide brands and retailers, how to license the Cotton USA mark, the US cotton industry’s sustainability efforts, global cotton market developments, findings of current market and consumer studies, and ongoing sourcing programs that match cotton buyers and suppliers.
Cotton USA is dedicated to providing the entire supply chain with networking opportunities, ongoing education, and the latest research and technological innovations. Luxury, quality and craftsmanship are the benchmarks of American-grown, extra-long staple Supima cotton. Supima is twice as strong as regular cotton, which makes for extraordinarily resilient products. The longer fiber resists pulling, breaking and tearing resulting in fashion and home products that are incredibly resilient and keep their form for a longer-lasting product.
The antimicrobial textile market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.4 per cent from 2016 to 2026. Growth is primarily led by the need for hygiene products to combat increasing number of infections due to microorganisms, increasing end-use applications such as medical textiles and apparel, technological advances, and the high demand in the Asia-Pacific region.
The antimicrobial textile market is on the basis of application into commercial, apparel, home, medical, and other wearables. Among these, the medical segment is projected to grow at the fastest rate over the forecast period as a result of rising risk of diseases due to hospital acquired infections and the need to prevent transmission of infections.
Rising demand for antimicrobial textiles is driving the market in Asia-Pacific region. The market is driven by increased demand from China and India. China is the largest market in the region. Rapid industrialisation, changing lifestyles, rising disposable incomes, and the expansion in the healthcare as well as technical textile industries is expected to drive the antimicrobial textiles market in the region.
Some of the key players are: Sanitized, Microban, Sciessent, Milliken Chemical, Dow Chemical Company, Lonza Group, Trevira and Vestagen Protective Technologies.
More speakers have been confirmed for the Textile 4.0 Conference. The conference, organised by World Textile Information Network (WTiN), will take place at the Hotel Novotel Amsterdam City, The Netherlands, on October 25-26, 2017. The eventis the first to explore the realities of Industry 4.0 in textiles industry. Over two days, industry experts will share their ideas on the opportunities and services that can be leveraged using the Internet of Things (IoT) and on best practices to enable smart manufacturing.
In the session from dumb product to 'technology as a service', Steve Smith, of DP Innovations, will reveal how IoT developments are enabling suppliers of manufacturing technology to move beyond the delivery of standalone products and offer an increasing range of value-added services.
Yves-Simon Gloy, of RWTH Aachen, will contribute to the session Automation and the workforce, which will focus on which skills will be in demand and what kind of jobs will be under threat as the textile industry adopts Industry 4.0 principles.
Yariv Bustan, of Twine Solutions, and Michel Byvoet, of Bivolino, will present in the session Turning disruption into innovation: emerging business models. This session will discuss enterprise opportunities in customisation and manufacture-on-demand.
The Textile 4.0 Conference is the professional event dedicated to the realities of Industry 4.0 in the textiles industry. It aims to shed light on the many developments that are happening even now and provide expert insights into what the future might hold for business and investment decision makers throughout the textiles value chain.
South Indian textile mills have reduced their cotton procurement by around 40 per cent from Gujarat during the October-September season of 2016-17. Reason: growing adulteration in cotton. Faced with a growing demand, ginners in Gujarat reportedly started mixing comber waste in cotton. This propelled many mill owners to tap other parts of the country for cotton procurement to meet the compliance norms set by buyers.
High contamination affects the quality of yarns as well as the final product, that is, the garment. It is difficult for mills to identify the contamination as comber waste looks cleaner than cotton. Generally the quality of cotton is determined by its color, fiber length, strength, fitness and the degree to which the cotton is free from contamination. One of the important factors which make quality of raw cotton low is contamination. A contamination may be an impurity, which can affect the subsequent processes, product appearance or product quality in general. Contamination causes to produce low quality lint cotton, yarn and manufactured goods.
Contamination of raw cotton may take place at any level, at farm while picking, at storage and marketing or at ginning. Cotton at the farm level is mainly contaminated before or at the time of picking in a number of ways. At the time of ball opening brackish and decayed seed cotton appears. Mixed picking of these balls also causes contamination.
Berlin will open door to the three day Bread & Butter even from tomorrow September 1 to 3, 2017. The festival offers three full days of fashion shows, concerts, brand productions as well as exhibitions and talks. The main purpose of B&B is to create a platform for a variety of brands, which this year includes G-Star Raw, Hugo, Jil Sander Navy, The Kooples, Selected Femme/Homme, Topshop, Topman and Zalando, to name a few.
This year’s Festival of Style and Culture – the new tagline following Bread and Butter's transition from industry trade show to public arts festival – has adopted the theme ‘Bold’ and will present the latest innovations from the fields of fashion, music and food.
Visitors can catch a live performance of FKA twigs, a group known for its unique mixture of vocals and performance. Visitors can also watch tattoo artist Chaim Machlev aka DotsToLines at work in a studio created just for the occasion. Chaim is one of the tattoo scene’s most high-profile artists worldwide with a very iconic style.
Mercedes Benz is the official partner of Bread & Butter. The concept is the car manufacturer’s latest campaign to tell the stories of a new generation and attract millennial consumers. The auto maker is hosting similar events in 18 German cities between May and October.
India’s apparel exports do not reflect a very optimistic picture. Sustained growth remains challenging. The challenges have been further augmented by the appreciation of the rupee in recent months which has reduced competitiveness of Indian exporters vis-a-vis their global counterparts.
Fabric production declined by one per cent in the first quarter of fiscal 2018 following a flat production in 2016 and two per cent de-growth in 2017. The apparel and fabric industry has been facing headwinds as a result of temporary disruptions caused by demonetisation and transition to the GST regime.
Besides demand pressures, high raw material prices and currency movements also continue to weigh on the industry’s performance, which has been visible in the profitability of apparel and fabric manufacturers over the past three quarters. Although the profitability of export-oriented players has been protected to an extent by prudent hedging practices, the sustained strength of the rupee against the dollar may exert pressure on their pricing ability and hence demand and profitability.
Notwithstanding likely pressures on profitability, debt levels are expected to decline with the industry focusing on sweating existing assets more and undertaking limited debt funded capacity additions. As a result, the financial risk profiles of Indian exporters as well as domestic-focused apparel/ fabric manufacturers are likely to remain steady in the near term.
The Asia Pacific lyocell fiber industry is expected to record a CAGR of eight per cent over 2017-2024. Technological innovations have lowered the cost of fiber production and helped in enhancing production and quality of fibers. Many fiber manufacturing firms are focusing on reprocessing and reusing the fibers after the completion of their shelf life, which is expected to offer novel growth opportunities for the lyocell fiber market.
Substantial knowledge regarding pediatric sanitation accompanied by an increase in the spending capacity of consumers has resulted in a high demand for baby diapers across the Asia Pacific region. China, Indonesia, and India are predicted to be the major revenue pockets. While the decline in infant mortality rates is also predicted to influence the regional share, the thriving non-woven materials sector in Indonesia is expected to spur the product demand over the years to come.
Surging production of non-woven fabrics for medical and automobile industries along with the presence of big manufacturing giants across Europe has augmented the product demand. Europe is expected to contribute more than 12 per cent to the lyocell fiber market share by 2024, with UK, France, and Germany being the major revenue contributors. The US lyocell fiber industry is predicted to experience a notable growth over the next few years with the rise in apparel exports.
"Of late, Kenya has been inking its name in the global textile market and is touted to be one of the next centres for apparel sourcing in East Africa alongside Ethiopia. For years, countries such as China, India and Bangladesh have been meeting global exports textile demand but owing to rising production cost in Asian countries, importers are scouting for cheaper place for supplies. With an area of 581,309 sq km and a population of around 47 million, the Republic of Kenya is a leading country in Africa. Its capital and largest city, Nairobi, has been dubbed the hub for East Africa for long."
Of late, Kenya has been inking its name in the global textile market and is touted to be one of the next centres for apparel sourcing in East Africa alongside Ethiopia. For years, countries such as China, India and Bangladesh have been meeting global exports textile demand but owing to rising production cost in Asian countries, importers are scouting for cheaper place for supplies. With an area of 581,309 sq km and a population of around 47 million, the Republic of Kenya is a leading country in Africa. Its capital and largest city, Nairobi, has been dubbed the hub for East Africa for long.
Rich textile history
Cotton production started in Kenya in the 1900s by the colonial administration. To protect the local cotton industry, the Kenyan government introduced 100 per cent duties on imports after independence. The industry was also heavily subsidized, which greatly boosted production capacity in the 70s and mid-80s. However, it started declining from the mid-80s. The availability of used clothes – locally known as ‘mitumba’ – at a cheap price deeply impacted the textile industry and led to its fall by 1990s. The year 2000 again saw the industry’s rise in Kenya, thanks to its inclusion in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which also happened to be the first country to be accredited as an AGOA beneficiary. Since its inclusion, in six-year period (2000-2006), Kenya’s clothing sales to the US increased from $44 million to $270 million.
Investors’ haven
Kenya climate is suitable for growing cotton as the crop grows well in semi-arid areas. Kenya also offers large areas of cultivable land mass for cotton. Kenya has abundant and relatively well-educated population. Therefore, skilled and unskilled labour forces are readily available at reasonable rates. It has vibrant manufacturing industry, aided by infrastructure. The seaport at Mombasa – located at the East African coast – is linked to the mainland by railways and the Great North Road. Kenya is strategically located for investors wanting to access the East and Central African market. Kenya is also a regional hub for airlines allowing for easy access from and to any part of the world. Currently, over 40 billion shillings ($400 million) worth of apparels, including jeans and towels, consumed in the US are manufactured in Kenya’s Export Processing Zone (EPZ). This is projected to hit 100 billion shillings by 2018, according to the Industrialisation Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed.
Positive policy initiatives
As an enabler to boost growth, Kenyan government has drafted medium-term economic growth strategy, ‘Kenya Vision 2030’. They have identified the textile and clothing sector as a potential key driver of the country’s industrialisation. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the Export Processing Zones (EPZ) recorded a 12.1 per cent growth in sales in 2015. The growth was mostly driven by apparel exports under AGOA. As per the Economic Survey 2016, total EPZ sales went up by 12.1 per cent from Sh57.2 billion in 2014 to Sh64.1 billion in 2015. The number of local employees increased 8.7 per cent to reach 50,523 in 2015. The bulk of employment was in the garment/apparel enterprises with a total of 41,548 persons mainly due to expansion of existing apparel and agro-processing farms.
Garment industry
The Kenyan garments industry comprise of 22 large foreign-owned companies operating in the Export Processing Zones (EPZs), 170 medium and large companies, eight ginneries, eight spinners, 15 weaving and knitting companies, nine accessories manufacturers and over 75,000 micro and small companies, including fashion designers and tailoring units. With an estimated 30,000 workers, Kenya’s apparel industry, valued at $330million a year in 2014, according to the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, is still relatively small compared to Bangladesh, which has a $28 billion RMG export market and the industry employs around 4.4 million people. But Kenya is taking steps in the right direction. China, the world number one apparel player, has been working closely with the African industry. There are also possibilities that Bangladesh RMG industry, the second largest global exporter, can play a collaborative role with the Kenyan as well as African RMG and textile industries.
South Indian textile mills have reduced their cotton procurement by around 40 per cent from Gujarat during the October-September season of 2016-17. Reason: growing adulteration in cotton. Faced with a growing demand, ginners in Gujarat reportedly started mixing comber waste in cotton. This propelled many mill owners to tap other parts of the country for cotton procurement to meet the compliance norms set by buyers.
High contamination affects the quality of yarns as well as the final product, that is, the garment. It is difficult for mills to identify the contamination as comber waste looks cleaner than cotton. Generally the quality of cotton is determined by its color, fiber length, strength, fitness and the degree to which the cotton is free from contamination. One of the important factors which make quality of raw cotton low is contamination. A contamination may be an impurity, which can affect the subsequent processes, product appearance or product quality in general. Contamination causes to produce low quality lint cotton, yarn and manufactured goods.
Contamination of raw cotton may take place at any level, at farm while picking, at storage and marketing or at ginning. Cotton at the farm level is mainly contaminated before or at the time of picking in a number of ways. At the time of ball opening brackish and decayed seed cotton appears. Mixed picking of these balls also causes contamination.
