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In a move that would bring a smile on the faces of thousands of traders and importers, the Pakistan government has lifted an ‘undeclared’ ban on import of ginned cotton from India. It has also pledged to strictly implement all phyto sanitary and other conditions governing the fibre’s imports on future incoming shipments via surface or sea.
Earlier, the Department of Plant Protection (DPP) of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research put cotton imports from India on hold through Wagah and Karachi port from November 23, saying shipments did not fulfill phyto sanitary conditions. However, traders claimed that rising border tensions between the two neighbours had prompted Islamabad to impose the ban on Indian cotton.
The DPP had started issuing permits for importing cotton from India via Wagah. But the DPP has also made it clear to importers that only the consignments free from cotton seeds will be accepted and allowed into the country. Traders said none of these conditions is new.
Last year, Pakistan imported ginned cotton worth more than $800 million from India which accounted for two-thirds of India’s cotton exports. Traders are expecting cotton imports from India and elsewhere to surge this year in view of the anticipated shortfall in the domestic crop. It was in the last year that a drop of 27 per cent in domestic cotton output was seen. This has taken away 0.5 per cent of gross domestic product growth rate, according to the budget for the ongoing year.
An organising campaign backed by IndustriALL Global Union in the textile and garment sector in the Middle East and North Africa is seeing strong results with many unions reporting strong growth. The said has resulted in an impressive growth for unions in Tunisia and other countries within a year.
Key countries supplying textiles and garments in the region are: Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria. Organising campaigns were launched in these countries with concrete targets using international tools such as global framework agreements for leverage. IndustriALL conducted an extensive mapping of the sector before starting the campaign.
In Tunisia, the organizing campaign started in December 2015 with work to support affiliate Federation Generale du Textile, de l'Habillement, Chaussureet Cuir (FGTHCC-UGTT). It included training, visits to factories and industrial areas, mobilizing women and young people, producing material, and conducting a survey.
The textile and garment sector is one of Tunisia’s main industries that employs about 176,000 people. In 2014, it accounted for more than $2.7 billion in exports. Eighty per cent of exports go to the EU. This may grow as Tunisia and the EU are negotiating a free trade agreement. Tunisia manufactures for major brands like H&M, Zara, Calvin Klein, Benetton and GAP. Despite the size and importance of the sector, it suffers from low investment, with low value added, and production usually happens in small units. There is very little formal training. Wages are low, with an average of about $200 per month, not much above the minimum wage.
Delta Galil, an Israeli clothing company, has bought V F Corp’s three iconic Californian lifestyle brands including 7 For All Mankind. The other two brands are: Ella Moss and Splendid. The deal is considered a bargain and Delta Galil will be adding $300 million a year in revenues to its bottom line next year. 7 For All Mankind was started in Los Angeles in 2000 during the height of the premium denim boom. Splendid and Ella Moss were created by a lawyer. Revenues reached $95 million for the two labels in 2008.
VF Corp originally bought the labels for more than a billion dollars several years ago and saw revenues from the three drop several years in a row. The three contemporary sportswear brands are known for their luxury fabrics and trendy designs that help them command prices that go well over $100 a garment.
Delta Galil, a 40-year-old company, is known for making children’s wear, active wear and other garments for men and women. It owns several lingerie brands as well as PJ Salvage, a sleepwear and loungewear brand in California that it acquired last year. Its other labels include Schiesser, KN Karen Neuberger, Nearly Nude, Little Miss Matched and Fix.
With a 15 per cent rise in turnover of $4.5 billion in the last five years, the Indian denim market is booming. Experts predict the market would reach $8 billion mark by 2023. According to Saurer Schlafhorst, a leading textile machinery manufacturer, growth in denim yarn production in the country has been dynamic with increased use of Autocoro 9 automated, independent production unit. The biggest denim manufacturers in India and the largest India-based customer for the Autocoro 8 and Autocoro 9 made by the German textile machinery manufacturer, Sudarshan already owns the Autocoro 8 after the company decided to invest in the new Autocoro 9 model which was exhibited at ITMA 2015 in Milan. Thirteen Autocoro 8 and 9 other machines with a total of 6,528 spinning positions are now in operation at two plants around the clock producing cotton yarns that are predominantly intended for downstream processing within the company.
In order to achieve above-average growth and profitable margins, the Indian textile industry has already made regular use of the innovative Autocoro 8 technology in recent years. One of the first Autocoro 9 machines was supplied to an Indian quality spinning mill T C Spinners which ordered the Autocoro 9 at ITMA 2015 in Milan.
T C Spinners, founded in 2006, primarily produces weaving and knitting yarns that are made from 100 per cent cotton as well as polyester yarns. The family-run company boasts a total production capacity of around 50,000 spinning positions.
With consumption of global technical textile expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.4 per cent through 2020, steady growth opportunities are visible for textile companies. The key factors expected to boost demand for technical textiles include steady growth of the automotive sector, rapid industrialisation in emerging economies, robust demand from healthcare sector and even growing environmental awareness.
The automotive sector in emerging economies is anticipated to fuel demand for technical textiles. Use of technical textiles per mid-size car is anticipated to increase from the current 25-27 kg to 34-36 kg by 2020. The global industrial production is anticipated to increase by 3.5 to 5 per cent from 2015 to 2020. Owing to steady industrial growth, demand for woven and dust filters and conveyor belts is expected to receive a boost.
As providing affordable healthcare becomes a priority for governments, demand for Meditech technical textiles is projected to grow in the Asia Pacific. On the back of mounting concerns over conservation of environment, Oekotech technical textiles are gaining traction among end-users. Demand for Oekotech is expected to grow at a high CAGR during the forecast period 2015-2020.
According to statistics, the global technical textile market is expected to reach $193 billion in revenues in 2020, with global consumption expected to surpass 37 million tons. Robust demand from China and India is projected to continue whereas the demand for advanced materials will become stronger in the US and EU.
By application, Hometech, Buildtech and Meditech will remain the highest-selling technical textiles throughout the forecast period 2015-2020, with Homtech technical textile consumption expected to reach 6.43 million tonnes by 2020. By process type, non-wovens will continue to have a dominant edge over composites, owing to their versatility in medical and industrial applications.
Asia Pacific’s revenue share of global technical textiles market is expected to touch 44.6 per cent by 2020. Among all technical textile types, demand for Hometech will remain strongest and is expected to account for over one-fourth volume share of global market by 2020. The US and EU countries will remain leading markets for technical textiles with Mobiltech expected to witness the highest demand.
Source British a new trade show in the US dedicated exclusively to British brands will be held from March 13 to 14, 2017. It will bring together US West Coast retail buyers, agents, distributors and press with distinctive British brands showcasing a range of heritage and contemporary collections across fashion, accessories, jewelry, shoes, home, gift and crafts.
The US is a major market for UK companies but many US buyers do not like to travel. So UK brands feel it’s important to invest time and attention on the US market. Many US buyers want to trade in sterling post Brexit as the rates are more in their favor – a great benefit for businesses wanting to export to the US now. They want British brands with provenance and a strong brand story. That’s what Source British aims to cater to.
US consumers have a liking for British style, though awareness of most British brands is still low. Source British has also announced a new partnership with the Trend Council. Trend Council is an affordable design tool delivering expert analysis and design inspiration to designers and fashion professionals. Its trend site showcases long term and fast track trends, runway analysis, color, pattern and retail reporting. It has long been a partner consultant for premium retailers, designers, manufacturers and buyers.
Brandix, in Andhra Pradesh, is the largest textile park in the country. The workforce comprises mostly women from rural areas, with schooling between seventh and 10th grades. They are trained to manufacture products for international brands and labels. Out of the 18,000-strong workforce of Brandix, nearly 15,000 are women.
The park produces over two lakh pieces of intimate apparel a day. It was conceived by Brandix, Sri Lanka’s largest apparel exporter. It has a world-class infrastructure developed for textile and apparel exports. The unique, integrated apparel supply chain city is spread 1,000 acres and brings alive an avant garde fiber to store concept. It brings together world class apparel chain partners from the design table to consumer brands in flawless integration. It includes spinning, fabric manufacturing, apparel production, accessories, finishing to warehousing and logistics.
The park's integrated support services will include advanced ITC solutions, banks, recreational facilities, restaurants, a fully-fledged commercial complex, supermarkets, medical facilities with emergency services, security, hotels, residential facilities etc. Brandix India Apparel City is the only apparel-specific vertically integrated park to receive Special Economic Zone (SEZ) approval and one of the few to receive SEZ status in general. It is a designated duty free enclave and enjoys foreign territory status for trade operations, duties and tariffs.
Budget fashion chain Primark is known for cheap, high turnover fashion and targets youngsters. The business model is designed to produce low cost goods. It keeps costs down by not spending on advertising and buying in bulk to achieve economies of scale.
Primark uses 1,700 supplier factories globally to stock its 290 stores in Britain, Europe and the United States. The factories used by Primark employ about 7, 50,000 people, which impact 2.4 million people, factoring in families of workers.
It started projects in the cotton fields of Gujarat in 2013 in a sustainable farming initiative known as Cotton Connect that recruits female smallholder farmers. It has now expanded to 10,000 farmers in India producing cotton.
Primark, in Ireland, offers women’s wear, lingerie, children’s wear, men’s wear, footwear, accessories, hosiery and home. It manufactures its own merchandise and its technology, efficient distribution and volume buying enable low prices. It doesn’t have an online store. The retailer’s main strengths are impressive depth and breadth of offering, daily replenishment strategy, elevated store service and alluring styling with basic apparel plus trendy accessories. It sells more clothes than any other retailer in Britain. The stores have a youthful décor, neon signage and smart phone charging stations.
To accelerate growth and human development in Bangladesh, the country needs to explore new zones for RMG markets. This would bring in more opportunities as the country has been exporting its RMG goods only in the European Union and North America over the past few years, said Gauhar Rizvi, international affairs adviser to the Bangladesh prime minister. He made the observation while speaking on the last day of the two-day BIDS Research Almanac 2016 in Dhaka.
Quashing reports that say that Bangladesh was unable to sustain garments export, Rizwi said export will go on. But even if not, there was lot of new markets that needed to be explored. Bangladesh only exports its RMG goods in two economic zones viz the European Union and North America while the whole world can become the sectors expected market.
He also suggested exploring new markets in Eastern Europe, Central Europe, Africa and Turkey to accelerate growth and development in the sector. He further said proper negotiating can improve bilateral relationship with these countries.
"While the ‘Made in China’ tag is ubiquitous in almost all products today, there are hardly any products with the tag ‘Designed in China’. While China is known as the factory of the world, there is no focus on producing its own creations. Many flourishing designers and prestigious design schools are thus waiting to tap this opportunity. It’s a strange irony that needs attention from the Chinese companies. In fact, nearly half of all the world’s luxury goods — almost 46 per cent — are bought by Chinese shoppers."
While the ‘Made in China’ tag is ubiquitous in almost all products today, there are hardly any products with the tag ‘Designed in China’. While China is known as the factory of the world, there is no focus on producing its own creations. Many flourishing designers and prestigious design schools are thus waiting to tap this opportunity. It’s a strange irony that needs attention from the Chinese companies. In fact, nearly half of all the world’s luxury goods — almost 46 per cent — are bought by Chinese shoppers. That indicates the burgeoning demand as well. It’s not just buying power that makes China the mightiest fashion consumer on the planet. It’s the workshop of the world, and that’s what actually drives its global potential.
Even though President Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ could impact China’s strategy but that won’t change the fact that almost every manufacturer on the planet has China incorporated into its supply chain in some way or another—and fashion brands are a crucial part of this chain.
Filling the gap between self creation and copy
Chinese designers aren’t short of talent or skill but the biggest problem they face is China doesn’t seem to be interested in its own brand. For the Chinese Swiss watches are an essential status symbol, and the country’s elite has developed a taste for high-end French wines. This is hampering the growth of homegrown talent and designers do not have a compelling vision to excel in their profession. For instance, Japanese labels have been successful by reworking blueprints set by the West to create something new and exciting. More recently, Gosha Rubchinskiy has done the same with his quintessentially Russian take on streetwear. Chinese designers showcasing their designs in Paris, New York and London are good but they have not managed to entice the world with an authentic story.
Home to factories
China is home to some of the most advanced textile factories in the world, and has a long legacy of artisanal craftsmanship but the ‘Made in China’ tag has wrongly been associated with cheap, disposable novelties. As Chinese designer, Xander Zhou says, China has become more closely integrated into the global community over the past decades, which means there is now a more enabling environment than ever for the fashion scene.
In mainland China distribution of trendy brands is extremely tight due to hefty import taxes on luxury goods. Luxury watches, for example, are subjected to 60 per cent import tariff, 17 per cent VAT, and in most cases an additional 20 per cent consumption tax. This makes high-end watches in China 97 per cent more expensive than those in Western markets. As a result, many shoppers have to rely on daigou—Chinese resellers—to buy. Based overseas, Daigou purchases luxury goods on behalf of friends, family and clients, allowing them to take advantage of favourable exchange rates and lower luxury tariffs. Daigou are often spotted strolling around luxury boutiques, snapping pictures of pieces for their clients or posting them on their own Weibo profiles. If anything takes their clients’ fancy, the daigou buys it on their behalf and ships it to the mainland at a commission. The Chinese government recently tried to crack down on daigou activity but that doesn’t seem to have curbed it. Successful daigou are social media-savvy, and that’s meant many resellers have since become influencers in China.
Stringent IP laws need of the hour
Intellectual property rights are not enforced tightly in China, and combine that with the country’s production prowess and consumers’ desire for latest piece emerging from the West, that’s when counterfeit clothing takes shape. Some of the most famous knockoffs are Yeezys, Supreme, Gucci and Off-White. However, short-term thinking is not the right approach to build a legacy in fashion and that’s where China is lacking. Knowing that China is a mysterious, exotic place, one with a deeply complex history and culture, having the right talent, the country needs to tell a story and that too by looking in, not out.
