FW
"On March 18, 2017, three European Commission bodies had sent a joint communiqué that said it was essential that the Bangladesh government implement the four recommendations made by an International Labor Organization committee last year, or risk being shut out from the Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP) that it enjoyed."
On March 18, 2017, three European Commission bodies had sent a joint communiqué that said it was essential that the Bangladesh government implement the four recommendations made by an International Labor Organization committee last year, or risk being shut out from the Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP) that it enjoyed. The four issues are – full alignment of respectively, the EPZ draft law, the Bangladesh Labor Act, with the UN core labor convention modalities for establishing trade unions and the right of trade unions to operate freely. Under the Everything But Arms (EBA) preferential tariff scheme for all products, Bangladesh enjoys duty free market access to the EU countries, which is the single largest export destination for the RMG products, a postponement of this facility could introduce 12 per cent tariff on imports from Bangladesh.
The picture in China and India
In China, workers do not have the right to join or form trade unions of their choice. There is only one lawful trade union nationwide, the government controlled All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), which acts as the leading body of all local union organizations, which are allowed under the Trade Union constitution. There is no right to labor strikes in Chinese law. Freedom of labor strikes’ was written in the Constitution of 1975 and 1978, but was removed in 1982. In a paper published by the ITUC in 2015, China was listed as one of the worst countries in the world to work in. The report cited physical attacks and threats against workers who participated in strikes by both employers and the government.
In comparison, there are 50,000 registered unions in India and most of them are under some six or seven central trade unions. India is the worst performing country among countries in Asia where FWF operates in both the Gender Development and the Gender Inequality Indexes, according to the 2015 Human Development Index report. Similarly, the World Economic Forum ranks India 108th out of 145 countries in the 2015 Global Gender Gap Index, whereas Bangladesh ranks 64th. The most common violations related to freedom of association involve police violence, and the arrest and dismissal of striking workers and trade union leaders in India.
Bangladesh government has already kept the provision of forming trade unions in the export processing zones, in line with the ILO convention. Commerce minister Tofail Ahmed had said if 50 per cent members of the Workers Welfare Association (WWA) of the EPZ factories consented to registering as a trade union, then the WWA would be allowed to register under Ministry of Labor and Employment as a trade union. However, under pressure from abroad and NGOs, Bangladesh government is currently considering further amendment to labour laws to satisfy them. State minister for labor Mujibul Haque said that there is a need for amendment to some provisions of Labor Act and that they will discuss with the national tripartite consultation committee on the amendment.
Forming trade union is not mandatory anywhere in the world but forming WWA is mandatory in Bangladeshi RMG industries. WWA is a constructive and effective model how workers’ awareness increases and grievances are being resolved constructively. This model has proved itself to be considered as an example for whole world suffering for workers’ right assurance. And at this point when most of the Bangladeshi units are practicing WWA model, extra pressure from international government and non-government organizations to rename such model as trade union will only increase instability in the sector, feel industry experts.
Researches say strict labour laws never brought benefits to the workers. Sudden reformation could affect the sector and many companies could go out of business and many workers could lose their job. In a country like Bangladesh where structural democracy is not well practiced not even in universities and top professional communities how it will be beneficial in less educated people’s community like labourers. Most of the time workers have been exploited by the ill motive trade union leaders in Bangladesh in the past, questioned industry experts.
Jeanologia has completed a decade in Bangladesh. It has become an expert technology partner of the main production centers. Its global solutions, based on clean technologies, are able to increase the efficiency and the automation of finishing processes without harming the creativity and obtaining the added value of sustainability for the garments. The company is now participating in the Bangladesh Denim Expo in Dhaka.
Jeanologia, based in Spain, is a leader in the development of sustainable technology for the textile industry. The company's innovative solutions are able to increase the productive capacity of laundries, reduce the time-to-market and offer an innovative, creative and ecological product.
Jeanologia has not only managed to reduce time-to-market but allows water savings of up to 95 per cent of and 90 per cent of chemicals use in finishing processes of jeans. It has taken on the challenge of transforming Bangladesh's production centers into eco laundries, integrating all technologies: laser, ozone and nano-bubbles. The goal is to improve competitiveness of laundries by helping them increase production and eliminate all processes that are detrimental to workers and the environment.
Bangladesh ranks second in the world behind China in jeans production. Jeanologia's purpose is to increase the production capacity of Bangladeshi manufacturers, especially in denim, by providing advisory services and state-of-the-art technology to improve the efficiency, design and added value of end products.
Workers at Aditya Birla NuvoBSE 0.02 per cent group firm Jaya Shree Textiles in West Bengal have gone on strike and the company has termed it illegal. The workmen of Jaya Shree Textiles at Rishra, Hoogly, have gone on illegal strike from May 16, Aditya Birla Nuvo
The turnover of Jaya Shree Textiles division constituted about 25 per cent of the total standalone turnover for the nine-month period ended December 31, 2016. Jaya Shree Textiles is engaged in manufacturing linen yarn, linen fabrics, worsted yarn and wool tops..
The total impact of the strike on overall operation of the company shall not be material. For the nine months ended December 31, Aditya Birla Nuvo had reported a standalone net profit of Rs 827.29 crore. Shares of the company were trading at Rs 1,704.30, up 0.12 per cent on BSE. Jaya Shree Textiles a unit of Aditya Birla Nuvo which is a leading player in Linen and wool segment of the global textile Business.
Currently, old denim products are dumped in landfills, and dye run-off from denim production can pollute local water supplies.
On an average, the life cycle of a pair of denim jeans produces more than 30 kg of CO2 and uses around 3500 liters of water, the equivalent of running 44 baths.
An unique process called circular denim pulverises used denim into ultrafine particles and then coats or prints the color particles on to undyed new denim to create the typical denim appearance.
This way, the old denim is reused, and new denim does not have to be dyed using the traditional yarn dyeing approach, which consumes a huge amount of water and energy.
If necessary, the color of the fine particles can be enhanced or changed easily before the coating or printing process. This will also help create a new fashion effect for denim products.
This process also allows dye to be reused, minimising water use and effluent discharge.
The circular denim approach is a completely new one, addressing both denim waste and new denim manufacturing at the same time.
More than 450 million denim jeans are sold globally each year and the retail jeans market is estimated to reach 56 billion dollars by next year.
The global textile chemical market is anticipated to increase at a CAGR of four per cent from 2016 to 2024. The fast growing markets are: China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Malaysia who are triggering demand. Asia Pacific is the leading market for textile chemicals by revenue which accounted over half of the gross revenue in the world over the past couple of years.
Textile chemicals are specialty chemicals in demand due to an increase in the variety of fabrics manufactured. These chemicals give fabrics better quality, flexibility and durability. They are a crucial part of the textile industry and play a vital role in manufacturing different type of fabrics like water resistant fabrics.
The global textile chemical market is segmented as surfactants, desizing agents, colorants and auxiliaries, coating and sizing chemicals, yarn lubricants and finishing agents. According to its applications the market is further segmented into home furnishing, apparels, industrial and others.
However, the major restraining factor for textile chemicals market is its harmful effects on the environment. The textile manufacturing process includes consumption of large volumes of water and specialty chemicals for dyeing, washing, bleaching, desizing and other processes. These chemicals contain surfactants and other toxic material which can cause potential harm to the environment.
Regional textile industries have been hit hard due to asurge in the cost of production and increasing competition from international players. Fluctuations in cotton prices and poor quality cotton in the region have also made trade difficult for textile mills. Industry experts said despite a drop in cotton prices, textile mills don't benefit. Textile mill owners, the textile market is in a depressive state and they cannot compete internationally because countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam and Pakistan offer garments at cheaper rates. Rising power costs, higher minimum wages and sluggish demand for garments from overseas buyers has dampened market sentiment. Moreover, strong Indian currency has also affected sales of textile mills in the country. Due to non-competitive prices and a surge in competition from competitors, demand for garments from overseas markets has dropped. Experts say benefits given by governments in rival countries such as subsidies and economic power supply have made their products popular in the global market.MC Rawat, secretary, Madhya Pradesh Textiles Mills Association points out textile industries in the region are reeling under the high pressure of increased labour wages and power costs making their products expensive against rival countries. Textile mills are hesitate to build up stock and conduct business hand to mouth because they lack knowledge about tax slabs under GST. A section of industries said that the lack of clarity on GST has also hurt business in the region.
Pakistan will re-impose a four per cent customs duty and five per cent sales tax on cotton imports. The decision will boost the confidence of domestic cotton growers during the upcoming sowing season. A decline in cotton production last season had forced a withdrawal of import duty and sales tax.
Pakistan's cotton consumption is pegged at around 15 million bales while it produces around 10.5 million bales. The country is the third largest raw cotton exporter but has been an importer for the last two years. Last year Pakistan imported around 2.7 million bales from India.
Meanwhile, the quantity of urea approved for exports has been increased from the existing 3,00,000 tons to 6,00,000 tons. Sufficient production and inventory of urea is anticipated during the kharif 2017 thus allowing for exports. Subsidies will be given on 19 commodities to provide relief during the upcoming holy month.
Arrow Textiles is a leading Indian manufacturer of specialty textiles in India. The company manufactures woven labels, fabric printed labels, elastic and non-elastic tapes. These products form a part of garment packaging products and are used for apparels and made-ups such as terry towels and home furnishings.
The company, founded in 1983, specializes in offering quick solutions and samples and can handle a variety of products as well and can communicate easily by using web-based ERP software. It is the preferred choice of many leading Indian brands, both for hosiery and outer wear.
Arrow has a manufacturing unit in Nasik with an installed capacity of 18 woven label looms, seven printed label machines and 59 woven tapes looms. It markets its products through depots located in Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and Tirupur.
The company’s key products are underwear name waistband elastic, woven inner elastics for garments, printed woven elastics, woven tapes, fabric printed labels, woven labels and 100 per cent cotton twill tapes.
The company’s relatively high gross and pre-tax margins suggest a differentiated product portfolio and tight control on operating costs relative to peers. It has relatively high profit margins while operating with median asset turns. Historical performance and long-term growth expectations for the company are largely in sync.
India’s spun yarn exports in March 2017 declined 47.6 per cent in volume terms and 39.3 per cent in value terms. In March 2017, 83 countries imported spun yarn from India, with Bangladesh at the top, accounting for 20.24 per cent of the total value, with imports plunging 41 per cent in terms of volume year on year and 32 per cent in value year on year. China was the second largest importer of spun yarns and accounted for around 17 per cent of all spun yarn exported from India. Exports to China were down 65 per cent in volume and 59 per cent lower in value.
Pakistan was the third largest importer of spun yarns, which saw volume rising 3.1 per cent and value rising 4.6 per cent. These three top importers together accounted for around 44 per cent of all spun yarns exported from India in March. Cotton yarn was exported to 71 countries with Bangladesh as the largest importer from India in March, followed by China and Pakistan. The top three together accounted for more than 49.35 per cent of cotton yarn exported from India.
Brazil, Dominican Republic, United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Madagascar were among the fastest growing markets for cotton yarn, and accounted for 3.47 per cent of total cotton yarn export value. Eleven new destinations were added for cotton yarn export, of which North Korea, Chile, Oman and Austria were the major ones.
Indian textile and garment companies eyeing trade co-operation with Vietnamese enterprises, said Indian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Smita Pant at a function to introduce the Textiles India 2017 in Vietnam.
Pant says, textile and garment is a leading industry where the two nations need to foster co-operation by promoting trade, attracting investment and increasing export turnover. Ronak Roughani, Vice President of the Synthetic and Rayon Textile Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) of India adds apparels are a large proportion of India’s exports.
India’s export turnover of textile and garment materials to Vietnam in recent years has seen an average increase of about 20 per cent a year. This is a good time for Vietnamese and Indian textile and garment firms to enhance investments, export materials and technical assistance for mutual benefit.
However, Vietnam is also one of the world’s leading importers of fabric and materials. Shortage of high-quality materials for production is the biggest barrier to Vietnam’s textile and garment industry, hindering it from taking advantage of free trade agreements.
Pham Xuan Hong, Chairman of the HCM City Association of Garment Textile Embroidery and Knitting (AGTEK) observed Vietnamese textile and garment firms appreciate the quality and competitive price of materials from India, stressing co-operating with India businesses is an effective measure to diversify material supply resources for Vietnam.
