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Cotton cannot be imported from India as permits issued by the Department of Plant Protection, Ministry of Food Security are valid only from January 1, 2018 to March 31, 2018. Following significant decreased in local production of the natural fibre, the federal government permitted the import of cotton from India in the last week of November.
Ihsanul Haq, Chairman, Pakistan Cotton Ginners Forum (PCGF) noted, due to procedural delays and issuance of permits that are valid from January 1, cotton import is yet to take off. The chances of a significant amount of cotton import from India were diminishing, he said, and added the cotton output in India was also less than expected which is why prices were already rising.
Haq wasn’t surprised, as there are reports of cancelling of cotton contracts between traders on both sides. However, it was a surprise for importers that the Federal Government’s permits were not valid with the date of issuance. An upward trend in cotton prices was being witnessed following depreciation of rupee value against the dollar and this scenario was not favourable for importers and the textile industry as they could face shortage of the commodity in the coming days.
The children’s wear market is estimated at $1.4 billion globally. For the past five years, growth in the sector has outpaced men’s and women’s wear. In China alone, the category outperformed overall apparel in 2016 with a seven per cent increase in current value terms. From British luxury retailers such as Selfridges and Liberty London to e-commerce giants such as Farfetch and Net-a-Porter, no one is oblivious to the charms of the burgeoning industry.
Items such as a miniature Burberry tuxedo suit often retail in excess of £700. Brands sell to the top one per cent of the population. Even for high fashion, the steep prices are astonishing, especially since the garments are scaled-down versions of catwalk pieces. The growing interest in dressing children in more elevated labels is a financial prospect for a luxury brand as well as a way to gain customer loyalty. When the customer trusts the brand, they are more willing to buy into other categories from the same label such as children’s wear.
For style-conscious millennial parents, who represent 45 per cent of overall luxury consumption, a child is an extension of them. By tapping into children’s wear, brands can establish more lasting relationships with the entire family. When Kim Kardashian and Kanye West launched their children’s wear range, Kids Supply, this year, they did so on Snapchat and Instagram.
India’s textile has grown at 2.6 per cent since 2012-13. Around 13 countries have been earmarked as target markets for boosting exports. These are: Italy, France, US, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Russia, Australia, Turkey, Egypt, Brazil, UAE and Chile.
In accordance with the sales and marketing potential afforded by each target country, product segments have been earmarked. Cotton textiles and handicraft items have been targeted at European countries like Germany, France and Italy. Cotton and carpets have China as their main target segment. For Indian apparels, the US has been chosen as the favored target destination. Products will be aligned with the target market.
The marketing strategy seamlessly blends different marketing initiatives and is specific depending on whether the market is traditional, emerging or of some other type. Targeting calls for carrying out focused trade promotion activities. These include exhibitions, road shows and B2B meetings. Separate Indian pavilions will be set up in different trade fairs globally for implementing the plan. Currently India’s share of the global textile trade is five per cent and it stands in a distant second spot behind China in the apparel export segment.
"Buoyed by growing eco-concerns, researchers, companies as well as associations have been coming up with the innovative offerings. Some of them include biodegradable glitter, kelp fibres and ethical product apps. Fashion for Good Plug and Play Accelerator, a 12-week startup accelerator based in Amsterdam focuses on environmental and social impact within the fashion industry, has announced its third batch of startups. These startups will participate in a curriculum that involves mentorship from the Accelerator’s partners, which include Adidas, C&A, Galeries Lafayette, Kering, Target and Zalando."
Buoyed by growing eco-concerns, researchers, companies as well as associations have been coming up with the innovative offerings. Some of them include biodegradable glitter, kelp fibres and ethical product apps. Fashion for Good Plug and Play Accelerator, a 12-week startup accelerator based in Amsterdam focuses on environmental and social impact within the fashion industry, has announced its third batch of startups. These startups will participate in a curriculum that involves mentorship from the Accelerator’s partners, which include Adidas, C&A, Galeries Lafayette, Kering, Target and Zalando. The aim is to positively reshape the fashion industry’s materials, operations and products. Over the next three months, the Accelerator’s partners will prime the startups’ technologies and innovations for implementation at scale.
The Accelerator will also screen each startup for potential funding to support their business development initiatives. On June 14, the startups will graduate at the Fashion for Good hub in Amsterdam, where they will show their developments to industry leaders and potential investors. For this set of startups, innovators represent varied fashion supply chain areas spanning alternative raw materials to sustainably designed business models, including biodegradable glitter startup BioGlitz and industrial upcycling platform Reverse Resources.
Bio-based materials
Batch 3 has some startups that are changing the bio-based materials game by re-imagining the fashion supply chain with natural and biodegradable innovations. AlgiKnit is producing textile fibres expelled from kelp. The startup’s extrusion process yields a kelp-based thread that can be knitted or 3D printed to minimise post-production waste. Algiknit’s final knitwear is also biodegradable. Kapok fibre fabrics and yarns are the ongoing project of Flocus, which aims to offer the fashion industry a more sustainable alternative to high-water-consumption fibre crops. A benefit of the kapok tree is that it is able to grow without the use of pesticides in arid soil and other difficult farming areas.
While other purveyors experiment with leather alternatives, Frumat is using apples to create a leather-like material. Unlike other industrial waste products, apple pectin could be used to develop eco-friendly materials that are durable enough for accessories and compostable after use. Apple pectin leathers can be dyed and tanned without the use of harmful chemicals. Animal welfare remains a concern in the fashion industry and Provenance Biofabrics is re-imaging leather materials for a more sustainable outcome. According to Fashion for Good, Provenance bio-engineers a leather-like material by programming the self-assembly of collagen molecules.
Microfibre pollution has also been an issue for the sector, and Mango Materials is offering biodegradable bio-polyester as a solution. Compared to conventional polyester used in most garments, Mango Materials’ bio-polyester, made from waste biogas (methane), can biodegrade in landfills, wastewater treatment plants and oceans, minimising fashion’s carbon footprint in the process.
Orange Fiber is turning citrus by-products into natural fabrics. The startup is making fibre by extracting the cellulose from fibres discarded processed oranges. Nanotechnology techniques enrich Orange Fibers with citrus fruit essential oils that provide an alternative to conventional fibres made with chemical processes.
BioGlitz is producing biodegradable glitter as an alternative to other manufactured garment materials. The eco-glitter, which is compostable, is based on a biodegradable formula made from eucalyptus tree extract. Paptic is changing the game for retail shipping with its bio-based alternative packaging materials. Paptic’s materials, made from sustainably sourced wood fibers, have a much higher tear resistance than paper, can be recycled alongside cardboard and minimise the use of plastic packaging waste in the industry.
Circular technology feat
Circular.fashion has developed a software that connects circular design, circular retail models and closed loop recycling techniques so fashion brands can design sustainable garments. Circular apparel products feature a circularfashion.ID that provides information to customers and textile recycling companies about the garment’s material origins. Adding to the circularity efforts, Nano Textile is leveraging technology to create an alternative to binder chemicals used in fabric finishing. Its technology uses a process called cavitation that embeds finishes directly into the fabric. The technology is applicable to many types of products, including antibacterial finishes.
Laundering garments could become more sustainable with PlanetCare’s microfiber filter for washing machines. Through membrane nanotechnology, PlanetCare’s filter captures microfibers before they are released into wastewater. As a fashion rental marketplace, Style Lend leverages AI and machine learning to match users based on style and fit. The service enables consumers to rent out garments and in return, reduce clothing discarded in landfills. For consumers concerned about the origins of their products, Good on You is a mobile app that provides fashion brands’ ethical ratings. Good on You’s rating system ranks fashion brands based on a 5-point score that leverages their certifications, publicaly available data and environmental impact.
Asia Apparel Expo will be held in Germany from February 22 to 24, 2018. This is the largest trade show in Europe where sourcing professionals can select from a wide variety of clothing suppliers from Asia brought together under one roof. From manufacturers, fabric and textile suppliers, as well as accessories and trimmings, this sourcing trade show is a well-edited snapshot of clothing production available in Asia, and conveniently located in a central European location. It enables Asian clothing manufacturers and fabric suppliers to connect with European brands, helping clothing professionals to easily expand their Asian factory network and production opportunities.
More than 450 carefully selected factories are expected to take part in the 2018 expo, primarily from Hong Kong and China, as well as other key sourcing countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. For 2018, the Asia Fashion Accessories area is expanding with new offerings of gloves and belts, handbags, hats and caps, scarves and shawls, stockings, socks and etc. Nearly 1,800 trade professionals attended the sixth edition in February 2017.
A group of Alok Industries employees are attempting to bid for the assets of the textile company, which is up for sale after being referred to the bankruptcy court, an officials from the banking industry informed. Employees, who made the move, will likely be competing with Reliance Industries (RIL), which has shown an interest in acquiring the textile company — either partly, or completely. The State Bank of India, the lead bank in the group of lenders to Alok Industries, had referred it to the National Company Law Tribunal in July, following directions from the Reserve Bank of India. Some employees have jointly submitted a resolution plan for the company, last week. The company has received claims of Rs 29,519 crore from financial creditors and Rs 624 crore from operational creditors.
Resolution professional for Alok Industries has implemented conditions such as a net worth of Rs 500 crore and assets of Rs 3,000 crore for companies that want to participate in the resolution plan. In addition, the bid party should have an ability to invest at least Rs 500 crore as equity capital in the company.
Alok Industries has four core divisions: Cotton yarn, apparel fabric, home textile and polyester yarn. RIL, which has a petrochemicals business, is keenly interested only in the polyester yarn unit. Alok Industries' lenders had attempted to revive the business through a strategic debt restructuring scheme which permits lenders to convert part of their debt into equity and sell it to a new promoter. But the plan derailed following an order by the Bombay HC that stayed the sale of assets and any change in the company's equity structure. The court issued the order following a petition filed by HSBC on behalf of a few unsecured lenders to settle $55 million (Rs 353 crore) in arrears.
As a part of trend, some jeans brands have jumped on the environmental bandwagon and collaborating with fibre producers and manufacturers in the value chain that are sensitive to environmentally friendly issues. G-Star is one of them, the brand recently launched a new jeans capsule collection that was available from November 2017 through selected stores and online.
This line is made with denim dyed with Archroma’s Earth Colors. These dyes replace petroleum-derived materials that are conventionally used to synthetise dyes. The collection is available in three shades: Dark Plum, Asfalt and Mazarine Blue. Their colours are obtained from nonedible parts of beetroot and saw palmetto leftover from the agriculture industry or herbal extraction.
While continuing to support sustainable causes, G-Star will also launch its new G-Star Elwood RFTPi, developed employing highly sustainable materials. This new product, whose name RFTPi stands for RAW For The Planet indigo, will be available for S/S 2018 starting February 15, 2018. It uses denim manufactured by Artistic Milliners and dyed with Dystar chemical substances which employ 70 per cent less chemicals and no salts nor similar water-harming substances. The garments are washed by Saitex, a specialised laundry that is also committed to recycling 98 per cent water. As part of its environmentally friendly strategy G-Star also will gradually employ only 100 per cent bio cotton and will employ only recyclable labels, accessories and carton packaging. For this specific project G-Star will also employ Cradle-to-Cradle “Gold” certified denims as per the Cradle-to-Cradle Products Innovation Institute.
US jeans brand DL1961 will also launch a new selection of sustainable jeans to be launched pre-fall 2018. This brand will be among the first partners of Lenzing to use Refibra fibers in its denim collection. The Japanese denim manufacturer Japan Blue has just developed Shin Denim, a new indigo denim that looks and feels like any traditional indigo fabric, though it does not fade and guarantees 2.5 higher friction-resistant properties than regular denims.
The Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection notified the World Trade Organisation they would no longer accept shipments of 24 different types of plastic, including Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) among other industrial waste. This is the country’s aim to try to recycle domestic products and clean up their polluted environment. Local polyester plants are being notified that they either reduce pollution levels or face closure.
This is seen as good news to the US cotton market that has been extremely depressed since the last few years, as farmers have been producing the natural fibre at below the cost of production. The exponential increase in use of low cost petroleum-based fibres has sent the market for natural products into a tailspin since the last few years.
Since the past two years, the December 2018 cotton contract futures on the New York Board of Trade had gone below 60 cents per pound are now in the low 70’s, but there is still hope that it will go up to make production of the natural fibre profitable. Market indications reveal that over the next few years, consumers will shift from cheap polyesters to higher end natural and synthetic fibres.
PET, invented around 75 years ago, is made from crude oil. Approximately 60 per cent of PET made worldwide is turned into synthetic fibres and another 30 per cent is used to make plastic bottles. Those bottles can be recycled and spun into cheap polyester fibres.
There are higher-end polyesters, however, much of the polyester we seen in apparel is made from the cheaper PET. This process produces toxic chemicals, pollution and uses lots of fossil fuel energy which is an area of concern for the Chinese as they strive to clean up their environment. Post storms lashing US coastal cities, hurricanes, whiteflies and depressed markets, any straw is good enough to clutch at.
Germany's leading 3D knitting machine company Stoll has entered a collaboration with Myant to boost the textile industry with new advances in Industry 4.0, material science and technical applications for high quality products. Myant is Canada’s leading textile computing company its leading the creation of a new economy in functional computing textiles with Stoll machines.
This collaboration will have a direct and powerful impact on the textile manufacturing industry worldwide as it raises the bar and sets a new gold standard for functional computing textiles. Stoll’s machines combined with Myant’s end-to-end innovations, from molecule to garment, from textile to wardrobe, will truly revolutionize the world of textiles and create a new economy. Stoll and Myant will use this exclusive collaboration for all inquiry of the research, development and engineering of this new domain of functional computing textiles.
The collaboration coincides with Myant’s plans for expansion into the Canadian and American university-affiliated textile technology centers, featuring Stoll machines. It will populate functional computing textile manufacturing in Canada and the US, with 500 state-of-the-art knitting machines from Stoll. The demand for smart fabrics has never been higher as companies race to create garments, wearables, industrial, defense, healthcare and household items to connect humans to the Internet of Things.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved a new skill development scheme to provide placement-oriented skill sets to create employment in the textile sector. This Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector (SCBTS), with an outlay of Rs 1,300 crore till 2019-20, will also incentivise efforts of the textile industry that provide employment, skills and skill up-gradation in the organised textile as well as its related sectors, country wide. Around 10 lakh people are expected to be skilled and certified in various segments of the textile sector through the scheme, out of which 1 lakh will be in traditional sectors.
The objectives of the scheme are to provide demand driven, placement oriented skilling programme (and) to incentivise the efforts of the industry in creating jobs in the organised textile and related sectors. As per a statement, at least 70 per cent of the certified trainees are to be placed in the wage employment and post placement tracking will be mandatory.
Work role wise skilling targets will be based on skill gap identified for various levels such as entry level courses, up-skilling/re-skilling, training of trainers, recognition of prior learning and entrepreneurship development. This program would be implemented through textile industry/units, reputed training institutions relevant to the textile sector and institutions of the ministry of textile and state governments.
