FW
Indian textile and clothing exports have stagnated during the last three years. One reason is the FTA/PTA competitive advantage gained by competing nations such as Bangladesh and Vietnam and the high tariff rates imposed on Indian textile and the clothing products in major textile markets such as the EU, the US, Canada and China.
So the industry has appealed to the Center to refund the accumulated input tax credit at the fabric stage in order to avoid cost escalation, encourage the Make in India initiative, reduce import of fabrics, avoid job losses etc. Certain GST anomalies need to be addressed on a war footing. The power loom sector and independent weaving units that produce over 95 per cent of the woven fabric are burdened with 18 per cent GST on yarn while the vertically integrated units do not have to face this problem as they need to pay 18 per cent GST for fibers and only five per cent GST on fabrics, and the cost difference works out to five per cent to seven per cent.
However, the entire cotton textile value chain and also all the textile job work come under the lowest and seamless slab of five per cent. The low rate will help protect the livelihood of over 40 million people involved in cotton farming and trading, make cotton the engine of growth for the Indian textile industry and clothe the people of the nation at an affordable cost.
In countries like Germany investment in technical textiles is 70 per cent of textile output but in India investment in the technical textile sector is only 10 per cent. The technical textile industry also has about nine per cent of the world’s total consumption manufactured in India.
Technical textiles offer several advantages in their functional aspects for improving health and safety, cost effectiveness, and durability and strength of textile material. In India, this sector is in its nascent stages while on the global stage it’s a multi-million dollar industry. A large number of technical textile products are consumed by different industries like automotive, healthcare, infrastructure, oil and petroleum, among others.
Indian companies have started producing technical textiles for the international market. Though at a nascent stage, technical textile production in India with the right investment and exposure will definitely compete with international production.
Indian companies have been introducing several new developments in textile technology. Indian companies are developing products using meta aramid, a textile produced in India which is made from a blend of materials which are environment friendly, lightweight and perform better than asbestos. These meta aramid products can replace the carcinogenic asbestos in the Indian industry which was claiming the lives of people using them.
Indian Handicrafts and Gifts Fair (IHGF) is on at Noida from October 12 to 16. This is a platform for Indian exhibitors of home, lifestyle, fashion and textile products. It will showcase the abundance of raw material products backed by a rich heritage of design and handcrafting skills.
Some 2,750 exhibitors have displayed an entire range of home, lifestyle, and fashion accessories, with a traditional artistic finish in perfect harmony with modern designs and contemporary colors. Visitors can go through materials like houseware, gifts, furniture, garden, outdoor and bathroom accessories, home furnishings, carpets, rugs, floor accessories, lamps and lighting, Christmas and holiday decor, spa and wellness, handmade paper items, educational games, trophies, fashion jewelry and accessories, stationery and gifts at this unique fair.
Buyers from across the globe are wholesalers, distributors, chain stores, department stores, retailers, mail order companies, brand owners, buying houses and designers and forecasters. Overseas buyers are from countries like Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Thailand, Turkey, USA, UAE, UK and Zimbabwe.
There will be seminars on investments in the handicrafts sector, GST, necessary compliances for the handicrafts sector, and neuroscience in marketing. A pavilion will have cane and bamboo products from the north-east and Jodhpur.
Heimtextil will take place in Germany, January 9 to 12, 2018. This is a trade fair for home and contract textiles.
Heimtextil presents upholstery and decorative fabrics. The range of furnishing and upholstery fabrics on offer will vary from suppliers of the highest quality goods to suppliers of functional textile solutions in this segment and also manufacturers of high-volume goods.
Visitors from the contract business will witness functional product solutions for the interior decoration sector, such as textiles with acoustic functions or special abrasion-related properties. The product range for furnishing, decorative and upholstery fabrics will be significantly expanded and offer individual solutions for architects and interior designers.
The show has seen a strong increase in the number of high quality suppliers of furnishing and upholstery fabrics in recent years. This development will continue in 2018. Manufacturers exhibiting their wares include international names such as Deltracon, Muvantex, Loro Piana, Tali, Archroll, Bill Beaumont Textiles, Blom Lina Maria, Cancelli, Erotex, Green Street Fabrics, Pro Loom, Samac, Sankrin World and Textil Roig.
A total of three floors will be available for exhibitors from Asia to present a wide range of products. This is where wholesalers and distributors as well as representatives of department stores meet manufacturers, enabling them to place medium and high quantity orders that will be supplied in a timely manner.
Gujarat’s Garments and Apparel Policy envisages achieving the complete textile and garment value chain from farm to fiber, fiber to fabric, fabric to fashion, and fashion to foreign markets. The main aim of the policy is to make full use of the cotton grown in the state. Entrepreneurs will be encouraged to invest in garmenting since the state has the advantage of being the largest cotton producer.
Under the policy, garment unit owners would get an incentive for generating employment in the form of subsidy in wages. While the subsidy amount would be Rs 3,500 per month for male workers, it would be Rs 4,000 per month for female workers.
Gujarat already has a large spinning capacity with 25 lakh spindles installed. Adding weaving and garmenting would make it possible to achieve the complete textile and apparel value chain. The aim is to provide employment to women and create investment opportunities in the complete value chain from cotton to fabric to clothing.
Some 16 new industrial estates will be set up under the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation. Spread across 2,400 hectares in 16 villages, they will have the potential to accommodate about 15,000 factories. A lakh of people are estimated to get employment. The state has extended its textile policy 2012-17 for another year.
Indian textile exporters are facing difficult times leading to constrained growth as well as pressures on profitability. Unfavorable currency movements and high raw material prices in the past six to nine months as well as a recent revision in duty drawback rates have only added to their woes.
Exporters have been facing subdued demand trends in the key importing countries as well as competitive pressures from nations such as Bangladesh and Vietnam over the past few years. Pressure on textile exporters have become more severe with the strengthening of the rupee against the currencies of key competing nations, which has reduced the competitiveness of Indian exporters.
The slowdown in the apparel segment has mainly been on account of subdued demand from the key textile consuming regions of the US and the European Union, which account for a majority of exports from India. This apart, cotton yarn exports have been under pressure on account of a decline in demand from China, which used to account for more than 40 per cent of total cotton yarn exports from India till last year. China accounted for only 17 per cent of India’s cotton yarn exports in the first four months of fiscal ’18.
Three leading Indian cotton seed makers have settled an intellectual property dispute with Monsanto over its genetically modified (GM) seed technology. The companies are Ajeet Seeds, Kaveri Seed and Ankur Seeds. They were among six Indian companies that delayed payments to Monsanto, demanding a cut in royalties they paid to the US firm to license its technology. They say they have resolved their differences with Monsanto in the larger interest of Indian farmers and agriculture.
Monsanto has been at loggerheads with seed firms and with authorities in India over how much it can charge for its GM cotton seeds, costing it tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue a year. Monsanto says some companies in India owe it millions in royalty payments.
Monsanto is the world’s biggest seed company. Mahyco Monsanto Biotech, a joint venture between Monsanto and local firm Mahyco, licenses a gene that produces its own pesticide to more than 45 local cotton seed companies in lieu of royalties and an upfront payment.
New Delhi approved the first GM cotton seed trait in 2003 and an upgraded variety in 2006, helping transform India into the world’s top producer and the second largest exporter of the fiber.
China will have no problem meeting its economic growth target of around 6.5 per cent this year and may even beat it. Steps that have been taken to rein in the overheated property market have been effective and will remain in place.
The world’s second largest economy expanded by a stronger-than-expected 6.9 per cent in the first half, fuelled by heavy infrastructure spending and a property boom. If growth does beat last year’s 6.7 per cent - the lowest in 26 years - it would mark the first acceleration in the growth rate in seven years.
As fears of the economy tanking have faded, policymakers have become readier to tackle mounting debt and push forward difficult structural reforms. While the economy could lose some momentum in coming months due to higher borrowing costs and property cooling measures, the slowdown may be moderate.
Survey-based unemployment in major cities was 4.83 per cent in September, the lowest since 2012. China’s booming economy continues to propel Asia and drive worldwide economic growth. But the uptick in growth is expected to result in greater debt levels over the long term, raising the prospect of a sharp growth slowdown in China.
Since the global financial crisis in 2008 its debt load as a percentage of gross domestic product has grown more than ten per cent per year on average.
Some of the world’s most renowned clothing and textile companies, including Burberry, Adidas, Kathmandu and Timberland, have pledged to use 100 per cent sustainable cotton by 2025. Timberland, for instance, is moving beyond just minimizing environmental impacts to strategically creating real environmental and social benefits within the supply chain.
Substantial gains have been made over the past few years in scaling the production of sustainable forms of cotton, which is now higher than ever at more than three million tons in 2016. However companies are actively sourcing less than a fifth of this available sustainable cotton.
The companies that have pledged their support are at various stages on their journey to using sustainable cotton, with some already securing all of their cotton from sustainable sources. However, all are clear that collaboration across the sector is needed to bring about transformative change.
In all 36 major brands and retailers have now signed up to the 100 per cent by 2025 pledge, including four of Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s ten largest global apparel brands and three of the top ten UK clothing retailers.
Commitment made by companies will help drive sustainable practices across the sector. In turn, this will help alleviate the environmental and social costs that are associated with cotton production, including the over-use of pesticides, the release of greenhouse gases, the depletion of local water sources and rising costs of production.
Bemis has unveiled Sewfree Elevation, a new adhesive for heat-sensitive fabrics. Formulated specifically for heat-sensitive fabrics, this product provides best-in-class stretch and recovery, without compromising the hand feel of luxury fabrics such as lace. In addition to a better fit and wearing experience, Sewfree Elevation allows factories to assemble garments up to 52 per cent faster.
Intimates in China have moved from basic apparel to highly-regarded fashion staples, and new local brands are prompting Chinese women to rethink the meaning of comfort related to intimates. Bemis wants to help Chinese designers and innovators in this space to maximize their potential by using the most effective, high-quality technology in their apparel, while avoiding counterfeit bonding products falsely positioning themselves as Sewfree.
For more than 107 years, Bemis has developed the best in Sewfree products and technology. Its research in the Chinese market led it to two specific areas of improvement when it comes to the design of bras and underwear – fit and breathability. The new collection shows designers how to build a better bra from a technical standpoint and how to layer in inspiration from the runway.
Bemis has also collaborated with Hong Kong-based intimates manufacturer Clover to produce a collection of bonded bras, panties, and men’s boxers.
