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American textile manufacturer West Point Home has opened a new spinning facility in Bahrain. This will increase the company’s spinning capacity in Bahrain by 38 per cent. The $9 million investment marks West Point Home’s third expansion in Bahrain over the past five years. For West Point Home, investing and expanding in Bahrain has been an ongoing activity. The company has invested some $160 million over the last 10 years in this part of the world and the products produced here generate over 50 per cent of its total global revenues annually.
The tariff preference level allowed West Point and other textile manufacturers in Bahrain to import certain support materials, such as yarn, and export finished goods into the US duty free.
But in 2016 this facility expired. So West Point undertook work on the spinning plant to offset costs resulting from the end of the facility. By spinning more yarn in Bahrain, the company hopes to decrease lead times and increase flexibility. It will also effectively allow it to build on what is already over 100 million dollars of exports annually from Bahrain to the US as well as expand its ability to further sales in other regional and international markets like the GCC and European markets.
With industrialization, surging consumption of textiles in engineered products and rising awareness about the benefits of using textile chemicals, the market in India is projected to cross $2.5 billion by 2021. Apart from this, rising disposable income and increasing living standards are expected to significantly augment demand for textile chemicals in India in the next five years.
With the upcoming GST bill, the positive impacts of GST on overall economic growth in the next few years this would make the manufacturing sector more competitive. As far as textile sector, being an essential item for the common man, textile items should be kept under GST with the minimum possible tax slab and special rates.
Demonetization and cashless transactions are the PM’s initiatives and Union Textile Minister, Smriti Irani, has encouraged digital payments in textile industry. Digital India Workshops have been coming up as an initiative to empower workers to make cashless money transactions using electronic devices and channels. These workshops are first of its kind organised in Indian textile industry.
The textile ministry is promoting cashless payment within the industry by encouraging textile workers, artisans and weavers to open bank accounts following the demonetization of high currency notes. The government has urged textile units to go cashless on a priority basis by opening accounts and using unified payments interface (UPI). The ministry of textiles also set up over 900 camps across the country to open bank accounts. Textile Commissioner Kavita Gupta says the ministry aims to bring all textiles workers within the banking fold and enable them to use digital payment transfer apps in the next three months. Although demonetization has affected cash flow in the textile industry it is likely to drive a constraint in demand for the entire textile value-chain.
World Patent Marketing introduces the Yarn Slider, a craft invention that makes the knitting process faster and easier. Many people enjoy knitting but it can be a difficult task sometimes. This craft invention will help old people knit easily. It helps them have more control of the yarn. The Yarn Slider is a small tube that the user can run yarn through the top of one of the interchangeable tips. The user can then control the tension of the yarn by using their thumb on the small opening. This is both more comfortable to hold than the usual method and also gives them more control over the yarn. This makes knitting faster and easier in addition to allowing people who have less control be able to knit effectively.
World Patent Marketing is a vertically integrated manufacturer and engineer of patented products. The company provides invention services and is one of the only invention companies that engineers and manufactures its own products.
The Yarn Slider allows users to more accurately control the tension on the yarn being used. This allows them to knit more easily and quickly with less hassle. It is the perfect tool for someone wanting to create on a knitting loom who has trouble wrapping the yarn by hand.
Making use of a concept called click chemistry to synthesize antibiotic spider silk, Professor Neil Thomas of the School of Chemistry of the United Kingdom-based Nottingham University collaborated with life scientist Sara Goodacre and her team in the research. Recombinant silk fibers functionalized with levofloxacin was able to retain its antibacterial activity by slow release for up to five days after functionalisation. Professor Thomas points out, the biocompatible fibers can find applications in tissue engineering and biomedicine. The structure serves as scaffolds for cell growth and provides antimicrobial properties due to the presence of antibacterial agents by slow release mechanism.
A chance meeting of chemists and scientists from SpiderLab resulted in antibiotic recombinant silk fibers, using the click reaction technique. The work involved the synthesis of silk protein in a bacterium, where an amino acid not found in protein was added. This amino acid has an azide group, which helps with the click reaction resulting in the functionalized artificial silk. The research was funded by the United Kingdom’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and has appeared in a recent issue of the online journal Advanced Materials.
Vietnam may emerge as a major importer of Indian cotton. In 2016-17, Vietnam imported five million bales of cotton compared to 4.5 million bales a year before. Now it wants Indian cotton to meet the rising demand of its garment and textile sectors. Vietnam’s domestic production of cotton meets only one per cent of demand. The country needs over 5,00,000 tons of cotton to satisfy the needs of its garment and textile manufacturers.
Vietnam’s apparel industry is growing rapidly. With an export growth of 20 per cent a year, the sector is expected to generate a turnover of $40 billion by 2020. There has been a large inflow of foreign investments in the country’s textile industry, which has led to an increased demand for cotton. Mainly exporting to Bangladesh, Pakistan and China, India is the world’s top producer of cotton.
After three highly successful and action-packed days at the Postbahnhof venue, the Greenshowroom and the Ethical Fashion Show Berlin ended. Both shows saw substantially more visitor numbers and a variety of enthralling innovations.
Both of the green trade fairs won over audiences with high quality of collections displayed within a newly expanded space. The high visitor numbers seen on all three days of the events prove the great diversity of what the Messe Frankfurt is offering is of genuine appeal. Particularly from mainstream retailers, the organiser is registering even higher levels of interest, said Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles & Textile Technologies at Messe Frankfurt.
With 179 international labels, the pair of trade fairs has once again earned their place both as the main platform for ecologically and fairly produced fashion during Berlin Fashion Week and as a unique hotspot within Europe for sustainable fashion. At Greenshowroom, a total of 40 international contemporary labels were on display. There, designers wowed audiences with their skilful mixing of styles, as glamour was excitingly combined with sporting chic. For the coming autumn/winter season, more colourful and contrasting looks are on trend. These include broad silhouettes combined with tailored fits and dusky tones set against showy colours.
Retailers have confirmed increasing demand for eco-fashion. The trend is continuing – more and more mainstream retailers are visiting Berlin as they plan to give a platform to eco-fashion. There was also an appreciable rise in the number of international visitors to the shows.
Despite an improvement in export earnings from value-added sector, textile exports from Pakistan fell 1.65 per cent to $6.156 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year, an official data claims. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data reveals textile exports amounted to $6.259 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.
The textile value-added sector, accounting for more than half of the industry’s foreign earnings, recorded a rise in exports during the July-December period of 2016-17. Knitwear exports inched up 0.17 per cent to $1.193 billion, bed wear fetched $1.043 billion in exports revenue up 4.66 per cent year-on-year and readymade garments rose 5.87 per cent to $1.101 billion.
In July-December 2016, cotton cloth exports fell 5.57 per cent to $1.048 billion, while exports of raw cotton and cotton yarn decreased more than 49 and seven per cent, respectively. Analysts say the recently-announced Rs 180 billion incentives package is likely to give a boost to flagging exports.
The government announced export incentives scheme for five export-oriented sectors including textiles. The stimulus includes a score of rebates given that the exporters are able to increase exports by 10 per cent in the second half of the current fiscal year. The PBS data showed textile exports amounted to $1.035 billion in December 2016, almost flat as compared to December 2015, but down 1.21 per cent over November 2016. Exports of knitwear increased 4.21 per cent year-on-year (YoY) and 1.54 per cent month-on-month (MoM) in December 2016. Bedwear exports rose 9.26 per cent YoY and 0.11 per cent MoM. Exports of readymade garments soared 9.23 per cent YoY and 11.88 per cent MoM in December 2016.
Now that Donald Trump has taken over as the President of the US, all eyes are on him to see his first move. Whatever plans Trump puts in place to force businesses to produce more in the US, apparel retailers will be hit harder than most other industries. While investing heavily to fight off a growing crowd of internet rivals, many of which operate at a loss to gain market share, retailers import nearly everything they sell. They are in perpetual price competition with their traditional competitors.
Despite his criticism of proposal, Trump, could go ahead with a Republican tax reform plan that would tax imports by making them non-deductible expenses, and exempt exports. He has also pushed a still-vague plan to impose 35 per cent levy on goods made by companies that move their production out of the US and then sell back in. Both proposals would hit importers.
If he does pick a border-adjusted tax plan with a corporate tax rate of 22.5 per cent, then this year’s earnings would be 68 per cent lower at Kohl’s, 52 per cent lower at Urban Outfitters and 37 per cent lower at Lululemon, according to Citigroup. Abercrombie & Fitch, Gap and J.C. Penney would lose money.
Some economists say the effects of the measure would be offset by a rise in the dollar and across-the-board increase in prices of imported goods, but companies that are net importers aren’t buying it. Retailers would have to raise prices to return to reasonable profitability. In December, the consumer price index for apparel stood slightly below where it was in December 1990. Taking inflation into account means prices have fallen significantly.
Making use of a concept called click chemistry to synthesize antibiotic spider silk, Professor Neil Thomas of the School of Chemistry of the United Kingdom-based Nottingham University collaborated with life scientist Sara Goodacre and her team in the research.
Recombinant silk fibers functionalized with levofloxacin was able to retain its antibacterial activity by slow release for up to five days after functionalisation. According to Professor Thomas, the biocompatible fibers can find applications in tissue engineering and biomedicine. The structure serves as scaffolds for cell growth and provides antimicrobial properties due to the presence of antibacterial agents by slow release mechanism.
A chance meeting of chemists and scientists from SpiderLab resulted in antibiotic recombinant silk fibers, using the click reaction technique. The work involved the synthesis of silk protein in a bacterium, where an amino acid not found in protein was added. This amino acid has an azide group, which helps with the click reaction resulting in the functionalized artificial silk. The research was funded by the United Kingdom’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and has appeared in a recent issue of the online journal Advanced Materials.
The Accord on Fire (a consortium of European fashion brands and buyers in the country) and Building Safety in Bangladesh has requested the Bangladesh government to form a wage board for workers of the readymade garment (RMG) sector. In a letter to PM Sheikh Hasina, Accord also expressed grave concern over the government’s response to recent RMG industry unrest and wage protests in the Ashulia stating some garment factory owners in the area were questionably using the industry unrest as a basis for mass termination of union supportive workers. The platform expressed concern over the recent detentions and termination from employment of individuals with union affiliation and who promote workers’ rights in the RMG factories located at Ashulia.
It said the signatories of Accord were concerned that as many as 700 persons faced Court allegations and potential arrest allegedly under the auspices of the Ashulia unrest. The Accord also sent the copy of the letter to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
Apparel workers at Ashulia held protests in December last year, demanding an increase in minimum wage to Tk 16,000 from Tk 5,300. Terming workers’ demands illegal, authorities of 85 factories on December 20 announced closure of their units under Section 13(1) of the Labour Act for an indefinite period. However, they reopened the units from December 25 with massive termination and filling cases against workers.
