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China will be the next stop in Cividini's growth strategy. The men's and women's clothing brand, which was founded by Piero and Miriam Cividini in the late 1980s, generated 90 per cent of its €12 million turnover in 2016 from sales abroad.
Piero Cividini explains the company has made a deal with a local distributor, Singapore IFFG, to expand in the Far East over the next five years, with a network of ‘shop in shops' in some of China's most prestigious malls. The first store opened at the end of April in Shanghai, inside the Golden Eagle International Shopping Center. The day after a multi-brand IFF Gallery was inaugurated in Nanjing: 3,000 sq. mt. of space dedicated to high-end fashion, including Cividini's collections.
So far in 2017, the brand has shown signs of development, with a positive sales campaign: Piero Cividini, states that the orders for the fall winter 2017/18 season ended with a slight increase and the company is looking to end the year with a single-digit increase in sales. Cividini's main markets are Japan, where it has 20 shop-in-shops and 60 MBOs, and the United States, where they're present in 40 multi-brand boutiques.
The company from Gorle, near Bergamo, Italy, is present in 250 wholesale stores elsewhere throughout the world, in Italy, Europe, Russia, South Korea, and Taiwan. In order to reach their global clientele, the company enacted a development process that, according to the founder, the company has a great deal to do with the generational change and it is important to look for demographics that have different consumption habits.
Women make up the major share of Cividini's clientele, their menswear collection was launched only a few years ago and these clients appreciate the brand's quality and discreet elegance.
Twin Dragon, based in the US, has denim facilities in Mexico and Asia. By using pre-reduced indigo and adding eco-finishing processes, Twin Dragon has reduced chemical and water use compared with typical dyeing and finishing methods. The new processes have helped the company save water, minimize chemical use and speed up the garment production process.
The result is there has been an 85 per cent reduction in environmentally hazardous chemical discharge, which could become the new gold standard in the denim textile industry.
Using eco-finishing at the Twin Dragon mill in Mexico will result in an annual savings of 40 million gallons of water. By using pre-reduced liquid indigo, the company eliminates 700,000 pounds of sodium hydro sulphite from the process. Plus the new methods have improved the appearance of the final product. It has stabilized the shade of indigo, increased the color fastness in both dry and wet crocking, and the final denim product has a 3-D appearance.
Over the last decade, Twin Dragon has invested in several eco initiatives, including using eco-friendly fibers, such as Lenzing’s Tencel and Modal. The company has developed its own trademarked Forever Black process for black jeans, which reduces the environmental impact of the traditional black dye process.
The cutting, making and packaging (CMP) garment industry in Myanmar raked in about $1.836 billion in financial year 2016-17 ended March, says the Ministry of Commerce. Myanmar exports around 33 per cent of its CMP products to Japan, followed by 25 per cent to EU. It also supplies clothing items to South Korea, US and Chinese markets.
The CMP industry, which includes manufacturing of shoes, garment and bags, contributed 16 per cent to total exports earnings during the year. Last fiscal, Myanmar had earned $627 million from its CMP garment exports.
Sweden’s H&M and America’s Gap are among the major foreign companies that have invested in garment manufacturing in Myanmar. (RKS). Myanmar exports around 33 per cent of its CMP products to Japan, followed by 25 per cent to EU. It also supplies clothing items to South Korea, US and Chinese markets.
The CMP garment industry, which includes manufacturing of shoes, garment and bags, contributed 16 per cent to total export earnings of Myanmar during the year. Last fiscal, Myanmar had earned $627 million from its CMP garment exports.
According to the Myanmar, Garment Entrepreneurs Association (GEA) has set an ambitious export revenue target of $12 billion and creating around 1.5 million new jobs by 2020. The garment industry in Myanmar employs more than 300,000 persons.
Wear Sustain, a collaboration between seven organisations across Europe, is a wearable technology project. It’s offering funding for teams of creatives and technologists to develop the next generation of sustainable wearables and e-textile ideas.
The program is seeking applications from teams of art, design, technology or engineering practitioners and businesses to co-develop compelling, ethical, innovative and sustainable solutions for wearable technology and e-textiles. It will help get great ideas off the ground and set a benchmark for ethics and sustainability in the technology field. The project represents an opportunity for people and businesses in different sectors to collaborate and also access real financial support and expertise in areas such as prototyping, business and venturing.
Competition applicants must address one of seven ethics and sustainability themes, such as manufacturing, waste, energy and health, as well as personal data and ethics, during the development of their prototypes. Wear Sustain’s goal is to develop best practices for future creative and technology collaborations. In addition, it will create sustainable and ethical innovation methodologies for wearable technology, smart and electronic textiles.
The program’s aim is to boost synergies between technology and the arts across Europe and highlight awareness of ethics in technology, using wearables and e-textiles to explore key issues such as personal data, ethics and sustainability in current technology use.
Bangladesh wants restoration of trade privileges to the American market. The country will highlight the reforms made to strengthen workplace safety and enhance labor rights in the garment sector for regaining the Generalised System of Preferences facility. Bangladesh’s GSP privileges were suspended in June 2013, in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza disaster, on grounds of serious shortcomings in workplace safety and poor labor rights.
But the US feels more needs to be done to win back the trade privileges. After the Rana Plaza building collapse, Bangladesh signed the International Labor Organisation-brokered Sustainability Compact with the EU committing to responsible business behavior and improving workplace safety and labor rights.
Later, the US and Canada became partners of the Sustainability Compact. Before GSP suspension, only 0.54 per cent of Bangladesh’s total exports were covered by the scheme in a year. Products like dried fish, ceramics and plastic goods enjoyed the benefit but not the main export earner: apparel. Incidentally, the US is the single largest export market for Bangladesh.
GSP was established by the US in 1976. The aim is to promote exports of low income countries to industrialized countries in order to support their economic growth and development. The beneficiaries of GSP include all South Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Afghanistan. Only Bangladesh remains excluded.
"The US imports $82 billion more in clothes than it exports, mainly from Asian nations like China, Vietnam and Bangladesh and closer home from Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador. In 1995, US apparel imports was $36.8 billion but, by 2015, the country’s dependence on imports had reached new heights and the figure more than doubled to touch $87.9 billion. Worsening the growing gap, apparel exports actually fell by $300 million during the 20-year period, achieving the relatively humble figure of $6.1 billion."
The US imports $82 billion more in clothes than it exports, mainly from Asian nations like China, Vietnam and Bangladesh and closer home from Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador. In 1995, US apparel imports was $36.8 billion but, by 2015, the country’s dependence on imports had reached new heights and the figure more than doubled to touch $87.9 billion. Worsening the growing gap, apparel exports actually fell by $300 million during the 20-year period, achieving the relatively humble figure of $6.1 billion. For every $1 worth of clothes America exports, it imports more worth $14. Bringing apparel manufacturing back to America in a meaningful way is an impossible task for a variety of reasons.
Similarly, shoes and handbags categories make up $26 billion and $3 billion of deficit, respectively. Combined, with the fashion industry’s three biggest product categories account for more than 22 per cent of total trade deficit. When you add other categories like sports bags, travel goods and men’s accessories, fashion’s share of the burden approaches a quarter.
Clearly, offshoring of American fashion manufacturing has taken a huge financial and human toll over decades. As late as 1990, the apparel manufacturing industry employed nearly 939,000 people. But as manufacturing moved overseas, the sector lost more than 85 per cent of its workforce. Today, the US Department of Labor estimates that the sector employs less than 130,000 people.
Is reshoring the best solution?
While reshoring would sounds like the best option at this point in time, experts believe it is only feasible for small quantities and highly specialised products. Without doubt, Americans should celebrate the many SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) across the fashion industry helping to breathe new life into parts of the garment centres of New York, Los Angeles and elsewhere. However, scaling domestic production up to the level of big business is another matter.
Experts point out the high cost of labour is a major bug bear. Even brands conceived around the Made in America principle for example, American Apparel. recently relented, announcing it too would start manufacturing overseas.
Rather than allocating the value of a garment wholly to the country that supplied most of its labour, value can be divided among several countries reflecting where various components are produced and the origin of an item’s intellectual property. While this won’t stop the decline in domestic manufacturing, it will paint a more accurate picture of the contributions that American fashion brands make towards the economy – regardless of where they manufacture. Perhaps more importantly, it will rightfully acknowledge the value added by millions of Americans who work in non-manufacturing roles like design, creative, retail and ancillary services throughout the country’s dynamic fashion industry.
A special monitoring committee has been initiated in India’s textile-producing city of Tirupur to monitor pollution levels. The decision was made following a meeting between representatives of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), the Department of Agriculture, Dyers Association of Tirupur (DAT) and local farmers. Recent electrical conductivity tests conducted in the region indicated water samples taken from locations near certain production facilities had a much higher salt level than is permitted. Readings between 10 dS/m to 12.5 dS/m were reported in some cases. In November 2017, Ecotextile News reported a dyeing plant was temporarily shut down in Tamil Nadu following pollution issues. The latest findings show in-spite of the region’s adoption of zero liquid discharge (ZLD) targeted at bringing about an end to pollution which long plagued the dyeing sector.
Any textile dyeing or auxiliary units deemed to be in violation of standards introduced by the committee have been warned with the threat of strict action, although no fixed penalties have yet been established. Some good news was that soil samples from Ganapathipalayam and Karaiputhur which had been submitted for testing by the agricultural department ahead of the meeting were found to have pH of between 8 and 8.5 and were thus unaffected by pollution.
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has sought Rs 4,000 crores from the Union budget for an incentive scheme for the leather and footwear segment designed to boost manufacturing, exports and job creation.
The scheme, on the lines of the special package for the garment industry announced in June last year, will be implemented over a period of three years to FY20-end. The Indian Leather Development Programme (ILDP) ended with 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017). Since such schemes are now being conceived for three years, the projected expenses are up to 2020, which works out to around Rs 4,000 crore says a senior official.
The package for the labor-intensive garment sector gave garment factories the flexibility to hire contractual workers for a fixed period with ease so that they can meet seasonal supply commitments. The government also raised the overtime work limits to 8 hours per week against the current 50 hours per quarter and said the employees’ provident fund contribution will be optional for employees earning less than Rs 15,000 per month.
Besides, under the scheme, the government bears the entire 12 per cent of the employer’s contribution to the Employees Provident Fund Scheme for new employees in the garment industry, earning less than Rs 15,000 per month for three years. Job creation under the scheme has been at a slow pace so far, due to administrative glitches and lack of enthusiasm in sections of the industry.
According to sources the package for the leather industry has similar components. DIPP is now awaiting comments from the ministries concerned such as the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship, ministry of environment, forest and climate change and ministry of water resources, on the leather scheme.
The ILDP is aimed at augmenting the raw material base through modernisation and technology upgradation of leather units, addressing environmental concerns, human resource development, supporting traditional leather artisans, addressing infrastructure constraints and establishing institutional facilities.
Following Toronto’s business mission to India and Sri Lanka, led by Toronto mayor John Tory, organizers of Canada’s largest apparel and textile sourcing show, Apparel Textile Sourcing Canada (ATSC), have announced the unprecedented participation of a large South Asian delegation at the upcoming event from August 21-23.
Jason Prescott, CEO of JP Communications says around 25 per cent of this year’s ATSC show will be dedicated to exhibits from South Asian apparel and textile manufacturers, with India taking a leading role. Prescott further added that ATSC 2017 will foster unparalleled business connections between local Canadian companies and leading South Asian producers of apparels and textiles who see tremendous opportunity for collaboration with the Canadian industry.
Chandrika Behl, Director, Exhibitions India Group points out globally, India enjoys high demand for its textiles and apparel, and that’s why the country has emerged as the world’s second largest textile and apparel exporter and they forward to forging strong relationships with the Canadian market.
Since 2011, Canadian apparel imports have steadily increased 8.3 per cent annually on an average to touch $14 billion in 2016. ATSC debuted in Toronto in August 2016 with more than 200 booths with more than 1,800 attendees. The Canadian event has since announced a 50 per cent expansion of the show for its second edition. This year, the event will feature at least 300 displays from more than 20 countries.
Prescott explained that the first of its kind apparel, textile and fashion event in Canada, ATSC was introduced to aid Canadian businesses to connect with international suppliers on their home turf. At present Canadian companies have the luxury of staying locally and avoiding expensive and unnecessary international travel says Prescott
Morocco is one of the main players in the African textile industry. Incorporating fresh textile strategies, Moroccan jeans producers are embracing technology. Morocco’s fashion-forward goal for 2025 is to have a denim sector that is 100 per cent sustainable. The Moroccan textile industry represents nearly seven per cent of the country’s GDP.
The country’s denim producers want Moroccan denim to be more present in the international market, where it is not present today. They have created a cell of innovation and development to make this industry less polluting and cleaner. Moroccan Denim Cluster, comprising Moroccan denim manufacturing companies, works toward improving the brand image and reputation of the Moroccan denim industry and casual wear through better positioning and stimulating innovative collaborative projects in this area.
The New Wash Group has created Koala, a line of fashionable jeans, using inventive means. Environmental responsibility is a priority, while sustainable jeans are the goal. Jean fabrication is a very polluting industry. To raise awareness of the importance of producing clean denim, the Moroccan Agency for the Development of Investments, in collaboration with French designer François Girbaud, has launched Cleaning the Planet, a collection that proposes 100 per cent Moroccan solutions to denim brands. It focuses on an ecological path by recycling denim and using laser technology.
