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On entering Vietnam, Unifi Inc continues to spread the global footprint of REPREVE recycled fiber, with the support from Century Synthetic Fiber Corp, a licensed manufacturer of Repreve. While Century Corp will manufacture, sell and distribute Repreve filament yarn within the country, Unifi Textiles (Suzhou) (UTSC), Unifi’s subsidiary in China will manage sales and distribution of Repreve filament yarn exported from Vietnam.
This collaboration will open distribution channels for Repreve in a key apparel-producing region helping to fulfill increasing demand and shorten lead times to the company’s customer base. Headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Century Synthetic Fiber is one of the largest polyester yarn manufacturers of Vietnam. The company that was established more than 15 years ago, continues to invest in its operations and expand capacity today.
Tom Caudle, President Unifi avers that Vietnam has been a region of focus for brands and retailers over the past few years. With exports of approximately $27 billion in apparel and textiles in 2015, growth in the region and expectations to grow to $30 billion in 2016. Within the past 18 months cannot be ignored. He further said that his company has been distributing REPREVE to countries including Turkey, Taiwan, Sri Lanka and now Vietnam.
Jay Hertwig, VP of global brand sales, marketing and product development for Unifi, added this was a strategic position in growing the global supply chain for Repreve and will allow his company to expand into other Premium Value Added (PVA) products in the near future. A presence in Vietnam will enable Unifi to meet sourcing requests and increasing demand from our customers wherever they choose to do business.
The Tirupur Exporters’ Association (TEA) has forward a number of measures before the Union Textile Ministry including keeping the industry under lowest slab of GST, rebate on state levies, labour law reforms and setting up of knitwear board, among others. TEA president Raja M Shanmugham said. This, because of its MSME dominant nature and the slender margins in which the textile industry was operating, the entire textile sector may be placed in the lowest slab of the GST.
With this, the industry can absorb the levy without any significant impact on business, he said at a meeting with Textile minister Smriti Irani. In his memo to the minister, he said that there is a long pending problem whereby job workers are being denied EPCG licences for capital goods imports.
Despite repeated representations and even after the issue of clarificatory circular in September 2016, this issue has not been resolved yet. There is an urgent need to resolve the issue to reinstate a climate of investment in micro and small industries that has shelved investment plans for more than 18 months now, he added.
The benefits announced in the special package in June 2016 included rebate on state levies, EPF benefits for new employment are yet to be passed on to the exporters. Optional ESI/EPF contribution for employees below a certain threshold minimum wages as indicated in Para 61 and 62 of Budget speech of 2015 that is yet to be implemented through an amendment in PF and ESI Acts may be expeditiously given effect, he wrote in his memo.
Shanmugham stated that as a permanent solution to the problem of lack of interface between government and the industry, a focused and dedicated agency similar to Silk Board or Coir Board be formed specifically for the knitwear sector which can serve as a catalyst for rapid growth of this segment.
Pakistan has unveiled a package to boost the country’s exports. Duty drawback for garments would be seven per cent, for textile made-ups six per cent, for processed fabrics five per cent, for yarn and grey fabric four per cent, for sports goods, leather and footwear seven per cent and for carpets and tents five per cent.
Import duties on cotton, customs duty on manmade fiber other than polyester and sales tax on imports of textile machinery have been abolished. Liberal incentives are likely. Exporters will be liable to increase exports by five per cent from January to June 2017 and then by a further 10 per cent in financial year 2017-18.
Dozens of power plants are being installed under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor. The objective is to ensure availability of cheaper electricity on a sustainable basis. The plan is that 10,000 megawatts of electricity would be added to the system by next year and 30,000 megawatts within the next few years.
A network of roads, highways and motorways will be laid, integrating different regions of the country. Interest rates have been lowered and investors are being facilitated. The zero-rated facility has been given to five export sectors in the budget.
Though Pakistan seems to have placed a lot of faith in the ‘game-changing’ China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) but local business community is concerned. Stakeholders in the country’s textile sector are anticipating a further decline fearing if Chinese companies started relocating their textile units in different tax-free industrial zones in Pakistan, they would go out of business.
In a talk, Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) Senior Vice President Jawad Choudhry said whenever China enters any country, it damages the domestic market. He observed that the readymade garment industry was currently facing a decline due to the high cost of doing business and productivity whereas China plays with price by increasing its production, he added.
Experts believe if China locates textile units to Pakistan, they will have an edge over existing players due to tax-free zones, under CPEC. An additional benefit for them would be the energy prices as they are setting up their own power plants to feed their industries in Pakistan.
With its intention to train unskilled workforce and help them make a good living by earning more, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has sent a proposal to the Central government seeking inclusion of khadi in MNREGA, says Vinay Kumar Saxena, Chairman, KVIC.
He said the proposal was sent not only to have more artisans under the scheme but also to make unskilled workers earn more through it. These artisans will train the 5.40 lakh unskilled workers before involving them in khadi production. This in turn would help them raise their annual income from Rs 20,000 to Rs 73,000.
Besides, National President of the Textile Association (India) Arvind Sinha claimed the move will generate employment and enhance skill development amongst youth. He said the move will not only help the workers but in the long run will be very fruitful for the textile industry especially the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). It will also help enhancing technology in the related sectors, he added.
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (or, NREGA No 42) which was later renamed as the ‘Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act’ or MGNREGA is an Indian labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee the 'right to work'. It aims to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
Canadian apparel maker Gildan Activewear has bought US fashion retailer American Apparel in an auction. Gildan will not take control of any of American Apparel's 110 stores but will own the brand and assume ownership of some of American Apparel’s manufacturing plants in southern California, one of the largest garment-making operations in the United States, with about 3,500 employees.
Gildan makes most of its garments offshore, with close to 90 per cent of its 42,000 employees in low-cost Caribbean and Central American countries. It has yarn spinning and distribution centers in cheaper parts of the United States, including North Carolina and Georgia.
American Apparel filed for bankruptcy after the failure of a turnaround plan implemented by its owners, a group of former bondholders. The company's finances deteriorated and sales declined. The iconic company was founded in 1998 and grew to become a part of US popular culture thanks to its racy advertising.
American Apparel’s struggles show the major challenges facing brick-and-mortar retailers as more consumers shop online. Several US retailers, including Aeropostale and Pacific Sunwear, have filed for bankruptcy in recent months. The spending habits of young people have shifted and they visit malls less often and are increasingly going online.
Pitti Uomo is being held in Italy, January 10 to 13, 2017. This men’s fashion event has dance as its guiding theme and is presenting the Autumn/Winter collections of 1,220 brands, 44 per cent of which are non-Italian. The trade fair has become a global leader in men’s fashion thanks to its alchemy between fair and events outside it, innovation that is contagious for brands, ways of presenting collections and the ability to mix things up.
This year the number of international experimental brands represents more than 40 per cent of the 1,220 brands present and 20 per cent of the turnover. The Italian men's fashion industry closed 2016 with a slight increase in turnover. However, it is losing steam due to competition from countries outside the European Union. Purchases are declining in particular from the United States, the main end market of Italian men's fashion. In the January-September 2016 period, exports to the US fell by 10 per cent. But the Far East is showing a dynamic trend. In the first nine months of 2016, exports were up 14.6 per cent to Hong Kong, 11.3 per cent to Japan, 5.6 per cent to China and 1.8 per cent to South Korea.
Planet Textiles will take place in Bangalore on May 24 in Bangalore. This is about environmental issues facing the global textile sector. This year’s event will tackle the crucial issue of textile waste water pollution, chemical management and natural resource conservation including both energy and water use.
Last year the event took place in Denmark and attracted around 450 senior industry executives and speakers from brands such as VF Corporation, Nike, Marks & Spencer, Puma, Gap and Levi Strauss.
The Planet Textiles event on sustainability was first launched in Hong Kong in 2009. It features innovators in the global textile and retail businesses who are reshaping the industry. It explores company engagement, collaboration and transparency. Visitors learn about radical new environmental initiatives and business models in the textile supply chain.
Speakers will present methods for improving and managing global sustainability measures with emphasis on third party, independent certifications as important and effective business tools. Calls for increased sustainability and transparency, especially at the consumer level, are growing substantially around the world. This international megatrend will require companies along the entire global textile supply chain to accelerate their sustainability initiatives in order to meet the market’s demands. Brands and retailers are tweaking their supply chains to become more compliant, more transparent, and more responsive.
Arvind, India’s top denim producer has installed the nation’s first Monforts Eco Line. The particular Eco Line denim finishing range in India has been installed at the company’s Ahmedabad mill. The installation will increase production, reduce energy usage and respond more quickly to customer requests for specified designs and finishes.
Monforts Area Sales Director for Southeast Asia, Hans Gerhard Wroblowski said Arvind’s early investment in this new technology gives the company at least a year lead ahead of competition. The Eco Line, which can handle fabric widths of 1800 millimeters and operate at high speeds of up to 80 meters/minute, is being operated alongside four Montex foam finishing stenters that are also able to handle this same width of material.
Arvind is rated in the top three denim producers in the world, and sees further export potential. Aamir Akhtar, CEO of Arvind Lifestyle Fabrics’ Denim division, says in India, the denim industry is growing at a CAGR of 13 to 15 per cent. Arvind’s own export-domestic output is around 50:50, but some of the domestic production is worked up into garments and exported, so distorting the figure: taking that factor into account, Akhtar believes that the export proportion is closer to 60 per cent.
Founded in 1931 as a maker of traditional Indian clothing, Arvind modernised in 1984 and brought denim into the domestic market thus starting the jeans revolution in India. Today, it retails its own brands like Flying Machine, Newport and Excalibur and licensed international brands like Arrow, Lee, Wrangler and Tommy Hilfiger through its nationwide retail network.
The 12th edition of Shenzhen International Brand Underwear Fair (SIUF) would be held in Shenzhen, Southern China from April 19 to 21. Organized by Shenzhen Shengshi Jiuzhou Exhibition and owned by Tarsus Group, the joint trade fair SIUF, also named as China (Shenzhen) International Brand Underwear Fair & Shenzhen International Underwear OEM/Materials and Fabrics Fair has made its way to become the most influential fair in Asia.
The 2017 show will be on track to be the largest edition yet. The focus will continue to be on offering the whole supply & distribution chain of intimate apparel industry including fabrics, accessories, brands, production and solutions for intimates, swimwear, sportswear and lounge wear. Featuring 825 exhibitors and 105,600 industry visitors from 27 countries in 2016, SIUF is an important industry resource for intimate apparel professionals, distributors and retailers, suppliers, brand owners and designers of lingerie industry. Covering over 73,000sq. m. the show will be heavily supported and endorsed by official bodies: China Knitting Industrial Association, Guangdong Province Textiles Association, Shenzhen Underwear Association, HKIAIA and Taiwan Textile Federation.
Adapting the show's content to consumer trends, the 2017's edition will offer a package of activities in its three-day run, comprising distributor awards, brand awards, design contests, trend forums, brand fashion shows and the ultimate Super-model Talent Show. Covering over 650 brands, many with enlarged and upgraded booths, there will be more product launch and trends on display than ever before. Exhibitors include: Invista, Lenzing, Taubert, Muehlmeier, Penn Textile Solution, Pressless, Creora, Asahi Kasei, Toyobo, Eurojersey, Bemis Hong Kong, Bluesign as suppliers and as brand owners.
