Pakistan’s textile industry going through tough times
"Marred with a number of challenges at global and national level, the textile industry in Pakistan is losing its sheen. The industry which used to contribute around 62 per cent towards exports, employing around 40 per cent of total industrial workforce, has been under tremendous stress. As per the Economic Survey of Pakistan, exports of the clothing sector, towels, knitwear, carpets and rugs showed a negative growth rate during 2016-17."
Marred with a number of challenges at global and national level, the textile industry in Pakistan is losing its sheen. The industry which used to contribute around 62 per cent towards exports, employing around 40 per cent of total industrial workforce, has been under tremendous stress. As per the Economic Survey of Pakistan, exports of the clothing sector, towels, knitwear, carpets and rugs showed a negative growth rate during 2016-17.
Exports from subsectors, including cotton yarn and cloth, hosiery, knitwear, bed wear, towel, ready-made garments and synthetic fabrics, are less than their potential. And the total potential for direct exports forgone per annum is $3,602 million. This is a huge loss not only for the textile sector but also for Pakistan as underutilisation would lead to unemployment and shutting down of factories. While Pakistan’s exports registered a negative growth rate of 10 per cent from $3.8 billion to $12.5 billion, countries like India, Bangladesh and Vietnam witnessed their exports growing by 31 per cent, 63 per cent and 107 per cent growth, respectively during 2011-16.
Cause for concern
Energy cost poses a great challenge for the textile sector as spinning, weaving and processing industries heavily rely upon energy consumption. Industrial gas tariff is 100 per cent higher and electricity tariff is almost 50 per cent higher as compared to other regional competitors. The industry is not receiving the desired push from the government as far as sales tax refunds are concerned, leading to financial crisis for exporters. Exchange rate overvaluation is another concern owing to which the exports are expensive in the global market. High level of indirect taxes is also increasing the financial burden for the businesses and making it difficult for them to keep their product price compatible at the international level.
Pakistan also lags behind technological upgradation and not enough investment has been made in technology therefore productive capacity remains stagnant. In 2006, Pakistan made $1 billion investment per annum whereas in 2016-17 this investment reduced to $0.56 billion. Owing to these challenges investors are wary about putting their money. On the contrary, countries like China, India and Bangladesh are providing extensive investment incentives to enhance investment and production activities.
Is there a ray of hope?
Looking at the plight of the industry, the government recently announced an export package, which industry hopes will help in its modernisation and development. The package contains new duty drawback rates on products, including processed fabric, textile and garments, yarn and grey fabric and made-up textile articles. It is required that the government implements the Prime Minister’s export led growth package which will generate millions of jobs and increase the exports.
To get competitive raw materials, exporters also need duty-free import of cotton. The country also needs to look beyond cotton fibre and find newer avenues of growth. The government must pay the pending sales tax refunds to the industry to ease its financial burden. Exchange rate should also be adjusted according to market conditions to avoid any uncertainty in policy measure.
Swedish researchers develop yarn-based tracker
Researchers in Sweden have developed a coded yarn-based tracking system that promises to overcome existing limitations and deliver improved traceability. In the new system, intelligent yarns are fully integrated into textiles during the manufacturing stage to produce traceability tags. The coded yarns contain special optical features and, as a result, create an optical stamp or pattern for traceability on the surface of woven or knitted fabrics. The tags are created by using a combination of coded yarns having different and distinguishable optical features or yarn classes.
Traceability is an ongoing concern for the textile industry. Technologies such as barcodes, QR codes and RFID tags have been put in place to enhance supply chain transparency but they often fail to provide complete traceability. The coded yarns work much in the same vein as barcodes, where lines of varying widths and spacing represent digits, and a set of lines represents the full code. Similarly, a coded yarn’s unique optical features represent a digit, with a sequence of coded yarns representing a complete code. The full code can be altered or controlled by changing the coded yarns’ sequence in the textile.
Barcodes and RFIDs possess low security against copying and reproduction, which means an identical tag can easily be reproduced and placed with a counterfeit. The tracking tags are removed at the point of sale. Therefore, it becomes difficult to trace back the history of a textile product after sale.
Bangladesh: Garment exports spell business for dyes
The textile chemical and dye market of Bangladesh is seeing huge growth prospects on the back of rising garment exports. The demand for chemicals in Bangladesh has been increasing rapidly because of the growing denim industry. The country’s performance in the denim segment is so strong it has overtaken even China in the EU market.
Bangladesh has 425 spinning, 790 weaving and 250 dyeing mills. With the existing capacity, the primary textile sector can supply 90 per cent of the raw materials for knitwear and 40 per cent for the woven sector. The rest of the demand is met through imports from China, India and Pakistan.
Water use for washing and dyeing can be reduced by about 50 per cent if the chemicals are used properly. Similarly, energy consumption can also be cut by 30 per cent. Huntsman Textile Effects, based in the US, is working with nearly 200 textile and dye factories in Bangladesh and logging 16 per cent year-on-year sales growth. It sees room for further expansion of its chemical and dye business in Bangladesh. The country is among its top four destinations globally.
Huntsman is among the top three chemical companies for Bangladesh. The country is among its top four destinations globally. Among major garment producing nations, Huntsman supplies chemicals to textile factories in China, India and Vietnam.
Farmers want a decent price
Cotton farmers in Telangana are demanding a price of Rs 7,000 a quintal.
They feel the MSP of Rs 4,320 for the year is not remunerative.
They also want the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) to open more procurement centers.
A large number of farmers switched to cotton this time as prices of paddy, turmeric, mirchi and red gram fell sharply last year. If farmers get a price lower than that, they expect to be compensated for the difference.
The state sowed a record acreage of 46 lakh acres for the fiber crop this year. After witnessing dismal returns in crops such as mirchi, turmeric and red gram, farmers returned to cotton in a big way. As against the suggested price of Rs 4,000, a significant number of farmers got Rs 5,000, resulting in an additional acreage of over 10 lakh acres this time.
Though the procurement generally takes off after Diwali, some markets have already recorded arrivals of the commodity. The prices being offered are not very encouraging.
Farmers in Telangana reduced the cotton acreage in the previous year and went for red gram, whose acreage went up to 11 lakh acres from the normal area of six lakh acres.
Rimzim Dadu showcases 3D projections with her designs at AIFW
Rimzim Dadu known for her unique interpretation of textiles and her expertise in changing the nature of materials and creating new texture surfaces opened the Amazon India Fashion Week with a display of 3D projections on two panels made out of her signature cords. As the show progressed, the panels showed the intricate patterns and techniques she had used this season. The use of 3D projections created an immersive experience. The designer is known for using art installations, technology and craftsmanship to design her shows.
Dadu’s signature molten steel-wire technique received a new treatment in this collection. The sky blue dress and the sari were fluid but still gave a sculpted look. The models looked like they were literally wearing waves.
She also reinterpreted the zari and resham threads to create some of her pieces in the collection. People usually associate zari and resham with embroidery but she changed the nature of these cords to make them grunge - a little stiff but without making them lose their fluidity. It took her more than two months to put the show together. The projections had to match the collection, and she had to get several technical details right.
Paris to host Denim Premiere Vision show next month
Denim Première Vision will take place in Paris from November 14 upto 15. Denim Première Vision is a biannual fair order for denim and sportswear fabrics. International manufacturers will present the latest fabrics, colors and trends of the coming season.
This is an exclusive show dedicated to makers of denim wear. This event hosts world famous denim brands, inviting them to be a part of a unique showcase where a wide variety of denim garments and accessories are displayed by weavers, manufacturers, fiber producers and finishing companies from different countries.
There are 73 exhibitors from countries like France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Morocco, Japan, China, Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, India, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates and Mauritius. The edition will feature creative inputs from the usual Trends area to 16 designers, young but well-known, from all over the world, who have given a personal interpretation of indigo cloth.
Since its creation in 2007, Denim Premiere Vision has affirmed itself as a driving force for the international denim community. Each season for the last 10 years, the show has reinvented itself to better meet the needs of a demanding and versatile industry, and the expectations of brands and of consumers in the constant quest for what’s exclusive and inspiring.
Gucci follows Armani, to go fur-free from 2018
Gucci, owned by luxury holding group Kering, has decided to stop using animal fur (including coyote, mink, fox and rabbit) in its products. Marco Bizzarri, President and Chief Executive of Gucci says to be socially responsible is one of Gucci’s core values. The brand will continue to do better for the environment and animals.
The fashion brand’s first fur-free collection will be for Spring/Summer 2018 season. Once the sustainable collection is out, Gucci will become the second-ever Italian fashion brand after Armani to go fur-free. Armani has announced its decision of ending cruelty towards animals in March 2016.
The company will soon organise a charity auction for its leftover animal fur. Profits from the sale will be given to animal rights organisations, Humane Society International and LAV.
Kitty Block, President of Humane Society International says, Gucci going fur-free is a huge game-changer. This move will have a huge ripple effect throughout the world of fashion. Additionally, Gucci will also join the Fur Free Alliance, a conglomeration of more than 40 organisations known for campaigning for animal welfare.
Looming dangers of clothing pollution
The textile and clothing industry which emits tons of carbon dioxide annually, is taking a toll on the environment. The industry is responsible for extensive water use and pollution and produces 2.1 billion tons of waste annually. Global consumption of clothes has doubled between 2000 and 2014. On a global average, every person buys five kg of clothes a year but in Europe and the US the figure is as high as 16 kilograms. Overall apparel consumption is projected to rise even further, from 62 million tons in 2015 to 102 million tons in 2030. This projected increase in global fashion consumption will create further environmental stress and risks.
Areas where companies can make improvements are a strategy to operate within the planet’s ecological boundaries; climate change; water management and stewardship; raw materials; joint environmental management in the supply chain; chemicals management; investment, stakeholder engagement and responsibility for public policy; and new business models to decouple consumption from resource use.
Consumers can contribute to reducing the industry’s environmental impact by buying less; simplifying their style and wardrobe; by using timeless, high-quality clothes and enriching those with accessories and second-hand items; maintaining their clothes; bringing them to a recycling facility; buying organic, green and high quality items; and creating awareness.
China beefs up textile norms
China’s strengthening of environmental supervision will be beneficial in the long run to reversing the internalisation of pollution control costs along the entire production chain, and will ultimately make green supply chain development become an essential choice for successful enterprises. The textile industry in general is adopting greener, more sustainable methods in its overseas supply chains.
A particularly large proportion of environmental efforts comes from manufacturers in the textile industry. Brands like Levi Strauss, Adidas, Marks & Spencer, Gap and Puma are those implementing greener supply chain methods. There has been an increase in the number of environmental investigations in manufacturing facilities.
Textile manufacturers are adopting new treatment methods in chemical and auxiliary management as well as wastewater treatment. Seven brands, which include Marks & Spencer and Levi Strauss, have deployed new wastewater management facilities and hazardous wastewater treatment plants.
These are some of the findings of the Corporate Information Transparency Index (CITI). Of the 267 brands assessed, apparel manufacturing giants including Levi Strauss, Adidas, Gap and Puma were named within the top ten contributors.
Developed in collaboration by the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Natural Resources Defense Council, CITI is the world’s first quantitative evaluation system of the supply chains utilised in China by manufacturers across industry.
Apparel brands aim for transparency in supply chain
Apparel manufacturers and retailers are starting to build in corporate social responsibility (CSR), compliance and product safety all along their supply chains. CSR is now an important strategic business objective for many in the industry. Trends such as the push to take CSR into account throughout the apparel supply chain puts a premium on transparency in apparel design, manufacturing and merchandising than on quality or legal compliance. Transparency technology is making it possible to provide buyers and consumers with the visibility they need to have confidence in their brands.
Technological advances in supply chain risk management software are making it easier to achieve the transparency necessary to build trust all along supply chains, and ultimately, in the minds of consumers looking for brands that share their values.
Since consumers are so well-informed and demanding things like better CSR, compliance with fair labor standards and product safety, the most competitive companies are re-engineering their processes to build these in, just as quality control started to be designed in to a lot of products in the 1980s. That way, consumers can have the confidence they need to spend their money with brands they can trust. However, fast fashion trends have made it harder for brands to comply with product safety, CSR and internal directives.
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GST adversely impacting Ludhiana knitwear SMEs
"Home to almost 12,000 hosiery units, with an annual turnover of Rs 14,000 crores, Ludhiana has long been a knitwear hub. However, of late dynamics seem to have changed and the industry is suffering from the after affects of demonetization & GST. As Darshan Dawar, President – Knitwear Club, the association of hosiery owners says, this may not be the case for much longer, since business is down by 25 to 30 per cent. Many small units are holding on till this winter. If the season goes well, smaller units might remain afloat. But if demand falls further and order cancellations continue, more than 2,000 units will be closed by the end of the year."
Home to almost 12,000 hosiery units, with an annual turnover of Rs 14,000 crores, Ludhiana has long been a knitwear hub. However, of late dynamics seem to have changed and the industry is suffering from the after affects of demonetization & GST. As Darshan Dawar, President – Knitwear Club, the association of hosiery owners says, this may not be the case for much longer, since business is down by 25 to 30 per cent. Many small units are holding on till this winter. If the season goes well, smaller units might remain afloat. But if demand falls further and order cancellations continue, more than 2,000 units will be closed by the end of the year.
The ground reality
As a workers employed in the industry for considerable time, explains earlier there were 80-90 men working with him at his factory. Now there are only 50. Being labour-intensive industry, it used to employ over four lakh workers, but 30 per cent have left for jobs elsewhere. Some have gone back home as there is not enough work for them. There is no work even for the temporary job shops. Daily wage jobs in the hosiery sector shrank following demonetisation, and this year there has been a further cut. Companies are getting fewer orders, and pending orders have been cancelled. Production has been affected, and even his unit had to shunt out 25 daily labourers. Till now, companies retained permanent stuff even though there is little work for them. If no changes are announced for the hosiery sector, especially for the small- and medium-scale units, full time workers too would lose their jobs.
GST impacting adversely
Some hosiery unit owners say, GST has forced them to increase the selling price of their products. Also, there is now a need for larger amounts of working capital and cash in hand, which has pushed smaller or marginal hosiery owners off the map. Cost of products has to go up by Rs50 to Rs100 a piece, and buyers have refused to buy. The unorganised hosiery sector used to carry out business based on a system of credit. Payments were made when the finished product was sold. Now, the raw material cost plus its tax has to be paid for at the time of purchase, for which the units have to take loans at high interest rates. It takes time to produce and sell, and payments of the sale can take even longer, he added. He felt that the situation might work out for those who have large scale units, but for small or micro units, taking bank loans and paying a huge amount of interest for months could mean end of their business.
Thread or yarn was earlier taxed at 3 per cent, and is now taxed at 5 to 12 per cent post GST, reduced from the slab of 18 per cent on October 6, after the GST council meet. Meanwhile thread mills have created cartels and are quoting unrealistic prices. Manufacturers cannot pass on the increase to customers, as there is already a demand shortage post demonetisation. As a result, they have cut down their own margins. Another factor affecting the industry is the GST imposed on job work. Sonu Nilibar, coordinator, the Cloth Merchant Association of Ludhiana, says, suits, saris, sweaters, etc, pass through some hand work and machine work processes done by artisans. They work from home, are not trained, and don’t have big set ups. These artisans are mostly illiterate and rarely keep accounts. Even if they are not in the GST net because they fall in the less than Rs 20 lakh category, to get bills from them is almost impossible.
Nigeria hopes to export textile raw materials
The textile industry in Nigeria is at an all-time low. Out of the more than 250 mills that were in operation in 1970s, less than 25 are currently in production. The situation is attributed to an aggregation of factors, ranging from obsolete machinery, high interest rate, and inadequate infrastructure, to lack of improvement in the local sourcing of raw materials.
Leadership failed to sustain the manufacturing and textile industries when the country discovered oil. Some of the constraints of raw material sourcing in the country’s textile industry include a higher priority to food crops than cotton, poor prices and market dynamics, lack of fertilizers, inadequate and untimely supply of inputs, seed contamination, inadequate knowledge of production packages and non-availability of these technologies including pest and disease control.
The country is trying to revive its cotton, textile and garment industry. The cotton sector is being revamped. Nigeria hopes to be a net exporter of textile raw materials by fully exploiting its raw material potential. Nigeria's textile industry used to be the third largest in Africa. In Nigeria, textile manufacturing is a key local industry, supported by a chain of suppliers such as cotton growers and natural dye makers. However, traditional methods of dyeing fabrics are threatened by cheap imports from abroad.
NSF becomes approved certification body
NSF International’s certifications help companies show commitment to sustainability, transparency and traceability. As consumers seek greater transparency in the products they purchase, NSF International’s third-party validation of textile content claims helps support and protect brands and strengthen customer trust.
NSF is a global, independent organisation that works to protect the environment and human health. It offers a full range of sustainable third-party certifications including recycled and organic content, traceable down and responsible wool. NSF’s 70-plus years of certification expertise, global presence and quality are designed to help the textile, footwear and apparel industries improve their sustainability, traceability and transparency.
NSF is now an approved certification body for three additional Textile Exchange standards pertaining to organic content, wool and down. The Textile Exchange Recycled Claim Standard verifies the presence and amount of recycled material in a final product through chain of custody verification. The Global Recycled Standard verifies responsible social, environmental and chemical practices in the production of both finished and intermediate products containing recycled content. The standard covers processing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, trading and distribution of all products made with a minimum of 20 per cent recycled material. The Textile Exchange Organic Content Standard provides third-party verification of organic material content in a product.
Smart garments, e-textiles to be stars of fashion show in Detroit
Digital is the new black at the 360Fashion and Tech Exhibition taking place in Detroit. It will be hosted by Southfield-based Lear Company and presented by Detroit Garment Group, the "visibility and mobility" themed event is 11 a.m to 7 p.m. at the Lear Innovation Center at 119 State St. The show Friday is the company's first to be held in Detroit.
There will be 30-50 pieces of fashion on display, with an emphasis on "smart garments" and "e-textiles, says Anina Net, CEO of 360Fashion Network. On display will be pieces such as the motion dress, an intelligent pieces of clothing that lights up in accordance with strong movements, like a strut on the red carpet, or becomes dim during one-on-one conversation. There will also be robotic dresses and laser dresses, and wallets that wirelessly charge phones. Those interested can register online.
360Fashion Network produces fashion technology shows throughout the U.S., Europe and China. One of its largest shows is held in partnership with the China National Garment Association and draws an attendance of more than 125,000 people.
