Welspun believes its flooring business will be a game-changer in India. The business will offer stone polymer composite luxury performance tiles, carpet tiles, wall-to-wall carpets and artificial grass. This will provide convenience and customisation to customers and stakeholders such as contractors and distributors. The company’s flooring plant in Hyderabad is spread over 27 million square meters. The new vertical is expected to generate sales of around Rs 100 crores in the current financial year. The tile market in India is worth Rs 35,000 crores. The flooring business is expected to help Welspun grow in double digits.

Welspun is the world’s largest maker of terry towels. Welspun is going into advanced textiles.The big bet on advanced textiles includes making disposable towels out of non-woven textiles and filters for the auto and power sector. Advanced textiles will broadbase Welspun’s clientele by adding sectors such as auto, healthcare and FMCG. The company is known for bed sheets and towels and has introduced reversible bed sheets and quick-dry towels. It is one of the largest suppliers of home textiles to retailers like Walmart, Costco and others. The company also sells premium licensed brand products like Wimbeldon, Nickelodeon and Disney. Branded products account for 17 per cent of its revenues.

By signing a series of free trade agreements, Vietnam hopes to create a large playing field for its textile and garment enterprises. Among these are: the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) bloc. Vietnam’s fabric and yarn enterprises are waiting for EVFTA to take effect to boost exports to the EU. The agreement stipulates strict requirements of product origin in order to enjoy trade preferences. Textile and garment exports to the EU must be produced with fabrics made in Vietnam, and tailored in Vietnam or Europe. According to the CPTPP, all three production stages of fabric spinning, knitting and completion must be done in a CPTPP country. This requires Vietnam to build a domestic textile and garment material supply chain.

The textile and garment industry is stepping up its sustainable development strategy implementation to meet the requirements of major foreign markets. Manufacturers in the sector have applied advanced science and technology to green the industry, apart from training human resources.

Vietnam’s earnings from textile and garment exports have grown 10.19 per cent. Vietnam is the biggest textile and garment exporter in Asean (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations). The US is the largest importer of Vietnamese textiles and garments, followed by the EU and China.

Denim Premiere Vision was held in the UK, December 3 to 4, 2019. The major theme at the event was environmental sustainability and almost all the exhibitors presented innovations which reflected this theme. The exhibitors represented approximately 33 per cent of the denim industry and, perhaps more significantly, 90 per cent of the premium denim industry. Many exhibitors advertised key products certified as compliant with various environmental standards. A trend area hosted design trends for the spring/summer 2021 season.

Bossa, a Turkey-base denim manufacturer, presented a range of fabrics made using recycled organic cotton, Tencel Lyocell fiber with Refibra technology and Lycra T400 fiber with EcoMade technology. Naveena Denim, a denim manufacturer based in Pakistan, presented a fabric called Hemp Denim. The fabric is made using hemp fiber and its manufacture consumes 70 per cent less water than the manufacture of cotton fabric. KilimDenim, a denim manufacturer based in Turkey, presented its Cactus indigo dyeing technology, which is designed to reduce the amount of water consumed during the indigo dyeing process, particularly during the rinsing stage.

Innovation in environmental sustainability will be a major focus for the denim industry looking ahead. In particular, organic fibers, recycled fibers and recycled materials will be key ingredients for use in the manufacture of denim in the future.

Salvatore Ferragamo’s revenues rose 2.3 per cent in 2019. Footwear sales increased 3.8 per cent and those of handbags and leather accessories by 3.7 per cent. Fragrance sales were down by 6.7 per cent. Asia-Pacific is the Italian luxury label’s main market, accounting for 37.1 per cent of sales, which rose by 1.1 per cent in the course of the year, with a notable 13.8 per cent increase in China. The region’s performance was however negatively affected in the fourth quarter by the troubled political situation in Hong Kong, where retail sales for Ferragamo fell by over 50 per cent, having already slipped by 45 per cent in the third quarter. Revenue instead rose by 7.1 per cent in Central and South America, by 5.3 per cent in Europe and by 0.7 per cent in North America.

Ferragamo has been suffering from brand positioning issues in recent years, and its revenue lost 3.4 per cent in 2018, with net income down 21.1 per cent, after experiencing difficulties in 2017 too. To get back on track, the label has embarked on an in-depth organisational overhaul, trying to strengthen its position in the product categories where it was weaker, while consolidating its footwear business.

Gartex will be held in Mumbai from March 19 to 21, 2020. This is a trade fair for garment and textile machinery. The aim is to reach out to major textile hubs in west and south India, smaller-sized companies and start-ups. Exhibitors will present the latest innovations, machines, plants, processes and services to various stakeholders in the industry, including manufacturers and suppliers. The show will provide insights on technological developments in the garment and apparel manufacturing sector. Additionally, innovative products and technologies, defining the latest trends in the industry, will be showcased to visitors. The event is also aimed at providing business opportunities for international and national suppliers as well as trade visitors through networking sessions with industry experts and engaging in investment opportunities during the show.

Gartex Texprocess India is a great platform that has been instrumental in unifying various stakeholders within the garment and textile manufacturing supply chain. Now the show is being held for the first time in Mumbai. The hopeful is that this edition will diversify the reach and expanse of this highly popular trade event. The endeavor is to provide a lot more opportunities for the garment and textile manufacturing industry.

India hopes to triple textile and apparel exports by 2024-25.

Vietnam emerged as the top destination for Cambodian exports within the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), with shipments worth $1.25 billion, followed by Thailand with $958 million, and China with $328 million.

Cambodia experienced a 16% growth in its exports to RCEP countries during the first quarter of 2023, amounting to a total value of $2.89 billion, according to recent data from the Ministry of Commerce. This figure represents a significant increase compared to the same period last year.

On the other hand, China remained the largest source of imported goods for Cambodia, accounting for $2.53 billion, while Vietnam and Thailand closely followed with imports valued at $957 million and $440 million, respectively.

The RCEP, a free trade agreement, officially came into effect on January 1, 2022. It comprises 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including the 10 ASEAN member states (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam), as well as their five trading partners: China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.

Over the next 20 years, the mega-regional pact aims to eliminate up to 90% of tariffs on goods traded among its signatories. As the world's largest trade bloc, the RCEP possesses a combined GDP of $26.2 trillion, equivalent to approximately 30% of global GDP, 28% of global trade, and 32.5% of global investment

During the first quarter, Cambodia's trade with RCEP countries accounted for 19% of the nation's total trade. In 2022, Cambodia's exports to RCEP countries reached $6.34 billion, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 7%, as reported by the Ministry of Commerce. Furthermore, RCEP accounted for nearly 60% of Cambodia's international trade, amounting to $52 billion in the same year.

Coats in partnership with Osram has launched a LED light system. Called Coats Signal Active Illumination, this is washable, lightweight and customizable and is aimed at helping improve people’s safety and visibility. The system is designed for application in garments and accessories. Visibility range is approximately three times more than retro-reflective products are able to achieve. The device is made of flexible light guides which draw their energy from a USB power bank, the size of a credit card. It retains a charge for up to eight hours, which as the average length of a work shift is especially relevant to those wearing it as part of their work wear. The power bank can be easily unclipped and removed to enable the garment including the LED light system to go through machine washing and drying.

Coats is an industrial thread company, Osram is a lighting specialist. The combination of Coats’ deep expertise in textiles with Osram’s wide technical knowledge of lighting is expected to shape the next generation of high visibility work and active wear.

Homogenous illumination in garments can literally power improvements in people’s visibility and therefore also their safety. The potential to extend the range to respond to sensory safety detection like approaching vehicles, vital signs of the wearer or a sudden fall could create a life saving product.

Applied DNA Sciences has received a patent covering methods of tagging manmade cellulosic fibers or materials with a DNA tag.

The patent also covers methods of authenticating the nucleic acid-tagged fibers and materials through detection techniques to confirm provenance and authenticity. Manmade cellulosic fibers include viscose, rayon, acetate, lyocell, Tencel, modal and cupro materials. Most such fibers and materials are primarily derived from wood. Their use is moving the textile industry toward greater sustainability, but has also yielded social and environmental concerns related to deforestation and biodiversity. There has been heightened awareness related to the sourcing of wood raw materials from endangered or ancient forests, the social and environmental concerns relating to the chemicals used in production, as well as the amount of energy and water used to manufacture manmade cellulosic fibers. Volume of global manmade cellulosic fiber production more than doubled from 1990 to 2018; and is expected to continue growing at an annual rate of nine per cent through 2024.

Applied DNA Sciences, based in the US, is a provider of molecular technologies that enable supply chain security, anti-counterfeiting and anti-theft technology, product genotyping and pre-clinical nucleic acid-based therapeutic drug candidates. The company continues to collaborate with its global network of manmade cellulosic fiber producers and manufacturers to assure that their brands are verified and traceable.

Promoters of several textile companies in India have increased their stake in the last nine months by purchasing fresh shares in the open market on expectations of a recovery in demand, and thus better profit margins. An increase in shareholding of promoters is considered positive as it sends out an affirmative message that they see value in their companies at the current levels and are optimistic about the long-term prospects.

Raymond’s promoters have increased their stake by 290 basis points to 46.7 per cent between April and December 2019. Similarly, promoters of Arvind have raised their stake by 165 basis points in the same period. Indo Rama Synthetics, which has a low market capitalisation, has witnessed its promoters increasing their stake by over 18 percentage points. Other players, such as Filatex India and Trident, too, have raised their stake since April 2019.

India has become competitive in both polyester yarn and fabrics in the last couple of quarters. This has prompted leading companies in the sector — Arvind and Filatex — to expand their fabric and polyester yarn capacities. The overall sentiment is currently weak because of the global economic slowdown. But the sentiment is expected to recover in the next one or two quarters.

"The series of upheavals currently being witnessed in the Bangladesh RMG industry such as robotics, automation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence are negatively affecting the country’s job market and its economy. The introduction of new production machinery is affecting unskilled and semi-skilled workers in the country. The Bangladesh government’s a2i project and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) reveals, around 60 percent of garment workers in the country are likely to become unemployed by 2030 and be replaced by robots due to automation in the RMG sector."

The series of upheavals currently being witnessed in the Bangladesh RMG industry such as robotics, automation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence are negatively affecting the country’s job market and its economy. The introduction of new production machinery is affecting unskilled and semi-skilled workers in the country. The Bangladesh government’s a2i project and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) reveals, around 60 percent of garment workers in the country are likely to become unemployed by 2030 and be replaced by robots due to automation in the RMG sector.

Though the garment sector has created numerous jobs in Bangladesh, a large portion of this labor is unskilled. Automation is likely to impact workers adversely as they are likely to lose their jobs. Though Bangladesh is the second largest garment and textile exporter in the world, it cannot create sufficient jobs for the workers leading to the probability of mass unemployment in the country.

Factory owners integrating new machines in factories

Garment unit owners are now integrating automatic machinery in their factories which enables them to overcome the challenges across their production process. They have introduced automation at almost all stages of apparel making which has, in turn, reduced their dependency on labor.

The Bangladesh Garments Accessories aAnd Packaging Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association (BGAPMEA) reveals that every year around 100 new factories now use advanced technologies in their entire apparel-making process. The use of these advanced technologies enables them to cut their production costs significantly besides ensuring higher productivity and reduced lead times. Though, the introduction and use of automatic machinery in the RMG sector is costly it will help the sector reap benefits in the long run in terms of higher efficiency.

Negative impact on employment market

Though automation in the RMG sector is likely to bring in some inevitable challenges for Bangladesh, the country has no other option but to embrace them in order to take the apparel sector to the next level. Automation in the country will definitely lead to layoffs and job cuts, but it will also create new jobs as the new installed machines will require supervision and experience wear and tear, on the other. The type of jobs created as a result of automation will require skill and education—which the country lacks.

Skill development to ensure job retention

Automation will create more jobs in the service sector for which they need to invest more in education and training. Furthermore, it needs to ensure favorable labor laws, take initiatives for skills development, and provide social protection. There is a dire need for training for developing and expanding labor market skills to ensure job retention and assist terminated workers to find alternative ways to make a living.

Restructuring the country’s education system and reducing the gap between its education and employment will reduce its dependence on expatriate managers and curb youth unemployment. The government must therefore prepare its labor force for the smooth transition of its RMG industry to a higher value added industry.