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Union leaders in Bangladesh want a recent hike in garment workers’ basic pay to be revised from 32 per cent to 70 per cent. They say, this will raise other fringe benefits proportionately to make the overall wage sufficient for leading a decent life.
The labor law stipulates basic pay doubles in every wage revision but this does not always happen. The country’s garment industry has some 4.4 million workers. Over 80 per cent of these garment workers are operators. Minimum wages are fixed keeping in mind the number of family members, general wage of the country, living costs, social security benefits, living standards of other social groups, productivity and prices of products.
Unions say garment buyers should keep workers in mind while settling prices and make sure that factory owners deliver this additional amount to workers. Though basic pay is low, and though there is scope for bargaining to increase salaries, union leaders in the industry lack unity.
The concept of a national minimum wage has yet to be established in Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s apparel industry fall behind other centers not only in terms of wages but also of worker well-being. A wage hike disturbs factory owners too. In the past few years, a number of garment manufacturers had to shut their factories as they could not cover their costs.
Istanbul hosted a fashion conference organised by the Turkish Clothing Manufacturers’ Association (TGSD). The Istanbul Fashion Conference, organised for the 11th year, has become an important platform helping the Turkish ready-to-wear sector’s transformation into a global brand.
This year’s theme was: responsible fashion. Some 2,700 liters of water is estimated to be wasted for the production of one t-shirt. Polyester, one of the materials most used in the fashion industry, is insoluble in nature. That contributes to the rise in plastic waste in the oceans. From washing machines they go to the seas, where fishes eat them.
Hadi Karasu, President, TGSD, talked about the growth strategy of the sector. TGSD defined three pillars for a five-year growth strategy: Hot pursuit, branding, sustainability. He believes responsible fashion needs to involve the human factor in addition to the environmental dimension. Informal labor, child labor, and work safety should be part of this understanding.
Bangladesh Parliament has passed the textile bill that was presented in June 2018 by Mirza Azam, the state minister for jute and textiles. Considering the growth of Bangladeshi apparels from $28.2 billion in 2016 to $29.33 billion in 2017, the government of Bangladesh aims to achieve higher numbers by streamlining multiple processes for market leaders in the textile industry.
Bangladesh’s total exports earnings was $36.67 billion for in fiscal 2017-18. Exports income received a major boost from the textile industry due to the quota-free rule initiated in 2005 as well as duty-free access to Indian markets in 2011. Textile industry contributes approximately 75 per cent to the country’s total exports with ready-made garment (RMG) sector a major contributor.
With aligned governmental policies, Bangladesh textile leaders like Salman F Rahman, who helms Beximco Group have been able to utilise resources to their utmost potential – pushing the boundaries of growth and sustainable progress in the industry. Raw material and machinery coupled with adequate workforce has established the dominance of the textile industry on a global level in the last decade. The industry which already has seen immense progress also employs over 5 million Bangladeshi workers.
The industry’s growth has resulted in abundant job opportunities. As a result, the standard of living has soared with the combination of employment and financial perks.
Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) plans to set up a textile hub in the Bardoli taluka, Surat. The hub will comprise around 207 micro, small and textile weaving hubs. The proposed project will be set up in the emerging Badroli-II Industrial Estate situated in Miyawadi village. At present, it is India’s biggest man-made fabric manufacturing hub located at a distance of 48 km from Surat.
Most of the industrial units that are proposed to be set up will be for weaving. More than 250 plots have been allotted for this purpose with sizes ranging from 250 square metres to 1,000 sq m. Setting up the proposed weaving units will involve the installation of power looms, jacquard-fitted looms, and rapier looms. The pouring in of investments are expected to come easy as there are existing units in Surat that want to expand their space and scale of operations to enlarge their businesses.
The hub will be set up with an investment of Rs 200 crore and have an aggregate capacity of producing 2 lakh meters of fabric daily.
Louis Vuitton is the world’s most valuable luxury fashion brand, says Interbrand. Chanel is the second most valuable luxury fashion brand followed by Gucci. The list is based on financial performance, ability to influence consumer spending and competitive strength.
The luxury market hasn't grown at such a rate since 2004. Among the reasons for the rise of luxury segment are: increased spending in China and other developing economies as well as digitally savvy marketing and ad campaigns that have attracted a younger audience.
China’s domestic luxury market expanded by 20 per cent in 2017, with mainland growth outpacing the rate of purchases made overseas. Luxury is the biggest story of the report and has an ability to connect to cultures and next generations. It has cracked the code by having a point of view in the market. Luxury is a space of excellence, whether it's fashion, leather or jewelry.
Louis Vuitton is seen as having a strong point of view in everything it does. The brand has been relentless with its engagement with millennials and is noted for investing in people. Similar trends are seen at Gucci.
Louis Vuitton and Gucci are listed among the fastest-growing brands in general, alongside Amazon and Netflix.
After being accustomed to middle-aged buyers for long, sellers of luxury goods are turning their attention to younger buyers. The surge of millennial buyers in the age group 20 to 34 is transforming the traditional demography at shopping malls. Their increasing incomes and family financial support allow the young to shift from fast fashion to posh clothing and accessories.
By 2025, millennials and the Generation Z (people born after 1996) are expected to consume 45 per cent of luxury fashion sold globally. Millennials account for a big proportion of purchases of high-end brands. Traditional outlets have undergone a makeover to make them millennial-friendly. They are incorporating a café look. The selfie generation has a check-in area specifically meant for taking photos. Stores have their own signature color, with red being a symbol of fortune and light blue and pastel pink representing youth.
All these are meant to help young buyers feel more comfortable. Since young people are their main customers, luxury brands employ young people in managerial positions. Watches are a favorite item, especially for online shoppers. Instead of thin leather straps in classic yellow and brown tones, they come with pastel straps and large faces with imprints of paintings.
As per exporters' body FIEO, the country's exports are likely to touch $350 billion exports in 2018-19. Growth is likely to slow in the coming months owing to various domestic and global factors. Indian exports have always been influenced by the growth in global trade and therefore, subdued global trade forecast of 3.9 per cent in 2018 and 3.7 per cent in 2019 will have an adverse bearing.
Exports from September to November, being affected by high-based, clocked over 25 per cent growth in 2017. The sanctions on Iran, payment problems in Venezuela, huge depreciation of currencies of Argentina, Turkey, South Africa, Russia, Brazil and banking restrictions on large number of countries like Syria, Sudan, Libya, and Iraq are affecting exports. On the domestic front, he flow of credit to the export sector is a huge issue as export credit declined by over 41 per cent in April-June.
India is fine tuning its strategy to boost exports. The focus sectors are: gems and jewelry, leather, textile and apparel, engineering, electronics, chemicals and petrochemicals, pharma, agriculture and allied and marine products. Measures will be taken to ramp up domestic production through better capacity utilization, capacity creation and expansion in the short and medium-to- long term.
The possibility of rupee or barter trade with countries from where India is buying crude oil such as Iran, Venezuela and Russia is also being considered. During April-August, Indian exports rose 16.1 per cent while imports grew 17.3 per cent. India’s current account deficit in the June quarter of fiscal 2019 rose to a four-year high of 2.4 per cent, which has put further pressure on the weakening rupee.
In September, import duties were raised on products including refrigerators, air conditioners, jewelry, diamonds and jet fuel to arrest a widening current account deficit and a weakening rupee. Customs duties were not raised on imports of gold or electronic goods. While gold imports surged at an average 65 per cent in July and August, those of electronic items rose 15 per cent during the April-August period.
Arrangements may be finalized with countries like Russia for imports on deferred payment or increasing barter possibilities for balanced trade.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will boost resource efficiency in its operations besides driving long-term sustainability. The organisation has signed an agreement with leading global apparel company, Gap Inc in Pakistan for the same. Under the agreement, IFC's advisory services will assess the use of resources at Gap Inc's supplier factories in the country and help them implement efficiency measures to reduce the use of water, energy, chemicals and other resources.
This will also help Gap Inc to improve competitiveness and sustainability. The agreement is part of IFC's global efforts to promote resource efficiency measures in the private sector, which provides savings for companies, improves competitiveness globally, and significantly reduces environmental impacts.
Eastman has launched a new cellulosic fiber called Naia. This is made from wood pulp derived only from sustainably managed forestry. Eastman is a US chemical and fiber producer. The cellulosic fiber is also certified as biobased under the USDA BioPreferred program, a categorisation which sets it apart from generic viscose, polyester, and nylon.
Besodes its sustainability credentials, Naia is known for breathability and moisture management. The fiber is made from wood pulp from fast-growing pine and eucalyptus trees sourced from certified forests. Eastman does not use pulp that contains any endangered or ancient species. The trees are subject to an established certification process.
Eastman will promote Naia in the women’s wear market. The fiber and yarns take colors well, and Naia can be used alone or blended with other fibers. Naia is a thermoplastic material, which means mills can apply heat to the fabric to change its appearance and give the final fabric a leather look.
Eastman has been making cellulosic fiber for decades. Its acetate fibers were successful in the fashion market, but there were some drawbacks. The company saw an opportunity to reformulate and upgrade its acetate yarns as well as change the processes used to dye and finish the fibers and yarns. The result is Naia.
