FW
"Dubbed as one of the most technologically advanced nations, Japan has been bringing interesting concepts in the world of textiles. Technical textiles that integrate cyber-technologies, such as Toray’s bio-electrode conductive nanofibre ‘hitoe’, a bio-electrode conductive fibre that monitors a user’s biometric signals through IoT, are an important element of such innovation for Japan’s cutting-edge textile sector. Takao Tobari, Executive Director, Japan Apparel-Fashion Industry Council points out that the efficiency in production of Japan’s technical textiles, in particular for sportswear and luxury textile brands, can be improved through the use of Iot."
Dubbed as one of the most technologically advanced nations, Japan has been bringing interesting concepts in the world of textiles. Technical textiles that integrate cyber-technologies, such as Toray’s bio-electrode conductive nanofibre ‘hitoe’, a bio-electrode conductive fibre that monitors a user’s biometric signals through IoT, are an important element of such innovation for Japan’s cutting-edge textile sector. Takao Tobari, Executive Director, Japan Apparel-Fashion Industry Council points out that the efficiency in production of Japan’s technical textiles, in particular for sportswear and luxury textile brands, can be improved through the use of Iot.
The government is providing financial incentives for a range of industries, including fabric and textile manufacturers. Japan’s ministry of economy, trade and industry (METI) said in a statement fashion tech and smart textiles are an important theme in promoting the use of IoT and the utilisation of digital tools in the textile industry. The government has allocated Yen JPY1.04bn (US$9.26m) for the 2018 fiscal year to create the foundation of a new industrial model to promote the use of IoT, with an emphasis on promoting the optimisation of supply chains by coordinating data among companies through IoT.
In addition, METI specifically placed JPY1.8bn (US$16.1m) in fiscal 2018 on public offer to each company that
can realise its concept of Connected Industry, using digital technologies to connect companies with suppliers and customers and unite their own departments. The funds can be used to build a system whereby companies share big data accumulated via IoT.
Automation boosting production
A report produced by the group outlines the potential for textile manufacturers to link individuals’ clothing orders, fashion tastes and body size through IoT to offer mass customisation. As a result, made-to-order products could be made with the same level of efficiency as in conventional mass production, thereby boosting productivity and eliminating dead stock. Komatsu Seiren, a leading fabric manufacturer, based in Ichikawa Prefecture, that produces fashion and sports garments as well as highly-functional fabrics has adopted this idea. Its virtual changing rooms allow customers to simulate wearing clothes of various sizes and patterns in front of a screen that is connected to the Internet. Factories then take orders, which are delivered direct to customers in around three weeks, allowing the company to reduce inventory losses and costs.
Marui Textile, also based in Ishikawa Prefecture, the heartland of Japan’s textiles industry, has a large-scale operation that utilises more than 1,000 looms. Aya Okajima, Marui spokesperson, stated that the company installed various sensors and cameras on the machines in the factory, which are connected to the Internet. These collect and analyse data, making the production status understandable and visible, in real time. In line with this, Kyoto-based textile machine manufacturer Murata Machinery has developed Muratec Smart Support, is a remote management system linked to IoT that is helping to deliver stable production, reduce labour costs and cut losses.
Upcoming business models
Japan’s eagerness to adopt cyber-physical systems to achieve Society 5.0 has also resulted in the development of new businesses opportunities in the country’s textile sector. In 2016, Hidekazu Kawano founded Tokyo-based Sitateru Inc, a model company in the government’s Local Employment Development programme for the promotion of new IoT-based partnerships. Based on the premise that optimisation in garment production requires innovative approaches that use IoT and ICT (information and communications technology), Sitateru offers three services: firstly, a chat tool called My Atelier, which allows manufacturers to respond instantly to requests from businesses for garments; and secondly, a control system that matches small-and-medium-sized companies throughout Japan with order-making businesses.
Kawano highlighted in a report that by bringing together data on their technological capacity and the items they are able to produce, as well as their price brands, lead times, and busy and quiet periods, we can now match orders from new customers with the optimal factory for their purposes; realising high-mix, low-volume production with a short turn-around time. While Japan is clearly still developing digitalisation in the textile industry, the country’s fabric-based electronics market (which uses IoT) is expected to grow to JPY21.1bn (US$187m) by 2020, according to the Yano Research Institute, which suggests IoT understanding is set to develop exponentially.
Driven by increased demand from China, lower domestic prices and depreciation of the rupee, India’s forward export contracts of cotton have more than doubled from about seven lakh bales in September 2017. The Cotton Association of India has signed export contracts for 14-16 lakh bales (of 170 kg each). About 75 per cent of these contracts are for export to China.
In 2017-18, India could not sign as many forward contracts since cotton availability was restricted. This year, traders are upbeat because Indian cotton is the cheapest in the international market and demand from China is looking up. This financial year however, exports are likely to increase despite expected projections of tight supplies and increase in minimum support price (MSP) by the government.
Bangladesh and Vietnam are the other buyers that have signed some forward contracts for Indian cotton. Indian traders export maximum quantities of cotton in November and December since India is the only country where cotton is available at that time.
The United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) has strongly opposed President Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on an additional $200 billion worth of goods from China, including several fashion and consumer products. Besides additional tax burden on consumers, tariffs will add considerable disruption to the supply chain; the fact that the tariffs will start at 10 per cent now and will rise to 25 per cent on January 1, 2019, creates additional chaos in the fashion industry’s supply chains, which will have a wide-ranging negative impact on consumers, companies, and jobs in the United States.
Founded in 1989, The United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) is dedicated to fashion made possible by global trade. The association represents brands, retailers, importers, and wholesalers based in the United States and doing business globally. It works to eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers that impede the fashion industry’s ability to trade freely and create jobs in the United States.
Contemporary Muslim Fashion Exhibition will be held at the De Young Museum, in San Francisco from September 22, 2018 to January 2019. The exhibition will host designers such Dian Pelangi, Khanaan, Itang Yunasz, Rani Hatta, Nur Zahra and IKYK, who will display 3 different collections. The sexhibition will be curated by Jill D'Alessandro and Laura L Camerlengo and Reina Lewis, Professor of cultural studies at London College of fashion as curators. It shows video footage from social media which illustrates that the fashion modest is a topic of viral talk.
Contemporary Muslim Fashion focuses on various corners of the globe where designers are creating, and consumers are wearing, highly fashionable garments that adhere to individual concerns for modesty and related aspects of Muslim religious cultures. The exhibition focuses on creative developments in the Middle East, Malaysia, Indonesia, and among diasporic communities in the United States and Europe.
As per l’Institut Français de la Mode (IFM) European textiles and clothing imports each declined by 2 per cent in the first half of the year, while clothing exports increased by 4 per cent, and textiles by 2 per cent.
The EU exported €12.5 billion worth of clothing, of which €3.2 billion was exported to Asia and €927 million to the Mediterranean, Exports to Switzerland, its largest customer, increased by 11 per cent and to China by 21 per cent to €664 million. Other large orders were recorded in Korea (+ 11 per cent), Canada (+ 11 per cent) and Saudi Arabia (-12 per cent).
On the textile side, the United States imported €1.3 billion worth of goods, followed by China which imported €1.1 billion worth of textiles and Turkey €929 million. Among its main customers, orders from Serbia increased by 8 per cent and Bosnia-erzegovina by 10 per cent.
The US hasn’t renewed the GSP facility for Bangladesh. The reason is that the US wants Bangladesh to make more progress regarding freedom of association, workers’ rights and safety, and protection of labor leaders from violence.
The US terminated the GSP trading arrangement following the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013. After the suspension of the Generalised Systems of Preferences scheme, Bangladesh signed up for a 16-point action plan to get it back. Bangladesh's main export item to the US, apparel, is excluded from GSP. Bangladesh's apparel exports are subjected to a 15.62 per cent duty upon entry to the US whereas the duty for other countries is much lower.
The GSP is a US trade initiative designed to stimulate growth in emerging economies. This is achieved by offering duty free exports. Bangladesh was confident significant progress had been made regarding workplace safety and workers’ rights. It tried convincing US decision makers that any previous worries should no longer prevent new trading ventures being created.
The US remains Bangladesh’s largest export market, with bilateral trade said to have reached a new high of $7.2 billion in the 2017 financial year. Bangladesh's exports to the US have doubled in the last ten years.
As per Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), Vietnam’s garment-textile export revenue is projected to reach $200 billion by 2035. The sector, in the first six months of this year, attracted upto $2.8 billion in FDI. These include large-scale projects like $80 million Nam Dinh Ramatex Textile and Garment Factory of Singapore’s Herberton Ltd and Ha Nam YKK Factory specialising in producing zippers and other materials for the garment industry with an annual capacity of 420 million products. By the end of 2017, Vietnam had attracted 2,079 projects in the garment-textile sector with total capital of $15.75 billion.
As per VITAS, garment-textile production lines and orders have moved to Vietnam as China has lost its advantages in terms of labour costs. Besides, Vietnam’s joining many FTAs has created opportunities for local businesses to diversify its export markets besides attracting material suppliers. Even though agreements such as Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Vietnam FTA (EVFTA) are yet to come into effect, they have significantly attracted foreign investors in Vietnam’s garment-textile sector.
With trade tensions escalating between China and the US, India is likely to benefit by getting more access to Chinese markets and attract FDI, provided India puts its house in order and becomes domestically competitive. If India is not competitive, it is unlikely to benefit from the China-US trade spat.
Five years ago, when wages were increasing across China, the question was asked whether foreign direct investments would flow to India because China was losing its competitiveness. Unfortunately, that was not completely realised. A lot of the FDI from Japan, China, Taiwan, and even Sri Lanka did come in to India, but most of the investments were diverted to Cambodia, the Philippines and Vietnam. This was because India did not engage in domestic reforms.
India feels it got its fingers burnt with free trade agreements with Japan and South Korea, so now it's taking things slow with the RCEP trade deal with Asean and other countries because it fears China will swamp the market. India also has a trade deficit with China. China, South Korea and Japan benefited by opening their markets because domestic markets alone will not generate enough growth. Accessing growth markets is critical for the long term growth of a country.
The representative unions in textile and garments sectors across Pakistan have formed a grand federation named as Pakistan Textile Garments Leather Workers Federation (PTGLWF). The federation will initiate awareness raising campaign with informative materials and voice at global level.
This is the first concrete step towards an organised effort to resolve/ the issues such as social security, EOBI registration, discrimination in wage for women which at present stand about 35 per cent to 60 per cent lesser wages. The federation will also pay homage to over360 workers martyred in the tragic incident of arson occurred in Karachi five years back. Garment factory workers across Pakistan are still struggling for basic labor rights. The country stands at the fourth spot globally in regard with poor working conditions. Nearly all factories are barricaded behind high walls and private security guards. Workers’ rights violation assumes criminal proportions, and yet, workers have little recourse to justice.
The formation of PTGLWF was announced during a press conference held by prominent representatives and leaders and workers' union across Pakistan. Attendees also shared their views on various aspects of of trade unions in Pakistan and the overall situation of workers' rights in the country.
Texworld Paris is being held, September 18 to 21. This is an international trade show for fashion. It offers professional buyers from all over the world a rich variety of products from basics to creative high-end fabrics of excellent quality. The show is targeting manufacturers specialising in cotton, denim, drapery and tailoring, embroidery and lace, jacquard, knitted fabrics, linen and hemp, prints, shirting, silk, silky aspects, sportswear and functional fabrics, trims and accessories, as well as wool and woolen materials.
Following the eco-friendly narrative, Texworld showcases around 100 suppliers of organic cotton, linen, hemp, recycled material and other sustainable textiles. A workshop will be about paying suppliers on time while granting customers extra payment terms and will then focus on new digital technologies. The program will also feature discussions on new business models, Cambodia as a new dragon for world clothing trade, social and collaborative networks, sustainability and style, fashion brands and influencers, and more.
A program will offer industry insights into the use, effects and developments of VR/AR/MR in the fashion industry, opportunities for an innovative textile-clothing sector in Taiwan, and integrated electronics. More than 1,750 exhibitors from 26 countries and around 29,000 visitors from 110 countries were recorded in 2017.
