Chinese textile manufacturers are shifting to the US. While labor costs are greater than that of China, energy, land and raw materials are cheaper in the United States. Therefore, total cost of production is less. Chinese manufacturers find the production cost per ton of textiles is 25 per cent lower in the US.

The cost of labor in China has been rising and other countries like the US could potentially do it better and cheaper. Labor would still be a lot more expensive. But energy costs could be notably less. These capital intensive textile mills have little labor costs and relatively cheaper energy prices.

Moving closer to the US benefits not only the upstream US supplies of textile components but also boosts the competitiveness of cut and sew operations in the NAFTA and DR-CAFTA regions, the US textile industry’s most important export markets. Moreover, tariffs would encourage more R&D focus on automating apparel assembly, technology showing very promising potential to re-shore jobs.

Unless China begins to automate its processes and to reduce its costs, it is inevitable more clothing makers will relocate to the US. And that will mean new investments in factories and machinery — if the tariffs were to go into place.

The Union Ministry of Textiles has issued a draft notification prescribing quality standards for cotton bales as per Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms. This will help Indian cotton get better prices in the long run and, in turn, benefit farmers. As per the notification, cotton bales will conform to IS 12171:2013 and shall bear the Standard Mark under a licence from the BIS as per Scheme–II of schedule II of BIS Conformity Assessment Regulations, 2018.

The certifying and enforcing authority for these bales will be the Bureau of Indian Standards along with an officer not below the rank of General Manager, District Industries Centre in the Department of Industries of the State Government. The government has fixed the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of cotton for 2018-19 season at Rs 5,150 per quintal for medium staple and Rs 5,450 per quintal for long staple.

Splenora Textures, based in Gujarat, is planning to start jeans manufacturing. It already produces six million meters of denim fabric per annum. The company will produce premium denim fabric like 12.5 ounce stretch denim, premium slub Lycra etc.

To cater to the market effectively, and to offer the best services, the company will not go for bulk production but will focus on quality and consistency. It has a plan to focus equally on exports and the domestic market but will change according to the dynamics of the market. Along with this plant the company is also eyeing garmenting. The products will be cost-effective as the fabric will be in-house.

Splenora has a setup for ginning and spinning, with 85,000 spindles. As the company has a small setup for garment manufacturing for job-work, it has the basic know-how of garment manufacturing too. It is in touch with some local clients and will approach all e-commerce giants for jeans. As it has its own spinning set up, it plans developments at the yarn stage too. So the feel of the fabric will be also unique.

India is witnessing a glut in denim fabric production as more than 45 denim mills are producing around 1.5 billion meters fabric a year.

India’s apparel exports are expected to grow at a modest pace of one to two per cent year on year for the rest of fiscal 2018-19. This is expected to be the fourth consecutive weak year for India’s apparel exports. With several internal as well as external headwinds, the past year turned out to be rather challenging for India’s apparel exporters. Transition to the new taxation regime, besides posing liquidity challenges for the industry, added to uncertainties because of alternating stances on export incentives during the year. Further, a stronger rupee heightened the challenges in the international market by affecting the competitiveness of players in an intensely competitive international apparel market.

However, with faster GST refunds, improved clarity on the rate of export incentives and the sharp rupee depreciation witnessed over the past few months, most of the industry’s concerns stand addressed to a large extent. Bangladesh and Vietnam have been key gainers from China’s loss of share in the global export market over the past couple of years. Vietnam is maintaining a healthy growth in its stronghold market of the US. Bangladesh continues to gain share in Europe. India’s apparel exports have exhibited an unencouraging trend, with a marginal de-growth of one per cent in fiscal 2018 as well as in the period April-July of fiscal 2019.

An upcycling mill has opened in Hong Kong. It produces recycled yarn spun out of old, discarded clothes. When fully equipped, it will be able to spin three tons of recycled fiber from roughly the same amount of textile waste daily, without affecting cost or quality. Hong Kong used to be a textile manufacturing powerhouse. The facility is owned by textile firm Novetex is expected to put the city’s textile industry back on the map.

The firm will collect old clothing and textiles from its retail partners or NGOs. Three production lines at the facility mechanically sanitise, sort and process the textiles into yarn in a largely automated process which can then be shipped off as raw material to mainland China and manufactured into new fabrics and garments. The operation requires at least six workers. The entire process operates without water or effluent discharge. Established in 1976, Novetex produces about nine million kg of wool annually.

New innovations in upcycling are vital because of the increasing costs and environmental concerns that come with producing conventional fibers such as cotton from scratch. With this mill Hong Kong wants to prove that it can solve its textile waste problem and that in such a small, compact city, sustainable textile recycling is feasible.

Garments exporters in Philippines expect orders from Chinese buyers to reach $250 million and generate up to 3,000 jobs this year, as China turns to the Philippines due to its competitive labor rates and initiatives to facilitate exports. As per Foreign Buyers Association of the Philippines (FBAOP), the country is currently experiencing an increase in garment orders amid the tariff conflict between China and the United States. This has resulted in regional rivals increasing their minimum wages resulting in higher manufacturing costs. Out of all cities, Manila is emerging as the most preferred city for buyer due its industrial peace and stable labor rates.

FBAOP has already secured $150 million worth of purchase orders from buyers in China, and plans to add another $100 million by December this year. Its production at five factories across Metro Manila, Bataan and Clark are ongoing for delivery by the end of the year. The association’s exports are expected to reach about $1 billion this year, bolstered by Chinese purchases of Philippine garments.

In Bangladesh textile and apparel sector lured the maximum amount of foreign direct investment during the first three months of 2018. Gross FDI inflow during January-March 2018 in the textile and apparel sector was over 24 per cent of the total FDI flowing into country over the same period. In 2017, FDI in Bangladesh’s textile and apparel sector rose 16 per cent over 2016.

South Korea was the number one investor in this sector followed by Hong Kong and British Virgin Islands. Bangladesh is seeking FDI from Singapore, India, Japan, China, Thailand and other countries. The country is expecting an FDI inflow of about $7 billion in fiscal 2017-18. This is a huge jump, considering the highest Bangladesh has received in recent years is $2 billion. This can be partly attributed to the development of 100 economic zones in Bangladesh.

Since the garment sector is growing fast in Bangladesh, foreign investors choose the country as an investment destination in the textile sector. The available workforce at a reasonable wage, duty-free market access to major export destination, preferential location in the heart of the Asia-Pacific region and policy support have acted as a catalyst to attract foreign investment in the textile and apparel industry.

Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) has earmarked a $500 million financial boost to the country’s manufacturing sector. The banking company has increased the budget allocation by $200 million in comparison to the $300 released in March. However, key market players have, urged for more finances in the sector as the industry tries to reach its potential capacity.

The manufacturing sector in Ethiopia offers a variety of business opportunities for its investors. The country is building several industrial parks as a springboard to its economic development. One of these, the Hawassa Industrial Park was inaugurated in 2016 and is the largest park of its kind on the continent. Another, Bole Lemi I Industrial Park serves the textile and leather products. The government further plans to build 15 industrial parks by June next year. Ethiopia plans to be Africa's industrial hub by 2025 and has recorded a consistent economic growth. Its industrialisation efforts have been backed up by Government support as well as investors.

Mass-produced luxury brands such as: Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, Tory Burch and Calvin Klein appeal to the aspirational Chinese, thanks to American culture’s pull.
In China, American brands have been incredibly successful in owning category and new behaviors. Starbucks has created the coffee culture. Disney is the exemplar family destination. Apple still dominates premium consumer technology and Tesla has captured the imagination of China’s future-focused middle class.

As Chinese consumers increasingly use fashion and luxury to express their lifestyle and identity, American brands have a profound head start on other nationalities in terms of precedent and aspiration. Michael Kors’ revenue rose by double digits in China in the last quarter. Ralph Lauren is likewise seeing double-digit growth. PVH Corp, which owns Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, was buoyed by a year-on-year increase in China sales in the 2017 financial year.

Some US fashion designers have benefited from the race by luxury e-commerce websites to build up their brand portfolios. China’s wannabe consumers, or those who are aspirational, would be the fastest-growing consumer segment by 2020.

Compared to European brands, US brands have their own advantages. European luxury brands have a long history, but most US brands are newer and not limited to intrinsic design elements.

China and Mauritius have agreed on a bilateral free trade agreement. The FTA covers a wide range of areas including trade in goods and services, investment and economic cooperation. This is China's first bilateral free trade agreement with an African country. China is open to signing more free trade agreements with African countries.

The China-proposed Belt and Road (B&R) initiative requires unimpeded trade and financial integration of countries on the B&R routes. The China-Mauritius FTA will establish the regime and clear obstacles in the way of those goals.

Mauritius is a fairly developed country, but its economic structure is relatively simple. An FTA with China will not just attract more Chinese tourists to the country but also attract more investment to boost its economy. And Mauritius is keen on attracting Chinese investment. At present, China has invested hundreds of billions of dollars in Africa. China's increasing investment in Mauritius will drive the development of the African state and will help it establish logistics transit centers and industrial parks.

Mauritius is a country which can boast of having one of the best infrastructures in Africa. It has a population of 1.2 million with the main languages being English, French and Creole.