FW
India’s anti-trust regulator has fined Monsanto Rs 15 million for being too slow in replying to questions in a competition probe of the company. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) last year ordered an investigation into whether the US seeds company had abused its position as a key supplier of genetically modified (GM) cotton seeds. The CCI, which is yet to complete its investigation, fined Monsanto for delays in filing a reply.
Monsanto responded to CCI’s queries in August but only after eight reminders issued between April 2016 and May this year, CCIs November order reported, “The commission hopes and trusts that full cooperation shall now be provided.” Monsanto India has said, they continues to extensively cooperate with the CCI in the investigation and have been providing information in response to requests received, This order is related to a procedural matter and is subject to further orders from the Delhi High Court. However, the company challenging the role of CCI and the nature of its probe, Monsanto has filed two separate cases with the Delhi High Court.
Monsanto is up in arms with Indian seed maker, Nuziveedu Seeds, one of the complainants at the CCI. That battle sparked a series of government moves that prompted the world's biggest seed company to withdraw from some businesses in India which has been one of the world's most important seed markets.
In viscose, how the raw material is generated goes a long way in determining its impact on environment. This is as per a recent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study completed by SCS Global Services on behalf of Stella McCartney, focusing on the production of viscose fibre. Tobias Schultz, Director of Research and Development at SCS, says apparel companies are interested in identifying environmentally preferable fibres for use but little R&D had been conducted on viscose (also known as rayon).
Manmade cellulosic fibres from different sources may be functionally and chemically identical, but can have radically different environmental profiles based on the processes and technologies used in production, says Schultz. For example, manmade cellulosics from tropical hardwoods originating in Indonesia had significant negative impact associated with deforestation of the rainforest which were completely different from MMCF originating from well-managed forests in Sweden.
MMCF made from Belgian flax or recycled clothing emerged as favourable across a majority of impact categories. Asian production from Canadian boreal forest pulp, Chinese production from Indonesian rainforest pulp, Chinese production from Indonesian plantation pulp, and Indian cotton linter pulped in China had the heaviest environmental footprints among the scenarios examined.
The report was then peer-reviewed by representatives from Price Waterhouse Cooper, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at Utrecht University, and the environmental not-for-profit organization Canopy. This level of scrutiny ensured the report’s findings were robust and reliable, he said.
The study should serve as a key resource for the apparel industry, as it provides insights into the wide range of impacts that a brand’s or supplier’s choice of MMCF fibre source can have, including impacts on species, forest ecosystems, freshwater, global climate and human health.
One of the most important conventions for the European technical textile industry took place recently in Stuttgart. The Aachen-Dresden-Denkendorf-International Textile Conference brought together 600 professionals from 28 countries across four continents from the textile, textile machinery and various user-industries. Economics and research experts reported on research results and marketable textile innovations in areas including high performance fibres, fibre composites and medical textiles.
Baden-Wurttemberg's Minister of Economic Affairs explained, "Our textile companies are no longer seen merely as consumer product manufacturers, but as suppliers of high-tech materials and products. In the automotive, engineering and medical technology industries, as well as in the construction industry, technical textiles are often the key to new concepts and products. That is why the innovative power of the textile industry is of extraordinary importance to our local economy."
This conference is held annually at one of the three locations. Together with this year's partner country USA, this year’s conference was showcased trend-setting developments and innovations in textile technology. The focus was on, among other things, additive manufacturing methods such as 3D textile printing and smart textiles which are currently being brought to the mainstream by IT companies from the USA as ‘intelligent problem solvers’.
Entrepreneurs from the textile and textile-machinery industries explained current developments, products and processes, notably the future fields of mobility and health. Various German textile research institutes showcased their know-how on these and several other ‘trend-fields’ under the For schungskuratorium Textile.V. (registered association) with the motto ‘From Idea to Practice", a transfer session presented ‘successful, publicly-funded collaborative programs, where products and processes were jointly developed by scientists and industry representatives and successfully implemented in the industry.
This year, Interfilière Paris and Paris Capitale de la Création felicitated Cheynet, a French company, specialising in elastics and yarn processing for over 70 years, with the ‘Designer of the Year’ title. The Cheynet Group, which is present internationally, serves varied markets with its products, including lingerie, swimwear, corsetry, medical-grade fabrics, activewear and ready-to-wear, footwear and men’s underwear. Grégoire Giraud, CEO of Groupe Cheynet exults, “We are delighted to receive this award. It is a real recognition by the profession of all the efforts made by all the teams at Cheynet, and of our truly fashion-focused collections.” Interfilière Paris trade show, the only international event exclusively focused on fabrics and textile accessories for the lingerie, beachwear, and activewear segments, will be held alongside the Salon International de la Lingerie from January 20 to 22, 2019 at Paris Expo – Porte de Versailles in Paris.
Cheynet’s R&D department is working on various innovations such as Brodex, which permits embroidery on elastics or rigid tape; dual-stretch elastics that stretch both lengthwise and crosswise; silicone applications — using them for their anti-slip potential (on the back of strapless bras, inside the top of stay-up stockings) — the company is now developing new surface applications for this material.
Anne Ménager, Marketing, Communications and R&D Director explains “Since 1948, Cheynet has gained a reputation as an expert in elastics manufacturing, with its mastery of technical criteria and the quality of its products. Today, Cheynet is working to uphold this reputation and pursue its development hand in hand with our industry partners. Boldness, courage, a modern spirit, enthusiasm, and agility are the values promoted by the teams at Cheynet, so that we remain the essential supplier of elastics,” Elastics are being used in many creative ways by lingerie and fashion designers. The athleisure trend, mixing style and athletic silhouettes, has contributed to the emergence of lingerie featuring wide chest bands and high waistbands; the ready-to-wear segment has stretch waistbands that incorporates flexibility and volume to silhouettes.
A few years ago, Steve Mazur and Eric Huang, co-founders of Detroit-based Ash & Erie, makers of shirts for shorter men, were sourcing suppliers to produce their classic woven, button-down shirts in Detroit; unable to find any, they are outsourcing manufacturing abroad. They are not alone, many fashion entrepreneurs in Detroit are not able to find infrastructure needed to grow locally. Owners say they face difficulties finding skilled, experienced professionals to sew, cut, and make patterns, as well as local manufacturers able to affordably produce smaller product batches.
It's a national problem. The industry has been sinking since the last three decades after factories started closing. Not having trained workers has an enormous effect on a company's bottom line as it takes much longer to become profitable and what’s more it hurts the company’s margins. Given this predicament, efforts are on to create a vibrant textile industry in Detroit. Important players in the city's design and manufacturing fields are working to boost local skilled labour and bring production back to their city. A new model for the $2.5 trillion fashion industry is expected to be created in Detroit.
The Director of Business Programs for Detroit Creative Corridor Center managed to get Detroit included in an Urban Manufacturing Alliance study which is analysing manufacturing needs, assets, gaps, and opportunities such as job creation and neighbourhood development for small to mid-size companies in cities such as Baltimore, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Portland. For the assessment, four manufacturing focus groups were conducted in August, one of which targeted the fashion and textile industries.
These measures are expected to make companies such as Ash & Erie start manufacturing in Detroit. Steve Mazur, whose shirt company was featured on ABCs ‘Shark Tank,’ received a $1,50,000 investment from billionaire Mark Cuban. He and his partner are sourcing local production partners.
Sweden is a leader in waste-to-energy generator and earlier this year, the country began powering its incineration plants with trash purchased from neighbouring countries. With less than one per cent of Swedish household waste sent to landfills since 2011, the country has to source waste to keep its incineration plants running smoothly. Some of this waste is discarded clothing from fast fashion conglomerate H&M. Burning biofuels and waste is becoming an eco-friendly trend in a CSR strategy to move the power system away from using fossil fuel in an effort to help Sweden’s extensive emission-free portfolio of using wind, hydro and nuclear plants and ensure that the country achieves its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2045.
Bloomberg reports a combined heat and power station in Vesteras has burned 15 tons of discarded H&M clothing in 2017, in addition to 4,00,000 tons of trash. Another plant in the neighbouring city of Eskilstuna — the location of the world’s first shopping mall selling only up-cycled or repaired goods — is also burning clothing from H&Ms warehouse.
The burning of perfectly good textiles does not go down well with countries that have numerous people with no decent clothes to wear. Jens Neren, Head of supplies at Malarenergi AB says for them, it’s a burnable material as their goal is to use only renewable and recycled fuels. H&Ms Head of Communications, Johanna Dahl, says the clothing the company sells to the Vesteras and Malarenergi plants are not really fit to sell in stores. “H&M does not burn any clothes that are safe to use, however, it is our legal obligation to make sure that clothes that contain mould or do not comply with our strict restriction on chemicals are destroyed.”
Recently, a Danish TV program accused H&M of yearly burning 12 tons of unsold, useable garments in Denmark. H&M admits that the situation isn’t ideal and says that the company is committed to finding alternatives solutions.
"South Korean company Hansae Co, boasts of global renowned clientele like Zara, Abercrombie & Fitch, Nike, Patagonia and many more. The company has been a front player in global apparel industry for years, making shoes and shirts in South Korea in the 1980s and then moving factories to China and other developing countries as labour costs rose. After gaining traction for three decades and mastering the art, the company now wants to focus on its own brand. As Anna-Karin Birnik, a brand consultant based in Singapore opines, it’s a highly commoditised market."
South Korean company Hansae Co, boasts of global renowned clientele like Zara, Abercrombie & Fitch, Nike, Patagonia and many more. The company has been a front player in global apparel industry for years, making shoes and shirts in South Korea in the 1980s and then moving factories to China and other developing countries as labour costs rose. After gaining traction for three decades and mastering the art, the company now wants to focus on its own brand. As Anna-Karin Birnik, a brand consultant based in Singapore opines, it’s a highly commoditised market. A lot of firms see the opportunity not just to manufacture for others but since they have the manufacturing capability, to leverage that and develop their own brands and command a higher price.
Hansae’s operating profit is also pointing towards the same. The company’s founder Kim Dong-nyung said 30 per cent of this year’s operating profit is expected to come from their own-label business and the number will rise. Hansae posted around $1.38 billion in sales last year. And as Na Eun-chae, a Seoul-based analyst at Korea Investment & Securities Co highlighted clothing OEMs have good cash flows, with few cash expenditures required once they have grown to a certain size, and are in stable financial condition, which helps them fuel dividends or make investments. They are more interested in investments, expanding their businesses for growth.
Similarly Sae-A, operating more than 40 factories in 10 countries, including Vietnam, Guatemala and Haiti, in 2007 took over South Korean women’s fashion retailer In The F Co, which owns labels such as Joinus and Compagna. Sae-A, which reported 1.9 trillion won in revenue last year, plans to expand the unit by launching a range of golf wear next year.
Close competitors
These famous Korean companies have competition from companies in China and Taiwan. Taiwanese producers Makalot Industrial and Eclat Textile, which produce clothing for brands such as Gap, Nike and Under Armour, have started making apparels for a new private-label line from Amazon.com Inc. On the other hand, China’s apparel giants Shenzhou International Group Holdings, developed their businesses during China’s consumer export boom. Added to this, marketing, distribution skills and the ability to anticipate the fickle tastes of the consumer pose a greater challenge.
While companies have been gaining muscle in their home turf, it’s equally tough once you venture in unknown terrains. For instance, Chinese clothing maker Bosideng International Holdings, which makes down-jackets for giants including Adidas AG, opened a 35 million pound store in London’s Mayfair five years ago. But it had to shut shops recently, despite being the most successful outwear supplier in China. The company seems to be concentrating on restructuring its domestic business, at the same time it is also keen on acquiring foreign labels to expand in China and is negotiating with a Japanese kids’ wear label. Benjamin Durand-Servoingt, a Paris-based partner at McKinsey & Co, highlighted that moving to regional countries or even going global, OEMs don’t have the necessary understanding of how to operate in different markets, how to do retail and marketing to different types of consumers. The easiest way is to acquire existing players.
Portugal-based Tintex, an industrial company, has garnered its second ISPO Best Product Award in TexTrends for 2018 in the ‘Soft Equipment’ category with the company’s Article 4691TC. The product is a circular economy centric material, branded ‘B.Cork’, a unique technology that sources certified pre-consumer cork waste. The company reports, “Following a patent pending hi-tech lamination of a water based, formaldehyde and solvent free coating, a breathable, natural and waterproof super soft touch is achieved,”. B.Cork can be applied to both knits and wovens, and works with all current Tintex smart fibre bases. The jury also chose two new Tintex fabrics for the top 10 ISPO qualities, selecting one for the ‘Eco Era’ section and another one for the ‘Membranes & Coatings’ category.
Seven more Tintex fabrics were selected as runners up and include one more for the ‘Eco Era’ selection, two more for ‘Membranes & Coatings’, three for ‘Baselayer’ innovation, and one for the ‘Street Sport’ category. Tintex launched in 1998 by making high quality, natural based, responsible jersey fabrics using latest sustainable hi-tech dyeing and finishing processes. The company supplied the contemporary fashion, sport and lingerie markets.
The company in a statement said, “Tintex is the future of a smart and proud manufacturing dynamic where trust, values, skills and smart innovations are delivered through precision creativity and flexibility to brands looking to make naturally better choices.”
GapKids has announced a new limited-edition collection with actress and former Gap campaign super star, Sarah Jessica Parker, launching in Spring 2018 at GapKids stores in the US, Canada, the UK, France, Italy, Greater China, Hong Kong and Japan and online. Parker became a popular name in the fashion industry following the TV show ‘Sex and the City’.
The actress launched her namesake label, SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker, in February 2014, and also launched collaboration collections with Nordstrom and Tome among others. In 2016, Parker opened the first retail location of her brand and in 2017 opened a store at the Bellagio in Las Vegas and launched a handbag line called, ‘The Seven Essentials.’
Of late, Gap has been increasingly focussing its attention on children’s clothing. The clothing retailer in October launched a ‘Baby Gap Outfit Box’ subscription service which offered five mix-and-match pieces every 3 months and launched a similar service for Old Navy in November offering clothing for children ages 5 through to 12. Gap has recently increased its same-store sales forecasts for 2017 after having reported a 3 per cent increase in overall third quarter same-store sales.
Japanese companies are looking for cheaper production bases elsewhere in Asia with wage rise in China. And Bangladesh is optimistic investment would increase from Japan, and give boost to the country’s economy. Among rising labor costs, Japan’s garment industry is shifting production from China to Bangladesh and other Asian countries, however, to catch the opportunity is not so easy for Bangladeshi businessman, though, Japanese businesses have shown keen interest in investing in Bangladesh as they have got rid of the fear in the wake of terrorist attack on Holey Artisan Bakery in 2016. Bangladeshi garment manufacturers have been enjoying zero-duty benefit on apparel exports to Japan even if the raw materials were imported
As per Japan External Trade Organization, the number of Japanese companies operating in Bangladesh has more than tripled since 2008, reaching 253 as of May 2017.That’s still far fewer than the number in China or Thailand but their presence in Bangladesh is increasing at a much faster pace. Garment shipments to Japan from Bangladesh began after the adoption of ‘China Plus One’ policy by the Japanese government in 2008 to reduce overdependence on China for goods like apparel, electronic gadgets and home appliances. The ‘China plus One’ policy was supplemented by the relaxation of Rules of Origin by Japanese government for least-developed countries, which worked in Bangladesh’s favor.
Japan Textiles Importers Association says, although Bangladesh only accounts for 2.3 per cent of total imports, its average grows at an annual pace of about 20-40 per cent. Japan imported 65 per cent of its textile products from China in 2015. China at one time accounted for nearly 80 per cent of textile imports but the percentage has been declining gradually due to rising labor costs, among other reasons. Now imports from countries like Vietnam and Indonesia are rising.
