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The first apparel manufacturing center in the Northeast has opened in Nagaland. Now, the plan is to have such centers in every state of the Northeast and build up an organized textile sector. So there will be eight such apparel making centers in the seven sisters. Each center will be provided 300 machines. Once the program is implemented, about 12,000 people are expected to be employed.
The Nagaland facility houses three firms – two for production and one for skilling to be operated on a plug and play mode for a period of three years. The firms selected to use the facility will exit after the expiry of the three-year period. The firms will use the facility for commercial production for the open market employing their own artisans or workers. The facility can also be used for converting locally produced handloom fabrics into fashion garments which can be taken beyond borders and showcased to the world.
The aim is to turn Nagaland into a hub of garment manufacturing and to promote entrepreneurship in garment making. It’s hoped youngsters in the region set up independent business enterprises rather than look for jobs in the mainland. Nagaland has a tradition of cotton production.
A London-based textile and apparel specialist, Trigon Select has teamed up with the International Apparel Federation (IAF), the global federation of the apparel industry. They are offering a new evaluation and promotion program to help clothing manufacturers promote their services to the world’s garment buyers.
The scheme rates manufacturers in an objective and technically well founded way in terms of industrial and business criteria, such as their investment in machinery, the skill levels of their staff, their systems of production management, their ability to communicate effectively.
Trigon Select has developed the performance evaluation and promotion program for garment manufacturers with the German apparel industry association ‘German Fashion’. The IAF recognizes a similar demand from its members that German Fashion has. Apparel Associations representing brands and buyers would like to present their members with qualified lists of manufacturers when they ask their association to help them find a new supplier. Associations representing mainly manufacturers are always looking for better ways to market their members among potential buyers.
The performance evaluations are always carried out in plant by highly-experienced Trigon Select assessors. The findings will be published on the ‘Trigon Select database for the IAF’Following German Fashion, the IAF will work with many of its members with this new approach as an effective way to better connect supply and demand in the garment industry by increasing the transparency of the apparel supply chain.
After months of negotiations, the Tirupur Employers’ Association (garment/knitwear units at Tirupur) has entered a four-year new wage agreement with trade unions. Under the new wage agreement, employees working under categories such as cutting, tailoring, ironing, packing, fabrication, checking, label putting, hand folding, damage spotting and fabrication will get a 33 per cent hike, spread over four years in the ratio of 18 per cent , 5 per cent, 5 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively.
The wages of employees, numbering over 4 lakh in hundreds of garment units, is a minimum of Rs 45 a day to a maximum of Rs 158 a day, depending on the nature of jobs. In addition to the 33 per cent hike in wages, the dearness allowance (DA) is fixed at Rs 1,500 per month for CPI numbers (15,000) and in addition, for every increase in points above 15,000 points, 13 paisa per point is payable from April1, 2016.
A travelling allowance of Rs 20 per day will be given to all employees during all working days. It has been agreed that Rs 25 will be paid to workers in half-night shifts. Under the family benefit fund, an amount of Rs 17,000 will be given to the dependents of workers who die in harness. For unmarried girls, when they reach the legal age, marriage allowances varying from a minimum of R 1,000 to R 3,000 will be provided based on their years of service. This allowance will be applicable to widows remarrying and not applicable to workers having less than one year service. If the workers have put in service of more than three years, the maximum allowance given will be R 3000 only, the statement pointed out.
As part of the agreement, it has been agreed to provide identity cards to all workers. Considering the workers’ welfare, a R1-lakh group insurance scheme for all workers has been agreed upon. In case workers are already receiving excess wages over the existing settlement, the newly-increased incremental wages have to be added to the higher wages.
Inviya, India’s premium elastomeric fiber from Indorama has launched an app which is a one-stop destination for all spandex-based textile business to business needs. Designed with an extremely easy interface, the app delivers an excellent customer experience. Key features of the Inviya app include guidelines for using Inviya spandex, a global textile event calendar, Inviya spandex applications and end usage, a textile calculator, a currency convertor and handy fashion tips. Spandex fiber makes garment stylish, comfortable, and fashionable. Inviya was launched in 2012.
The product is fully loaded with features, enabling its end users like fabric experts, spinning and knitting professionals, sourcing professionals, fashion designers and marketing experts across the value chain gain maximum benefits. It was tested across the value chain and textile colleges in the month of March, where 90 per cent surveyed found it engaging and user-friendly with more than 75 per cent saying they would recommend it to friends and colleagues.
Inviya went beyond traditional market studies and worked with leading biometric market research companies to gain deeper customer insights, equipping the app with all essential features. The mobile application will be launched at the Fibers and Yarns Expo, Mumbai, April 7 to 9, 2016.
The Reserve Bank of India has reduced the policy repo rate by 25 basis points from 6.75 per cent to 6.5 per cent. The cash reserve ratio has been kept unchanged at four per cent. Tirupur garment exporters say these are good signs and that the introduction of the marginal cost of funds based lending rate would improve transmission and magnify the effects of the current policy rate cut which will help exporting units enhance their competitiveness in the scenario of a subdued world trade.
The RBI will monitor developments closely to contain any unanticipated forex market volatility. This is necessary because sudden currency fluctuations will put exporting units, particularly small and medium exporting units, into difficulties if the RBI does not intervene immediately.
Repo rate is the rate at which the central bank of a country lends money to commercial banks in the event of any shortfall of funds. Repo rate is used by monetary authorities to control inflation.
The repo rate cut would provide room for making investments in the knitwear sector. However apparel exporters from Tirupur say the reduction of the repo rate would be meaningful only when banks pass on the measures to small and medium enterprises and exporting units.
Techtextil India will be held in Mumbai from September 13 to 15, 2017. Techtextil is a leading international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens. It will be along with Texprocess, the leading international trade fair for processing textile and flexible materials. For the first time, international exhibitors of garment-manufacturing and textile processing technologies will have the opportunity to present their innovations under the Texprocess brand in India.
Presenting the complete textile creation value chain, the successful trade fair duo presents exhibitors of garment-manufacturing and textile processing technologies as well as of technical textiles and non-woven various synergy effects.
Due to the growth of the Indian economy, domestic demand for high quality textiles and private consumption of textiles are growing constantly. The country therefore invests in textile processing technologies as well as research and development in the textile sector. Out of this dynamic development the demand for a high-quality trade fair that attracts trans-regional interest evolved.
The Indian textile processing and technical markets offer comprehensive growth potential. In 2015, exports of German sewing and garment production technology to India went up by around 28 per cent compared to 2014 making Germany one of the most important countries delivering equipment to the country.
Bangladesh Denim Expo will be held from April 25 and 26. The aim is to promote Bangladesh as the prime destination for sourcing the latest designs of jeans and other denim products. It creates a platform for the country’s denim manufacturers to show their strength to global retailers. It enables foreign exhibitors to present the latest trends of denim.
The event will host seminars will be held on different issues. The panel discussions will allow members to share their experiences about the industry that would help Bangladeshi manufacturers go on to production of higher value added products. A total of 49 companies, of which 37 are foreign and 12 local, will participate in the exhibition.
The show will be hosted by Denim Expert, a jeans and denim product manufacturer. Currently, the denim industry in Bangladesh has 26 denim fabric manufacturers who produce around 360 million yards a year. However denim garment makers in the country need 720 million yards a year to cater to the export market. This means the country needs to import 60 per cent of denim fabric to meet the demand.
The global denim market is worth $60 billion dollars a year and of this Bangladesh earns $600 million dollars a year.
Japan International Apparel Machinery (JIAM) is being held from April 6 to 9. This trade show is home to a wide variety of products that includes textile machinery, clothing machinery, textile machine accessories, clothing and garment machine accessories, machine parts and tools.
JIAM 2016 will encompass the apparel industry and the textile industry as a whole in including non-apparel sectors and segments such as automotive, upholstery, outdoor and lifestyle goods and up-coming industrial textile goods. It will be showing the latest technologies and innovative new products related to the whole of the sewing industry, apparel manufacturing, and textile processing.
The event will showcase IT, both as information technology and as innovative technology. It will present both the latest hardware and software. Apparel and textile business associations, government agencies, machinery manufacturing groups, research and educational institutions, and other related organizations are among those attending.
JIAM 2016 is recognized as an indispensable platform for business, a key international trade fair for both exhibitors and visitors. It enables deepening and broadening of communications between exhibitors and trade visitors. It presents opportunities to discover innovative solutions, to encounter business partners. It is a platform to launch and promote new products and services.
www.jiam-show.com/en/
Spin Expo in France will be held on July 6 and 7, 2016. This is an exhibition for fibers, yarns for knitting and weaving, and flat-bed knitwear. About 75 exhibitors will have collections and product offerings from selected international top-level companies in the spinning and knitwear sectors.
The show is a catalyst for the textile and fashion industry and continues to be a driving force in moving both suppliers and buyers forward, urging them to bring newness in design and innovative technical applications to the market.
Spin Expo will present ahead-of-time collections from leading spinning mills and knitwear manufacturers addressing the active, knitwear, weaving, embroidery and lace sectors as well as any other outlet using yarns. It will feature autumn/winter 2017-18 collections together with best sellers from spring/summer 2017 and a synthesis of the best middle and high level collections, accompanied by trend presentations.
Products from international specialists need to come closer to the demands of their European buyers. The show exhibits suppliers in the best sophisticated way, where they can clearly demonstrate who they are and the products they develop. Buyers see Spin Expo as the primary place to find ideas, creativity and inspiration.
www.spinexpo.com/
The University of Georgia has partnered with a new national public-private consortium called Advanced Functional Fabrics of America, or AFFOA. The aim is to revolutionize the fiber and textiles industry through commercialization of highly functional, advanced fibers and textiles. The AFFOA partnership is built on recent breakthroughs in fiber materials and manufacturing processes that will soon allow them to design and manufacture fabrics that see, hear, sense, communicate, store and convert energy, regulate temperature, monitor health and change color.
The AFFOA mission is to transform traditional fibers, yarns and textiles manufacturing into a highly sophisticated functional system that will ensure America remains at the leading edge of fiber science. It brings together Fortune 500 companies, universities, fiber and textiles manufacturing facilities, state workforce development programs and federal agencies to co-invest in key technology areas that can encourage investment and production in the US.
The market for revolutionary fabrics range from apparel, health care and consumer products to defense, transportation, software and architectural and structural textiles UGA President Jere W Morehead said that the University of Georgia is proud to play a role in transforming fiber and textile manufacturing in America through their involvement in the AFFOA initiative. Participation in this outstanding public-private partnership is aligned perfectly with their heritage as a land-grant university and their strong commitment to advance economic development in the 21st century.
Members of the consortium include Fortune 500 companies such as Corning, DuPont, Nike and Intel, as well as small and medium-sized companies spanning the electronics, materials, apparel, transportation, fashion, defense, medical and consumer good manufacturing sectors. It also includes leaders of the fabric industry, such as Inman Mills, and leading research universities MIT, Cornell University, Drexel University, the University of Michigan, the University of California, Davis and the University of Texas at Austin.
The effort is funded by a $75 million federal commitment and cost share matches from AFFOA partners totaling $317 million. UGA will receive at least $5 million over five years, with an additional investment of state matching funds. UGA researchers who will play critical roles in AFFOA include Sergiy Minko, Georgia Power Professor of Polymers, Fibers and Textiles, College of Family and Consumer Sciences and professor, department of chemistry, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences amongst others.
