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Accessories and clothing that are aimed at tracking performance and health are getting fashionable. Technology developers and fashion designers are working more closely on wearables. Ralph Lauren plans to unveil its high-performance smart compression shirt soon. The shirt features sensors knitted in to read heartbeat, respiration and other biometrics. Data collected by the shirt is stored by a black box, which also is enabled with ways to capture movement and direction. The black box transmits data, including stress levels and energy output, into the cloud for display on a tablet or smart phone. The Ralph Lauren polo pony is highly visible in bright yellow on the front of the shirts. David Lauren, the executive vice president for advertising, marketing and corporate communications and a son of the designer, is optimistic that the new shirts will be able to catch the eyes of fans around the globe. The new T-shirt will be the first wearable technology product released by a mainstream fashion label. For the near future, the company will be focusing much of its attention on integrating technology into everyday wear. In addition to the t-shirts, there are also plans for a classic dress shirt that is tech-enhanced and a new line of contemporary streetwear.
Meanwhile HP is developing a high-design smart watch that is Android and iOS compatible, allowing a user to take in notifications for email, text and calls, and to manage music and apps.
Football helmets can measure impact and tennis rackets can tell how hard a person hits the ball, and how good their backhand is in real time. The digital fitness category has grown tremendously and consumers range from serious athletes to hobbyists. Wearable technology devices like smart glasses, bracelets, watches and fitness tracking devices are getting popular. Knowing their pulse, their wellness level and their activity level makes them feel great. Added to this is the fact that wearable products also look great.
TEXAPP Bangladesh, the textile and apparel forum will be held on September 3, 2014. It aims at bringing together Bangladesh’s textile and apparel industry leaders and machinery importers under one roof. It will address issues related to forming a common position of the Bangladeshi textile and apparel industry in the global arena; set development goals in a phased manner; enhance competitiveness of the industry; boost inter-regional trade with an aspiration to expand present capacities; and launch Vision 2022, based on discussions held at TEXAPP Bangladesh 2014, to further take the industry forward in the coming years.
TEXAPP will be a part of Textech Bangladesh 2014 which is scheduled to run from September 3 to 6, 2014. Textech is one of Bangladesh's oldest and biggest exhibitions on textile apparel machinery and technology. Textech Bangladesh has been serving the textile and apparel sectors of Bangladesh for over a decade. It is the only international branded exhibition of its kind in South and South-east Asia held in Bangladesh, Indonesia and Sri Lanka annually.
Textech has been seeing an overwhelming increase in the number of exhibitors over the years. Its concurrent exhibitions – Dye+Chem Bangladesh and Dhaka international yarn and fabric show-- bring the world’s leading manufacturers of dyes, chemicals, yarn and fabric to Bangladesh.
textechonline.org/textechbd2014/index.html
Envoy Textiles, the largest denim fabric producing unit in Bangladesh with an annual production of 24 million meters is going to set up a yarn manufacturing factory with a production capacity of about 50 tonnes per day by the first quarter of 2016. The yarn project is expected to save huge costs. Presently, the group procures yarn from local and international markets to feed the mills.
Around 80 per cent of the yarn to be produced by the new factory would be consumed by mills of the group and the rest 20 per cent would be sold out in the market. And earnings from selling the 20 per cent yarn will be used to buy other types of yarn to feed the mills. The major capital machineries to be imported for setting up the manufacturing plant are mainly from Germany, Switzerland and Japan.
Envoy introduced rope dyeing denim for the first time in the country. It is expected that the company’s annual profit would then be increased approximately to Tk 40 to Tk 45 crores and the annual turnover would stand at 50 million dollars. The company’s third quarter (April ’14 to June ’14) net profit stood at Tk 11.4 crores, slightly down from Tk 11.9 crores in the same period a year earlier.
www.envoytextiles.com/
China is the world's biggest wool producer, biggest wool processor and the powerhouse economy driving global woolen textile consumption. But the country's wool industry is also an enigma. It is a mix of high-technology processing mills and modern fashion-conscious consumers with wool growing and harvesting techniques that don’t appear to have changed in 100 years.
China has the world's biggest sheep flock estimated at about 140 million head and producing about 363,000 tonnes of wool. But the gritty dust typically reduces clean fleece yields from many Chinese farms to as low as 40 per cent. Merino sheep in the Yang Chan district are typically housed in winter (October to April) to ensure their survival, but long months on earthen floors and in yards also add to the dirt and stains in their wool.
While state-owned farms have traditionally produced much of China’s better wool, the vast majority of Chinese sheep are now owned by private farming groups or families. Mechanical shearing gear is rare in China. Farms use blades or scissor-type shears. Wool growing ideas in China are still pretty basic. Grain can be drying in the sun on the edges of highways. There are indications China is seeing its sheep for meat production rather than fiber.
The 15th Preview in Seoul (PIS) organized in September will focus on functional materials and fashion apparel. About 30 Korean and foreign companies have applied to participate in this year’s PIS, and functional textile companies form a considerable portion of the exhibitors. In particular, these functional textile companies have developed fine and highly functional fabrics for fashion materials, thereby increasing the fabrics’ functionality and texture.
The development of functional materials and rising demand can be attributed to the recent, widespread awareness of functional materials for sports, outdoor, casual, daily wear, and women’s apparel in the fashion market. Hyosung, Kolon Fashion Material, Huvis, and other leading textile chemical companies participated in PIS in 2006 and will be part of this year’s edition again after a gap of eight years showcasing highly functional yarns and new, diverse products.
Hyosung is planning to introduce ‘Creora’, a company that holds the world’s largest share in the spandex market, ‘Robic’, ‘Aqua-X’, ‘Cotna’, ‘Aerogear’, and other highly functional nylon- polyester yarn brands. Furthermore, ‘Cotna’ offers materials that have cotton-like texture and the functions of polyester. Hyosung endeavors to produce a synergetic effect at the exhibition with other yarn suppliers and textile representatives. </br>
Kolon Fashion Material will unveil ‘cela’, ‘XF-Series’, ‘MIMOFIL’, ‘ROJEL’, ‘U-VEIL’, ‘NAROPORA)’, ‘neoVENT’, and other distinguished, functional materials. In particular, ‘cela’ boasts its natural appearance like that of cotton, holds its shape firmly, and provides comfort. ‘MIMOFIL’ highlights its visual presentation through a two-tone effect, thus being recognized as a highly fine material.
Huvis will exhibit ‘Seaone’ that can provide comfort and UV protection and will introduce ‘XN’, which is made out of dyed polypropylene materials that offer lightweight and thermal protection. Furthermore, Huvis will display ‘MOKA’ that has underwent weaving and yarn processing technique to imitate cotton’s texture. Medium-sized textile companies such as Young Textile, Young Tex, Paka, Shin Heung, ST One Chang, and Duck Wo Corporation are also preparing to welcome buyers with highly functional and fine materials at PIS.
Leading Indian and overseas companies will converge at the IKF Complex in Tirupur from September 9 to 11, 2014 to showcase the latest in natural fibres like cotton, wool, silk & flax/ramie; man-made like regenerated & synthetic fibres; specialty fibres and well as natural, man-made, blended and elastic, fancy as well as specialty yarns at the 6th edition of Yarnex - India International yarn exhibition.
With each edition, Yarnex has grown into one of the most important trade shows for fibres and yarns in the country. This is where the textile value chain congregates to catch-up with the latest developments and indulges in business networking. The 2013 edition of Yarnex had over 3,000 high value customers from India and overseas visiting the show. The products showcased were from across the fibre groups, including specialized and high performance varieties that were new to this region.
Trade visitors will have access to high quality suppliers from India and overseas, including the leaders in this segment. With technical assistance ready at hand, knitters and weavers can discuss product development and commercial aspects which helps the decision-making process. Yarnex is organized by S S Textile Media, an organization that has been successfully conducting the F&A Show in Bangalore for 11 years and has added Homtex - the India International Home Textile Exhibition in 2012 to its portfolio.
Bangladesh will overhaul state-owned jute mills. They will be equipped with modern equipment and made operationally vibrant and commercially viable. There are 26 such mills in the country and Bangladesh will take the help of China for upgrading the mills. The Chinese government will provide a loan for the project at 1.5 per cent interest rate that will be payable within 20 years.
The hope is that these jute mills will be able to produce different types of high value jute textile products that have a wide range of demand in the local and international markets. These comprise products such as housing textiles, medical textiles, kitchen textiles and readymade garment textiles.
The project is expected to help integrate jute traders and jute growers under one umbrella through the contract farming system that will create a win-win situation for both sides in terms of financial benefit. Jute is considered the golden fiber of Bangladesh. And China has a big demand for jute goods, especially hessian cloth. Hessian cloth is an environment friendly product and is used for preserving tobacco leaf. China has stopped production of hessian cloth because of the high labor cost. So Bangladesh sees a big opportunity for exporting hessian to China. This will help reduce Bangladesh’s massive trade deficit with China.
The autumn edition of Interstoff Asia Essential will be held September 25 to 27, 2014, Hong Kong. This is a sourcing platform for fashionable, functional and eco fabrics and garment accessories in the region organized by Messe Frankfurt. It features exhibitors from leading fashion hubs in Asia, such as Hong Kong, Japan and Korea, and reveals the ensuing season’s trends.
The fair is also well-known for promoting the most advanced technologies. The research and education zone will have a strong focus on eco-friendly dyeing processes. A new partner in this area, the Korea High Tech Textile Research Institute, will demonstrate the world’s first ever liquid ammonia processing technology for knitted fabrics as well as its energy-efficient CPB dyeing system.
A dedicated area will display garment accessories. Products featured in this special zone are woven labels, embroidery webbings and various zippers and buttons. Environment friendly products will also be a feature at the show. New botanical-dyed mélange yarns will be displayed in 16 different colors. Among them, nine are using dyestuffs extracted from flowers while the other seven are from fruits.
Functional fabrics will feature nano porous waterproof fabrics, which are light, soft and excel in keeping users warm in extremely cold environments, as well as micro-pore dry membrane that offers excellent high-pressure water resistance. Fashion products include denim fabrics featuring jacquard and flocked and
interstoff-asia-spring.hk.messefrankfurt.com/
The International Textile Fair will be held from November 3 and 4, 2014, Dubai. The show will bring together textile manufacturers and designers from across the world. Companies from Italy, France, Spain, India, Pakistan, Mongolia, Taiwan and Hong Kong will be participating. The Middle East’s textile industry is estimated at $56 billion.
The fair will help participants find new customers in Dubai and across the region. This is the first international textile fair in Dubai. It has generated interest among Dubai's textile traders and the event is supported by the Textile Merchants Group, which represents 800 wholesale textile traders of Dubai. Traditionally, Dubai has been a strategic hub for the region’s textile trade. The fair is expected to give a global exposure to the region’s potential and give it a boost.
The UAE is the largest consumer of textiles in the Middle East. In 2011, the total import value of textile products was $13 billion. Revenues from UAE’s textile industry reached $13.2 billion in 2011 and recorded an annual cumulative growth of 9.9 per cent between 2006 and 2011. Textile production in Dubai notched an annual cumulative growth rate of 4 per cent between 2007 and 2011.
Sri Lanka's trade deficit narrowed substantially this year mainly due to increased clothing exports to the United States and Europe. Exports jumped 16.8 per cent in the first six months of 2014 compared to the same period last year. Imports declined 1.2 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Sri Lanka’s exports of garments to the EU jumped 34.6 per cent while those to the US increased 12.1 per cent. Retailers are increasingly turning to Sri Lanka, instead of traditional garment hubs such as Bangladesh, which is under international pressure over safety standards and conditions following a string of accidents. Sri Lanka’s economy recorded a growth of over eight per cent in the first two years since 2009 but since then growth has slowed down. Sri Lanka is one of the fastest growing economies in South Asia but the island is also vulnerable to sudden external shocks because of high levels of foreign commercial borrowings.
The country’s clothing sector is worth $4.5 billion. The aim is to reach an export target of $5 billion by 2016. Sri Lanka’s apparel export industry is almost entirely privately owned. It has grown over the last three decades and has become the number one foreign exchange earner and the largest single employer in the manufacturing industry.
