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Indian Technical Textile Association (ITTA) organized a one-day international conference on nonwoven technical textiles with a focused theme on nonwovens for high-performance applications on June 6, 2018. It happened concurrently with the Nonwoven Tech Asia 2018 exhibition, organized by Radeecal, at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai.
The conference received an overwhelming response from the industry. The topics were chosen as per the theme of conference covering high-performance applications of nonwovens, spread over eleven presentations by eminent speakers from the industry. Sanyal Desai, CEO, Radeecal Communications, and Suresh Patel, president, INDINON, spoke about the ban on nonwoven bags in Maharashtra and how it has affected the nonwoven roll goods and bag manufacturing industry.
Anjan Mukhopadhyay, Director, BTRA, highlighted how nonwovens are used in different high-tech areas like insulation material, protective suit, waste water treatment, etc. He also briefed about the R&D, testing and training facilities available at BTRA. Pramod Khosla, Chairman, ITTA, in his inaugural address, spoke about the Nonwoven Tech Asia exhibition. He hoped nonwovens are not equated to plastics. He emphasized that nonwovens are mostly used in the automotive, packaging, industrial sectors. The nonwoven market is growing in Europe and the US and woven market is stabilizing and going down. India has a great hope for the export market more than domestic market.
Marks & Spencer will source 100 per cent of its cotton from sustainable sources by 2019. The British department store now procures 77 per cent of its cotton from Better Cotton Initiative, Fairtrade, organic or recycled origins. Marks & Spencer uses around 50,000 tons of cotton a year. It produces selvedge denim from BCI cotton, recycled thread, recycled zipper tape and biodegradable leather patches.
Marks & Spencer is upping the stakes for its cotton procurement by increasing the proportion of Fairtrade, organic and recycled origins to 25 per cent by 2025. The retailer also plans to boost its transparency by translating data about raw material sources to on product information that can help guide its customers’ purchasing decisions.
At the same time, Marks & Spencer wants 100 per cent of its factories, such as those that make garments, to be on a sustainability ladder, with 50 per cent of its products achieving its highest Gold Standard. By 2025, every factory producing products for it will be systemically improving its environmental and ethical performance.
Besides using less water and fewer chemicals than conventional cotton, programs like BCI and Fairtrade also help promote decent work and fairer pay for smallholder cotton farmers, ginners and spinners.
Arundo Analytics, a software company enabling advanced analytics in heavy industry, has successfully deployed the Arundo software to improve manufacturing operations at Coats, a major UK industrial thread manufacture. The initial deployment of the software collects over 800 machine signals at 1hZ intervals at the company’s manufacturing site in Shenzhen, China.
This access will create an unparalleled level of streaming of cloud-based global insights into machine utilisation and overall equipment effectiveness. Based on the detailed granularity of these insights, concrete improvement actions can be rolled out across the business.
Coats has started an ambitious global Factory of the Future initiative to connect and improve operations internally and across the value chain through machine learning and streaming data analytics. With 19,000 employees in over 50 countries, Coats operates a global supply chain and production operation across six continents.
Vendors in Ludhiana are creating their own online platforms to tap the international market directly. The major advantage of online selling is that it helps companies clear the stock stuck in the retail market. One such company is Kazaro International which deals in women wear. The company plans to go online soon by first increasing its business by 10 per cent. As the demand picks up, the company plans to expand its online presence by 20 per cent
Besides the garment industry, other industries too are making their presence felt in the global marketplace through internet and mobile apps. Ludhiana-based Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are trying to create their own brands in the online market. Hosiery, knitwear, clothing, cycle and cycle parts and auto-parts are selling their products online. Avon Cycles is selling its products through their own website besides having presence on the e-commerce portals such as Amazon and Flipkart.
TGC (Tokyo Girls Collection) was held at the United Nations on May 31, 2018. This is a fashion festival held twice a year since August 2005 with the theme of showcasing Tokyo street culture. Around 100 popular Japanese models performed in a fashion show displaying Japan's street fashion. The festival also featured live performances by important artists, a special stage filled with popular guests, booths where participants could touch and try popular items, and various other contents that are unique to TGC.
Models, singers, and celebrities presented the latest casual wear from Japanese and international designers on the runway, while the audience could order the clothes on their smart phones instantly. TGC promotes sustainable development goals among young women. It presents the latest trends, fashion and content surrounding Japan’s girls’ market.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a set of international development goals from 2016 to 2030, which was adopted by the UN Sustainable Development Summit held in September 2015 building on the success of Millennium Development Goals.
After collaboration with FOUNAP in 2015, TGC has been promoting SDGs among Japanese women through many activities, and as a result, TGC had an opportunity to hold the event by being valued as an unique social model that advocates and implements SDGs with leveraging TGC’s overwhelming awareness and the power of diffusion.
The ever-growing denim market in India is on a roll. An organised retail sector, a young population, online penetration of denims and the increasing popularity of engineered or distressed pieces will continue to fuel the growth of this segment. Originally a product for the youth, denim has grown to cut across geographies, gender and age groups.
Given the average age of the Indian consumer today, and the influence of global style trends in the country, the industry can be expected to grow at double-digit. Today, denim is considered a multipurpose fabric. It is used as casual wear, everyday wear, and is also gaining popularity in the leisure form owing to the comfort provided by stretch denims.
New-age companies and start-ups are relaxing norms. With the introduction of Friday dressing and casual dressing to work, denim is increasingly becoming an acceptable attire at work. The Indian denim market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 14.5 per cent till 2021.
Asia has a 22 per cent market share of the global denim industry and India contributes to nearly half that market. India will have a lot of influence in jeanswear in the coming years as the demand is increasing in all segments.
Hosiery manufacturers in India want the government to stop any further export of cotton till the next cotton season begins in October. They feel, this will control cotton prices and make the remaining quantity of harvested cotton crop available to domestic textile sector.
With cotton being the main raw material for knitwear manufacturers, any escalation in prices affects profit margins. Huge fluctuations in domestic cotton prices in recent months have resulted in an increase in cotton yarn prices. Hosiery includes socks, tights and pantyhose and nylons. The growth of socks segment is mainly driven by increasing demand for socks from the age group up to 14 years and the age group 15 to 64.
Consumers look for quality, durability, fit, style, and glamor while purchasing hosiery products. Not only is the market for women’s hosiery rising, the demand for such goods is rising from the men's segment too because these days even men follow new trends in fashion and apparels.
The e-commerce sector is a major driver propelling the growth of the hosiery market. Online retail stores save the consumer's time, give product availability at doorsteps, and offer products at discounted prices. Penetration of sheer hosiery has been lower in India, primarily due to the huge presence of unbranded sheer hosiery in the large unorganised marketplaces in the country.
H&M Q2 sales rose two per cent compared corresponding quarter of previous year. The total number of stores in H&M group was 4,801 as of May 31, 2018, compared to 4,498 in the same time previous year. Sweden-based H&M was founded in 1947. The business idea is to offer fashion and quality at the best price in a sustainable way. The group has 47 online markets and more than 4,800 stores in 69 markets including franchise markets. The number of employees amounts to more than 1,71,000.
H&M aims at using only recycled or sustainable materials by 2030. It launched a pilot project called Take Care in Germany. The project features in-store seamstresses, sales of garment care products and online advice. Take Care aims at encouraging H&M customers to extend the life of their clothes, giving them the means to take better care of their garments.
On products side, H&M has developed a cleaning line with environment-friendly detergents, a stain-removing spray and cleansing wipes for sneakers. Also available are a sewing kit, patches for worn-out clothes and a washing bag designed to prevent the dispersal in the water of the microscopic plastic particles shed by synthetic fibers.
Negotiations over a free trade agreement between Panama and China will begin in July and then talks will alternate between the two capitals every five weeks “to be able to have regular rounds and progress more rapidly. Negotiators are expected to name technical teams that will be charged with discussing details on market access, rules of origin and customs procedures, among others topics.
However, the Panamanian minister did not state for how long the talks would continue but pointed out other treaties with foreign countries have been forged over a period of two years while stressing that on political negotiations. He mentioned Panama had established a direct flight between Beijing and Panama City with a technical stop in Houston, which would operate twice a week.
China has been expanding its influence across Latin America, and Panama is seeking to attract new investment and boost re-exports of Chinese goods throughout the region. It has eleven Free Trade Agreements in operation, with another three under negotiation and another three under consideration.
Bottega Veneta has named Daniel Lee its creative director from July 1. A graduate of Central Saint Martins, Lee was director of ready-to-wear at Céline, owned by rival French conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. Lee, is currently the head of ready-to-wear design at Celine, the French luxury label owned by LVMH Möet Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
Claus Dietrich Lahrs, CEO of Bottega Veneta, stated Daniel Lee has a deep understanding of the House’s current challenges both in terms of creation and development. He will bring to Bottega Veneta a new and distinctive creative language that will continue building the House's success based on the ambitious foundations already developed over recent years.
Maintaining the ingrained codes of the House, craftsmanship, quality and sophistication, Lee looks forward to evolving what has gone before, while contributing a new perspective and modernity. By commending the entire creative direction of Bottega Veneta to Daniel Lee, a talented young designer,Kering continues to place bold and daring creativity at the center of its strategy.
Bottega Veneta announced its plans to part ways with Maier, who had been at its helm for 17 years, earlier this week.
