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The International Labor Organisation has urged the Bangladesh government to waive around $1 million of value-added tax generated from the spending on a project involving readymade garment factory inspection. ILO made this appeal to the finance ministry through the labour and employment ministry saying that development partners were giving $7.5 million for factory inspections. But they are not willing pay VAT.
The government has taken a three-and-a-half-year initiative under the ILO’s program for improving working conditions in the readymade garment sector to ensure fire, electrical and building safety. The ILO has hinted at further investment by development partners from countries like the UK, Japan and Canada for repairing faults at the factory buildings. However, further investment depends on a VAT waiver.
The factory compliance issue is also linked to the demand for duty-free access of readymade garment products to the US market. The US has already scrapped duty advantage under the GSP for a few Bangladeshi products since June 2013. A team comprising teachers from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology has been appointed for inspecting more than 1,500 readymade garment factories.
The Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) has no money to buy raw jute. This is because of a delay in financial disbursement from the government. The procurement of raw jute started two months ago. BJMC had targeted purchase of 2.6 million quintals of raw jute this year. And so far it has procured minimal quantity of raw jute due to unavailability of funds required for purchase. It needs funds to purchase raw jute that will help keep the wheels of the mills running.
This fall in buying may result in a slump of jute goods production. About 80,000 employees have been engaged in the BJMC-run 26 mills. But due to lack of modernisation, the mills could not utilise their production capacity fully. The BJMC has signed three memorandums of understanding to receive technical assistance from China that will help modernise the mills. All the jute mills of BJMC will be surveyed with the Chinese government’s financial grant. In addition, the Chinese government will also provide technical support for manufacturing the latest and diversified goods at the jute mills of BJMC.
BJMC sells jute sacks and hessian to Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation, Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation, ministry of food and other organisations.
www.bjmc.gov.bd/
Despite a recent spat over territorial dispute between Chinese and Vietnamese ships in the South China or Eastern Sea yet companies from Taiwan or other places in Asia, the country remains a hot investment destination. The unrest hasn’t affected Hong Kong-based manufacturer TAL Group, the world’s biggest producer of men’s wear, selling shirts to brands such as Brooks Brothers, L.L.Bean, Eddie Bauer, and Burberry.
The Group is looking at increasing its investments in Vietnam to increase its production from 12 to 15 per cent to 25 per cent, over the next two years. Apart from garment making, the company is also investing in a new business to make textiles in the country. In fact, many other companies too are exploring Vietnam as a low cost and good investment option for manufacturing against China, where production and labour costs are on the rise.
For now, TAL relies on Chinese factories for the bulk of its production. Out of a total workforce of 25,000 people, TAL has about 7,000 to 8,000 workers in China, and the country accounts for about one-third of the group’s total production.
www.talgroup.com
ITMA 2015 will be held from November 12 to 19 in Italy. This edition will showcase end-to-end solutions for the entire textile and garment making chain. To date, 1,380 exhibitors from 47 countries have signed up to take part in the exhibition. ITMA is one of world’s most established textile and garment machinery exhibition since 1951. It is a global marketplace and one-stop sourcing platform for emerging trends and innovative solutions and acquiring new knowledge and best practices.
Since demand for space is high, with applications still streaming in, an 11th hall has been added to the show which will house the fiber and yarn, research and education, colorants and chemicals, software and recycling sectors. The exhibition, with a gross size of over 200,000 sq. mt. will be complemented by several knowledge exchange and networking platforms.
In addition, a new initiative has been launched, the ITMA Sustainable Innovation Award. This award recognises outstanding industry members and post-graduate students for their contributions to the sustainable development of the global textile and garment industry. The award comprises three categories: Industry Excellence Award, R&E Excellence Award – Masters and R&E Excellence Award – Doctorate.
The drive towards sustainability in the entire textile and garment value chain is increasingly integrated with enlightened business practices, and innovative technology holds the key to environmental sustainability.
www.itma.com/
The Free Trade Union in Cambodia has come out in favor of a new minimum wage for garment workers, far lower than what many of its counterparts have been agitating for over the past several months, bolstering prospects for a compromise with factories. The FTU’s $130 is even lower than the $135 concession put forward by the Collective Union of Movement of Workers, one of the country’s most prominent non government-aligned unions.
Unlike other supposedly independent unions, however, the FTU has not joined any of the recent protests to demand a major raise to the current minimum wage. It says it decided to shun the protests because the other unions were corrupt, charging workers for T-shirts they were handing out at the demonstrations even though they had been printed at the expense of international unions helping them.
Key union leaders and labor rights activists in Cambodia face the risk of judicial harassment and arrest warrants for organising strikes. This happens even if unions observe all legal obligations, such as giving prior notice and collecting 60,000 signatures of workers confirming their support to strike action.
From September 13 to 16, 2,00,000 garment workers from Cambodia went on a strike to demand a living wage.
UK-based Coats has a growing presence in Bangladesh. Coats is a global leader in industrial thread and consumer textile crafts. It has been operating in the country since 1989 and has a joint venture thread-producing plant with the local AK Khan Group with two factories, one in Chittagong and the other in Gazipur.
One in five garments on the planet is held together using Coats' thread. Coats, which is the second largest and fastest growing global zip manufacturer, will set up a new zips factory in Chittagong. This will open in the early part of 2015 and is being established in response to the growing demand from global consumer brands manufacturing apparel and footwear in Bangladesh.
Coats Bangladesh produces many new and innovative products including flame retardant threads, Hemseal (an adhesive thread for hems), Eloflex (a thread with high extension properties for use in stretch fabrics), Aquamelt (a water soluble thread for temporary stitching applications) and Drybond (a water resistant, strong and durable anti-wick threads for use in sports equipment).
When Coats began its business in Bangladesh 25 years ago, exports were worth 624 million dollars and the sector employed 320,000 people. This year exports are expected to fetch over $25 billion and employment will reach over 4 million people.
www.coats.com/index.asp?pageid=38&country=bangladesh
London hosted the Textile Forum, a fabric sourcing fair on October 15 and 16. There are a growing number of fabric companies that realise there is business to be gained from keeping stock in the UK. Visitors come to the fair to source interesting, high quality fabrics which they can order in small quantities with a quick turnaround.
More than 50 collections were on display from mainly British companies, ranging from luxury silks and fine worsted cloths to leather, faux leather and fake furs, as well as digital prints, lace and bridal fabrics complete with crystal embellishments. Visitors were from three main groups: the new generation or young start-ups, existing brands and manufacturers, and independent designers. Forest Digital made its debut at the show, offering a digital printing service on in-stock fabrics including silk jersey, cotton and modal cashmere. It got a lot of enquiries about its printed scarf service.
Carrington Fabrics has been exhibiting at the show since it began and was showcasing fashion fabrics, jacquards, basics and bridal collections. There was particular interest in its bridal collections. Brands including Jack Wills, Tommy Hilfiger, Daks and Ragged Priest were present. There were designers interested in the stock-supported collections with low or no minimum orders.
www.textileforum.org.uk/
Vitale Barberis Canonico and Lanificio Fratelli Cerruti are the winners of the third annual Fabric No. 1 award. The prize is given by Saks Fifth Avenue in partnership with the Woolmark Company. It’s given to mills that produce fabrics for made-to-measure suits and sport coats.
This year 30 international brands submitted their fabrics for consideration. To qualify, each mill was invited to submit up to two signature clothes from their Fall/Winter collection per category. A select panel of made-to-measure experts examined and chose the submissions. This year, Lanificio Fratelli Cerruti was selected for suiting and Vitale Barberis Canonico for sport coats.
Vitale Barberis Canonico’s cashmere/wool blend was the best among all entries in sport coats with a high-blue fabric that’s soft and cool to the touch. The mill scored extra points for sustainability by using innovative purification technologies to ensure that the water and air released after fabric manufacturing don’t harm the pristine beauty of Italy’s countryside.
Lanificio Fratelli Cerruti’s fabric knocked out all other contenders in the suit category. Inspired by New York’s 1950′s renaissance in art and architecture, the merino wool and cashmere fabric’s subtly checked blue is reminiscent of the sky-reflective glass towers that overlook Manhattan’s skyline.
The next edition of Heimtextil for home and contract textiles will be held from January 14 to 17, 2015, in Germany. It will exhibit a variety of design and future-oriented themes. The fair is branching out in new directions. The focus will be on retail trade and marketing and disciplines such as research & development, design and product application. With numerous visualisations and activities, the Theme Park will explore today’s mega and micro trends and show how modern interior design can be creatively implemented in different fields.
Exhibitors and visitors can discover the latest developments in the world of textile design in a more emotional, intensive and comprehensive presentation than before. The textiles or fabrics displayed in this show are designed to fit perfectly with the requirements of home decoration sector as well as apparel segments. The attractive designs, perfect blend of colors and texture attract a huge number of buyers from all round the world.
An important part of the Theme Park will be the Material Gallery, which includes a selection of exhibitors’ fabric collections and offers an overview of the latest home textile trends. There will also be a Color Pavilion, showing the latest color trends. A program of lectures with renowned speakers will provide supplementary information about the latest trends.
www.heimtextil.messefrankfurt.com/
West African cotton output is forecast to jump over 19 per cent for the 2014-15 season. The reason: high government-fixed prices have attracted growers back to the sector. Before a market crash in the early 2000s, the seven top cotton-producing countries in the region had accounted for about 15 per cent of the world’s cotton exports.
They are now ramping up output again, already showing a rise of 7 per cent in 2013-14 from the season before as a rebound in world prices in recent years has allowed governments to increase what they pay farmers. Harvesting in most of the region is expected to start next month before picking up from December. Harvest has been early this year because farmers planted a lot in May. So some cotton was ready by September.
Ivory Coast, Benin and Senegal are all predicting production increases for 2014-15. Togo is forecasting a jump of over 54 per cent. In Cameroon, 2013-14 output rose nearly 7 per cent on the back of favorable weather. That figure would have been higher, but a significant portion of the crop was lost due to smuggling to neighboring Nigeria.
Burkina Faso, the regional leader, is targeting an output of 8,00,000 tonnes in 2014-15, up 23 per cent from the recently ended season.
