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Indo Count, one of the three leading Indian suppliers of bed linen and the fourth largest bed sheet supplier to the US recorded 46 per cent higher turnover in Q1 of the current financial year compared to the same period last fiscal. Profit rose 122 per cent over that reported in the first quarter of 2014-15 and a 97 per cent growth over the profit in the immediately preceding quarter.
Indo Count is a global bed linen company. The integrated company manufactures yarn at one end to finished made-ups at the other. The company has one of the highest margins within the country’s integrated textile sector and one of the highest asset-turnover ratios. It makes bed sheets, flat sheets, fitted sheets and pillow cases, fashion bedding, comforters, quilts and coverlets, decorative pillows etc.
Within the home textiles segment, the company is focusing on niche bed linen. To strengthen its competitiveness in home textiles, the company expanded its capacity to 68 million meters per annum last year. This helped widen the presence of value-added products in its portfolio.
The company markets its products in 49 countries. Nearly 65 per cent of revenues are derived from the US, the company’s largest market. Other markets are the UK, Canada, Europe and Australia.
www.indocount.com/
India will not test textiles and textile articles originating from specific countries for the presence of azo dyes, says DGFT. The relevant countries are: Serbia, Poland, Denmark and China. These countries have banned the use of azo dyes in textiles and textile articles. India bans the import of textile and textile articles which contain specified hazardous dyes. Import consignments should be accompanied by a pre-shipment certificate from a textile testing laboratory accredited to the National Accreditation Agency of the country of origin.
In cases where such certificates are not available, the consignment will be cleared after getting a sample of the imported consignment tested and certified from an agency like the Textiles Committee of Ministry of Textiles or the Central Silk Technological Research Institute or the Central Silk Board. Azo dyes are a class of synthetic dyes used for coloring a variety of consumer goods such as foods, cosmetics, carpets, clothes, leather and textiles.
When certain azo dyes have prolonged contact with skin they can break down to form aromatic amines, some of which are known carcinogens. A carcinogen is a substance capable of causing cancer. Although banned in Europe, and restricted in the US, azo dyes are allowed in Australia.
Textile units operating out of Perundurai SIPCOT Industrial Growth Centre, Tamil Nadu, are losing out on competitiveness in pricing of goods because of huge expenditure involved in complying with the norms. Meanwhile, the state is espousing the cause of implementation of Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) system for industrial units generating harmful effluents.
About 15 industries closed operations over the last four years after incurring losses. This is out of almost 50 textile processing units in the SIPCOT complex. S Selvaraj, Joint Secretary, Perundurai SIPCOT Textiles Processors Association (PSTPA), points out that retaining customer base in export market is difficult due to disadvantageous pricing. Thus, an equal number among the existing units are in a similar predicament, he added.
The height of solar evaporators from the ground level is being raised by a few feet by industrial units in SIPCOT. To rule out mixing of hazardous waste in the form of the end-salt with soil, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has directed the units to do so. The PSTPA has urged the State government to enforce uniform compliance by all dyeing and bleaching industries.
The Rs 700 crores project would be implemented by the Tamil Nadu Water Investment Corporation for CETPs. They too have consented to visit SIPCOT soon to study the scope to invest in a common facility for Reject Management benefitting the existing 35 textile units.
The Global Investment Meet (GIM) may turn into a bonanza for one of Tamil Nadu’s most prominent and labour intensive sectors, in terms of new projects in all the right places. The textiles and apparel sector of the state is likely to get a cumulative investment of Rs 4,500 crores and these investments would primarily be higher up the value chain. The investments, it is believed would give a significant boost in terms of employment generation and stimulus to ancillary industries. Tamil Nadu has long been a textile hub, however, its strength has laid in the extensive spinning industry, which comprises of almost 40 per cent of India’s spinning capacity.
As Manickam Ramaswami of Loyal Textiles, one of the largest textile companies in India says that the bulk of this investment is likely to come in the garment and the apparels sector because that is where the opportunity is. He added that they themselves were signing MoUs for investment worth Rs 150-220 crores at the GIM.
Industry experts state that if this is the case with investment, it would greatly benefit Tamil Nadu and the state’s workers. New projects higher up the value chain would also strengthen the sector, which already has elements of the whole textile value chain from cotton to garment making. These new projects could also help soak up the slack in demand for yarn due to China’s burning out.
India's top industrialists have sought protection for the textiles and steel sectors against cheap imports getting dumped in the country. The made this plea at a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, called in the wake yuan devaluation that led to Sensex falling drastically and rupee’s devaluations. Modi discussed ways to improve the economy and called for more investment in the manufacturing sector to take advantage of the declining yuan.
Reliance group chairman Mukesh Ambani pointed out that the worst news from China may not be over yet. Ambani and Aditya Birla Group Chairman K M Birla also sought assistance in boosting the textiles sector, which is the second largest employer in India. After Chinese currency yuan was devalued on August 10, rupee recorded its sharpest decline among its competing countries including China, Vietnam and Bangladesh. Meanwhile, Textile industry body Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (Texprocil) has urged the central government to extend benefits for garment exporters.
www.ril.com
H&M will introduce a fair wage method in 20 garment factories of Bangladesh this year to help improve productivity and factory conditions and combat unrest in the plants that make apparel for the Swedish retail giant. The move by Europe’s second largest clothing retailer comes as a part of a program for three of its Asian suppliers: Bangladesh, China and Cambodia.
H&M, which has 3,649 stores across 59 markets, is introducing the system to a total 68 factories in China, Cambodia and Bangladesh this year, a plan that seeks to boost workers’ pay, provide some discretionary income, and allow representation through trade unions. The retailer buys about 80 per cent of its products from Asia.
The method will ensure higher prices for the garment items the retailer buys from the factories -- a measure that will raise wages for workers. H&M has a plan to introduce the method for all of its sourcing factories by the end of 2018, which will focus on a well-functioning dialogue between employers and employees for settling disputes.
Implementation of the method will contribute to sustainable pay structures, more regular wage adjustments and enhanced communication and social dialogue between the management and workers’ representatives.
www.hm.com/
Italian company NIPI (Natural Insulation Products Inc) has developed a soft and ultra-light goose down fabric that can be cut and sewn like any other fabric. It’s called Thindown and is supposed to be the first and only 100 per cent natural, ecological, sterilised and biodegradable goose down fabric. Contrary to synthetic quilts, Thindown compacts the down in a completely natural way. Compared to traditional comforters, it uses even less down since it is a homogenous fabric, one that doesn't let air get through and thus doesn't need to be divided into compartments.
With this new material, it will be possible to create clothes and accessories, including shoes, out of down fabric with just a few stitches and applying all the possible treatments and personal touches. NIPI plans to increase production of the fabric from 300,000 meters in 2016 to three million in 2018.
Down is the soft plumage that geese and ducks have to keep them warm and dry. Goose down is used to fill down comforters, down pillows and other articles of bedding and clothing. It is chosen for its luxurious softness, superior resilience, loft and insulating properties, unmatched by synthetic fills.
Wool has 18 properties that make it a better material to use for garments than synthetic. Wool is breathable, appropriate for a variety of climates, elastic, fire resistant, machine washable and stain resistant. Sportswear made of wool fabric can retain odor for up to seven hours after exercise. That makes it ideal for exercise wear.
One of the most important characteristics of wool which determines its classification — as well as its price — is the wool’s fiber diameter. The finer the wool diameter, softer and more crimped it becomes. Crimp, the wave in the wool staple, contributes to the bulk and the lightness of wool fabrics. The Australian wool clip is particularly suited to use in apparel.
The softness of wool fabrics makes it suitable for baby clothing. Its breathability makes it the perfect material for baby products. Most people think wool would be best knitted into a sweater and other cool-climate apparel. But wool is not only for cool climates. There are a lot of applications for wool.
Merino wool is supported by the Woolmark company. Woolmark has developed high technology for producing the finest fabrics for designers and manufacturers. This technology has enabled them to produce a wide variety of fabrics.
Recycled swimwear is making waves with brands such as Speedo and start-ups producing swimwear made from recycled materials. Sustainable and ethical fashion is making huge strides. The fashion industry is always under criticism for the way it produces clothing quickly and cheaply and swimwear too is not spared. However, as the ethical and sustainable fashion movements gain steam, several startups are producing swimwear in sweatshop free ways and using what they claim to be more ecologically sound materials.
Speedo launched its PowerFLEX Eco swimwear collection recently, which is completely made with ECONYL Nylon 6—a fabric made from ‘end-of-life waste material’, such as old carpets and abandoned fishing nets. It’s remaining manufacturing scraps are upcycled by the nylon manufacturer Aquafil into ECONYL nylon, diverting it from the landfill.
Big brands such as Adidas, and the luxury lingerie label La Perla are some brands that use ECONYL fabric apart from Speedo. Outerknown, a clothing and swimwear line that debuted recently also uses this fabric. However, this makeover in swimwear is more populated by small, indie-sized brands, such as Bikini Empire, a line of surfer-designed separates for women made in Canada. Then, there’s Tara Grinna, which is made by hand at a family owned factory in Conway, SC. Similar swimwear lines exist that are made in the US, Canada, and Indonesia, and numerous other lines manufactured in the UK.
Designer and founder of London Denim, Simon King has teamed up with two county manufacturers to redesign the functional T-shirt. King is working with Simon Cook, of Discovery Knitting, and Ben de Zille Butler, of Zero One Nine, which owns the Sweater Shop brand, to create a new eco-friendly and high quality T-shirt, dubbed the Intelligent Design T.
King stated he wants to create a T-shirt, aimed at men, which is eco-friendly, organic, ethical and gives men an opportunity to refresh their wardrobe. He adds that this attempt goes beyond re-designing of the basic T-shirt because of the fundamental differences in production of this T-shirt and ethos behind the design.
The new T-shirt is made from two pieces of fabric, which are held together with one stitch, and can be personalised. Besides, the making of this T-shirt is local to Europe, unlike some other garments in this category, King explained. Turkey is the place from where organic cotton is sourced, then transported to Portugal where it is spun into their thread. This, then goes to Discovery Knitting in South Wigston, where it is transformed into their T-shirt jersey and then to Zero One Nine in Thurmaston, where it's made, King further explained.
A funding campaign has also been launched to raise £10,000 to produce the T-shirt. The drive has been launched on the Kickstarter global crowdfunding website. Butler, said that though theirs is predominately a knitwear company, they also work on leisure wear and like developing new things. Cook and Butler, both said they wanted to work on the project with King as they aim to support British manufacturing and businesses.
