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Addressing a meeting called to review power related issues in Pakistan, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association Punjab chairman SM Tanveer said that there is a need for special power tariff for textile industry. He insisted that the government should look into providing regionally competitive tariff along with uninterrupted gas and electricity so that the industry can take advantage of the GSP Plus facility provided by the EU.
He pointed out that while the electricity tariff in India is 10.5 cents, in Bangladesh 10.75 cents and in Sri Lanka it is again 10.75 cents, in Pakistan the tariff is 15 cents, which is 45 per cent higher as compared to the neighbouring countries. So industry players have to pay double tariff compared to the tariff offered by other countries to their trade and industries, leaving Pakistan uncompetitive and unviable in the international market.
APTMA Punjab Chief added that due to severe load shedding losses to the textile industry are unbearable and the cost of production has increased manifold as compared to competitors in the region. The viability of the industry will be totally eroded if the government fails to resolve energy-related issues.
He also informed that due to load shedding and shortage of gas supply as well as rising production costs, during the last few months, about 375,000 spindles have stopped operation in Lahore and Faisalabad, some 312,000 in Multan and 158,000 in Rawalpindi. Production of more than 100 spinning mills have also been reduced in Punjab as the industry is operating only in one shift.
Largest annual apparel fabrics fair, Intertextile Shanghai will take place in Shanghai this October with an increased focus on denim products, a fast-growing segment in the Chinese market. The autumn edition will be held from October 20 to 23 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. The fair will feature a bigger ‘Beyond Denim’ hall after the success of last year’s exclusive and distinctive denim zone.
Advantage for domestic market
With China’s middle and upper classes rapidly following western fashion trends, denim 
has become the focus of industry players in the country. This situation presents positive opportunities for overseas companies. Last year’s Beyond Denim zone featured most leading domestic denim manufacturers and designers, as well as international denim fabric exhibitors. Exhibitors participating in the Beyond Denim zone in 2013 came from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Pakistan, Spain, Turkey and other major denim manufacturing countries. As Claire Cheng from Invista Management (Shanghai) points out the zone is an effective way to tap into China’s domestic market. “We are showcasing our functional denim here and it is a good platform to attract more customers and introduce our brand and fabric functions to them,” says Chang.
The enlarged 2014 Beyond Denim hall – revamped by the renowned French Studio, the NellyRodi Agency will highlight wash innovations, the latest technology, sustainable practices and premium denims, making it an excellent platform for exhibitors from overseas and China to present the latest denim trends to buyers. Well-known brands looking for denim and casual wear fabrics in 2013 included Abercrombie & Fitch, DKNY Jeans, Giordano, H&M, New Yorker, Perry Ellis International and Zara. With a much larger exhibiting area a wider range of products will be on display, from traditional and fashionable denim fabrics to new and environmentally friendly items, and the hall is expected to attract attention from a large number of both Chinese and overseas buyers.
At the 2014 fair, Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics will once again feature distinctive show highlights including SalonEurope, the Milano Unica Pavilion, Verve for Design, All About Sustainability, trend forums, an accessories trend forum and fashion shows.
Intertextile-shanghai-apparel-fabrics-autumn.hk.messenfranfurt.com
The Woolmark Company debuted at this year's Blueprint trade and consumer show, presenting Wool Denim fabric. Held on May 8 and 9, Blueprint is part of the larger Amsterdam Denim Days events showcasing all products in denim.
With an aim to increase the share of wool worn by consumers, the Woolmark Company is promoting wool blended with denim. While blending wool with cotton is not a new concept, improved manufacturing processes and a wider acceptance of denim apparel in both social and work places has given wool the opportunity to have a greater presence in this area. The global authority on wool will presented a 'new' Wool Denim at Blueprint that uses exactly the same warp yarn as traditional denim, but replaces some, or all, of the weft yarns with machine-washable wool to deliver a high-performance denim fabric.
Previous attempts to create wool/cotton blends in denim have used an intimate blend of wool with cotton -- two fibres which are not easy to combine in a yarn. Yet by replacing some, or all, of the weft yarns with wool, a higher performance and more cost effective fabric can be produced.
Wool Denim, apart from having features like strength and versatility also has the extra resilience, elasticity, odour resistance, moisture management and most importantly warmth found in wool. Wool adds an extra element of warmth even in the coldest of winters and takes the initial chill out of putting on regular denim jeans.
www.woolmark.com
Two projects jointly undertaken by the Institute of Textiles and Clothing (ITC) and the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) bagged awards for their multi-faceted innovations presented during the 42nd International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva. Smart impact protective 3D-spacer fabrics of adaptive Stiffness by Hong Hu, Professor John Xin, Yanping Liu, Allan Chan and Huawen Hu won a gold medal.
Well balanced between protective performance and comfort, the new fabric is an ideal textile material to substitute polyurethane foams and rubbers which are currently used to produce high-performance protective garment and equipment.The special features and advantages of the invented material are high protective performance that meets Standard EN1621-1:1997, excellent comfort properties due to high air permeability and flexibility, good shape-adaptability of auxetic fabric to body curvatures and easy caring and cutting to any required size and shape.
A novel wearable thermal functional textile with conductive materials by Li Li, Kam Man Wan, Jia-hui Tong, Yuan-fang Zhao, Yeuk-fei Chan, Yin-ting Chui and Su Liu bagged a silver medal. The aim of this project is to develop a new generation of thermal textiles and specific manufacturing processes based on wearable electronic technology which can be incorporated textile products for the provision of temperature control both in general apparel and in specialist medical applications.
This is a pilot study to establish a systematic approach to design conductive textile stitches. Once developed, these thermal textiles can be applied in the production of outdoor apparel, home thermal products, healthcare and medical applications, and other potential areas where soft thermal comfort is required.
The maiden Kingpins Denim trade show in Amsterdam that took place on May 7 and May 8 saw around 40 companies exhibiting their range. Many industry professionals attended the show’s first edition housed in the Westergasfabriek.
Kingpins brought together big industry players besides its partners Lycra and E3, Tavex, Candiani Denim, Atlantic Mills, Advanced Denim, the French company Velcorex among others. Some of them were also present at Denim by Première Vision in Paris, or in the Blue Zone of Munich Fabric Start.
While Kingpins ended on May 8, Amsterdam Denim Days will continue. The event built around the new trade show will see Modefabriek held on May 9 to 10 along with Blueprint, its exhibition space open to the public. Denim fans will witness display by labels like Diesel, Pepe Jeans London, Denham, Scotch & Soda and others.
The Kingpins Show is an invitation-only, boutique denim sourcing show featuring a highly-edited selection of vendors that include denim and sportswear fabric mills from the US, Japan, China, India, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, Thailand, Spain and Mexico, wash houses, full package manufacturers, trim providers and business solutions. Kingpins launched in 2004, organises biannual shows in New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Amsterdam.
The Accord, a platform of more than 150 brands, retailers and trade unions has decided not to pay wages to workers during suspension of production or closure of any factory. While Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed asked the Accord to contribute to the workers’ payment, Accord said that it’s the factory owners’ responsibility to pay workers during factory closure.
The Accord will assist or provide funds when remedial work will be carried out. Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed, Labour Secretary Mikail Shipar, Accord Executive Director Rob Wayys, Alliance Managing Director M Rabin, BGMEA President Md Atiqul Islam, BKMEA Vice President Md Hatem, ILO Country Director Srinivas Reddy and Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments Inspector General Syed Ahmed, among others, were present at a meeting held after factory inspection.
The minister informed that so far 1,000 factories have been assessed by the Accord, the Alliance and BUET while only 20 factories have been identified as risky and 14 are being shut. Bangladesh enjoys duty free facilities in the EU market and 52 per cent of the total export goes to that market, he said stressing good relation with the EU.
www.bangladeshaccord.org
With a decline in export orders this has led to an 'unhealthy' trend of subcontracting in Bangladesh. The trend has become strong lately causing substantial export revenue loss to the country apart from strengthening bargaining power of international buyers.
With many exporters, including small and medium size RMG factories, especially the new players offering cutting and making (CM) charges at a lower rate than offered by mainstream market players, they are undercutting rivals by about 10-15 per cent. The CM rates in the case of knitwear items declined by 15 to 20 per cent last year and as per the BGMEA data, during the last one year, the CM of woven garments declined by 10-12 per cent.
Experts point out that the foul practice followed by some industry players is forcing other factories in the sector to reduce their prices as well. More than 1,200 factories are said to be involved in sub-contracting in the RMG industry, employing nearly 1.0 million workers.
www.bgmea.com.bd
Rising demand for high-quality textiles in the Southern China region will provide a promising backdrop to this year’s Intertextile Pavilion at the Shenzhen International Trade Fair for apparel fabrics and accessories. The fair will be held from 10 to 12 July 2014 at the Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center. Favourable market conditions in the region have led to increased demand from overseas exhibitors to participate, with country/region pavilions from India and Korea returning to the fair, and the debut participation of a pavilion from Taiwan.
The 2014 edition of Intertextile Pavilion Shenzhen is expected to witness over 33 per cent increase in exhibitors from last year. Exhibitors will display a large selection of high-quality fabrics for ladies wear, casual wear and suiting, the latest knits, lace & embroidery and accessories, and a range of yarns & fibres. In particular, this year, a larger selection of quality lace and embroidered fabrics for women’s fashion, wedding apparel and accessories will be showcased.
The India Pavilion, featuring suppliers of quality yarns & fibres, and the Korea Pavilion, whose exhibitors will showcase functional woven fabrics, linen-like fabrics made from rayon, fabrics using rayon-blend georgette fibres, washable georgette and leno weave fabrics, and cupro fabric shirts, return this year. Meanwhile, the debut pavilion from Taiwan will feature 12 suppliers mostly specialising in knitted and functional fabrics, as well as lace and embroideries.
In addition to Intertextile Pavilion Shenzhen, the 14th China International Fashion Brand Fair – Shenzhen, a fashion garment event, will take place concurrently. Intertextile Pavilion at the Shenzhen International Trade Fair for Apparel Fabrics and Accessories is organised by Messe Frankfurt, the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT and the Shenzhen Garment Industry Association.
www.intertextile-pavilion-shenzhen.hk.messefrankfurt.com
Haiti has announced a minor increase in its minimum wage for the estimated 29,000 apparel industry workers who sew together T-shirts and other clothing in the country's apparel factories. According to a new law, workers will now earn about $5.11 dollars per eight-hour workday. However, it is way too short of the equivalent of $11.36 dollars per workday demanded by the protesting garment workers.
Last year's inflation rate in Haiti was 3.2 per cent. Almost two-decade old clothing factories in Haiti that made baseballs earlier have now shifted to T-shirt production for major North American retailers. About two-thirds of the country's 10 million people lack formal employment, and the garment industry is one of the major formal sources of income.
Parliament last approved a raise in the minimum wage in 2009. That increased the daily rate from about $1.50 to around $4.50 over three years. It also established a separate minimum wage for garment workers who can earn as much as $6.81 daily if they meet production quotas. But labour groups claim that the quotas set are too high for workers to realistically meet in a regular workday.
The US-based Worker Rights Consortium said in an October report that Haitian workers receive an average of 32 per cent less than what they should. An earlier report said that all of Haiti's 24 garment factories failed to pay workers even the minimum wage.
www.workersrights.org
Eleven Indian enterprises closed business deals with their Peruvian counterparts at the 1st business roundtable and exhibition of India's Garment Industry (Intexpo) in the Andean nation. According to India’s Synthetic and Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC), the recently-concluded trade fair sought to establish trade contacts among Indian entrepreneurs with leading businesses engaged in Peru’s textile and apparel sector.
Over 300 business meetings were carried out at the textile exhibition fair which was held from April 28th to April 29th in the nation’s capital Lima. Garments export from India to Peru is valued at $55 million dollars last year and this amount is expected to witness a four-fold increase by end of 2015.
Indian players can offer Peruvian textile entrepreneurs quality products at competitive prices, for the benefit of the two countries. The First annual edition of Intexpo was organized by the SRTEPC with the support of Indian Embassy in Peru and the Lima Chamber of Commerce (CCL).
www.srtepc.org
