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Lectra hosted its sixth annual education congress Milan, Italy recently. The congress brought together over 55 professors, department heads and directors from 34 fashion schools and universities from all over the world. The congress also touched on the theme of 3D, which is becoming a major tool in a company's product development arsenal. Women’s wear brands rely on Lectra 3D solutions to enhance creative designs. The congress also featured the Mittelmoda fashion show, an international design competition.
The aim of the congress is to allow participants and Lectra specialists to share their experience and expertise and to build a think tank geared toward the specific needs of fashion schools and universities. This think tank focuses on different ways of providing students with a solid background, preparing them for their professional futures. It addresses key concerns of fashion schools and universities in terms of teaching methods and of students’ involvement in concrete projects.
Lectra is a world leader in integrated technology solutions dedicated to industries using soft materials, fabrics, leather, technical textiles and composite materials. Lectra develops the most advanced specialized software and cutting systems and provides associated services to a broad array of markets including fashion (apparel, accessories, footwear), automotive (car seats and interiors, airbags), furniture, as well as a wide variety of other market sectors, such as aeronautical and marine industries, wind power, and personal protective equipment.
The updated version of the Higg Index was recently unveiled by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) which is a trade association comprising of brands, retailers, manufacturers, government and non-governmental organizations and academic experts. The Sustainable Apparel Coalition is committed towards improving the Higg Index and the updated version reflects its effort in development. The updated Index has expanded its covering with the addition of modules enabled to assess labor and social impacts for brands and manufacturers. A footwear module has been added for the very first time that permits footwear facility assessment. The Index has also improved on sustainability content considering chemical impacts by improving facility and brand assessments.
The Higg Index was launched in 2012 with an aim to measure the comprehensive environmental and social impacts of apparel and footwear products, and since then has allowed more than 100 companies to identify opportunities to reduce impacts and improve long-term sustainability. The Sustainable Apparel Coalition, represents more than one-third of the global apparel and footwear industries and was formed by sustainability leaders and leading environmental and social organizations to address current social and environmental challenges.
Bangladesh apparel makers are receiving support from the government in an attempt to help them cope with issues such as increase wages. Finance Minister AMA Muhith plans to roll out incentives for apparel manufacturers pertaining to major issues such as increase in salary as per the new wages and political instability leading to become defaulters to banks.
The minister plans to discuss the government’s position with the leaders of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Textile Mills Association.
The finance minister made this announcement during a press briefing after he met Atiur Rahman, National Board of Revenue (NBR) chairman Ghulam Hossain, Finance Secretary Fazle Kabir, Bank and Financial Institution Division Secretary M Aslam Alam and chief executive officers of four state-owned commercial banks at his Secretariat office.
Assurance also came in from the Prime Minister that the apparel sector will be taken care of with the help of incentive packages.
After decades of decline, the US textile and apparel industry is growing once more, and many factories are competing with low-wage operations in countries like China. In North Carolina, where textile industry was once dominant, the industry has reinvented itself by using technology and employing far fewer people than in the past.
Robots do most of the heavy lifting at the National Spinning Company in Burlington, North Carolina. This factory dyes over 110,000 kg of yarn per week in a variety of colors. The yarn is sent to clothing and upholstery makers both in the US and around the world. There are only two technicians who service the dye producing machines.
Technology is helping bridge the wage gap between labor-intensive factories overseas that pay workers only a few dollars a day and this North Carolina plant where about 100 employees make between $10 and $20 an hour.
Factories are realizing it's important to limit labor costs and to provide higher quality and better customer service to compete in the global market place. So they are diversifying into niche markets. Companies and enterprises are bringing their core activities to where they have a skilled workforce, where they have innovation talent and where they’re able to develop the next generation of innovation that drives manufacturing.
The House of Dormeuil known for sourcing and selling rare and precious fibres from around the world is making a mark in India. Its collection of pure wool suiting in basic counts, pure cashmere suiting, super 180 and super 230 stand out because of their quality. “The Indian market is becoming stronger every year. We have big sales during weddings and are growing at 10 to 25 per cent per annum in the country,” explains Richard Boide, Commercial Director, Dormeuil. A top supplier of luxury fabrics in India their prices range from Rs 10,000 a metre up to Rs 2,00,000 a metre.
The company has 60 to 70 retailers in India. Because of the nature of the product and
the climate the biggest markets are Delhi and north India. However, Mumbai is fast emerging as a strong market. “We work with some designers in Mumbai,” says Boide. In some countries it also works with suit manufacturers. “We have a big business in Japan for suit manufacturing and this will be one of the strategies for growth in India as well,” Boide explains.
Its latest search is the native vicuna. The protected animal is treated with great care and respect during the shearing process, which takes no more than 10 minutes. Each animal is only sheared once in two years. Each vicuna provides approximately 300 grams of wool.
Taking its quest forward, Dormeuil has also used Argentinean fibres. Extremely rare, pale and difficult to weave, the exclusive raw material gives this Extreme Vicuna Collection its supremacy. The fibres are extremely fine, at just 12 microns in diameter which makes it seem as if a breath of wind could blow it away. A carefully controlled production process, from shearing to weaving and finishing ensures the traceability of this precious material.
Vicuna wool fibres have an unmatched brightness which is the secret of their beauty and lustre. These qualities have allowed Dormeuil’s master weavers to create cloth of rare colour and brilliance from the world’s finest wool. The new palette of ten colours features several unexpected choices, including beige, light grey and plum, which recall views of the South American mountains. In addition to the surprising colour range achieved, vicuna wool allows scope for genuine technical virtuosity. The focus on discovery has been maintained throughout the generations and the quest for the rare and precious is woven into Dormeuil’s history and into its fabrics.
Set up two years ago, Dormeuil India is based in Delhi. It is one of the first European companies to export its fabric. It has a strong English association. “We were distributing in India even before 1947. Now we have a network of retailers across the country with high end customers. We have our own production facility in England and deliver anywhere in the world within 48 hours,” Boide sums up.
The Chinese sewing machinery industry is facing many challenges and needs to upgrade. It has the advantage of low price and good quality. However, the recession in Europe and US has affected China’s sewing machine industry. Yang Xiaojing, Secretary General Senior Economist CISMA reveals, “We are facing a slowdown and demand for sewing machines is falling.” With rising labour costs, buyers are looking for machines that are easy to use and reduce labor costs. As for currency fluctuations, there are some bad effects on China’s sewing machines especially on companies that want to upgrade and save costs. At the moment the percentage of lock stitch sewing machines is more than 50 per cent and it’s rising.
In China, for large garment factories most of the sewing machines are bought from 
Germany and Japan. But medium and small garment factories buy sewing machines from China. The quality difference between Japanese and Chinese machines is narrowing. Last year, production of sewing machine sets in China was more than 800 million, of these 355 million were exported. If the global production of regular sewing machines is taken into consideration, more than 80 per cent are produced by China.
Talking about the India as a buyer for Chinese machinery, Xiaojing says, “Before 2010, India bought a lot of sewing machines from China. Since then there has been a fall because of the recession. But in the first half of 2013 the trend is going up again and especially for embroidery machines. The Indian apparel industry has a huge scope to buy Chinese machines. India has a huge population. Our association held a show in India in 2006. It was the first time we had a show outside China. We have a great relationship with the Indian garment industry associations.”
In 2011, India imposed an anti-dumping duty on import of sewing machine needles to protect domestic players from cheap Chinese shipments. This duty was levied for a period of five years. The country had already imposed duty on imports of fabric, yarn, nylon tyre cord and several chemicals. The Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD), a nodal agency under the Commerce Ministry, had recommended the imposition of the duty after an investigation. The DGAD concluded in its probe that the domestic industry had suffered a material injury on account of dumped imports of the product from China.
Unlike other safeguard duties, which are levied in a uniform way, anti-dumping duties vary from product to product and from country to country. Countries initiate anti-dumping probes to check if the domestic industry has been hurt because of a surge in cheap imports. As a counter-measure, they impose duties under the multilateral World Trade Organization regime.
The Turkish textile sector aims to strengthen its success in both traditional and emerging markets with its own brands. The positive and strong relations Turkey has been pursuing with the global partners have also been initiated between these countries’ industrialists and exporters. Turkish textile sector provides top quality in several areas ranging from production to promotion, quality standards to marketing. “Success has been achieved by focusing on value added products that highlights design and brand quality as part of Turkey’s export boosting strategy. This success is a result of the hard work of SME’s as well as large, modern and vertically integrated companies which are capable of producing and exporting their own unique collections,” says Ibrahim Burkay, Chairman of the Uludag Textile Exporters Association.
Turkish textiles are extensively used for supplying to the middle and high end segment needs of both the fashion sector and the apparel industry worldwide. This sector is in line with global trends and latest innovations in the world of fashion. Turkish textile sector has established itself as a cornerstone of Turkey’s success story in industrial development and exports. “It has been a critical source for major international labels, ranging from the high-end to countless popular fashion houses as well as design studios and fashion schools around the world. Turkey is the third largest textile exporter to Europe ($8 billion in 2012), the sixth largest apparel exporter in the world ($16 billion in 2012),” said Burkay.
Turkish textile sector’s top five markets are: Russia, Italy, Germany, UK and the US. These are the classical markets of Turkey. “There are no expectations about a change among this ranking. On the other hand it is observed that some emerging markets climbing towards the top ten such as China and Brazil,” sums up Burkay.
Apparel consumption pattern is going through a drastic change worldwide. For instance, consumption is very high in the West. The per capita consumption in the US is 60-62 pieces a year, which includes everything from socks to suits. Achim Berg, McKinsey explains, “People are buying more pieces at lower prices. If apparel sourcing prices go up, big retailers are not able to mitigate that, we may see an increase in apparel prices and that may affect fast fashion and consumption patterns.”
There is proliferation in the market. In the luxury or upper mid market, it’s about quality and prices are not an issue. However, in Germany for example, the apparel discount segment that plays on price is very active. Elaborating on global sourcing trends, Berg says, “Europe and the US will continue to source the lion’s share from the Far East. We expect Africa and some points of Latin America to open up.” He further added, “In Germany, the apparel discount segment that plays on prices is very active. On the other hand, in the western world, cupboards are full. So when people buy something, it’s mainly for entertainment purpose. In countries like Africa, apparel still has a growing share of the wallet.”
The apparel industry is engaged in a process of reorientation from the production perspective. Local demand in China is becoming evident and hence several labels are looking at other countries for sourcing. South East Asia and Eastern Europe are benefiting from fashion labels looking to bring parts of production closer to the European end consumer market. Locating production near to the final customer contributes to sustainability due to the lower energy costs for transport.
Europe and the US continue to source the lion’s share from Far East as far as sourcing is concerned. Africa and some Latin American countries are expected to become sourcing destinations in the future. Olaf Schmidt, Vice President, Textile Technologies, Messe Frankfurt Exhibition reiterates that local sourcing is the trend said, “In the global textile industry as we go up the buyers’ side companies are looking more towards local sourcing. In Europe, medium to high class garment producers are looking for sourcing platforms in East Europe, North Africa and a bit of Middle East. The aim is to have shorter delivery and smaller quantities. One reason is the price increase in the Asian region. The difference between sourcing in Asia and in East Europe and North Africa is not as big as it was in the past. But China remains the largest producer of textiles.”
Apart from China and India all the other consuming economies are expected to grow at less than 5 per cent. If apparel sourcing prices go up and big retailers are not able to mitigate, apparel price rise is inevitable, this will affect fast fashion and consumption patterns.
www.messefrankfurt.com
With the aim of creating breast cancer awareness, Gomitolo Rosa initiated the Pink Ball of Wool project. Running since October 2012, the project aims to be the most effective tool of communication and fund raising association operating in the world of oncology. The Pink Ball of Wool began in Biella valleys where excess production had become a problem and the wool ended getting destroyed. Today, the knitted wool produced in Italy on behalf of farmers has become an important tool to help women and environment. The project supports women’s organizations that work for breast cancer in Italy and in Europe, making use of wool that is not absorbed by the market and contributing to a better balance of the environment.
Pink Ball is an initiative which aims to support this essential component of the fight against breast cancer, and its name derives from the material chosen to achieve this support, the wool. Its theme is ‘Knit a wool, warm life’.
A group of Italian donors has given resources to buy a significant quantities of wool, which would have been burned because of lack of demand from the market. Nearly 70,000 pink balls of wool have been prepared by factories in Biella (Northern Italy) with years of expertise in wool production. These are now available and come in boxes of 200 at a cost of three euros each. No advanced payment is required. The association can sell them at five 5 euros each or more and keep all the profits for itself.
