FW
Bangladesh has extended the deadline for completing remediation work in garment factories up to December 2018. But factories failing to complete the job by December might face closure. The previous deadline was April 30 last.
Accord and Alliance, two platforms of western buyers, have been strict regarding remediation work. Many factories have faced closure due to non-compliance with the criteria. At the same time, factory owners have sought extension of time ranging from three months to one year. After the collapse of Rana Plaza, western buyers formed Accord and Alliance to improve workplace safety in the readymade garment sector.
They inspected structural, fire and electrical integrity in 2395 garment factories in the country. About 85 per cent and 89 per cent of factories affiliated with Accord and Alliance respectively have completed remediation work. On the other hand, 1549 garment units were inspected under the national initiative. Of these, 755 factories are currently in business while 573 others were closed down for various reasons. Some 79 factories moved out of rented buildings, 12 are located in export processing zones and 123 got enlisted with Accord and seven with Alliance.
Out of 755 factories, a total of 165 units are yet to start post-inspection flaw-fixing work while the progress rate of remediation in 192 units is below 20 per cent. Some 21 per cent to 30 per cent progress was recorded in 65 factories while 385 factories have completed 31 per cent to 99 per cent remediation work.
The second edition of Denimsandjeans will be held in Bangalore on August 1 to 2. The annual event enables supply chain companies including top mills, garment manufacturers, accessory and chemical suppliers to come together.
The first edition was a great success and witnessed phenomenal attendance. With over 1,800 visitors from all major brands, retailers, buying houses etc. in India and some from overseas, it was probably the best aggregation of the denim industry in India in a very long time. The second edition will focus on the growing trend of unisex denim collections. Apart from all major denim mills from India including Arvind, Raymond, Mafatlal, Nandan, Suryalaskhmi, Bhaskar, the show will host companies from Bangladesh, Turkey, Spain, Italy and many more.
Experts from the US and Europe will be holding denim sessions on recent developments and innovations. Various technologies including 3D printing, syncing denim with music, special software to help the global denim industry and more will be explored through presentations and seminars.
India is a hot favorite for international retailers seeking to strengthen their foothold in the booming apparel market. With several taxation changes and ease of doing business, the country is looking forward to sustained growth in apparel retail and with an increase in organized retail.
"While the Trump administration is slapping tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese imports, it has spared the clothing and footwear industry of China but the news is not a positive one. As per official statement, the actual shirts and shoes imported from China won’t get new tariffs, according to the full list of 1,102 product lines, and only some of the equipment used to make them, like textile rolling-machine parts and injection molders for shoes, were included in the final list. A host of other Chinese machinery used by American apparel companies that had been on a preliminary tariff list – like textile printing equipment, sewing machines and looms – are still in the safe zone."
While the Trump administration is slapping tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese imports, it has spared the clothing and footwear industry of China but the news is not a positive one. As per official statement, the actual shirts and shoes imported from China won’t get new tariffs, according to the full list of 1,102 product lines, and only some of the equipment used to make them, like textile rolling-machine parts and injection molders for shoes, were included in the final list. A host of other Chinese machinery used by American apparel companies that had been on a preliminary tariff list – like textile printing equipment, sewing machines and looms – are still in the safe zone.
Rick Helfenbein, President, American Apparel & Footwear Association, says the association applauds the decision to remove most of the equipment and machinery used in its domestic textile, apparel and footwear manufacturing that were proposed by the administration in April. Levying a tariff on these items would have increased costs for domestic manufacturers across the industry, leading to higher prices and lower sales.
On the other hand, the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) wants the tariff to be applied to
clothing, high-performance fabrics and home furnishings like carpet to slow the flow of Chinese imports that it claims have hurt the domestic industry. It would have a greater deterring effect, however, if more textile and apparel end products were included, said Auggie Tantillo, President, NCTO.
But the fear of retaliation is still looming large, as Helfenbein says. China previously identified almost $1 billion worth of American cotton exports to China as a target, which will hurt American farmers and US textile manufacturers, and add costs to their supply chains. Ramping up tariffs doesn’t help bilateral trade talks reach a successful conclusion, he added. Amid the fear, Trump pledged additional tariffs if the country follows through on the threats. The first set of tariffs will total $34 billion and take effect from July 6, with another $16 billion still to be reviewed, the US Trade Representative said.
A study from the National Retail Federation and the Consumer Technology Association found imposing tariffs of $50 billion on Chinese imports, coupled with retaliation, would reduce US GDP by nearly $3 billion and eliminate 134,000 American jobs annually. Tariffs are taxes on American consumers, plain and simple, Matthew Shay, CEO, NRF, said in a statement. These tariffs won’t reduce or eliminate China’s abusive trade practices, but they will strain the budgets of working families by raising consumer prices.
Japan’s apparel import value has dipped by 1.19 per cent as the country imported apparels worth $ 6.62 billion as against $6.70 billion in the corresponding period last year. Unit prices of imported apparels remained the same as compared to last year which was $3.98 per kg of apparel shipment. This falling quantity helped the country to keep the import value low further supported by the stability of the Japanese yen against the US dollar throughout the period.
Vietnam exports to Japan increased by 13.24 per cent in value terms, whereas India and Bangladesh too noted growth by 7.94 per cent and 4.73 per cent over the export values of prior year, respectively. Vietnam, India and Bangladesh exported apparels worth $907 million, $85.46 million and $266 million, respectively to Japan during the first three months of 2018. In volume terms, Vietnam surged by 16.72 per cent; India by 10.88 per cent and Bangladesh increased by 7.39 per cent on Y-o-Y basis.
India recently organised a conference, entitled “Textiles: India-Vietnam Cooperation, Partners in Progress”, in the Ho Chi Minh City with an aim to boost trade relations between the India and Vietnam in textiles. Vietnam being an important part of the Indian government’s Look East policy, the country has invested about $814 million through 176 projects in Vietnam, ranking 28th among 126 countries and territories investing in the country. Indian businesses exported textiles and garments worth $429 million to Vietnam in 2017, up 44 percent from 2016, and accounting for a small part of Vietnam’s textile and garment material import demand.
Also, many Indian textile and garment companies have invested in Vietnam, and Vietnamese textile and garment enterprises can develop ready-made garment production in India to meet the need of its 1.3 billion people. Under India’s “automatic route” policy, foreign investors can invest in India without seeking advance government approval. Vietnamese companies can take advantage of this policy and the market potential to produce yarns, fabrics and ready-made garments in India.
Turkey and Portugal are expanding their share in the US market. Together both will represent around 5 per cent of the American market. This is happening as a result of several factors including increased prices from Asia that are making the European exporters more competitive in the U.S. Secondly, shifting priorities, especially in China, are redirecting resources to other, more value-added industries like technology and automotive and away from textiles production. Global politics and threatening tariff increases by the Trump administration are causing U.S. importers to look to other sources for product outside of Asia.
Russia and Iraq have always been Turkey’s prime export markets. These two countries are going through, respectively, economic and political crisis, causing suppliers there to look elsewhere for business. For Portugal, its main trading partner, Spain, is also experiencing widespread economic hardship including massive unemployment. The answer for both Turkey and Portugal has been America. These factors make Portugal and Turkey more attractive resources for American importers.
According to the current Hermes barometer, digitisation of supply chain is far less advanced than is assumed. Only 8 per cent of companies surveyed have already successfully set up a transformation program. A further 19 per cent have started implementing such a program. However, 42 per cent of companies surveyed are yet to initiate digitisation as they have just become aware of its necessity.
Out of the total people surveyed, only 46 per cent wished to avail of the services of logistics service providers for the management of their supply chain in the future. Almost half (47 per cent) of all logistics decision-makers indicated that, when choosing logistics service providers, they pay more attention to the expertise of these service providers in regard to the digitisation of supply chains.
Many companies are unaware of the economic benefits of cloud and IoT technologies. Logistics decision-makers also attribute a lesser significance to these technologies. Only one-third of those surveyed consider cloud applications and IoT-enabled machines to be important.
The European Union will begin charging a 25 per cent tariff on $3.2 billion of US products from Friday in response to President Trump's decision not to exempt Europe from sweeping tariffs on aluminum and steel. However, the EU's retaliatory tariffs, announced earlier this month, target politically-sensitive products here in the US, like bourbon from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's home state of Kentucky and dairy products from House Speaker Paul Ryan's Wisconsin.
Around 200 categories of US products will be covered in the EU counter measures which include various types of corn, rice, orange juice, cigarettes, cigars, t-shirts, cosmetics, boats and steel. The EU is reserving the right to target more US products with further duties no later than March 23, 2021. Second-stage retaliation would involve levies ranging from 10 percent to 50 per cent on an extra €3.6 billion of American goods imported into the European Union.
Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore will be among the markets most affected by the US tariffs on Chinese goods. Many economies and companies outside the US and China could be exposed because of their interconnected supply and revenue chains, potentially putting global economic growth at risk.
Tariffs on Chinese exports are much more consequential for emerging market economies than those on US exports, and the pain is likely to be concentrated in Asian economies. The US and China have been trading fierce rhetoric over the past two months, threatening to slap billions of dollars' worth of tariffs on each other's goods and services. While the current dispute between the two economies hasn’t officially been classified as a trade war the threat is real.
Trade tensions can take a real toll when they intensify. There could be some economies less exposed to the first-round effects of tariffs. The immediate damage is focused chiefly on Asia, while relatively closed economies such as Brazil and India should be more insulated than other economies in the event of a more global trade war.
China’s tariffs on US goods will mainly offer opportunities to developed market economies who could look to replace the US as a major supplier of higher value-added commodities, while other emerging economies will hope to substitute for China as a provider of raw materials and components.
Three designers have been shortlisted for the 2018 PETA Prize for Animal-Free Wool. The awards ceremony will be held at the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in New York. The prize forms part of the Biodesign Challenge and is sponsored by PETA, Stella McCartney and Stray Dog Capital. The selected design students will be subsequently partnered with biotech professionals to help advance the proposed innovative fibre biotechnology. The successful innovator will also benefit from a learning experience at Stella McCartney‘s London headquarters.
The three finalists include Woocoa, a vegan wool produced using hemp and coconut fibres treated with enzymes extracted from oyster mushrooms; Werewool, a fibre which replicates the properties of wool by isolating and expressing a protein from its own DNA and combining it with a bonding enzyme from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and Kerasynth, a microfluidic vegan skin with an array of follicles producing wool. The award will help aspiring designers develop a sustainable material that will keep sheep from being shorn bloody for wool sweaters and scarves.
