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To develop an institutional connection between the fashion institutes of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) plans to tap Saudi’s high-end fashion market. TDAP’s commercial section intends to arrange a textile show of high-end made-ups and fashion apparel in Jeddah with two major stakeholders from Pakistan, including Chenab Group and Pakistan Institute of Fashion Design (PIFD) and counterpart in Jeddah, including Dar ul Hikma University and Danube Supermarket.
As per the plan fashion institutes of the two countries would introduce exchange programmes for teachers and students. By 2022, Saudi Arabia’s fashion market is expected to grow at an annual growth rate of 12.7 per cent to $3.085 billion. It had always been a lucrative market for fashion entrepreneurs. On the other hand the market’s largest segment apparel is expected to have a market volume of $1.065 billion by the end of 2018.
Saudi Arabia is a late competitor in the regional fashion scene where other Gulf countries such as the UAE have made a mark. Dubai has also established a free zone for fashion and design companies to buoy the growth of the industry.
An exhibition of all such products would be organised in Saudi Arabia, while the TDAP’s Commercial Section Jeddah would continue its coordination on the proposal for institutional linkages between the leading academic institutions of textiles in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
PVH will work with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to improve water quality in Ethiopia, India, Vietnam and China. PVH Corp’s brand Tommy Hilfiger, began working with the WWF in 2015 in China and Vietnam. PVH’s other brands, Van Heusen, Izod and Arrow, will work in Ethiopia while Calvin Klein sources in India will work to improve water quality in the Cauvery community in South India, a region known for heavy textile production.
The WWF partnership is part of PVH’s wider commitment to sustainability through corporate responsibility. PVH is one of the world’s largest global apparel companies. PVH operates in 40 countries and reports revenues of around nine billion dollars annually.
Access to safe water is a human right essential for communities to thrive. Water is used at every stage of the product lifecycle. As major trends like urbanization, population growth and climate change exacerbate existing water issues, water is not only an urgent environmental issue but also a risk to business.
Water pollution is defined as the presence in groundwater of toxic chemicals and biological agents that exceed what is naturally found in the water and may pose a threat to human health and/or the environment. Additionally, water pollution may consist of chemicals introduced into the water bodies as a result of various human activities. Any amount of those chemicals pollutes the water, regardless of the harm they may pose to human health and the environment.
With growing trade wars with China, American garment importers are looking for new sourcing destinations and Sri Lanka hopes to benefit from this. Sri Lankan apparel manufacturers, some of whom are considered the world’s in terms of quality and technology utilization, have extensive operations in South and Southeast Asia, potentially allowing Sri Lankan firms to capitalize on the opportunity to a great degree.
The US currently sources one third of its apparel imports from China, and just 2.4 per cent from Sri Lanka. However, Sri Lanka doesn’t have the economies of scale that China has and can’t deliver the size of orders. So, the country will produce partial orders, around 20 per cent of regular order sizes, while other countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam which have cheaper costs will produce the rest.
Some Sri Lankan apparel exporters have already been approached by top US clothing buyers to partially manufacture some of the orders currently being serviced by China. The impact from the US-China trade war would most likely be reflected in Sri Lanka’s export figures in another four to five months’ time. However, the hurdle Sri Lankan apparel companies would have to overcome would be the acute labor shortage in the industry.
US President Donald Trump is willing to explore re-entering the Trans-Pacific partnership trade deal, while emphasizing that Washington should receive the original terms. Toshimitsu Motegi, Japan's minister in charge of TPP feels President Trump is correctly appraising the significance and effects of the TPP, it's something that would want to welcome. However, he added that the 11 participating countries share the thinking that it would be extremely difficult to take out part of the TPP and renegotiate or change it. Japan wants to ascertain Trump's thoughts on trade policy through a summit between the US leader and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Florida next week. Trump directed US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, to look into rejoining the pact. The US withdrawal from the TPP shortly after Trump's inauguration last year made Japan the largest of the 11 Pacific Rim economies left in the deal. Those countries signed a new version last month that had been revised to account for the US absence. Finance Minister Taro Aso suggested that Trump's shift on the pact should be approached with caution as Trump can be temperamental and might say something different the next day. The shift comes amongst a developing trade dispute between the United States and China, which did not take part in the TPP.The 10 other TPP members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
Turkey’s textile technology show, ITM 2018 ended in Turkey yesterday, the four-day exhibition from April 14 to 17 got a huge response. It hosted companies that operate in various sub-sectors of the industry, ranging from weaving to knitting, digital printing, dyeing and finishing.
This edition hosted 1,050 exhibitors and representatives from 45 countries and around 50,000 visitors. Many Turkish textiles companies were eager to invest in new equipment and learn about new technologies.
Groz- Beckert, a leading supplier of industrial machine needles, showcased its products and services covering knitting, weaving, carding and nonwovens. The company emphasised on the interaction of needles and system parts in the field of knitted products. Transparent knitting and flat knitting machines provided visitors with unique information about the interaction of all components. Four acrylic glass machines were exhibited at the stand.
Karl Mayer exhibited warp knitting and warp preparation technologies. The HKS 3-M model became a focus of attention with its tulle curtain and embroidery ability. In addition, examples of high-speed tricot, jacquard and Raschel machines, made from outerwear fabrics and shoe-faced fabrics, were exhibited.
German circular knitting machine builder Terrot exhibited a number of new circular knitting machines, including a new addition to its fine rib and interlock family.
Cordura, Tencel and Artistic Milliners are together debuting a new SuperCharged Noir performance denim collection. The mission is to create a powerful, dense dark denim with excellent color-fastness and long-lasting vibrancy without sacrificing the durable DNA that defines the Cordura brand.
The collection brings together Cordura’s latest state-of-the art Invista nylon 6,6 Black SDN fiber technology, which has a new dimension in stay true color and enhanced strength and abrasion resistance, with Tencel fibers and Artistic Milliners, which complement those attributes with added color fastness, softness, sustainability and stretch.
The collection is infused with color-fastness locked in at the fiber level for excellent shade consistency and long-lasting vibrancy. Tencel Modal fibers with Eco Color technology make up 60 per cent of the collection's fabric composition. Tencel Modal fibers are mainly manufactured from the renewable source of raw material and beech wood, sourced from sustainable forests in Austria and neighboring countries. The collection also delivers Performance Stretch in order to stand up to the challenges of an active lifestyle, combining durability and flexible comfort into one.
Cordura is a trademark of Invista, one of the world’s largest integrated polymer, intermediates and fibers businesses. Artistic Milliners is a fully vertically integrated textile set-up providing high-end customers with premium quality denim fabrics and garments.
The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh (the Accord) was signed on May 15th 2013. It is a five year independent, legally binding agreement between global brands and retailers and trade unions designed to build a safe and healthy Bangladeshi Ready Made Garment (RMG) Industry. A safety programme, where over 200 brands participate, has since 2013 been working to make those factories into safe workplaces. This programme however ends in May and only a quarter of the brands that were part of the programme have signaled they will stay involved.
More than over 140 brands had signed the five year programme. Convinced that all garment workers in Bangladesh should have the right to not fear for their lives in their workplace, Clean Clothes Campaign is calling upon all brands sourcing from Bangladesh that have not already done so to sign the 2018 Accord. Clean Clothes Campaign and allies are starting a week of action, urging garment brands to take responsibility to make factories in Bangladesh safe by signing the 2018 Transition Accord.
Moroccan textile enterprises and European buyers are exploring how to mitigate climate risk with the aim of initiating joint actions and establishing climate resilient value chains. Buyers participated in sensitization workshops and took part in a selection of customized coaching sessions together with their respective suppliers at a session held in Morocco on April 10 and 11.
Adapting to climate change is a serious challenge for governments, businesses and communities. Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly in developing countries, are seeing their operations face volatility due to climate change related issues such as increased prices for raw materials, energy and water, and also degraded transport routes and processing facilities as a result of heavy rainfalls or drought.
As climate change affects all stakeholders along the supply chain, partnership between suppliers and buyers is important in formulating effective and multidimensional responses.
Along with the Moroccan textile sector, the project, aims at strengthening competitiveness through climate resilience in international value chains, focused on the Kenyan agri-food sector. The interventions are aimed at improving the risk management of Moroccan textile suppliers, and Kenyan coffee and tea suppliers, supporting companies to integrate climate-change considerations in their risk analysis and helping them to create climate adaptation plans.
Australian fashion brands have made some headway in improving supply chain transparency. About 35 per cent companies now publish full direct supplier lists. Just four cents from every dollar Australians spend on clothing makes it back to workers in garment factories. An increase of one per cent in the price of clothing would be enough to give garment workers a living wage. These are the results of a report by Baptist World Aid.
The report assesses a company’s labor rights management system against 33 criteria. The tests cover three stages of the supply chain: the raw materials, inputs production and final manufacturing; higher grades reflect companies with labor rights management systems that would reduce worker exploitation if properly implemented.
Of the 61 Australian fashion brands listed, eight scored an F rating, including Bras N Things, Decjuba, Ally Fashion and Wish Designs. A number of brands well-known in Australia received either a D or a D minus. Roger David performed poorly. It failed in marks on its policies, worker empowerment and raw materials. Betts, Boohoo, and Valleygirl all received D or D minus marks.
Other brands improved their performance considerably, including Cotton On, which received an A and topped the list for Australia-headquartered companies. Fast fashion brands such as Kmart, Jeanswest and Target all scored either a B or B plus.
"The office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) released the 2018 National Trade Estimate (NTE) annual report, which highlights the foreign trade barriers American exports face. Robert Lighthizer, US Trade Rep., said the President is fully committed to addressing unfair foreign trade barriers through tough enforcement and the negotiation of new agreements that increase US exports and support high-paying jobs for all Americans. The government intends to use every available tool to ensure Americans are treated fairly. As per the annual report, there is a huge probability of amendments in existing trade agreements."
The office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) released the 2018 National Trade Estimate (NTE) annual report, which highlights the foreign trade barriers American exports face. Robert Lighthizer, US Trade Rep., said the President is fully committed to addressing unfair foreign trade barriers through tough enforcement and the negotiation of new agreements that increase US exports and support high-paying jobs for all Americans. The government intends to use every available tool to ensure Americans are treated fairly. As per the annual report, there is a huge probability of amendments in existing trade agreements.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh is the United States’ 6th largest supplier. As per recent data, the US imported $5.27 billion worth of apparel and textile goods from Bangladesh in 2017. In the same year, the US goods trade deficit with Bangladesh was $4.2 billion, a 15.6 per cent decrease over 2016. US goods exports to Bangladesh were up 61.7 per cent to $1.5 billion, and US imports from Bangladesh were down 3.8 per cent to $5.7 billion. As far as tariffs are concerned, the average most-favoured nation tariff rate for goods going to Bangladesh is 14.78 per cent, and the maximum applied rate is 25 per cent. As one of the concerns, the US wants to see Bangladesh eliminate the double fumigation of its imported cotton.
China
China has sustained its lead as far as the biggest exporter to the US amounting to $38.7 billion worth of goods. China, as per Trump administration, accounts for more than half of the overall trade deficit, which is why the country has been the target of much of President’s trade ire. In 2017, the US goods trade deficit with China was $375.2 billion, an 8.1 per cent increase over 2016. US goods exports to China were up 12.8 per cent to $130.4 billion, and US imports from China were up 9.3 per cent to $505.6 billion. Steel and aluminum tariffs are aimed at curbing China’s overcapacity in steel, and then there is the $60 billion in tariffs over concerns with China’s intellectual property and technology transfer actions. As a counteractive measure, China has retaliated with $3 billion in tariffs on US fruits and steel in response but has yet to respond to the intellectual property tariffs.
While ostensibly intended simply to raise industrial productivity through more advanced and flexible manufacturing techniques, ‘Made in China 2025’ is indicative of China’s evolving and increasingly sophisticated approach to ‘indigenous innovation,’ revealed through numerous supporting and related industrial plans. Their common, overriding aim is to replace foreign technology, products and services with Chinese technology, products and services in the China market through any means possible so as to ready Chinese companies for dominating international markets.
Canada and Mexico
Canada was the 9th largest supplier of apparel and textiles to the country, sending $1.3 billion worth of goods in 2017. According to the Mexican government, the measures were designed to enhance productivity and competitiveness of Mexican footwear and apparel producers and protect Mexico’s domestic footwear and apparel industries from the importation of undervalued goods. US exporters expressed a number of concerns with regard to the schemes, including a lack of transparency in how reference prices are determined and uneven enforcement by Mexico’s customs and tax authorities.
India
India is second only to China, shipping $7.4 billion worth of product of textile & apparels to the US. In 2017, the US goods trade deficit with India was $22.9 billion, a 5.9 per cent decrease from 2016. US goods exports to India were up 18.7 per cent to $25.7 billion, and US imports from India were up 5.6 per cent to $48.6 billion. India has a disparity between its bound rate tariffs and applied tariff rates charged at the border, with the bound rate averaging 48.5 per cent and the applied rate closer to 13.4 per cent. The report suggests, the large gap between bound and applied tariff rates allow India to use tariff policy to make frequent adjustments to the level of protection provided to domestic producers, creating uncertainty for importers and exporters. Despite its goal of moving toward Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) tariff rates (approximately 5 per cent on average), India has not systematically reduced tariffs and in recent years has been increasing tariff rates across sectors.
India’s customs officials generally require extensive documentation, inhibiting the free flow of trade and leading to frequent and lengthy processing delays. Largely this is due to India’s complex tariff structure, including the provision of multiple exemptions, which vary according to product, user, or intended use.
