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Hyosung has partnered Turkish company Bossa to introduce Xplay, a collection of bi-stretch denim with Creora Fit 2. Hyosung is the largest elastane producer in the world and Creora is a brabd from Hyosung. Bossa offers yarn, dyeing, weaving, and denim finishing processes.
Creora Fit 2 is a proprietary technology, using a Creora yarn for 360 degree stretch offering a sleek and flattering fit. Creora Fit 2 has allowed Bossa to create the Xplay bi-stretch collection for the most flattering yet comfortable fitting denim. Bossa is targeting brands and retailers who want to enhance consumer loyalty through better fit and superior comfort.
Hyosung is one of Korea’s leading multinational conglomerates, with annual worldwide sales of more than $8.7 billion. Hyosung has a global network of more than 73 subsidiaries and international branch offices around the globe. Hyosung first developed its own process for manufacturing spandex in 1992. It has grown to be probably the largest spandex producer in the world with plants in Korea, China, Vietnam, Turkey and Brazil. Hyosung has developed a global brand positioning platform, new logo, tag line, and new advertising campaigns, defined and developed new products, and implemented marketing plans to create demand.
Sustainable Brands will be held in Denmark, October 30 to November 1. Nearly 400 brand leaders and sustainability strategists will gather at conference to discuss the business opportunity for elevating brand value and loyalty by recognizing a shift in societal aspirations.
A unique mix of plenary sessions, breakout groups and deep dive sessions, SB’17 Copenhagen will equip attendees with the latest tools, methodologies and insights to drive purpose-led business success. Through a dynamic activation hub, innovation lab sessions, and a series of networking activities and special events, attendees will find business partners necessary to bring innovative ideas to life and further business objectives.
There will be sessions on topics such as the B Corp movement in Europe, the business case for gender equity in the workplace, ensuring balance in circular supply chains, and evaluating the progress towards sustainable development goals. One presentation will be on extending science-based targets along the supply chain and engaging suppliers in greenhouse gas emissions.
Environmental and social good is shifting from a nice-to-have to being a necessity on both a business and brand level. The event will equip forward-thinking brands with the tools, frameworks and partners they need to leverage these new forms of value and deliver tangible results for their business.
Woolmark has partnered with Fashion Tech Lab by which they will pool expertise in sourcing, supply chain and sustainability to educate and empower finalists through a dedicated mentorship program. Fashion Tech Lab will power the new Innovation Award. This celebrates the collection with the most innovative and creative wool fabrication, process or development and will be awarded to the finalist who demonstrates the most exciting approach to help reduce its social and environmental footprint. The award will be given to 12 designers.
Fashion Tech Lab is a hybrid platform that combines an investment company, a multinational incubator, a consulting agency on innovation for the fashion industry, an experimental laboratory and philanthropic organisation, all aimed at helping new technologies and sustainable innovations connect, collaborate, and create products and brands that evolve the industry and improve its social and environmental footprint.
The ultimate aim of this partnership is to give the 12 finalists the best opportunity to enhance their business through innovation and sustainable processes, so they can meet the discerning needs of tomorrow’s customer. As the award continues to evolve, Woolmark’s aim is to encourage designers to think beyond today and embrace future technologies, which will ultimately provide a positive impact for tomorrow.
For the third quarter VF Corporation’s revenue was up five per cent compared to the same period last year. VF is the parent company of over two dozen brands such as The North Face, Vans, Wrangler, and Timberland. The company’s outdoor and action sports division saw an increase of eight per cent. But revenue for Vans increased 28 per cent.
In 2016, Vans became VF Corp’s leading label, edging past The North Face, and has since been on a steady growth streak. Vans is currently big among street-culture trends and received viral recognition last year when the Damn Daniel meme drove a spike in sales of white Vans sneakers. Outside the United States, the company saw sales increase by 13 per cent, with increases of 18 per cent in Europe and nine per cent in China.
VF’s third quarter results were fueled by accelerated momentum across the company’s international and direct-to-consumer platforms and its outdoor and action sports and work wear businesses. Based on the strength of its third quarter performance, and the stronger growth trajectory seen for the remainder of 2017, VF is again increasing its full year outlook and making additional growth-focused investments aimed at accelerating growth and value creation into 2018 and beyond.
Tencel lyocell fibers are playing a key role in the denim business today. They are used to create garments for the weekend, the workplace, and the runway. Tencel, debuted in 1992 and was considered a breakthrough, especially for the denim world. The unique aesthetics of fabrics with Tencel fibers meant designers were able to create apparel with a previously unheard of level of softness and drape.
The ecological benefit is another key feature of Tencel fibers. The process is environmentally responsible and utilises renewable resources as its raw materials. The fiber is made from wood pulp derived from responsibly managed forests, through a closed loop manufacturing process, with a solvent recovery of more than 99 per cent. This is a fiber that is wholly sustainable, compostable and biodegradable.
There were teething troubles. Manufacturing modifications were needed to take optimal advantage of a new textile that was superior in every way—for drape, hand, design and the earth—but not yet well known. Designers had to rethink their craft, to know what the blends could do. Machines had to be adjusted and workers retrained, to correctly stitch and wash the fabrics. One overriding problem—fibrillation—threatened to drag the dream into a nightmare but textile technologists solved the problem.
Entrepreneurs in Surat are foraying into manufacture of semi-stitched garments like suit dupattas and salwar kameez. These are in demand in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra. Surat is the country’s largest man-made fabric hub. It has some 250 units employing over 62,000 garment workers. The monthly output of the units is pegged at over four lakh garments. The unit owners have been hiring professional designers from Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi for manufacturing garments based on trends in the country and abroad.
There is a huge scope for business in the semi-stitched garment segment. Since the last few years, the trend of semi-stitched garments has picked up as customers like to further stitch their garments according to their body posture, size and length. Of late, many weaving unit owners have forayed into the semi-stitched segment as profit margins are quite good.
Around 80 per cent of salwar kameez and suit dupattas are supplied to Delhi and Punjab. Gone are the days when women purchased plain fabric. Now they want semi-stitched garments. In fact, apparel and garment units are not viable in a city like Surat which is a purely polyester-based center and has high labor costs but the semi-stitched segment is doing well.
"With Gujarat government extending its textile policy for another five years, Maharashtra is also redrafting its textile policy for 2017-22, which expired in March 2017. The earlier textile policy aimed at attracting investments, especially in the Vidarbha region, and the government was optimistic about raking in investments worth Rs 40,000 crore and creating 11 lakh jobs. However, from 2012-17, the target has not been met."
With Gujarat government extending its textile policy for another five years, Maharashtra is also redrafting its textile policy for 2017-22, which expired in March 2017. The earlier textile policy aimed at attracting investments, especially in the Vidarbha region, and the government was optimistic about raking in investments worth Rs 40,000 crore and creating 11 lakh jobs. However, from 2012-17, the target has not been met.
State government analysts estimated investments in textile projects approved by financial institutions and in various phases of enforcement by March 2017 amount to Rs 16,371 crore, with the potential to generate 2.50 lakh jobs. But due to lesser government thrust, lack of interest from investors, poor state of infrastructure, growth targets were not been met. A comparative study of IEMs implemented in Gujarat and Maharashtra during 2014-15, revealed Gujarat implemented 19 textile projects comparatively in Maharashtra, no textile project were started during the year. In 2013-14, Gujarat received 20 projects, while Maharashtra got three.
Only a few big players like: Raymond, Siyarams, Suryalakshmi Mills and some public private partnerships, who have set up units in Vidarbha. Around 30 textile units of varying sizes have come up in the region during the policy period. The state has 16 textile parks, employing 23000 people. Another nine textile parks, announced by the state government, are in the pipeline. These haven’t been successful so far in enhancing production and employment. Most of the investments have gone to Gujarat, Tamil Nadu. To lure investments, the government taken various initiatives like: reducing the number of permissions required to set up units; cutting down bureaucracy. Yet other states are attracting more investments.
Initiatives taken
In January 2017, the Maharashtra government had announced plans to set up a garment park with an investment of Rs 300 crore at Solapur. This will generate employment for over 60,000 workers. The aim is to make the park a hub for uniform manufacturing. At present, Solapur has over 1000 garment units stitching uniforms worth Rs 1000 crore, employing over 60,000 workers. The government announced the setting up of a textile park in Sayane near Malegaon. The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation's (MIDC) regional office has acquired 113 hectares of land for the proposed textile park. But the progress has really been slow.
Maharashtra has attracted more than half of total FDIs in the country. The government has evolved an agro-industrial module for development of 20 districts along the Rs30,000 crore Nagpur-Mumbai Super-communication Expressway. Apart from constructing the 690-km stretch eight lane roads, the government has drawn up two major plans for development of metros and drought-hit districts.
The Centre and the state have taken decision on two dry ports at Jalna and Wardha. It is envisaged to make Nashik an industrial hub, Amravati a textile hub, and Aurangabad an industrial and tourism hub, through public-private partnership. Already, eight textile projects are under way in Aurangabad, according to government officials.
Vision 2025
By 2025, Maharashtra aims to be a $1 trillion economy, with investments mainly in infrastructure, IT, ICT and services sector. A report by FICCI-SPJIMR, highlights Maharashtra, with a GDP of $0.25 trillion, is the richest state in India, followed by Tamil Nadu ($0.17 trillion) and Uttar Pradesh ($0.16 trillion). Maharashtra reported a nominal gross state domestic product of $0.29 trillion in 2015-16. Thus, Maharashtra needs to grow by $0.71 trillion in the next nine years, i.e. over 2016-25, to achieve the $1 trillion-state status. The state would have to grow at a CAGR of 14.4 per cent in real terms to attain this mark by 2025. Compare this to the real rate of growth achieved in 2015-16 of 8.5 per cent, and the challenge becomes stark. The Handbook Of Statistics On Indian States reveals the investment rate in Maharashtra in 2014-15 was only 3.5 per cent. For Maharashtra to achieve 14.4 per cent growth by 2025, investment in the state will need to grow to at least 12.24 per cent per year from the current investment rate.
Shanghai Tex will take place from November 27 to 30, 2017. This will focus on the world’s latest innovative textile technology and high-growth application sectors, aiming at assisting industry players to overcome challenges and make full use of these new applications to breathe new breakthroughs and values to the textile industry.
The show will focus on latest fiber and technology with a wide range of production solutions to assist enterprises in industrial fabrics, automobile interiors, automobile parts, carpets, construction, electronics factory etc. so as to grasp the opportunities in the high growth market.
The printing, dyeing and finishing machinery zone will focus on the characteristics of a short production cycle, low-volume and on-demand production of digital printing. In order to provide solutions on increasing design flexibility, inventory problems and lowering manpower and other costs, Shanghai Tex 2017 will help textile and apparel enterprises stand out from the traditional printing industry. With high energy efficiency, precision and flexibility, digital printing has developed rapidly and made up for the many shortcomings of traditional printing technology.
Asia is now the world's fastest growing region for automobiles. Textiles are widely used in automobile production such as seat covers, carpets, roofs, heat/sound absorption materials etc. So automotive textiles have a huge market.
The newly launched Apparel Impact Institute (AII) is designed to work with brands and manufacturers to select, fund, and scale projects that dramatically improve the sustainability impact of the apparel and footwear industry.
This initiative has been put together by Target, PVH, Gap HSBC Holdings. Sustainable Apparel Coalition is providing industry support and access to Higg Index data. The Apparel Impact Institute will encourage joint action on scaling practices that have a positive impact on people, planet, and the whole industry, while simultaneously helping brands and manufacturers improve their Higg Index scores.
Despite widespread awareness of the environmental hazards within the apparel and footwear industry, few pilot projects designed to reduce impacts are operating at the scale needed to meet the critical environmental and social outcomes brands and consumers are seeking. AII will identify promising projects that are working in limited geography, for example, or are targeting a narrow problem yet show potential for broader application. By applying the appropriate resources, AII will help bring them to scale more quickly.
AII's first project will focus on mill improvement, one of the most environmentally impactful segments of clothing production. Future projects will include closed-loop recycling and worker well-being, for example, and will expand to include additional brands and manufacturers in the apparel and footwear industry.
Rising import of manmade fibers from China has upset Ludhiana knit manufacturers as these imports attract low duty. After the implementation of GST, the import duty on manmade fibers has fallen from a cumulative 28.5 per cent (including basic customs duty, countervailing duty, special additional duty, education cess) to about 15.3 per cent (including basic customs duty, education cess and Integrated Goods and Service Tax). Thus imports have become cheaper by about 13.2 per cent.
In addition to this, China, which is a major exporter of manmade fibers to India, provides a drawback incentive of 18 per cent on manmade textile exports. Hence, manufacturers in Ludhiana want a higher import duty on manmade fiber textiles so that the domestic industry doesn’t suffer.
Ludhiana is a hub of knitwear industry and has around 5000 units with a majority of them in the medium and small scale sector. Ludhiana knitters have suggested imposing a dumping duty on import of manmade fibers as a step to protect the domestic industry. There is a gap in the import tariff structure wherein there is a specific duty on most types of fabrics. But there is no such specific duty in chapter 60 which comprises knitted fabrics.
