FW
Lorenzo Minelli is the new research and innovation director of Itema Lab. He replaces Giuseppe Casarotto, who started working in Itema in 1983 and has been leading advanced research and development projects for the weaving machinery manufacturer ever since.
A mechanical engineer Minelli joins Itema after having an established and successful career in a number of other innovation-minded multinational companies. He is a senior professional with a broad and diversified experience of managing projects in the area of complex industrial product development.
Itema is gearing up towards ITMA 2015, the biggest textile machinery exhibition which will be held in Milan next year. Itema Lab is one of the two R&D departments of the global weaving machine producer. It is tasked with developing the revolutionary breakthroughs that could lead to the loom of the future.
Itema also has another advanced research arm at the corporate headquarters working on continuously improving the existing weaving machines. The Italian privately-held multinational invests every year 5 to 6 per cent of its profits in R&D projects, more than any company in the industry. The company has just launched a brand new portfolio of air jet weaving machines at ITMA ASIA 2014 in Shanghai.
www.itemagroup.com/
WWF and the IKEA have launched a new progress report on their involvement with the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). This includes details of reduced use of chemical pesticides, chemical fertilisers and water along with improved earnings and social benefits for workers during 2013.
The availability of Better Cotton is increasing rapidly. It is hoped that production can be large enough to make it a mainstream global commodity before 2020. BCI has the ambitious aim of having Better Cotton make up 30 per cent of global cotton production by 2020. Only two per cent or 6,70,000 metric tons of the cotton lint produced globally in 2012 was Better Cotton.
BCI aims to transform cotton production worldwide by developing Better Cotton as a sustainable mainstream commodity. It works with a diverse range of stakeholders across the cotton supply chain to promote measurable and continuing improvements for the environment and farming communities.
WWF and IKEA are both founding members of BCI. In the cotton growing regions of India and Pakistan they are helping about 40,000 farmers to produce BCI cotton. By using this method, farmers’ earnings in India jumped 45 per cent compared to earnings from conventional cotton cultivation methods. And there are environmental benefits also like the use of lesser pesticides, less water and fewer fertilisers.
bettercotton.org/
Many readymade garment factories in Bangladesh may shut down over compliance issues. In the last one year, more than 80,000 workers have become jobless following the closure of about 220 non-compliant garment factories in the country.
This is an unwelcome development for the country's once-buzzing apparel industry that was acclaimed the world over. Most of the factories now out of production are small and medium scale ones. They face challenges due to compliance issues, wage hikes and a fall in work orders. The compliance conditions were prescribed by western nations for preventing tragedies such as the Rana Plaza collapse and the Tazreen Fashions factory fire.
Dismal working conditions in the country’s $20 billion apparel industry have been under global scrutiny. Overloaded ceilings, exposed cables, too few fire alarms and sprinklers, and locked emergency exits are just a few of the hazards that inspections have revealed. Some factories have not been upgraded in as long as a decade, some even three decades.
Factory owners have been hit in recent months by worker protests and flash strikes demanding better pay and safer working conditions. The garment and textile industry is crucial to Bangladesh. It provides the much-needed jobs and export earnings. Without textiles, Bangladesh, already burdened by immense poverty, would see its economy collapse.
The textile sector in Pakistan accounts for 6.5 per cent of the global trade. The country is almost non-existent in the global trade map on 93 per cent of the trading sectors. Structural imbalances are severe. The domestic spinning industry has 25 per cent more yarn-producing capacity than can be woven in the country. So the country exports 25 per cent lowest value-added textile production as yarn.
To get higher exports orders Pakistan will have to address the structural imbalances. The ratio of cotton use in Pakistani textile products is 75 per cent while the industry consumes only 25 per cent of manmade fibers by blending them with cotton. The global average is 75 per cent manmade fibers blended with 25 per cent cotton.
This means Pakistan is catering to 25 per cent of the global textile market. The local industry has the machinery and state-of-the-art equipment to produce a complete textile range. However, its wings were clipped when the government of Pakistan guaranteed 10 years’ high duty protection to a multinational investor for establishing a polyester plant in Pakistan. The protection made it impossible for the textile industry to compete globally in blended textiles.
The local market accounts for only 20 per cent of the textile consumed in the country. Local entrepreneurs are denied the domestic market because of under-invoicing, smuggling and massive imports of used clothing.
Manipur has been organizing several skill development programs for handloom artisans. Fashion shows are also held regularly to promote the handloom sector. The Power Loom and Allied Service Centre in Imphal, gives artisans skill development training and aims to equip them with modern technology. The center also plans to provide loom sets, incentives and marketing assistance to those who undergo the training.
Manipur currently occupies the third position in the country in terms of handloom productivity. It hopes to reach the top through such skill development programs and by providing other incentives including high-quality fabric and weaving tools and machinery to the artisans.
Recently, a fashion extravaganza was held in Imphal with an aim to promote handloom products. Models walked the ramp, displaying traditional attires of different tribes. Ethnic garments like a wraparound and saris were also showcased. A special fashion show for children was also organized.
The event provided a great opportunity to local weavers and designers to present their handloom products before the public. A large number of people in rural Manipur and other northeastern states are engaged in weaving and craftwork. Promotion of the sector through fashion shows will help to provide exposure to their intricate work.
Interfiliere Paris took place from July 5 to 7 along with various other fashion and lingerie trade shows. This fair focused on intimates and beachwear fabrics. This time attendance declined by 5 per cent and the number of exhibitors dropped from 300 to 280 compared to July 2013. The trend was particularly evident during the first day of the event, which was quieter than usual. While the show shared a common entrance with Mode City, visitors encouraged to sign up for both shows did not seem to stem the decline. The fair is open to producers of knitted and woven fabrics, lace, embroidery, braid, trimmings, ribbon, elastic, supplies and accessories, as well as designers, producers of fibers or machines and manufacturers offering local production capacities.
French professionals obviously showed up in the greater numbers. However, this year Italy rose to second place, relegating Britain to the third. These were followed by Germany, the United States and China, which overtook Hong Kong and Spain. Russia, occupied ninth place, while the Netherlands entered the Top 10 at the expense of Switzerland.
The next edition of Interfilière will be held in New York on September 23. The Chinese edition will be held October 20 to 21.
www.interfiliere.com/
In the first quarter of 2014, global yarn production increased by 10 per cent. Worldwide yarn stocks decreased slightly in comparison with the previous quarter as a result of lower stock inventories in South America and Europe. Year-on-year global stocks jumped with higher stock levels in Asia and Europe. Yarn orders in Europe and Brazil were up in the first quarter of 2014. Compared to the last quarter, yarn orders were lower in Europe and Brazil.
Fabric orders rose in the first quarter of 2014 in Europe and Brazil. Global fabric production was down in the first quarter of 2014, due to lower fabric production in Asia, with South America and Europe recording higher output levels. Year-on-year basis fabric production decreased slightly, with Asia’s output shrinking and Europe’s and South America’s output growing. Worldwide fabric stocks were lower in the first quarter, with South America and North America recording lower stock levels, despite higher ones in Asia and Europe.
Estimates for yarn production in the second quarter of 2014 looks positive in Asia and North America, unchanged in South America and negative in Europe. The outlook for yarn production in the third quarter of 2014 is promising in Asia and unchanged in Europe.
Readymade garment exports from Bangladesh hit a record high at $24.50 billion in the immediate past fiscal year, rising 13.86 per cent year-on-year, reveals Export Promotion Bureau data. Industry players have attributed the rise to competitive prices of Bangladeshi products and a higher demand among western consumers.
Export of knitwear products rose 15.02 percent to $12.04 billion, while that of woven garments grew 12.70 percent to $12.44 billion. The total garment exports were worth $21.51 billion in fiscal 2012-13. The total earnings from exports also saw a boost, rising 11.65 percent year-on-year to $30.17 billion in fiscal 2013-14. However, the amount narrowly missed target at $30.50 billion for the year.
Experts feel Bangladeshi manufacturers need to strengthen their capacity in home textiles as the demand for such products is rising among western customers. Besides traditional markets like the US, the EU and Canada, Bangladesh is also performing well in Japan, India, China, South Korea, Chile, Brazil, South Africa, Australia and Turkey. Home textiles have the potential to earn one billion dollars a year as the sub-sector already brought in $792.53 million in fiscal 2013-14. Jute and jute goods earned $824.49 million in fiscal 2013-14.
From model and actress Amber Valetta to representatives from Gucci, Eileen Fisher and the Council of Fashion Designers of America will gather to discuss sustainability issues across the supply chain on July 22–23 during the Première Vision Preview New York event in New York. Titled ‘Responsible Creation: Issues and Values for Fashion’, the event will cover responsible creation in the textile and fashion sector.
The panelists include Valletta, who is founder of lifestyle brand Master & Muse and Yoox curator for a clothing, jewelry and accessories collection from environmentally responsible brands. This year, Valetta was also the face of H&M’s sustainable Conscious Exclusive collection. Other panelists include Rossella Ravagli, Head of Gucci’s corporate sustainability and responsibility; Inka Apter, Manager of fabric R&D at Eileen Fisher; Melissa Joy Manning, jewelry designer and member of the CFDA’s Sustainability Committee; Giusy Bettoni, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of C.L.A.S.S.; April Crow, Global Sustainability Director at the Coca-Cola, which is developing a clothing collection made from recycled soda bottles.
The summit will be held on July 22, this will be the third time Première Vision has organized the sustainability panel, which was first held last September at Première Vision Paris and then in October at Première Vision Shanghai. Moving from its longtime home at the Metropolitan Pavilion and Altman Building, Première Vision Preview New York will have more than 300 exhibitors representing high-end European and international textile mills. Première Vision’s textile print and surface design show, Indigo New York, will also be held concurrently at Pier 92 in New York.
US cotton exports may grow by two per cent due to an expansion of the Panama Canal set to be complete by April 2015. Transit time to China from the East Coast through the Panama Canal will be 7 to 8 days longer than the intermodal route. But once the canal can accommodate bigger ships, all-water shipping from the East Coast will be much cheaper than the intermodal option. The expansion will reduce maritime costs for shipments from the Gulf and South Atlantic ports to China by 28 per cent.
The United States would gain in cotton exports mostly at the expense of India and Brazil. Most other cotton-producing countries would experience a modest gain in business. Even so, the deepening of the canal will redistribute wealth among the states as well, increasing cotton exports from Atlantic and US Gulf ports at the expense of Pacific Coast ports.
Historically, the top three destinations for cotton exports are China, Turkey, and Mexico. The top three ports of cotton exports from the US are Long Beach/Los Angeles, Savannah and Houston. Exports from Savannah are growing, with much of the cotton going to Asia.
A 28 per cent reduction in costs would double exports from Savannah and New Orleans and result in a 57 per cent increase in exports from Houston. These gains would come at the expense of exports from Los Angeles and Long Beach, which would see their traffic drop by 70 per cent.
