FW
The second ‘Bangladesh Denim Expo' is expected witness a high business activity as it prepares to kick-start on May 11. Meanwhile, Bangladesh has set a target or earning revenues worth $7 billion from export of denim products annually. This will speed up overall RMG exports to $50 billion per annum by 2021.
Around 25 domestic and foreign companies from Bangladesh, US, Germany, China, Japan, India, Italy, Thailand, Turkey, Hong Kong and Pakistan will participate in the two-day expo to display latest fabrics, finishes, washes, accessories, technology used in denim manufacturing. Bangladesh exported denim and denim related products worth $3.5 billion during the last fiscal year.
Participating Bangladesh companies include: Yogotex Fabric Company, Argon Denims, Mahmud Denims, Denim Expert, Zaber and Zubair Fabrics, Nassa Taipei Denims, South China Bleaching and Dying Fty, Shasha Denims and Amber Denims. International participants include: American & Efird (Bangladesh) of the USA, Paddock Jeans, Germany, Juki Bangladesh and YKK Bangladesh Pte, Japan, Garmon Group, Italy, Foshan Shunde Benjie Textile., China, Epic Group, Hong Kong, Denimco Tekstile Pazarlama AS, Turkey, Absolute Denim, Thailand, Malwa Industries, India, Kassim Denim, Kohinoor Mills, Rajby Textiles and Azgard Nine, Pakistan.
www.bangladeshdenimexpo.com
Myanmar has decided to implement country's new national export strategy which will see expansion of its textile and garment industry. This will increase export earnings to $2 billion for this fiscal. The step would also help in boosting economic growth.
With almost 90 per cent foreign investment, the sector created 100,000 jobs in 2014-15, reveals the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association. According to the ministry of commerce, export income from textile and garment sector made up 40 per cent of the country's foreign exchange earnings from around the year 1990. Official statistics show foreign investment in the manufacturing sector reached $5.458 billion as of February this year since late 1988 when the country opened to foreign investors.
The manufacturing sector, which ranked third in the foreign investment line-up after power and oil and gas, accounted for about 10 percent of the total of $54.086 billion as of February this year. The five-year national export strategy, which also covers six other sectors and is aimed at tackling trade deficit, focuses on rice, peas and pulses, fishery products, timber and forest products, rubber and tourism.
www.myanmargarments.org
Increasing consecutively for the fifth month in a row, Bangladeshi exports increased 7.4 per cent in March compared to a year earlier and touched $2.59 billion owing to strong sales of ready-made garments. According to the Export Promotion Bureau, exports from July to March, the first three quarters of the financial year, rose about three percent from the same period, last year to $22.9 billion, 5 percent short of the target.
Sales of ready-made garments, comprising knitwear and woven items, totaled $18.63 billion in the July-March period, compared with nearly $18.05 billion a year earlier. However, despite being the second largest exporter after China, issues like political unrest and non-compliance are hindering the growth of exports industry in Bangladesh and players are unsure about achieving the set growth target.
Bangladesh's exports in the 2014-15 financial year are expected to increase 10 per cent from a year earlier to $33.2 billion. Garment exports for the current financial year have been targeted at $26.9 billion, up 10 percent from previous year's $24.5 billion when clothing sales surged 14 percent.
www.epb.gov.bd
The 12th edition of the fabrics and accessories show, 'F&A Show 2015’ and the 4th edition of home textiles fair, ‘Hometex’ that wrapped up on March 14, saw 3,556 visitors, a rise of 11 per cent over the last edition. Organised by SS Textile Media at KTPO in Bangalore, it got a positive response from over 103 exhibitors, and an overwhelming number of buyers. Many orders were picked up over the three-days of the fair.
Majority of visitors expressed their satisfaction with the innovation on display that included yarns, fabrics, accessories, handicrafts, textiles and home textiles. Fabric innovations for both men’s and women’s wear on display included a mix of plain and mesh in the same knitted fabric, bonded fabrics, fragrance releasing fabrics, zero-count fabrics, tere-rayon fabrics, 2 x 200's cotton shirting fabrics, georgette moss fabrics, a blend of the traditional bandhani, shibhori and indigo-dyed in a single fabric, and functional fabrics.
In accessories section, there were innovative 3D label, interlinings made from net resins, innovations in engraving technology in buttons, narrow fabrics in both spandex and latex, embroideries, Oeko-Tex certified zippers and many other new product developments in the category. Yarns exhibited with latest product developments on display included, water soluble PVA yarn, colour zero twist yarn, hollow yarn, grindle yarn, grindle blended with slub yarn, multi-colour fancy yarns, injection slub yarn, Flutter, Ferry, Lofty Linen and many other varieties of yarns.
The home textiles section exhibited products like blankets and foot mats made from mink and polar fleece, designer paper wall coverings, home furnishings, designer towels, bedsheets and curtains, comforters, colourful quilts, cushions, pillows and many more.
Exhibitors from India, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Singapore included two companies like Aditya Birla Group’s Linen Club and Grasim Bhiwani. JCT too had two stalls one for textiles and other one for home textiles division. JCT Homes, Raymond Home, Morarjee Textiles, Akij Textile Group from Bangladesh, Beijing Guanghui Textile Co from China and so on. Visitors came from all corners of South and Central India and even overseas and included representatives from global and Indian brands and retailers like George UK, a subsidiary of Wal-Mart, Adidas, Gokuladas Exports, Arvind Brands, VF Corporation, Madura Lifestyle, Crocodile, Ralph Lauren, Mothercare, Lifestyle, PVH, Shahi Exports and other reputed companies.
The second day of the F&A Show also had a panel discussion ‘What should India do to Increase its Share in the Global Textile & Apparel Markets.’ The eminent panelists included Gautam Chakravarty, CEO, Gokuladas Exports, Ashish Kumar, Group CEO (Lifestyle Apparel) at Arvind and Samrat Som, Business Head at Royal Enfield Apparel & Accessories. www.hometex.in
With growing emphasis on innovation, sustainability and fashion design worldwide, Arvind Mills, India’s top composite textiles player, tied up with globally acclaimed technology giant INVISTA. And Aamir Akhtar, CEO, Arvind Mills is optimistic their partnership will lead to bigger things as he says, “We have seen the partnership with INVISTA grow. Together, we will be unfolding a lot of things.”
A power house partnership
Endorsing Akhtar’s views, Huw Williams, Global Marketing Director, INVISTA, observes, “One of the most important things about strategic tie-ups is the culture fit. If you are working for a company that’s culturally aligned with you, this is a fine collaboration. We are trying to put premium products in the market. We have a common strategy and a common culture. Arvind has a huge industrial capability. They can make things efficiently as they have design capability, fabric innovation capability and can sell very effectively in a fragmented market. Our capability is fibre and fabric innovation. If you bring these two sets of capabilities together you create a win-win combination. Working with Arvind in western markets we have had great success with western brands and retailers.”
Innovative denim in the limelight
Giving an insight on Arvind’s innovative offerings Akhtar explains, “Arvind’s share in the value added segment is 55 per cent. We have launched a new technology. This is a new way of dyeing denim on the surface. It is not printing but indigo dyeing. With this, we can create deep dark indigos. Using this technology, we can come out with a whole range of knit denims, which has a strong demand now. Then there is ‘Neo Bubble’, which is lightweight denim for women’s wear, tops and ethnic wear. We have new dyed corduroys with stretch in different colours.” Throwing more light on ‘Arvind Stretch Denim powered by Lycra HangTag’ concept, Akhtar said, “Earlier, the fabric used to be sent out to different places through a complex supply chain and was difficult to tag. Now, ‘Arvind Lycra’ tag will go along with the fabric. The end user of the fabric, the cutter, the garment maker can convert it into garments when the tag is there. Once he sees the value in this brand, and its strong value proposition, as a promise, he would like to use the tags. The tag Arvind Lycra is also for B2C promotions.” Williams further explained the idea “The Arvind Lycra hang tag is an example of our collaboration. We are using Arvind’s distribution channels in India. The hang tag will be rolled out through their distribution channels in an easy to access way. We hope to see these hang tags appear on high quality garments.” The tie-up of these global brands in India is looked up to as a new era of innovation in textile industry. With the high profile tie-up between Arvind Mills and INVISTA, Indian textile industry has got a new dimension to face challenges in global as well as domestic markets.
The second edition of Texworld Istanbul is being held April 7 and 8. This is a purchasing point for fashion fabrics. It brings together the most relevant apparel textile suppliers and buyers in the midst of a booming region. It’s the prime opportunity for fabric manufacturers to connect with the top buyers in the region and beyond.
Nearly 150 exhibiting companies from the Euro-Mediterranean region and Asia are taking part. Among these are companies from China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, India and Pakistan as well as Egypt, Germany and Turkey.Products such as cotton, embroidery and lace, knitted fabrics, wool and wool blends, functional fabrics, linens, prints, fibers, yarns and denims will be showcased.
The first Texworld Istanbul was held in November 2014. It welcomed 115 exhibitors from 10 countries, attracting 5,248 professional visitors, with 25 per cent from abroad. Turkey is today one of the most important places for the international textile industry. It is located at the crossroads of south eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa. Most international fashion fabric manufacturers have not yet sufficiently explored the manufacturing industries in those four regions. Texworld Istanbul aims at assembling players from those unexplored regions under one roof, at one fair.
https://texworld-istanbul.tr.messefrankfurt.com/
The California Classic Alpaca and Fiber Show will be held on April 11 and 12. A number of alpaca breeders from ranches in California, Nevada, Oregon and Arizona will be represented at the event. The show will feature some 200 alpacas. Visitors will get to touch and feel the alpaca’s soft fiber.
Visitors can learn more about the alpaca industry and meet alpaca breeders. Fiber enthusiast and artisans will showcase alpaca fiber (raw fiber, roving, and yarn) and examples of felting and fiber arts. Vendors will display alpaca fashions and hand-crafted items plus ongoing fiber demonstrations.
The alpaca is often compared to the softness of cashmere. It’s hypoallergenic, one-third the weight of wool, and is comfortably smooth against skin. The fiber comes from an animal that is manageable and hums to communicate. Alpacas require small acreage and are considered green livestock.
The highly prized fleece has inspired many to start cottage industries which involve shearing alpacas and spinning the fiber into yarn that can be made into high quality apparel while others market the fiber through the support of organized fiber co-ops. Alpaca breeders from all walks of life interact with each other by participating in shows and open houses, co-owning animals, and by sharing their acquired expertise.
Kitex Garments has recorded a net profit of Rs 99 crores for the financial year ended March 31, 2015, an increase of 73 per cent from the profit of Rs 57 crores the company made during 2013-14. The total revenue of the company in financial year 2014-15 was Rs 525 crores. It was only Rs 456 crores during the same period last year. This indicates a growth of 15 per cent. Profit before interest depreciation and taxes registered a growth of 69 per cent.
Share price rose six times, from Rs 89 on March 31, 2014, to Rs 534 as on March 31, 2015. The earnings per equity share of Rs 1 during 2014-15 were Rs 20.74 against Rs 12.08 in 2013-14. Kitex Garments is the first among listed companies to publish audited financial results in the country consistently for the third year in a row. It has achieved these levels of performance by technology upgradation and high level of productivity in operations.
Kitex is the third largest manufacturing facility in the infant wear segment globally and the company aspires to become the global number one by 2018.
www.kitexgarments.com/
Winners of SDC EC’s 5th National Students Competition 2015- Young Talent Search were announced recently. Mumbai Chapter, SDC EC had organised the competition on March 27, 2015 at The Textiles Committee, Mumbai. The theme for this year’s competition was ‘Innovations in colour and its use’. The contest received over 25 entries for colouration and fashion categories.
Six entries from colouration and five entries from fashion were shortlisted. The winners were declared from both categories separately. Under the colouration session, a project tilted ‘Novel effects by effective combinations’ by Priyanka Shinde and Swapnali Patil of Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) was declared the winning entry. Prashant Gangawane and Ambadas Garge of Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT)’s paper ‘Innovative Use of Unused Tetracycline Hydrochloride as Colourant in Textile bagged the first runner-up title. Dhrubani Gangopadhyay from Govt. College of Textile Technology & Engineering, Kolkata got the second runner for her paper on ‘Supercritical Fluid Technology and Plasma Technology’.
B D Somani Institute’s Karishma Jain’s project on used towels bagged the first place under fashion category. The first runner up was Devanshi Shah of B D Somani Institute. Her project was on radium printing on apparel in the form of placement prints. Khilti Visharia also from B D Somani Institute was the second runner-up. Her project was called ‘Sun Sand & Stains’.
www.sdc.org.uk
With growing issue of clothes piling up in landfills some textile companies have opted to create fashion in a circular model. Upcycling companies are testing groundbreaking fiber-recycling technology. The textile-to-textile, chemical-recycling technology separates and extracts the materials from old clothing, which is then re-spun into new yarns.
A T-shirt’s linear life span could be made circular since it could become reusable. By converting the reclaimed raw materials into yarn, creating new fabric and fashioning garments, these tests aim to demonstrate that the technology may be commercially viable, and may be able to provide an effective solution for the circular recycling of clothes and textiles. The process will not only provide an eco-friendlier means of sourcing raw materials for the fabrics companies use for garments, but also solve the problem of separating the materials of blended fiber clothes and removing dyes from polyester and cellulose.
Companies are becoming environmentally conscious and working to reduce the amount of waste that comes from textile industry. In the long run, this can change the way fashion is made and reduce the need for extracting virgin resources from the planet.
