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The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) conference will be held in Mumbai, May 22, 2015. Companies representing the entire organic textile supply chain will learn about brand and manufacturer experiences with GOTS, as well as the role of local and international policy.
India is the largest producer of organic cotton (approximately 70 per cent of world production) and is also home to the largest number of GOTS-certified processing facilities. More than 1,300 GOTS certified facilities are in India representing more than one-third of the total number of GOTS certified facilities worldwide.
The participation of leading brands, suppliers and the Indian government will provide excellent networking opportunities, and will also help to create successful partnerships including extensive buyer-seller opportunities.
GOTS is the globally recognised standard in ecology and social responsibility for the processing of textiles made from at least 70 per cent certified organic natural fibers. The stringent voluntary global standard addresses the entire post-harvest processing (including spinning, knitting, weaving, dyeing and manufacturing) of textiles made with organic fiber (such as organic cotton and organic wool). Key provisions include a ban on the use of genetically modified organisms, restricted substance list, and child labor, while requiring strong social compliance management systems and strict waste water treatment practices.
India's exports of silk garments are on the upswing. There is a demand from traditional markets such as the US, the UAE and the UK. For the first nine months, exports of silk and silk goods were up by about 18 per cent as against the corresponding period last year.
Silk readymade garments accounted for close to two-thirds of total exports in value terms, followed by fabrics and made ups. Exports of readymade garments were up 37 per cent during the first nine months of the current financial year as against the corresponding period last year.
The problem is that production of silk yarn, fabrics and made-ups is not keeping pace with demand. Also exports of yarn and fabrics are not profitable on account of the high cost of fabrics and high incidence of duty on raw silk imports. Exports of fabric and made-ups were 10 per cent lower in the first nine months as against the corresponding period last year. Similarly exports of silk carpets were marginally lower and shipments of silk waste were marginally higher.
Demand has picked up in newer markets such as Thailand and Vietnam and even China, the largest producer of silk.
The euro tumbled against the dollar, falling 3.6 cents after the strong US jobs data released recently. With the euro at 1.06 to the dollar, the market is bracing for the currency reaching parity with the dollar that would mean a further fall. Businesses in India are feeling the effects of the euro’s troubles. Individual textile exporters in Tirupur, who have sizeable exposure to the currency, have been hit hard after the recent drop in currency’s exchange rates.
Concerns about the euro zone economy are not new, but the currency’s sudden plunge in December 2014 and now has caught textile merchants unawares. The euro that was trading at around Rs 85 last year slipped slowly to around Rs 75 levels by early December. This shake-up was quite sudden, though there were signals that there may be trouble brewing.
There was reluctance to hedge euro exposure, especially after the short rally in mid-December when the exchange rate went close to Rs 80. But the currency nose-dived in a month to a low of Rs 68 in late January 2015. This is a 20 per cent drop from the levels seen last year. However, the suddenness of the currency’s movement and the subsequent losses suffered are creating more awareness on currency hedging.
Over 1,40,000 sweatshirts for children made in Pakistan have been recalled in the US due to a choking hazard. The sweatshirts were imported by Fred Meyer, of Portland, Oregon. These are cotton/poly blend fleece zipper hooded sweatshirts with a front zipper, two front pockets and knit ribbing around the wrists and waist.
These have been recalled prompted for a fear that the sweatshirt zipper pull can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children. Consumers have been urged to immediately take the sweatshirt away from young children and return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Pakistan’s major apparel export products to the US are men’s and boys’ knit shirts, cotton hosiery, men’s and boys’ cotton trousers.
The United States is a large market for Pakistan’s textile and clothing products. While products are well diversified, Pakistan’s exports to the US are overly reliant on cotton as the principal raw material. Over 90 per cent of Pakistan’s total textile exports are cotton based. In contrast products made from non-cotton based raw materials such as wool comprise only two per cent of exports to the US; man-made fiber based products constitute four per cent and silk and vegetable fiber based products comprise only 0.1 per cent.
Smart water use is at the heart of a sustainable fashion industry. The fashion industry has always relied upon abundant amounts of water to produce the clothes and shoes we wear.
Both cotton and wool, two favorite natural fibers use a lot of water. It takes more than 100 gallons to produce one single pound of raw cotton or shorn wool and that doesn’t include what is needed for rinsing and preparing the product, or washing and dyeing the fabric once the material is made.
More than 20 per cent of the world’s commercial products are produced in water-scarce areas of the globe. That includes the clothes and shoes we wear, which increasingly are being made in developing countries like China, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Apparel companies have come to realize that the way clothes are produced has a direct impact not only on the world’s valuable clean water resources but on the apparel industry’s bottom line.
Companies are on the cusp of solving this problem by creating water- and chemical-free dyeing processes. Levi Strauss is known for its innovative and inveterate brainstorming when it comes to conserving water. Its contributions have spanned from creating production methods that require less water to inducing consumers to wash their jeans not more than once every two weeks.
China's 13th five-year plan for the textile industry will focus on five areas: upgrading of textile chain, internationalization, domestic regional transfer, eco-friendly sustainable development and talent cultivation. During the plan period (2016-2020), the technical textiles sector will grow rapidly and e-commerce will reconstruct the commercial chain of textile industry. Therefore, it is necessary for the textile industry to enhance technological innovation, improve IT transformation of textile industry, promote the position of textile products in the textile value-added chain and put stress on developing fashionable and creative textile industry.
China’s textile industry is under the dual pressure of developed economies’ re-industrialization on the one hand and improved competitive advantages of Southeast and South Asian economies. The Chinese textile industry wants to re-establish internationally competitive advantages, introduce its own brands to the world, encourage enterprises to integrate value-added chains worldwide and optimize the structure of textile exports.
In addition, the plan also includes improving sustainable development, energy-saving and emission reduction, allocation of industrial parks, establishing a waste fiber and textile product recycling system and the construction of a talent team that can cope with the transformed and upgraded textile industry. A central theme is to develop the textile and apparel industry by moving it to western and central China.
A recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) has raised questions over working conditions and compliance issues in Cambodia’s garment factories. The reports state that the use of loudspeakers by garment factories warns workers about compliance teams’ visit and that mainly female workers in the sector are being denied basic human rights and often face intimidation, forced overtime and summary dismissal in factories around Phnom Penh and other industrial zones in the country. The report mentions references to companies like H&M, Gap and Marks & Spencer and claims that apparel factories in Cambodia which supply to them and other western brands are sub-contracting work to smaller factories which systematically flout labour compliance regulations.
While the report says that the role of the Better Factories Cambodia, an International Labour Organisation factory monitoring program launched in 2001 has been doing a good job in Cambodia and other South East Asian apparel sourcing destinations, there are limitations. "While BFC's reports enjoy widespread credibility internationally, many Cambodian workers we spoke with expressed a lack of confidence in BFC monitoring and said managers coached or threatened workers ahead of external visits," says the report. "Workers recounted how factory managers made announcements using the public announcement system, sent messages through team leaders, or called workers and warned them not to complain about their working conditions to visitors," it adds. It has appreciated H&M and Adidas for disclosing the names and locations of their suppliers, the report urges other brands to come forward and assist.
M&S has told HRW that it will publish its global suppliers’ list by 2016, Gap said it will first study implications of disclosing names for its business. The report says: "As documented in this report, many brands have not fully lived up to their responsibilities due to poor supply chain transparency, the absence of whistle blower protections, and failure to help factories correct problems in situations where that is both possible and warranted." www.hrw.org
India is set to beat China and become the top cotton producer this year. China will be ousted from the number one position for the first time in over 30 years. India will produce 30 million bales of cotton in the season that started August while China will produce 29.5 million bales.
The reduction is largely due to fewer incentives for farmers to plant cotton in China’s eastern provinces. Total area in China is projected to decline 11 per cent while for India, the late monsoon will benefit cotton. Some areas originally expected to be devoted to alternative crops, with an earlier planting window, are now projected to move to cotton.
The relatively low profitability of cotton in China is due to the government’s decision to abolish its temporary purchasing policy to prop up prices. The cotton growing area in Yangtze River basin and Yellow River basin has gone down by about 12.1 per cent and 14.5 per cent. The growing area of cotton in China is expected to continue its declining trend in the next few years. The shrinking growing area will result in a big supply gap in the cotton market.
However, China will remain a big consumer of cotton due to its large population, growing incomes and increasing export demand. This can create a big opportunity for India to step up its cotton and yarn exports to China.
Leading sports-lifestyle brand Nike has launched its second garment product dyed using the waterless CO2 dyeing technique pioneered by Dutch company DyeCoo Technology. The company's Tennis ColorDry Polo was dyed without using water, which also eliminates the need for added chemicals during the fabric dyeing process. It was made using 96 per cent recycled polyester fabric and each polo T-shirt is made with the equivalent of 11 plastic bottles.
The new Tennis ColorDry Polo is the company’s initiative towards making use of sustainable materials and new manufacturing technologies so that there is lower environmental impact. The garment also helps the player deliver superior performance. CO2 dyeing involves heating carbon dioxide to above 31°C and pressurising it to above 74 bar – at this point it becomes supercritical, since above this point, distinct liquid and gas phases do not exist and, consequently, CO2 has the properties of both a liquid and a gas.
DyeCoo's dyeing machine incorporates a stainless-steel chamber where the supercritical fluid CO2 - rather than water - is used to dye textile materials. The supercritical fluid CO2 swells hydrophobic man-made fibers and this process enables modified disperse dyes to diffuse within the fibre. In the same chamber, fabric drying and the removal of excess dye are also carried out. www.nike.com
Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, says that its goal is to create a credit facility of $20-35 million via five local banks. The facility would be in US dollar denominated currency, enabling lower interest rates. The group will provide technical assistance to the financial organisations on remediation progress to encourage banks to extend loans to the Alliance-linked factories, especially small and medium enterprises besides covering administrative and startup costs and up to $2.0 million in a first-loss guarantee, it added.
America’s VF Corporation, teamed up with International Finance Corporation (IFC) in September last year to provide $10 million for financing fire and building safety improvements in the RMG sector. Three local apparel makers have already got funds under the move.
As for post-inspection activities, initial assessment of fire, electrical and structural integrity were conducted in all its listed 647 factories, while 300 corrective plans were approved. The official review panel closed down five factories while 12 were partially closed and two are operating reducing their load.
The Alliance has also announced its plan to conduct its final assessment in at least 60 units by July next following its verification programme in line with the corrective action plans in more than 100 units. The Alliance is concerned that its efforts have slowed due to current violence, turmoil and uncertainty. It appealed all parties who are committed to a vibrant and successful Bangladesh to resolve differences through dialogue rather than violence, says the statement.
