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Sustainable strides are being made in the denim world at large. But the apparel industry as a whole is overusing the word sustainability, and taking steps toward a more environmentally friendly output is not enough to truly change consumers’ attitudes about why they should buy higher priced, better-for-the-world products. The barrier to scaling sustainable solutions and increasing positive impact is cost. Consumers are price conscious and would be unwilling to take on a sustainability tax. In order for mainstream customers to widely adopt sustainable solutions in apparel, not just luxury consumers, it should be cost neutral.
While there is no shortage of innovative ideas cropping up across the industry, it now falls on brands and their partners to commit to the widespread adoption of proven sustainable techniques. Shoppers are gunning for a more environmentally stable future and pushing brands to show their work instead of just delivering answers and demanding trust. As the resources used to produce apparel—like fibers, water and electricity—become more expensive, mills and factories must innovate to cut down on waste and maintain unit cost. Apparel using post-consumer recycled materials—a widely available feedstock—would reduce the costs and resources used to grow and produce virgin materials, and also reduce landfill waste. But, again, a cost-conscious consumer will only buy-in if it is cost neutral.
New Zealand’s trade and export growth minister David Parker says, the country plans to push for a bilateral trade agreement with India if New Delhi does not join the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
India in November decided not to join RCEP as negotiations failed to satisfactorily address New Delhi's ‘outstanding issues and concerns’. However, the possibility of India joining the trade pact is still open provided its concerns are addressed by the member nations.
Noting that New Zealand was disappointed with India’s decision on RCEP, Parker said the disappointment was not only for lost bilateral opportunities but also because the nation believes there is a strategic benefit for India of being on the table when the regional trade rules are made.
The RCEP negotiations were launched by leaders from 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian nations and six other countries -- India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand during the 21st ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh in November 2012.
A new sustainability initiative ‘Accelerating Circularity’ is working with major apparel companies to chart ways to eliminate textile-industry waste and recycle it into new fibers and materials.
Accelerating Circularity’s mission will be to research and identify opportunities in apparel supply chains in order to make them circular, which mean taking returned goods and items defined as waste materials and turning them into new textiles. The initiative’s first projects will include research into mechanical and chemical recycling of cotton, viscose and polyester textile waste. These three fibers comprise more than 80 per cent of all textile fiber production.
Less than one per cent of textile waste gets recycled into new textiles. Some 16.9 million tons of textile waste are dumped annually. There need to be new maps for the supply chain that don’t exist today. There is a need to create the knowledge of where the textile waste is, how it should be collected and where it has to be fed to the appropriate recyclers. Some of the biggest names in fashion are joining forces to create a thriving industry based on the principles of a circular economy and are addressing issues that have seen the fashion industry become one of the most polluting and wasteful operating today.
Philippine’s garment exports are expected to register flat growth this year as firms struggle to find alternative sources of raw materials outside China. Nearly all of the country’s apparel production has stopped due to the unavailability of the raw materials.
The crisis triggered by the virus outbreak has forced many factories in the Philippines to shut down. The country needs to find alternative sources for fabric, textile and accessories as there is no trusted domestic manufacturer of these raw materials.
This is the reason why the garment industry is tempering growth forecast this year, expecting export receipts to stay the same or rise by a mere 1 per cent.
The industry is anticipating new players to come in when the Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act (CITIRA) bill becomes law, as it will reduce corporate income tax to 20 per cent by 2029 from 30 per cent now, the highest rate in Southeast Asia.
In terms of market, the United States will keep its status as the country’s largest buyer of clothing products this year and can further strengthen this position if it expands the generalised system of preferences (GSP) of the Philippines to garments and footwear.
Lenzing has resumed production in Nanjing, China, after experiencing complications due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the Austrian company had temporarily halted production in China due to a shortage of supplies of raw materials, as a result of intense transport controls in relation to the outbreak of the coronavirus in the country.
The Austrian company has appointed Stephan Sielaff and Christian Skilich as chief technology officer and administrator of pulp and wood raw materials, respectively. These two appointments have meant increasing the company’s board of directors from four to five.
Stephan Sielaff will be Lenzing’s new chief technology officer effective March 1, 2020, succeeding Heiko Arnold, who left the company last November. Sielaff is an engineer with experience in the chemical industry since 1993, holding positions at Unilever and Symrise.
On the other hand, Christian Skilich will assume the position of member of the board of administration of pulp and wood raw materials from June 1, 2020. Skilich recently served as director of operations on the board of directors of Mondi, overseeing projects in States United and Europe.
Currently, Lenzing is led by Stefan Doboczky, the chairman of the company. It ended 2018 with sales of 2.2 billion euros (2.4 billion dollars), 3.7 percent less than the previous year. The net result stood at 148.2 million euros (163.4 million dollars), compared to 281.7 million (310.6 million dollars) in 2017, down by 47.3 per cent.
Indonesia launches Asia Pacific Rayon (APR) factory in Pelalawan, Riau. The new plant is a step forward for Indonesia's Fourth Industrial Revolution, also known as Industry 4.0. It has the technology to turn wood into fabrics and garments.
The factory is an affiliate of pulp and paper producer Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings, and both entities are subsidiaries of the Singapore-based Royal Golden Eagle. It claims to be the first fiber plant to have the capacity of planting and harvesting trees for sustainable sourcing and manufacturing. According to its sustainable policy, APR is committed to only sourcing wood fiber from sustainably managed plantations
With this new APR plant, Indonesia attempts to monitor the entire supply chain for viscose to brand itself as a market for ‘sustainable fashion.’
In Pelalawan, where the APR plant is set up, the forests were destroyed by recurring fires, a problem accelerated by the expanding palm plantations. Big corporations were accused of clearing vegetation for palm oil, pulp and paper plantations with a slash-and-burn technique to yield extra land. Indonesia saw 328,724 hectares of land burnt in 2019 alone, most of which were rainforests. Those that have already been developed into economic plantations, however, stayed untouched from the fires.
The First South Asian Conference on Sustainability in Textile and Apparel Industry was held in New Delhi at the C D Deshmukh Auditorium, India International Centre. The conference inaugurated by the Textiles and Women and Child Development Smriti Z Irani, focused on creating awareness amongst students and young professionals about the sustainable built environment, safer work places for workers and minimum damage to the environment.
It was organized by the Prem Jain Memorial Trust and Michigan State University, in association with School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi, Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi, IDH-the Sustainable Trade Initiative, Indian Green Building Council and Ella Pad Foundation, Bangladesh.
Prem Jain Memorial Trust’s mission is to create, establish and maintain the sustainability paradigm through education, recognition and nurturing of the present and future generations. Its vision is to identify future leaders and be a catalyst for global development of sustainability, to create awareness and advocacy on sustainability and environment and to nurture India's young talent by disseminating education on sustainable development ecosystems, built environment, traditions, arts, crafts and related studies across India’s youth and working professionals.
The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has purchased 10,000 bales over the last few days for its commercial account due to low prices. Seventy lakh bales have been purchased under the minimum support price (MSP) operations till now. Nearly 65 per cent of the cotton has arrived in the market. Nearly 53 per cent of the cotton procured so far this season is from Telangana. Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana are the top three cotton growing states in the country. Though there has been a marginal rise in buying for the commercial account, the state-run corporation is hard pressed as MSP purchases are in full swing.
This is probably the first time commercial purchase is happening alongside MSP operations. Last year, the agency had commenced commercial operations during the end of March. CCI is likely to purchase nearly 80 lakh bales under MSP operations for this season and could even buy up to 96 lakh bales subject to market conditions. The MSP for medium-staple variety of cotton is Rs 5,255 per quintal and Rs 5,550 per quintal for long staple cotton. CCI has nine lakh bales stock of cotton from the previous seasons and 70 lakh bales from this season. CCI might look at exports. It has received enquiries from Bangladesh for exports.
The Cotton Corporation of India, Ministry of Textiles established in the year 1974 has been exercising commercial cotton operations and cotton minimum support price operations to protect the interests of the cotton farmers and the predominantly cotton based textile industry. CCI had to exercise MSP operations during the start of the 2018-19 season and also during the current cotton season due to the fall in market prices, sluggish market conditions globally and considerable increase in the domestic crop output. CCI could not sell the cotton procured in the 2018-19 season to the tune of nine lakh bales due to drop in prices. During the current season, CCI has procured over 60 lakh bales of cotton under MSP, the cost of which is much higher than the market price. Hence, CCI has been quoting higher prices than the market price and practically there was no off-take except the mandatory purchases by the public sector spinning mills. The cotton industry has been pleading with the Ministry of Textiles to sell the cotton at market prices to have stability in the cotton market and protect the interests of the spinning mills and its downstream power loom and handloom sectors.
In a press release issued today, Mr. Ashwin Chandran, Chairman, The Southern India Mills Association has thanked the Hon’ble Union Textile Minister Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani for the intervention, enabling CCI to offer volume based bulk discounts for its 2018-19 cotton and protecting the interests of MSME spinning mills by offering the discounts from 500 bales and restricting the same at 10,000 bales. The discount ranges from Rs. 3,200 to Rs. 4,400 per candy of 355 kgs and CCI has quoted Rs. 46,400 per candy for 30 mm cotton of fair average quality while the current market price is around Rs. 40,500.
SIMA Chairman has stated that considering the free lifting period and quality claimed by CCI for its cotton, the prices would come closer to the market prices and mills might commence procurement from CCI. Mr. Ashwin hopes that CCI would soon offer its current year MSP cotton at market prices at constant intervals till season end and facilitate stability in cotton prices.
Mr. Ashwin stated that CCI had earlier offered attractive bulk discounts and free period upto 120 days facilitating multinational cotton traders to garner the cotton and speculate the prices during off-season. He has appreciated the bold decision of the present Hon’ble Union Textile Minister to abolish such discounts during 2017 to stabilise the cotton prices, protect the interests of the actual users of cotton especially the MSME spinning segment and its downstream sectors.
SIMA Chief has appealed to the Government to include cotton yarn under various export benefits such as IES (interest subvention) and RoSCTL/RoDTEP (refund of embedded/blocked taxes and levies), to make Indian cotton yarn which attracts considerable tariff in all the export markets, globally competitive and thereby boost exports. Cotton yarn export from India has dropped around 30 percent during the year 2019-20 when compared to the previous year. Mr. Ashwin stated that increased yarn exports will stimulate demand for cotton which in turn would also help the Government to reduce the losses on account of MSP as CCI is on track to procure upto 100 lakh bales of cotton during the current cotton season.
"Automation not only enables apparel manufacturers to design multiple styles in short runs but also manage stock levels, improve delivery times and boost the quality and consistency of garments. The latest era of automation ‘Industry 4.0’ includes a host of innovations from industrial-scale ‘Internet of things’ and augmented reality, to machine-to-machine communication in knitting machines, and 3D printing."
Automation not only enables apparel manufacturers to design multiple styles in short runs but also manage stock levels, improve delivery times and boost the quality and consistency of garments. The latest era of automation ‘Industry 4.0’ includes a host of innovations from industrial-scale ‘Internet of things’ and augmented reality, to machine-to-machine communication in knitting machines, and 3D printing.
Just as in the rest of the world, automation is also taking root in Bangladesh, especially in many of its mass-market manufacturing factories from where top global apparel brands source. Factors like customisation and quick delivery are driving demand for better and more sophisticated automation in these factories. Customers are also demanding granularity, with more and more bespoke designs. For instance, Fung Group has been experimenting with customised shirt-making, made to measure garments that use a digital scan of a person’s body.
Increasing labor costs driving automation
One factor driving demand for automation is increasing labor costs. For instance, Chinese apparel firm Tianyuan
Garments has invested more than $20 million in a factory in Little Rock, Arkansas in the US. Though the factory has a staff of 400 laborers, it also uses 24 robots capable of producing one T-shirt every 30 seconds without any need for human intervention. Similarly, sportswear giant Adidas has developed highly automated speed factories that boast production speeds by three times.
Barriers in growth of automation
However, despite various benefits, the process of automation is not yet widespread as automated machines and equipment are expensive and their reconfiguring and redesigning requires time and skills. The pay-off associated with digitising processes proves to be too far off for most manufacturers, especially in an uncertain economic environment. Changing business models also pose a challenge for automation as brands may demand customised products today but tomorrow their demands may change.
A negative impact on employment
While automation increases speed and efficiency, it negatively impacts labor and employment. As a recent McKinsey study reveals, automation will result in the loss of around 800 million jobs worldwide by 2030, with the garment sector of Bangladesh being particularly badly hit. Another study by the Bangladesh government suggests that the increasing adoption of automated knitting machines, robotic auto-coners, automatic chemical and dye dispensers are likely to result in a loss of five million jobs in the next t 15 years. Around half a million people that operate single and double needle lockstitch sewing machines in Bangladesh will be out of work by 2041, with many smaller factories being hardest hit financially.
Adopting a responsible approach
The challenge for the textiles sector therefore is to find a responsible approach to automation that ensures workers are not left behind. This involves training workers to upskill and be relevant as new equipment is introduced. Sarah Krasley, Founder of fashion technology company Shimmy proposes providing people with digital literacy skills to enable them to work side by side with machines – and bringing brands, manufacturers, agencies and technology providers together to work on education, skills development and R&D.
