FW
Leading textile player T.T. celebrated the completion of 25 years of public listing recently at the Bombay Stock Exchange.
During the occasion, the company’s management announced their plans to launch a premium innerwear brand in the near future as part of their new strategy to move towards the fashion side of the fiber to fashion spectrum. This move will help enhance margins and build the brand equity of the company. The company has enhanced their knitwear range to become a garment company from an innerwear company.
Dr R C Jain, Chairman and Founder of T. T Group explained the journey of the company and its evolution as a fiber to fashion company as it spread its wings not only across India but also across 65 countries. Brand T. T., under which all products are sold, has become a well known brand with registrations in India and many other nations. He paid special emphasis on the principles of the company and its employees who have been the two important pillars on which the Company laid its foundation and grew.
Sanjay Jain, managing director laid down the vision and roadmap of the Company with clarity and crispness. Incidentally, T. T. Group has to its credit many firsts in the industry, one of which is that it was the first garment company to get listed on a stock exchange in 1990.
"With an annual harvest of around 13 million bales, Pakistan is the fourth largest producer of cotton, producing about 10 per cent of the total global production of cotton. Pakistan’s textiles industry consists of 11.3 million spindles, 03 million rotors, 350,000 power looms and some 18,000 knitting machines. It has 700,000 industrial and domestic stitching machines."
Pakistan’s textile tycoons are partly responsible for the sorry state of affairs in its cotton sector for despite availing subsidies in billions, they have neither been able to improve the quality of their products nor bring the sector in conformity with the modern day requirements. Despite being the fourth largest producer of cotton in the world, Pakistan has been performing poorly in cotton trade. Cotton consumption is likely to decline by 12 per cent this year. By consuming 2.2 million tons of cotton, Pakistan would be exporting around $13 billion of cotton products whereas with the same quantity of combined cotton production Bangladesh and Vietnam would generate exports of $54 billion, reveals a recent cotton update by the International Cotton Advisory Committee.
Pakistan’s consumption of cotton will be equal to the combined Despite quality yarn Pakistan performs poorly in cotton exportsconsumption of the silver fiber in Bangladesh and Vietnam where it is likely to register an increase of 22 per cent and 13 per cent respectively. Responsible for 80 per cent exports and employing 40 per cent of industrial workforce, Bangladesh’s garment sector specialises in low-end clothing and is the main industry of the impoverished nation, which has emerged as the world’s second largest producer of apparel.
Value addition holds the key
Value addition in Bangladesh and Vietnam, two non-cotton producing countries is over four times higher than Pakistan. However, both the countries are among the low value-added textile exporting countries, while China, Turkey, Sri Lanka and Tunisia add much more value to their textiles.
With an annual harvest of around 13 million bales, Pakistan is the fourth largest producer of cotton, producing about 10 per cent of the total global production of cotton. Pakistan’s textiles industry consists of 11.3 million spindles, 03 million rotors, 350,000 power looms and some 18,000 knitting machines. It has 700,000 industrial and domestic stitching machines. In addition, it has a strong fiber base of 13 million bales of cotton and 600,000 tons of manmade, including polyester fiber. There are 21 filament yarn units having capacity of 100,000 tons. The filament and yarn industry is supported by PTA plant which has 500,000 tons capacity. Unlike many competitors which have only primary base or the finished base, Pakistan’s textile industry has a complete value chain which is rare in the world.
Until 2006, Pakistan was one of the most efficient producers of yarn around the world because it possessed better technology than India, China or Bangladesh. But, Pakistan’s textile industry halted its upgrade, and its technology is now older than all the three regional countries. Consequently, the last 18 months have been a nightmare for the energy intensive spinning and weaving industry of Pakistan due to high power tariff and energy shortages. Despite the recent power tariff reduction of Rs3 per unit, the spinning industry is reportedly still facing problems. Around 110 spinning units are still closed down.
Cotton’s role in Pakistan’s economy
Cotton and its value added products chain contribute about 57 per cent to Pakistan’s annual export income. Besides, cotton provides livelihood to 1.5 million farming families and jobs to about 40 per cent of the country’s labour force. In view of its contribution, cotton is often called the life-blood of Pakistan’s economy.
Considering this, the government in 2004 created a Ministry of Textiles to deal with this sector exclusively. Since then there has been a lot of rhetoric about shifting the textile sector from commodity to specialty, value addition, skills and vocational training programmes, establishing textile cities, model garment factories, modern textile laboratories, textile research institutes and special economic zones to facilitate export specific textile industries. However, the export of Pakistan’s textiles, despite subsidies and concessions to the textile industry has continued to decline in the country’s overall exports.
Largely due to high cost of doing business, global recession and subsidies given by the competing countries to their industry, Pakistan’s textile sector has remained stagnant over the last decade. Taking stock of the situation, the government announced the Second Textile Policy 2014-19 on February 15, 2015. This policy aims at making textile sector more competitive, robust, goal-oriented and sustainable. The policy envisages to double textile exports from $13 billion to $26 billion per annum in the next five years. Converting more primary raw materials into value-added product, increased productivity and quality will be the prime focus of this policy.
Pakistan’s textile exports have reduced by 14 per cent over the last six months, despite the second Textile Policy. If this trend is allowed to prevail, it could lead to a reduction of $3.5 billion in exports by the year’s end. Earlier cotton crop failure in Punjab had resulted in $1.5 billion loss to farmers.
According to a new report from the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), demand from overseas reuse and recycling market for used textiles from the UK has dropped significantly. The report said that the market for used textiles (clothing and non-clothing excluding carpets and mattresses) has experienced an apparent turning point. The last few years saw substantial growth in exports, accompanied by large price rises and reports of an influx of new entrants into the market.
However, market conditions were said to have now changed, with demand from overseas markets stalling in 2014, and now falling. WRAP also found that prices and revenues from exports have been falling since 2013/14.
According to WRAP the textiles and clothing industry is the 5th largest contributor to the UK’s carbon footprint and that simply extending the life of clothes by an extra nine months of active use would reduce the carbon, water and waste impacts by around 20-30 per cent. It was also claimed that providing 1 ton of clothing for direct reuse e.g. donate to a charity shop or sale through eBay can result in a net GHG saving of 11 tons of CO2 equivalent.
WRAP’s Textiles Market Situation Report, looked at the market past and present and summarises key trends and highlights opportunities for creating new sustainable end markets in the UK and abroad.
Primark, a cotton field in India has trained 1,251 female smallholders through its partnership with CottonConnect. The initiative, which is being run in partnership with CottonConnect and the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), will be extended by a further six years. This extension will make Primark train around 10,000 female smallholder farmers in India. It is designed to support women from traditionally male-dominated farming communities in Gujarat, India, to introduce sustainable farming methods, improve cotton yields and increase incomes.
Primark said the three-year pilot has already trained 1,251 female smallholders. By year two of the trial, female farmers recorded an average profit increase of 211 per cent, an average yield increase of 12.6 per cent, and a reduction of input costs by 5 per cent.
Moreover, the program has encouraged adoption of more sustainable farming methods - including a 13.5 per cent reduction of fertiliser usage, a 53.5 per cent reduction of pesticide usage, and a water usage decrease of 12.9 per cent.
An initiative called Canopy is inducing apparel brands and retailers to make sustainable viscose sourcing commitments. About 70 million to 100 million trees are felled every year to produce textiles, approximately 30 per cent originating from ancient and endangered forests. Global expansion of plantations for the production of pulp for fabrics has greatly impacted indigenous and forest-dependent communities.
Viscose manufacturers representing more than 60 per cent of global rayon production are now committed to the Canopy campaign. New alternative fibers such as garment waste, recovered fabrics, agricultural residues, and other non-woods can be part of the solution to reduce the pressure on the world's forests. Companies are expanding the scope of their work on alternative fibers and looking to explore whether they can become a replacement for forest fiber.
Six large Chinese viscose producers have committed to end their use of endangered forest fiber. They are committed to eliminating sourcing from threatened forest ecosystems, high-carbon rainforests, and sources where land-grabbing concerns are an issue in the production of their viscose and rayon textiles.
With continued shift in brands’ environmental requirements, incorporating sustainable forest fiber procurement criteria has become a sound business decision. Using endangered forest fabrics is now out of vogue.
The Chinese are investing in the cotton industry in the US. Input costs of cotton production derive mainly from raw materials and energy, both of which are cheaper in the US than in China. China has actively encouraged vertical integration in the food sector as a part of its ‘Go Out’ strategy of overseas capital investment.
Since 2011, China has built up a significant stockpile of cotton as part of its price support operations for its agricultural sector. This has led to higher input costs in China’s cotton processing industry, and with no barriers to the import of yarn (processed cotton) Chinese cotton companies have taken the hint and set up shop where they can access cheaper raw materials, moving plant and machinery out of China.
If China eventually stops price support operations for cotton, then cotton production will inevitably migrate to where it is most efficient and productive. Since 2000, China’s agricultural production – despite solid productivity gains – has not kept pace with domestic demand, meaning that China has gone from a position of approximate net food security to being the largest food importer in the world, with the US becoming the largest single agricultural exporter to China.
Times are tough for farmers in the US cotton belt who are caught in the middle of a storm of changing global demand. Cotton acreage in the US has been declining for years, with 2015 hitting the lowest mark in decades. It has dropped from nearly 15 million acres to less than 9 million acres in just the past five years.
According to Jody Campiche, VP of economics and policy analysis at the National Cotton Council, one of the main issues facing the world cotton market is just a sluggish demand. It boils down to one thing, Campiche said - China. It used to be the largest export market for American cotton. A few years ago, more than 40 per cent of US cotton exports ended there. Last year, it was down to 6 per cent.
A lot of American clothes are made in China, but clothing companies there are relying more and more on cheaper man-made fibers, like polyester. According to the US Department of Agriculture, a big reason man-made fibers are on the rise is growing consumer demand for athletic wear, such as Lululemon and Under Armor fitness apparel. U.S. producers are also facing growing competition from countries, like India and Pakistan.
After an outcry over attempt to rule it out, European commission appears to soften stance on whether it will strengthen its 40 per cent carbon cut. Europe's chief climate negotiator has said he is open to increasing the EU's carbon target for 2030, in a back down by the European commission. Recently, the commission ruled out any increase in the bloc's target of cutting emissions by 40 per cent by 2030 on 1990 levels, sparking an outcry from several countries and green groups.
Meanwhile, ministers and environmentalists said that Europe should be increasing its ambition in light of the Paris climate deal agreed in December, where nearly 200 countries pledged to pursue efforts to keep temperature rises to 1.5C. That was a much tougher goal than the existing 2C goal which Europe's 40 per cent cut is based on.
The EU director of climate strategy, Artur Runge-Metzger, responded to the criticism that the question of the level of ambition for 2030 is open, as long as it is a binding EU target of at least 40 per cent domestic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990.
Coats is launching a range of advanced composite fibers which can be processed into fabric form and then used to mould strong, but lightweight, parts for industries including automotive and aerospace.
The range Synergex has high levels of hybrid fiber integrity and performance. It can be processed into fabric form using many technologies including commingling and twisting. The carbon and nylon commingled yarn delivers a perfect balance between strength, weight, performance and also recyclability. The composite fibers can be embroidered directly into complex shapes and the final composite parts can be metal pressed.
Coats is the world’s leading industrial thread manufacturer. The Synergex range is dedicated to developing high performance composite constructions. From carbon processing units to aramid converting lines and fiber glass processing equipment, it is able to commingle and twist carbon fibers and various thermoplastic fibers. This enables the manufacture of flexible thermoplastic prepegs which produce advanced thermoplastic parts for the wind, automotive, aerospace and sporting goods sectors.
Synergex is a ground breaking new product range which will revolutionise composite technology across a wide range of industries. The pioneering thread and yarn expertise has created an innovative product that can accelerate current manufacturing processes. It provides a simple solution for complex forms.
www.coats.com/
"The Society of Dyers and Colourists (SDC) organized a half-day seminar ‘Clean and Green Garment Processing’ in Mumbai. It was aimed at promoting green practices in the garmenting industry throgh innovative methods and efficient use of machinery, equipments nd labour. The event witnessed attracted many big names from the garment processing and fashion industry."
The Society of Dyers and Colourists (SDC) organized a half-day seminar ‘Clean and Green Garment Processing’ in Mumbai. It was aimed at promoting green practices in the garmenting industry through innovative methods and efficient use of machinery, equipments and labour. The event witnessed attracted many big names from the garment processing and fashion industry.
In his keynote address of Harish Punjabi, Director (Marketing), Trinity Services Bd, stressed not to taking the planet for granted use resources carelessly. “This is an attempt towards the preservation of the environment since climate changes are acute, unpredictable, and posing big challenges to everybody on this earth.” He emphasized everything has undergone a change for example, there is less rainfall these days, summers are hotter, pollution is high. “The entire planet is facing a threat and we need to stop procrastinating and work for the improvement of the environment,” he said adding, “Today we are addressing the way to use resources, reduce affluent and bring efficiency and sustainability in the entire spectrum of things we are involved in. We need to find solutions and bring innovation in our working methods.” He said the garment industry is keen to address issues concerning climate, inspired by the old-fashioned and harmful practices. However, these initiatives should not be limited to any industry or corporate but be taken seriously by every industry and individual to promote clean and green environment.
The seminar was the first-of-its-kind conducted by SDC in the garment processing industry. Also present on the occasion were: Ravichandran, Director (Technical and Business Development) Atlantic Chemicals, Jaydeep Umalkar, Marketing Manager, SF Dyes, Sidharth Wilson from Spykar Jeans and Aniket Satam , Proprietor, Brand Aniket, among others.
V R Sai Ganesh, Secretary SDC EC and General Manager, Atul Limited, while addressing the audience said: “The efforts to encourage clean and green practices by SDC and garment processing industry are commendable. Having a galaxy of industry stalwarts on one platform discussing the need to bring transformation in the working methods established in the Industry is heartening. Garmenting industry is huge and has a huge impact on nature owing to its use of natural and artificial resources. The need of the hour is conscious utilisation of goods and machinery. The use of organic products can help bring sustainability in the environment.
Ganesh pointed out that water usage is high in garment processing industry and its effective use can help to save the environment. The industry needs to adopt innovative methods for water treatment and limited disposal of affluent. Recycling is another area where the industry needs to focus on.
Also discussed at the seminar were topics like costing and how to make costing of the product viable to manufacturer and end users while accommodating green practices.
