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Chinese yarn companies are gaining a foothold in the lucrative US market because the Pacific trade agreement led by the US that excludes China. China, is now setting up shop in the US and boundaries are increasingly getting blurred between high and low-cost manufacturing nations. With years of rising wages, higher energy bills and mounting logistical costs, and new government quotas on cotton imports, textile production in China is becoming unprofitable. Simultaneously, manufacturing costs in the US are becoming more competitive.
Beijing and Washington resumed trade relations in the 1970s and since then, the US has mostly run a trade deficit. This is because Americans consumed billions of dollars in cheap electronics, apparel and other goods made in China. However, a rise in labour and energy costs in China is impacting the country’s competitiveness in manufacturing. Manufacturing wages adjusted for productivity have almost tripled in China over the last decade, to an estimated $12.47 an hour in 2014 from $4.35 an hour in 2004, as per the Boston Consulting Group. Also, some types of manufacturing is shifting to low-cost countries such as India, Bangladesh, and Vietnam, due to rising costs in China.
There are at least 20 manufacturers in the Carolinas now that includes Keer and Sun Fiber.
US scientists are not very hopeful about total eradication of the Cotton Leaf Curl Virus in Pakistan. However, they are optimistic about controlling the menace by developing a virus-resistant crop to mitigate huge losses. Pakistan’s cotton production may double once the virus is controlled. The disease can cause major losses to Pakistan’s cotton industry threatening both economic stability and food security. The US is working with Pakistan to develop crop management techniques that will mitigate the effects of this devastating disease, especially as it affects small farmers. The project is focusing on capacity building, investment in infrastructure including green houses and breeding houses for extra generation.
The virus keeps mutating and needs continuous monitoring. It’s possible to check it by rotating two crops including wheat and cotton. Quality seeds based on germination and purity can make a difference by increasing cotton production and building up resistance. Management practices also go a long way.
Co-ordinated efforts are needed to combat the virus and develop disease-resistant cotton varieties that can save millions of cotton bales from falling prey to the virus every year. Cotton production in Pakistan can be maximised by rotating different crops, using the best pesticides and adopting different methods of cultivating and picking the crops.
African Premier is a Chinese manufacturer of African fabrics. It brings women worldwide latest designs of African dresses and fabrics, wax prints and a range of lace accessories. The range features beautiful designs and patterns. All sophisticated laces are made of 100 per cent cotton fabric with stunning embroidery and designs. Customers can choose from champagne lace fabric, yellow floral style cotton lace, double French organza gold lace, exclusive Swiss voile lace and several other beautiful designs. The Swiss Lace range is a premium range for women who want to be the center of attraction during special occasions.
The new collection features fabrics with geometrical figures, animal designs, chocolate patterns and other elegant designs. Women can choose fabrics from a range of new styles and patterns and can personalize their wardrobes.
The company also has a good range of wax fabrics made of the finest materials. These include: cotton royal blue tassels, square woven kente, purple star patterns, Nigerian cotton fabric and several other exotic designs. African Premier opened in 2003 and it has outlets in the UK and Africa. It is the largest manufacturer and supplier of African textiles with a huge range of customised fabrics in its portfolio. It keeps bringing new designs, prints and patterns from time to time.
For filling gaps in demand and supply Ethiopia has been importing cotton. The new strategy will make recommendations for increased domestic production that will reduce and eliminate reliance on imports. It will set new standards for cotton and is expected to devise a way out to overcome price fluctuation on the global market and its unforeseen impact on Ethiopian cotton growers.
Currently, 136 textile and garment factories, at medium and higher scale, are fully operational. A delay in rainfall has cast doubts on attainment of cotton target for 2015-16. A team will make an assessment in the north and south western parts of Ethiopia, based on which it will re-estimate the expected cotton harvest for 2015-16.
The main problems are: rising demand, complexity of increasing number of textile industries and the supply value chain. Other problems are quality and quantity of cotton inputs as well as gaps in the value chain of input production. The experiences of other African countries with genetically modified cotton will be assessed. The UK is funding a 15-year cotton strategy for Ethiopia with the intent of having a new institutional arrangement for cotton development.
CEMATEX, the European committee of textile machinery manufacturers has shortlisted six finalists from around 30 entries for its first ITMA Sustainable Innovation Award. Three of the finalists are vying for the ITMA Industry Excellence Award while the remaining three are competing for the ITMA Research & Innovation (R&I) Excellence Award.
The award recognises textile and garment manufacturers who have leveraged on technological innovations to advance business sustainability that benefit people, planet and profit. After much deliberation, the judges have picked Berto Industria Tessile SRL (Italy), Gebrüder Otto GmbH & Co. KG (Germany) and Levi Strauss & Co. (USA), who have worked closely with ITMA 2015 exhibitors to introduce innovative solutions to their production process or products.
For R&I Excellence Award – Masters, the three finalists are Jan Vincent Jordan, Institut Für Textiltechnik, RWTH Aachen University for 'Development & Assembly of a Test Bench for the Analysis of Magnetic Weft Insertion', Jenifer Schneidereit, Hochschule Niederrhein for 'Sustainable Water Use in Textile Wet Processing: Development of a List of Improvement Measures for a Self-Assessment Tool for Factories' and Moniruddoza Ashir, Institute of Textile Machinery and High Performance Material Technology, TU Dresden for 'Development of Hybrid Woven Structures for Lightweight Applications'.
The winners of the ITMA Sustainable Innovation Award will be announced at the ITMA 2015 Gala Dinner held at the La Pelota in Milan on November 12. The winner of the Industry Excellence Award will receive a cash prize of €10,000 and a trophy, among other rewards. A cash prize of €4,000 will be given to the winner of the R&I Excellence Award.
www.itma.com
California’s cotton crop, fourth largest in the nation, is expected to witness a decline of 24 per cent this year. California farmers grew cotton on 1.65 million acres in 1979 and 667,000 acres in 2005, but only expect to harvest 160,000 acres this year. It is the lowest acreage farmed for cotton since the economic slowdown. Once booming business is now suffering because of economic upheavals and drought situation.
Farmers grow two kinds of cotton in the area, Upland and Pima. Upland is the common cotton used in a variety of clothing products, while Pima is the fancy, high-priced premium product. California’s crop was almost entirely Upland until it was overtaken by Pima in 2007. However, Pima production has also on the decline since 2011. Pima is expected to be around 75 per cent of this year’s cotton crop.
California grows 90-95 per cent of the country’s Pima cotton, which is convenient, since the state dominates high-end apparel manufacturing. The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporations says Los Angeles tops nationally in apparel overall and at the second position in textile manufacturing. Southern California produces 75 per cent of the high-end denim worn worldwide.
Overseas textile and apparel importers are re-negotiating their contract terms to get higher realisation from Indian exporters with the rupee’s depreciation. New contract orders are being deferred till Indian currency stabilises. Since China's yuan first depreciated on August 11, the rupee has dipped by over 3.37 per cent to trade at 65.50 against dollar. The Indian currency has depreciated by 5.28 per cent so far this year.
Higher realisation of export driven products from India without raising their prices is the result of a depreciating rupee usually. Therefore, global importers are able to re-negotiate their price of the product for which they had contracted earlier.
Rahul Mehta, President, Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) says that this is generally the case and new buyers start re-negotiating contract terms and prices. A new clause is being inducted by overseas buyers normally in the contracts, which keeps re-negotiation of price open. However, he says, old customers have not intervened yet. Mehta added that clients who had negotiated apparel import terms had deferred their orders by two-four weeks, which may even prolong until the rupee stabilises.
Meanwhile, new overseas customers are fixing up apparel price in dollar terms with a condition of the rupee to remain at the current level. Mehta added that if there are sharp currency fluctuations, the price would be re-negotiated. President of Century Textiles and chairman of the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (Texprocil), R K Dalmia, feels that depending upon currency fluctuations in competing country, the Indian textile exporters would benefit accordingly.
Directional looks and new brands that would help men get their fashion right this Spring, were abundant at the recently concluded Las Vegas trade show, held from August 17 to 19, 2015. Major shows and others such as MAGIC Marketplace, Project, Pooltradeshow, Capsule, Agenda and Liberty Fairs had everything, from designer fashion to streetwear and lifestyle looks, and loads of newness.
The trade show giant, renamed several shows including Project Women’s (formerly ENK Vegas) and The Collective (formerly MAGIC Men’s). Upcoming brands showcased on its re-launched innovative Workroom space, while Pooltradeshow returned to the main floor adjacent to Project Women’s and offered buyers easier access to its artistic, emerging collections.
Tommy Fazio, President of UBM/Advanstar, Men’s, said they have accomplished what they set out to do two years ago, which was to create the largest platform of men’s, women’s, designer, contemporary and advanced contemporary, all under one roof and make it a seamless shopping experience. He added that they accomplished it for the first time this year.
For Project, the spotlight was on denim and the show included denim brands such as Hudson Jeans, Diesel and AG Adriano Goldschmied. Also, its inspirational BLUE denim installation created in collaboration with ISKO was a hit. A panel discussion ‘Long Live Denim’ was a part of the show.
Fazio said that the California lifestyle was a big trend and many brands were adding swimwear to their collections. Newness was the key theme at Liberty Fairs, Capsule and Agenda at the Modern Assembly shows.
High power costs is making a negative impact on Raymond's manufacturing unit based at Udwada in Valsad, which is one of the largest worsted suitings plants in India. The company has now said to have approached the Chief Minister of Gujarat Anandiben Patel, requesting the state government to resolve the issue.
The power rate is so high that the company is deliberating over whether to carry out the Rs 300 crores expansion plans, which was planned for its Gujarat unit. The company may now invest in its unit in Maharashtra. The company began facing issues after to source electricity at low rates after the restriction on open access in parts of the state, especially South Gujarat. Open access allowed consumers to procure power from independent power producers using government's transmission lines paying charges towards the same. The Gujarat government last year decided not to allow open access citing high load on transmission lines.
According to Raymond, the power cost increased by 50 per cent since 2006. The per unit cost increased from Rs 5.40 in 2006 to Rs 8.70 now, which also heavily increased the manufacturing cost. The power supplied by Gujarat distribution companies' costs around Rs 8.10 per unit, while the cost of power purchased from open market is around Rs 5 per unit.
www.raymond.in
Hong Kong's future of fashion in the limelight these days and though the city is a commercial hub, so far its efforts to become a creative hub have not yielded much success. Most local designers and companies carve a niche by themselves or are backed by investors. However, initiates, such as ‘The Mills Pitch Day’, funded by the Nan Fung Group hopes to change that. At the inaugural edition of the event, eight entrepreneurs pitched their ideas to impress industry judges and bag a HK$200,000 grand prize. Shai Levy, Founder of Seventy Eight Percent, won the prize which, apart from the cash, included, business development opportunities and a mentorship programme.
Fabio Piras, judge and course director at London's Central Saint Martins college said that Levy was the most convincing of all. He had a business, a real product, was at a stage where he needed a lot of investment, and winning this would allow him to have connections beyond what he can achieve by himself.
The competition, which is part of a larger initiative from the conglomerate to support fashion start-ups in Hong Kong hopes that the city may create an atmosphere of innovation that once existed in Hong Kong during its heydays as a manufacturing hub. Cherry Chan, The Mills Executive Director said that they wished to propel businesses forward in the space of technology and fashion and believed that Hong Kong needed such initiatives.
