FW
Turkmenistan aims to further raise foreign investments and introduce new technologies, creating the most favorable conditions for investors in its textile industry. Over the years of independence, cotton fiber processing has increased from three per cent to 51 per cent in the country.
Currently more than 70 enterprises produce cotton yarn, cotton, terry, denim, knitted fabrics and knitwear in Turkmenistan.
Cotton yarn production in the country increased 2.4 times from 2000 to 2015, cotton production rose four times, and export of textile products 3.2 times.
Turkmenistan features in the world’s top ten cotton producing countries. A problem Turkmenistan has not been able to vanquish is that the country’s textile sector has not been able to establish strong and stable textile export relations with European countries. More than 70 per cent of the country's textile products are exported to the US, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, China and Baltic countries. Turkey is also a significant investor in Turkmenistan.
Turkmenistan’s textile industry mainly centre on cotton production. Out of the more than 70 textile enterprises, 32 are cotton spinning and weaving mills, seventeen are garment factories, followed by seven silk enterprises and a few wool processing, knitting and other companies.
Exporters of the textile value-added sector in Pakistan have warned of street agitations if sales tax refunds are not done on time. Apparently sales tax, custom rebates, and DLTL claims of exporters have been held up for years. Exporters say a sum amounting to Rs 350 billion has yet to be disbursed.
They also say any further increase in sales tax on the export sector will ruin the nation’s exports. They want a speedy disbursement of all held up payments of exporters, revival of the zero rated tax regime, the no payment no refund system, and an incentive package for the export sector.
Exporters want the tax net to be broadened and to include retailers, shopkeepers and many others who earn huge amounts of money but pay no taxes. They say the aim should be to work toward revenue generation than to punish and penalise already registered taxpayers like exporters who already pay taxes at all levels.
On September 11, 2015, the prime minister had committed to announcing an incentive package for exporters in his meeting with them in Islamabad.
Finance minister Ishaq Dar, in his budget speech 2015-2016 at the National Assembly, had promised disbursing the export oriented sectors’ refunds till the May 31, 2015 period, by August 31, 2015.
Source Africa will take place for the 4th time in Cape Town this year. The event will bring together manufacturers, buyers, suppliers and services providers in one major integrated event, enabling international and African buyers to view and explore an extensive array of products and services from Africa.
Source Africa will promote African manufacturers to both regional and international buyers, with the aim of increasing market share for the continent as well as developing regional trade between African countries.
Meanwhile, Enterprise Mauritius (EM) will lead a major delegation of 39 enterprises to the Source Africa Trade Show this year. The main objectives behind their participation are to maintain their visibility as the ‘Preferred Next Door Partner’ and to boost exports to South Africa. Companies will be showcasing a wide range of products ranging from knitwear, T-shirts, polo shirts, jeans, high-end suits and accessories. In addition to participation in the trade show, Enterprise Mauritius will be organising a fashion show on 8 June to showcase the ‘Savoir Faire’ of Mauritian manufacturers.
Latest International Textile Machinery Shipment Statistics (ITMSS) report from the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) shows, shipments in some of the textile machinery segments experienced declines in 2015. Deliveries of new short-staple spindles for example fell by nearly 8 per cent from 2014 to 2015. Shipped long-staple spindles and open-end rotors meanwhile decreased by 61 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively. The number of shipped draw-texturing spindles fell by 26 per cent and shipments for new circular knitting machines by 6 per cent year-on-year. By contrast, deliveries of shuttle-less looms increased by 14 per cent in 2015 and shipments of flat-knitting machines rose by a massive 52 per cent.
ITMSS report covers six segments of textile machinery, namely spinning, draw-texturing, weaving, large diameter circular knitting, flat knitting and finishing. The 2015 survey was compiled in cooperation with over 140 textile machinery manufacturers, representing a comprehensive measure of world production. According to the ITMF, this number does not include the numerous Chinese companies that are represented by the so called ‘District’. Therefore, the amount of participating companies is likely to be around 200.
Swedish company Re:newcell has developed a technology that makes it possible to take waste from the textile industry and from it produce new pulp. Such a pulp is called dissolving pulp, and is today made from trees. Dissolving pulp is mainly used to manufacture textile fiber materials such as viscose or lyocell. Until today it has not been possible to make new high quality textiles from recycled fabric.
With the company’s newly developed technology, old textiles such as jeans or T-shirts can be converted into new textile pulp. Such Re:newcell pulp is then used to produce new clothes.
The global textile demand is currently some 90 million tons per year. Natural materials such as cotton and viscose represent only about one-third. The remaining fibers are mainly oil-based materials such as polyester, elastane and nylon.
Being able to increase the amount of natural materials by extending the life of already available resources is a top priority both among consumers and among big fashion companies. Until now, it has not been possible to recycle cotton into the quality that the fashion industry demands, but with Re:newcell pulp this becomes possible.
Re:newcell has started construction of its demonstration plant, where a completely new way of recycling cotton will revolutionise the fashion industry. The factory is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2017.
Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) claims falling productivity levels and rising infrastructure costs in the Kingdom’s garment sector could put the country at a disadvantage with its neighbouring competitors.
A statement released by the association said labour productivity in the garment and footwear sector fell 14 per cent between 2011 and 2014, according to March data from the International Labour Organization. GMAC then claimed the decline appeared to have continued into 2016.
When asked how GMAC reached that conclusion, Secretary General Ken Loo said that they don’t see any improvements or significant changes in the industry. But he acknowledged there was no data yet to show a continuation of the decline.
GMAC said it has been in talks with the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training to launch a campaign to improve labour productivity in the sector, which employs roughly 700,000 workers.
Meanwhile, Miguel Chanco, lead ASEAN analyst for the Economist Intelligence Unit, said Cambodia losing business to its low-cost competitors was a threat. GMAC in its statement also said the sector continued to battle with rising infrastructure costs, such as electricity and transportation, forcing factories to look elsewhere.
Chinese investors are considering expanding their presence in the Russian textile industry. The move is expected to take place through Chinese financing of new production facilities within Russia and the relocation of existing China textile plants to Russia.
A key focus of the plant transfers would be Siberian and Russian regions bordering China – the two countries share a huge land frontier, the world’s sixth longest. One benefit for Chinese textile manufacturers is that they can escape tightening China environmental regulations, which have forced the closure of many non-compliant factories.
The interest of Chinese investors in the Russian textile industry is associated with huge benefits for Russia and will allow new technologies to be brought to the industry and an increase in the level of its productivity. The majority of workers at these plants will be Chinese.
Chinese investors plan to own plants producing a wide range of textile products in Russia. And they want to create backward and forward linkages through the acquisition of Russian companies, enabling them to make textile supplies and clothing within Russia, making use of Russian fiber and cotton processing capacity.
Chinese investors are acquiring textile plants and setting up industrial facilities not only in Russia but also in other countries of the world.
Bangladesh plans to end hazardous child labor by 2021 and all forms of child labor by 2025. There are 3.4 million children involved in various forms of employment around the country. Of them, about 1.7 million fall into the category of child labor.
Over the past few years, about 1,00,000 children, earlier engaged in hazardous labor, have been rehabilitated. A life-cycle approach with focus on childhood will be adopted. Employers are being motivated to stop child labor. The school system will be made more congenial and children will be given importance in social security programs. Right now parents feel educating a child is of no use and it is more profitable to put them to work. Though it would be difficult to remove child workers from the enormous informal sector, parents have to be rendered economically able in order to bring an end to child labor.
The media will be called upon to raise awareness in this regard. While there are people taking a stand against child labor, they have no hesitation in employing children to do their domestic work.
Budget allocations will be made for various programs aimed at ending child labor. Removing child labor will be a priority in the seventh five-year plan.
Asics Corporation has outlined its sustainability strategy till 2020.The company achieved its 2015 sustainability target of reducing Co2 emissions by 43 per cent, water consumption by 50 per cent, and solid waste emissions by 17 per cent per pair of shoes.
Asics is one of the first companies to adopt the Apparel and Footwear International RSL Management Restricted Substances List, a global standard used by brands and suppliers to help establish chemical management knowledge, set basic compliance levels, and provide a common base for analytical testing.
Asics is a global sporting goods company. Its targets for 2020 include five per cent absolute Co2 reduction from direct operations and 10 per cent reduction of Co2 impact per pair shoes made by Tier I footwear factories compared to 2015 levels.
Asics is a Japanese company. The name is an acronym from the famous Latin phrase Anima Sana In Corpore Sano, which translates as A Sound Mind in a Sound Body.
Asics shoes, apparel and bags are produced in a wide assortment to meet the needs of men, women and children. Asics products are filled with technological designs and features. Running is one focus for this brand as Asics produces products for training, volleyball, wrestling, track and field, cheerleading and field sports.
Global clothing brands must take responsibility for the millions of workers in Asia who are poorly paid by suppliers and ignored by governments, said a campaigner for higher wages in the region, ahead of an International Labour Organization (ILO) conference.
Asia accounts for more than 60 per cent of the world's garment production, with the industry employing more than 15 million people directly, most of them women.
Workers deserve a living wage because the minimum wage set by most Asian countries is inadequate to keep them out of poverty, said Anannya Bhattacharjee, a coordinator with the Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA), a supply chain lobby group.
According to Bhattacharjee, the complexity of the supply chains is often used as an excuse for brands having no control over paying a living wage. But brands have so much leverage with governments and suppliers, and they have the power to set prices, she said.
Higher wages in China, the world's largest clothing exporter, are driving brands worldwide to seek cheaper alternatives in countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Suppliers in these countries are under enormous pressure to reduce costs and produce garments as quickly as possible.
