FW
To prevent over-dependence on a single market, and to make the most of trade agreement advantages, Vietnamese textile and garment businesses are looking for new material suppliers beyond China and India is on the radar. Vietnam feels the material available in India for textiles and garments is of high quality and diverse. Moreover, under the Asean-India free trade agreement, the two sides are committed to reducing taxes for many kinds of goods, including textiles and garments. This offers Vietnam ideal conditions to import from India.
While Vietnamese businesses are good at weaving and sewing, they are weak at dyeing. And Indian companies are good at it. Therefore, the two sides should cooperate in this field. Over the last decade, the Vietnamese textile and garment sector has gradually decreased its dependence on China. A decade ago, Vietnam imported 75 to 80 per cent of its textile and garment materials from China. By 2014, this figure dropped to about 45 per cent. India has replaced China to become the second largest cotton supplier. Fabric imports from India have grown 60 per cent.
Textiles and garments are among Vietnam’s key exports, and diversifying material supply sources is one of the measures domestic businesses have taken to ready themselves for new opportunities from the upcoming trade agreements.
Companies like Ashton Apparel having a manufacturing base in Kenya are positive about making a quick move into the world’s apparel export market because of the better price they can offer. Ashton Apparel, for instance is already witnessing a turnover of over $100 million a year by supplying denim to biggies in the global market like H&M, Walmart and others. The company is now contemplating increasing the production capacities as well as factory workforce from 10,000 to 14,000 by the end of next year.
Factors in favour of growth
Kenya's apparel industry, valued at $330 million a year, according to the Kenya Association of Manufacturers is still small compared to its competitors with an estimated 30,000 workers against the $23 billion industry in Bangladesh that employs 4.2 million people. In Kenya, the industry comprises only six per cent of the small manufacturing sector, according to the World Bank.
But with adequate government intervention and industry friendly policies are helping the players promote their export potential. The government has introduced a hefty new subsidy, this year slashing the cost of power from Ks18 ($0.20) a kilowatt hour to Ks 9 to woo investments in the segment from textile manufacturers. The government is certain that the sector can also create 300,000 jobs opportunities if the country can take advantage of the opportunity of grabbing a larger slice of the global clothing market, estimated by the International Textile Manufacturers Federation to amount to $1.5 trillion.
ITMF is one of the fast-expanding apparel manufacturing companies in Kenya that exports to Europe. While the ITMF says factory wages reach $500 a month along China's coastal rim ($250 in the interior), monthly salaries in the same sector in Kenya are $120-$150. The death of more than 1,100 workers in the 2013 collapse of a garment factory in Bangladesh is also pushing global buyers to re-evaluate their sourcing options. Though Bangladesh emerged as the second-biggest clothing manufacturer after China and quickly overtook competitors in China, Indonesia and Vietnam, the issues like fire and building collapse are putting a question mark on their production and infrastructure facilities.
Unlike Bangladesh, African countries also have duty-free access to the US apparel market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). Both jurisdictions have duty-free access to the EU, so African countries still tend to be outcompeted there. Industry leaders such as ITMF’s Vice President Jas Bedi are also lobbying for a 15-year extension to Agoa when it comes up for renewal next year.
Combating competition from low cost Ethiopia
Kenya also faces considerable competition from Ethiopia. Although 46 Asian manufacturers visited Kenya this year keen on setting up manufacturing base in the region to serve large US buyers such as PVH and VF, both of which want to expand their African operations—only one is in serious talks with Kenya. If the proposed $500 million deal comes off, the textile manufacturer will source geothermal energy at the site, making overheads even cheaper. But the rest of the visiting party was more taken by Ethiopia, where energy costs are the equivalent of Ks3 a kWh and labour costs are at least half those in Kenya. The government in Ethiopia has also set up functioning business parks for factories.
The Kenyan government aware of the advantages Ethiopia can offer. And it is putting in efforts to woo buyers to source from Kenya, indicating the government's high-level support for boosting the sector. Also Ethiopian workers are not used to working in apparel factories contrary to Kenyans, who are expert clothes makers. Also the next business park in Ethiopia would only be ready by 2017. An opportunity - Kenya’s export industry must explore and take hold of before it’s too late.
Insqin, a new polyurethene coating technology from Bayer MaterialScience, will be advertised in an unusual way. The campaign is aimed at textile manufacturers and clothing brands. It will set Insqin apart from the competition by emphasising its visual appeal rather than concentrating on its environmental-friendly properties.
Insqin is a turnkey solution for a new generation of polyurethane coated fabrics. It is a waterborne coating (as opposed to solvent-based technology). Waterborne fabric coatings are more environmentally sound than solvent-based ones. While competitors have tended to focus on sustainability in their communications, the campaign for Insqin centers on the concept of inspiration. Insqin will be positioned as an inspiration to technology.
The coating results in more brilliant colors when water splashes the fabric. So the campaign features bold images of models being splashed with water. The campaign is handled by Doremus and FleishmanHillard.
Bayer MaterialScience is among the world’s largest manufacturers of high-tech polymer materials. It’s a global market leader in polyurethanes. The company develops and produces the components for rigid and flexible foams as well as for solid materials. Diverse applications range from mattresses and ski boots to insulating materials for refrigeration appliances and buildings. The company also develops and produces polycarbonates.
https://www.materialscience.bayer.com/
The US has proposed to determine whether Indian carpets are produced by forced or indentured child labour, while it added cotton and sugarcane to the already existing child labour produced list from India. The US Department of Labor has announced its initial determination with regard to Indian carpets as it released the sixth edition of the 'List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor' as mandated by the US Congress.
Stakeholders have been asked to submit their comments on the proposed determination by January 30, 2015. The US also added cotton and sugarcane to the already existing child labour produced list from India, which now has crossed the two dozen mark. According to the report released by US Department of Labor more than two dozen Indian items are produced by employing child labour. These include bidis, brassware, bricks, carpets, cotton, embellished textiles, fireworks, footwear, garments, gems, glass bangles, hybrid cotton seed, incense, leather goods and accessories, locks, matches, rice, silk fabric, silk, thread, soccer balls, stones, sugarcane and thread/yarn.
Nearly 11 goods made with child labour have been added to the sixth edition of the said list. These are garments from Bangladesh, cotton and sugarcane from India, vanilla from Madagascar, fish from Kenya and Yemen, alcoholic beverages, meat, textiles, and timber from Cambodia, and palm oil from Malaysia. Electronics from Malaysia has been added to the list for being produced with forced labor.
www.dol.gov
Welspun India plans to invest Rs 2,500 crores to expand manufacturing capacities over the next year. The home-grown textile major has set up the country’s largest spinning facility at Anjar with an investment of around Rs 800 crores. The new facility will be instrumental in doubling Welspun's spinning capacity to over 3,00,000 spindles, thereby fulfilling nearly 70 per cent of the fine and super fine yarn requirements of the company. Welspun will invest in modernisation and expansion of its towel manufacturing capacity at its Vapi unit in Gujarat.
The Rs 2,500 crore expansion will be funded through internal accruals and debt. While Rs 700 crores would be contributed from the company's side, the remaining will be raised through borrowings. Currently, export contributes almost 97 per cent of Welspun’s total textile revenue of over Rs 6,000 crores. Its export markets are US, Europe, Japan and Australia.
The Welspun Group has registered a CAGR of 30 per cent over the last decade. It is a fully integrated player within the pipes, plates and coils and the home textiles sector. It also has a presence in other verticals such as steel, infrastructure and energy. In the home textiles sector, Welspun is the largest integrated towel manufacturer in Asia.
www.welspunindia.com/
Almost 30 per cent of the cotton used by Marks & Spencer is grown to Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) standards. These products include underwear, school uniform, dresses and bedding. The Better Cotton program covers environmental, social and economic criteria, and is said to earn for the farmer by reducing input costs and helping them manage crops better.
In addition, 7,000 workers from M&S suppliers and their local communities in Kenya and South Africa have taken part in the ‘Emerging Leaders’ training program which takes place in factories, farms, and in local communities, with the support of M&S suppliers. The training aims to give participants the skills to take charge of their own situation, encouraging them to start entrepreneurial projects in the workplace, at home or in their own communities.
There is also a scheme by which customers can donate used or unwanted items of clothing when they shop at an M&S store. The clothes are then collected and distributed to a local charity for recycling, re-use, or re-sale. The clothes exchange program has been launched in 20 M&S stores in the Czech Republic and 17 stores in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile Marks & Spencer is examining the potential for sourcing from Myanmar. Gap and H&M are so far the only two apparel retailers to have gone on record as saying they are sourcing from Myanmar. However concerns have been raised in some quarters about human rights abuses as well as social and environmental issues in the country’s garment manufacturing sector. Child labor is also a major concern in Myanmar.
www.marksandspencer.com/
Insqin, a new polyurethene coating technology from Bayer MaterialScience, will be advertised in an unusual way. The campaign is aimed at textile manufacturers and clothing brands. It will set Insqin apart from the competition by emphasising its visual appeal rather than concentrating on its environmental-friendly properties.
Insqin is a turnkey solution for a new generation of polyurethane coated fabrics. It is a waterborne coating (as opposed to solvent-based technology). Waterborne fabric coatings are more environmentally sound than solvent-based ones. While competitors have tended to focus on sustainability in their communications, the campaign for Insqin centers on the concept of inspiration. Insqin will be positioned as an inspiration to technology.
The coating results in more brilliant colors when water splashes the fabric. So the campaign features bold images of models being splashed with water. The campaign is handled by Doremus and FleishmanHillard.
Bayer MaterialScience is among the world’s largest manufacturers of high-tech polymer materials. It’s a global market leader in polyurethanes. The company develops and produces the components for rigid and flexible foams as well as for solid materials. Diverse applications range from mattresses and ski boots to insulating materials for refrigeration appliances and buildings. The company also develops and produces polycarbonates.
China's exports of sewing machinery were up 9.26 per cent for the first eight months of 2014. Export of various sewing machines registered year-on-year growth, in which the export of industrial purpose automatic sewing machines, common household sewing machines and single-head embroidery machines registered high growth rates.
In the first eight months of this year, China’s export of spare parts for sewing machines was up 9.91 per cent and 18.02 per cent year-on-year. From January to August, China’s export of clothing machinery dropped moderately by 1.20 per cent in quantity terms but rose 16.22 per cent in value terms in which the export of ironing machine and pressing machine dropped significantly in terms of both quantity and value, while the export of stretching machine and cutting machine grew substantially.
In the fourth quarter of 2014, China’s export of sewing machinery will continue to face both opportunities and challenges. From the macro environment point of view, the situation of global trade will keep improving, and the steady growth of the domestic macro economy and the effect of policies will offer strong support to exports of the sewing machinery industry. However, there remain uncertainties in the recovery of global economy and the development of emerging economies will encounter more risks. Therefore, it is predicted that exports will remain steady in the fourth quarter but may be flat or drop slightly compared to the second and third quarters.
The eighth edition of Apparelsourcing Paris will commence from February 17 to 20, 2015. India, which is increasing its representation with more than 30 companies, experienced positive response at previous event held in September event. They were able to book orders and establish new contacts as buyers showed interest in more summer items in February. Indian manufacturers excel at the mid-range entry level with an offer which is becoming more and more varied, particularly in mixed casual wear, bottom pieces for men, women and children, sportswear and accessories such as scarves and bags in leather and re-embroidered fabrics, in which they are real craftsmen, targeting the top of the range.
The organisers expect year-on-year increase of 20 per cent in the number of exhibitors and 135 manufacturers are anticipated to display their products from the major manufacturing countries, including Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Turkey and the Mediterranean rim, represented by Tunisia.
At the fair, Apparelsourcing Paris will roll out a high-quality, multi-range offer, highlighting solutions for supporting the production of branded and designer collections. Launched in September 2012, Fashion on Display is another showcase made up of mannequins dressed in exhibitors’ pieces, selected from all the product ranges by the fair’s artistic directors. The selected exhibitors benefit from exposure to visitors who have made Fashion on Display part of their program, as pieces are displayed with all the relevant information.
www.apparelsourcing.messefrankfurt.com
Oeko-Tex has created a new certification for textiles that give priority to human ecology and that are additionally produced in a sustainable and socially responsible manner. The certificate is called Made in Green by Oeko-Tex. The Oeko-Tex association is based in Switzerland.
The Made in Green by Oeko-Tex label offers textile companies a tool for communicating to consumers about their commitment to sustainability directly on the product. Brand suppliers, manufacturers and retailers can have their production plants assessed, analysed and audited by Oeko-Tex institutes.
Using the given test number and a QR code, the textile and manufacturing process can be uniquely tracked. With the established Oeko-Tex Standard 100 and the latest range of Oeko-Tex services, the textile and garment industry now has at its disposal a complete up-to-date package which can specifically support companies on their path to improved product safety and sustainability.
The Oeko-Tex Standard 100 is a globally uniform testing and certification system for textile raw materials, intermediate and end products at all stages of production. The certification covers multiple human-ecological attributes, including harmful substances which are prohibited or regulated by law, chemicals which are known to be harmful to health, but are not officially forbidden, and parameters which are included as a precautionary measure to safeguard health.
A tested textile product is allocated to one of the four Oeko-Tex product classes based on its intended use. The more intensively a product comes into contact with the skin, the stricter the human ecological requirements it must fulfill.
https://www.oeko-tex.com/
