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Bangladesh’s readymade garment exports fell over six per cent in the past five months of the fiscal year. The garment sector’s contribution to the GDP is only 11 per cent, clearly indicating very little value addition. Reasons behind the garment sector’s lower growth include economic recession around the world and pressure from the nation’s currency.
Bangladesh has a target of exporting apparel products worth $50 billion by 2021 but that target looks unattainable because of low valuation and declining global trade. The second biggest apparel exporter globally, the Bangladesh garment manufacturing sector is not having the best of times lately. In the last seven months, 59 garment factories have gone out of business while around 25,900 workers have lost their jobs. Most garment factories are small and medium enterprises and they fail to maintain compliance strictly and pay their workers under the new wage structure. While the country’s apparel exports have taken a hit in recent months those of its competitors are on the rise. The readymade garment sector accounts for more than 80 per cent of the country’s annual export earnings. But the country has lost its market share in global apparel exports by 0.1 percentage point to 6.4 per cent.
Clothing and footwear brands and retailers have dramatically increased their disclosure of information about their supply chains in the past three years. Dozens of brands and retailers are publicly disclosing information about their supplier factories. This has become a widely accepted step toward better identifying and addressing labor abuses in garment supply chains.
Transparency is not a panacea for labor rights abuses but is critical for a business that describes itself as ethical and sustainable. Supplier transparency is a powerful tool that promotes corporate accountability for garment workers’ rights in global supply chains. It is proof that a company knows where its products are made and also allows workers and labor and human rights advocates to alert the company to rights abuses in supplier factories. Information about brands’ supplier factories can help workers gain faster access to redress for human rights abuses.
The US-based Fair Labor Association has taken significant steps to drive supply chain transparency among members. The Dutch Agreement on Sustainable Garments and Textiles has not made supply chain transparency of individual members a condition of membership but requires its members to disclose information about their supplier factories. The United Kingdom Ethical Trading Initiative and the Fair Wear Foundation have taken incremental steps to improve supply chain transparency of their members.
For the third quarter American Eagle Outfitters’ revenue increased six per cent. Same-store sales climbed five per cent. Inventories increased nine per cent. Weak demand in some clothing categories led to price markdowns.
American Eagle Outfitters is known for stylishly relaxed clothing like jeans and athletic apparel. American Eagle Outfitters plans to accelerate its sustainability improvements and become carbon neutral by 2030. The company is committed to carbon reduction, water reduction and the use of more sustainable raw materials. AEO focuses on youth and its optimism toward the future, so building a better world for generations to come is fundamental to its values and purpose. It pledges to accelerate sustainability improvements across its entire organization, and throughout the supply chain, holding itself accountable through the adoption of science-based targets. As a leading retailer, it is dedicated to working across the industry to create systemic changes in garment manufacturing.
Apparel retailers in the US are suffering from a generally grim environment for brick-and-mortar players for several reasons, including a decline in shopping mall foot traffic. US online retail sales jumped 15 per cent last year from the previous year, while retail sales in stores grew only 3.7 per cent. Also consumers own so much clothing that purchases have dropped.
Pakistan’s share of textile and clothing exports in global trade has dropped from 2.2 per cent to 1.7 per cent. Prospective investors are reluctant to make new investment decisions due to the high cost of doing business and the textile industry has lost its technological advantage over its global and regional competitors.
The industry feels a five-year policy for textiles and clothing to attract long term investment will help. Another suggestion is an extension of the duty drawback scheme for five years and an increase in drawbacks every year by one per cent for garments (up to 12 per cent) and made-ups (up to ten per cent). Direct and indirect exporters hope for a long term finance facility for building infrastructure in addition to existing schemes for plant and machinery. Skill enhancement facilities in collaboration with industry and amendments in labor laws to encourage productivity and implementation of social standards are also awaited. Fairtrade, organic and/or responsible concepts in addition to complying with common sustainability standards and certification are seen as giving a competitive edge in Europe and easing market entry. Another area is value addition in producing artificial leather clothing. Another plan is to attract more buying houses to Pakistan.
Artificial intelligence in fashion market is growing at 36.9 per cent globally. Factors such as the availability of massive amounts of data due to increasing proliferation of digital services across the globe, and real time consumer behavior insights and increased operational efficiency are driving the adoption of AI in the fashion industry.
AI integration in fashion plays a crucial role in sales, marketing, and customer-focused purposes. Initial adopters point towards the key impact of technology in improving customer experience and decent growth in company revenue. Elevated customer experience helps the retailer crack entirely new tactics of customer engagement and communication. With AI integration, retailers can precisely spot the customers’ expected needs at precise times and offer the appropriate product to gain a competitive advantage. Several fashion brands are leveraging chatbot to improve the customer experience; Tommy Hilfiger's Facebook Messenger chatbot offers consumers a custom-made and interactive shopping experience than customary online shopping.
Artificial intelligence in the fashion market on the basis of deployment is segmented into cloud and on-premise. Cloud segment leads artificial intelligence in the fashion market. The market for artificial intelligence in fashion by application is further segmented into product recommendation, virtual assistant, product search and discovery, creative designing and trend forecasting, customer relationship management, and others.
An hour-long insightful discussion with Dr. Kater Hake, Vice President for agricultural and environmental research at Cary-based Cotton Incorporated during TexSnips revealed some of the successful management practices adopted by the Australian cotton sector.
Australian production this year for the season ending in March 2020 is estimated to range from 0.7 million to 1.3 million bales. While the quantity is significantly down, quality seems to fall within the expected range. As close to all cotton produced is exported predominantly to Asian countries, quality plays a significant role, with tight range in micronaire.
With increasing labor costs, Australian cotton farmers are effectively utilizing robotics. Hake pointed out that he had seen herbicide sprayer robots that have weather signaling systems in them. The sprayer senses wind directions and temperature and switches on and off enabling good environmental stewardship. As the Australian crop is irrigated, due to government restrictions in water usage, planting is limited to water availability during the growing season.
Australia has no oil crusher for oil; hence, all cottonseed goes to feeding cattle. Interestingly, 25% of the cattle diet is cottonseed, which enriches the quality of meat, catering to high quality export. Resistance management of Bt traits has helped the industry to have control bollworms. While the resistance issue is not a serious concern in West Texas, other parts of the United States face this situation. Some of the agricultural practices such as shallow tillage to disrupt the pupae is helping the Australian farmers, stated Hake.
As the amount of available land in Australia for cotton is limited, with more acreage for cotton here, United States is still the largest and reliable supplier of cotton in the export market. However, cotton growing is expanding to the north and south of traditional growing areas in New South Wales and Queensland, The production systems between the United States and Australia are similar and the two countries can learn and help each other to move the industry forward observed Hake.
The 5th edition of Intex South Asia was a remarkable success with over 3,900 international buyers from over 13 countries attending it. The event was held from November 13-15, 2019, at the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Memorial Exhibition Centre (BMICH) in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The three-day fair connected these buyers with over 220 quality suppliers from over 13 countries showcasing yarns, apparel fabrics, denim fabrics, clothing accessories and allied services, dyes and chemicals at the biggest international apparel textile sourcing show in the South Asian region.
As the largest trade fair of its kind in the region, Intex South Asia welcomed leading and quality textile suppliers from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Taiwan, There were country pavilions from India with 80+ companies, China with 60+ companies, Indonesia Textile Pavilion with 5 companies, Korea Textiles Showcase Pavilion with 28 companies and Taiwan Textiles Showcase Pavilion with 8 companies.
The host country industry representatives such as Brandix, MAS, Hirdaramani, Timex, Star Garments, Emjay International, EAM Maliban, KASH Garments, Marks & Spencer, TESCO, H&M, NEXT UK, Decathalon, George, ASMARA, MGF Sourcing, Regal Calibre, etc. attended the show in large numbers with their sourcing, merchandising and design teams. Overall, the show was attended by 3,920+ leading apparel exporters, sourcing offices, brands & retailers, indenting agents, e-tailers and others from 20+ countries and regions who came to Intex South Asia looking for new products, new suppliers and to gain market intelligence & explore new business and sourcing opportunities in Sri Lanka and other international markets.
Intex South Asia also organised a panel discussion on “Materials, Sustainability & Circularity” which saw top industry leaders from across the region present their views on sustainability processes of the industry in South Asia.
Intex South Asia’s ‘Interactive Business Forums’ always deliver high quality market intelligence to support industry efforts to upgrade, move up the value chain, and better understand intra- regional trade to help manufacturers gain a competitive edge.
This year’s ‘Interactive Business Forum’ was a huge success where for the first time, Cotton Council International (CCI) - also known as Cotton USA - which is the export promotion arm of the National Cotton Council of America (NCC) brough to Sri Lanka the latest in research, highlighting new ideas in technology, fashion, blends, processes, etc. Also presenting for the 1st time at Intex South Asia was ‘Fashion for Good’, providing insights on “Trends & Technological
Textile Innovations; Driving Sustainability in the Textile Value Chain” and its South Asia programme. In the third and last session, the ‘Better Cotton Initiative’ highlighted “Sustainability in Textiles” for a clearer understanding of environmental, social and economic sustainability.
The Q & A interaction afterwards was quite encouraging for the industry professionals (domestic as well as international) who attended the event in large numbers.
The ‘Networking Reception’ organised by Intex South Asia was an event where high-level interactions took place in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. The organisers took this opportunity to celebrate the 5th Edition of their show by felicitating their long term support partners in industry as well as the Boards and Associations through whose support Intex South Asia has grown to become the largest international apparel sourcing show in the region.
By the end of the 5th edition, it was 20% growth recorded in the buyers’ footfall and 15% increase in exhibitors as compared to last year.
India’s new textile policy will envisage positioning the country as a fully integrated, globally-competitive manufacturing and exporting hub. The 10 year policy will entail the strategy and action plan for the country's textile and apparel sector. The formulation of the new policy has been under consideration for some time now. It envisages the creation of an additional 35 million jobs.
The existing textile policy was framed about 13 years ago. Since then, the industry has undergone various changes on the domestic and international front. The domestic textile industry has seen large-scale modernisation and technological upgradation in the last decade and faces new challenges.
India has set up institutional mechanisms to enable the textile industry achieve its full potential of production, exports and employment. One is a Knowledge Network Management System (KNMS) which will facilitate exchange of knowledge between academia, the farming community and the industry on the productivity of natural fibers and diversification of their by-products. The KNMS will cover jute, silk, wool and cotton. Another is a synergy group on manmade fibers which will formulate policy interventions to enhance the growth and competitiveness of the manmade fiber industry in India. India has a great chance to capture the market for manmade fibers that’s been vacated by China.
Swiss textile innovator HeiQ has added bio-based thermo-functional polymer products to its HeiQ Smart Temp family for a full range of intelligent thermoregulation triggered by body heat. The newly introduced products add dual-action cooling at contact to the already successful dynamic evaporative cooling technology.
Launched in 2011, HeiQ Smart Temp was a pioneer in intelligent thermoregulation technology for textiles. Continuous refinements of this product range have allowed HeiQ to be the go-to solution provider as its technologies offer not only industry-leading dynamic evaporative cooling performance, but also ease of application and a friendly price point for brand partners. The latest breakthrough with cool touch technology allows consumers to touch, feel and understand the technology at point-of-sale, and ensures thermal comfort at all times by providing the benefits of cool at contact and continuous evaporative cooling. It is currently optimized for use on home textile products such as mattress ticking and bed linens.
There are three new products in the range that all provide instant cooling from a bio-based thermo-functional polymer, and each product is optimized to perform on specific items such as mattress ticking or bedding accessories. By adding a new category of products to the range, HeiQ now has a broad range of intelligent thermoregulation solutions for the home textile market.
Asia Pacific Rayon is the first integrated fiber manufacturer in Indonesia that has the capabilities to produce viscose based on wood derived from sustainably-managed plantations. Trees are harvested within five years for the next cycle of planting and harvesting. Targeting both domestic and international markets, the company’s production across the entire value chain -- from raw materials to resources, technology and design creation – takes place in the country.
Viscose is the third most commonly used fiber in the world. Viscose has been hailed as a sustainable alternative to oil-based synthetic textiles such as polyester, acrylic, nylon and spandex.
Introduced in the late1800s as an alternative to silk, the plant-based fiber, also known as rayon, is inexpensive to make and applicable in many ways, including for casual wear items, denim, socks, bed linen, towels, face masks and wet wipes. Viscose wrinkles easily and may shrink when washed, but it boasts great qualities as well, including being soft, smooth, lightweight and breathable, featuring excellent color retention and absorbency, draping well and being versatile by blending nicely with other fibers.
Globally, China leads the market of viscose fiber producing countries, with India and Indonesia following behind in second and third position.
