FW
Perhaps for the first time Maharashtra may overtake Gujarat in terms of cotton production. Usually, Maharashtra produces around 60 to 70 lakh bales and around 20 lakh bales are sold to Gujarat. But this time, there could be a bumper production because of good rains.
Maharashtra’s cotton crop is expected to improve from 78 lakh bales in 2015-16 to 87 lakh bales in the current crop year. Gujarat may produce some 80 to 85 lakh bales. Incessant rains brought relief to the water-stressed Marathwada region, which had been suffering from drought for the past four years.
Total cotton supply for the crop season 2016-17 is estimated at 398 lakh bales, while domestic consumption is estimated at 309 lakh bales, thus leaving an available surplus of 89 lakh bales. Meanwhile cotton samples are being displayed to potential buyers in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam. A team visited Chinese buyers, traders, ginners, warehouses and provided samples of their cotton, which was tested by Chinese experts. This was followed by a visit by Chinese traders and ginners to farms.
China has been the biggest importer of cotton from India until now. The cotton season begins from October 1. However, because of the rains, there could be a delay of 15 to 20 days for the new arrivals to take place.
"The 32nd International Apparel Federation (IAF) convention in Mumbai took off yesterday with a welcome address by Rahul Mehta, IAF president and president of the Clothing Manufacturers’ Association of India (CMAI). In his welcome speech, Mehta spoke about the huge potential India has to increase its market share in global apparel trade. He spoke about how China has gradually reduced its focus on labour intensive industries including textiles and apparel throwing up huge opportunities for countries like India."
The 32nd International Apparel Federation (IAF) convention in Mumbai took off yesterday with a welcome address by Rahul Mehta, IAF president and president of the Clothing Manufacturers’ Association of India (CMAI). In his welcome speech, Mehta spoke about the huge potential India has to increase its market share in global apparel trade. He spoke about how China has gradually reduced its focus on labour intensive industries including textiles and apparel throwing up huge opportunities for countries like India.
India-China looks to stronger trade ties
And as part of consolidating its relationship further with the Chinese industry, Clothing Manufacturers ‘Association of India (CMAI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles (CCCT) for extending co-operation with each other in new business and exchange of trade and data related co-operation for mutual benefit. The MoU was signed by Rahul Mehta, for CMAI and Jiang Hui Chairman, CCCT.
This MoU is expected to benefit both countries apparel sector in the long run. The two parties CMAI and CCCT look forward to promoting their mutual interests in expanding economics and trading relations. With this MoU, they could pursue the goal of promoting and expanding communication in the areas of promotion of trade and investment cooperation, exchange of ideas for developing the sector, promote participation in trade fairs being organised by either, support business partnership search for members as a match maker, trade delegations and training etc. As Mehta points out, “While organizing trade fairs, both of us would co-operate in associating new clients, visitors and associated supply chain participants to the forum for the benefit of the apparel trade.” Mehta adds “Among other objectives of this cooperation, we feel we may be able to sell our garments in China, as the cost of manufacturing is becoming expensive in there.”
Hui adds "This comes as a framework to regulate mutual cooperation and work to promote apparel business in our countries. We also look forward to importing more raw materials from India among other objectives. However, we don't see import of readymade garments going up significantly, as China for high end garments will continue to manufacture within the country and for low end, low priced garments we have arrangement with ASEAN countries.”
The opening session was followed by a detailed presentation on India’s textiles industry its future potential by Wazir Advisors. In his keynote address on India-EU Trade Relations: Future Perspectives. Francesco Marchi, Director General, Euratex said “The Indian government should start negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement with the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) for the benefit of the Indian apparel sector. It is hard to imagine the success of the FTA without UK, post Brexit. UK continues to be textiles manufacturing hub contributing 29 per cent of the entire apparel trade in the EU. 22 per cent of India’s exports to the EU go through UK.”
Experts forecast India’s textiles industry will double in five years from the current $110 billion ($68 billion domestic and $42 billion exports) to $220 billion by 2021. Speaking on the occasion, Managing Director and CEO of Mafatlal Industries, Aniruddha Deshmukh said e-retailing was going to be the next growth opportunities in the Indian textiles and apparel sector in the next few years. Since metros are overcrowded with retailers with high overheads, there would be more retail business opportunities in Tier II, III cities. Companies have better opportunity of expansion though franchise route.
Highlighting India’s potential and growth prospects, Ashok G Rajani, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) hoped India would reach its target of $30 billion in apparel exports over the next three years.
The two day IAF convention being held in Mumbai started yesterday. It is seeing the participation of 250 Indian brands and manufacturers and industry representatives from about 20 countries. Top industry stalwarts and biggest brands, companies and people associated with the apparel industry from across the globe are attending.
The theme of the convention ‘Insights into new opportunities’ was very clearly carried forward by all four sessions on day 1, with topics ranging from sourcing and supply chain management, to trade policy and from retailing in India to technology. The sessions highlighted free trade agreement between India and the EU, lower costs through better cooperation between buyers and suppliers, opportunities in countries in Africa and in Russia, the dizzying growth of the market in India and the disruptive power offered by robotics and computing technologies. Harminder Sahni, MD, Wazir Advisors, Knowledge Partners for the convention, while presenting the theme of the convention said, “World must see opportunities in the growing fashion business from $1.7 trillion in 2015 to $2.6 trillion by 2025.” He added, “The key growth drivers should be looked as: emerging economies, increasing consumption and innovations. But the opportunities are worth the challenges being faced. Expectations from suppliers are rising in sustainability, innovations, agility and price and quality.”
The members of the International Apparel Federation appointed Han Bekke (Chairman, MODINT, Netherlands) as the new President. He succeeds Rahul Mehta (Chairman CMAI, India) who has held this position since 2014. The decision was taken at the general assembly of IAF as a part of the ongoing 32nd IAF World Fashion Convention being held in Mumbai.
“I worked hard and tried my best, IAF is like a family, a brilliant team and it has been a mind blowing experience. I cannot find any better person than Han Bekke for the next President.” said Mehta while handing over charge. “I am honored and privileged to take over, I look forward to work with the new team,” said Bekke, the new president IAF.
The other industry leaders nominated to the board were-Ed Gribbin, President of Alvanon Inc (US), elected treasurer, Jiang Hui, Chairman of CCCT (Chinese Chamber of Commerce for Textiles and Clothing) elected a member of the Executive Committee, Faruque Hassan, Senior VP, BGMEA (Bangladesh) and Les Miller, CEO, American & Efird (US) as board members.
Bekke has a long career in Dutch and international fashion and textile industry and has held different leadership positions. Since 2013, he is chairman of the Dutch Trade Association for Fashion and (Interior) Textiles MODINT, a member of IAF. Bekke was secretary general of IAF between 2006-2014 and became its board member in 2014.
The IAF is the world’s leading federation for national clothing and textile associations from more than 40 countries, representing over 150,000 companies and over five million employees. Also, individual companies from industry and retail as well as suppliers to this industry and educational institutes can be a member of IAF.
Brazilian outfit Vicunha Textil would participate in the DenimsandJeans tradeshow at Dhaka in October. To be held from October 5 to 6, the tradeshow ranks among the most famous in the country. Confirming his company’s participation, Thomas Dislich, MD, Vicunha Textil for Europe and Asia, said that in view of the country’s strong potential in the clothing industry, his company’s primary focus was to boost business with Bangladesh. He further said that his company is very proud of flying the Brazilian flag in that country and is therefore continuing to underline its pioneering role on the global denim market.
Starting out in 2014 as a niche event, the tradeshow has become the industry’s most favourite get-together venue. The organisers of DenimsandJeans are continuing the successful concept with a total of 28 international companies and staying true to their philosophy of experimenting with new themes.
The theme of the sixth edition of the tradeshow is Vintage Recall. This gels well with the trend predictions from Vicunha of ‘Discovery of the Wild’ and ‘The Dreamers’ where the heritage of the past is expressed freely with a true multicultural spirit. Vicunha is a quality supplier with a high level of fashion expertise and all its products are made of 100 per cent BCI-Cotton (Better Cotton Initiative). The company has been distributing its products to Bangladesh since 2011 and can deliver directly from its warehouse in Colombo.
Since 2015 Vicunha also had its own sales and customer support office in Dhaka. The company will use this additional presence at the tradeshow to maintain direct contact with local clients and to develop its network within the country.
Polygiene has announced a strategic partnership with Fogni. Polygiene is a leader in odor control and freshness technologies in Korea. Fogni is Korea’s leading manufacturer of functional, environment friendly fiber filling for home textiles and furniture as well as bedding for use at home, hospitals and hotels.
The alliance aims to combine Polygiene’s expertise in odor control technology with Fogni’s manufacturing processes to deliver safe, antibacterial and odor-free fiber filling to a broad range of home textiles, bedding and furniture manufacturers to meet South Korea’s growing consumer and commercial demand for healthier mattresses and home furnishings.
The partnership with Fogni gives Polygiene a foothold in the home textile, hospital, hotel bedding, and furniture market. Polygiene looks forward to continued cooperation to introduce odor-free filling for an even wider range of home furnishings, large and small – from mattresses and sofas to comforters and cushions.
Polygiene helps do away with unpleasant odors that can arise from using home textiles and furniture while ensuring a safe, antibacterial environment. Fogni’s collaboration with Polygiene will help make the homes of customers a healthier place to live in.
Polygiene odor control technology with its antibacterial functionality will debut in filler for bedding and sofas that Fogni has provided to well-known Korean brands.
Researchers in England have pioneered a new form of nonwoven material made from yarn. The so-called space cloth, named zephlinear, has a strong potential for use as a smart textile due to its unique structure with space to encase copper wiring, light emitting diodes and more.
Unlike traditional woven or knitted materials, which are made by the interloping or interlacing of yarns, it is made by a newly established technique known as yarn surface entanglement. The name, zephlinear, derives from the merger of two words, zephyr and linear. It was given the nickname space cloth due to its appearance and its e-textile capabilities. It is strongest and most efficient when created from natural yarns, such as 100 per cent wool, hair and wool or silk mixtures, though it can also be made from synthetic yarns.
This is the first nonwoven material made from yarn and promises major benefits for the future of clothing. It combines well with e-textile technologies, such as heated textiles or textiles with embedded LEDs. As a fabric it is very lightweight and flexible, and it retracts back to its original shape well after it has been stretched. It’s expected to help provide people with smarter and more environmentally friendly clothing in the future.
Kolkata-based Ventures won the Grand Jury Award at Premiere Vision 2016 in Paris. The award was for the most outstanding and innovative fabric for the year. This is the first time an Indian company has won a prize for innovation at the trade event held around the world in which professionals from across 120 countries exhibit their products. The fabric presented by Ventures was a creation of hand-painted pearls that are coated and then stitched on to a base, while maintaining the free flowing movement of each individual pearl.
Ventures is a manufacturing export house, established in 1994, with close to 3,000 employees. The company is engaged in export of high value added textile products and garments, specialised embroidery and weaves for some of the top luxury brands in the world. The event in which Ventures participated is mainly divided into six categories: yarns, fabrics, leather, design, accessories and manufacturing.
The Grand Jury was all praise for the company’s creation and described it as magical and totally subtle and said it was possible to imagine it in a range of colors, in various combinations, and figurative motifs. This win has proved Indian handmade craftsmanship can be a strong contender in the global market.
One may have seen women dressed in silk, wooly collections or cotton attires taking to the catwalk in a fashion show, but this was for the first time that an entire collection of knitwear was displayed on an Indian ramp. The event was the just-concluded India Runway week Season 7of the Indian Federation for Fashion Development (IFFD) that saw knitwear taking the centre stage.
The event saw models sashaying down the ramp showcasing Deblina and Atul’s (D n A) collection titled Arabesque entirely made up of eco and skin-friendly bamboo yarns. Leaving grand platforms like Amazon, Wills and Lakme behind, IFFD stole the show by becoming the pioneer in incubating and presenting a label with a twist of innovation using knitwear as the sole technique of knitting design into every loop with bamboo yarn Bamboo, which creates only 30 per cent carbon footprint as compared to cotton, is being envisaged as the fibre of next decade.
The show was an interesting mix of full-length dresses knitted in intricate floral motifs and flaunty drapes and fall. The range of shrugs and capes showcased with the contemplating enlarged sleeves and spiral falls in knits stylised the models who symbolised our inner goddesses. The knitwear low crotched pants in filligary motifs couples with the intricate handwork on the entire leg length was a perfect complement for the light weight feather design jacket showcased.
The tempered jodhpuri pants, which came in strategically placed pleats was a riot along with the balloon sleeves floral design knitwear cropped top. Shrug got a new dimension with the enlarged bottom ravelling created in the rose knitwear.
Knitwear slouch pants in floral and peek-a-boo motifs with boxy fit hand knitted structured top was an interesting Arabesque. The floral jacket made in 3D was first of its kind, noticed on an Indian ramp. Show stealer was the final larger than life ‘Elizabeth gown’ that would be a perfect dress for a cocktail party.
An interesting amalgamation of nature’s gift bamboo, skilled by innovation, the designer’s interpretation of motifs and the silhouettes was plainly flaunting to hold ones breath for the entire duration of the show and left one asking for more at the end of it. At the end of it all, one wondered when they would wear apparels made of skin-friendly bamboo yarns.
To contest the moving away from wool production in Australia, European luxury fabric and suit makers have set up Wool Excellence Clubs. They would reward the very best Australian wool producers with top prices. The club, set up by Italian fabric maker Vitale Barberis, has 23 members in all.
The Australian Wool Network is also offering some super fine producers, contracts and premium prices to supply it with wool. All the 23 members in the club have to meet strict conditions, their wool has to be from Saxon Merinos and should have the right elasticity and density. The Tasmanian southern Midlands property of Miena, owned by 91-year-old patriarch Des Manning, is one of the club's exclusive members.
Australian sheep numbers, particularly those of the superfine variety, have fallen sharply in the past 50 years from a high of 180 million in 1970 to a near record low of about 70 million as of today. Many have been lured away from wool farming because of changing demands, the decline in profitability of wool, the increase in production of other fibres and good lamb, mutton and beef prices. The contract with Vitale Barberis is a more lucrative proposition than selling at the weekly Melbourne Wool Auction, with the Italian company offering 20 to 30 per cent higher prices.
With an aim to ensure some compliance including workers' rights, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) is planning to widen its Better Work (BW) program to 225 readymade garment factories of Bangladesh by mid-2017. Besides, other important objectives of the program are to help apparel makers enhance their competitiveness, create brand image and reduce audit burden on the global supply chain, said Louis B Vanegas, Program Manager of BW Bangladesh.
At present, 98 garment factories are registered with the BW Bangladesh program. In all, they employ 201,995 workers. As many as 31 foreign buyers partner with the program, while some 19 foreign buyers including H&M, Gap and PVH source apparel from those units. BW, a joint partnership of ILO and International Finance Corporation, was established in 2009 to improve working conditions, productivity, quality and competitiveness of garment factories in the global supply chains. At present, BW is in operation in seven countries namely Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Jordan, Haiti and Nicaragua and engages 1,300 factories employing more than 1.6 million workers.
