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Welspun India has said that the two cases filed against it in the US over bed sheets supplied not being 100 per cent Egyptian cotton are at preliminary stages and it cannot be determined whether they will even be permitted to proceed as class actions at present.
Admitting that two putative class action complaints have been filed against it, Welspun India said in a BSE filing that they have not been certified for class treatment by relevant courts. This is required under the US law before any action may proceed on a class basis. No motion to obtain such certification has been made yet, it added. ‘Accordingly, we believe that these actions are only in the preliminary stages, and that it cannot be determined at present whether they will even be permitted to proceed as class actions. Consequently, we believe that these actions cannot be determined to be material at this point in time,’ the company observed.
The central allegation in both complaints is that certain Welspun sheeting products were not 100 per cent Egyptian Cotton, the filing said. ‘Neither complaint challenges safety nor fitness of these products. Both complaints allege that the amount in controversy exceeds $5 million. However, none of the complainents seek a specified amount of damages or provides a methodology for determining damages, the company said.
Pakistan’s cotton has a high level of contamination. Contamination is one of the critical issues spinners face in their efforts to maintain first grade yarn quality. The contamination proportion is 20 gm per bale, while the international market standard is only 2.5 gm per bale. Contamination produces low quality lint cotton, yarn and manufactured goods. Generally, the quality of cotton is determined by its color, fiber length, strength and finesse. One of the important factors which make the quality of raw cotton low is contamination.
Pakistan’s cotton has a large impurity content. It has a high level of foreign matter, trash water contents and is considered poor by international standards. These impurities have been reducing the beneficial effect of improved cultivation and impairing not only the quality of raw cotton but also the subsequent processes of textile products.
One way to avoid contamination is to start picking at the time when fully matured bolls are opened. A number of impurities like pieces of leaves, immature and empty bolls, stems, flowers, sticks and weeds, trash and dust mix with cotton due to carelessness of pickers. Cotton is the most important cash crop of Pakistan. It is a major source of foreign exchange earnings and also provides livelihood to millions of people.
Researchers have developed a textile capable of harnessing energy from both sunlight and wind. A fabrication strategy merged two different lightweight, low-cost polymer fibers to create energy-producing textiles. The first component of the textile is a micro cable solar cell, able to gather power from ambient sunlight. The second is a nano generator capable of converting mechanical energy into electricity.
Under ambient sunlight, and in the presence of wind blowing or human motion, the textile swatch was able to charge a small commercial capacitor up to 2V in one minute. The textile could continuously power an electric watch, charge a cell phone, and even drive water-splitting reactions, releasing hydrogen.
After optimising individual components, researchers worked on optimizing the overall textile. To maximise its energy output, they had to perform a systematic optimisation of the individual electrical connections and overall patterns between the photovoltaic and tribo electric components. After the system was optimised, the team put together a plain-weave fabric that included a four-centimeter-square tribo electric textile and a 1 x 4 centimeter photovoltaic textile, mixed with wool fibers.
Overall, the fabric doesn't generate a lot of electricity. But it has the advantage of being able to generate electricity where it may be needed.
Inditex first-half operating profit increased eight per cent in the six months through July. Revenue rose 13 per cent in the first weeks of the third quarter, excluding currency shifts, slowing down from growth of 16 per cent in the first half. Inditex operates Zara and other brands through more than 7000 stores in 91 countries. The company has prioritized online expansion over store openings. The strategy also includes bigger stores in key markets, as part of an attempt to maintain growth after revenue increased eight-fold since the company’s 2001 initial public offering.
Inditex is the world’s biggest clothing retailer with several brands under it viz. Zara, Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho, Zara Home and Uterqüe. Inditex has a number of textile design, manufacturing and distribution facilities in Spain. The company is also benefiting from the steady pace of economic growth in Spain, where the retailer gets about a fifth of its sales. Every part of Inditex’s fashion business is vertically integrated.
Currency fluctuations hurt Inditex on two fronts as the strong dollar raised costs for the 35 per cent of garments the retailer sources from Asian countries. Meanwhile the weakness of the Russian ruble, British pound, Mexican peso and Turkish lira eroded sales growth.
Garment exports from Bangladesh to India rose 30.86 per cent year-on-year in fiscal 2015-16. India allows duty-free benefit to almost all Bangladeshi goods except 25 alcoholic and beverage items. However, there is a 12.5 per cent countervailing duty on apparels from Bangladesh. Garment exporters also face provincial taxes and non-tariff barriers in India.
Yet, garment exports from Bangladesh to India have been rising since last year thanks to western retail giants operating in India. US retail giant Walmart and Swedish retailer H&M have opened stores in India in the last few years. Also many Indian companies that have retail chains in India have tied up with foreign retailers to grab the market. Foreign retailers buy a lot of garment items from Bangladesh for Indian customers, especially for the rising middle class.
Knitwear from Bangladesh is popular in India because of low prices and good quality. Garment makers in Bangladesh are offered a stimulus package for exporting to new destinations like India, Japan and China. In fiscal 2015-16, Bangladesh exported goods worth $689.82 million to India, which is 30.82 per cent higher than the previous year. The amounts were $527.16 million in 2014-15 and $456.63 million in 2013-14.
Dumping of Chinese textiles into Peru has threatened hundreds of thousands of jobs in Gamarra, Lima’s historic garment district. Over 200,000 people have lost their jobs while another 400,000 people are at risk of losing their mode of employment in the garment district located in La Victoria.
Peru’s clothing manufacturers cannot compete with cheap Chinese imports. This is because they allege that they are being unfairly priced to squeeze out competition. Lima Chamber of Commerce (CCL) director Carlos Posada has claimed that 4,900 Peruvian textile exporters closed down between 2012 and 2015 resulting in Peru’s textile exports falling 30 per cent. Now, the CCL wants that Peru’s trade commission Indecopi to investigate alleged dumping of Chinese textiles.
A CCL study of shirts from China sold in Peru and the United States found out that the same garments were priced on average four times more in the US, and as much as 88.3 per cent more. While that does not meet the legal definition of dumping as defined by the World Trade Organization, Posada believes it warrants an investigation.
The WTO defines dumping when goods are sold in an export market at a higher price than in their home market. If the clothes being imported into Peru are bought at prices lower than in China, then Peru would be entitled under its free trade agreement with China to slap import tariffs on those products.
In 2013, Gamarra faced a similar crisis. It was then that Indecopi responded by invoking anti-dumping statutes to tax imports on five specific product codes.
The Brexit vote has fashion designers, including some Chinese designers based in Britain, worried about the future of the sector. The designers are established brands, with many employees, and exporting to Europe, China and America. However, their greatest fear is of the UK leaving the European Single Market, the tariff-free marketplace. Seventy per cent of UK fashion sales go to Europe, with the balance to China, America and the Middle East, so access to Europe is important for their businesses.
Some Chinese designers produce in China, so the fall in the value of the sterling might raise costs a bit. Sourcing fabrics in Europe has become more expensive for them. Nevertheless the cheap pound has meant the UK has seen a bounce in sales in luxury and retail businesses since the vote, which is benefitting fashion.
Organisers of fashion weeks have been reassuring designers that the vote to leave the EU doesn’t mean an end to international partnerships and collaborations. They want to keep attracting talent and drive home the message that the UK is open to outsiders and is a place of business opportunity. London is a major hub of international designers.
American retailer The Limited has come out with a line of premium denim, which offers one universally flattering fit for every body shape a woman can have. The denim collection offers fabulous fit every woman longs for when shopping for and wearing denim. The fabric provides just the right amount of stretch while conforming to a woman’s unique shape and complementing her body perfectly. The soft hand of the fabric provides a level of comfort that is unparalleled in the market. The denim collection comes in a multitude of washes and leg shapes.
The retailer also has a recycling program which will help keep denim out of landfills. People can drop off any brand of denim at any of The Limited’s retail stores. This will be recycled into raw materials for other products such as insulation, carpet padding, and even fiber for new apparel. This reduces waste, preserves material resources, protects the environment, and enables sustainable consumption. The system aims to keep apparel in a closed loop production cycle where these goods can be reprocessed and reused again and again.
The Limited offers high quality, private label apparel. Design-driven, fashionable styles include suitings, sweaters, dresses, denim, outerwear, and accessories.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged the US to give duty-free access to Bangladesh garment products. This would also be vital for the US in helping increase employment and promote empowerment of more women, she said. This would also help to establish a modern society in her country, she observed.
The Prime Minister was speaking at a luncheon meeting hosted by the Business Council of International Understanding (BCIU) in New York . Giving proof, she said that 52 other countries including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, China, Japan, India and the European Union have provided Bangladesh with duty and quota-free access to their markets. Bangladesh used to enjoy duty-free access to the US market for around 5,000 items under the preferential trade scheme. But these trade benefits were revoked in mid-2013 after the Rana Plaza building collapse and Tazreen Fashions fire which left more than 1,200 people dead.
The suspension, however, did not directly hit Bangladesh’s garment exports, as garments were not among the products that enjoyed the facility. The Prime Minister also urged US businesses and investors to become Bangladesh's partner in trade and development.
Despite a turbulent economic and political environment, the upcoming Paris fashion show from October 10 to 14, organised by Messe Frankfurt has sent out reassuring signals of doing a good business. Exhibitors who would be part of the show with their new fashion ware and innovative products have already sensed a certain buoyancy in the market. Messe Frankfurt France had a significant drop in visitor numbers in the last few weeks. Considering the circumstances, the show recorded a limited decrease of 4.6 per cent. Visitors to the upcoming show seem to be more international. Around 80 per cent visitors are expected from abroad.
However, number of visitors coming from countries that recently been subjected to visa restrictions would be low. In contrast, the American continent, represented by Colombia, Argentina and Mexico posted good results that were up by 5 per cent. This demonstrates how attractive the show is. And this is what helps them to draw in customers across the globe.
The trend is confirmed by the good results from Australia (+20 per cent). Northern and Eastern Europe have as a whole increased visitors (from +13 to +20 per cent on an average) following the example of Norway, Finland, Denmark, the Ukraine, Romania, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Austria and Switzerland to name a few. Following increase in number of French visitors, this show confirms the interest shown by domestic buyers with a significant rise of +11 per cent.
