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Special envoy of the African Development Bank (AfDB) on Gender, Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi has thrown open a new project within the Fashionomics initiative. Launched last year under her leadership, Fashionomics is a B2B website dedicated to fashion and textiles in Africa that is ready to launch. All fashion enthusiasts in New York, London, Milan or Paris agree that African fabrics are inspiring more and more famous designers. Fashion is not just about design or inspiration; it’s also a multi-million dollar industry that creates millions of jobs including in textile and clothing manufacturing.
In Africa alone, the fashion industry could generate €15.5 million in the next five years. Of course, that’s a far cry from the €1.3 billion that it generates worldwide. Based on these figures, the AfDB’s Office of the Special Envoy on Gender launched the Fashionomics initiative during the Bank’s 2015 Annual Meeting in Abidjan.
This initiative will offer the Bank’s support to Micro, Small and Medium-sized businesses (MPME) in the fashion and textile industry in Africa. The Bank has already invested €10 million in Madagascar, in the support of Project for Investment Promotion (PAPI), focused on MPME in these industries and in particular on women and young people.
US officials are of the view that consumption of Turkish cotton will hit a 10-year high next year as the country's cotton industry invests in new technology. Turkish mills have been investing in new machinery and technology to increase quality and lower costs in order to get ahead in the very competitive international textile trade. Thanks to increased sales in Europe, as well as thawing of relations with Russia, the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) bureau in Ankara saw exports of Turkish textile rising.
The country’s domestic cotton consumption is expected to rise to 6.89m 480 pound bales in this fiscal (2016-17), This sees a climb of 115,000 bales from the previous session. This is also 285,000 bales above the USDA's official 2016017 forecast.
Political instability among many of Turkey's neighbours is forcing the industry to focus on competing in the European markets. Talking of political instability, it is an atmosphere of war in Syria, Iraq and Ukraine and also stalling of exports to Russia after the Turkish downing of a Russian plane in November 2015, it is gathered. Meanwhile, the mills in the country had to lower their margins to keep their market share in the European market to continue operating. Also, the bureau is quoted to have said heavy production will shrink imports but by less than expected, due to robust demand. The bureau saw imports at 4.02 million bales in 2016-17, down from 4.13 million bales in the previous season. This is some 216,000 tonnes above the USDA's official forecast.
On the imports side, imports from the US will fall due to anti-dumping legislation. Some time ago, after a lengthy anti-dumping investigation, the Government of Turkey had announced three per cent anti-dumping duty on the US cotton imports starting from April 2016. But all said and done, the US will remain the top seller to Turkey.
Multibrand fashion group VF Corporation sees Asia –especially China – as the primary driver of growth in the years ahead. VF’s brands include Vans, Kipling, Lee and The North Face. The plan is to continue to focus on locally relevant innovation, further invest in demand creation and leverage its scale and capabilities to fully capitalise on the growth opportunities and take market share.
China has seen consistent, strong growth from the country’s three largest brands: The North Face, Lee and Vans. In particular, Lee in China has experienced consistently strong growth over the years for the company, with product innovations driving recent success.
VF brands currently maintain a presence in more than 170 Chinese cities. And, that number is expected to increase in coming years. The corporation sees growth potential in a market with increasing affluence, a burgeoning middle class and increasing sophistication and demand for quality jeanswear. While jeans ownership is about eight pairs per person in North America, in China, it is still less than one pair per person.
The company sees a competitive edge in market, particularly for Lee. VF launched Lee as the first owned business in China in 1995.
Textech Expo Bangladesh 2016, organised by CEMS Global, the biggest and oldest international textile and apparel technology and machinery show will be held in Dhaka from August 31 to September 3. Textech provides a perfect B2B platform for manufacturers/distributors for direct interaction with potential buyers of apparel and textile machinery in Bangladesh. As many as 1,050 exhibitors from over 23 countries along with important industry associations are scheduled to participate.
Also participating are India’s Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (Texprocil) and Basic Chemicals Pharmaceuticals & Cosmetics Export Promotion Council (Chemexcil) along with members. Assocham, with the support of Ministry of Commerce, will be setting up an exclusive India Pavilion. Being the only exhibition of its kind in Bangladesh, Textech Bangladesh is attended by top executives, CEO’s & operation/production managers from textile and garment industry, professionals from textile, spinning, weaving and knitting and dyeing mills among others.
Textech Expo Bangladesh 2016, organised by CEMS Global, the biggest and oldest international textile and apparel technology and machinery show will be held in Dhaka from August 31 to September 3. Textech provides a perfect B2B platform for manufacturers/distributors for direct interaction with potential buyers of apparel and textile machinery in Bangladesh. As many as 1,050 exhibitors from over 23 countries along with important industry associations are scheduled to participate.
Also participating are India’s Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (Texprocil) and Basic Chemicals Pharmaceuticals & Cosmetics Export Promotion Council (Chemexcil) along with members. Assocham, with the support of Ministry of Commerce, will be setting up an exclusive India Pavilion. Being the only exhibition of its kind in Bangladesh, Textech Bangladesh is attended by top executives, CEO’s & operation/production managers from textile and garment industry, professionals from textile, spinning, weaving and knitting and dyeing mills among others.
Nagpur-based Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR) hopes to release nearly 15 varieties of desi cotton seeds in March next year. This may be pitched against Bt cotton. This year, CICR, the apex central government research agency for cotton, began trial cultivation of 15 indigenous varieties of cotton seeds, the results of which will be out by December. In April this year, US-based Monsanto, which makes genetically modified Bt seeds, had threatened to quit the Indian market. Then, CICR had informed the government that it is coming up with Indian varieties which can substitute for Bt cotton.
Trials are currently underway at various locations throughout the country. The seeds were recommended for specific regions depending on the suitability. The seeds have similar qualities as compared to Bt seeds in terms of staple length and other features, said a source.
The new varieties are expected to increase the seed choice for the cotton grower other than the genetically modified Bt cotton. The Indian variety could be available at much cheaper rates. At present, CICR offers seven varieties of indigenous cotton seeds and 5-6 types of American variety. The introduction of nearly 15 new Indian varsities will increase the choice for farmers, said a senior official at CICR.
Monsanto has withdrawn an application seeking approval for its next generation of genetically modified cotton seeds in India. This technological breakthrough would have potentially pushed up crop yields. Monsanto’s decision to withhold introducing the technology could hurt Indian cotton farmers. The new seed variety helps fight against weeds, which sap the cotton crop of vital nutrients and depress yields.
An earlier technology introduced by Monsanto and approved by India in 2006 helped transform India into the world's top producer and the second-largest exporter of the fiber as output jumped fourfold. But this technology is slowly becoming vulnerable to bollworms and, as any technology, has a limited shelf life.
Monsanto is the world's biggest seed maker and it is objecting to a proposal that would force it to share its technology with seed companies in India. The company is also at loggerheads with India over how much it can charge for its genetically modified cotton seeds, costing it tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue every year.
Monsanto also protested a decision that it should share its proprietary technology with its technology partner in India. More than 41 million GM cotton seed packets were sold last year, earning royalties of $97 million for Monsanto.
For the first quarter of the current fiscal Vardhman Textiles’ net profit has risen 23.5 per cent year-on-year, the company will maintain its operating margins around 18 to 22 per cent in FY17. Vardhman Textiles, based in Ludhiana, is one of India’s largest manufacturers of yarn. The company reported a subdued top line growth in the first quarter. Top line growth was two per cent. This was due to a decline in the price of yarn and fabrics, the two biggest business segments for the company, by almost four per cent. But efforts are being made to compensate by an increase in productivity. Profits were better mainly due to a reduction in depreciation and better results of its subsidiaries Vardhman Acrylics and Vardhman Yarns & Threads. In the subsidiaries sewing threads has shown better results. There has been a reduction in depreciation. There was a little bit of productivity improvement and therefore production was a little higher in yarn.
Vardhman which began operations in 1965 has diversified into yarn processing, weaving, sewing thread, fabric processing, acrylic fiber manufacturing and into special or alloy steels. Over the years the group has expanded its spinning capacities besides adding new businesses.
Organic Cotton Round Table (OCRT) is a global stakeholder platform that supports and brings together the organic cotton community to be inspired mobilized, and equipped to act. In 2012, after many years of steady growth, production of organic cotton began to decline. Yet demand for organic cotton fiber continued to grow. OCRT was incepted in response to the decline.
Growers, processors and vendors of organic cotton operate in a highly autonomous market environment. On one hand this autonomy allows independence and a market-driven approach to address sustainable development, but on the other hand there is no central structure to support the organic cotton community.
The primary objective of the OCRT is to find ways to collaborate in order to grow the sector, share best practices at every stage, build supportive partnerships, and improve supply and livelihood security. OCRT aims to eliminate the barriers to growth in organic cotton production and consequently enable the current growth in demand from consumers to be met and capitalized on.
Many individual efforts are being made to advance organic cotton, and the OCRT brings stakeholders together to grow the sector and create a result that is greater than the sum of its parts. The 2015 Organic Cotton Round Table was held in Mumbai. Almost 200 producers, manufacturers, brands, retailers, and support organizations came together to share news and views on organic cotton.
This year’s conference will be in Germany.
Leading fabric innovator, Nanotex that provides nanotechnology-based textile enhancements to apparel, home and commercial/residential interiors markets and Cotton Incorporated, the research and promotion company of US cotton producers together have launched Nanotex Dry Inside technology for cotton apparel. The patented technology aims to enable effective moisture transfer away from the skin, eliminating dampness and chaffing in 100 per cent cotton apparel while at the same time maintain the additional comfort aspects of garments made from natural fibre.
According to Nanotex, the processing technology enables cotton to effectively compete with synthetic fibre fabrications in the active and athleisure markets. Tests on the technology at the Laboratories of Cotton Incorporated, showed that Nanotex Dry Inside outperformed 100 per cent polyester and untreated cotton in one-way moisture transport and cling.
The technology applies an application to the back of the fabric allowing moisture to move away from the body through invisible channels. Once it moves from the inside to the outside of the garment, the moisture spreads and evaporates more easily leaving the wearer dry and comfortable without clogging the fabric weave or compromising the look, feel or breathability of the fabric.
Nanotex comprises has 11 products -- Resists Spills, Releases Stains, Neutralizer and Coolest Comfort, and includes important enhancement of the integration of a DNA marker to protect against counterfeiting. The brand has more than 100 manufacturer partners, including home textiles and contract and residential interiors markets besides branded apparel and outdoor gear.
