FW
Australian fashion brands have made some headway in improving supply chain transparency. About 35 per cent companies now publish full direct supplier lists. Just four cents from every dollar Australians spend on clothing makes it back to workers in garment factories. An increase of one per cent in the price of clothing would be enough to give garment workers a living wage. These are the results of a report by Baptist World Aid.
The report assesses a company’s labor rights management system against 33 criteria. The tests cover three stages of the supply chain: the raw materials, inputs production and final manufacturing; higher grades reflect companies with labor rights management systems that would reduce worker exploitation if properly implemented.
Of the 61 Australian fashion brands listed, eight scored an F rating, including Bras N Things, Decjuba, Ally Fashion and Wish Designs. A number of brands well-known in Australia received either a D or a D minus. Roger David performed poorly. It failed in marks on its policies, worker empowerment and raw materials. Betts, Boohoo, and Valleygirl all received D or D minus marks.
Other brands improved their performance considerably, including Cotton On, which received an A and topped the list for Australia-headquartered companies. Fast fashion brands such as Kmart, Jeanswest and Target all scored either a B or B plus.
"The office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) released the 2018 National Trade Estimate (NTE) annual report, which highlights the foreign trade barriers American exports face. Robert Lighthizer, US Trade Rep., said the President is fully committed to addressing unfair foreign trade barriers through tough enforcement and the negotiation of new agreements that increase US exports and support high-paying jobs for all Americans. The government intends to use every available tool to ensure Americans are treated fairly. As per the annual report, there is a huge probability of amendments in existing trade agreements."
The office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) released the 2018 National Trade Estimate (NTE) annual report, which highlights the foreign trade barriers American exports face. Robert Lighthizer, US Trade Rep., said the President is fully committed to addressing unfair foreign trade barriers through tough enforcement and the negotiation of new agreements that increase US exports and support high-paying jobs for all Americans. The government intends to use every available tool to ensure Americans are treated fairly. As per the annual report, there is a huge probability of amendments in existing trade agreements.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh is the United States’ 6th largest supplier. As per recent data, the US imported $5.27 billion worth of apparel and textile goods from Bangladesh in 2017. In the same year, the US goods trade deficit with Bangladesh was $4.2 billion, a 15.6 per cent decrease over 2016. US goods exports to Bangladesh were up 61.7 per cent to $1.5 billion, and US imports from Bangladesh were down 3.8 per cent to $5.7 billion. As far as tariffs are concerned, the average most-favoured nation tariff rate for goods going to Bangladesh is 14.78 per cent, and the maximum applied rate is 25 per cent. As one of the concerns, the US wants to see Bangladesh eliminate the double fumigation of its imported cotton.
China
China has sustained its lead as far as the biggest exporter to the US amounting to $38.7 billion worth of goods. China, as per Trump administration, accounts for more than half of the overall trade deficit, which is why the country has been the target of much of President’s trade ire. In 2017, the US goods trade deficit with China was $375.2 billion, an 8.1 per cent increase over 2016. US goods exports to China were up 12.8 per cent to $130.4 billion, and US imports from China were up 9.3 per cent to $505.6 billion. Steel and aluminum tariffs are aimed at curbing China’s overcapacity in steel, and then there is the $60 billion in tariffs over concerns with China’s intellectual property and technology transfer actions. As a counteractive measure, China has retaliated with $3 billion in tariffs on US fruits and steel in response but has yet to respond to the intellectual property tariffs.
While ostensibly intended simply to raise industrial productivity through more advanced and flexible manufacturing techniques, ‘Made in China 2025’ is indicative of China’s evolving and increasingly sophisticated approach to ‘indigenous innovation,’ revealed through numerous supporting and related industrial plans. Their common, overriding aim is to replace foreign technology, products and services with Chinese technology, products and services in the China market through any means possible so as to ready Chinese companies for dominating international markets.
Canada and Mexico
Canada was the 9th largest supplier of apparel and textiles to the country, sending $1.3 billion worth of goods in 2017. According to the Mexican government, the measures were designed to enhance productivity and competitiveness of Mexican footwear and apparel producers and protect Mexico’s domestic footwear and apparel industries from the importation of undervalued goods. US exporters expressed a number of concerns with regard to the schemes, including a lack of transparency in how reference prices are determined and uneven enforcement by Mexico’s customs and tax authorities.
India
India is second only to China, shipping $7.4 billion worth of product of textile & apparels to the US. In 2017, the US goods trade deficit with India was $22.9 billion, a 5.9 per cent decrease from 2016. US goods exports to India were up 18.7 per cent to $25.7 billion, and US imports from India were up 5.6 per cent to $48.6 billion. India has a disparity between its bound rate tariffs and applied tariff rates charged at the border, with the bound rate averaging 48.5 per cent and the applied rate closer to 13.4 per cent. The report suggests, the large gap between bound and applied tariff rates allow India to use tariff policy to make frequent adjustments to the level of protection provided to domestic producers, creating uncertainty for importers and exporters. Despite its goal of moving toward Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) tariff rates (approximately 5 per cent on average), India has not systematically reduced tariffs and in recent years has been increasing tariff rates across sectors.
India’s customs officials generally require extensive documentation, inhibiting the free flow of trade and leading to frequent and lengthy processing delays. Largely this is due to India’s complex tariff structure, including the provision of multiple exemptions, which vary according to product, user, or intended use.
Cotton markets were volatile throughout the first half of April. The global spot benchmark, the Cotlook A index, gained in the first two weeks of April. Fundamentals remained the same as in prior two months – with strong export sales and even stronger shipments, coupled with active on-call sales.
However, uncertainty squeezed market activity as trading was fixated on impending tariffs in the US-China conversation. No new tariff restrictions were in force between China and the US and may be coming or contemplated over the next three months.
China, in response to proposed US tariffs on Chinese goods, announced a plan to impose a 25 per cent tariff on 106 US goods, including agricultural products such as cotton, soybean and corn. The plan can adversely impact the entire US cotton industry, as China imports a significant volume of US cotton each year.
Cotton yarn market was steady in China as participants were cautious overall, with prices unchanged. Offers for some best-selling products picked up slightly, mainly for high-quality and high-count yarns, while the prices of conventional products were unchanged.
In India, with cotton prices rising this week, yarn prices remained unchanged and may move up the coming week. 30s combed cotton yarn for knitting remained stable in Ludhiana.
India’s trade deficit with China increased more than twofold from 2007 to 2017. India’s imports from China were six times its exports in 2017, making rising trade imbalance a major concern.
While Chinese exports to India rely strongly on manufactured items to meet the demand of fast expanding sectors like telecom and power, India’s exports to China are primary and intermediate products. India’s major exports to China include ores, slag and ash, cotton, organic chemicals, mineral fuels/oils, copper and its articles. Imports include telecom instruments, electronic components and instruments, computer hardware, organic chemicals, plastics and plastic items.
Cotton has been one of India’s leading exports to China, but volumes have shrunk considerably in the past few years. China is the largest market for India’s cotton yarn, yet exports have halved from 2013 to 2016. The decline is attributed to China’s increasing import of cotton yarn from Vietnam, which registered an 88 per cent increase over the same period.
However, recent trade war between the US and China has sparked a ray of hope for Indian exports such as cotton, soya bean and maize. As China imposes tariff barriers on US products, Indian exports are expected to increase.
Pakistan’s readymade garment manufacturers and exporters have called for an ease of doing business, lowered cost of production, solution of the liquidity crunch through early refunds payments, equal energy tariff and relaxed import policy for industrial raw materials. But the core issue is the high cost of doing business. The liquidity crunch is a major stumbling block in the way of improving exports.
Since the export-oriented garment sector is the highest value-added link in the entire textile value chain, exporters want a liberal import policy for raw materials for re-export like duty-free import of fabrics and accessories which are not being manufactured in Pakistan.
The unprecedented surge in cotton yarn rates has hit the export-oriented value-added textile sector hard. Exporters have appealed for duty-free yarn imports to encourage value addition, reduce the cost of doing business and bridge the gap between production and consumption. Other proposals are: special lending rates should be given to the garment sector; all existing loans should be on zero markup with allocation on total export performance.
Exporters have also urged that the sales tax zero-rating facility to five export-oriented sectors should be continued in the upcoming budget and that the zero rating should be extended to packing material as well.
Recent edition of Pitti Immagine Uomo 94 once more proves fashion and football go hand in hand. The prominent trade show, which will open this June in Florence, is set to present "Fanatic Feelings Fashion Plays Football”, giving importance to the impact the sport has had on the world of men's fashion. A broad multimedia presentation that will highlight the pioneering impact football has had on the world of men’s fashion.
The exhibit is the third installment of a collaboration between the Fondazione Pitti Immagine Discovery and the Museo della Moda e del Costume di Palazzo Pitti. The exhibition will examine the crossover between tailoring and sportswear, football stars and fashion designers, which has been curated by Markus Ebner, founder of German fashion magazines Achtung Mode and Sepp Football Fashion and contemporary art critic Francesco Bonami.
The show will feature Karl Lagerfeld and Hiroshi Tanabe illustrations of famous players, an extensive look into the "Sepp Football Fashion" archives, and screenings of the documentary "Zidane: A 21st century portrait." Designers create football team uniforms or entire collections inspired by the sport, footballers take front row seats at fashion shows or even star as models in campaigns.
Fanatic Feelings is the third part of the three-year cooperation program between the Fondazione Pitti Immagine Discovery and the Museo della Moda e del Costume di Palazzo Pitti. The vision of a whole season, the football field stretches a different sense of time over an entire season.
The next edition of GTE (Garment Technology Expo) will be held in New Delhi, from February 22 to 25, 2019. This is South Asia’s largest and most comprehensive exhibition for apparel, knitting, textile printing technology, fabrics, accessories and allied services. The world's most advanced machines and materials will be showcased under one roof.
With the excellent response the exhibition has received over the years and improving market conditions, over 25,000 trade visitors are expected to visit the next expo including senior executives and decision makers from domestic garment manufacturers, exporters, buying houses, designers, wholesalers, retailers, ordinance factories etc, looking for machines and materials needed for upgradation and setting up new units.
Among the exhibits will be sewing machines, knitting machines, embroidery machines, laundry machines, quilting machines, fusing machines, finishing equipment, laser cutting machines, printing and packaging machines, hot air seam sealing machines, fancy yarn machines, dyeing machines, dyes, fabrics, fancy yarns, software solutions, spares and attachments, accessories and trims, testing equipment.
GTE is a unique world class B2B platform. It affords maximum exposure and recognition and also a chance to personally interact with decision makers and people who matter. New innovations, product launches, product upgrades, live demonstrations, new materials etc. are the cornerstone of each successive show.
India’s apparel/readymade garment exports declined nearly four per cent in fiscal ’18. From fiscal ’17 to fiscal ’18, there was a 3.8 per cent decline. The dip happened due to continual month-on-month decline, beginning from a 39.30 per cent fall in October 2017 and ending at 17.8 per cent in March 2018.
Not only is apparel stagnating, it is also heading towards a recession. This clearly indicates an ongoing shrinkage in the industry. Global factors such as free trade agreements of competing nations with key markets like Europe, the UK and the US had already been posting a challenge to readymade garment exporters. GST in July 2017 resulted in blockage of funds for the export community. Further, export incentives such as duty drawback and rebate on state levies were reduced.
Global factors have been rendering Indian exporters uncompetitive. While China vacated the apparel export space, India is unable to encash on the opportunity, unlike Vietnam, Bangladesh or Cambodia, who have FTAs. India is emerging as an expensive affair in the global apparel market. Backed by its duty-free access to the EU market, Bangladesh retains its position as the second-largest apparel exporter after China. Vietnam remains the fastest-growing among large apparel-exporting nations, maintaining its growth in the US despite the latter backing out of a proposed trade agreement.
Huntsman is continuing to invest in R&D to bring cutting-edge innovation to the textile industry. Huntsman’s patented technology, which is used in Huntsman’s Novacron Super Black G and Novacron Super Black R dyes, is a valuable innovation for producing deep black shades.
Huntsman is a publicly traded manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals. The company’s chemical products are sold worldwide to manufacturers serving a broad and diverse range of consumer and industrial end markets. Huntsman operates more than 75 manufacturing and R&D facilities in approximately 30 countries and employs approximately 10,000 associates within its four distinct business divisions.
Huntsman Textile Effects is a leading provider of high quality dyes and chemicals to the textile and related industries. The company has operations in more than 90 countries and six primary manufacturing facilities in six countries (China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Mexico and Thailand). It develops solutions and innovative products with intelligent effects, such as durable water repellents, color fastness, sun protection or state-of-the-art dyes which reduce water and energy consumption.
The per capita use of the company’s products in India is very low, but the company sees significant headroom to grow. Huntsman is looking at manufacturing and exporting out of India to the Middle East, Africa and neighboring countries. Apart from India, it has a significant presence in Bangladesh as its textile effect products are exported in large volumes.
Bangladesh has the potential to become the main supplier of jute to the global car industry. The industry needs about 1,00,000 tons of jute a year, of which 12,000 tons come from Bangladesh. Jute is one of the cheapest and the strongest of all natural fibers and considered as the fiber of the future.
The car industry uses the natural fiber to manufacture the interiors of vehicles. Previously, the car industry used glass fiber to manufacture the interiors. But glass fiber is not recyclable or biodegradable, so in 1994 the search for a green alternative began. Jute emerged as the frontrunner. Bangladesh started supplying jute to high-end car brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Audi in the early 2000s. The country’s jute is much admired for its high fiber quality.
The use of the natural jute fiber from Bangladesh by global car brands has helped in diversification of jute products. As a result, Bangladesh has the potential to export jute and jute goods worth almost seven billion dollars annually in the next seven years.
But in reality growth in supply has remained stagnant at five per cent over the last many years. And the unpredictable jute export policy is to blame. For instance, a few years ago, Bangladesh imposed a ban on the export of raw jute from Bangladesh, which left BMW facing a shortage of the natural fiber. Small traders cannot supply jute to car brands directly.
