FW
Machinery manufacturer Loepfe says the process of clearing core yarns, is a challenge for the clothing manufacturers, as stretch fabrics become more popular in clothing industry. They are used in sports fashion and in day-to-day garments as well.
Loepfe, manufactures sensors and monitoring equipment for yarn spinning and fabric weaving processes and offers optical yarn clearers, such as the Zenit+ which offer reliability and assist companies in yarn clearing and eliminates yarn faults during winding. Garment made of elastic yarns offer better comfort, better fit, and retain their shapes. Core yarns consist of at least two different components. Core yarns are used for woven and knitted stretch fabrics.
A staple fibre, such as cotton, is spun around an elasthane filament, during production. Loepfe reports that today, duo-core yarns made of three components, are used for high quality denim. These pose a challenge for the spinning and winding process. The structure of core yarns is a challenge, the manufacturer states. The so-called strip-back, for one, is a fault. Because of a slippage between the inner elasthane filament and the staple fibre the core is not completely covered with the cotton fibres. During dyeing, these faults can become visible in the end product, as elasthane and cotton have different characteristics.
Zenit+, which is the yarn clearer from Loepfe, has the optional LabPack, and is designed to identify these faults reliably. Manufactures use an optical method to identify thin and thick faults during winding and even dark foreign fibres can be detected with this optical method. An additional triboelectric sensor detects synthetic foreign matter, for example, polypropylene originating from packaging material.
Textile mills that processed cotton and wove it into cloth were once a monopoly of the southern US states before World War II. However, in the past 50 years, free trade agreements, automation and competition from countries such as China have affected these mills. Eventually, their businesses have touched ground zero. However, now, some textile jobs are making a comeback, but in a different way. As The New York Times reports, some Chinese manufacturers are setting their businesses in the US, after realising that it is cheaper to manufacture their products in Southern America than in China.South offers lucrative business prospects
A Chinese yarn-maker, Keer Group, is investing $218 million in a factory in South Carolina, while JN Fibers, another Chinese manufacturer, is investing $45 million in the same region. Then, there’s Shri Vallabh Pittie, an Indian company that is investing $70 million in a yarn-spinning plant in Sylvania, Ga. Other industries too are witnessing a change, Fuyao, a Chinese auto glass maker is investing in a $230 million production facility in Ohio. Besides, several Chinese manufacturers are expanding their capacity at Cirrus Aviation in Minnesota and Nexteer Automotive in Michigan.
The difference between the cost of manufacturing something in the US and in China has narrowed considerably, as per an index created by Boston Consulting. A product that could be manufactured for $1 in the US in 2004 could be produced for 85.6 cents in China. Ten years down the line, $1 for the product in the US would cost 95.6 cents if manufactured in China, which was not much in savings.
The reasons for the shift are many, though the cost differences haven’t changed much. For instance, Americans are still earning more wages than the Chinese workers are. According to figures from the Boston Consulting Group, Chinese workers made $12.47 an hour in 2014, which was slightly more than half of what American workers made at $22.32 an hour.
There are other factors that have made up for the difference in cost of doing business in the US. The state and local governments, for example, offer plenty of tax breaks and subsidies to companies that set up business in their jurisdictions. Besides, decrease in the cost of electricity, due to US’ natural gas boom, has attracted energy-intensive manufacturing industries. Also, as China’s economy has developed, wages have gone up, and thus the costs of land, energy and other raw materials.
Boston Consulting Group’s data shows that even when adjusted for productivity, over the past 10 years, wages of Chinese workers have risen by 187 per cent. Industrial electricity costs have gone up 66 per cent, while natural gas costs have risen by 138 per cent. The US wages, in the same timeline, have increased by only 27 per cent, while natural gas costs have dipped by 25 per cent.
Experts say, it is a lot easier to manufacture in the US products where Chinese companies need access to qualified labour or proximity to American consumers, but don’t need lots of low-cost labour. Chinese investment in the US though, remains small, but as some data by the Rhodium Group reveals, it is bringing tangible economic benefits in the form of jobs.
As far as manufacturing jobs in the US are concerned, it will never be the same as the 80’s, as industries are much more automated today. However, more skilled manufacturing jobs would act as a boon to the country’s economy. These workers are better paid, as manufacturers today need more highly trained workers who know how to operate automated systems.
Yet, China still is powerful where manufacturing is concerned, for the move out of the country applies to new industries and not existing ones.
Jumping on the bandwagon against the use of Angora is now Danish apparel retailer Bestseller. Bestseller is the latest among brands, which have stopped using Angora in their products keeping animal welfare in mind. Recently, Italian brand Benetton had banned the use of angora wool in all its collections. The fibre is extracted from Angora rabbits, reared in farms in China mainly.
The issue at the heart of the movement is live-plucking or mulesing of rabbits, which amounts to hurting the animals for the manufacturing of products. Since this goes against animal welfare policy of many companies, to do away with this fibre has become their prime agenda as for now.
Katrine Milman, CSR Responsible, said it is still unclear, in the absence of any evidence, whether the farm houses involved in producing the Angora fibres are using these methods. However, this situation of uncertainty does not give us leeway to take the chance on animal welfare. The company’s decision is in line with its animal welfare policy that no real fur can be used in products it makes.
Earlier this year, Inditex, the firm at the helm of brands such as Zara and Massimo Dutti, had also banned the use of Angora wools permanently over the same issue.
Birla Cellulose, in its endeavour to bring together different players of the value chain under one platform for successful delivery of Liva promise launched the Liva Accreditation Partner Forum (LAPF). LAPF is a community of spinners, fabricators and processors who work closely with Birla Cellulose on innovation, quality and technology to deliver Liva fabrics to consumers. Taking the LAPF initiative ahead, the company recently organised Kolkata Fashion Expo 2015 on August 12 and 13, which was attended by leading manufacturers, wholesalers and buyers.
Radhika Texprint, Surat, a frontrunner in saris and dress materials, showcased modal in a variety of colours as an innovation of Liva for the premium and mass markets. Mitesh Korat, owner of Radhika Texprint explained, “We are happy to be a part of LAPF and have achieved tremendous success with our newly launched sari brand Hawwah in which we have had intricate designs with Liva fabric. We got such a great response at the Kolkata Fashion Expo that we are planning to open an outlet or appoint a franchisee for Kolkata in the next six months.”
Jayraj Gajiwala, Managing Director of Jayraj Marketing, Surat, a leading manufacturer of jacquard fabrics believes his partnership with Liva will go a long way. “The response to Liva has been fantastic and we really appreciate Birla Cellulose for giving us this opportunity to showcase our exquisite Liva fabrics along with other LAPF Members,” he said.
Gokultex Prints, Surat, a leader in natural fabrics, showcased its exquisite collection in pure modal, CuproModal in many weaves, designs and prints which were accentuated by Liva fabrics. Also Dayal Silk & Wonder crafts, Bhagalpur, Rahul Traders, Kolkata and Sukanta Paul, Fulia displayed their fine collection of Liva saris.
Sighting a huge potential for Indian traditional clothing, the company feels in order to increase awareness and brand visibility, they need to become aggressive in of marketing ethnic wear and the opportunity can be provided by Liva. Many domestic and international buyers are showing keen interest in LAPF as they want to avail the benefits for sourcing quality products.
A special geosynthetics seminar and associated committee meetings are to be held in Mumbai, from December 2 to 4, 2015 at the Bombay Textile Research Association (BTRA) headquarters. ASTM International Committee D35 on Geosynthetics recently announced the seminar. The world’s fastest growing population resides in India and the country also has one of the most ambitious and dynamic infrastructure programs. Besides, India is also home to a robust manufacturing history in textiles, and textile knowledge has led to growing specialisation in polymeric materials, including geosynthetics.
Multiple organisations such as Ficci, and the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) feel that standardisation efforts are needed. India has a strong and quickly development manufacturing industry for geosynthetics. The seminar is an exceptional opportunity for current and future stakeholders in the Indian industry to connect, exchange domestic and international insight, and create a future for these standards in India
Following the ASTM seminar, the 6th International Conference on Geosynthetics (GeoAsia 6) will be hosted by IGS India in New Delhi in November 2016.
For ASTM’s symposium, the BTRA is an excellent host as this association has had a long history of research and interaction with polymeric materials engineering. In September last year, the BTRA formalised an agreement with the Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) to create GSI-India.
Vidarbha's agricultural situation has changed and its cotton crop is expected to give a record yield. Last year, faced with a drought and the year before, excessive rains, farmers had a hard time. Good harvest though, may not be met with good prices, feel experts. Cotton rates are expected to reign below the minimum support price (MSP) of 4,050 a quintal. Currently, lint is being quoted at 33,000 a bale, which translates into 3,700 a quintal for raw cotton.
Low demand especially from China, is the reason for slack prices, then there is sizeable leftover stocks of last year. The rates may be marginally more than the MSP if not below MSP. The higher yield may only provide a saving grace feel experts.An officer in the state's agriculture department, responsible for gathering field data, said that if there are moderate showers in September and October, the yield may be the highest in the last five years.
Amravati division of Vidarbha, is a major cotton growing area. The recent round of showers has washed away the dry spell in Akola and Buldhana, which were lagging behind. This can be considered one of the best years in cotton. Yields are expected to be higher by around five quintals an acre. The weather, though, has to remain conducive in the coming days and showers have to be moderate in September.
China’s cotton imports fell 62.3 per cent in July from a year ago. Imports by China, the world’s top cotton consumer, are already down by 33 per cent this year after the government issued fewer quotas in a bid to boost demand for the domestic fiber.
China holds an estimated 11 million tons of cotton in state reserves, around half of the world’s stocks, after it bought up more than 80 per cent of the domestic crop between 2011 and 2013 to support growers. It is currently auctioning some of the fiber to mills at daily sales but has only managed to sell 3.7 per cent of the volume offered to date.
Beijing's surprise devaluation of the yuan last week, which pushed the currency to its lowest against the dollar in almost three years, is not seen as having a major impact on imports. Even if it does make imported cotton a bit less attractive, it also makes imported yarn less attractive.
With restricted volumes of import quotas for cotton, China’s textile mills have turned to importing yarn instead. Yarn imports are up 20 per cent in the first six months of the year. Imports for the 2015-16 crop year beginning in October are expected to fall to 1.3 million tons, down from 1.8 million tons in the current year.
China’s cotton imports fell 62.3 per cent in July from a year ago. Imports by China, the world’s top cotton consumer, are already down by 33 per cent this year after the government issued fewer quotas in a bid to boost demand for the domestic fiber.
China holds an estimated 11 million tons of cotton in state reserves, around half of the world’s stocks, after it bought up more than 80 per cent of the domestic crop between 2011 and 2013 to support growers. It is currently auctioning some of the fiber to mills at daily sales but has only managed to sell 3.7 per cent of the volume offered to date.
Beijing's surprise devaluation of the yuan last week, which pushed the currency to its lowest against the dollar in almost three years, is not seen as having a major impact on imports. Even if it does make imported cotton a bit less attractive, it also makes imported yarn less attractive.
With restricted volumes of import quotas for cotton, China’s textile mills have turned to importing yarn instead. Yarn imports are up 20 per cent in the first six months of the year. Imports for the 2015-16 crop year beginning in October are expected to fall to 1.3 million tons, down from 1.8 million tons in the current year.
Mayer & Cie, the leading German circular knitting machine manufacturer has announced its expansion plans at its German, Czech Republic and China manufacturing sites. Benjamin Mayer, Managing Director of Mayer & Cie, shed light on this and said they focussed on two things in Germany, their headquarters and the biggest plant. In Germany, the company would invest in tool machinery to expand and modernise their existing machine park to produce cams, cam boxes, yarn feeders, cylinders and frame parts. Mayer said they were also investing in new cooling and heating systems, in isolation of buildings and water pipes to save a lot of energy in the future. Finally, it would install a block heat and power plant to generate all the energy needed by them and even supply the rest of the energy into the public grid.
In Czech Republic, they were building a new plant with 5,000m2 that is 1.5 times bigger than the existing one. They would also increase their assembling capacity up to 600 machines and knitting heads for China (knitting head gets assembled in China on locally sources frames).
Mayer also feels that Iran has big potential because companies want to invest in new machinery and, they prefer German technology. He sees a big potential for new orders and further sees other markets such as South East Asia, which he says is the most interesting one.
The revolutionary spin-knit technology that Mayer & Cie announced at ITMA would be advantageous to customers, feels Mayer. He also thinks the first customers would not be the classical knitting customers, but more spinners and vertical companies.
The US is willing to restore GSP facility to Bangladesh if the country makes satisfactory progress in workers’ safety and rights. The US has urged Bangladesh to accelerate its efforts to ensure workers’ rights and to take measures to address continuing reports of harassment of and violence against labor activists who are attempting to exercise their rights.
Bangladesh says there is no labor unrest in the country and trade union activities are permitted. It says, laborers have been given congenial work environments and the amended labor law will be implemented within a week or two. In the meantime it wants the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) facility including duty-free and quota-free market access in the US. The US suspended Bangladesh from its GSP list in June 2013, based on Bangladesh’s failure to meet statutory eligibility requirements related to worker rights.
Under the general supervision of the Bangladesh government, over 2,000 initial safety inspections of factories have been completed in the readymade garment sector over the last year, most by teams organised by private sector initiatives led by North American and European brands and retailers.
These inspections resulted in the closure of at least 31 factories, the partial closure of 17 additional factories, and the identification of needed remedial measures in hundreds more.
