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As H&M rapidly expands its retail empire in Australia, the chain is being criticised for widespread labour rights violations and the ‘painfully slow’ progress of safety renovations at factories. An Asia Floor Wage Alliance report, based on 251 interviews with workers from 17 H&M supplier factories in Cambodia and India, found women were being routinely fired during their pregnancy.
Other common workplace abuses included illegal short-term contracts, low wages and forced overtime. Women in nine of 12 factories reported sexual harassment at work. According to the Alliance’s Anannya Bhattacharjee, H&M’s response to their report has been completely inadequate. H&M has told them that they are testing out new practices with pilot factories, but when the alliance asked them for the names of the factories they refused to tell them. Armed with the report, the group will urge leaders at the International Labour Conference, starting in Geneva, to establish a global standard for supply chains, including the recognition of a living wage as a human right. The fast fashion business, spearheaded by Zara, Topshop and H&M, has enjoyed phenomenal growth in recent years, swiftly offering the latest catwalk looks for a fraction of the price in their multi-level stores. H&M alone has opened nine stores in Australia in two years, with plans to double the number by the year’s end. But the global supply chain, heavily reliant on cheap labour, has seen workers suffer and their lives placed at risk.
Egypt is building a zone for textile industries. Establishing a comprehensive zone for textiles is an important step for Egypt to reclaim its leading position in Middle East and North Africa since it has potential and wide expertise in the field of weaving and textiles.
The zone will occupy around 1.2 million square meters of land. The new zone is part of a strategy to develop the textile industry in Egypt and enhance the process of economic and social development by attracting more local and foreign investments.
The textile industry contributes three per cent to Egypt’s GDP and accommodates around 1.2 million workers and engineers which is 30 per cent of the industrial labor in Egypt. The textile industry contributes 16 per cent of Egypt’s non-petroleum exports with a revenue of 2.6 billion dollars.
Egypt is home to the only fully vertically integrated textile industry in the Middle East, with the entire production process from the cultivation of cotton to the production of yarns, fabrics and readymade garments carried out domestically.
About 50 per cent of the spinning, 60 per cent of the weaving and 60 per cent of the hemming capacity is owned by the public sector while 90 per cent of the garmenting capacity is privately held.
Cotton area in India may rise four per cent to 12.4 million hectares and production by 10 per cent to 6.5 million tons. The arrival of cotton during April 2016 is estimated at 2.22 million bales against 2.70 million bales during the same month last year.
Cotton, a kharif crop, is grown during the June-September monsoon season and harvested from October. By April farmers exhaust their crop and arrivals reduce substantially after that.
The textile industry needs about 30 million bales of cotton per year. World cotton production is expected to increase slightly, capping the reduction stocks in 2016-17. After contracting by nine per cent to 31.2 million hectares in 2015-16, area under cotton worldwide is projected to expand by one per cent to 31.4 million hectares, as declining prices for competing crops in 2015-16 encourage farmers to return to cotton in 2016-17.
In addition, the world average yield is forecast to improve by four per cent to 732 kg per hectare and production could increase by four per cent, from 22 million tons in 2015-16 to 23 million tons in 2016-17.
In 2015-16, world cotton imports are expected to decline by three per cent. Restrictions on cotton imports and sales from reserves may cause stocks in China to fall by seven per cent in 2015-16.
Surat’s textile industry, India’s biggest man-made fabric industry wants action against the imports of cheap Chinese fabrics.
Textile manufacturers in Surat say the industry is running at 50 per cent capacity and that over 2.5 lakh workers are jobless and over four lakh power loom machines are idle and all this due to under-invoicing of fabrics imported from China.
The textile industry in Surat is mainly engaged in the activities of yarn production, weaving, processing as well as embroidery. Surat is mainly engaged in the production and trading of synthetic textile products.
Nearly 30 million meters of raw fabric and 25 million meters of processed fabric are produced in Surat daily. The city has several textile markets that have existed since time immemorial. People from various other places like Rajasthan and Kolkata have settled in Surat in order to carry out their textile business.
Around 90 per cent of the polyester used in India comes from Surat. The Middle East is the major export market for Surat’s textile products.
The Surat textile industry’s turnover is pegged at roughly Rs 90,000 crores, of which Rs 40,000 crores comes from finished goods such as dress materials and fabrics for apparel and saris while the rest is distributed into other verticals such as spinning, weaving, processing and fabric sales.
CIRFS, the European Manmade Fibers Association, in its 66th annual general meeting in Brussels, addressed the challenges the industry is facing in Europe.
The manmade fiber industry needs addressing, says CIRFS. Apart from an economic update, the meeting discussed issues such as the large manmade fiber over-capacities in China, trade distortions, developments in European legislation, particularly as to environment and energy as well as numerous technical, economic and statistical problems.
The AGM also included open session presentations on manmade fiber issues in the USA, trade in chemicals, developments in the wool market and a global manmade fiber market update.
CIRFS says trade distortions are on the rise and the weight of European legislation is becoming heavier, in particular in the environmental-energy field.
The European manmade fiber industry is fully committed to the European Commission’s sustainability debate and as such offers solutions to many challenges. It is also determined to playing its role in the European Commission’s jobs/growth/investment agenda.
The manmade fiber industry urgently needs a level playing field in order to compete on fair terms with the rest of the world.
West Europe has a share of five per cent, the Far East has a 89 per cent share in worldwide manmade fiber production. The US has a share of five per cent, Japan one per cent.
The AGM was followed by the annual executive seminar with additional presentations on feedstock markets, technical textiles, circular economy aspects, and other sustainability aspects dealt with in the textile industry.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) will raise its concern over regional trade agreements at the World Trade Organisation’s meeting styled ‘WTO Dialogue with Business’ to be held at Geneva. The apex trade body for garment manufacturers said the regional trade agreements like Transpacific Partnership (TPP) signed bypassing the law of the WTO is an impediment to multilateral rules-based trading system.
High-level representatives from a diverse range of sectors from across the world will find an opportunity to have their say. A three-member delegation led by BGMEA president Siddiqur Rahman reached Geneva to attend the business dialogue in response to the invitation of Roberto Azevedo, WTO Director General.
The TPP is such an initiative recently taken by 12 developed countries representing nearly 40 per cent of global GDP. The apex trade body of the apparel industry also will present the progress made so far following the collapse of Rana Plaza building to ensure workers safety and their rights. The RMG people think that the regional trade pact like TPP will limit the space for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and create an unfair competition.
They urged the World Trade Organisation to take the lead to ensure enough policy protection for the LDCs from such RTAs by engaging developed members in discussions with a spirit to ensure level playing field.
Bangladesh needs expansion of its manufacturing industries and increase exports to develop economy. That is why duty-free market access is one of the most critical factors for the export-led growth strategy.
Bangladesh’s apparel manufacturers have entered into sustainable manufacturing practices by establishing eco-friendly factories and introducing energy-efficient technologies.
Sustainable manufacturing refers to the creation of manufactured products through economically-sound processes that minimise negative environmental impacts while conserving energy and natural resources.
Global consumers are becoming more and more cautious on the environment and global retailers are looking for suppliers of apparel produced in eco-friendly factories. Textile and woven manufacturers have already introduced green technology that consume less water, chemical and electricity.
If the apparel sector invest in green manufacturing to take the lead in sustainable manufacturing, this would act as a catalyst to achieve the 50 billion dollar export target.
Using laser technology instead of the traditional method in making a pair of jeans can reduce the use of water by 30 to 40 per cent and chemical use by 20 to 30 per cent. Laser technology is seen as very precise and more productive using the same number of workers. It also poses a reduced health hazard since a smaller amount of chemicals is used in the process.
Bangladesh wants to capture a bigger share of the global readymade garment market. Currently, Bangladesh’s share is 6.4 per cent.
Nandan Denim has reported a net profit of Rs 63.32 crores for the FY 2015-16 as against Rs 51.43 crores in FY 2014-15, a rise of 23 per cent. Net sales for FY 2015-16 at Rs 1,156.72 crores were higher by five percent. over the previous fiscal’s net sales.
The company reported a healthy EBITDA and PAT margin in FY 16 at 16.9 per cent and 5.5 per cent respectively. Basic EPS for FY 16 stood at Rs 13.90.
Nandan Denim is poised to be Asia’s largest denim fabric manufacturer.
For the quarter ended March 2016, the company reported a net profit of Rs 16.57 crores against a net profit of Rs 15.37 crores in the corresponding period last year, a growth of eight per cent. Net sales in the quarter at Rs 294.31 crores were higher by six per cent compared to Rs 278.31 crores in the same period in the previous fiscal. For the quarter, EBITDA margin stood at 16.5 per cent and PAT margin at 5.6 per cent.
The company had made a preferential placement of 25,00,000 convertible warrants at a conversion price of Rs 200 each. The entire money of Rs 50 crores has been received and equivalent numbers of equity shares have been allotted to the investor.
At the International Labor Conference (ILC), Clean Clothes Campaign will call upon the representatives of governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations from 187 member states to establish institutional and enforcement frameworks that enable effective remedy after disasters and prevention of disasters in global supply chains.
For the first time in the long history of the ILC, global supply chain issues are a main focus of the conference and follows the work of the Committee on Decent Work in Global Supply Chains with heightened interest.
Clean Clothes Campaign is represented at the conference by a delegation of trade unionists and labor activists from Europe and Asia. The delegation will use its presence at the conference to emphasize the need for an institutional framework for remedy and prevention that can be scaled up to an enforceable solution. On the opening day, Clean Clothes Campaign will address these concerns in a short plenary speech.
At the ILC, the Clean Clothes Campaign will reiterate that it is demonstrably not sufficient to just bring supply chain actors together in a dialogue and rely on their collective ability to take action. The campaign knocks on the door of the International Labor Organization to become involved in overcoming the weaknesses of non-binding initiatives and to enhance collaboration and transparency among the industry partners.
The apparel industry clocked in moderate growth in the four quarters of fiscal year 2015-16 (April ’15- March ’16). The index value of 5.32 points during this period was much lower than the Apparel Index for FY 14-15 at 7.28. In fact, FY15-16 ‘not so buoyant’ period with even the festive season, perceived as a season that helps in making up for turnover losses, as consumer sentiment is at its best at that time, not really recording very high growth.
The index value for last quarter of financial year 2015-16, registered the lowest growth at 3.79, among the four quarters and it grew the most during July-Sept 2015 quarter at 6.68 indicating business maximizing during this quarter which is dominated by EOSS and pre-festive quarter. This was closely followed by April-Jun '15 indicating a quarter known for summer season that generally sees rise in fresh sales.
Indicators dip in successive quarters
All indicators, viz. Sales Turnover, Sell Through and Investments reflected a consistent fall in growth value in successive quarter right from the first quarter. Except Inventory Holding that showed a significant improvement during July-Sept 2015, perhaps due to the offloading all inventories during EOSS quarter, that is why this quarter was the best performing quarter of FY 2015-16.
A comparison with last two financial years show the Apparel Index growth was much higher in FY14-15 compared to FY15-16, which was around 36 per cent higher at 7.28 against 5.33 in FY 2015-16. Interestingly, a common pattern was that the index fell in first three quarters from April-June, July-Sept, Sept-Dec in both years, except the fourth quarter, Jan-Mar of FY 2014-15, the index rebound strongly, whereas in the fourth quarter, Jan-Mar of FY 2015-16 , the growth further reduced. And this pattern was seen in all performance attributes: Sales Turnover, Sell Through, Investment, Inventory Holding in both financial years.
An analysis of Apparel Index, clearly indicates it is important to manage the two more important interdependent parameters Sales Turnover and Inventory Holding. The latter bogs down the index, hence clearing inventories even at discounts gives a boost to Sales Turnover. However, this does affect Sell Through to an extent. Independently increased Investment also adds to Sales Turnover, unless the investment is entrapped in inventory holding, that further pulls down the growth.
CMAl's Apparel Index aims to set a benchmark for the entire domestic apparel industry and helps brands in taking informed business decisions. For investors, industry players, stakeholders and policy makers the index is a useful tool offering concrete and credible information, and is an excellent source for assessing the performance of the industry. The Index is analysed on assessing the performance on four parameters: Sales Turnover, Sell Through (percentage of fresh stocks sold), number of days of Inventory Holding and Investments (signifying future confidence) in brand development and brand building. The Apparel Index research is conducted by DFU Publications.
