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Bread & Butter's Berlin show that was to be held from January 19 to 21, 2015, has been canceled. This is a trade show that provides a creative marketing and communication platform for selected brands, labels and designers. It covers denim, sportswear, street fashion, function wear and casual dress up. The first show opened in 2001 when it started as an off-show for selected brands. It was meant to be a reaction to the stuffy and uncool presentation of jeans and accompanying gear at the long established trade shows.
Over the years it acquired a reputation as an international specialist trade fair for street and urban wear. It became a meeting point for buyers, traders and representatives from the textile industry. One reason for the cancellation is that the organizers could not motivate sufficient number of exhibitors to participate. The business has changed substantially due to the boom in online trade and the rise of the so-called vertical brands. Heritage denim brands were no longer interested in showing up at Bread & Butter.
However, the cancellation did come as a shock to the fashion and retail world and especially for the jeans, street wear and men’s casual fashion sectors. A similar show was to be held in 2015 in South Korea. The fate of this is uncertain.
www.breadandbutter.com/
There are more than a 100 countries importing Pakistani textile products. Textiles make up 52 per cent of Pakistan’s total exports. Pakistani textile products that are exported include: cotton, cotton yarn, cotton cloth, articles of apparel and cloth, art silk and synthetic textile, tents and other canvas goods, bed wear and towels and knitwear.
The Pakistan textile exporting industry has received a bonanza from the government in the form of a duty drawback on customs duty paid on import of raw materials used in manufacture of textile products meant for export. The repayment of duty would be available on the export of 100 per cent cotton or blended polyester/cotton. The imported raw materials cover a range of inputs including enzyme, sodium persulphate, hydrogen peroxide.
The country’s textile and garment exports to the EU have risen on the back of the GSP Plus status. Pakistan is also negotiating to raise exports to EU in non-traditional sectors. The two sides also have decided to establish a dedicated energy dialogue to strengthen cooperation and exchange of information, leading to actual investment and funding of major energy projects.
Numerous opportunities are now presenting themselves to Pakistani exporters as a result of widespread trade negotiations with various countries and trading blocks.
Textile technologies that deliver performance properties are becoming common in lifestyle and urban products. In particular, denim fabrics are becoming more functional through treatments that repel water and mud. As a result, a durable water repellent textile technology, Ecorepel, is gaining attention.
Ecorepel mimics the protective function found on feathers of waterfowl. The environmentally sound textile finish is based on paraffin that is in honeycomb-like chains that wrap around the fibers. This is said to reduce the surface tension of textile so that water and mud simply run off the textile. Ecorepel is free of fluorocarbons and is biodegradable. The technology is also wash- and abrasion-resistant.
NanoSphere is another textile finish that repels oil, water and dirt. It’s used for denim by some brands. It mimics the natural self-cleaning effect of certain plants whose leaves always remain clean, because dirt simply cannot adhere to the finely structured surface, and is easily washed off when it rains.
The protective function of NanoSphere is retained after frequent use and numerous washes. Water or such substances as ketchup, honey, coffee or wine run off. And if they don't happen to run off of their own accord, they can easily be rinsed off with a little water.
The Istanbul Yarn Fair will be held from February 5 to 8, 2015. This is the world’s most comprehensive yarn fair. It gathers participants and visitors from more than 75 countries and has become the sales and marketing platform steering global yarn commerce. Among the products on display are: acrylic yarns, cotton yarns, elastane yarns, embroidery yarns, nylon yarn, polyester yarns, sewing yarns, silk yarns etc.
Exhibitors can meet qualified visitors from different places of the world and Turkey, strengthen their brand visibility, be together at the same platform with manufacturers, suppliers, importers, and non-governmental organizations, strengthen their current customer and dealership network. Istanbul Yarn Fair is one of the most important textile meetings in Turkey and a platform where professional visitors, buyer groups and investors from Eurasia and Africa meet and exchange information.
The event showcases products from the textile, fabric and yarn industries. Two other fairs will be held simultaneously. These are: Texpo Eurasia 2015, where all segments of textile machinery industry are exhibited; and Ifexpo 2015, where underwear and socks manufacturers will attend.
Exports of Turkish textile and ready-made clothing machines increased 11.6 per cent for the first half of the year compared to the same period of the previous year.
www.istanbulyarnfair.com/
The New York Textile Week will be held from January 19 to 21, 2015. The aim is to establish New York as a destination for textile and sourcing professionals in the global fashion, home and related industries.
Three established textile and fashion trade shows will take place alongside Textile Week. These are: Texworld USA, Kingpins USA and MRket. MRket is a global menswear trade show.
New York is considered America’s textile industry hub. It is one of the nation’s most important employers in the manufacturing sector. With more than 2,30,000 workers, the textile industry represents approximately two per cent of the US manufacturing workforce. The industry, which includes manufacturers of textiles, raw materials, yarns, fabrics, apparel and home furnishings, represents investments above $1.2 billion in total capital expenditures.
Until now, there had been no synergy among textile, sourcing and apparel shows. By inviting other textile sourcing and wholesale garment shows to participate, NYC Textile Week organizers hope to create more opportunities for textile and fashion industry professionals to experience New York City.
Another partner and co-organizer of NYC Textile Week is cellulosic fiber manufacturer and chemical specialist Lenzing. Lenzing is supporting NYC Textile Week to bring the textile and sourcing community together while authenticating NYC as a global sourcing center.
US apparel imports continued to grow in October. Three of the top 10 supplier countries: Vietnam, Honduras and India saw strong double digit growth, but Bangladesh tumbled for eighth month in a row. Apparel imports from all sources were up 6.8 per cent. Imports from China was the highest. It was four times as large as the second largest exporter to the US, Vietnam.
While the two largest apparel suppliers to the US continue on their upward trajectory, the picture is less positive for Bangladesh, which is at number three in the top 10 league. Imports from the country, which have been hit by a number of issues surrounding worker and factory safety in the last year, declined 15.8 per cent in October, deeper than September’s 11 per cent drop.
It also represents the eighth consecutive month of decline this year for Bangladesh, having started its fall in February, dropping 10.2 per cent. When it comes to imports from the US' other largest suppliers, year-on-year gains were during October was by Honduras, up 19.8 per cent, India up 19.4 per cent, and Mexico up 4.8 per cent. Indonesia, which rebounded in September, continued to grow with a 5.3 per cent gain.
Hong Kong and India have enjoyed robust bilateral trade relations on several products and services over the years. India was Hong Kong’s 7th major trading partner in the first 10 months of 2014, and trade performance between Hong Kong and India reached 20.7 billion dollars (over 1,29,000 crores). Hong Kong’s total export to India in the same period was 10.2 billion (over Rs 63,600 crores) while Hong Kong’s total import from India is 10.5 billion dollars.
To further strengthen trade-ties, Rajesh Bhagat, Mumbai Consultant of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the global marketing arm for Hong Kong-based companies, has announced seven international fairs covering toys, baby products, stationery, fashion and jewellery industries. These will be held in Hong Kong in January and March 2015. They which will offer ideal platforms for traders and suppliers from India to expand their businesses into new markets.
Hong Kong is a positive economy which expanded by 2.4 percent year-on-year, in real terms, in the first three quarters of 2014, after growing by 2.9 percent in 2013. For 2014 as a whole, the economy is forecast to grow by 2.2 percent. Hong Kong’s merchandise exports saw an increase of 3.8 percent year-on-year in the first ten months of 2014. Exports should continue to expand, despite sustained challenges. Adding to Hong Kong’s business advantages, its year-round trade events bring together buyers and suppliers from both economies to develop their business.
Bhagat says last fiscal during April 2013-March 2014, HKTDC’s 30 fairs attracted over 35,000 exhibitors from 85 countries and regions, up around 3.8 percent. Over 755,000 buyers from 189 countries and regions visited the fairs, up 10.5 percent year-on-year. In 2014, over 760 exhibitors and 12,000 buyers from India participated in various HKTDC fairs.
The HKTDC organises more than 30 world-class international trade fairs in Hong Kong each year, four of which are the largest marketplaces of their kind in the world: the Hong Kong Gifts & Premium Fair, the Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair, the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show cum the Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show, as well as the Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Autumn Edition) cum electronic Asia.
The Russian nonwovens and technical textiles industries is facing a decline in demand in the domestic market. The biggest rates of decline have been observed in the middle and high price segments. One reason for the decline in demand is the rapid devaluation of the national currency.
During January to October this year, the volume of production of technical textiles and nonwovens in Russia declined by about 15 per cent compared to the same period last year. And the decline is expected to continue until the end of the current year. In the case of technical textiles, the increase in prices for raw materials, in particular synthetic fibers and yarns, has resulted in a significant increase in prices for finished products and there is a possibility that prices will continue to grow during the next few months.
The industry is facing growing production costs, in particular for energy and labor. In contrast to many European Union and Asian states, where governments often subsidize building of large facilities for the production of technical textile and nonwovens, Russia’s industry gets small support from the government.
The situation is aggravated by the reluctance of national banks to provide loans to domestic producers of nonwovens and technical textiles.
China the world's second biggest cotton grower will probably have lower output than expected. Its estimated 2014-15 production is 6.51 million tons, down 4.3 per cent from its August forecast and 6.9 per cent less than last year. Early in the growing season, farmers were plagued with dry conditions that stunted plant growth. That was followed by a period of unusually heavy rains in September, which hurt crop quality along the Yellow River Basin. A smaller domestic crop means the country, the top consumer, may buy more from overseas, helping to erode global inventories that have swelled to a record.
So China may import more cotton than is currently estimated. However, China has so much cotton inventory waiting to be sold that the output reduction almost doesn’t matter. Prices slumped 29 per cent this year as global production is set to exceed demand for the fifth straight year.
After China’s stockpiles swelled to an all-time high, the government scrapped policies aimed at building inventories and instead is offering a subsidy to farmers if prices fall below a pre-set target. The country is one of the main buyers of fiber from the US, the biggest exporter. India is the largest cotton producer in the world.
Import of denim apparels by the US fell by 7.5 per cent from January to October '14 compared to the same period in 2013. The average price has also fallen by about 8.6 per cent. Import of denim into the US increased in 2013 by over four per cent compared to 2012.
Denim sales in the US have been under pressure. Women prefer yoga and athletic wear, which are versatile and comfortable. Form fitting garments like stretchy pants that look like denim are stealing consumers away from denim. So denim companies are fighting back and coming out with products to compete with yoga wear. High stretch abilities going up to 100 per cent with strong recoveries and high comfort quotient are being brought out by innovative companies.
But it will take time before denim can recover lost ground. Sales of active wear in the US have climbed seven per cent while denim sales have fallen. Top retailers are increasing their offerings of athletic and leisure apparel.
