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Combining merino wool with CoolVision, leading global producer of polypropylene staple fiber FiberVisions has developed a collection of knits and wovens, called ‘WoolVisions’. The yarns are custom spun for knitting and weaving in blends using 30 per cent or more Merino wool. An ideal pair is made by combining Merino wool and synthetic fibers for uses in running and biking gear, as well as in urban lifestyle wear. It results in lightweight, soft and breathable product with thermal features.
As per Susan Lynn, Global Sales and Marketing Manager, CoolVisions, they are ideal for spinning fine-micron merino wool offering color and design options unavailable with solution-dyed polypropylene + wool blends, as well as an exceptionally soft hand. Polypropylene scores high among synthetic fibers for sustainability. Its manufacturing process has a reduced impact on the environment with low emissions and no toxic wastes. Polypropylene is also highly resistant to stains and chemicals, she added.
Knitted jerseys, ponte di Romas, French terry, fleece and rib are the part of the WoolVisions collection. The company’s honeycomb jacquard was selected as an ISPO 2014 Top 10 Fabric by the ISPO Textrends Jury. FiberVisions will present its WoolVisions collection at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market, which takes place from January 21 to 24 in Salt Lake City, Utah, US.
In less than three years, Myanmar's export revenues from garments have doubled. Many new apparel factories opened last year. And growth is expected to continue thanks to investment in renovation and expansion of existing facilities.
There are around 275 large, garment exporting factories in Myanmar and over a dozen textile and cotton ginning factories. The country has low labor costs and is seen as an attractive sourcing base. Many global companies are setting up specialised production units similar to the ones they maintain in other countries. Manufacturers are seeking to capture added value by increasing the vertical integration of their production. Buyers feel that workers can be trained through collaborative partnerships to improve efficiencies and compliance.
However, compared with other countries in the region, Myanmar's garment industry is still small and tends to specialise in high quality, technical items. Moreover, the banking sector is under-developed. Now production in Myanmar operates along a contracting system, where raw materials are imported by the customer, and designs, patterns and instructions are all provided to the factory. The factory stitches the garment before packaging it for transport to the buyer. Thus profit margins are much lower and this focus on the production part of the value chain means there is little development of wider domestic supporting services and vertical integration.
The Q3 results of Vardhman Textiles are not expected to be very encouraging. Revenue could be in single or early double digits as compared to 18 per cent reported in Q2 say highly placed sources. Vardhman Textiles is among India’s largest manufacturers of yarn, sewing threads and acrylic fiber. It manufactures for brands like GAP, H&M, Uniqlo, Benetton, Wills, Van Heusen, and Peter England.
The margins of yarn prices came under pressure when cotton prices came down in September last and got adjusted with it as most Indian spinning companies were holding on to. For the Vardhman Group, which is going to invest Rs 560 crores in weaving and fabric units in Baddi town of Himachal Pradesh, fourth quarter could be better as the project will be completed in 18 months and will add 250 looms to the weaving capacity, which in turn will help consolidate the overall fabric business.
Heimtextil Fair, to be held in Frankfurt (Germany) from January 14 to 17, 2015, is the biggest trade fair for home and contract textiles. This time Cotton Concepts, the international textile firm that specializes in the manufacturing of woven and knitted fabrics supplied as finished products to home textile buyers across the world, will exhibit its newest ranges and collections. The Heimtextil has a special function as a trend barometer and benchmark for high-quality textiles. It is characterized by excellent design and innovative functionality.
Known for manufacturing eco-friendly fabrics and dyes that are easily recyclable and cause zero effect to the environment, Cotton Concepts’ name is omnipresent in international trade fairs and exhibitions across the globe. It has been recognized and appreciated in fairs like the Ambiente, Heimtextil, Tendence etc.
CC’s products portfolio comprises aprons, cushions, tea towels, tablecloths, curtains, jute rugs, mats, oven gloves and more. Some well known textile techniques pioneered by Cotton Concepts include: dobby weave technique, insect & veggie printing, water color techniques, yarn dying, overall printing, screen printing and many more currently in the development pipeline. Besides, the company also manufactures and exports custom home furnishings as per the requirements of clients. The company has also helped many designers recreate their raw designs into actual finished products.
Cotton Concepts was established in the late 1990s by ‘Annie & ‘Nathan’. With production facilities spread across India, Australia and Asia Pacific, Cotton Concepts manages production facilities that have the capacity to manufacturer up to 300,000 meters per month or equivalent amount of textile products/garments.
The readymade garment (RMG) sector in Bangladesh, its largest export-earning industry, has registered Tk 4.50 billion loss due to the last seven days of blockade. Following this, apparel makers in the country, have appealed to all political parties to save the sector from further damage. They have appealed to keep the readymade garment sector and its linkages outside the purview of political activities for smoother supply of import and export.
Addressing a press conference, Md Atiqul Islam, President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has said that it was the sector’s earnest request to all the political parties to save the garment industry from any further damage as the destructive political programs are taking a heavy toll on the economy as a whole. BGMEA chief also sought a clear directive from political parties in this regard.
Only two days after the FBCCI’s request to shun negative political programs, the BGMEA’s call has come. The Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) has also made a similar appeal. Due to the ongoing political impasse, the garment industry is in a serious image crisis. Buyers are not coming to negotiate new orders with the onset of the new season.
Apparel exports had just started bouncing back of late but the unstable political situation has created panic among global buyers. A single day’s hartal or blockade hampers apparel exports worth Tk 6.95 billion and production worth Tk 2.15 billion, Islam claimed. If necessary, BGMEA leaders will meet BNP leader Begum Khaleda Zia, he added.
Maria Klahn, owner of the Selvedge Online GmbH and Burg & Schild buyer Jorg Shane Brandenburg have teamed up with Andreas Becker, co-owner of the Circus GbR which operates the circus hostel, hotel and apartments in Berlin, to create the concept for ‘Selvedge Run’ which will make its debut at Berlin fashion trade shows from July 7-9, 2015.
The new trade show is slated for summer 2015 and is aimed at heritage-conscious men’s clothing, denim goods, boots and accessories. Jörg Shane Brandenburg explains that the show wants to assist the other Berlin trade shows, by installing (boat) shuttles to Seek and Premium as the organizers are already finalizing a renting contract for an industrial-style location close to the river Spree, which shall house 30-40 brands on 1,200 sq. mtr. outside spaces.
As per Brandenburg, when Karl-Heinz Müller revealed his plans to move his trade show Bread & Butter to Barcelona the idea to initiate the new trade show in Berlin for authentic, quality-conscious brands with a handicraft-spirit, arose in summer 2014 in his mind. He wanted to close the gap that had arisen in Berlin for the related segment brands and had already experienced a great feedback. In Selvedge Run, focus will be on work offering a good price-performance ratio to make it attractive also to US and Japanese brands to exhibit here.
Red Wing, Tanner Goods, Stetson, Filson, The Real McCoy’s and many other smaller handicraft labels are expected to exhibit their products in the Selvedge Run. An evening event will be hosted by the organizers of Selvedge Run in Berlin on January 20 for invited brands, buyers and press to reveal more information about the show.
Cambodia's $5.5-billion garment industry witnessed a significant decrease in the numbers of the strikes and lost work days as compared to 2013, reveal latest industry figures. The Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC), which represents the sector’s more than 500 export factories, collected these figures after unprecedented number of strikes in 2013 in Cambodia’s crucial but volatile garment sector. As per GMAC’s latest stats, the number of strikes fell by more than 25 per cent, from 147 in 2013 to 108 in 2014. The number of lost work days fell even more, from 8,89,000 to 5,13,000, a decrease of 40 per cent. These figures exclude the 15 days nation-wide strikes that brought much of the industry to a halt in late December 2013 and early January 2014.
GMAC chairman Van Sou Ieng points out that 15 days were not included because the association considered them to be political events rather than industrial actions. He blamed the peak in strikes and lost working days in 2013 on the opposition CNRP, which he accused of whipping up discontent among garment workers for votes in an election year.
The CNRP had promised higher wages to garment workers if elected to power. After the strikes, the negotiations between the unions, factories and government for yet another boost to the minimum wage helped to defuse tensions and bring the number of strikes down, believes Sou Leng. Agreeing with Leng’s views, Ath Thorn, president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union, and one of the leaders of the Dec. 2013 strikes, said that the elections had helped fuel a rise in strikes in 2013.
Both, Thorn and Sou Leng, are clear about the idea that the drop should help revive confidence in Cambodia that international brands lost in 2013.
With a view to provide all necessary facilities to textile and garments sector under one roof, Punjab government in Pakistan is setting up a state-of-the-art and the most modern project of its kind ‘Quaid-i-Azam Apparel Park’ near Motorway.
Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister, has said that the project will increase exports which will strengthen the national economy as well as generate job opportunities. Presiding over a high-level meeting to review the project, he approved the handing over of management and development work of the park project to Punjab Industrial Estate Development and Management Company.
Sharif further point out that Pakistan is an agrarian country and the goal of progress and prosperity could be achieved through development of agro-based industry. Adding that GSP Plus status has resulted in boosting the country’s exports, he stressed on the need to accelerate the process of industrialization. Quaid-i-Azam Apparel Park would be an example of speedy execution. Nearly 200 acres of land has been allocated for a labour colony in the park while construction of link road has been started.
Political unrest is making Bangladesh's readymade garment exporters worried. They fear losing orders. International buyers usually place most of their orders at this part of the year. A country-wide blockade has been launched by the opposition party. Exporters feel such a blockade will disrupt supply chain of imported raw materials and hamper production and cause shipment delays.
Because of the turmoil, workers have not been able to readymade garment factories, especially those located in the capital. Political unrest led buyers to cancel orders worth in 21 days of December 2013. Several factory owners have urged the ruling party as well as other political parties to shun confrontational politics to let the economy grow at the desired rate needed for becoming a middle income country by 2021.
In the meanwhile a decision has been taken to transport outbound readymade garment products to Chittagong port under police escort during the countrywide blockade to ensure timely shipment, and to bring raw materials from the port city. At one time, before the blockade, the increasing numbers of international orders, boosted by ebbing worries on regulatory incompliance and a stable political front, promised a rewarding 2015 for garment makers.
But now hopes are dimming again. Other challenges facing the industry are an inadequate supply of gas and power and poor infrastructure.
Futex 2015 will take place in France, January 21 to 22, 2015. This is a convention on European technical textiles. It brings together technical managers, CEOs, R&D managers, sales managers, engineers, research scientists, heads of department, professors and purchase managers.
It will discuss the means of managing, producing, harvesting, transferring, and storing energy through textile materials. Textile chemistry, new fibers, textile constructions, combinations of textile and non-textile technologies will be offered as innovative perspectives to transport or store these energies. Leading figures of the energy sector and key players in the textile industry will meet to discuss these issues, find solutions and discover the latest innovations.
It’s held every two years. Since 2005, Futex has been a major meeting point for the European technical textile sector with an ever-growing attendance. The event will have 220 participants, representing more than 10 countries. Futex presents a showcase of what currently exists in a theme chosen by the organizing committee representing all figures in the textile industry. The event will include conferences, booths for manufacturers and partners, exhibitions, workshops on innovation and a competition for students. <br/>
Participants can explore three ways to carry out the development of an innovative product. These workshops will be held at a center dedicated to the development of added value in textile products.
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