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"Australian buyers today seek long term partnerships with reliable suppliers besides a transparent supply chain. Since the last two years there has been a growth in the number of visitors insisting on certifications and details of manufacturing and supply chains of a product. There is also a significant interest in organic and eco friendly textiles."
The Melbourne International Exhibition Australia was held from November 22, 2018. This year the event got a huge response from both exhibitors and visitors. Julie Holt, Executive Director, International Sourcing Exhibition Australia speaks to DFU about the show and current Australian market
Please elaborate on the major exhibitors at the show. What was the visitor turnout?
Co-organised by three major exhibitions -- The China Clothing Textile Accessories Expo 18th edition, 3rd Footwear and Leather Show, and 9th International Sourcing Expo -- the Melbourne International Exhibition Australia was attended by over 700 exhibitors from 20 countries. This also included a few new countries and a number of companies from the United States. The show, from being a purely Asia Pacific Indian sub continent show is transitioning to having elements of Africa, Europe and the United States. The quality of the show has also improved over the last two to three years.
Which was the largest participating country?
Besides China, it was definitely India which had about 130 participants from apparel, footwear and leather brands. Many brands have been participating for years and are familiar with the buyers. Along with them several new buyers were also added this year.
Tell us more about the Australian textile and fashion market.
Compared to the rest of the world, active wear has a strong growth market in Australia. Since Australians are particular about the quality and narrative of a product, fast fashion is not popular in the country. Hence, we did not have enough exhibitors in that category. However, the market for accessories is strong leading to a large number of exhibitors in this show.
What is the focus of the exhibition: exports or the domestic market?
The Australian Fashion Council, which co-hosted this show, aims to partner Australian designers in exporting our designs. We hope that some of these Australian designers have captured the attention of international influential companies which will provide them with an export market. AFC aims to not only protect the industry in Australia but also expand it.
Though the number of exhibitors has grown exponentially, the number of visitors has not grown proportionately. How do you plan to tackle this?
To enhance visitor experience, we introduced many new initiatives such as the global runway and an online business matching platform to connect with exhibitors. We have also increased the number of seminars by 30 per cent. Rather than increasing the number of exhibitors or visitors to our show, we aim to make them stay longer with us and engage in sourcing activities.
What are Australian buyers looking for?
Australian buyers today seek long term partnerships with reliable suppliers besides a transparent supply chain. Since the last two years there has been a growth in the number of visitors insisting on certifications and details of manufacturing and supply chains of a product. There is also a significant interest in organic and eco friendly textiles. This was evident in the number of exhibitors who displayed signs/handwritten signs saying ‘Got Certified’ on their pavilion.
What is the status of Chinese market which till now was the largest exporter for Australian apparels?
The Chinese market has reached a threshold and is on the decline. India and Indonesia are the two countries that are likely to see a big jump in buyer activity from Australia. Since some of the garment innovations in these countries are similar to those in Australia, trade with these two countries along with Malaysia is likely to increase.
What was the highlight of this year’s show?
There were three highlights in this year’s show. First, the number of countries who participated increased to 20. Second, the global runway not only engaged the audience but also made them reflect on the show. The third highlight was the VIP buyer programme combined with online business matching platform.
What will the next edition offer?
It will be a more engaging opportunity. Opinion will be expanded one way presentation, a more effective business matching platform and a trends area. We expect European participation as well particularly on the runway.
Any particular new sector which could be addressed?
We need to make navigability of the show easier for buyers; to have more clearly designated products and trend areas.
Do you see the number of Indian participants increasing next year?
There might be a slight increase as we are not actively perusing a larger participation because we want a more dense experience. We want exhibitors and visitors to be more active together. Our seminar program is quite successful compared to other sourcing events. We branded the sourcing program for the first time this year which was well received and offers a lot of value for visitors and exhibitors alike.
Texworld USA will take place from July 22 to 24, 2019. Over 22 product groups from more than 500 companies will be represented at the show. This year’s event is expected to host over 5,000 attendees. Among the product categories are: cotton, denim, embroidery and lace, functional fabrics, knits, wovens, linen, prints, silk, wool, yarn, accessories, findings and trims, jacquard, shirting, faux fur and novelties. The show will feature company pavilions for Korea, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal. Portugal will also join as the first European country pavilion in the show’s history.
India will be represented by home textile manufacturer Amber, Gupta Creations with cushions, throws, rugs, stools, Sai Exports with decorative cushions, rugs and Sri Ganesh Textile with yarn-dyed woven fabrics for upholstery and home furnishings.
The show provides buyers a diversified platform. In order to evolve with industry trends, not only does it feature exhibitors that have the capacity for large orders but also caters to up-and-coming designers by offering low minimum suppliers. Texworld also aims at meeting the needs of the industry with must-have fabrics/prints and color palettes. Sustainability, the rapidly expanding priority for all sectors of the apparel and textile industries, will be well represented at this year’s Texworld USA.
Welspun is in the midst of a massive transformation driven by sustainability. It is refining systems and processes. But its biggest interventions are around the creation of vibrant and progressive farming communities. In Maharashtra and Gujarat the main cotton producing regions for Welspun farmers are given complete farm management solutions right from the field to the market. This project is spread over 250 villages and indirectly impacts 50,000 farm workers. The ambition is to build models of sustainable farming despite the small plot sizes of most farmers. An entire cut and sew unit is run only by women including the security guard of the unit. At the heart of the sustainability processes at Welspun is a process of chemical fingerprinting to identify the origin of the cotton fiber used. This system allows tracing of cotton from farms to the gin and to the spinning and to the weaving stage as well as the point of sale.
The fashion and textile industry is the second largest polluter in the world, coming second to the oil sector. Global efforts to mitigate carbon emissions to stem the impact of climate change are now shaking up things as almost all big players in the fashion and textile industry are reeling under the ceaseless pressure to transform.
Vietnam’s fabric imports in May 2019 increased 5.8 per cent year-on-year. Garment companies in Vietnam are hugely dependent on imported fabric. In 2017, for instance, two-thirds of the industry’s entire demand for clothes was imported. While the yarn and apparel segments have grown strongly, others like dyeing are poorly developed. Local companies lack proper awareness of the dyeing process. They also lack the technologies, human resources and skills required to develop this sector.
The lopsided development of its various segments and the dependence on imports have weakened the textile industry’s competitiveness and hindered its ability to add value. In fact, the huge fabric imports are a paradox considering two-thirds of the fiber produced in the country are exported every year.
Developing fabric and dyeing segments would be the key factor in the growth of the garment and textile industry. Industrial zones specialising in dyeing and cloth production have to be established. Attracting foreign direct investment in the industry is also necessary for its development. Most garment and textile companies in Vietnam have to hire foreign experts in dyeing, which pushes up their production costs. So investing in the training of human resources is vital to developing the dyeing segment.
Textile imports into the United States were almost eight per cent higher this May compared to the same month a year earlier. Imports from China grew more than seven per cent year over year in May. China is still the number one source of textiles heading into the US by a wide margin. The trade war hasn't really had a large impact on sourcing from China. The fact that sourcing from China continues to increase is a sign companies may be looking to diversify their sourcing rather than move it fully out of China. Between January and May 2019 imports from China rose 2.4 per cent compared to the same period of time in 2018.
Imports from India and Vietnam jumped more than 12 per cent in May, while those from South Korea were up 22 per cent and imports from Cambodia rose 28 per cent. Between January and May 2019 US imports from South Korea rose 24 per cent and imports from India increased by 16 per cent compared to the same period of time in 2018. This shows growth in Chinese textile imports by the US is slightly smaller if viewed as the first five months of the year rather than just May.
Panorama was held in Germany, July 2 to 4, 2019.
The trade show revealed a first look at the fashion themes due to dominate Northern Europe’s high streets. Nostalgia, sustainability and color were at the base of most collections.
Noisy May’s collection for spring/summer 2020 looked like a blast from the past, but with a 21st century focus on sustainability. The contemporary women’s brand has ambitions to increase its commitment to organic cotton. The goal is to have 50 per cent of the entire Noisy May range—denim and non-denim—made with organic cotton within the next year. Bestseller brand channeled the ’80s and ’90s in its spring/summer 2020 collection, where flare jeans and low-waists appeared to be staging a comeback. The throwback designs were complemented with a range of color blocked windbreakers and tees with nostalgic MTV logo. Summer denim staples like chambray shorts and mini-skirts with elastic waists and jeans with raw edges rounded out the collection.
Vero Moda’s collection offered sustainable options in both rigid and soft varieties. The line included rigid cropped, wide-leg jeans made with 100 per cent organic cotton and a range of denim garments made with Tencel, including a knotted top, pleated shorts and paper bag waist trousers.
The July edition of National Garment Fair will be held in Mumbai from July 15 to 18, 2019. Some 882 exhibitors will showcase their latest festive collections. The fair will display leading brands in men’s wear, women’s wear, children’s wear and accessories. About 50,000 retailers and trade visitors from all over India are expected to visit the fair. This B2B fair will be open only to trade visitors and garment retailers. There will be business networking sessions between exhibitors and agents and distributors.
The biggest problem facing Indian garment manufacturers today is the unrestricted duty free imports from Bangladesh and the back door entry of Chinese fabrics via Bangladesh. India has an FTA with Bangladesh, whereby garments can be exported without any duty payment of duty into India. In the absence of any rules of origin, Bangladesh manufacturers import duty-free fabrics from China, convert them to garments, and export to India – thereby virtually providing duty free access to Indian markets for Chinese fabrics. Imports of garments from Bangladesh have been growing at the rate of 82 per cent over last year, and 161 per cent over 2016-17. Ironically, exports of garments from India to Bangladesh are subject to a net duty of almost 125 per cent.
China continues to be a major supplier of innerwear like cotton and manmade fiber underwear as well as bras. This is attributable to the combination of specialty manufacturing and materials needed to produce these items compared to more basic apparel. Underwear imports from China increased 16.47 per cent for the year to date through May compared to the same period in 2018. This gave China a market share of 23.01 per cent, a 6.53 per cent gain for the 12 months through May.
On the other hand, in cotton and synthetic styles, like pajamas and robes, imports from China have fallen off and sourcing has diversified. The category has similar production machinery and fabrics, which lends itself to a broader array of suppliers. China has lost much market share in tops and bottoms this year to other Asian countries and the western hemisphere.
While much of apparel sourcing has been put into turmoil during the US-China trade war, sourcing in the innerwear sector has generally held true to form so far this year. The nightwear category was friendly to leading suppliers Vietnam, India and Indonesia, each posting double-digit percentage increases so far this year. Imports from China in the category fell 3.54 per cent. China still holds a dominant 54.83 per cent market share in the category.
China’s factories are shutting down. Worried US retailers are accelerating a move out of the country amid heightened trade tensions. While Chinese factories suffer, manufacturers in other Asian hubs are beneficiaries but only up to a point. American retailers have already taken up all manufacturing capacity in Vietnam in their rush out of China. Lack of scale prevents other destinations from fully substituting for China’s manufacturing might. Vietnam, for example, is completely full. There’s no extra capacity for US companies to get in. Chinese factories, meanwhile, are lowering asking prices in their desperation, creating an opportunity for European and Japanese consumer brands. In China, there are a lot of factories with falling orders. They are offering good prices.
Seismic shifts are taking place around the world due to the trade war. Although the US and China have resumed talks on a deal, there are growing signs that the global supply chain, long reliant on China as the factory to the world, is being permanently transformed. There are no investments, no purchases. The trade war is causing people to stop investment because they don’t know where to put the money. China is expected to see more factory shutdowns as the trade war that’s roiled the global supply chain exacerbates an exodus.
Signatories of the 2020 Circular Fashion System Commitment have made just 21 per cent progress toward goals meant to accelerate the fashion industry’s transition to a circular economy.
So says Global Fashion Agenda, the sustainability think tank. The 90 participating brands and retailers, which collectively represent 12.5 per cent of the global fashion market, achieved 45 of 213 targets set in 2017.
The biggest obstacle for signatories lies in increasing the share of garments and/or footwear made from recycled post-consumer textile fibers. Most signatories are still in the early phases of integrating post-consumer textile fibers in their production processes. Moving forward beyond research and development requires a close relationship between suppliers and partners as a prerequisite for success, something that is time-consuming and resource-intensive. The dearth of solutions that facilitate higher-quality fiber-to-fiber recycling is one roadblock; the challenges of quality control are another.
Signatories find it difficult to monitor pre- and post-consumer textile fibers separately. They also have trouble keeping track of the chemical compositions of input and output materials to ensure product safety. For small and medium enterprises, finding materials that meet both their quality standards and suppliers’ minimum requirements proves a headache. With larger companies, the barriers revolve largely around scalability and a lack of specialized suppliers and common standards.
