The second edition of the global textile technology and engineering show, GTTES 2019, will be held from January 18-20, 2019, in Mumbai. GTTES 2019, organised by India ITME Society, is ready to start a new successful business year with new optimism, opportunities, and prospects for the textile industry with more than 400 exhibitors from around 48 countries.

GTTES has grown in size and numbers and has achieved 26 per cent growth rate attracting about 168 companies as first time participants who have never participated in any ITME events. This is a remarkable response to the second edition of GTTES, indicating that this event has achieved its place as a reliable international business platform for both domestic and overseas companies. It is very attractive for start-ups and small, medium companies from non-metro cities due to its low cost participation charges and focused exhibit chapters, according to a press release on the event.

First time participation from Sri Lanka & Slovenia and countries like Belgium, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Turkey, UK, USA, Taiwan, Algeria, Djibouti, Kuwait, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Senegal, is a testimony to global reach of GTTES as a trusted opportunity for business and gateway to India.

Apart from this, GTTES 2019 will facilitate interaction with all export promotion councils, which will help industry to know more about export opportunities, various government subsidies, market initiative schemes available for Indian manufacturers, and help gain information and develop new opportunities for exports from India.

The road shows are a very important part of visibility and one-to-one connect with textile hubs in various parts of the countries as well as globally. A total of 18 promotional activities has been conducted over the last six months in India and overseas. Visitor registration is much higher than the first edition GTTES and the number of countries sending the business delegates to attend the event has also increased.

As a trend setting exhibition organiser, India ITME Society takes care to address trending topics as well as the topics which needs attention. Conference sessions by Indian Technical Textiles Association Society on ‘International Conference on Nonwoven Technical Textiles’ & by Society of Dyers & Colourists International India on ‘Educating the Technology Innovations in Textile Colouration’, will be held on January 19 and 20, 2019.

There will also be industry interactive session on January 18, 2019 to facilitate government / industry interaction. Surina Rajan, IAS, director general, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) shall be available for open interaction with industry members. This shall help the industry in direct representation towards formulation of policy for standardisation, promoting exports / imports, control proliferation. The main points of discussion will include, overview of standardisation work done by BIS in the field of textile machinery and accessories; issues related to noise emissions and safety aspects of textile machinery, and adoption of related ISO standards & inputs required for identified new subjects such as embroidery machines and baby diaper making machines.

Bangladesh will continue to grow as a major textile machinery market as local textile millers are expanding business riding on higher demand for garment items from international consumers, industry people said yesterday.

Local fabrics makers, textile millers, spinners and garment manufacturers spend a few billions of dollars every year to buy machinery.

“Bangladesh is the biggest machinery market for Chinese textile and garment machine manufacturers,” said Chen Ji, secretary general of the China Sewing Machinery Association.

Ji said Chinese sewing machinery manufacturers exported equipment worth more than $1 billion to Bangladesh every year.

“The textile and garment business will continue to grow in Bangladesh over the next many years as the demand is increasing every year both in the international and local markets,” Ji told The Daily Star at the 16th Dhaka International Textile & Garment Machinery Exhibition 2019, also known as DTG 2019. The Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) and Yorkers Trade & Marketing Services Co. Ltd, Hong Kong jointly organised the four-day exhibition at the International Convention City Bashundhara in Dhaka. This is the largest textile machinery exhibition in Southeast Asia, the organisers said.

This year 1,200 exhibitors from 37 countries are showcasing latest machinery in the textile and garment sectors at 1,650 booths set up at the venue. Last year, 1,100 exhibitors from 36 countries took part.

Judy Wang, president of Yorkers Trade & Marketing Services Co., said every year the number of participants was increasing as renowned textile and garment manufacturing companies in the world wanted to sell their goods in Bangladesh.

Local spinners can meet 80 percent of the demand of the knitwear sector, while only 35 -40 percent of the woven sectors' demand can be met by local suppliers, she said.

“So, there is room for further big investment in the woven sector where local entrepreneurs will need to install machinery worth of billions of US dollars,” she said.

Wang said the DTG was a very good platform to invite international buyers targeting the woven sector, which has immense potential to grow.

BTMA President Mohammad Ali Khokon, in his inaugural speech, said buyers of textile and apparel products now recognised Bangladesh as one of their major sourcing destinations.

“Textile machinery manufacturers value Bangladesh as the centre of textile and clothing machinery business hub,” he said.

Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, urged the government to continue policy support and political stability.

"We need predictable and consistent policies. We want to know what the price of energy would be in the next 10 years. We do not want any erratic policy in the financial sector.”

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"One of the most popular types of clothing around the world, denim is also one of environmentally hazardous garments. A case in point is the river delta in China whose water turned blue from the washing of jeans from thenearby denim factories. Lately, many brands trying to arrive at a common consensus on the issue of sustainability. Individual companies are spending on safety and sustainability certifications, like the Higg Index, Cradle to Cradle, or ISO 9000. However, there’s still no high-level awareness or data collection on the industry as a whole as every company and manufacturer has different standards. Levi's has separate requirements for a denim product than J.Crew, BLK DNM or Gap. And it's up to the mills creating these jeans to meet each requirement."

One of the most popular types of clothing around the world, denim is also one of environmentally hazardous garments. A case in point is the river delta in China whose water turned blue from the washing of jeans from thenearby denim factories. Lately, many brands trying to arrive at a common consensus on the issue of sustainability. Individual companies are spending on safety and sustainability certifications, like the Higg Index, Cradle to Cradle, or ISO 9000.

However, there’s still no high-level awareness or data collection on the industry as a whole as every company and manufacturer has different standards. Levi's has separate requirements for a denim product than J.Crew, BLK DNM or Gap. And it's up to the mills creating these jeans to meet each requirement.

No clear knowledge on certifications

In order to differentiate themselves from competitors, mill owners are acquiring all the sustainability and manufacturing certificates available in the market. Nobody has a clear understanding about which certifications matter to consumers or how they all stack up against each other.

The industry needs to examineeach of these standards and find overlapping areas. This will also lead to dropping the costly third-party audits and standards altogether.Once a single standard is adopted, the industry needs to implement a system that allows it to track how people are following the standard.

Blockchainpayment system to streamline transactions

A blockchain-based system benefits everyone in the denim industry. This system allows companies to usea payment system that incentivises good behavior. As each participant in the supply chain achieves its goals, like meeting the new standard, it can automatically receive discounts or rewards that incentiviseit to continue working in a sustainable, ethical manner.

A blockchain payment system also streamlines transactions and automates the incentive system through smart contracts.Companies can prove the sustainability of their products by putting manufacturing records on the blockchain.

Increased efficiency and beneficial data leads to sustainable future

In this system, companies design files to autonomous machines at different locations, where customers wait while the clothing is quickly made on-site.As production is done on-demand and on-site, companies will spend less of their time and money in chasing down audits and looking for the latest certification. Over time, the blockchain ecosystem will provide increased efficiency and more beneficial data leading to a more sustainable future for denim.

"The recent Apparel Sourcing Show, hosted in Paris, noted that China's dominance of the global clothing manufacturing sector might soon come to an end. Bangladesh, with its lower production costs, will overtake China, with many Chinese manufacturers shifting their production facilities to the South Asian nation. As Michael Scherpe, President of Messe Frankfurt France points out, attendance at the 2018 show declined 2.6 per cent from the earlier event. However, still around 29,000 fashion aficionados visited the show's five dedicated display halls – Avantex, Leatherworld, Shawls&Scarves, Texworld and Texworld Denim. Focus on the textile micro-factory phenomenon."

The recent Apparel Sourcing Show, hosted in Paris, noted that China's dominance of the global clothing manufacturing sector might soon come to an end. Bangladesh, with its lower production costs, will overtake China, with many Chinese manufacturers shifting their production facilities to the South Asian nation.

As Michael Scherpe, President of Messe Frankfurt France points out, attendance at the 2018 show declined 2.6 per cent from the earlier event. However, still around 29,000 fashion aficionados visited the show's five dedicated display halls – Avantex, Leatherworld, Shawls&Scarves, Texworld and Texworld Denim. Focus on the textile micro-factory phenomenon.

In addition to the hundreds of stands, daily conferences and catwalks shows also engaged the show's attendees. One such round-table conference, within Avantex – the event's dedicated high-tech and smart fibres zone – focused on the textile micro-factory phenomenon, a development that has been driven by growing demand for localised production facilities and more reactive supply chains.

One of the most high-profile contributors to this particular discussion was Christian Kaiser, Project Research Manager for the Deutsche Institute fürTextil und Faserforschung (DITF), one of Germany's largest textile research centres. He highlighted the role high-tech design systems had to play in the development of such micro-factories. The panel also discussed the impact a new generation of large-format inkjet printing systems – particularly with regard to polyester and pigment sublimation for cotton and mixed – had on creating flexible opportunities for small-batch production.

China retains a robust presence

Chinese companies retained a robust presence throughout the event, most notably via a memorable showcase of the work of a number of mainland fashion designers over on the Premium Brands Ready to Wear stage. One particularly dazzling sequined jacket came courtesy of the Ningbo-based Aiyimei Group, which employs 3,200 people across a range of disciplines, including garment making, textile printing / dyeing and knitting.

China Textile Information Centre (CTIC), a Beijing-based trade body, installed several outsized 'silent salesmen' booths, information points designed to showcase the mainland's many strengths across the garment manufacturing sector. Pre-eminent among these was the Fabrics China Trend Forum, a range of displays designed to position China as a global leader in innovative textiles manufacturing.

In addition, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) hosted its own bespoke Hong Kong Pavilion. This year, it focused on six of the SAR's clothing businesses in particular – Asia Smart Industrial, Asiatex Enterprise, Come Base, Eto Knit Company, Hi-Style Manufacturing and the Yester Group.

China put in a particularly impressive show in the fashion accessories sectorwith Zhejiang Golden Point Textile attracting particular attention. The company now provides finished textiles to a number of leading international brands from our Shaoxing facility.

Emergence of Bangladesh

There were clear signs of Chinese manufacturers moving their production facilities out of China at the conference. Leading among these was the Hong Kong/Guangdong-based Yester Group.

Overall, Bangladeshi investment into the textile industry has propelled the country to be the second most preferred sourcing option, transforming the fortunes of many local businesses, including Zaber&Zubair Fabrics. The Noman Group company, one of the largest vertical operations in South East Asia, now outputsover 110 million metres of textiles every year.

In 2018 the total export turnover of Vietnam’s textile and garment industry was up 16 per cent year on year.
With the results achieved in 2018, Vietnamese textile firms have witnessed positive signals for orders in 2019. Many businesses have already received orders for the first six months of 2019 and even the whole year.

The upcoming enforcement of new generation free trade agreements is a positive factor supporting production and business activities of the sector in 2019.

In 2019, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is hoped to create a boost for many industries of Vietnam, including the textile and garment sector. In addition, the textile and garment sector is also waiting for more orders shifted from China to Vietnam due to the US-China trade war.

Domestic enterprises will be enabled to choose orders with highs prices and easier requirements when orders are moved from China to Vietnam. In order to catch up with these opportunities, local businesses need to gradually improve technologies and invest more in new technologies.

The targeted export turnover for 2019 is 10.8 per cent higher compared to 2018. The sector is expected to enjoy a trade surplus of 20 billion dollars and create employment and increase income for 2.85 million workers.

An interdisciplinary research team at Manchester Metropolitan University has conducted an extensive evaluation process to determine the true levels of precision and performance that a carbon dioxide laser etching technique can deliver. Developed as a less environmentally-harmful alternative to traditional bleaching methods, the laser technique’s potential in yielding highly precise denim effects while not compromising the quality, color, feel or strength of a garment – has now been scientifically assessed.

This method of distressing denim avoids traditional bleaching techniques which, according to the study’s authors, have a very poor environmental reputation due to using a range of physical, chemical and mechanical finishing methods that can pose severe risks to both the planet and the wellbeing of those exposed to it.

In the study undertaken by Manchester Fashion Institute and the School of Healthcare Science, light, medium and heavy weight indigo dyed 100 per cent cotton denim fabrics were exposed to a CO2 laser at various power and intensity levels.

Subsequent color change was investigated using a Spectrophotometer, a morphological structural analysis was carried out by Scanning Electron Microscopy, and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) was used to monitor the loss of indigo dye and degradation of cellulose fibres.

Bangladesh has revised wages in six grades for garment workers. This resolves the unrest in the country's largest foreign export earning sector. Unrest hit the sector in 2016 when workers began protests demanding a new wage board. Around 350 unions for more than 4,500 active garment factories is a scanty number. Factory managements do not encourage formation of unions.

Cordial industrial relations have been missing in the sector for over 40 years since garment trade took off in the country. In almost every factory, the elected participation committees are present for the sake of compliance. In most cases these participation committees are inactive and only exist on paper under pressure from buyers.

The latest spell of protests against disparity in wages was not guided by union leaders and it was evident when the demonstrating workers refused to return to work despite repeated calls from the leaders. After the last pay hike in 2013, many factories increased production target for workers and the work pressure built up tremendously. So relentless was the pressure that workers did not have even a minute to drink water or use the restroom during their shift. Bangladesh has emerged as a key hub for garment manufacturing, as prices in China have increased dramatically in recent years.

Kornit Digital has launched a super-industrial, next-generation direct-to-garment printing platform. Called Atlas, it is designed for high-volume production, delivering the highest productivity and the most impressive standards of top retail print quality and optimized cost of ownership.

Kornit Digital is a market leader in digital textile printing innovation. Atlas is the first instance of the company’s next-generation direct-to-garment printing platform, providing garment decorators and screen printers a unique tool for mastering the current and future challenges of the textile supply chain.

The Kornit Atlas is a heavy-duty system created for super-industrial garment decoration businesses. It was designed to deliver a typical annual production capacity of up to 350,000 impressions, optimizing production efficiency and cost of ownership. It is aimed at highly productive garment decorators, mid to large size screen printers and innovative businesses looking to combine state-of-the art technology with the lowest cost of ownership.

The system is equipped with new recirculating print heads and comes with a newly developed ink, NeoPigment Eco-Rapid. Featuring an enhanced version of Kornit’s HD technology, it is complemented by a professional raster image processing software solution and produces prints that meet the highest standards of retail quality and durability. The all-new Atlas will allow for easy future network connectivity required to support fleet management and optimization of global multi-systems and multi-site enterprises.

Archroma has innovative and sustainable solutions for denim and casual wear manufacturers and brands. From fiber to finish, Archroma offers textile manufacturers and brand owners tailor-made solutions.

Denisol is a newly developed pre-reduced liquid indigo solution that is manufactured in Archroma’s zero liquid discharge manufacturing plant in Pakistan. The new aniline-free Denisol Pure Indigo 30 can be used together with Archroma’s dyeing auxiliaries for customised dyeing system solutions. Archroma’s Advanced Denim dyeing technology allows savings of up to 92 per cent in water, 87 per cent in cotton waste and 30 per cent in energy compared to a conventional denim dyeing process.

The technology has been adopted by prestigious brands including Patagonia. Archroma, a leader in color and specialty chemicals, challenges the status quo with the aim of making the industry sustainable and offers solutions that are safe, efficient and enhanced.

Diresul RDT Ocean Blues is a collection of vibrant, ocean-themed bright sulphur blue dyes. These dyes and their auxiliaries bring out the best of indigo, improve workability, dyeing consistency and process safety. They can be combined with the Denisol Indigo range in bottoming/topping manufacturing routes – to create exciting avant-garde blue styles. Diresul Fast Black RDT is an exclusive sulphur black dyestuff technology that is fast to chlorine and resistant to the strong oxidative agents applied on home laundry.

Cotton Council International (CCI), in collaboration with the Indonesian Textile Association (API), CCI presented a seminar titled: Advantages of US Cotton Textiles Products and Future Fashion Trends in the Global Market. The seminar attended by Jane Singer, Director & Head-Market Intelligence, Inside Fashion Group stated that 2019 fashion trends cover everything from coral to tie-dyed denim. Singer shared the results of his observations about the main changes that occurred in the retail market and changes in consumer attitudes.

He underlined the important role of the quality of materials used by factories to produce clothing, in order to validate brand or brand quality claims. He further emphasised that role of good quality products in determining the brand value. According to him, American cotton is the right choice for entrepreneurs as a basic material for textile production and materials for fashion creations that will be created this year.

COTTON USA ™ technology innovation is very useful for fashion production according to this year's fashion trends. Then, customers today tend to be willing to pay extra for functional clothing.

While in his presentation, Andy Do, Representative of CCI Indonesia's Program said that COTTON USA ™ is always committed to assisting manufacturing industries in understanding fashion trends. Another concern is the use of the latest technology, and the advantages of using American cotton to create new opportunities and other benefits for entrepreneurs and more broadly, for the Indonesian textile industry.