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US sewn products body, SEAMS will present reshoring awards to companies that have relocated their sewing to the US. SEAMS comprises more than 200 of America’s foremost fashion brands, retailers, manufacturers and textile providers. The awards will be in three categories including cut and sew manufacturers, brands, vertical retailers, and OEMS and technology suppliers.
The award will not only motivate more companies to reexamine their offshoring but also highlight the benefits of domestic manufacturing. The hope is that other associations also choose to support similar awards to show that their industries are now successfully reshoring.
In 2017, over 1,70,000 manufacturing jobs had returned from offshore destination back to the US. The apparel and textile industry is mainly impacted by offshoring and now reshoring. Through this award SEAMS acknowledges those US based companies returning to manufacturing in the US. The initiative helps manufacturers realize the importance of domestic production and also provide training to suppliers on how to sell the product against low priced offshore competitors.
The aim is to boost production in the US in order to strengthen the economy and bring jobs back to the US.
Latest provisional data released by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S) shows, import of MMF yarn, fabrics and made-up together increased 27 per cent and import of made-up staple fibres increased 19 per cent from April to July, 2018.The import of MMF textile has increased by almost 26 per cent in value terms at $869 million compared to $711 million in the previous year. The highest import growth was recorded in the remade garment (RMG) segment, which represented 47 per cent increase at $784 million during April-July, 2018 compared to $535 million in the same period in previous year.
The MMF sector has been demanding an increase in basic customs duty (BCD) on the import of MMF textiles to provide level-playing field to the indigenous manufacturers. Synthetic and Rayon Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) has also recommended increase in effective rates of BCDs on MMF, MMF yarns and all the left over tariff lines of MMF knitted fabrics falling under chapter 60. The effective rates of BCD on man-made fibres and MMF yarns such as polyester, viscose and others need to be increased to 10 per cent and on nylon fibres and yarns the effective rates of BCD need to be increased to 15 per cent.
The Ethiopian government has invited India’s KPR to establish an apparel manufacturing unit in Ethiopia by offering various incentives and concessions. Considering the core competence prevailing there, the Board of Directors soon decided to set up a unit for manufacture of apparels at the Mekelle Industrial Park set up by the Ethiopian Investment Commission.
The Ethiopian textile industry is fast catching up with the other textile countries like Vietnam and Cambodia with low cost of labor, duty-free import of garments from Ethopia to the US and Europe, availability of trainable workforce, proactive Government support, growing economy, special industrial zones and duty-free import.
Also, the Ethiopian government has the available land and building and KPR only needs to install a few machines and start production. This also saves considerable time in terms of construction. Also there is an option to lease the facility which will cut down on the capex. KPR is planning to incorporate a separate subsidiary company in Ethiopia to establish and run the unit.
India’s apparel market is projected to grow at 15 per cent CAGR till 2022. Seven in 10 fashion accessory purchases in India will be influenced by mobile phones. Nearly half of those mobile-influenced purchases will be driven by Facebook, amounting to a 110 billion dollar sales opportunity. Additionally, the mobile will influence two in three apparel purchases, amounting to a 66 billion dollar opportunity for brands, half of which will be driven by Facebook.
Friction occurs when consumers dropout during purchase due to unnecessary additional effort, incremental step or inconvenience. Friction accounts for 19 per cent of consumer dropouts in the apparel category, and in the accessories category, friction accounts for 22 per cent of consumer dropouts.
Top friction areas for different demographic cohorts vary and hence marketers need to customize their marketing strategy accordingly. For example, men and women display different drivers for entering the purchase funnel. Fashion brands need to adopt relevant marketing strategies and reduce friction in consumer journeys across multiple touch-points, leading to improved conversion rates and increased revenue opportunity.
The fashion spectrum in India has evolved so considerably that the apparel and accessory market is projected to reach $102 billion and $155 billion by the year 2022.
Hosiery manufacturers in Mumbai are protesting against the rising prices of yarn. Yarn rates, which were around Rs 255 till January, have reached Rs 400 per kg. Many manufacturers in the city are losing orders because of this increase in yarn prices. Within six months, the prices have almost doubled.
Dealers say the government needs to take care of the cartel in yarn industry or else manufacturers would lose orders from both domestic and overseas markets. Many hosiery manufacturers protested against the “cartel” of yarn dealers and owners. Under the banner of For Arm Welfare Organisation, they burnt the effigy of yarn dealers/ owners of yarn manufacturers. Varun Malhotra from the organisation said dealers and mill (yarn) owners were hand in glove with each other and targeting hosiery manufacturers.
The hosiery manufacturers are trying to meet Member of Parliament Ravneet Singh Bittu on this issue. President of Knit and Fab Industry Vipan Vinayak said orders were taken earlier and now, prices have been increased and it had become too difficult to execute the orders on previous rates.
The Swedish retailer's non-profit H&M Foundation has launched the fourth annual edition of its Global Change Award, which will challenge trailblazers to submit ideas for creating a circular fashion industry. For its 2019 edition, the awards will focus particularly on digital innovations, how to recover and reuse waste, or ideas supporting a climate positive fashion industry
The award was launched in 2015, in partnership with Accenture and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. It offers coaching and €1 million n funding to its winning inventors, and has attracted more than 8,000 entries from 151 different countries. Last year, the prize money was divided among the five finalists via a public vote, with the largest portion of the funds being allocated to "Crop-A-Porter," a concept designed to turn the harvest remains of crops such as hemp and bananas and turn it into useful bio-fiber for making textiles. The application process will remain open through October 17, with the winners announced in April 2019.
Institut français de la mode (IFM, the French Fashion Institute) and the Global Fashion Agenda, organiser of the Copenhagen Fashion Summit, have signed an MoU to strengthen their collaboration to promote sustainable development in fashion. The future joint projects will engage key fashion industry stakeholders, notably senior corporate executives and creative directors, through round-table discussions and the issuing of joint press releases on the challenges of sustainable development, detailing the progress made in the field, the actions taken and the policies adopted.
Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) is an umbrella brand created around the Copenhagen Fashion Summit, the event which has emerged as the main gathering of ethical and sustainable fashion labels. GFA notably set itself the mission of publishing studies and reports on sustainability issues, as well as lobbying with Danish, European and international institutions to promote a more sustainable fashion industry. The MoU is therefore also to broaden the consensus among French labels engaged in social responsibility and environmental issues. It will promote more far-reaching changes within French fashion companies, and launch concrete initiatives to encourage industry leaders to shift towards new business models which will guarantee a secure future to individuals, corporations and the planet.
Canada wants free trade with the Asean bloc. A deal with the Asean bloc that includes Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Cambodia, would give Canada access to 650 million consumers. Canada is also eyeing free trade with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. A trade deal with China is also in the works, which if successful would make Canada the first western nation to reach a free trade deal with China.
Asean and China are working to upgrade the Asean-China free trade area. China will discuss free trade possibilities with the UK. Britain aims to increase its exports to 35 per cent of GDP after leaving the EU by increasing trade ties with other world trade members. Australia and Indonesia are on the brink of signing a free trade deal.
A full-fledged agreement on a free trade zone between Iran and the EAEU will be concluded by early 2022. BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) is pushing for free trade agreement and regional connectivity. The regional grouping comprises Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Sri Lanka. For India, BIMSTEC is a natural choice to fulfill its key foreign policy priorities of neighborhood first and act east policy.
European Union’s of trousers imports in volume jumped 7.82 per cent during the first five months of 2018. The value, however, declined by 1.16 per cent. The fall in value is possibly due to low unit prices offered by all top exporting hubs such as China, Bangladesh, India and Vietnam.
The import value of trousers from China fell 7.64 per cent. The import value of trousers from Bangladesh fell 0.09 per cent. Vietnam is fiercely moving to outpace India’s share in the EU market as far as trousers are concerned. Vietnam is growing significantly while India is losing out. Till May this year, Vietnam’s trouser exports to the EU grew 5.09 per cent however, India’s trouser exports to the EU fell by 5.60 per cent.
The rise of Bangladesh and Vietnam indicates European buyers are more interested in placing orders in these countries, while India is somehow not able to grab the shifting orders from China. India’s inability to take advantage of the rupee depreciation of around six per cent against the euro has hurt its exports. Further, the absence of a free trade agreement with the EU is clearly making products manufactured in India non-competitive as compared to countries like Bangladesh which get trade benefits by the EU.
As per a new Global Info Research (GIR) study, global market for Cashmere clothing is expected to grow at a CAGR of roughly 3.8 per cent over the next five years. It is likely to reach $3,230 million in 2023. China accounts for about 70 per cent of cashmere in the world, while Italy was China’s largest export destination, in April 2017; the country imported 98 tons of cashmere from China accounting for 78 per cent of the month’s exports.
China is also the largest consumption market, due to the rapid growth of the national economy as well as people’s gradual improvement of life quality. Many famous brands like Loro Piana and Brunello Cucinelli have targeted this region to launch their products there.
United States also plays an important role in the global cashmere clothing industry. In 2016, the country consumed about 3.5 million units, holding more than 19 per cent share globally. Asia region is the major manufacturing base of Cashmere clothing due to its low labor cost and material cost. Most famous brands have their plants or cooperative manufacturers in the region.
