The Functional Lab will be a key feature of Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics, September 27 to 29. This will provide an interactive experience for buyers seeking the latest functional fabrics.

Highlights include Klinger’s Pure Cool technology, which works by embedding recycled jade into fabrics, resulting in a cooling effect that lowers body temperature. It also controls odor and protects against UV.

Carvico’s new Vita Power range is a sustainable techno-fabric made from Econyl regenerated nylon that offers a muscular compression function. This improves athletes’ recovery of energy by decreasing the production of lactic acid – and, like Klinger’s Pure Cool, also offers UV protection. Plus it is resistant to sun cream, oil and chlorine.

Another exhibitor at the Functional Lab, Xlance, will bring durable, easy-care fabrics that are chemical, oil and cream resistant, establishing the trend for smart products that perform and last well. A growing middle class demographic and access to fitness resources and facilities, not only in China but around the world, has opened up a huge market for fabrics that perform.

These exciting innovations, applicable to a variety of industries including sportswear, swimwear and underwear, are a key example as to why the Functional Lab continues to attract buyers.

The 11th Colombo International Yarn & Fabric Show 2018 (CIFS 2018) - is scheduled to be held from September 27-29, at Sri Lanka Exhibition & Convention Centre (SLECC) in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The expo, being organised by CEMS-Global USA, will focus on the Sri Lankan Textile & Apparel Industry.

Two other related exhibitions: 2nd Sri Lanka Textile Garment Technology & Machinery Int’l Expo 2018, and 3rd Sri Lanka International Air Freight, Shipping & Logistics Expo 2018 will be held concurrently. The 11th CIFS 2018 expo is being strategically timed with Sri Lanka setting up new apparel factories and expanding the capacities of the present ones to match the fast-growing exports. Exhibitors at the event will present their latest innovations in fabrics, accessories, industrial use and other various applications. The exhibition is expected to draw huge visitors from the expanding apparel and textile arena of Sri Lanka.

"One of most striking examples is the development and widespread commercial usage of Unifi Inc.’s Repreve polyester fiber made from recycled post-consumer plastic water bottles. Two years ago, Unifi opened a bottle processing facility in Reidsville, N.C., to convert plastic bottles into polyester fiber and yarn, a year later it expanded its Repreve Recycling Center in Yadkinville, N.C. That gave the company an annual capacity to produce up to 60 million pounds of Repreve and other premier value-added products."

Introduction of new environment-friendly materials ranging from recycled polyester, upcycled and regenerated fabrics, recycled cotton and cellulosic fibers have fastracked developments in fiber and fabrics. Some new innovations in fabrics that have taken the textile world by storm are:

From plastic to polyester

One of most striking examples is the development and widespread commercial usage of Unifi Inc.’s Repreve polyester fiber made from recycled post-consumer plastic water bottles. Two years ago, Unifi opened a bottle processing facility in Reidsville, N.C., to convert plastic bottles into polyester fiber and yarn, a year later it expanded its Repreve Recycling Center in Yadkinville, N.C. That gave the company an annual capacity to produce up to 60 million pounds of Repreve and other premier value-added products.

Last year, Unifi recycled over 10 billion plastic bottles and it now targets 20 billion recycled bottles by 2020, and 30 billion by 2022. The company has recycled 10 billion plastic bottles into fiber for new clothing, shoes, home goods and other consumer products. This fiber is used by many of the world’s leading brands including New Era, Levi’s, Target and Ford.

In January 2018, Unifi introduced its Champions of Sustainability Award, which is given to 25 brand and retail partners that used 10 million or more bottles, and 15 textile partners use 50 million or more bottles, through the use of Repreve fiber.

Insulation from fibres

Polartec recently introduced the upgraded Polartec Power Fill insulation made from 100 per cent post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials. It is a warm, lightweight package insulation that is hydrophobic, fast-drying and highly compressible. It’s made of proprietary hollow fibers bonded together through a process that reduces environmental impact, while simultaneously providing superior insulating properties, durability and hand. When the insulation was introduced a year ago, it featured 80 per cent recycled content. Polartec has now upcycled more than 1 billion post-consumer plastic bottles into hundreds of fabric styles and category-creating platforms.

Commercial fibres from recycled materials

Tricia Carey, Director of Global Business Development at Lenzing says, Tencel with Refibra technology has been adopted by six brands: Country Road, Patagonia, Our of the Woods, Reformation, Marco Polo and Mara Hoffman, and four more brands are expected to adopt the fiber, which substitutes traditional Tencel in the fabric construction. Refibra is made using the closed-loop Tencel lyocell production process and is the only commercially available fiber made from recycled cotton and wood pulp.

Lenzing has also expanded the production of its Ecovero brand of viscose fibers to its Lenzing Nanjing Fibers facility in Nanjing, China. Ecovero, a fiber derived from sustainable wood pulp from certified and controlled sources, has been produced in Lenzing’s Austrian facility since it was launched this past Fall, and since then demand has been strong, which prompted plans to increase production capabilities to accommodate it.

At the same time, Lenzing will expand its capacities of Tencel Luxe filament yarn that was first launched in the market last year. The company will invest up to $35 million in a pilot line at the Lenzing site in Austria.

Making repurposed fabrics

Increasing the exposure of sustainable fabrics is the mission of C.L.A.S.S., which recently launched e-commerce on its revamped website, classecohub.org to make the recycled, upcycled and repurposed fabrics from its consortium of mills available to small designers and students to purchase, with 50-meter maximums.

Among C.L.A.S.S.’s firms whose uptake of materials have been expanded include Ecotec by Marchi & Fildi’s collection made from already dyed, pre-consumer cotton clippings that come in 70 colors, and Cupro fiber from Bemberg by Asahi Kasei made from the transformation of cotton linter bio-utility waste converted through a traceable and transparent closed loop process. There’s also Re.VerSo, derived from wool and cashmere pre-consumer clippings supplied by a collaboration of five premium textile Italian producers, and Roica by Asahi Kasei, a sustainable elastane fiber that uses 50 percent pre-consumer materials.

Ricardo Silva, Head of Operations at Tintex Textiles, which uses sustainable materials including Tencel, organic cotton and BCI Cotton, and recycled materials in its Naturally Advanced fabric collection, said, “being part of C.L.A.S.S. since 2016 has helped us reach new customers.”

Belgium, Germany, Taiwan and the Czech Republic will put up pavilions at Cinte Techtextil, China from September 4 to 6.

Exhibitors in the Taiwan Pavilion will showcase a variety of innovations. Web-Pro will offer protective cover-all materials that resist pathogens and micro-organisms and multi-layered PE films for hygiene products, while Kae Hwa Industrial will introduce their developments in materials that protect against viruses. Four Elements Energy Biotechnology will showcase their multi-functional Masterbatch product, a unique FDA-qualified, anti-mildew and transparent plastic additive that repels bacteria.

Exhibitors in the German Pavilion will showcase their expertise in efficiency in textile production. Baumüller Nürnberg’s modular concepts and intelligent automations allow flexible reactions to changeable market requirements. Edelmann Technology brings new high speed winder systems for increased production rates and new concepts for reducing contamination in products. ISRA Surface Vision will present 100 per cent inline optical surface inspection methods for quality control and process optimisations.

The Belgium Pavilion will include textile recycling company Belrey Fibres, engineered fabrics by Pennel & Flipo for marine and rescue industries, as well as leading coating specialists Vetex who will feature a variety of functional tapes. The Czech Republic Pavilion on the other hand will showcase exhibitors who will provide solutions for technical yarn, fabric processing and nonwoven fabrics.

US apparel imports increased 2.2 per cent for the first six months of the year compared to the year earlier. Retail apparel sales rebounded from their sluggishness amid strong consumer sentiment, and brands accelerated buying activity ahead of tariffs stemming from the US trade war with China.

Imports from Cambodia grew the most, by more than 14 per cent in the half. Men’s woven cotton shirts, women’s cotton pants and women’s manmade fiber knit tops were the big growth categories from the southeast Asian country.

Bangladesh saw an increase in shipments to the US by 4.8 per cent. Vietnam gained 60 basis points share of US apparel imports so far this year, or 15 per cent of the total.

Despite a rush to bring in goods from China before new tariffs kick in, apparel imports from China fell two per cent in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2017. Volume dropped 0.8 per cent, however, driving cost down by 1.2 per cent compared to last year as the production of many labor-intensive and complex garments moved to other countries. Higher manufacturing costs and near fears of higher tariffs are driving many brands to seek sourcing options elsewhere in Asia.

South Korea is planning to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The country had initially not joined the agreement as its accession could lead to an increase in trade deficit with Japan. Furthermore, the country has already signed bilateral FTAs with nine out of the 11 countries except for Japan and Mexico.

However, increasing possibility of United States’ return to the agreement raised concern over South Korea’s alienation in trade. The government conducted studies on economic advantages and disadvantages and the agreement’s possible impact on the local job market, industries, etc. It then reached a conclusion that accession to the CPTPP would be highly beneficial and decided to join the agreement.

The South Korean government is mulling over when to sign it as external uncertainties are growing, including the ongoing trade disputes between the US and China, US economic sanctions on Iran and Turkey, and North Korean denuclearisation.

A first-of-its-kind plant in Sri Lanka’s Horana export processing zone is poised to transform post-consumer plastic bottles into polyester yarn. The facility is owned by BPPL Holdings, a manufacturer of brooms, brushes and mops. It features cutting-edge spinning and texturing machinery from Europe that will make it a game changer for the industry.

The 13,000 sq. mt. plant will be one of two in the world to create yarn directly from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) flakes, a tack that bypasses the polymerization process of converting flakes to chips and then yarn. The new plant, which boasts a capacity of 960 tons of yarn per year, will be able to supply 15 per cent of the polyester yarn required by Sri Lanka’s textile and apparel sectors. Ten plastic bottles provide enough yarn to produce a single T-shirt. It also has dope-dyeing capabilities to create colored yarn as part of the extrusion process.

By sourcing polyester yarn from Sri Lanka, fabric manufacturers can significantly reduce lead times and also lower inventory costs. To ensure its yarn meets strict international standards—and appeal to potential clients abroad—BPPL abides by the Global Recycled Standard, Restricted Substances Lists and Oeko-Tex Standard 100.

The sharp rise in imports from Bangladesh has made Indian industry apprehensive. India’s agreement with Bangladesh doesn’t include the minimum value addition criterion. This loophole can be used for imports of Chinese man-made fiber based garments through Bangladesh.

Over the last 11 months, Bangladesh’s garment exports to India increased by 113 per cent. Add to this footwear, fish, beverages etc and India’s imports from Bangladesh increased by 30 per cent since July 2017.

The introduction of GST in July 2017 led to the withdrawal of 12 per cent countervailing duty (CVD) on textiles. Though Bangladesh was not the only beneficiary, this came as an advantage for Bangladesh, which is the world’s second largest exporter of readymade garments.

Bangladesh had a distinct cost advantage vis-a-vis Indian imports in 49 garment items. GST related benefits should help Bangladesh grab a higher share of Indian imports by replacing other destinations.

India offers duty-free and quota-free entry to Bangladesh’s goods under the South Asian Free Trade Area agreement in 2011. Further Bangladesh’s competitive edge should increase with the recent hiking of import duty on 328 textile products, which is not applicable to Bangladesh.

This year might prove to be a landmark in bilateral trade relations. Bangladesh’s exports to India will close near $900 million.

Huntsman Textile Effects has appointed Rajiv Banavali its new Global Vice President, Research and Technology,. Banavali will join the company’s management as a part of its global leadership team and will report directly to Rohit Aggarwal, President, Textile Effects.

A Ph.D in Organic Chemistry from the University of Misssouri, Banavali was previously employed with Honeywell International where he held several research and development leadership roles including his most recent, as Vice President, Chief Technology Officer in its Advanced Materials division. He has over 20 years’ experience in development and execution of R&D strategies and the advancement of innovation platforms for both product and process technology roadmaps.

Banavali has successfully led large, global research organisations in the development and commercialisation of technologies in specialty chemicals, both at Honeywell and at his previous employer, Rohm & Haas. He will relocate from New Jersey to Singapore.

European textile groups are blaming the REACH regulation for the relocation of the European textile dye sector to Asia where supply chains are opaque, and pollution still rife. The relocation is not only causing loss of European jobs and innovations but also creating chemical monopolies. Recent findings by several leading European textile industry bodies show, the regulation is having the exact opposite impact of what it was originally designed to do. The potential impact of hazardous textile chemicals on both human health and the environment is being exacerbated by sourcing more from Asia.

Textile manufacturers have already warned the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) that the present global consumption of textile dyes and pigments cannot currently be replaced in sufficient quantities due to shutdowns in Asia and REACH is said to be aggravating the situation. This is important given that one car alone contains an average 23 kg of dyed and finished textiles – and illustrates how the current lack of raw materials and spiraling textile chemical prices can have knock-on effects to other important EU industry sectors dependent on these products.