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The Indonesian industry has proposed textile-specific clusters to improve competitiveness of domestic products. The domestic textile industry is also constrained by logistics problems because the upstream and downstream industries are located in dispersed areas. Fiber and yarn producers are in one area, clothing manufacturers are elsewhere.
Industry players want the upstream and downstream industries integrated in one region. In terms of production, from January-March 2018, the textile industry increased eight per cent on an annual basis. The growth is driven by domestic demand as there is still a tightening factor in wholesale imports and other imports, so domestic consumers are still looking for local products.
Indonesia hopes to triple textile and textile product exports in the next five years. If this happens, this sector will be Indonesia’s largest non-oil export contributor and create jobs for six million people. Indonesia is one of the world’s largest textile manufacturers and exporters (although trailing far behind China).
At present, the US is the largest clothing importer from Indonesia. If the country were to lobby with the US to expand its Generalised System of Preferences to include more Indonesian apparel and accessories, this would facilitate the entry of more Indonesian products into the US at lower tariffs.
Aditya Birla Group company Grasim is expanding its textile and chemical business, which saw robust growth in the fourth quarter of the year. The investment will help Grasim maintain its leadership position in both segments, and also keep a tab on the rising competition from China, especially in the case of viscose staple fiber (VSF).
For Grasim 75 per cent of sales comes from India, up from 69 per cent the last year. Liva has helped better the company’s offering. In three years, Liva-tagged garments have seen a tenfold increase. In the last financial year, India had 30 million Liva tagged garments.
To increase awareness among brands on the use of viscose staple fiber, Grasim has two studios in Delhi and New York. In the value chain, the company is far from a designer, and that’s why through the studios it wants to showcase to the designer that if you use viscose this is the garment that you get.
In the last two years in India, the company’s growth is around 22 per cent. At a global level VFS is growing at four to five per cent and in India the industry average is eight per cent to nine per cent.
Myanmar, in the last five years, has built around 250 garment and footwear factories. The country’s, export earnings from the CMP garment sector in 2017 reached nearly US$ 2.7 million. Its exports from the industries have increased around three times during five years. The garment sector sees an inflow of foreign investments. In 2017, the EU overtook Japan which is also placing more garment order. Currently, the EU has topped the list of garment orders placed.”
Myanmar earns an average of 10 per cent income for sewing. Some garment industries earn eight per cent and 12 per cent incomes respectively based on products.
Gap’s first quarter profit has fallen below expectations. The quarter presented challenges like operating issues and the unseasonably cold and snowy weather. The brand has struggled to keep pace with fast-fashion rivals such as H&M and Forever 21 and tackle the dominance of Amazon.
Though the company has pushed hard to bring styles to stores faster like fast fashion chains, the company has failed to capture the imagination of shoppers like it had done a decade ago. Besides Gap, the company also owns Old Navy and Banana Republic. Sales at Gap branded stores open for at least a year sank four per cent.
Even its strong performing Old Navy business posted a lower-than-expected three per cent rise in same-store sales, missing estimates for the first time in four quarters. Inventories in the quarter rose 3.7 per cent from a year earlier, mainly due to Gap merchandise stuck on shelves and in warehouses.
Gross margins dropped 120 basis points, excluding new accounting rules, in the quarter. The company, however, expects pressure on margins to ease in the current quarter. Overall same-store sales rose one per cent in the three months ended May 5, while analysts were expecting a 1.67 per cent increase.
Digital innovation, rising globalization, and changes in consumer spending habits have catapulted the Australian fashion industry into the midst of seismic shifts. The fashion industry achieved double-digit growth in online sales for the sixth consecutive year growing 27.2 per cent in year-on-year sales.
Currently fashion accounts for 35.6 per cent of all online orders representing an estimated $7.6 billion in total sales for the industry. According to a report women's fashion is the driving force in the category recording a 43.8 per cent growth for the year while men's fashion also grew by 26 per cent. Fashion consumers will have more buying power, as the number of potential customers is projected to grow. November was the biggest month of the year for fashion purchases, overtaking December sales numbers after recording a 30.2 per cent year-on-year growth.
According to Australia Post, the trend has been driven by improved return options and the improvement of buy now, pay later (BNPL) services. Fashion is changing the traditional retail landscape, with one in three items bought online now a fashion item. Well defined return options are giving fashion shoppers more confidence when shopping online. With 57 per cent of BNPL purchases fashion-related BNPL services are also helping fuel growth. It’s payment services now make up 7.7 per cent of total online spend on physical goods.
Cotton Australia has announced the list of 16 successful applicants who will participate in the 2018 Australian Future Cotton Leaders program. The program, now in its sixth year and conducted in partnership with the Cotton Research and Development Corporation, identifies potential industry leaders and provides them with the necessary skills for future success.
Participants were selected by an industry panel, including graduates from past Australian Future Cotton Leaders Programs. The final list of participants was drawn from an unprecedented number of high-quality applications, which were received from all sections of the cotton supply chain.
In 2018, Future Cotton Leaders program participants will undertake leadership training, meet with industry leaders and will be mentored by already-established and well-recognised cotton industry figures. Participants will also develop and implement a small leadership project which mutually benefits both the individual and the cotton industry.
Thanks to the program, the 16 Future Leaders will have a tremendous opportunity to develop their leadership skills and directly contribute to industry decision making. The Future Cotton Leaders program is one of a number of leadership and development programs available within cotton, demonstrating the commitment of the industry to developing its people.
For the participants, this is a unique opportunity to grow as people, and to develop innovative ideas which will continue driving the industry towards an even stronger future.
A new study reveals women and men with higher BMI and body weight opt for a particular type of clothing. Clothes say a lot about personality, state of mind and most important weight. According to a study done by the European Association for the Study of Obesity, the choice of garment colour is a predictor of body mass index (BMI). The findings reveal darker and multicoloured clothes are preferred by women with higher BMI, while men with higher BMI are more likely to choose black or white garments.
Charoula Nikolaou, Stuart Gilmour and Mike Lean examined the relationship between BMI and the size and colours of clothes purchased from a global online retail service. In the middle of October and December 2017, data on body weight and height, clothing size, and colour were collected from over 34,000 customers who completed feedback forms. Clothing colours were also grouped by dark, light, metal, pastel or print colours.
Results revealed clothing size was closely related to BMI and waist circumference. Women with a higher BMI were more likely to buy black/blue or dark coloured and floral dresses, and multicolour and dot-patterned skirts. Men with a higher BMI tended to stick to black or white trousers. Clothing size is a reliable indicator of BMI so non judgmental messages about weight-management could be provided with purchases of large size-garments.
In the first quarter of 2018, the domestic market for China’s textiles and apparels grew at a faster pace. Exports of textile and apparel grew in both volume and value. In the first quarter, the main business income of textile enterprises above a designated size saw year-on-year rises of 3.1 per cent. Revenues of textile machinery industry, technical textile industry and home textile industry increased 16.8 per cent, 7.1 per cent and seven per cent year-on-year.
The textile and clothing industry in China has eight major categories: garments, cotton fabrics, chemical fabrics, wool fabrics, silk fabrics, knitted fabrics, textile machinery and bast fiber. Textile fiber production in China accounts for 54.36 per cent of the world’s share. As much as 64.2 per cent of the world’s chemical fibers, 64.1 per cent of synthetic fibers and 26.2 per cent of cotton are produced in China.
The textile and clothing industry is seeing steady investment growth over the last few years. China is playing an increasingly important role as a textile supplier for apparel exporting countries in Asia. Bangladesh’s textile imports from China, measured by value, rose from 39 per cent in 2005 to 47 per cent in 2015. Similar trends can be seen in Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and other developing countries in Asia.
The United States wants Bangladesh to resolve long-standing labor rights concerns so that it can focus on preparing for a future as a middle income country and, eventually, a developed country. Bangladesh is preparing to graduate from least developed country status in 2024. Its readymade garment sector is much safer than in 2013 when the Rana Plaza disaster occurred. Dramatic improvements are taking place that are bringing the sector up to world-class standards.
However, there is still work to be done on factory and building safety. Efforts need to continue to ensure remediated factories stay safe, and that new workers are properly trained on safety practices. Bangladesh has improved labor safety and standards. Child labor is being weeded from hazardous jobs. Labor laws are being made worker-friendly. The country is now very proactive, candid and open in terms of having discussions over labor issues.
Safety in the workplace has become a major priority in Bangladesh. A training program has been launched for some eight lakh readymade garment workers. This training is expected to contribute greatly to that goal as both workers and employers will benefit from improved safety practices. A well-coordinated approach will be taken to address emerging labor standards.
EPFL scientists have devised a fast and simple way to make super-elastic, multi-material, high-performance fibers. These fibers have been used as sensors on robotic fingers and clothing. They are made of elastomer and can incorporate materials like electrodes and nanocomposite polymers. The fibers can detect even the slightest pressure and strain and can withstand deformation of close to 500 per cent before recovering their initial shape. All this makes them perfect for applications in smart clothing and prostheses, and for creating artificial nerves for robots.
The fibers were developed at EPFL's Laboratory of Photonic Materials and Fiber Devices (FIMAP), headed by Fabien Sorin at the School of Engineering. The scientists used a thermal drawing process, which is the standard process for optical-fiber manufacturing. They started by creating a macroscopic preform with the various fiber components arranged in a carefully designed 3D pattern. They then heated the preform and stretched it out, like melted plastic, to make fibers of a few hundred microns in diameter. The end result was a set of fibers with an extremely complicated microarchitecture and advanced properties.
