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Global cotton production is projected to decline in 2018-19 based on lower yields and decreases in harvested area. Consumption is projected to continue to grow riding on global economic expansion, an expected acceleration of consumer demand for textiles, manufacturing growth for cotton, and rising environmental and production costs for synthetics.
Based on these projections, global stocks would decline to 18.2 million tons. Current projections for the 2017-18 season include production at 25.8 million tons and consumption at 25.4 million tons. Most major cotton producing countries have estimated increased planted area for 2017-18 over the previous season. Production increases are coming off gains in planted area rather than yields this season. However, Australia has decreased planted area yet still increased cotton production with a yield growth of 16 per cent.
Major producers, India and Pakistan, with estimated area increases of 16 per cent and 24 per cent respectively, encountered production losses from pink bollworm this season. Global average yield for 2017-18 is currently being estimated at 778 kg per hectare, a 0.1 per cent increase from the previous season, while area increases are 12 per cent greater from the previous season. Current estimates for the 2018-19 season are for production to move to 25.4 million tons and consumption to rise to 26.5 million tons.
Gildan Activewear, around a year ago, acquired the intellectual-property rights of American Apparel, the LA-based company founded by Dov Charney in 1989. During its heydays, American Apparel’s revenues spiralled up to around $634 million in 2013 before its downfall. Gildan took formal control in February 2017 and had around a month to get its act together with new production and marketing strategies. In the first year itself the company raked in $50 million and this year, it aims to double sales to $100 million. Garry Bell, Gildan’s VP, corporate marketing and communications says to remain true to the label’s roots, the marketing, merchandising and design team is in Los Angeles and will stay that way. The brand has a distinct voice, a distinct feeling and vibe, and we don’t want to disrupt that.
The marketing team spearheaded by Sabina Weber — who worked at American Apparel before the company declared bankruptcy — has an all-female team, many of who also worked at the LA-based American Apparel. Weber and her team are marketing the brand on social media and selling the collection on its e-commerce site, which was up and running at the end of last July.
Gildan is looking at expanding sales to the UK and further to Europe, Canada and Japan. Currently, the wholesale business is generating maximum revenue for American Apparel, with sales to concert promoters, souvenir tours and fund-raisers. For consumer, Gildan has been selling on the back of its campaign ‘Back to Basics’ which consists of basic T-shirts, sweats, baseball jerseys, rugby shirts and shorts that retail for $22 to $54 — if they are made in the company’s factories in Nicaragua and Honduras.
The company has junked the risqué ad campaigns that American Apparel was known for and has given a classy edge to its photo shoots which uses real people with real bodies as against thin models who are not typical average person.
PolyOne’s fiber colorant technology enables textile manufacturers, converters and brands to increase sustainability, operational efficiencies, and market response rates to drive their success in the global textile industry.
The fiber colorant solutions combine colorants and specialized melt spinning equipment to provide an adaptive, innovative system for coloring polyester fiber. This allows textile manufacturers to increase production speeds, flexibility and process control. It also eliminates the need for water and wastewater treatment, up to ten liters per kilogram of fiber, commonly required with aqueous dyeing processes.
The company has enabled a transformation in the way upholstered fabrics, footwear, apparel, safety straps, industrial fabric, and more can be manufactured. The technology not only improves sustainability, it fosters rapid, on-site design and scale up, enabling economically viable smaller lot sizes and improving production flexibility overall.
Recent commercial projects for this technology include textiles for high performance sports apparel, automobiles, home furnishings, and carpeting. The technology is critical to helping manufacturers who are at the forefront of adopting sustainable solutions across their entire supply chain to address sustainability, production flexibility, and speed-to-market goals.
The fiber colorant innovation is one of several high-growth technology platforms that underpin PolyOne’s expectation of delivering double digit EPS growth in 2018 and beyond.
The European Union is threatening to target some of America’s most iconic brands if Donald Trump follows through on his threat to impose swinging tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum. According to the Trump if the EU wants to further increase their already massive tariffs and barriers on US companies doing business in the continent, there would be tax on their cars which freely pour into the US.
Juncker’s threat heightened the prospects of a global free-for-all, as the World Trade Organization (WTO) said the potential of escalating tensions “is real” and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned the restrictions would likely damage the US and global economy. According to Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission President Levi's jeans, Harley-Davidson motorbikes and bourbon could all receive tit-for-tat duty hikes. They include products manufactured in key Republican states as well as orange juice from Florida, a critical swing state in elections.
In the meantime, Peter Navarro, Director, National Trade Council at the White House, stated certain exemptions could be made to the tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum, but exclusions for entire countries aren’t expected.
Bangladesh expects the export volume of readymade garments to reach $60 billion within the next four to five years. There have been improvements in the country’s factory environment and product quality. In addition Bangladesh has seven of the world’s top ten green garment factories.
A wage board to fix the salary of workers has already been formed. The salary will be fixed by the board. It will be decided on the basis of the industry’s capacity and the requirement of workers. Bangladesh has 32 LEED certified green buildings in which the world’s top environment-friendly garment and textile factories are located. LEED is the most widely used third-party verification for green buildings, with around 1.85 million square feet being certified daily.
A LEED certificate requires factories to meet its nine requirements, where each chunk has separate points like integrative process, location and transportation, sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environment quality, innovation in design and priority. The US Green Building Council has developed this certification process to evaluate the environmental performance of a building and to encourage market transformation towards sustainable designs.
Bangladesh, the second largest readymade garment exporter in the world, has taken a leading position in sustainable green industrialization.
National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has assured the textile industry associations of help for resolving all issues relating to industry revival, particularly the energy price difference between Punjab and other provinces.
APTMA Central Chairman Aamir Fayyaz, Group Leader Gohar Ejaz and representatives from all major associations, including APTMA, Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association, Council of Power Looms Association, Pakistan Textile Exporters Association, All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association and Pakistan Sweater Exporters Association welcomed him at the Association office.
The textile industry leadership mentioned that backward and forward linkages and allied sectors of the textile industry were facing problems. He stated that the prevailing difference in the energy price in Punjab was more than double to the energy price for mills in other provinces. All the manufacturing units of spinning, weaving, dyeing, readymade garments, hosiery, towel and other sectors were becoming redundant.
Gohar Ejaz pointed out that textile industry in Punjab was paying Rs 1300 per MMBTU for RLNG against Rs 600 per MMBTU in other provinces. Similarly, the imposition of Rs 3.60 per kWh electricity surcharge in the electricity bills was being charged which could not be passed on to the buyers in the international marketplace. He also stated that business equation in Punjab was being distorted, leading to the closure of mills in every sector of the industry.
Representatives from other textile industry value added associations has stated that the textile industry, as a matter of fact, had become un-competitive both within the country as well as the region.
The American Apparel & Footwear Association announced the transition of its Board of Directors, as well as the addition of 15 newly elected and re-elected Board members. The officer induction ceremony took place at the conclusion of the AAFA Executive Summit in Washington, D.C. The following were confirmed as AAFA's Board of Directors leadership for the 2018-2019 term: Chairman: Thomas Glaser, VP, VF Corporation & President – Global Supply Chain; Vice-Chairman: Gary Simmons, President and CEO, Gerber Childrenswear, LLC; Treasurer: Kurt Cavano, President, Infor GT Nexus Commerce Network; Secretary: Colin Browne, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Under Armour, Inc.
The following were elected and re-elected as members of the Board: Halide Alagoz, Ralph Lauren; Lisa Bate, Bureau Veritas Consumer Products; Robert Campbell, BBC International; Kurt Cavano, Infor GT Nexus Commerce Network; Ted Dagnese, Lululemon; Bill Ells, Vibram USA; Mike Fralix, Textile/Clothing Technology Corp.; Leslie Gallin, UBM/FN Platform; Katherine Gold, Goldbug; Sidney Howard, Coats, Todd Kahn, Tapestry; Steve Mostofsky, TTI Global Resources; David Miller, Minnetonka Moccasin Company, Inc.; Frank Sauceda, Luen Thai International; Timothy Scobie, Mason Companies, Inc.; Sarah Clarke of PVH Corp. was approved to fill a seat vacated by a colleague for the remainder of the 2017-2018 term.
Paula Zusi of Advent International Corporation who steps down as chairman post conclusion of her one-year term said, “Through the collective efforts of my fellow board members and the AAFA staff, we’ve made strides beyond what any of us could have imagined. As I pass on the gavel, I feel that I have positioned the association and my successor Tom Glaser to continue to provide exceptional support for our growing association membership in the year ahead.”
On his part, Tom Glaser, Chairman, American Apparel & Footwear Association said, “AAFA provides the industry with indispensable value as we pave the way to bring new product to market around the world. Having worked directly with the team at AAFA for many years, I can say that their advice and support has played a crucial advisory and advocacy role throughout my career. This is an exciting time of transition for our industry, and I am excited to lead this organisation for the year ahead.”
Growing consumer awareness on eco clothing is forcing companies to take the sustainable route. The proof is the various initiatives taken up by associations and companies such as Fashion Positive, a part of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, and the H&M Foundation, through its Global Change Award that honors apparel innovation in the areas of waste, digitisation and climate positive advancements, have nurtured a burgeoning interest in conscious design that considers all aspects of apparel’s impact while investigating new ways to create clothing from alternative materials.
Growing consumer awareness on eco clothing is forcing companies to take the sustainable route. The proof is the various initiatives taken up by associations and companies such as Fashion Positive, a part of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, and the H&M Foundation, through its Global Change Award that honors apparel innovation in the areas of waste, digitisation and climate positive advancements, have nurtured a burgeoning interest in conscious design that considers all aspects of apparel’s impact while investigating new ways to create clothing from alternative materials.
Meanwhile, Eileen Fisher, Gap, Guess, Levi Strauss, Nike and VF Corporation also signed the Science Based Targets. The effort is to establish emission reduction targets consistent with global efforts to limit warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius. Moreover, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition has attracted numerous high-profile apparel retailers, including Target, with its Higg Index that empowers companies to measure their sustainability performance. The coalition launched the Apparel Impact Institute, which made its first project focussing on improving the impact of textile mills in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Clean by Design program.
Taking cue, VF Corp., denim producer Orta Anadolu and Danish mattress and bedding company Auping, have now tied up with Circle Economy to develop a tool to help fashion companies reduce their environmental footprint and build more sustainable business models. The effort is supported by C&A Foundation, which focuses on building a more sustainable cotton production model, improving on-the-job conditions for garment workers, strengthening communities where garment factories are located, and eradicating slavery and child labour from apparel supply chains.
Positive aspects
This digital resource will guide fashion brands as they consider a garment’s end-of-life options, cradle-to-cradle means of reducing textile waste, and the methodology to compare the practical, economic and environmental impact of each of its options. It will provide insights into a brand’s waste levels and help to set appropriate benchmarks, so it can measure its achievements over time. The Circle Fashion Tool can also connect brands to industry partners that will help them transform ideas into action.
Anna Maria Rugarli, Senior Director, sustainability and responsibility, VF Corp.’s EMEA region points out VF believes in the linear system of production, as it works today, is not sustainable for a planet with a growing population and limited resources. For this reason, they are exploring new Circular Business Models to build better products, extend product life, transform transactions into deeper relationships, and turn waste into value. For example, the US alone generates 15 million tons of textile waste, which has doubled annually over the past 20 years. Orta Anadolu also feels collaborations and partnerships generate transformational outcomes and this tool will create a platform for the type of circular solutions that the industry is searching for.
New technologies
In another initiative, Circle Economy reported its Fibersort technology, which auto-sorts large batches of mixed post-consumer textiles based on fibre composition, has officially started. It will reduce the need for sourcing virgin materials by creating more viable fabrics from textile-to-textile recycling. Cyndi Rhoades, CEO of closed-loop textile recycling and design company Worn Again, says the Fibersort will enable suppliers of post-consumer textiles to meet the feedstock specification for its process more efficiently. This innovation will help provide advanced sorting capabilities for the new generation of textile to textile recycling technologies and help the industry on its way to circularity.
Maharashtra's textile policy offers a primary capital subsidy of 25 to 40 per cent across the value chain. There are area-wise and sector-specific incentives, such as 10 per cent of additional subsidy and lower electricity rates for setting up units across under-developed regions.
The state produces 8.2 million bales of cotton, of which only a fourth is consumed within the state. It wants the remaining three-fourth of unprocessed cotton to be processed within the state, for which it has offered an electricity rate lower by Rs 3 a unit. Tamil Nadu produces only 0.5 million bales of cotton but processes around 10.5 million bales by procuring the fiber from other states because of cheaper electricity.
Maharashtra has also offered incentives for pollution-free and eco-friendly dyeing and processing plants. There are incentives to make non-conventional yarn like bamboo, banana, ghaypat, ambadi, coir and maize. By these measures Maharashtra is confident of attracting massive investment in the textile sector.
However, for garment units, cost of production and viability remain a major concern. With wage incentives, the cost of production declines. There is no mention of this in the policy. Hence, garmenting units would find Gujarat Andhra, Telangana or Jharkhand preferred destinations. They offer wage incentives for new textile units.
A path-breaking report issued recently from ClimateWorks Foundation and Quantis promotes reducing apparel’s environmental impact. The fashion industry is estimated to contribute 8 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Just short of the contribution of the entire global transportation sector! (14 per cent, as per IPCC.)
Globalization has seen manufacturing moving to countries without strong environmental controls, population growth, rapid increase in GDP (and hence purchasing power) around the world, and, most notably, fast fashion trends (that rapidly multiplied the amount of clothing people buy per capita)—and the sum of these trends has increased this sector’s climate impact by 25 per cent in just over a decade. And the sector is projected to further sharply increase its climate impact by nearly half as much again by 2030.
The ClimateWorks/Quantis report also provides some uniquely helpful information to craft a path forward for the serious reductions we need. By diving deeper into each phase of apparel manufacturing than previous analysis, this study identifies the specific hot spots in the manufacturing process which need the most attention. In a nutshell, it directs the industry’s focus to the areas that matter the most, so that companies don’t waste time on the small stuff.
The biggest hot spot of concern in the global fashion industry is fabric dyeing and finishing, weighing in at 36 per cent of the sector’s total carbon footprint. And NRDC’s Clean by Design program has focused for more than five years.
There are many opportunities to significantly reduce climate, water and chemical use in this phase of apparel manufacturing with fixes that will save you money. We’re also here to tell you that despite the stellar and well-documented results of Clean by Design at more than 100 fabric mills around the world, participation in the program is nowhere near what it should be. “Rise up,” we have been saying to multi-national apparel retailers and brands, without enough response.
The cut-and-sew garment factories weighing in at a marginal 7 per cent. NRDC has just launched an effort to create model SBT’s for the fashion industry. For more info. stay tuned.
