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FESPA 2017 will take place in Germany from May 8 to 12, 2017. This expo will feature the full spectrum of screen, digital and textile print. Suppliers of technology and consumables for screen print have the opportunity to exhibit at FESPA every year, giving them a regular platform to share their ideas and innovations.
Berlin was the host city for FESPA 2007, one of the most memorable editions in the event’s 50-year history, while Munich has welcomed FESPA on four previous occasions, in 1999, 2005, 2010 and 2014, and is a favorite host city with both exhibitors and visitors.
Movement of FESPA exhibitions between host cities improves accessibility for visitors from across Europe and ensures that the geographical make-up of the audience changes annually, helping exhibitors to engage with the widest possible audience of customers and prospects.
The 2017 event is expected to appeal particularly to visitors from northern and central Germany, while also attracting substantial delegations from the Benelux and Nordic regions. Berlin 2007 expanded FESPA’s audience from northern Germany and north-eastern Europe, while FESPA events in Munich typically draw enlarged delegate groups from central Europe and Italy.
FESPA’s global print expo in Europe is complemented by a program of tailored regional exhibitions in Asia, Eurasia, central and south America and Africa, facilitating access to FESPA events for print service providers in these developing markets.
Quantities of Australian wool at auction are starting to show signs of waning. Just over 42,000 bales are expected to be auctioned next week. Prices are expected to remain buoyant, with bidding this week dominated by traders, rather than the market’s large Chinese indent buyers. Finer micron groups are appreciating at a faster rate than their broader cousins, causing the price differentials between microns to further widen.
Better types continue to attract good support and maintain their large premiums over lower spec types. Renewed interest in crossbred market continued this week with most types and descriptions adding a further 10 to 20 cents to the gains recorded last week and 26 to 28 micron posted the largest rises.
The oddment market also had another solid week, with 20 to 30 cent rises in locks and crutchings helping push all three carding indicators to average rises of over 15 cents. The merino fleece market appeared to change track slightly this week as buyers’ attention moved more to the broader 18.5 to 21 micron area. With superfine wools finer than 18.5 micron now 200 cents and more dearer than their broader counterparts, interest from the predominantly Chinese traders turned to what looked like a more advantageously priced type.
During the July-January period of 2016-17 Pakistan’s exports of bed wear rose 5.07 per cent and exports of readymade garments rose 4.17 per cent. Knitwear exports remained almost flat during this period. Machinery imports soared 42.36 per cent. Power generation machinery imports saw a 90 per cent increase over the previous year. Imports of electric machinery and appliances rose 16.14 per cent. In January, machinery imports increased 50.17 per cent over the same month a year ago and rose 14.24 per cent over December 2016.
In July-January, imports continued to surge and were up 13.6 per cent. Import bill of machinery was the heaviest, accounting for almost a quarter of gross imports during the seven months. Imports of fertiliser, insecticides and other agricultural inputs remained flat during the seven-month period.
The textile sector’s export revenue was down 1.54 per cent over the previous fiscal year. In January, textile exports increased 2.73 per cent over the preceding month but decreased 1.3 per cent over the same month a year earlier. The textile industry accounts for more than half of the annual exports from Pakistan. An incentive package has been prepared for export-oriented sectors. The package comprises withdrawal and concessions on customs duty and sales tax on import of cotton and machinery.
Worldwide, the organic personal care market will grow at nearly 10 per cent a year to 2019. There has been a 26 per cent growth in clothing products, a 32 per cent increase in home textiles, and a five per cent growth in baby wear. This is a positive time for organic - from cotton to wool and all other textiles. Organic supply chains are also strengthening and the number of Global Organic Textiles Standard (GOTS) certified facilities increased by four per cent in 2016, the fourth year of growth.
Consumer concerns around pesticide residues are driving interest in organic personal care products, from cotton wool to feminine hygiene and nappies. More and more consumers in the UK are recognising the importance of organic when making purchasing decisions. Overall, the UK organic market is evolving from food into lifestyle and in future there may be greater crossover between people who buy organic food and non-food items, including textiles and health and beauty products.
At the moment, not enough consumers understand the benefits of organic, but when they do, they are willing to pay more. It is essential to come up with one simple definition of organic which can be used across the market. Also, while consumers have a tendency to say one thing, they do another when it comes to making ethical purchasing decisions.
Myanmar has emerged as an up-and-coming force in the Southeast Asian textile sourcing market space. The country is catching the attention of investors around the globe. A number of large foreign corporations are interested in manufacturing in Myanmar.
In mid-2014, Gap became the first US Corporation to start textile production in Myanmar following the lifting of American sanctions. Within a year, the company tripled the number of products it was manufacturing in Myanmar.
The country has a Five Year plan to boost textile and garment exports. Economic development has been further supported by internal change. New financial laws are reshaping the economy and increasing mobile banking. Additionally, 2016 saw the lifting of all remaining economic trading sanctions between Myanmar and the US after more than two decades. The country saw historic growth in 2016 and exported more than a billion dollars in garments and tactile goods.
As a most favored nation WTO member, Myanmar boasts low tariff rates for exporting countries that are also WTO members. These positive changes have been associated with a rise in foreign direct investments.
With a competitive minimum wage, GSP trade privileges in the EU market and a strategic location at the China-India intersection, Myanmar is becoming increasingly popular among manufacturing companies burdened by the upward cost spiral in China.
Malaysia’s textile and apparel exports increased 10 per cent in the first half of 2016 compared to the same period the previous year. Growth is mainly driven by increasing demand in global market for high quality textiles and clothing from Malaysia, as well as the rising purchasing power in major importing countries. The country’s textile and apparel industry is targeting higher end of the global value chain with diversified production of higher value-added products. The industry has also implemented latest automation and technology in its manufacturing and distribution, while actively seeking business collaboration with foreign companies and undertaking new R&D activities to further strengthen its competitiveness in the global market.
The textile and apparel industry currently employs over 68,000 workers across more than 970 registered garment and textile factories in the country, of which over 400 are making readymade garments, and the rest are operating in major sub-sectors including polymerisation, spinning, weaving, knitting and wet processing, and textile accessories.
Currently, the US, Japan, China, Singapore and Turkey are Malaysia’s top five export destinations. The US remains the largest export market for Malaysian textile products, accounting for over 18 per cent of the industry’s total textile and apparel exports every year.
Stenters made by Monforts are used by textile finishing plants. The automated 72 meter long finishing machine includes a washing machine integrated within the stenter.
Monforts is a finishing machinery specialist from Germany.The seven-chamber stenter is equipped with a horizontal chain, a padder and an integrated weft straightener.
Using this equipment, finishing plants do warp knits for digital printing in the soft signage market as well as for producing garments, automotive interiors and technical textiles.
The substrates used are 100 per cent polyester warp knits, which have become common place as the industry moves away from PVC coatings due to more stringent environmental regulations. These substrates allow excellent take-up of inks and provide vibrant colors and clear images. The resulting warp knitted fabric construction also has the advantage of elasticity, which is a plus in terms of flexibility for installers.
An integrated heat recovery system is fitted as standard on all new Montex stenters.
The stenter has been specifically designed to meet demands of the technical textile and nonwoven industries, such as geotextiles, for finishing wider width fleece and fabrics. It is also equipped with the Monforts Twin Air system for individual adjustment of lower and upper nozzle pressures. For heavier weight fabrics, a supporting belt can be fitted between the upper and lower nozzles of the stenter for mark-free fabric transport through the stenter.
ISPO Tex Trends was held in Germany, February 5 to 8, 2017. The latest textile and trim developments were revealed at the expo. Overall a sense of optimism shone through for fall/winter 2018-19 colors, visual appeal and touch. There were more than 2,800 visitors at the expo. The three main themes were: PFC-free, natural and visibility.
The importance of a cleaner textile process was evident throughout the new developments, especially in the area of PFCs. Among the hazardous elements in the supply chain of the textile industry are PFCs.
A wide range of PFC-free products was displayed. Global Merino offered a hybrid blend of merino wool/polyester in a double-sided spacer structure with a PFC-free DWR. Nanomembrane’s plasma DWR PFC-free laminate provides eco-friendly laminates with thermal regulation, breathability, waterproofing and windproof function to fabrics.
The second key theme was natural rather than eco. There is a return to 100 per cent natural as well as to hybrid blends. On the natural fiber front, wool, silk, cotton, kapok and cashmere featured alongside bio-based developments.
As for visibility, reflective products came to the forefront. There was barely a sector within ISPO Tex Trends that didn’t have reflective products, from zippers to trims, to street sports and outer layers. Everest offered printed reflective products, with a rainbow printed reflective print on a polyester/spandex base. Safe Reflections exhibited reflective coating that can be applied to textured fabrics.
The global smart textiles market is expected to have a CAGR of 33.58 per cent between 2015 and 2020. Growth is mainly driven by the uptrend in wearable devices, increasing demand for sophisticated electronics, miniaturization of electronic components, and a rapid growth of wireless sensor networks.
Smart textiles have numerous applications, such as sports and fitness, defense and military. Currently, military application of smart textiles is the largest market segment, with a share of around 25.8 per cent of the global smart textiles market. Sports and fitness is the second largest segment in global smart textiles – from smart shirts that record heart rates to intelligent bands that track physical activities. Smart textiles in the form of fitness monitoring devices have a lot of demand from health-conscious people. There is also an increasing demand for smart textiles in the architecture and automotive industries.
North America is the world’s largest smart textile market, representing over 45.5 per cent of the global market revenue. But the Asia Pacific region is projected to grow faster. China and India are two of the major manufacturers of smart textiles in the Asia Pacific market, are the largest producers of manufactured fibers, and are expected to dominate the global smart textile market in the near future.
A new report argues that synthetic clothing should be designed in such a way that it it sheds fewer fibres. The report also suggests that invisible plastic particles washed off synthetic clothes are the main source for marine plastic pollution – a claim which has been supported by several other pieces of research in recent years. The report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) - Microplastics in the Oceans: a Global Evaluation of Sources – suggests that by far the largest proportion of plastic particles in the ocean stem from the laundering of synthetic textiles and the abrasion of tyres while driving. Invisible plastic particles washed off synthetic clothes are the main source for marine plastic pollution. By far the largest proportion of plastic particles in the ocean stems from the laundering of synthetic textiles and the abrasion of tires while driving. Daily activities, such as washing clothes and driving, significantly contribute to the pollution choking oceans, with potentially disastrous effects on the rich diversity of life within them, and on human health.
So the strategy to tackle ocean plastic pollution must go beyond the focus on reducing plastic waste. Solutions must include product and infrastructure design as well as consumer behavior. Consumers can act by choosing natural fabrics over synthetic ones. Synthetic clothing should be designed in such a way that it sheds fewer fibers.
Synthetic textiles are the main source of primary micro plastics in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The annual consumption of fiber for apparel amounts to 69.7 million tons globally. Synthetic fibers represent almost two-thirds of this consumption. The majority of synthetic fibers are consumed in developing economies. In these economies, consumers buy a larger proportion of synthetic textiles than in developed economies.
