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Applied DNA Sciences has announced it is collaborating with Cotton USA, a trademark of Cotton Council International (CCI), to display cotton traceability technology and What's New in Cotton — as part of the Cotton Cares collection at international fashion events this year. The Cotton Cares Collection is designed to introduce designers, established labels and the apparel industry to the process by which a brand can build a certified and traceable collection, that will provide answers to questions about purity, authenticity and ethical standards.
Applied's Traceability along with Signature T technology provides cotton traceability from the farm to the supply chain, through to store shelves. Forensic level origination is also tracked based on blockchain-enabled systems developed to verify SigNature T tagged fibre, yarn, fabric and finished goods. James A Hayward, President and CEO of Applied DNA Sciences says, "Being able to demonstrate that this tag, test and track technology is easily incorporated into the apparel manufacturing process is a good
first step to engaging product designers. The SigNature T molecular tag is safe and binds to cotton fibre in the first processing stage, at the gin. In the US, SigNature T has been used to tag over 150 million lbs. of U.S grown cotton since 2014 and is an easy solution to adapt resulting in 100 per cent product authenticity - a trait being demanded by more consumers around the globe. Brands and manufacturers now have a means to know exactly where their cotton comes from at any stage of the supply chain through SigNature T tagging, testing and tracking, he added.
With just a few days to go for the Union Budget-2018, the Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association (FOSTTA) has sought extension of the e-way bill's implementation in the textile industry by six months and simplification GST as well as a range of other demands submitted to Union finance minister Arun Jaitley. FOSTTA says, the Surat's man-made fabric (MMF) sector was manufacturing 4 crore metre of fabric per day, which has been reduced to 1.7 crore metre post GST. The daily turnover of 65,000 textile traders, which was estimated to Rs 110 crore per day, has been reduced to just Rs 45 crore post GST.
Textile traders urged the finance minister to form a special committee on MMF textile sector to study the impact of GST and suggest long-term solutions. The traders demanded that central government set up a garment manufacturing hub in the city to help textile traders directly supply their fabrics to manufacturing units.
The central government should increase loan amount from Mudra Bank from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh to support the 'Make In India' campaign and permit small traders to avail of benefits. Textile traders are facing numerous issues in submitting KYC details to the banks under the new law of the Reserve Bank of India. A majority of textile traders, including small traders, do not have permanent houses in the city and are unable to submit their personal details.
Century Textiles & Industries (CTIL) reported strong net sales as it grew strongly by 17.6 per cent yoy to Rs2,069.5cr (net of excise duty for the base quarter). EBITDA reported 39.8 per cent yoy rise to Rs333.8cr. Led by cost saving in raw material, employee and other expenses, as a per cent of net sales, EBITDA margin expanded by 257bps yoy to 16.1 per cent. Further, with lower interest cost coupled with margin expansion, post adjusting for losses of discontinued operations (PAT) spiralled up significantly to Rs89.9cr as against Rs17.2cr in Q3FY17.
The textile segment reported 5.1 per cent yoy growth in revenue at Rs385.2cr with EBIT margin of 11.2 per cent (65bps yoy contraction). The quarterly numbers were healthy post subdued performance of H1FY18. During the quarter, the company entered into an agreement with Grasim Industries granting it the right to manage and operate the company's viscous filament yarn business for 15 years, commencing February, 2018 on a mutually agreed date.
Grasim will be paying Rs 600 cr upfront royalty along with a Rs200cr refundable security deposit (repayable after 15 years). Additionally, CTIL incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary, Birla Estates, to focus on the real estate business.
Post repeated calls from various industry groups, the government announced the enhancement of duty drawback rates to be effective from January 25, 2018. The enhancement of rates for 102 tariff items will definitely bring relief to all stakeholders. On the flip side, representatives from the textile industry have noted their "disappointment" with the government for ignoring the calls of an industry which has been "one of the most impacted by GST".
Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), president, Sanjay K Jain is unhappy with the notification, "The notification just mentions wool items which is a very insignificant part of the textile industry. There is nothing on textiles. The textile industry is pretty disappointed that demands for increasing drawback or RoSL for yarn fabric and garments was not considered, despite the industry being in a very difficult position post-GST."
The local textile industry is seeing the country increasingly getting flooded by imported material which is a serious concern for the SMEs operating in this sector. The national president of the Textile Association, Arvind Sinha decries, "Export incentives have come down and at the same time import barriers have gone down which has resulted in imports going up by 20 per cent already, and in some cases like in Bangladesh garments have increased by 50 per cent. Exports are coming down every month."
A decline of 3 per cent in CAGR in textiles and apparels in the month of December last year as against the corresponding period in 2016 has been reported. Exports came to $2996 million during December 2017 when compared to $3075 million in December 2016. Jain echoed the concerns of the industry, "The effective GST duty on fabric is 5 per cent officially, but because of the non-refund of excess input tax credit under inverted duty structure, it actually adds up to 8-9 per cent.
This is making us lose to imports because they only pay 5 per cent IGST." Sinha also shares the same view, "We need genuine duty exemption in exports because money is getting stuck for manufacturers."
Over 100 international players in the denim supply chain, including Candiani, Orta, Royo, Blue Diamond, Atlantic Mills, Calik, Santanderina, Unitin, Soorty and Arvind are set to converge in Munich, Germany to attend Bluezone on January 30 and 31. The denim and technology show attracts innovators and creative people worldwide looking at industry best practices and new fabrication. Here manufacturers’ and trim suppliers will attempt to find solutions to key issues plaguing the denim industry, including sustainability and performance.
Ondisplay will be Italian denim mill Candiani bows Re-Gen, a collection of market-ready biodegradable denim made with no raw denim. Dyed with Kitotex — organic and biodegradable material taken from the exoskeleton of crustaceans— and Candiani’s Indigo Juice technology, Re-Gen uses up to 50 per cent Refibra™ branded lyocell fibers and 50 per cent recycled cotton warp/weft. Turkteks will showcase leather patches with sustainable finishes. The trims are a key element of big brands’ wanting to emphasise their sustainable to consumers.
Ortafrom Turkey will display its next generation of denim Exoart where they combine new technology with ecological processes and craftsmanship while its country counterpart Calik Denim will inform customers about its latest innovations, Smart Stretch, for advanced shaping and Fly Jean will offers designers lightness and flexibility with a super soft touch and shape retention. Light and airy is essential for the Spring’/Summer ’19 season. Unitin is expected to demonstrate its most lightweight and softest shirting fabrics with TENCEL™ lyocell fibers, while Tavex focuses on open weaves with a soft touch specially manufactured using new tri-blend technology. Kassim’s nationalistic fervour is set to display their ‘Made in Germany’ collection claiming ‘the next generation of premium sustainability’.
DesignStudio SSAT in collaboration with BMW Motorrad and Navenna Denim presents a capsule collection that uses Dyneema fabrics that fuses details and innovative design with denim that supports a biker’s lifestyle. Also on offer will be Bluezone’s Denim Club, a centre for workshops, discussions and lectures, including the development of fitted jeans, the future of the heritage trend, the automation of finishing processes and sustainability in practice. On January 30, there will be an exclusive screening of the Riverblue documentary in which Lenzing Global Marketing Denim Director Tricia Carey take part in panel discussion with industry leaders including designer Adriano Goldschmied, called, ‘Riverblue: Can Fashion Save the Planet?’ The panel will examine the effects the apparel industry has on the world’s rivers.
The annual Economic Survey 2017-18 was released today. Reacting to it HKL Magu, Chairman, AEPC said, “Economic Survey has predicted 7-7.5 per cent growth in 2018-19 with exports and private investment set to rebound. The survey suggests an improvement in demand and investment, which should augur well for the economy as a whole, and the apparel sector specifically. The survey has rightfully pointed out that the Rs 6000 crores package announced in June2016 has addressed the constraints faced by apparel firms to a large extent and the Rebate of State Levies (ROSL) has increased exports of ready- made garments (man-made fibers) by about 16 per cent.” He went on to add that due delays in refund of state levies (RoSL) and IGST, the full benefit of the package has yet been realised. If the GST and RoSl refunds issues are smoothened, the industry can aim at achieving double digit growth.
Italian textile firm Aquafil has a ‘multi-year’ partnership deal with bioengineering company Genomatica to produce a sustainable, plant-based ingredient the companies say will play a key role in reducing the environmental impacts from the nylon supply chain. The collaboration aims to develop a "commercially advantageous" bioprocess to manufacture caprolactam - a key compound in the production of nylon - using plant-based, renewable ingredients as against crude oil derived materials traditionally used in the nylon production.
The intention is the new approach will also help to cut production costs, as well as its environmental impact. Currently, petroleum-based caprolactam is widely used in a variety of nylon-based products, including clothing and carpets. The material has a global market of more than five million tons per year.
Switching to more sustainable forms of the compound will go a long way to create more environmentally friendly nylon products, the companies claim. The company explained utilising the GENO CPL process developed by Genomatica should not require any adjustments to machinery or processes in the existing nylon supply chain, adding that it can be applied to both larger and smaller scale production plants.
Genomatica’s CEO Christophe Schilling explains, the bio-based product's performance is fully comparable" with nylon derived from crude oil. This is another example of Genomatica applying the power of biology to rethink how widely-used chemicals can be made a better way," he said.
The two companies are also requesting a wider collaboration and encouraging other leaders in the sector such as chemical producers, agriculture firms and clothing brands to join its sustainable nylon programme. Giulio Bonazzi, chairman and CEO of Aquafil, said he wanted more consumers and manufacturers to play an active role in developing a more circular economy.
Research conducted into how woollen clothing and carpet biodegrades in seawater is expected to enhance the appeal of the natural fibre as concern deepens over synthetic micro fibres entering the food chain. Crown Research Institutes’ AgResearch and Scion are the brains behind this pilot project which may be another reason for consumers to choose wool.
AgResearch senior scientist Steve Ranford says there is only limited data on the behaviour of wool but that suggests that as a natural protein fibre, it breaks down in seawater in a way petroleum-based synthetics don't. "The aim is to provide the public with objective information as they make choices about what they buy, as well as provide data to manufacturers and retailers on the performance of goods like clothing and carpet," Ranford explained.
Evidence records micro fibres of synthetics such as polyester and nylon contributes to a significant amount of micro plastics entering waterways/oceans and be swallowed by marine life and end up in humans. The Florida Microplastic Awareness Project, an offshoot of the University of Florida, says a synthetic garment can shed more than 1900 fibres per wash which are too small to be filtered out by wastewater treatment plants and end up in the ocean.
It advocates cotton, hemp and linen that do break down. Wool contributed 26 per cent of the total value of exports, but by 2011 wool's contribution to the value of exports had fallen to 1.6 per cent.
The latest editions of the Salon International de la Lingerie (SIL) and Interfilière expo in Paris showcased the industry’s bright future. The Eurovet shows which ended on January 22,. at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris showed a lot of enthusiasm and energy as exhibitor stands were busy and the prevailing mood was positive.
A spokesperson at the Maison Lejaby stand said, "The industry is definitely dynamic, finally things are moving. You can feel it in the air, visitors are well-disposed and frankly our stand was never empty." Huit’s spokesperson said attendance for this edition and business was good, quite a few orders were placed. What's also interesting is that the show is more modern, the trend sections and the special interest areas are really attractive, and this is good for everyone.
Show organiser Eurovet, reported a rise in the number of SIL visitors by a few percentage points, continuing with the significant count which began last year. Visitors in the premium and VIP buyer category recorded a 12 per cent increase. As proof of the show's fresh new approach, Eurovet noted a rise in attendance for three types of visitors: e-tail buyers, concept stores and fashion retailers.
The share of French buyers remained the same, at 36 per cent of the total, followed by those from European countries: Italy, Germany, the UK, Spain and Belgium. US buyers increased, gaining one place in the ranking, and so did those from Russia, who rose two places in the visitors’ top 10. US and Russian buyers also did well in the visitor ranking for Interfilière, where they made the top 10.
The shows' January 2018 edition was a success thanks to a combination of factors: innovation-based initiatives; dedicated consultancy areas for retailers; catwalk shows and the presence of directional brands prominently featured in the 'Exposed' section, which attracted a new kind of visitor.
The revised Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement now under its new name Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will be formally signed in Chile on March 8, and will become operational as soon as at least six members ratify it. The 11 remaining countries from the initial TPP finally agreed to go ahead with a new deal without the US.
The deal reduces the scope for controversial investor-state dispute settlements, where foreign investors can bypass national courts and sue governments for compensation for harming their investments. It further incorporates enhanced safeguards to protect governments’ right to regulate in the public interest and prevent unwarranted claims.
The new agreement a considerable win for Australian farmers and service providers in a trading area valued at about A$90 billion, is more of an umbrella framework for separate yet coordinated bilateral deals. Australian Trade Minister Steven Ciobo asserts that the agreement will deliver 18 new free-trade agreements between the CPTPP parties. For Australia that means new trade agreements with Canada and Mexico and enhanced market access to Japan, Chile, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei.
This will ensure a speedier process for reducing import barriers on key Australian products which includes absorbent cotton. It also promises less competition for Australian services exports, encouraging other governments to consider Australian services and reduces the regulations of state-owned enterprises.
The new CPTPP rose from the ashes of the old agreement because of the inclusion of a list of 20 suspended provisions on issues that were of interest to the US. These would be reinstated post a US comeback. In fact, the scope of investor-state dispute settlements are narrower in the CPTPP, because foreign private companies who enter an investment contract with the Australian government will not be able to use it if there is a dispute about that contract.
The one part of the agreement relating to temporary entry for businesspersons is somewhat limited in scope and does not have the ability to affect low-skilled or struggling categories of Australian workers. Some parts of the original agreement are still included in the CPTPP such as tariffs schedules that slash custom duties on 95 per cent of trade in goods.
