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"A recent seminar by the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, Ibadan highlighted the rich textile heritage that Nigeria possesses. While the industry has defied all policy measures, sustenance would depend on path breaking initiatives, creativity and strong political will. The seminar, ‘Competitiveness of the Nigerian Textile Industry’, stated factors such as smuggling, high costs, lack of power, shortage of locally-sourced raw materials, prohibitive borrowing rates, inconsistent policies and low patronage were hampering industry growth."
A recent seminar by the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, Ibadan highlighted the rich textile heritage that Nigeria possesses. While the industry has defied all policy measures, sustenance would depend on path breaking initiatives, creativity and strong political will. The seminar, ‘Competitiveness of the Nigerian Textile Industry’, stated factors such as smuggling, high costs, lack of power, shortage of locally-sourced raw materials, prohibitive borrowing rates, inconsistent policies and low patronage were hampering industry growth. Bashir Adelowo, Senior Researcher with NISER, said WTO’s trade liberalisation policies, to which Nigeria signed on in 1997, had failed to revamp the industry, instead, favouring rich and major exporting countries like China and India, which have since taken control of the market.
The resurgence
With its estimated population of 186 million, advantage in cotton farming, the sub-Saharan African market and the popularity of its African prints – Ankara and Adire – reviving the textile industry is key to the resurgence of Nigeria’s manufacturing sector and the economy. The federal and state governments need to adopt workable, consistent policies and muster the political will to realise the dream. As per World Bank, low income economies like Nigeria should leverage their cheap labour to develop textile industries.
The National Bureau of Statistics revealed in the three months to September 2016, Nigeria spent N24.7 billion importing textiles. According to the Nigerian Textiles Manufacturing Association (NTMA) annually N1.29 trillion is spent on such imports. The government should put a stop on smuggling that accounts for 80 per cent of our local market in defiance of a ban and import restrictions re-imposed since 2005. There should be a thorough reform and massive shake-out at the Nigerian Customs Service to get rid of corruption. The government should rally all stakeholders to revive and prosecute the National Cotton Textile and Garment Enterprise Policy under the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan launched in 2015, but has been damaged by the lack of interest by the states.
Measures in the right direction
Nigeria should make massive job creation and development of agriculture, mining, manufacturing and non-oil exports the pre-eminent objective of all policies. There should be measures to protect agriculture and local industries as around 26 of its 36 states are suitable for cotton growing. They have to renegotiate with the WTO or pull out of the 164-nation global organisation. Both the World Bank and the IMF have criticised it for favouring rich nations at the expense of developing countries. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, market distortions caused by its free trade policies cost developing countries $700 billion in lost exports annually, while the World Bank added that its textile quotas of 1994-2005 augmented advanced economies, but had cost developing nations 27 million jobs and $40 billion in lost exports each year. Nigeria’s market is said to sustain 2.5 million jobs and more in China, India, Bangladesh, Turkey and Europe.
Through domestic and foreign content textile export, the industry must increase participation in global value chain. It has been shown that trade-induced accumulation of productive knowledge creates increasing productivity in the economy.
Sympatex Technologies, membrane specialist, is launching the winter season 2018/19 with new partnerships in the fields of ski, snowboard and freestyle. The ecological alternative among the functional textile specialists is proud of numerous new and international winter sports brands in its apparel portfolio: Chiemsee (Ger), billabong (EU), D C Shoes (EU), Rossignol (Fra), Pyrenex (Fra) and Tierra (Swe) as well as the Canadian traditional brand Woods.
In addition, longstanding partner NOBIS (Canada) presents a limited Sympatex edition in cooperation with the French first division team Paris Saint-German in its current winter season 2017. The model “Alpha PSG“ is sold online as well as in special pop-up stores worldwide. As per Rüdiger Fox, CEO, Sympatex Technologies at the end of 2016, they started to establishing a framework for a constructive dialogue based on partnership with the ‘Sympathy Lab‘ where they fostered exchange with current or potential customers on the topic of ecology. Where first or next steps of sustainability are discussed and significantly enhance progress individually. And initial results are visible.
Chiemsee has found the ideal partner with the worldwide leading membrane specialist Sympatex who support in terms of ecological textiles on the highest functional level, We will use the environmentally friendly and completely recyclable membrane as of winter 2018/19 in its Defrost clothing line. As one of the worldwide leading producers, Sympatex Technologies has been a synonym for high-tech functional materials in clothing, footwear, accessories and technical fields of application since 1986. Together with selected partners, Sympatex develops, produces and distributes membranes, laminates and functional textiles as well as finished products worldwide. The Sympatex membrane is highly breathable, 100 per cent wind- and waterproof and regulates the climate. It is 100 per cent recyclable, bluesign certified and it received the 'Oeko-Tex-Standard 100' certificate. It is also PTFE-free and PFC-free.
Post the invention of polyester in the 1940s, there was nothing exciting in the fibres used in world’s textiles. The race is on to find solutions to reduce the environmental impact of clothing. That’s why fabrics expected to be made of pineapple, banana, silk and leathers will be grown in a laboratory. Records indicate people consume 80-billion pieces of clothing annually.
This also means continued increase in the production of polyester that takes over 200 years to decompose. Polyester is also the source of tonnes of plastic microfibers released into the ocean annually and water systems after washing clothes. The Plastic Soup Foundation reports that between 6,00,000 and 17.7-million microfibers are released into water with every 5 kg of washing. And this is only one example. The US non-profit organisation Orb Media revealed billions of people are drinking water contaminated by plastic particles, with 83 per cent of water samples found to be polluted.
Thus cleaning up the clothing and fashion industry with new fibres, technologies and manufacturing techniques is possible. Companies such as H&M, Levi Strauss and Patagonia are pulping old clothes and returning the recovered fibres to the fabric supply chain. G-Star Raw’s collaboration with Bionic produced denim made from plastic waste recovered from the ocean. Issey Miyake in Japan has been working with recycled polyethylene terephthalate thread for years. His label 132 5, launched in 2010, produces clothes using only recycled polyethylene terephthalate, the clear nontoxic plastic used in water/cold drink bottles.
Adidas, H&M and Nike have also been working with recycled plastic. Tony Budden at Hemporium uses strong, versatile and antibacterial natural fibre hemp. Other plants being used to explore new textiles include nettles, bananas, coffee and lotus plants. Orange Fiber is an Italian company that developed a fabric by extracting the cellulose from the citrus fibres discarded during industrial processing. Piñatex is a soft, versatile and vegan alternative for leather made of fibres that are extracted from pineapple leaves.
US start-up Modern Meadows is growing leather out of yeast that has been engineered to produce a collagen that, with some added enzymes, turns into skin. A Stella McCartney-designed yellow dress on display in New York’s Museum of Modern Art was made using Bolt Threads’ recreated spiders’ silk and the way to go.
An experiential, avant-garde scene, a place to meet and connect, Première Vision Paris will fully play its forward-looking and inspirational role from February 13 to 15, 2018 by continuing its aggressive development strategy, to provide effective support to international creative fashion professionals as they build their spring/summer 19 collections.
The upcoming edition is seeing a dynamic expansion marked by: An offer that looks to be up by 1.6 per cent: 1,725 exhibitors as against 1,678 in February ’17 ; A new look and organisation: a new stand by French designer Ora Ïto, a new organisation of the fashion forums; Expansion of the Wearable Lab dedicated to Fashion Tech, with a strengthened space for discoveries, meetings and discussion; The vigorous rise of the leather goods and footwear offer with the development of the Bag & Shoe Manufacturing area; The broadening scope of Maisond’ Exceptions and artistic handcraftsmanship; The creation of a Première Vision marketplace in 2018; Once again, a focused and attractive program.
Lectra, the world leader in integrated technology solutions dedicated to industries using fabrics, leather, technical textiles and composite materials, has appointed Nathalie Brunel, Vice-President Sales, Fashion & Apparel. Based at Lectra’s headquarter’s in Paris, Nathalie reports to Edouard Macquin, Chief Sales Officer, Lectra and a member of the executive committee.
Brunel’s role is to support Lectra’s subsidiaries as they conduct the Group’s strategic roadmap through the deployment of an offer—integrating the PLM and the cutting room of the future—which is rooted in customer experience. Nathalie will notably work with six countries: United States, China, Germany, United Kingdom, France and Italy.
Edouard Macquin notes, the fashion and apparel industry, a historic market for Lectra, is the pillar of international presence. Customers’ expect a high level of expertise and advice to meet the challenges they face due to digitalisation of their professions. Brunel exults, the fashion and apparel ecosystem is clearly entering the digital era. He wants to bring Lectra’s value proposition to customers, facilitating their adoption of Industry 4.0 principles. It is crucial to meet the needs of companies facing a complex and fragmented market that is generating both local, and global, pressures.
Lectra is the world leader in integrated technology solutions (software, automated cutting equipment, and associated services) specifically designed for industries using fabrics, leather, technical textiles, and composite materials to manufacture their products. It serves major world markets: fashion and apparel, automotive, and furniture as well as a broad array of other industries.
The world’s biggest fashion retailer Inditex has reported increased revenues and profits amid its Q3 results. In the nine months up to October 31 the Zara owner posted net sales of £15.83 billion, up by 10 per cent as against £12.96 billion a year ago. Profits also jumped nine per cent to £9.08 billion, while gross margins touched 57.4 per cent. Meanwhile, EBIT grew six per cent to £2.64 billion.
This was driven largely by continued international expansion for the retail giant that opening 212 stores, including 60 Zara stores, 13 Pull and Bear stores and 30 Stradivarius stores, bringing the total to 7,504 spanning 52 markets.
Despite the cotton pink bollworm attack in many states, cotton output in India, the world’s biggest grower, may increase to a three-year high due to an increase in acreage of the crop this year. Maharashtra Textile Commissioner Kavita Gupta, who heads the state-run Cotton Advisory Board disclosed production is expected to rise to 37.7 million bales of 170 kg each in 2017-18 as against 34.5 million bales a year earlier, after the crop area under cultivation rose from a seven-year low. That would mean the biggest crop since 2014-15 when the harvest was 38.6 million bales, figures from the board record.
A bigger Indian crop and low domestic prices will likely enhance exports from the South Asian country amid greater demand from Pakistan, Gupta said. Shipments to Pakistan are seen rising to 1.8 million bales in 2017-18 from 7,90,000 bales a year earlier, she said. There have been some cases of pest attacks in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, Gupta said. Maharashtra has been the worst affected, with pink bollworms in some areas reducing output by about 15 per cent, she said.
Total cotton exports from India may rise by 16 per cent to 6.7 million bales in 2017-18 from a year earlier, while imports will probably drop by 45 per cent to 1.7 million bales, Gupta noted. The area under cotton this year climbed to 12.2 million hectares (30.2 million acres), a three-year high, from 10.85 million hectares, she added.
Apparel conglomerate VF Corporation, the parent company of brands like the North Face, Lee and Timberland, has acquired New Zealand-based Icebreaker Holdings. The purchase valued at over $100 million is notable because VF also owns another wool giant Smartwool. Post the news of acquisition, suggest Ibex, a smaller, high-end merino brand, has retrenched about half the staff at its main office in Vermont and was headed for bankruptcy (last week, Ibex announced plans to shut down).
Ibex CEO Ted Manning wrote in statement, “As much as Ibex has succeeded and created opportunities for itself, it has also dealt with the headwinds of seasonal volatility, shifts in the retail landscape and an ever-changing consumer.” While Icebreaker and Ibex may be poles apart, they are indicative of an industry facing a steady attrition of smaller, independent brands.
Experts say it’s a difficult time to be a small brand or a small retailer. The pressures have never been greater. The say the industry is going in the direction where a lot of more niche brands are being snapped up by larger companies. Icebreaker will be getting a bit more capital and access to distribution with the takeover. Consumers will benefit from cheaper Icebreaker goods. Earlier, as both were competitors, Smartwool and Icebreaker will now reposition themselves
Grasim Industries (Grasim) has entered an agreement with Century Textiles (CTIL) to manage and operate the Viscose Filament Yarn (VFY) business of Century Textiles for 15 years. The agreement to be completed in two months, will give Grasim the right to use the relevant assets of Century Textiles, however, ownership of assets will remain with CTIL. As per the agreement, Grasim would pay Rs 600 crore royalty and a refundable security deposit of Rs 200 crore, through internal accruals. CTIL’s VFY plant is strategically located at Shahad, Thane, close to customers mainly in Surat and JNPT port for raw material import/export. CTIL’s plant capacity is 25,000 tonnes (19,000 tons in VFY and 6,000 tons in Rayon Tyre Yarn). CTILs revenue from VFY business is Rs 962 crores with EBITDA margin of 19.3 per cent. Post the transaction, the combined business would have a total capacity of 46,300 ton and revenue of Rs 1,701 crore with EBITDA margin of 23 per cent.
The transaction, which would give Grasim access to capex light capacity expansion, new product (Rayon tyre yarn) and a wider base of customer — is estimated to be value accretive, generating net profit right from start of the arrangement. The transaction would continue to result in value creation in long term given the synergies related to operations, brand name and supply chain. The estimated cost of Greenfield project of this size and infrastructure is Rs 2,000 crore and the gestation period is of three years. Segment wise, outlook remains bright for: VSF, given the higher realisations and strong customer connect through Liva fabric.
Cotton textile exporters have welcomed the government’s decision to raise the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) by 2 per cent on labour intensive sectors. Ujwal Lahoti, Chairman of The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (Texprocil) says the midterm review of foreign trade is progressive, growth oriented. The government has recognised the urgent need to address the challenges being faced by the exporters on account of the roll out of the goods and services tax (GST) regime by focusing on reducing procedural burden.
Earlier the MEIS rates for garments and made ups were increased from 2 per cent to 4 per cent. With current increase, the MEIS has gone upto 6 per cent. However, cotton textile exporters urged the government to include cotton yarn under MEIS and extend 3 per cent Interest Equalisation Scheme to merchant exporters. Exporters have also urged the government to cover fabrics under rebate of state levies (RoSL) and increase MEIS rates for fabrics to allow domestic procurements against Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Authorizations and Advance Authorisations without payment of GST for export production.
Meanwhile, the policy has disappointed manmade fibre segment. Srinarain Aggarwal, Chairman of The Synthetic and Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) stated although the mid-term review had addressed a host of the issues from GST to ‘Ease of Trading’ across borders, it has grossly overlooked the manmade fibre segment of the country that has been reeling under GST with asymmetrical input taxes and inverted duty structure, besides facing fierce competition in overseas markets.
SRTEPC had sent various representations to the Ministry of Textiles and Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Recently, it had sent a list of 167 MMF items in these categories to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry requesting to increase the MEIS rates.
