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"The recent business accord has sent shivers among Bangladesh clothing manufacturers with most either getting termination order or registering a fall business. Global fashion brands and retailers detached business ties with them on their failure to comply and latest data reflects the total number of factories with which platforms — Accord on Fire and Building Safety and Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety — cut ties reached 238. Of them, the Alliance terminated ties with 162 RMG units, and the Accord with 76."
The recent business accord has sent shivers among Bangladesh clothing manufacturers with most either getting termination order or registering a fall business. Global fashion brands and retailers detached business ties with them on their failure to comply and latest data reflects the total number of factories with which platforms — Accord on Fire and Building Safety and Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety — cut ties reached 238. Of them, the Alliance terminated ties with 162 RMG units, and the Accord with 76.
Manufacturers in a fix
Retailers and signatory brands covered under the Accord and the Alliance sent a letter urging them not to continue business with such factories. As MG Fattah, MD, Sincere Knit Garments points out after termination of business by buyers’ platforms, it is difficult for them to establish contact with buyers and get work orders. With buyers backtracking on agreements signed with producers, it resulted in a downward spiral in overall production capacity of the country’s apparel industry.
Manufacturers need to work hard to find new buyers and to keep the wheels of the business moving after the stringent laws enforced on them. Another manufacturer cited insufficient number of orders after retailers under the Accord cut ties. Taking advantage of the termination, buyers who are not affiliated to the platform are offering lower prices. In such a situation, companies have to incur massive losses as orders declined substantially. It would have been better had the Accord allowed them to continue production in existing factory for a few more months and to give them leeway in adhering to compliance with all safety rules.
Mozammel Haque, MD, Deshone Apparels says he had an order from a Polish buyer that was supposed to be in effect until February 2018. But following the termination, the buyer wants the deal to be revoked by the end of this year. He has already withdrawn orders for products supposed to be produced between January and February. Even after asking for some more time, the buyer is in no mood to change his mind.
Should the government take onus
Industry feels the Bangladesh government and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) should be blamed for the losses as they have been unable to negotiate terms with buyers and manufacturers have to borne the burden. They argue how did Bangladesh accept this despite being a sovereign country? Recent data on RMG sector reveals no recent record of accidents in factories. Nevertheless, these two platforms keep labeling factories dangerous. It is high time they informed foreign buyers their RMG factories have already become the safest in the world.
Latest data shows 81 per cent of safety concerns identified in 1,620 Accord-inspected factories were addressed, and 84 per cent of highest priority risks and non-compliance issues addressed in 655 Alliance-inspected factories. During the inspection, only 2 per cent of total garment factories were found to be risky, which have already been shut.
Presenting other side of the story, Faruq Hassan, Senior-VP, BGMEA, says though the business termination has caused a decline in the number of work orders, foreign buyers will ultimately depend on Bangladesh as they sell quality products at affordable prices. A large number of owners are relocating factories in a bid to ensure workers’ safety and meet international standards. He suggested factory owners meet minimum safety standards as any accidents may tarnish the image of the entire industry.
India International Knit Fair (IIKF) will be held at Tirupur, May 16 to 18, 2018. The spotlight will be on spring/summer 2018 with a complete display of latest fashion wear. IIKF is a platform for building contacts, developing business prospects, working on major tie-ups and partnerships. The fair will showcase fresh range of designs in high fashion knitwear garments for men, women and children. Visitors include: renowned designers, business houses, world class manufacturers, international buyers and celebrities etc.
Tirupur is the knitwear capital of India. Tirupur’s share in knitwear exports in India’s total garment exports is 20 per cent. More than 80 per cent of the industries in this sector are medium and small scale. The best brands, stores, wholesalers, importers identify Tirupur as one of the major sources for the consumer’s requirements.
IIKF has emerged as one among the most reputed knitwear trade fairs in the world. It aims to showcase end-to-end products pertaining to the knitwear segment. India Knit Fair Association has been conducting IIKF 21 years with the objective of presenting the capabilities of knitwear from India. This is the right time for the knitwear sector to capture the market that’s leaving China, due to an increase in cost of manufacturing.
ThreadSol is the world’s fastest growing technology company in the apparel space. Its solutions help manufacturers boost their top and bottom line. ThreadSol’s IntelloCut and IntelloBuy helps apparel manufacturers by buying accurate amount of fabric to avoid any deadstock, reducing fabric losses at the cutting stage and helping in shipping more garments.
MAS Holdings wanted to reduce its lead times and efforts while keeping up with profits. After the implementation of these two solutions, MAS was able to reduce its lead time by seven days in addition to process automation and elimination of processing errors.
This system not only helps manufacturers save fabric it also provides them with accurate reports to evaluate their fabric suppliers and analyze the waste for factory. It’s able to support big database to make better and accurate decisions and helps in better cost control. IntelloCut and IntelloBuy reduce order planning time from 30 minutes to just under six minutes. The solutions are 100 per cent mobile driven. They generate a score of automatic reports available on mobile phones. Manufacturers can view their factory’s performance in real time even if they are on holiday.
After a successful run in 15 countries with over 120 apparel manufacturers, ThreadSol is entering the African and Middle East markets.
The Riri Group, a leader in the fashion detail industry (zippers and buttons) has now developed steel zips. Riri keeps exploring a world of sensations, gazes, surfaces and colors to develop revolutionary creations in terms of products, materials and trends. The Swiss group is at the forefront of technical and stylistic research. In zips, Riri has been investigating a lot on both materials and technologies in order to offer cutting-edge products able to anticipate the market’s trends like water-repellent zippers in plastic. The company is about to finalize a zip concept that has all metallic parts exclusively made of stainless steel. This material – instead of the more traditional brass and zinc ones – leads to significant improvements in terms of oxidation resistance and strength and could make finishing treatment unnecessary.
The group is developing innovative technologies for the surface treatment of body sliders and teeth that will result in original finishes and effects impossible to achieve with standard technologies. Research is being done on metal zippers with tapes in leather rather than fabric, both for garments and leather goods.
B.Lock is a concept that can be applied to any field with a need for functionality meets aesthetic requirements, thanks to a revolutionary locking system that makes this snap extra resistant to lateral traction. It embodies performance, safety and resistance.
Danish company Novozymes known for its Combi Polish technology contributes to sustainable production in Bangladesh. It recently awarded textile manufacturers contributing to sustainable production in Bangladesh. Novozymes is a world leader in biological solutions for wet processing. Combi Polish is a Novozymes patented technology, which saves time, energy and water during the dyeing process. Use of it is the fastest, gentlest and most sustainable way to perform textile bio polishing and bleach clean-up. The readymade garment sector in Bangladesh faces serious challenges like high water consumption and low energy efficiency. Novozymes’ product is a proven technology to address these challenges.
The winning companies in Bangladesh are: Four H Dyeing and Printing Mills, Clifton Textiles and Apparels, Base Textiles, Shah Amanat Knitting and Dyeing Industries, NAZ Bangladesh, Textown, SQ Hues and Polo Knit Composite Mills.
Novozymes, founded in 2000, is the world leader in bio innovation. Its industrial enzymes, microorganisms, biopolymers and other proteins allow its customers to achieve more efficient use of raw materials, reduce energy consumption, replace traditional chemicals with more sustainable alternatives, and offer higher quality products. The company sees a big opportunity in India and Southeast Asia, where knowledge-based innovations in the field of industrial enzymes can effectively replace polluting chemical processes and deliver environmental sustainability.
Birla Cellulose will open a design studio in New York to connect with international fashion brands. Once the studio is launched, its seasonal collections will be available for global brands. “We are launching a design studio on 7th Avenue in New York which is known as the garment district, it is the most premium location in New York,” Birla Cellulose, President — Marketing, Manohar Samuel has said. The company has plans to open studios at other international destinations such as London and Hong Kong for its collections.
Birla Cellulose has a similar studio in Noida known as the Liva Accredited Partner Forum (LAPF). LAPF has samples of viscose, modal and excel with technical specifications and a variety of woven, knitted, and flat knitted fabrics on display under Liva, the fabric brand of Birla Cellulose.
Meanwhile, closer home, Birla Cellulose is opening one LAPF studio at Tirupur to cater to the southern textile hub and has plans to be present at major centers such as Jaipur and Bangalore. The company is also looking at adding more kiosks in its network, which consists of co-branded design fabricated studios. These would be operated in collaboration with local partners. It sees around 15 kiosks in the coming years and about six studios in the country. Birla Cellulose is the Aditya Birla Group’s umbrella brand for its range of cellulosic fibers.
New M&S chairman Archie Norman could be at odds with the its senior management as it works to turn around fashion business. CEO Steve Rowe has vowed to get back to the core customer.
But Norman believes too much of the fashion they make is aimed at the 55-plus age group. The company needs to target women in their 30s and 40s too. Moreover, the company’s entry price fashion pieces need to be cheaper and have a more fashionable edge and that the buying cycle for fashion is too long.
Norman is expected to shake up the businesses. He is known as a troubleshooter/turnaround specialist (having done just that at Asda, Australia’s Coles and broadcaster ITV). But he’s non-executive chairman at M&S and so doesn’t have direct managerial responsibility, although he’s a voice that will clearly be listened to.
There has also been speculation he may want to push through closures of under-performing stores more quickly than the company has been planning. He reportedly also wants to change the head office culture to allow for faster decision-making by managers. The company’s profits for the latest half are expected to be down nine to ten per cent.
The 15th edition of Garknit-X was held in Kolkata, November 3 to 5, 2017. This is a machinery show for apparel, leather, embroidery and jute technology. This includes sewing, cutting, finishing, embroidery, fusing, laundry, printing and knitting machines for fabric trimming and embellishment, dyes and chemicals, software, cad/cam, print and packing, laboratory, support services and trading publications etc.
This is the largest technology exhibition in East India. Domestic and international machinery brands showcased their products. The three-day fair saw a massive display of latest machinery in different segments, including textiles, readymade garments, embroidery, digital printing etc. About 100 brands both international and domestic participated in the fair, which is held once in a year in this region.
The expo was attended by eminent professionals, senior corporate executives and industry decision makers. It featured live demonstrations to help participants know about the latest developments and updates from this sector. Since Kolkata is a gateway to this region as well as countries like Bangladesh and Nepal, the fair is very popular with buyers who are keen to adopt modern technology in their respective units to boost production capacity. The next edition of Garknit-X will be held at Tirupur, April 6, 2018.
Having made its mark in readymade garment production, the Dollar City seems to have now turned its focus on jute product manufacturing. The city has of late groomed 20 persons to make at least 25 varieties of jute products. The 49-day training was offered by the National Jute Board (NJB) in collaboration with NIFT-TEA College of Knitwear Fashion.
According to NJB, Tirupur can easily contribute to the jute product manufacturing as it has already cemented its position in readymade garment export front. Industrialists too hope that jute products could help the dollar city achieve the projected annual target of Rs 1 lakh crore in exports.
NIFT-TEA College is one of the 20 collaborative agencies of NJB for taking Jute Integrated Development Scheme (JIDS) to the masses. The objective of the JIDS is to create awareness about jute products and increase the number of skilled workforce for production of jute diversified products.
Among the 20 trainees at NIFT-TEA College, most were housewives or unemployed women. As per N Viswanathan, Project Coordinator, skill development initiative, at NIFT-TEA College, they have been conducting training programs on different textile products for aspirants. Jute product training is one among them. Many areas in and around Tirupur could be developed as jute product cluster. Jute product manufacturing is likely to become popular as it has a huge export market.
Factories like Zaber and Zubair, a sister concern of the Noman Group, play an important role in Bangladesh by supplying woven fabrics to domestic garment industry, helping them reduce lead time and increase quality for global brands. The company organized a fabric week for the first time in Bangladesh’s textile history. Held from October 29 to November 4, the exhibition displayed fabrics and garment products for global buyers at the company’s premises.
Generally, global brands organize a mill week to present seasonal products from different suppliers. But with this unique effort the group has taken a step forward in marketing and branding them. Zaber and Zubair is a major Bangladeshi garment exporter of towels and fabrics.
Every year in two sessions, spring/summer and autumn/winter, it employs experts from Sri Lanka, Italy, India, Bangladesh to make new collections with innovative designs. The company’s fabric capacity is 10 million meters per month. It has more than 200 factories and brands as customers. Zaber and Zubair regularly does supply chain management, motion study, value chain analysis and produces sustainable products in a sustainable way. It makes yarn and fabrics from recycling jute and does rainwater harvesting to reduce water consumption.
