FW
Japan is the fourth largest market for textile and apparel products. Apparel is the largest imported category by Japan, representing 76 per cent of total textile and apparel imports. This is followed by cotton textiles and manmade textiles. The top 10 suppliers account for 92 per cent of textile and apparel imports by Japan. China is the largest supplier, accounting for a 62 per cent share, followed by Vietnam and Indonesia, with a share of 11 per cent and four per cent respectively.
The Japanese textile industry started shifting to other countries in the 1980s due to increasing wage costs. This led to Japanese investments in countries like China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia. India is the 10th largest supplier of textile and apparel products to Japan. Apparel has a 49 per cent share in India’s textile and apparel exports to Japan. This is followed by cotton textiles, manmade textiles and carpets having a share of 28 per cent, seven per cent and six per cent respectively.
India has a high potential to increase its market share in Japan. For that, Indian exporters need to focus on high quality Indian garments and work on faster delivery schedules. Further Japan’s sourcing model is based on using buying agents and trading firms and not direct orders. Indian exporters need to familiarize themselves with different models as well.
S Hari Shankar has been elected chairman, India International Textile Machinery Exhibitions (India ITME) society.
He is an alumnus of the Philadelphia College of Textiles & Sciences, US. Apart from being an enthusiastic athlete, he is also an avid and well-known wildlife photographer.
He is the joint managing director of Lakshmi Card Clothing, Coimbatore. LCC is a global leader in providing complete card room solutions.
He is active in many associations and is on the board of executive council of Textile Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (India) (TMMA) since 2001 and also held the position of chairman of TMMA from 2011 to 2013. He was part of India ITME society since 2001 and held the position of hon. treasurer from 2013 to 2017.
He is also on the board of directors of Prathishta Wvg. & Knitting, Coimbatore, and governing council member of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore.
Ketan Sanghvi (Laxmi Shuttleless Looms) has been elected as hon. treasurer.
The vice chairmen are Mehul Trivedi (The Indian Card Clothing), Kaizar Z. Mahuwala (Gurjar Gravures), Sanjay K. Jain (Confederation of Indian Textile Industry), Arvind Sinha (The Textile Association, India), Surina Rajan, IAS, Bureau of Indian Standards, Govt. of India.
The Shri Vallabh Pittie group will build a cotton yarn plant in Oman.
The project will manufacture a wide range of cotton yarn and is going to be the first major cotton yarn plant in the region. The facility will provide over 1,500 jobs and is expected to start commercial operations in late 2019. The facility will be the first step in establishing a fully-fledged textile cluster in Sohar free zone. Downstream investments in knitting, weaving, spinning and fabric manufacturing could create a thriving industrial cluster providing thousands of new jobs for local households.
SVP is one of the largest manufacturers of cotton yarn in India and a global leader in the sector.
The plant will import 1,00,000 metric tons of cotton fiber annually, with around 50 per cent coming from the United States and the remainder split between Australia and India. The plant will produce around 75,000 tons of finished yarn each year, which will be exported back to China and other global markets including Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam, Portugal and Turkey.
With over two hundred years of experience in the textile business, SVP has a highly skilled and experienced management team with a strong focus on automation and technology. It sources best-in-class machinery from leading global companies to ensure the highest levels of productivity and efficiency.
One of Italy's oldest fashion houses Trussardi, unveiled that it had a plenty of abstract aeroplane motifs, clothes that billowed like parachutes and even a few re-imagined pilot jumpsuits.
In her notes on the Spring/Summer 2018 designs shown in Milan, creative lead Gaia Trussardi, says that the suits are inspired by the free and enterprising spirit of great female travelers like Amelia Earhart.
Trussardi's clothes had lots of silk, straps and belts. Abstract aeroplane silhouettes showed up on suits for men, who are increasingly common on what was once a fashion week reserved for women.
Some half-a-dozen houses will show co-ed collections over the six-day marathon on Milan. There were also flat platform sandals with straps and gold buckles as well as plenty of high heels with straps that wrap around the ankles.
The journey was a big inspiration for Trussardi, but so was the destination. Flower prints, like the flora of a tropical locale, made their way on to the clothes as did the perhaps less welcome fauna of what appeared to be snakeskin.
True to its roots the house started in 1911 as a glove manufacturer Trussardi showed off new accessories.
The Gita bag has leather trim, a compact shape and details that bring to mind the labels and tags that accumulate on a well-travelled bag.
The fashion circus in Milan continues later on Sunday with highly-anticipated collection from Dolce & Gabbana, which will be the last blockbuster name set to send a collection down the catwalk during this fashion week.
Zimbabwe’s cotton production has increased 150 per cent this year. Cotton output increased to 70,000 tons up from 28,000 tons produced during last season.
The Presidential Inputs Program, a free input support program, has managed to empower thousands of farmers who had abandoned the crop due to exploitative financing models by private contractors.
Private companies were giving farmers inputs at inflated prices and buying the commodity at very low prices. So at the end of the day farmers were essentially providing free labor because all the income would go toward debt repayment. In certain instances, some farmers ended up losing their property or livestock after failing to repay.
But the Presidential Inputs Program has come to their rescue. It has had a huge impact on the livelihoods of people. Farmers have managed to upgrade their homes, buy cattle, even cars, animal drawn ploughs. Parents are paying school fees. Service providers such as transporters are back and most grocery shops in villages have re-opened. Commercial activities have grown.
The program has helped boost cotton production, tame poverty among the rural people and created jobs. It has empowered disadvantaged women and would go a long way in reviving downstream industries such as textiles.
Wrangler in honor of its 70th anniversary is releasing new range in collaboration with psychedelic artist Peter Max. The collection is bright, colorful, and well, totally far out.
It is Wrangler’s second collaboration with Max, the first of which debuted in the 1970s. The Peter Max X Wrangler range is still very much retro inspired but reworked with modern fits, featuring pieces like two-tone jeans, cords, trucker jackets, and graphic tees. Just have a look at this Peter Max X Wrangler Women’s Pieced Denim retro straight fit. Jean that feels like a blast straight from the past.
Talking about the collection Peter Max X Wrangler women’s Pieced Corduroy retro straight fit pant that’s pretty much the essence of cool also the Peter Max X Wrangler women’s short sleeve graphic T-Shirt works just as well with the collection’s iconic denim as it does with any leather skirt or moto jacket in your closet.
World trade grew by 4.2 per cent year-on-year from January through June.
Much of the increase is attributed to a resurgence of trade flows in Asia, where exports rose 7.3 per cent and imports jumped 8.9 per cent. Stronger growth in the US and China has boosted demand for imports. Trade has also seen meaningful increases in North America (with import and export gains of 3.9 per cent and 4.9 per cent respectively) and Europe (up 1.2 per cent and 2.6 per cent).
The fact that trade growth is now more synchronized across regions than it has been for many years could make the current expansion self-reinforcing. Such an outcome would be more likely if countries continue to resist the temptations of protectionism and work together to ensure that gains from trade are both large and widely shared.
However trade growth is expected to slow to 3.2 per cent in 2018. The renegotiation of Nafta and the uncertain nature of the trade relationship between the European Union and the departing United Kingdom could unsettle global and regional trade. In addition, monetary policy changes could provoke shifts in prices and exchange rates that would strongly influence trade patterns. Protectionist rhetoric could translate into trade restrictions.
H&M first launched its worldwide Garment Collecting creativity in 2013 and has then collected over 40,000 tonnes of clothing. Customers can bring any unwanted garments and textiles, from any brand and in any condition, to any H&M store, all year around. The goal is to increase the amount of garments collected every year and collect total volume of 25,000 tonnes per year by 2020.
An exciting film directed by Crystal Moselle was launched in support to the global Garment Collecting campaign, Bring It.
The campaign raises awareness on the importance of garment recycling. H&M wants to close the loop on fashion by giving customers an easy solution to hand in unwanted garments so they can be reused or recycled through H&M’s garment collecting initiative. By doing so, less garments go to landfill.
The Bring It film tells the journey that unwanted garments go on after they have been collected in store. Through inspiring stories the film illustrates how the lifespan of a garment can be increased to keep it in the loop for as long as possible.
H&M’s ambition is to work towards a change in the way fashion is made to provide fashion and quality at the best price in a sustainable way.
The company works towards a sustainable fashion future. The aim is to create a closed loop for textiles, so that unwanted clothes can be reused and recycled to create fresh textile fibers for new products.
French investors are interested in Cambodia’s garment, textile, tourism and agriculture sectors. Such investment is expected to help Cambodia’s exports to the EU grow more and more, especially in the purchase of garments, textiles and agricultural products. The European Union’s ‘Everything but Arms’ policy allows Cambodia to export all kinds of goods to the EU without paying any tariffs or taxes. Cambodia is having a rapid economic growth rate. The country has a substantial labor force, abundant natural resources and a favorable location for ensuring long-term investment.
The country has over the years maintained an average GDP growth rate of about seven per cent and is constantly striving to create a better business environment for investors. France has helped Cambodia in a number of sectors, including education, health, and clean water. While the bulk of France’s imports from Cambodia are those of garments, France is the biggest market in Europe for Cambodian rice.
Whenever a French artist, a painter or a photographer, shows their work in Cambodia, they also hold master class to train young promising artists. France holds street art festivals in Cambodia too. These events allow for French and Cambodian artists to exchange and create things.
India is changing its export mix and is realigning exports to China.
While its northern neighbor is its largest trading partner, only 3.68 per cent of India’s exports find their way to China.
Apart from finding it difficult to bridge the whopping trade deficit, India is also looking to upgrade its current basket of exports to China.
Raw materials like cotton, iron ore and copper were long a hallmark of Indian exports to China.
But now there is a move to shift exports towards value added products in a bid to cap the growing trade deficit. Raw materials like iron and iron ores, which constitute more than 70 per cent of India’s exports to China, are subject to volatile global commodity prices. So there is a need to shift toward products higher in the value chain.
So India has shifted focus from raw materials to key sectors such as hardware, electronics, pharmaceuticals, textiles and auto components in a bid to realign and boost exports.
A changing consumer pattern has led to a greater demand for consumer goods in China, where overall demand in the first half of 2017 was driven by solid growth in industry and even stronger growth in services.
So India is looking to harness its strengths in labor intensive sectors where India enjoys a significant advantage over other developing nations.
