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Garment factories in Myanmar are expected to benefit from the United States' decision to ease trade restrictions with the country. Players are of the opinion that it would not only give a thrust to exports to the US but also strengthen domestic industries.
In 2014, Myanmar-US trade value stood at $185.6 million (Bt6.67 billion), with Myanmar exports valued at $92.7 million, according to the US Department of Commerce. In the first 10 months of this year, exports to the US rose to $116.7 million, along with an increase in bilateral trade value to $306.1 million. The US put a lid on Myanmar imports in 2004. The activity resumed only in 2013, with goods valued at $19.9 million shipped to the US. Myanmar exported $1.56 billion worth of garment products in 2014, according to the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, which expects the value to hit $2 billion this year from just over $900 million in 2012. According to the association, GAP is a pioneering US company to source "Made in Myanmar" garments. Others are H&M, Primark and Adidas.
Now the industry experts are looking forward to the US lifting all economic sanctions and GSP-like status is offered to the country like the EU, which will prove to be the major push to expand its business in the foreign countries.
According to the industry insiders, Welspun Group has decided to hive off its yarn-spinning business into a separate entity called Welspun Syntex, which will be managed by cofounder Rajesh Mandawewala's elder son Abhishek. Mandawewala is also said to be looking at acquiring partner and Shairman BK Goenka's stake in Welspun Syntex.
According to the company sources, the process is a part of the company’s efforts to ensure separation of ownership and management, while simultaneously planning a smooth succession of the business to the next generation. The three-decade old group brought consultant McKinsey on board earlier this year to craft `Vision 2020', a programme aimed at building a new organisational structure for the group where promoters will step away from operational responsibilities to take up a more strategic role.
Chairman BK Goenka and MD Rajesh Mandawewala founded the $3-billion conglomerate from a small town in Maharashtra in 1985. Today, the group gets most of its revenues from selling pipes to global oil companies, and towels and bed sheets in both local and overseas markets. Welspun Syntex posted Rs 835 crores of revenue last fiscal year.
www.welspunindia.com
In early 2016, Invista will launch a new campaign for Coolmax and Thermolite brands, two leading fibres used within the company’s apparel and non-apparel segments. The ‘Embrace the Elements’ campaign reflects the new brand positioning forboth the brands and includes a contemporary look and feel with new logos, hangtags, websites, and simplified brand architecture.
With the brand campaign, the company is also introducing a new logo for both the brands. Based on extensive consumer research, the new logos reveal a more contemporary look for the brands while also symbolizing the product benefits with appropriate colour tones – blue for cool and dry with Coolmax brand and red for lightweight warmth with Thermolite brand.
In addition, the branding architecture has been streamlined with four sub-brands - Coolmax brand, Coolmax Pro brand, Thermolite brand, and Thermolite Pro brand. The addition of the PRO designation represents Invista’s advanced innovation in moisture management and warming technology.
To further complement the new brand campaign, Invista will launch the all-new Thermolite Infrared Technology under the Thermolite PRO brand in the first half of 2016. Activated by solar technology, fabrics have been engineered to warm up through exposure to the sunlight.
www.invista.com
The government of Bangladesh has decided to take action against RMG units that have not adhered by the corrective action plan provided by a government-set review committee for ensuring structural, fire and electrical safety at the apparel units. The government is contemplating a legal action against such factories.
If the units fail to implement the recommendations of the government-set committee, they will no longer be allowed to run their businesses. Recently, Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, a consortium of North American buyers, recently submitted a list of its 11 supplier factories to the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) stating that the progresses the factories made in implementing the recommendations by the review committee were not at all satisfactory.
Alliance also added that out of the 11 factories had got time from 412 days to 642 days to implement the review committee’s recommendations like conducting detailed engineering assessment, removal of water tanks and columns from the rooftop and keeping a specified area of the building empty until remediation is completed. The four other factories got time from 96 days to 17 days for demolishing unauthorised cantilevers, propping under the cantilever parts and removal of additional load from the structures.
Four of the 11 factories have been directed to stop running the factories until the review committee’s recommendations are implemented but none of them have suspended production in their factories.
www.bangladeshworkersafety.org
All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Punjab Chairman Aamir Fayyaz indicated at a press conference held after its AGM that several textile mills in the region may completely stop functioning before end of this month. The move may be taken due to the delay in announcement of bailout package by the government.
He said that all textile associations from Punjab have contacted the APTMA leadership for collective action against the government's apathy towards the industry problems. "The situation is heading fast towards a total collapse of the textile industry," he warned.
He said that government has imposed anti-dumping duty on cotton yarn while leaving the import of MMF yarns unattended, as the relevant notification does not cover them. The government has allowed long-term financing facility (LTFF), which would have no immediate impact because of the hostile environment for new investments. Finally, there is only one per cent reduction in the export refinance facility, which has not even been extended to spinning and weaving. He said that SNGPL has shutdown gas supply to the Punjab-based textile mills altogether, increasing the number of closed down mills to 70.
He also discussed in detail the prevailing adverse circumstances, including 40 per cent drop in cotton arrival in Punjab, unaffordable electricity tariff and burdening of industry with domestic taxes, and urged the government to do away with them without any further delay. While speaking on the occasion, former chairmen APTMA Gohar Ejaz urged the government to restore gas supply immediately besides tariff rationalisation of electricity to improve country’s exports.
www.aptma.org.pk
Indian companies in the commodity business from sectors including cotton and yarn, metals and mining, and capital goods are experiencing adverse impact of structural changes in the Chinese economy. China has recently been moving towards a consumption-driven economy after focusing on manufacturing for decades, leading to decline in China's imports of commodity products, while its exports of finished products continue to increase owing to excess manufacturing.
\Data shows that China imported 7 per cent less cotton yarn from India in the three months to October 2015 compared to the preceding three months; with the imports declining sharply in October impacting Indian companies like Vardhman, Nitin Spinners, RSWM, Sutlej Textiles, Nahar spinning.
Revenue of cotton yarn manufacturing companies may fall in the 5 per cent-10 per cent range in the second half, according to Sanjay Jain, VP, Hosiery Manufacturer Association of India, which he says could be a positive for domestic garment manufacturers as it will create reservoir of raw material leading to rise in profitability of several companies such as Indocount, Welspun India, Nandan Denim, Page Industries, Gokaldas and Arvind.
18th knitwear exhibition under the series of Knit-Vision 2015, an exclusive exhibition of knitting, sewing, textile, finishing and allied machinery from December 18 to 21, 2015 in Ludhiana.
The exhibition provides a platform to display the latest in knitting technology and visitors can update themselves about the latest developments in the global market. Knit Vision is an ideal platform to build contacts, develop business prospects, and bridge new tie-ups and partnerships.
The exhibition will witness around 100 exhibitors displaying innovations of 300 brands across garment manufacturing. Organised by Showman Associates, the event anticipates around 20,000 visitors to be at the event.
Garments Machinery Manufacturers & Suppliers Association (GMMSA) – formed by various companies of Ludhiana and international machine manufacturers – is organising its debut GMMSA EXPO from February 19 to 22, 2016. And next edition of ‘KnitWorld’ will also be held from January 15 to 18, 2016.
www.knit-vision.com
Despite the existence of a minimum wage, workers in Myanmar’s garment factories still find it hard to make ends meet and suffer from harsh work conditions, according to Oxfam.
The workers in Myanmar usually earn an average of less than $100 (Ks 122,000) a month, including overtime fees and bonuses. Many have to work about 11 hours a day, six days a week. Yet, 75 per cent of the workers are unable to cover the cost of basic needs like food, medicine and transport, the report said.
It also said that most of the workers have to borrow money even to meet their daily needs, further putting them under debt pressure. Rents are so expensive that almost half of their earnings are invested on accommodation alone. And 90 per cent of workers are not even able to save any of their income.
Oxfam, which has been working in Myanmar since 2008, launched a briefing paper last week entitled “Made in Myanmar: Entrenched poverty or decent jobs for garment workers?" It was based on research by Oxfam, the Cooperative Committee of Trade Unions, 88 Generation Peace and Open Society, Action Labour Rights, and Labour Rights Defenders & Promoters (LRDP). Some 123 workers from 22 factories in six industrial zones in Yangon - Dagon Seikkan, Shwe Lin Pan, Mingalardon, Bago, Thilawa, and Hlaing Tharyar - were interviewed. Nearly 90 per cent of respondents were female with an average age of 23 years.
www.oxfam.org
Since more than enough cotton is piled up in global warehouses to make more than 127 billion T-shirts, or 17 for each person on the planet, there is no hope for the prices to rise. World inventories at the end of this season are being forecast to the second-largest ever against last year’s record, according to a US Department of Agriculture report last week.
Experts point out that while threats to the American crop helped make the fibre this year’s best-performing commodity, the gains may not last much longer since demand continues to decline. China, for instance, the world’s largest user, is curbing cotton imports by more than 30 per cent, leading to shrinking of global trade for the fourth consecutive year, states the International Cotton Advisory Committee.
Money managers boosted the net-long position in cotton futures and options by 26 per cent to 60,357 contracts in the week ended December 8, 2015, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data. That’s the highest since May 2014. Prices in New York slid 1.5 per cent last week to 63.71 cents a pound.
Cotton is one of only two gainers this year among the 22 components of the Bloomberg Commodity Index, which is trading near a 16-year low. But the fibre’s upward journey is starting to dissipate. Prices are now up 5.7 per cent in 2015, paring advances of as much as 13 per cent.
Harvesting in the US, the world’s biggest exporter, witnessed adverse impact of heavy rains this year, and output is also expected to decline in China and India. Despite this, there is no fall in global stockpiles, which are forecast by the USDA to dip just 6.8 per cent from last year’s all-time high. The inventories will also be more than 35 per cent higher than the 10-year average.
There are signs that production will rebound. The USDA forecast that plantings will climb 13 per cent to 9.5 million acres next year, a report showed Friday. Societe Generale SA forecasts prices will average 62.9 cents in the first quarter and 62.7 cents in the second.
"There are different types of wastes generated by the industry that are polluting the environment. First, is production waste. It’s estimated that 15 per cent of textiles intended for clothing ends up on the cutting room floor, so this does not make it into the garment. The better alternative for this type of waste is to up-cycle this waste back into fashion products. Second, is consumer waste. There has been a 60 per cent increase in fashion consumption in the last 10 years, with 150 billion new garments thought to be produced ever year."
Things impacting the fashion industry
Dean points out the fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world, and it plays a horrific role in causing environmental pollution and social issues. Unless this issue is taken up seriously, the society is going to face a huge crisis in the future. In China, for instance, 17 to 20 per cent of industrial water pollution comes from textile dyeing and treatment, says The World Bank. In China, 26 million tons of textile waste originating from industry and consumers is thought to be generated every year, according to China Association of Resource Comprehensive Utilisation, 2013. And average of 217 tons of textiles was estimated to enter Hong Kong’s landfills every day in 2011, according to Hong Kong’s Environmental Protection Department.
There are different types of wastes generated by the industry that are polluting the environment. First, is production waste. It’s estimated that 15 per cent of textiles intended for clothing ends up on the cutting room floor, so this does not make it into the garment. The better alternative for this type of waste is to up-cycle this waste back into fashion products. Second, is consumer waste. There has been a 60 per cent increase in fashion consumption in the last 10 years, with 150 billion new garments thought to be produced ever year. The rise in fast fashion has meant that in recent years, designers, manufacturers and retailers have gone into overdrive to satisfy this consumer appetite, so much so that people are buying items of clothing with as much thought as a Big Mac.
Consumers are also throwing a huge amount of clothes away. In Hong Kong, around 12,000 garments enter the landfills every hour. The best way forward, Dean says, is to buy less, buy better and to care more for what we have.
Sustainability a growing theme
However, sustainable fashion is gradually moving into mainstream consciousness, from designers to consumers. Consumers are now waking up to the impact caused by the fashion industry. They are looking to consume more sustainable clothing, be this on the high street, which is now littered with small, sustainable collections, or through supporting local emerging designers or wearing secondhand clothes.
Dean is hopeful that the future of the sustainable fashion industry will be much more focused on waste reduction and recycling. According to her, fashion courses will need to grow their capability to incorporate sustainable design education into curriculum in order to plant a widespread vision for a more sustainable fashion industry among those who, ultimately, are tomorrow’s industry.
Redress.com.hk
