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Indonesia will revitalize old machinery in the textile, leather working and footwear industries in an effort to develop these fields and stimulate more investments. The program has rejuvenated 1.88 million machines since its commencement in 2007, with another 3.66 million machines more than 20 years old awaiting upgrade.
There are six categories of machines eligible for rejuvenation, including textile looms, knitting machines and those used in footwear manufacturing and the mass production of garments. The industry has a growth target of 300 per cent by 2019.
Robust economic growth and rising purchasing power make Indonesia – the world’s fourth most populated country – an attractive market for textiles and clothing. Both local and foreign companies are vying for market share. Rising costs are giving domestic producers a hard time as they try to fend off overseas competition, but technological modernization, improving labor skills, better infrastructure and the relatively low rupiah alter the picture in their favor.
Many of Indonesia’s largest listed textile and garment manufacturers have been active in raising funds through the capital markets for investment into new plants. Even though most of Indonesia’s several thousand textile businesses sell their goods in the home market, the lion's share of Indonesian-made clothes is shipped abroad, with many of the larger companies producing apparel for global brands.
The drop in cotton prices across the globe has come as a serious blow to the terry towel industry in Bangladesh. The main cause of low cotton prices is the fallout from China’s support program for its growers. More than 16 big terry towel factories of the country have been closed in recent times while export earnings declined sharply in the last five years as Pakistan and India are getting major orders from foreign buyers.
Bangladesh’s factories purchase yarn from local spinning mills. The cost of yarn sourcing for a Bangladeshi factory hasn’t been reduced to a rate compared to that of Pakistan or India. Many companies have stopped operation because of lower orders. At least 16 out of 97 companies have stopped operation in the last one and a half years. Towel export witnessed a major setback among home textile items. Shipments of other home textile items have also fallen but not to the extent terry towels have.
Bangladesh’s terry towel products mainly go to the US, Canada and Europe. The country produces different types of terry towels such as face, hand, terry kitchen, stripped bath, assorted colored bath, dyed terry bath, golf and bath robes for export.
International Textile Fair will be held in Dubai on April 26 and 27, 2015. The trade show is looked upon by traders as an opportunity to cater to the local market and reach out to emerging Gulf. It aims to be UAE’s premier platform for fashion and home textile fabrics and clothing. This event will showcase pre-collection Autumn/Winter highlights.
The categories include shirting, jersey, silk, outerwear, rainwear, coated fabric, printed fabrics, wool, worsteds, linens, tweed, fancies, flannel, synthetics, technical. The trade event is expected to attract international textile producers and distributors to cater to the booming regional textile requirements. This platform allows Middle Eastern designers and garment retailers access to some of the largest global manufacturers of fabrics and prints.
Textile manufacturers and designers from China, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesia, Italy and other countries are expected. International players can build new ties and establish business alliances with local and regional players. UAE is the world’s fourth largest trading centre of fashion and apparel, with a presence of about 150 apparel manufacturing companies that account for about 5.5 per cent of the world’s annual textile and clothing sales. By 2016, the UAE is expected to be a leading high end textile and garment re-export center.
Spinexpo to be held from March 9 to 11, 2015 in China is a leading professional trade show for fibers and yarns. Exhibitors will present their latest trends and developments. Linen and linen blends are expected to feature heavily this time.
The Spring/Summer 2015 session will also feature a new installation that explores the world of color in greater depth, as well as a new trend area dedicated to active wear. The show has attracted 170 exhibitors coming from 15 countries.
Linen is a functional fiber that has anti-allergic, antistatic and antibacterial properties. It can absorb 20 times more moisture than its own component and can be described as a natural air conditioner. Wool linen blend yarns have the characteristic of being stiff and smooth in hand feel, warm in winter and cool in summer. They are suitable for producing high class knitwear.
The Xinao Group will introduce its latest cross yarn, made from 55 per cent extra fine merino wool and 45 per cent linen. Winning Textile, a fancy yarn producer, has developed linen and cotton, blended with viscose and nylon, and added matt finish and soft handle, still maintaining the shape and refined natural-feel.
Other products from Winning for the Spring/Summer 2016 season are sophisticated sheen or irregular slub of rayon, viscose nylon blend, and superfine stretch nylon enhancing a comfortable, good shape and look.
www.spinexpo.com/
With viscose staple fibre gaining momentum with demand coming from segments like apparel, home textiles and technical textiles, Grasim Industries has commissioned its fourth line and completed the last phase of its greenfield viscose staple fibre (VSF) plant at Vilayat in Gujarat. Now the company’s VSF capacity at Vilayat is enhanced to 120,000 tonnes per annum, while its overall VSF capacity stands enhanced at 498,000 tonnes per annum.
A leader in the segment, the company through the greenfield project at Vilayat and brownfield expansions at Harihar in Karnataka, at 36,500 tonnes per annum, has increased capacities by 50 per cent to 498,000 tonnes per annum. Demand for viscose fibre has been on the rise in China, where cellulosic staple mill consumption in 2014 totaled three million tonnes and India is said to be following the suit.
According to experts, more than 80 per cent of the world’s dissolving pulp is converted to viscose rayon fiber, which is used in suits, dresses, socks, and other garments. In 2013-14, demand for polyester staple fibre (PSF) and polyester filament yarn (PFY) remained subdued due to a rise in demand for cotton yarn. However, demand for viscose staple fibre (VSF), viscose filament yarn (VFY) and acrylic staple fibre (ASF) remained strong in the year ended March 2014, wherein production of VSF and VFY grew by 7.7 per cent and 4.2 per cent, respectively.
www.grasim.com
After the successful launch of maiden Texworld Istanbul in November 2014, the textile industry in Turkey is all set host the next edition to be held from April 7 to 9, 2015. The sourcing event for apparel fabrics, new product developments, trends and merchandise, the event in Istanbul, Turkey will also have several seminars and networking sessions.
The first edition made a successful debut in Turkey with a fully booked show floor and 5,248 visitors. The event featured 115 exhibitors from 10 different countries including China, Taiwan, Turkey, Pakistan, India, South Korea, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia and France. The products on display included cotton, embroidery and lace, knitted fabrics, functional fabrics, fibres and yarns, silk, prints and wool. In addition, the Texworld Istanbul trend forum presented a curated selection of fabrics of the exhibitors present.
Both the city of Istanbul and the Republic of Turkey have been a textile manufacturing and trading hub for more than a century. A large amount of the globally produced fabrics is being imported to Turkey and used for production there. This creates significant purchasing volumes: the total textile imports into Turkey mounted to $12 billion in 2013.
Turkey has one of the strongest and highest-output textile industries in the world. In many regions across the country, textile factories are the backbone of the local economy. In this frame, imports of raw materials have become an important factor. In particular the need for new materials at various price levels has been expressed by both Turkish and regional apparel manufacturers.
www.messefrankfurt.com
Pakistan government will help the textile industry enhance capacity to boost exports. Value addition in the textile sector is top priority. The aim is to raise exports from the current $13 billion to $26 billion per year. The government will shift focus from exporting raw material to value added products as this approach would not only boost the economy but also help create millions of new employment opportunities in the country.
For increasing production of value-added products in the country, the government will also provide training to 1,20,000 people who will get a stipend during their training period. The government would provide uninterrupted gas and electricity to the textile sector which would help enhance overall exports in this sector. There will be 12 hours’ gas supply to the sector in winter and 24 hours of uninterrupted power supply besides a reduction in the power tariff.
After the availability of GSP Plus, exports of Pakistan’s value-added sector to the European Union had increased by 21 per cent. In the new Textile Policy 2014-19 Rs 64.15 billion was proposed for the next five years against an allocation of Rs 188 billion for the last textile policy of 2009-14.
Textile Exchange will be held in Mumbai from October 5 to 10, 2015. It will bring together leaders from the global textile industry to create a space for learning and networking. In addition to the two-day conference, which will focus on the theme, ‘Textiles– A Circular Life’, the six days include opportunities for exploring India’s rich heritage in textiles.
New networking opportunities include an organized activity designed to connect buyers and suppliers in a fun and focused manner as well as nightly events. The event will also include a Textile Sustainability Conference. This is a conference covering supply chain management, product integrity and sustainable materials in the global textile industry. The Textile Sustainability Conference, organised by Textile Exchange, will also include a roundtable on organic cotton and a discussion on the Indian textile industry in 2015.
Fabrics, the basic material of the textile industry, have varied use in the production of different items. Its supply chain can remain smooth only if there is a continuous supply of textile fabric from various textile fabric manufacturers and wholesale companies. Fabrics are usually differentiated on the basis of composition, natural fabrics and synthetic fabrics.
Differentiation of fabrics by use may include apparel fabrics, bag fabrics, clothing fabrics, home furnishing fabrics, hosiery fabrics, industrial fabrics. Fabrics categorized on the basis of the manufacturing process include blended fabrics, warp knit fabrics, ribbed fabrics, satin fabrics and crocheted fabrics.
textileexchange.org/event/2015textileconf
Myanmar has made massive strides as a global apparel sourcing destination. Export revenues have more than doubled in less than three years. The country has some 275 garment factories. However, there are compliance issues around the working conditions and health and safety, including a lack of worker training on handling cleaning chemicals, exposed electrical outlets, missing warning information, and ventilation issues.
At present, Myanmar's garment shipments to the EU enjoy the added benefit of GSP Plus duty-free trade preferences. But besides compliance and ethics, Myanmar also needs to address infrastructure, energy challenges moreover the country’s financial institutions, are still in their infancy. The country needs a lot of training resources to help overcome the knowledge and experience gap it has had as a result of its long isolation.
Other challenges include the country’s tax infrastructure, which incentivises CMP-type production rather than higher margin FOB. The recent move by the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association to establish a voluntary code of conduct for its members is seen as a sign of its commitment to becoming a responsible sourcing destination. The code is seen as a key to addressing the health and safety concerns of international retailers and brands who demand socially responsible manufacturing practices from their producers.
Accord has warned of snapping business ties with more than a dozen apparel makers in Bangladesh over their failure to improve safety even after the initial inspection. The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety is a group of European retailers. The move comes following Accord’s follow-up inspection in its listed factories. At the end of November 30, 2014, follow-up inspection reports (fire, electrical and structural) have been sent to 73 factories while the Accord has issued non-compliance letters to 13 factory owners.
Factories that do not cooperate and support remediation requirements can face action from Accord including termination of business relations and public disclosure of the non-compliance on the Accord website.
The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh was signed in May 2013. It is a five-year independent, legally binding agreement between global brands and retailers and trade unions designed to build a safe and healthy Bangladeshi readymade garment industry.
It brings together the United Nation’s International Labor Organization, Bangladeshi unions, international unions, the Bangladesh government and garment companies to oversee safety inspections into more than 1600 garment factories in Bangladesh. The assumption is that the company’s own audit programs and safety checks are not enough to ensure long term worker safety in Bangladesh.
bangladeshaccord.org/
