FW
"India’s textile and clothing (T&C) exports in the second quarter of FY 18-19, dropped 5.82 per cent to $8,935.55 million over its previous quarter. The US still remains top export market for India’s T&C goods, with goods worth of $2,059.37 million exported the US. Export of knitted apparels surpassed those of woven apparels. Knitwear exports totaled to $1941.34 million with a growth of 4.56 per cent"
India’s textile and clothing (T&C) exports in the second quarter of FY 18-19, dropped 5.82 per cent to $8,935.55 million over its previous quarter. The US still remains top export market for India’s T&C goods, with goods worth of $2,059.37 million exported the US. Export of knitted apparels surpassed those of woven apparels. Knitwear exports totaled to $1941.34 million with a growth of 4.56 per cent
Cotton T-shirts lead growth
In the knitted apparel segment, cotton T-shirts ruled with export value worth $414.54 million. Exports of knitted cotton nightdresses and pyjamas grew at a robust 58.76 per cent to $83.71 million while those of cotton knitted babies garments declined by 3.34 per cent. Export of woven apparel was $1,731.83 million, registering a decline of 21.06 per cent. This was led by the export of men’s cotton shirt which was worth $204.24 million but its growth dropped marginally by 1.05 per cent. Exports of dresses made from cotton and artificial fibres dropped significantly by 43.38 per cent and 42.13 per cent totaling $75.20 million and $42.71 million respectively.
Indian exports rule the USA market
Country-wise, the US remained largest export market for India’s textile and clothing goods. In the second
quarter of FY 18-19, exports to US was $2059.37 million, a growth of 2.89 per cent. In the US, India’s apparel exports rule with a stake of 47 per cent from the total T&C exports to the country. India’s apparel exports to the US during the quarter was $969.72 million.
Bangladesh, second largest export market
India’s T&C exports to Bangladesh increased by 1.97 per cent over the previous quarter with exports totaling to $580.12 million. India’s cotton exports to Bangladesh totaled to $475.21 million with a growth of 8.04 per cent. Export to UAE was worth $567.14 million with negative growth of 13.21 per cent. Currently UAE is the third largest export market for India’s T&C goods. Knitted apparel is the biggest commodity exported to the UAE with an export value of $252.12 million. But growth of knitted apparel dropped 7.48 per cent. Exports to UK was $517.22 million in Q2 but perceived a negative growth of 9.40 per cent over the previous quarter. Exports of knitted apparel totaled to $213.99 million with a growth of 10.07 per cent. Woven apparel exports dropped by 35.68 per cent while those of carpets and other textile floor coverings declined by 2.53 per cent.
Cotton lead T&C exports to China
India’s T&C exports to China fell 22.49 per cent to $464.84 million. Cotton was the major commodity exported worth $369.91 million. But the commodity perceived a negative growth of 24.72 per cent over the previous quarter.
Growth in other European markets also declined. India’s exports to Germany totaled $417.62 million a negative growth of 2.77 per cent. Export to Spain was $225.42 million declining 25.43 per cent. Exports to Italy dropped 4.20 per cent with an export value of $197.67 million while to France dropped 26.60 per cent to $190.61 million. Exports to Netherlands totaled $173.45 million with a growth of 4.07 per cent.
Pure London will replace speakers’ plastic water bottles with sustainable glass ones, getting rid of plastic cutlery in all catering areas and installing easy-to-use recycling points conveniently around the site. The aim is not the rather difficult one of banning plastics altogether, but cutting down on the amount used.
Last year, Pure London launched the hallmark Power of One campaign, designed to unite the fashion industry to take steps toward a sustainable future. By creating a forward-thinking supply chain and taking positive action towards change, the show offers a platform for greener and healthier fashion and retail industries. There is also a key focus to further educate retailers on why they should be investing in and stocking sustainable brands, how to move forward with best practices and implement sustainability policies as part of their business structure.
The next Pure London will be February 10 to 12, 2019.
Pure London is the UK's leading trade fashion buying event, representing conscious fashion, women’s wear, men’s wear, footwear, accessories, young fashion and kids’ wear. The show offers buyers from UK and international independents, multiples, department stores, e-tailers and mail order the opportunity to discover collections launching for the season ahead, attend catwalk shows and hear from their peers and other industry experts.
Manufacturing and supply chain expo, Pure Origin announced a line-up of leading experts who will take to the stage from February 10 to 12, 2019 discussing Brexit, sustainability, personalisation, the Amazon impact, digitalisation of the textile and apparel industry, innovations in athleisure, and garment costing interspersed with the newly launched Pure Origin AW21/SS22 Trend Catwalk shows.
Jovit Balseviciene, Solution Consultant from Lectra UK and Northern Europe, and Jean-Patrice Gros, UK & NE Managing Director, Lectra SA will highlight the growing consumer demand for personalisation. Christopher Stopes, Representative of GOTS in the UK, Global Organic Textile Standard, will discuss why organic fibre production on farm and organic processing in factories is good for people and planet; how to get started.
On Day two, experts from World Textile Information Network’s leading publications Industry Digitalisation and Technical Textiles will speak. Tansy Fall will provide an insight into the changing shape of the textile and apparel manufacturing supply chain and the impact on sourcing decisions. She will be followed by Maddi Cornforth, who will look at Amazon’s investments and patents in the textile, apparel and fashion sector. Anna Borkowicz, market intelligence analyst on Technical Textiles will given an insight into industry and challenges associated with development and commercialisation of smart clothing sport and fitness.
On day three, Fiona Haran, Editor of WTiN’s Future Textile, will dwell on the innovations in athleisure, and type of functionalities adopted in the products with commercial examples. Mark Powell, Senior Consultant, at EFI Optitex will end the show with a talk on using 3D digital transformation to support sustainability.
Scheduled for March 15 and 16, 2019 at the ITC Gardenia in Bengaluru, the Apparel Sourcing Week is being supported by the governments of both India and Bangladesh. Minister for Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu has consented to be the chief guest at the inaugural session of Apparel Sourcing Week. India and Bangladesh are also working on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) which would set an example for giving a boost to regional trade in South Asia.
Acknowledging this prolific opportunity and supporting the need for greater synergy in the garment industry, the newly appointed commerce minister of Bangladesh Tipu Munshi has agreed to be the guest of honor at the Apparel Sourcing Week. Munshi not only understands the significance of ASW ’19 platform from a business perspective, but also sees India as an important market of the future.
The exhibition will be supplemented by a series of six retail-focused seminars by industry experts, 2-trend forecast workshops by Fashion Snoops and one gala networking dinner on the first night that will bring together the who’s who of the Indian Retail industry.
In Mauritius, sustainability is commonplace among manufacturers, both because companies adopt more eco-friendly policies and because resources aren’t easy to come by. Mauritius’ main markets for its textiles and apparel are the US, UK, France and South Africa. Denim is the third major apparel product after T-shirts and shirts. Other products for which the country is known are knitwear, casual shirts, formal wear, swimwear and sweaters.
Mauritius boasts of having one of the best infrastructures in Africa. It has quite a few vertically integrated units. The country is developing the capability and capacity to cater to the needs of global buyers especially US buyers. The tiny isle off the coast of Africa enjoys the benefits of African Growth and Opportunity Act, a trade privilege program that means it can ship products to the US duty free. And Mauritius enjoys a similar perk with Europe.
These trade agreements position Mauritius to serve global brands that can ship to key customers in both regions without tariffs straining margins that are already tight. In terms of communication, credibility in terms of delivery, Mauritius is faster than Asian countries. The country may not yet be making headlines as a supplier of denim, but that’s due to a lack of open-mindedness about new sourcing locales.
Romanian textile unions met in Bucharest to debate the road towards an organised workforce with living wages and collective agreements, together with global brands H&M and Inditex, their key suppliers, employer associations and the government. The seminar, held in Bucharest on January 22-23, 2019 was a part of an EU-funded project.
Christina Hajagos-Clausen, Textile Director, IndustriALL showcased how unions work with global brands, the Bangladesh Accord, how GFAs can be used in organising; and the Action – Collaboration – Transformation (ACT) initiative to achieve living wages. Representatives from GFA partners H&M and Inditex, also members of ACT, explained how they in cooperation with unions solve problems when they occur and promote functioning labour-management relations and collective bargaining.
The trade deficit will be a challenge for Vietnam this year. Vietnam still depends on imported materials, machines, equipment and spare parts. The nation’s export turnover in January this year was down 1.3 per cent year on year, while imports increased by 3.1 per cent.
In January, export value of key products sharply reduced. Exports of phones and devices were down 27.5 per cent and exports of electronics and computers decreased by five per cent. The value of machines, equipment, parts and tools which were imported was up 3.8 per cent.
This year, the implementation of free trade agreements and major agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement will create a new wave of investment in Vietnam by domestic and foreign businesses looking to take advantage of new opportunities. Therefore, imports of machinery and equipment for projects and purchases of materials for production will increase.
The growth of the textile and garment industry is seen as unpredictable this year. With the trade war, if there is a 15 per cent tax increase, the competition in the market is expected to be very fierce. In the face of the situation, the target has been adjusted to a growth rate of eight to nine per cent.
The operating income of VF Corporation in the third quarter of fiscal 2019 soared by 30 per cent to $656 million, including a $7 million contribution from acquisitions net of divestitures. On a reported basis, the company’s operating margin increased 15.0 per cent to $592 million. Its gross margin from continuing operations rose to 51.9 per cent.
Excluding acquisitions net of divestitures, revenue increased by 7 per cent. International revenue hiked by 5 per cent including a 1-percentage point revenue growth contribution from acquisitions net of divestitures.
Revenue from active wear segment increased 16 per cent including a 25 per cent growth in Vans’ revenue. Revenue from outdoor segment increased by 11 per cent including a 14 per cent gain in The North Face brand revenue and a 4-percentage point revenue growth contribution from acquisitions.
According to Export Promotion Bureau, Bangladesh garment exports to non-traditional market soared by 36.21percent in the first six months of the current fiscal 2018-19 compared to six months of the previous fiscal year. The earnings from exports stood at $ 2.90 billion during this period to new markets compared to $2.13 billion at the same time during last fiscal. The country’s overall exports rose by 8.76 percent to $ 30.61 billion last year while the pace of growth further rose to 15.65 percent or at $ 17.08 billion in first six month of the current fiscal.
Exports to non-traditional markets phenomenally increased in recent time mainly riding on duty free entry of Bangladesh garment to a host of countries not were on the list of major export destinations in one hand and boosted by financial export incentives on the other.
Meanwhile exports to traditional markets like the USA, EU, Canada and others significantly grew after a slow down mainly in recent years for recession at buyers end and recent trade war between UNA and China encouraged many buyers to switch their import orders to Bangladesh. EPB data showed exports to newly growing markets like Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and Turkey are showing stronger growth owing to 5 percent export incentives.
The UK Parliament’s Environment Audit Select Committee (EAC) released the first findings, detailing the winners and losers of the nation’s fashion industry in terms of sustainability and environmental impact. The committee began its investigation by sending written requests to 16 of the U.K.’s most impactful fashion retailers, as determined by market share, along with four online-only retailers after reports surfaced of “illegally low wages” in fast fashion supply chains. In Leicester, northwest of London, wages for garment workers can run as low as 3.50 pounds ($4.57) per hour, according to the committee’s findings.
All but one of the retailers that were contacted responded to the EAC, the lone holdout being high-end footwear retailer Kurt Geiger. However, in the eyes of the committee, the responses were all but equal. To illustrate, the EAC’s report separated each retailer into three categories: “less engaged,” “moderately engaged” and “engaged.” Amazon UK, Boohoo, Missguided, TJX and both JD Sports and Sports Direct received lowest marks of all surveyed, with the committee relegating to the “less engaged” tier. Notably, Amazon’s U.K. operation was called out for its tepid response to the program despite the company’s increasingly large role in the local fashion industry.
The other retailers in the committee’s bottom tier were more notable for their sloppy or seemingly insincere efforts to join programs like SCAP—a U.K. organisation dedicated to reducing fashion’s environmental footprint—and the committee recommended that these organisations begin to prioritise their efforts to do so.
