Fulfilling its election promise, the Pakistan government had agreed with textile industry to reduce gas prices for the export sector to $6.5 per MMBTU from almost previous $16 per MMBTU. Though the Economic Coordination Council (ECC) had approved the new tariff only with effect from Sept 27 but no subsequent notification was issued by the finance ministry in this regard.

While implementing the ECC decision, the gas used for captive energy was excluded from subsidised rates and the textile industries were issued bills as per the previous gas tariff for rest of their consumption. The textile mill owners were however assured that extra amount paid by them would be reimbursed once the government would pay the subsidy.

However, the textile industry declared its reservations on bills delivered and demanded that the government must instruct SNGPL to receive payment of the RLNG bills for October at $ 6.5/MMBTU and the balance may be deferred and refund obtained directly from the Ministry of Finance.

Bangladesh Denim Expo was held from November 7 to 8, 2018. More than 5,540 visitors and buyers from 55 countries attended. A total of 64 exhibitors from across the globe including Germany, US, Turkey, Italy, Singapore, Spain, Pakistan, Japan, San Marino, China and India took part to display their latest products and services.

Different seminars and panel discussions were organized on the sidelines of the expo where speakers laid emphasis on the most recent developments in eco-friendly and sustainable finishing technologies, and energy-efficient ways of operations. The expo also focused on the progress that has been made in Bangladesh regarding safe working conditions and sustainability practices of the readymade garment industry.

A major takeaway from the expo was that the country’s denim makers need to adopt a comprehensive strategy to compete with the fast-moving fashion trends in the global market. Under the strategy, denim producers will have to go in for high-end products from the existing basic ones and ensure delivery to buyers within the shortest possible time.

A leading global buyer has already introduced a new type of order–speed order–in Bangladesh as part of reducing the lead time, from 90 days to 45 days. The theme of the expo was simplicity. In the world of denim, simplicity is now the ultimate sophistication.

Even after the latest wage hike for apparel workers effective next month, labor costs in Bangladesh for manufacturing clothing products are among the lowest in the world. The edge gives manufacturers a definite competitive advantage in export markets. Cheap labor is one of the strong factors behind the success of Bangladesh in apparel exports.

Apparel workers in Bangladesh are still the lowest paid by global standards. Labor in Bangladesh is still cheap and the average monthly wage is just 101 dollars, compared with 135 dollars for Myanmar, 170 dollars for Cambodia, 234 dollars for Vietnam and 518 dollars for China. However, this advantage is being eroded due to a rise in production costs, rise in wages and investment for safety improvement.

For the moment, policy support including cash incentives, duty exemptions are factors that are helping the sector remain competitive in export destinations. Technical training and workers’ dedication will increase productivity, but there has to be motivation. Health, education, technical training and motivation are needed to this end, where Bangladesh is weak.

Technological development will help increase productivity but the challenge is that the introduction of technology will cut employment though productivity will increase for those who remain on the job.

Jean-Paul Gaultier has decided to abolish the use of animal fur in its collections terming the way in which animals are killed for their fur as absolutely deplorable The news was welcomed by the animal rights organisation PETA whose members had been lobbying Gaultier to give up the use of fur for years.

Fur has become the major point of focus for the fashion industry over the year 2018, with multiple luxury labels denouncing the use of the material. The US heritage label Coach announced its decision to stop using fur last month, preceded by designers including Diane Von Furstenberg, Burberry, John Galliano, DKNY and Donna Karen. Several other labels have also been fur-free for some time now, including Stella McCartney, Armani and Hugo Boss.

Growth in British manufacturing will be driven by innovation and authenticity after the UK leaves the European Union. Every manufacturer in the UK has the opportunity to be the most innovative and leading manufacturer in the UK. Opportunities for growth in materials and manufacturing lie in digitisation. Microprocessors woven into fabrics can connect garments to the internet in a new and innovative way.

Demand for British-made goods has increased by 36 per cent in the past five years. The UK is one of the biggest clothing exporters in Europe. One of the major reasons for the rise in shopping from the UK is pricing. The pound’s falling value is helping make retailers’ goods even more attractive to foreign wallets. The other top motivations for cross-border buying are the chance to get hold of products not available in their own country and the opportunity to discover new things to buy.

Mobile shopping is also helping power the UK’s international popularity. Also working in British retailers’ favor is the fact the nation’s top two export markets, the US and China, are at the forefront of this mobile revolution. Here, smart phone shopping accounted for 61 per cent and 84 per cent of international online purchases respectively in the last year.

The fashion industry is one of the most destructive industries on earth. Clothes manufacturing alone creates countless environmental hazards, ranging from water pollution to air pollution to deforestation. A single cotton T-shirt needs at least 257 gallons of water to grow enough cotton to assemble the shirt.

Creating synthetic fibers (polyester, acrylic, nylon, etc.) commonly found in most apparel is more energy intensive since they are made from fossil fuels and they emit more carbon. Pollution doesn’t stop during the manufacturing process, either. Half a million tons of plastic microfibers shed during washing end up in the ocean. Then there is the dyeing process, which gives the clothes color and pollutes waters, which affects the fertility of nearby lands.

The next phase after production is the delivery of apparel and accessories all over the world. About 1.26 billion tons of greenhouse emissions are generated every year, which is more than the amount created by international flights and shipping combined.

Fast fashion companies go through the environmentally damaging production and delivery process more than 50 times per year and in the end the surplus ends up in landfills.

A change must be made in the entire fashion industry by implementing stricter policies on manufacturing and delivery. Finding alternatives to harmful materials and slowing down the fashion cycle is a small price to pay for a healthier environment.

Apparel Summit of the Americas will be held in Honduras from November 27 to 29, 2018. The who’s who of US activewear brands will assemble at the event. Honduras is attracting millions of foreign investments, creating thousands of new jobs, improving infrastructure and ports, enhancing education, building safe, affordable housing, generating stable renewable energy and above all else increasing the capacity for apparel production in the Americas.

Honduras is aiming at becoming a textile export leader in the Americas. The country is aiming to be the new destination for textile and apparel investment. It is providing a solid platform of facilities and benefits articulated with the purpose of promoting foreign investment and ventures with outstanding conditions that are strengthened every day.

The existing textile and apparel industry infrastructure in Honduras has outstanding conditions for investment and expansion opportunities. There are 18 industrial parks that together have a construction area of more than 1.8 million square meters, and advantages like availability of airports, ports, highways, telephones, water and electrical supply, customs paperwork, low working costs, machinery and logistics.

The textile and apparel industry has the capacity of biomass production as well as wastewater management technologies allowing high productivity in a sustainable manner. The current investment in the country’s fabric and clothing manufacturing is estimated to be around 7.8 billion dollars.

The global digital textile printing market is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 16.3 per cent during 2018-2027. Taking the lead will be the Asia Pacific region (excluding Japan), whose growth will be mainly attributed to contributions from emerging economies, such as India and China. This region is characterized by a robust political, demographic, and economic ecosystem of the leading emerging economies; and a rapidly growing digital textile printing industry in the region will lead to optimum growth levels in the coming decade.

China is expected to be at the forefront, spearheading the growth. The Chinese digital textile printing market has witnessed rapid growth in the past couple of decades. End user sectors of digital textile printing, such as food and beverage, personal care, pharmaceuticals and automotive, are increasingly adopting digital textile printing on their sales promotion devices. Growing promotional activity has increased the growth of the digital textile printing market.

Revenue from digital textile printing in North America is estimated to account for over 43 per cent of the global digital textile printing market revenue in 2018. Key players in this market include Durst, Seiko Epson, Roq, Konica Minolta, Kornit Digital, Mimaki, Sawgrass Technologies and the M&R companies.

Canton was held in China, October 31 to November 4, 2018. This is an import and export fair. The fair hosted a total of 189,812 buyers from 215 countries and regions, while seven of the top 10 buyers were Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries and regions such as India and Russia. Export orders from these countries and regions increased 2.7 per cent, accounting for 32.3 per cent of the total value of orders placed, representing a 2.7 per cent year-on-year increase.

The total export turnover marked a jump of 2.34 per cent, with buyers from countries and regions along the BRI growing by 0.16 per cent. The increasing number of buyers from developing countries and emerging markets at the fair reflects the optimised structure and steadily-improved quality of buyers.

Buyers from the electronic and home appliances sectors accounted for 40.2 per cent of total attendance. Buyers looking for consumer goods accounted for 31.3 per cent of the total. Home decorations, gifts and machinery buyers accounted for 28.28 per cent, 26.82 per cent, and 26.37 per cent respectively.

The fair continued to promote global trade by maintaining optimizing exhibition sections to improve precision in attracting investment. The fair hosted 50 events that covered trending topics in the international market.

Bangladesh can obtain duty-free export privilege to Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) countries, which include Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. At a time when the industry is actively looking at market diversification, duty-free export privilege to the Eurasian Economic Union is expected to go a long way towards facilitating the same. A protocol has been signed between Bangladesh and Russia.

After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, 11 ex-Soviet states constituted a political block named the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Five member countries of EEU are also members of the CIS. The Eurasian Economic Union was created in 2015 and meant to be the first successful post-Soviet initiative to overcome trade barriers and promote integration in a fragmented, under-developed region. It covers a single economic market of 170 million people and a gross domestic product of 2.7 trillion dollars.

On paper, the EEU is an economic, technocratic project that offers some benefits to members, particularly in easing cross-border trade and facilitating labor migration. Access to Russia’s labor market has been an important motivator and, on balance, a positive outcome for struggling post-Soviet economies. There are also expected to be long-term gains from harmonising customs and trade rules.