FW
Rwanda is nurturing its garment sector. But domestic demand for locally produced clothes has been stifled by the ubiquity of cheap, secondhand garments imported from Europe and the United States.
Many factories are only running at 40 per cent capacity and secondhand garments, which can sell at well below production costs, are at least partly to blame.
In response, Rwanda increased tariffs on used clothing in July 2016.
These tariffs are now the center of a dispute between the US and Rwanda. If Rwanda continues to tax imported secondhand clothes, the country could lose some of its access to US markets for its exports.
Under the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), qualifying African countries are granted duty-free access to the US market. The law which was passed in 2000 is credited for increasing Africa's export sector, with duty-free exports from the continent to the US market almost quadrupling since the law was enacted.
The US has warned Rwanda it would lose some benefits under the act, after Rwanda increased tariffs on secondhand clothes to support its local garment industry.
Selling America's used clothing — much of it donated to charities and the bulk of it originally made outside the United States — is a nearly billion dollar industry. Exports typically end up in poor nations. Africa is a key destination.
India’s 2017-18 cotton exports are likely to jump nearly 30 per cent from the year before to a four-year high.
Higher international prices would drive up shipments.
The country has exported 6.3 million bales so far in the marketing year that started on October 1. India shipped 5.82 million bales of cotton overseas last marketing year.
Increased supply from India could drag on a rally in international prices for the commodity and would likely compete with shipments to Asia from exporters like the United States, Brazil and Australia.
The Indian rupee has fallen more than six per cent in 2018, making Indian cotton cheaper for overseas buyers.
Pakistan, Bangladesh, China and Vietnam are the main buyers of the Indian fiber.
Indian cotton is being offered around 84 to 86 cents per lb on a cost and freight basis to buyers in Bangladesh and Vietnam, compared to over 92 cents from the United States and Brazil.
And a pick-up in local consumption amid higher exports is likely to erode India's cotton stockpile.
India’s cotton consumption is likely to rise 5.3 per cent in 2017-18 from the year before.
The country could end the 2017-18 season with closing stocks of less than two million tons, the lowest in decades.
India manages to remain as the world’s second largest textile and clothing exporter.
Export of cotton yarn, fabric, made-ups and handloom products rose 18 per cent year-on-year in April.
The Indian spinning sector’s long pending demand of extending the MEIS benefit for cotton yarn export is yet to be considered. If considered, this would enable the Indian spinning segment to have a level playing field and utilise the surplus spinning capacity and also convert the 6-7 million bales of raw cotton being exported into value added yarn.
In a span of eight months, demonetisation and GST had a marked effect on the performance of the textile industry. The industry registered only 5.37 per cent export growth during 2017.
China, the largest exporter, accounted for a 34.2 per cent share during 2017. Vietnam is fast catching up.
The yarn market has gained momentum in recent times and the unsold yarn stock level is one of the lowest in recent years. The demand for coarse and medium counts, especially open-end yarn, both in the domestic market and export market has increased considerably and several mills have got advance bookings.
But China shifted its major volume of yarn imports from India to Vietnam, which had a 11.93 per cent share in the global cotton yarn trade during 2015.
The cabbotage rule for transport of cotton along with several other products has been relaxed.
This is expected to greatly benefit lakhs of cotton farmers in Gujarat and spinning mills in Tamil Nadu. Foreign flag vessels might be in a position to offer competitive rates.
The cotton textile industry had demanded a relaxation of the cabbotage rule for transporting cotton from ports in Gujarat to ports in Tamil Nadu.
Though India is the largest cotton producing country and net exporter of cotton in the world, the domestic cotton textile industry could not derive a competitive advantage due to the steep increase in cotton transportation costs.
At the same time, countries like China and Vietnam transport cotton at a much cheaper cost.
Tamil Nadu spinning mills consume around 50 lakh bales of cotton grown in Gujarat.
During the peak cotton season the lorry freight per bale between a ginning factory in Gujarat and a spinning mill in Tamil Nadu was up to Rs 1000 a bale. The cost of transporting cotton from countries in West Africa to spinning mills in Tamil Nadu was around Rs 400 a bale.
Gujarat is the largest cotton producing state in India. Spinning mills in Tamil Nadu account for 47 per cent of the spinning capacity in the country.
African countries have formed a free trade area. This is the world’s largest free trade area in terms of the number of participating countries since the formation of the World Trade Organisation in 1948. It can create a single market with a population of 1.2 billion and a GDP of 2.5 trillion dollars.
Under the pact, the signatories have committed to remove tariffs on more than 90 per cent of goods. The agreement will address seven priority areas related to trade: policy, infrastructure, finance, information, market integration, productivity increase and trade facilitation.
The deal is expected to drive up intra-Africa trade by about 52 per cent by 2022 as compared with 2010. The exchange of industrial products is also projected to expand by 53 per cent.
The Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) agreement is expected to help cut commercial costs and enable African consumers to access diverse products with lower prices. Lower costs of production materials exchanged between CFTA member countries would raise the competitiveness of local producers and help create regional value chains.
Fabric company Candiani Denim has developed a limited edition capsule collection called Re-Gen Denim.
This is a super-selvedge fabric with Tencel Refibra Lyocell that leverages sustainable technologies for a minimized environmental impact. Re-Gen Denim contains 50 per cent recycled fibers and 50 per cent Tencel Refibra Lyocell, made from post-industrial cotton scraps left over from wood and cutting operations.
Refibra Lyocell fibers minimize the need to extract additional raw materials from nature, fostering a more circular economy for textiles and apparel. Yarns woven into Re-Gen Denim are created with regenerated materials instead of virgin cotton.
All yarns are made of regenerated material and do not use fresh cotton. Its peculiarity lies in the use of the Kitotex technology, an international patent that uses chitosan, a substance of natural origin, non-toxic, biocompatible and biodegradable, obtained from the skeleton of crustaceans. The innovative process allows reduction of energy by 30 per cent, water 50 per cent and chemical agents 70 per cent in addition to the non-introduction of Co2 and the total elimination of polyvinyl alcohol.
Re-Gen Denim also uses an additional technology born within the company in a sustainable key: Indigo Juice, a dyeing technique that significantly reduces the consumption of water, chemicals and energy in the process of production and washing of jeans.
According to the final 2017 estimate of USDA, the country’s cotton production is forecast at 19.5 million bales in 2018, nearly 7 per cent below the final 2017 estimate as per initial projection for the 2018 crop.
However, based on the ‘Prospective Plantings’ report, the total area on which cotton was grown in 2018 is estimated at 13.47 million acres, nearly 900,000 acres above 2017.
The larger 2018 planted acreage expectation is mainly due to relative prices that favor cotton and the successful yields experienced in 2017 that reached a national record, the Economic Research Service of USDA said in its latest ‘Cotton and Wool Outlook’ report.
Planted area for both upland and extra-long staple (ELS) cotton is expected to increase in 2018.
For the upcoming season, upland acreage is projected higher in two of the Cotton Belt regions and nearly identical in the other two regions.
Tommy Hilfiger, owned by PVH Corp, has launched TOMMY HILFIGER Social Innovation Challenge, a global initiative that aims to support entrepreneurial start-up and scale-up stage businesses that are developing solutions that have a positive social impact on the fashion value chain.
Winners of the initiative will receive a year-long mentorship with Tommy Hilfiger’s internal experts globally, in addition to winning a grant of up to €100,000 as well as a place on the INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Program (ISEP).
Interested businesses are invited to submit project proposals that have a social impact, whether involving enhancing the lives of the people or communities within the fashion value chain, the second life of a garment, marketing or advertising in the industry, or other aspects of fashion.
Out of these, seven finalists will be invited to develop their project plans with the support of a team of dedicated Tommy Hilfiger subject-matter experts during a one week “Sprint” at the Tommy Innovation Center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
They will pitch their finalised concept at the global TOMMY HILFIGER Social Innovation Challenge event in early 2019, where a panel will select three winners.
Sri Lanka's MAS group and several apparel firms are boosting their export production capacity, amid an overall increase in industrial investment according to new approvals granted.
MAS Active, a sportswear group will invest US$21 million to boost its capacity. Other companies that are expanding include D 2 Clothing (Pvt) Ltd, Original Apparel (Pvt) Ltd and. HIrdramani International Exports. The country has approved investments totaling 28 million US dollars for apparels up to April.
Sri Lanka's exports got a boost after the European Union restored GSP+ benefits to the country.
The country’s exports grew 10.2 percent to 11.3 billion US dollars in 2017, with industrial exports up 7.6 percent to 8.64 billion US dollars.
The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) will honor American fashion designer Ralph Lauren at this year's CFDA Fashion Awards, to be held on June 4 in Brooklyn.
Lauren, who founded the brand of the same name, will receive the first ever CFDA Members Salute in recognition of his role in the American and global fashion industry.
The award will also mark the 50th anniversary of the Ralph Lauren brand.
A host of special prizes will be given during this prestigious ceremony including the Fashion Icon Award, which will be given to Naomi Campbell. Diane von Furstenberg will get the Swarovski Award for Positive Change, and the International Award will go to Donatella Versace.
The awards ceremony will also award the 2018 "Womenswear Designer of the Year." This year's nominees are Virgil Abloh, Raf Simons, Marc Jacobs, Gabriela Hearst and Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen.
Designers James Jebbia, Thom Browne, Tom Ford, Virgil Abloh and Raf Simons are nominated for the "Menswear Designer of the Year" award.
