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As a part of trend, some jeans brands have jumped on the environmental bandwagon and collaborating with fibre producers and manufacturers in the value chain that are sensitive to environmentally friendly issues. G-Star is one of them, the brand recently launched a new jeans capsule collection that was available from November 2017 through selected stores and online.
This line is made with denim dyed with Archroma’s Earth Colors. These dyes replace petroleum-derived materials that are conventionally used to synthetise dyes. The collection is available in three shades: Dark Plum, Asfalt and Mazarine Blue. Their colours are obtained from nonedible parts of beetroot and saw palmetto leftover from the agriculture industry or herbal extraction.
While continuing to support sustainable causes, G-Star will also launch its new G-Star Elwood RFTPi, developed employing highly sustainable materials. This new product, whose name RFTPi stands for RAW For The Planet indigo, will be available for S/S 2018 starting February 15, 2018. It uses denim manufactured by Artistic Milliners and dyed with Dystar chemical substances which employ 70 per cent less chemicals and no salts nor similar water-harming substances. The garments are washed by Saitex, a specialised laundry that is also committed to recycling 98 per cent water. As part of its environmentally friendly strategy G-Star also will gradually employ only 100 per cent bio cotton and will employ only recyclable labels, accessories and carton packaging. For this specific project G-Star will also employ Cradle-to-Cradle “Gold” certified denims as per the Cradle-to-Cradle Products Innovation Institute.
US jeans brand DL1961 will also launch a new selection of sustainable jeans to be launched pre-fall 2018. This brand will be among the first partners of Lenzing to use Refibra fibers in its denim collection. The Japanese denim manufacturer Japan Blue has just developed Shin Denim, a new indigo denim that looks and feels like any traditional indigo fabric, though it does not fade and guarantees 2.5 higher friction-resistant properties than regular denims.
The Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection notified the World Trade Organisation they would no longer accept shipments of 24 different types of plastic, including Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) among other industrial waste. This is the country’s aim to try to recycle domestic products and clean up their polluted environment. Local polyester plants are being notified that they either reduce pollution levels or face closure.
This is seen as good news to the US cotton market that has been extremely depressed since the last few years, as farmers have been producing the natural fibre at below the cost of production. The exponential increase in use of low cost petroleum-based fibres has sent the market for natural products into a tailspin since the last few years.
Since the past two years, the December 2018 cotton contract futures on the New York Board of Trade had gone below 60 cents per pound are now in the low 70’s, but there is still hope that it will go up to make production of the natural fibre profitable. Market indications reveal that over the next few years, consumers will shift from cheap polyesters to higher end natural and synthetic fibres.
PET, invented around 75 years ago, is made from crude oil. Approximately 60 per cent of PET made worldwide is turned into synthetic fibres and another 30 per cent is used to make plastic bottles. Those bottles can be recycled and spun into cheap polyester fibres.
There are higher-end polyesters, however, much of the polyester we seen in apparel is made from the cheaper PET. This process produces toxic chemicals, pollution and uses lots of fossil fuel energy which is an area of concern for the Chinese as they strive to clean up their environment. Post storms lashing US coastal cities, hurricanes, whiteflies and depressed markets, any straw is good enough to clutch at.
Germany's leading 3D knitting machine company Stoll has entered a collaboration with Myant to boost the textile industry with new advances in Industry 4.0, material science and technical applications for high quality products. Myant is Canada’s leading textile computing company its leading the creation of a new economy in functional computing textiles with Stoll machines.
This collaboration will have a direct and powerful impact on the textile manufacturing industry worldwide as it raises the bar and sets a new gold standard for functional computing textiles. Stoll’s machines combined with Myant’s end-to-end innovations, from molecule to garment, from textile to wardrobe, will truly revolutionize the world of textiles and create a new economy. Stoll and Myant will use this exclusive collaboration for all inquiry of the research, development and engineering of this new domain of functional computing textiles.
The collaboration coincides with Myant’s plans for expansion into the Canadian and American university-affiliated textile technology centers, featuring Stoll machines. It will populate functional computing textile manufacturing in Canada and the US, with 500 state-of-the-art knitting machines from Stoll. The demand for smart fabrics has never been higher as companies race to create garments, wearables, industrial, defense, healthcare and household items to connect humans to the Internet of Things.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved a new skill development scheme to provide placement-oriented skill sets to create employment in the textile sector. This Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector (SCBTS), with an outlay of Rs 1,300 crore till 2019-20, will also incentivise efforts of the textile industry that provide employment, skills and skill up-gradation in the organised textile as well as its related sectors, country wide. Around 10 lakh people are expected to be skilled and certified in various segments of the textile sector through the scheme, out of which 1 lakh will be in traditional sectors.
The objectives of the scheme are to provide demand driven, placement oriented skilling programme (and) to incentivise the efforts of the industry in creating jobs in the organised textile and related sectors. As per a statement, at least 70 per cent of the certified trainees are to be placed in the wage employment and post placement tracking will be mandatory.
Work role wise skilling targets will be based on skill gap identified for various levels such as entry level courses, up-skilling/re-skilling, training of trainers, recognition of prior learning and entrepreneurship development. This program would be implemented through textile industry/units, reputed training institutions relevant to the textile sector and institutions of the ministry of textile and state governments.
Benzene markets in Asia hit an eight-month high in November 2017 on strong buying interest and high upstream prices. In the US, spot benzene prices jumped on tight prompt supply during the month. Supply in the US has been tight since late October due to regional plant outages. In Europe, the benzene spot market rose as significant volumes were still being shipped to the US where supply continued to be tight.
US spot prices were up 15.8 per cent. European spot rose 15.9 per cent on the month. Asian caprolactam spot prices were up 6.1 per cent in November as compared to last month.
Nylon or polyamide chip prices were mostly up in November supported by the caprolactum market. Producers operated at slightly lower rates as compared to last month. However, as downstream buyers purchased cautiously, pressure on the supply side still existed, especially for high-priced bright and semi-dull nylon-6 chips. Offers for Taiwan-origin chips were up five per cent from last month. In China, bright conventional spinning nylon-6 chips were down 6.9 per cent from October while semi-dull chips price jumped 0.3 per cent on the month.
Nylon filament yarn prices inched up amid firm raw material cost during the month. The market largely remained range bound supported by chip cost and modest demand.
Hong Kong will host the 49th Hong Kong Fashion Week from January 15 to 18, 2018. The event will attract 1,400 exhibitors from 77 countries at the Hong Kong Convention and Trade Center. The highly anticipated event will serve as an ideal one-stop sourcing platform for the Asian fashion industry. Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the fashion week will present an array of new season’s apparel, designer collections, fashion accessories and garments as well a garment-related products, services and supplies. This trade fair will incorporate categories such as ‘women’s wear,’ ‘knitwear,’ ‘world of fashion accessories’ and ‘sewing supplies’.
Their ‘Fashion Gallery’ will showcase high fashion and brand labels. Their unique premium section ‘Emporium de Mode’ will be dedicated to “stylish and distinctive garments in an elegant setting. There will also be ‘Special Product Zones’ displaying activewear and swimwear, bridal and evening wear, cashmere and wool, denim arcade, fabrics and yarn, fashion jewellery feast, handbags, infant and children’s wear, intimate wear, men in style, packaging and design, salon of scarves and shawls, thermal clothing, trade services and testing, certification and inspection, world youth collection and fashion magazines.
What’s new at the 49th edition is the niche ‘Corporate Fashion/Uniforms’ zone. As per data from the China National Garment Association, 19 industries require the use standard uniforms in Mainland China and the market for this segment is estimated to be valued at over $43 billion per year. In Europe, the uniform market is projected to reach $9.4 billion by 2021.
Another exciting category is the ‘International Fashion Designers’ showcase where cutting-edge collections of featured designers and fashion design talents worldwide are expected to come together. There will also be talks and presentations in seminars and forums. The last edition saw 15,000 buyers from 77 countries and regions in attendance.
"After registering a decline in exports from $468 billion in 2014-15 to $437 billion in 2016-17, the government recently released its mid-term review of the five-year Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20, to gauge the impact of several incentives to bring relief to exporters. An incentive of Rs 8450 crores ($1.3 billion) was announced to help the export sector reach its goal of $900 billion by 2020 and increase India’s share in global exports to 3.5 per cent. Labour-intensive industries such as leather and footwear have been granted incentives of Rs 749 crores, the handmade carpets sector Rs 971 crores, agriculture sector Rs 1354 crores, telecom and electronics sector Rs 369 crores, garment sector Rs 2743 croresand so on."
After registering a decline in exports from $468 billion in 2014-15 to $437 billion in 2016-17, the government recently released its mid-term review of the five-year Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20, to gauge the impact of several incentives to bring relief to exporters. An incentive of Rs 8450 crores ($1.3 billion) was announced to help the export sector reach its goal of $900 billion by 2020 and increase India’s share in global exports to 3.5 per cent. Labour-intensive industries such as leather and footwear have been granted incentives of Rs 749 crores, the handmade carpets sector Rs 971 crores, agriculture sector Rs 1354 crores, telecom and electronics sector Rs 369 crores, garment sector Rs 2743 croresand so on.
Additionally, a new logistics division has been established in the department of commerce to coordinate logistics development. The incentives also include simplified paperwork, enhanced support to high employment sectors, duty-free procurement of inputs on a self-assessment basis, and other sector-specific incentives. The government has also announced additional steps to make processes relating to trade more straightforward, including a self-certification scheme for duty-free imports, a single point electronic contact to traders with the Directorate General of Foreign Trade for trade and consignment related queries, etc.
Global trends
After growing at a healthy 25.67 per cent export growth in September, October registered a decline of 1.12 per cent. Sector-wise, since September, there has been a 39 per cent decline in the export growth of garments, 25 per cent decline in export growth of gems and jewellery and 10 per cent decline in export growth of leather and leather products. As per recent WTO data, global trade is likely to increase by 3.6 per cent in 2017 from 1.3 per cent growth in 2016. The favourable rise can be attributed to the surge in import demand of North America. These growing numbers have led to the entire Indian textile industry introspecting as to why the exports numbers are going down.
Reasons of decline
Beyond foreign trade policies, the biggest reason that must have restricted the growth of textile in recent times is the implementation of GST and the process of receiving refunds by the exporter. Garment exporters say, competitiveness is affected by an increase in the requirement of working capital and a decrease in incentives for this purpose. Exporters are having a tough competition from countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. The cost disadvantage to India also includes the duty-free access to the European countries enjoyed by these countries. Moreover, value of the rupee has become strong and this has reduced its competitiveness in the global market.
Indian export growth has not even crossed 10 per cent since 2011. As per the World Bank data, no country has ever been able to sustain an overall growth rate of seven per cent while having an export growth rate less than 15 per cent. It is time for the policymakers to realise that quick-fix solutions such as cost incentives are no longer adequate for supporting the export growth in the long run.
Positive measures
To grow exports, the government needs to distinguish those sectors in which the country has a competitive advantage, and improve them in terms of market research, innovation, quality, cost, etc. Data reveals investments in R&D and human capital have been low this year. Some other critical areas of focus include poor infrastructure, inadequate logistics and other structural issues. Transport and logistics costs, found to be costlier than tariffs, pose another barrier. Some trade experts suggest that India’s foreign trade relations are somewhat complicated and inefficient. This is also a good time to bring about structural reforms because China is losing its position as the world’s manufacturing hub.
Bangladesh’s export earnings from garments, jute and jute goods, frozen fish and footwear rose 6.22 per cent in November. Total shipments in the July-November period rose 6.86 per cent year-on-year.
Garments accounted for more than 82 per cent of total national exports in the first five months of the fiscal year, 7.46 per cent up from the same period a year ago. Knitwear exports went up 10.86 per cent year-on-year in July-November while woven garments rose 3.99 per cent.
Exports of leather and leather goods, the second largest export earning sector after garments, declined 2.95 per cent year-on-year. Within the same category, exports of leather footwear, however, grew 8.55 per cent. Shipments of jute and jute goods, another top earner, surged 16.51 per cent while jute yarn and twine saw their earnings rise while shipments of raw jute, jute sacks and bags fell.
The country’s garment manufacturers hope shipments grow 12 to 15 per cent a year so that the $50 billion export target by 2021 is reached. They feel cash incentives for exporters and improving infrastructure at ports and airports can help bolster exports. Exporters have also called for measures that will enable them to ship goods through direct cargo flights.
By early 2021 some 18 million items of intelligent clothing, or wearables are expected to be sold. These are fabrics that can measure heart rate, body temperature or stress levels and react accordingly. Conductive yarns, for example, are now being used to produce illuminated clothing, which can contain up to 625 lighting elements per meter.
Wearables are electronic technologies and computers that can be incorporated into items of clothing and worn; one characteristic is that they are directly connected to the internet, which means they are in a position to exchange data. They enable a new form of human/machine interaction with a virtually inexhaustible range of possible applications. Examples such as smart shirts, intelligent accessories or medical products can save lives. Most importantly, by adding to the wearer’s awareness of health and mobility, they improve safety in daily life and at work, as they can alert the user to risks and help in optimising working processes.
In spite of their great potential in the field of clothing, wearables and smart textiles have not yet moved beyond the early development phase. The reason for this is that a huge range of different elements in industry and science needs to work cooperatively to implement new ideas successfully and bring them to market.
"The upcoming Copenhagen Fashion Summit, to be held in May 2018 is set for a revamp. As per the new format, the global multi-stakeholder event will expand to two days, allowing more time to explore the many Summit components, including the new Innovation Forum, which boasts of more than 50 sustainable solution providers. On May 15-16, 2018, the world’s leading business event on sustainability in fashion will kick off its sixth edition at the Copenhagen Concert Hall."
The upcoming Copenhagen Fashion Summit, to be held in May 2018 is set for a revamp. As per the new format, the global multi-stakeholder event will expand to two days, allowing more time to explore the many Summit components, including the new Innovation Forum, which boasts of more than 50 sustainable solution providers. On May 15-16, 2018, the world’s leading business event on sustainability in fashion will kick off its sixth edition at the Copenhagen Concert Hall.
One new feature is the sustainable solutions platform Innovation Forum, which will draw attention to a curated selection of the world's most promising solution providers. Innovation Forum will enable participating fashion brands to meet with 50 plus solution providers covering the entire supply chain from innovative fabrics to green packaging solutions. Innovation Forum will also have a pitch stage for the presentation of disruptive innovations and a speed dating event with more than 350 pre-scheduled business meetings between brands and providers based on a prior screening and matchmaking process.
Leadership assembly
Like every time, the Summit will present an outstanding line-up of high-level keynote speakers, their names to be released in the coming months, just as the Leadership Assembly, a key component of the Summit, will convene industry decision-makers, civil society and government for closed-door roundtable discussions and public-private dialogues on the most urgent environmental, social and ethical issues. Finally, Copenhagen Fashion Summit 2018 participants can look forward to familiar, well-known features, such the release of the annual Pulse of the Fashion Industry report, a presentation from the Youth Fashion Summit, which just announced a partnership with the United Nations Global Compact focusing specifically on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 Good Health and Well-being and SDG 5 Gender Equality, as well as several facilitated networking sessions and panel debates on the most critical topics facing the industry today.
