FW
Bangladesh has set a target of reaching $50 billion in readymade garment exports by 2021. This is not unrealistic, given the potential and growth momentum of the sector over the years. But at the same time the setbacks triggered by the incidents of fire, factory collapse and labor unrest in recent years have cast an ominous shadow.
The situation prevailing now, reflects numerous difficulties and challenges that might have a multiplier negative effect on both production and exports. The readymade garment sector is the key contributor to the country's economy. Like other manufacturing sectors, it faces shortage of energy, skilled manpower and poor infrastructure, those that are equally challenging relate to wage and workplace safety constraints compounded by demands of labor unions and rights group activists.
Movement of cargo from factory sites to ports is extremely time-consuming. Producing goods for export has become expensive. Inspection of factories by Accord and Alliance, the EU and US-based retailer groups respectively, will require most factories to spend a lot to meet safety standards.
The sector needs a roadmap to negotiate ahead. Given that the basic infrastructure needs cannot be met overnight, efforts must be wholehearted to improve the situation as quickly as possible.
Kenya wants to make a mark in global textile segment. The government is trying to lure textile manufacturers with a new subsidy, this year slashing the cost of power. It’s believed the sector can create 3,00,000 jobs if given the push it needs to grab a larger slice of the global clothing market.
Global buyers are weighing Africa up against Bangladesh. The death of over 1,000 workers in a 2013 factory collapse in Bangladesh, are forcing them to re-evaluate their sourcing. Safety issues in a factory can damage a brand’s image. Africa on the other hand appears to offer a series of advantages – it has water, cotton, labor and green energy. Unlike Bangladesh, African countries also have duty-free access to the US apparel market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. (AGOA)
Ethiopia has set up functioning business parks for factories. Kenyans are expert clothes makers. The largest apparel factory in Kenya, Ashton Apparel, is growing and turns over a $100 million a year. The business produces denim for H&M, Walmart and others. However, Kenya’s apparel industry is still small, with an estimated 30,000 workers. The industry comprises only six per cent of the small manufacturing sector.
Gap is trying to create transparent working conditions in Asian garment factories. For this, it is partnering with an investment fund which hopes to raise a billion dollars and transform the Asian garment factories that make much of the world’s clothing. The fund’s pitch to factory owners is that its capital and ideas will help turn a decent facility into a high class one.
The fund intends to buy minority stakes in factories and then upgrade environmental standards, improve labor conditions, and install technology that can raise productivity and increase transparency. The goal is to cultivate factories that are the apparel industry’s most radically transparent and compliant.
For Gap, the agreement with the investment fund is essentially a cost-free opportunity to give the vendors who produce its goods the possibility of a value add in the form of expertise or funding for some of their new ventures. Another benefit of the agreement is that it will Gap reduce production lead times. The brand sees this as a way of connecting the factory worker to its consumers.
Gap is the parent company of Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy. In India, a Gap initiative provides education and life-skills training to women who sew Gap clothing in factories.
www.gap.com/
Top international brands are sourcing sportswear from Bangladesh. This development is being seen as a new opportunity for the country’s readymade garment sector. Bangladesh has become the world’s second largest sportswear exporter after China.
The industry has more than 1,700 factories concentrated around the capital Dhaka and the port city of Chittagong. Around 25 per cent of knit garments like sportswear go to traditional and non-traditional markets, including the US and EU countries. Nike, Puma, Adidas are among the big brands already engaged in outsourcing sportswear from Bangladesh. They feel manufacturers produce international quality sportswear with a competitive price range. Many leading international buyers, including renowned brands, are shifting orders to Bangladesh from Pakistan, Turkey, and China.
In recent times, more than 90 per cent sportswear products are being made from local fabrics, as the country is going to attain self-sufficiency in knitwear fabrics. There are more than 261 composite factories in the knitwear industry. There are 383 yarn manufacturing industries in the country whereas fabric manufacturing units are 743. The industry has backward linkages like knitting, dyeing and spinning.
The country's big knitwear manufacturers are introducing sportswear units as top international business partners have shown keen interest in sourcing these products.
Leading Austria-based man-made fiber manufacturer, Lenzing has no plans to expand its viscose fiber production capacity because of the challenging industry conditions. The company has been working to counteract the conditions through its cost optimization program launched early this year. Results achieved until now are encouraging but insufficient to offset the decline in viscose fiber prices in the international marketplace.
Average fiber selling prices fell by 10.4 per cent in the first three quarters of 2014. Consolidated sales dropped 6.2 per cent and EBITDA was down 16 per cent over last year. Though Lenzing still anticipates good volume demand for man-made cellulosics, fiber selling prices on the global market are not expected to recover in coming quarters.
This development is also attributed to the substantial decline in polyester fiber prices as a result of the massive oil price decrease, and the expected longer-lasting period of low or at least volatile cotton prices as a consequence of the surplus supply of Chinese cotton. As a result, Lenzing will not plan for any new expansion projects, which would have expanded its viscose fiber production. The restructuring measures will affect up to 250 jobs. The company completed a new Tencel fiber plant, which began production in July.
www.lenzing.com/?PHPSESSID...
Greenpeace's Detox campaign is having a significant impact in the textile industry. Six leading Italian textile suppliers have pledged support. Some of these Italian signatories currently act as suppliers to leading fashion brands such as Versace and Louis Vuitton.
Puma is working on eliminating hazardous chemicals from its supply chain within the next two years while simultaneously exposing suppliers to the scrutiny of a manufacturers’ restricted substances list. As Puma proceeds to eliminate hazardous chemical use from across its global supply chain, Greenpeace expects it to continue the process with transparency by supplying evidence to support its claims.
Detox has called for more significant corporate action and government policy changes in 2015. The Greenpeace Detox campaign was launched in 2011 and has seen support at events and displays from Mexico City to Moscow. The campaign now has the backing of over 20 global fashion brands and suppliers including M&S, Tschibo, Levi’s, Nike, Adidas and G-Star Raw along with over half a million people who have signed up to the Detox manifesto on the Greenpeace website, demanding toxic-free fashion and clean water.
Global fashion brands routinely use hazardous chemicals and dyes to make clothes. These chemicals poison rivers, and traces of these hazardous chemicals also end up remaining in many of the garments people buy.
www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/toxics/water/detox/
Pakistan's textile exports to the EU have grown considerably since January 2014, which was when the country got the GSP Plus status. This is true especially of textile mills that produce knitwear and garments. They have significantly increased shipments to the EU in the last 11 months. However, exports of bed wear and cotton cloth have dropped.
Under the scheme, Pakistan enjoys of zero or low import duty structures. Pakistan’s textile exports to the EU increased 21.4 per cent in the first eight months of 2014 compared to the same period of the previous year. During July to October 2014, overall knitwear exports jumped by 25 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year. Ready made garment export increased by 10 per cent in the same period. But energy shortages, appreciation of the rupee, security challenges and delay in sales tax refunds are having an impact. Sales of some garment exporters have remained stagnant despite getting all the advantages of the duty preference.
Positives are a relative stability in exchange rates in recent months, strong macroeconomics and declining oil prices. Pakistan’s textile exports constitute more than 50 per cent of total overseas sales.
Itema recently showcased its innovations in Mexico. These include the best-selling rapier R9500 and airjet A9500 models. R9500 and A9500 represent the pinnacle of applied innovation and winning choices for producing a wide range of quality fabrics at high production speeds.
Students came face-to-face with the latest technological advancements in weaving machines. For Itema, year 2014 follows in the tracks of a stellar 2013 which meant a 50 per cent year on year increase in turnover. The company is the only manufacturer in the world to provide top three weft insertion technologies, rapier, airjet and projectile, and continuously invests six per cent of annual profits in research advancements of breakthrough innovations.
Mexico, and Latin America as a whole, is an important market for Itema. Itema is a leading global provider of advanced weaving solutions, including best-in-class weaving machines, spare parts and integrated services. It guarantees the right weaving machine for any type of woven fabric. From commodity to high end fashion or industrial fabrics, Itema has the right weaving machine for any application.
The company has a tradition of almost 200 years with an installed base of over 3,00,000 weaving machines in operation. It has a global presence in more than 100 countries.
www.itemagroup.com/
Turkey has accused the US of dumping cotton and has launched a probe. The investigation could result in penalties on US cotton imports. However, Turkey’s textile industry doesn’t want any such probe. News of the probe into US fiber imports a month ago has brought buying by Turkish mills almost to a standstill, escalating fears in the United States, the world's top exporter, about demand from one of its top foreign buyers. If a probe takes place, Turkey fears mills will go to Brazil, Greece or Australia for their cotton.
Turkey's mills hope the US government will also help pressure their country for a resolution of the anti dumping investigation. The probe comes at a tough time for the global cotton industry as prices sink below the cost of production because of slowing demand in China, the world’s largest textile market.
In Turkey, mills are plagued by unrest in important markets, including Ukraine and Syria, where demand has dried up. Syria was not only a significant market but a door to the whole Arab peninsula. It is a big blow for the United States too as buying by Turkey's mills has slowed since the launch of the probe.
Pitti Immagine Uomo 87, the international trade event showcasing men’s fashions and contemporary lifestyle trends, will be held in Florence from January 13 to 16, 2015. The show will have everything from the excellence of the makers of the new classics to cutting-edge accessories that are playing an increasingly decisive role, to brands that have redefined sportswear, menswear, new luxury trends, special projects presented by leading international designers, previews of women’s collections and support for new talents.
Pitti Uomo is the global platform for top brands and international fashion groups that choose Florence as the place to launch new projects, as well as for little-known names who see Pitti Uomo as the ideal context for establishing their identities and generating business. As also for fashion system’s international players for whom the fair is the perfect springboard for presenting new concepts on the world’s stage.
With a record number of applications from around the world – 40 per cent of the vendors coming from more than 30 countries, Pitti Uomo 87 will once again offer a unique and original view of many links between art, fashion, sport and design. There will be approximately 1,090 brands at Pitti Uomo, plus 70 women’s collections at Pitti W.
Walabout Pitti: January title theme
Walkabout Pitti is the title theme for January fair, and it will explore the infinite and popular dimension of traveling on foot. “Walking just for the pleasure of doing it”, says Agostino Poletto, Deputy General Manager of Pitti Immagine, adding, “To see, think about and savour the world alone or with friends. Walking for sport or because walking, or talking about, is the ‘in’ thing. Today, more than ever before, walking is an expression of a way of life. Walkabout Pitti is a hymn to multiple technical facets, clothing styles and their uses and to the central role of accessories.”
The Menswear Guest Designer at Pitti Uomo 87 will
Hood By Air is the Pitti special guest
Hood By Air, the New York-based luxury brand created by Shayne Oliver in 2006, will be the Pitti Special Guest. Hood By Air (HBA), is already admired by members of the trade for its creative cutting-edge collections. It will produce a special event during Pitti Uomo.
The new Olivier Saillard performance with Tilda Swinton
Fondazione Pitti Discovery presents Cloakroom, an original mise en scène written and directed by Olivier Saillard and played by Tilda Swinton, style icon, muse and one of the best-known contemporary actresses. The director of the Palais Gallieria, Musée de la mode de la Ville de Paris, fashion critic and historian, author/actor is coming back to Florence to present a performance centered on the suit.
Special projects, previews and important reentries
Afew of the main features to be presented at Pitti Uomo 87 include: a major investment by a prestigious German brand like Bogner that has chosen Pitti Uomo as the stage for the presentation of the Bogner Man F/W 2015 collection, along with Bogner Leather and Bogner Shoes;
Pitti Uomo, the world premiere of the new look by North Sails, presented by the new CEO of North Sails Apparel, Eric Bijlsma, famous German brand, Windsor is among the important reentries; Colmar Originals will be showing the new fall-winter collection, Melting West; Scotch & Soda has chosen Pitti Uomo to not only present it’s eclectic tailoring menswear collection Atelier Scotch, but also the main collections Scotch & Soda menswear and Maison Scotch women’s wear.
WP Lavori in Corso presents the exclusive world launch of the new venture with the motorcycle brand Ducati Motor Holding that will culminate in a special presentation of the new Blundstone Ducati Scrambler and of Blundstone 800, the historic Australian boots, adapted to the needs of the rider, the international debut of the new project by Fusalp, the French heritage brand that will be looking to its core identity in a ski and après-ski collection that mixes high tech materials with perfect and comfortable styling; the return at Pitti Uomo of Tiger of Sweden, one of the big player of the Scandinavian fashion; the important participation of Beach Company the group that will be showing its brands – Refrigue, Jaggy and Elvstrom – in the Sala delle Grotte. Several other interesting events and pavilions will attract audiences at Pitti Uomo 87.
