23 November 2022, Mumbai:

Bangladesh reported on Wednesday that exports increased by more than 25% in July compared to last year. Manufacturers attribute the increase to a shift in orders from China to the low-cost South Asian nation. According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh exported 1.82 billion dollars of goods in July, the first month of its fiscal year, the most significant amount ever.
According to Jalal Ahmed, the head of the EPB, this was caused by a substantial increase in apparel exports as businesses preferred to purchase from Bangladesh rather than China to reduce prices. According to him, their textile exporters are getting more orders from new markets that used to obtain their products from China.
Beyond Traditional Markets
Although Western Europe and the United States still make up about 90% of Bangladesh's export market, EPB numbers showed that shipments to new countries like Turkey, Japan, South Africa, and China increased by 200 percent. According to Ahmed, shipments of clothing increased by 25.5 percent overall and nearly 30 percent year over year. He also noted a significant increase in the exports of environmentally friendly jute, generally known as burlap, in the US and hessian in Europe.
Alternative Sourcing Markets to Replace China
According to industry insiders, the emergence of the deadly coronavirus has given Bangladesh's apparel exporters a new chance, as many international shops want to move their orders from China to Bangladesh.

Retailers who rely primarily on China, regarded as the world's workshop of factories, for the supply of their apparel/clothing and other fashion products are frantically searching for alternatives, including Bangladesh. But the genuine concern is whether Bangladesh can profit from this.
Because they import a lot of their raw materials from China, business owners in the apparel industry are not as optimistic about this. 
Twin effect of COVID-19 & changing geopolitical landscape

The spread of the coronavirus throughout China may present some chances for Bangladeshi exporters, according to MA Jabbar, general director of DBL Group, one of the top producers and exporters of garments in the nation. He continued, "We are already getting requests from Western buyers to make some room for more shipments.

The customers reportedly changed their purchases from China owing to the US-China trade war, because of the difficulties in manufacturing caused by Covid-19. These assertions were supported by a Bangladesh Bank report, which noted that while export relocation growth was weak in June 2021, it picked up in September. In light of the ongoing pandemic, apparel shipments in December 2021 were even more positive.
A quick perspective

Bangladesh’s earnings from underwear shipments have grown 31 percent year on year. Export earnings from underwear accounted for six percent of the garments exported last fiscal year. The underwear sector in Bangladesh is directly benefitting from the shift of work orders from China and Sri Lanka and growing silently over the last few years.

Currently, underwear is the fifth most exported category from Bangladesh. It is a glowing example of the diversification of garment products in recent years.
Only a few factories used to produce underwear for some select international retailers and brands as this was not a regular export product for the country.
Now more than 500 factories are regularly producing underwear as demand for domestically made items is growing in the west for their competitive prices. Usually, prices of underwear, such as lingerie, are higher than prices for other attire as specialized fabrics are required for their manufacture.
Shift is real
Recent research by Bangladesh Bank now supports the long-standing contention made by apparel exporters that foreign purchasers have moved their orders from China to Bangladesh. A pattern of purchase orders moving from rival nations to Bangladesh has been seen, according to a report released by the central bank's External Economics Branch.
According to exporters, the rate of order relocation to Bangladesh has dramatically increased recently. The importers claim that in addition to moving their orders from China to Bangladesh, they did the same for Vietnam, Cambodia, and other nations.
Following the easing of the global lockdown, the exporting nations' storefronts reopened, and purchasers gradually started moving their orders to Bangladesh. However, to preserve growth, the central bank also advised taking into urgent consideration problems like the price of raw materials like cotton and yarn, unexpected transportation costs, and cancellation of purchase contracts.
How things stand; Over the last decade, Bangladesh has been enjoying the benefits of a shift in work orders from China and some other countries in many product categories.
This has come about as the cost of production in China has gone through the roof while there prevails a dearth of skilled workers in the apparel sector. Workers in China are preferring working with sophisticated technologies in the apparel/garment sector.

Latest Textile News

19 November 2022, Mumbai:

Reliance Retail is a part of an O2C giant conglomerate in its primacy this domestic retail giant has forayed with the resolute intent to take on biggies; eked out in a very measured and calibrated approach bridging gap lines to give birth to an ambitious retail juggernaut shaping the group's future as a growth engine to champion the cause.

The secret sauce of Reliance Retail has been the collaborative approach of the platform bringing together allied complementary forces in a very coherent fashion likes of alliance with the Facebook group launching a WhatsApp (WA) JioMart meaningful partnership, enabling on the back of it its valuable customer to browse the grocery catalogue online; WOW! excitingly in a jiffy facilitate adding products to a purchase-cart and help make a transaction of purchasing through the mass/popular messaging platform none other than WA.

Now & then

Besides, Reliance Retail added 11.1 million square feet of warehousing space during the year reliance retail acquisition spree was on right throughout & reliance retail brands was working 24 x 7 under reliance retail CEO, Akhilesh Prasad nearly doubling the warehousing space to 22.7 million square feet, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) said in the annual report for FY22. In FY22, Reliance Retail added over 1.50 lakh jobs, taking its total headcount to 3.61 lakh.

As one TOI earlier this year on Reliance Retail sheds light," At the granular level as of June 30, 2022, Reliance Retail was operating 15,866 stores with an area of 45.5 million sq ft covering all corners of the country. In FY22, Reliance Industries invested Rs 30,000 crore in its retail business and added 2,500 stores. Giving a nuanced understanding of the unfolding story stating on average, Reliance Retail had added seven stores per day to drive home the point of how the juggernaut keeps rolling".

Furthermore, Isha Ambani alluded in her earlier press communication regard to the envisioned roadmap of this division," The primary strategy is to onboard millions of small merchants integrate with this one-stop/one point platform for the mutual meaningful progressive relationship starting as a mission and translating it to more of a trade movement handholding/giving impetus the partners to prosper.

Happy to report that since its launch merely two years, it is leapfrogged and grown its merchant partner base to in excess of a staggering 20 lakh, valuable partners. Putting it on record 'Reliance Retail' adds incredibly no less than 1.5 lakh/thereabouts partners month in and month out. The initiative of partnering with one crore merchants is well on its course. She further affirms that, as the platform strides to expand its footprints Pan-India, well aiming to serve way beyond 7,500 towns and 5 lakh villages in the following five years as a target,".

As the Rs 25,000-crore Reliance Retail initiative celebrates its first day in business, billing counters at the Reliance Fresh store in Banjara Hills got busy scanning barcodes. When put into practice, its blueprint has all the makings of a retail behemoth.

Raghu Pillai, president and CEO of Reliance Retail, announced opening the company's first batch of 11 stores in Hyderabad by stating, "In the next 18 to 24 months, we will reach the top 70 cities across several formats. We will introduce additional retail designs by March or April 2007, targeting markets like consumer durables, hypermarkets, music/entertainment, pharmacies, specialized shops, and lifestyle goods. More and more consumers of Reliance Brands are moving towards affordable luxury

One size does not fit all

The 2,300 square-foot formats called Reliance Fresh will stock high-frequency consumables. Other layouts, such as hypermarkets, may occupy up to 1,50,000 square feet. As it competes with mom-and-pop shops, corner vendors, and rival retail chains, the corporation is expected to institute an aggressive pricing policy for everyday consumables. Gunender Kapoor, CEO of Reliance Retail's food division, commented on the pricing approach: "For essential items, we will offer several price points. Our multiple outlets in the city will all have the same market-driven pricing policy.

We cannot solely rely on input from pilot stores in a single area, Mr. Kapoor said in response to the justification for expanding test stores in additional cities. People have incredibly regional cuisine preferences. While providing worldwide services, we also wish to cater to regional tastes. Pooja flowers are one extremely local offering at the Hyderabad store aimed at the neighborhood.

The Supply Chain Conundrum

Reliance Retail intends to focus most of its expenditures on improving the supply chain and backend integration, which are the company's foundation. "What you see is just a tiny fraction of what we have accomplished. We've put a lot of work into the backend operations," Mr. Pillai said, referring to the first store in Hyderabad's affluent Banjara Hills neighborhood, which has long served as a testing ground for various goods and services.

It's interesting to note that the corporation is also considering trading with the trade to profit from its supply chain investments. The company will launch Ranger Farms, its wholesale format, in the fresh market to serve pushcart sellers and small retailers.

Focusing on an omni channel approach

Reliance Retail’s omnichannel platform Ajio is a big beneficiary of this robust online-driven strategy. Reliance’s sectorial figures are impressive. In fiscal 2021-22, almost 2,500 stores were added, with a whopping 42 million sq. ft. of the operational area. With 200 million registered customers, 520 million walk-ins, and 4.5 billion online visits that is registering a 2.3 per cent increase year-on-year and 600,000 online order deliveries, makes Reliance’s Retail an act difficult to match.

5G network to drive up business; Unlike many brands, Reliance Retail does not feel that the writing is on the wall for brick-and-mortar although it is focusing on driving e-commerce on a grand scale. The commitment of $25 billion towards the soon-to-be-launched Jio 5G network will further consolidate and strengthen the e-commerce division.

Pathway to Success

To bring enormous benefits to Indians, Pillai continued, RRVL's objective is to energize the country's retail industry through an inclusive strategy that serves millions of customers while empowering millions of farmers and micro, small, and medium-sized businesses.

According to RIL, RRVL's "New Commerce strategy" has also begun a revolutionary digitalization of 20 million small and dispersed merchants, allowing them to employ technology tools and a productive supply chain infrastructure to provide customers with a better value proposition. Analysts anticipate that Ambani's deal-making binge will continue regardless.

Reliance has an inherent advantage to cater to both with its extensive portfolio of brands and products. Reliance will need to not only create a viable product-retail mix but connect with the aspirational aspects in the consumer's mind to compete with the international brands."

Taking on this challenge, Reliance Retail is confident of making its presence felt. It is currently the largest fashion and lifestyle retailer in the country with a network of nearly 4,000 stores across segments from ethnic and values fashion to luxury brands. It also runs Marks & Spencer stores in India and recently partnered with Gap.

Since the announcement that Reliance Retail was entering the tough FMCG market earlier this year, it is not a surprise that the retail giant would enter the fast fashion market. And why not the market value of textiles and apparel across India in the financial year 2021 was USD 80 billion and this value was estimated to reach USD 190 billion by 2026.

Latest Textile News

17 November 2022, Mumbai:

The term "manufacturing" is likely to conjure images of massive factories and assembly lines employing sophisticated machinery to produce various goods continuously. Even though one manufacturing approach is well-known and traditional, others are gaining popularity because they solve some drawbacks of conventional manufacturing.

Let us try and decode the phenomenon called on-demand manufacturing where one doesn't have to go for mass/bulk manufacturing Vs. Making production as on-demand cloud services is a new transformative trade landscape/paradigm in order to accomplish the most-desired business flexibility, especially against the backdrop of Industry 4.0 through enabling speedy configuration of loosely-connected production devices in the earnest to have required customized product/s.

Reconfiguring

On-demand manufacturing is the name of this business strategy. On-demand manufacturing often referred to as custom manufacturing, cloud manufacturing, or manufacturing on demand, is a manufacturing method where products are only produced when needed and in the necessary amounts. This innovative process contrasts with conventional manufacturing, which has goods in bulk and stores them in facilities until they are sold, distributed, and delivered.

This article is an effort to discover/explore the recent phenomenon of on-demand fabricating units showing an uptick in the story/piece of an idea, as there is a demonstrability in the fundamentals of micro-factory (MF) Microfactories transforming the very fashion apparel enterprises/businesses have begun to deliver the product to the discernible/demanding consumers of the day.

The unfolding manufacturing pattern is been well articulated and validated by a prominent trade observer, Jenny Holloway, CEO of Fashion Enter,“ The underlying objective is to guide showing creators, retailers, and buyers of the world undiscovered novel pathway/way forward in the fashion space of the day: the bright side being minimal stocks, print to demand and allowing consumers to pull sales rather than the retailers push the sales on to the end user are some of the pluses of the concept,”.

Keep the powder dry

Use cases; Because of the growth of the IT and logistical infrastructure, the bulk of our needs, such as food, shelter, transportation, etc., can now be met on demand. So traditional production is giving way to the on-demand approach.

The internet and cloud-based technology serve as the main enablers of manufacturing on demand.

With the aid of these technologies, manufacturing businesses may develop sophisticated online platforms that let customers submit models and get feedback on their designs that is automatically generated for manufacture along with very accurate prices.

Traditional Manufacturing

Complex logistical activities are a part of traditional manufacturing. A manufacturer must have a difficult and secure storage and inventory system after mass-producing a product. In addition, the products are distributed and marketed through an extensive sales network. Infrastructural support for transportation and logistics must also be provided, managed, and maintained by the manufacturer. All of these factors drive up manufacturing prices significantly.

Currently, the apparel/clothing sector is uniquely poised as it is made via on-demand apparel production to offer omni-channel to both wholesale (B2B) and direct-to-consumer markets (B2C). Even though this isn't the conventional approach (especially in direct-to-consumer B2C), numerous fashion brands have succeeded with it.

Many customer orders—whether wholesale or retail—require that things be manufactured "on-demand" rather than in advance. Orders are taken, on-demand production is started immediately, the products are distributed, dispatched, and inventory is updated across all channels.

Unfolding Trends

In a scenario where orders are received through various channels, such as b2b e-commerce, Shopify DTC, and even fashion department store e-commerce through EDI dropship, AIMS360 can collaborate with customers to complete the sewing and printing of t-shirts on demand. Once the customer order is received, the goods are promptly produced on demand, sent to the orders, and the inventory is updated across all channels. When the t-shirt is finished being produced, it is dispatched, and the system automatically completes the process.

Pros and cons

One benefit of manufacturing on demand (MOD) in the fashion industry is that it enables businesses to maintain low inventories. The drawback is that manufacturers are generating a lot of fashion styles and keeping them in storage until distribution, which is challenging for clothing/apparel manufacturers because it necessitates forecasting and holding inventory. Producing too many items that don't might waste wealth that could be put to better use elsewhere, encourage risky discounting, and exacerbate the problem of excess inventory. Discounting reduces profitability and erodes brand equity when merchandise is being sold off. It encourages price-conscious consumers to keep looking for less expensive solutions.

Latest Textile News

22 November 2022, Mumbai:

Inflation-induced economic stress and the energy crisis are affecting the global textile sector and will have far-reaching implications on development issues. Coupled with a reduction in disposable incomes in the UK and EU & looming recessionary pressures will impact the global textile industry.

The textile sector is bracing itself for a challenging time ahead. The article tends to take a deep dive into how the textile global economy is getting affected by falling overall export demand to the US and the EU, economic headwinds & its far-reaching financial fallout leading to banking crisis threat and shrinking global trade.

Global Uncertainty Lingers

The global cotton demand outlook continues to be benign in this recessionary environment and delving into how new cotton harvests are arriving in India and the High Plains of Texas does not augur well for the Cotton and Textile Sectors.

As per industry estimate, the world apparel market size presently is approx US$ 1.7 trillion and constitutes some 2% or thereabouts of the global GDP. Economic Tsunami; Considering the world economy is witnessing economic strong headwinds & a synchronized structural slowdown leading to a precipitous fall in global trade, supply shocks, and broken supply chains worsened by unequivocal policy uncertainties for a considerable time now. Adding to this near-recessionary global trend in some sense was China's zero-COVID policy.

It is well accepted globally now that the war between Russia and Ukraine has been no less than a black swan event hitting back-to-back post-covid 19 pandemics resulting in unprecedented weakening of the global economic/business environment and global credit issues.

The world's recession may throw a wet blanket; While the issue surrounding high cotton and raw materials costs has occupied the textile industry for a few months now, it is important to focus on the demand aspects. The demand for textile products has slowed down due to global geopolitical and economic situations.

Imported inflation is serving no one's purpose

But a section of the industry feels that the rate hike would dampen demand given that prices to end consumers could rise. Imported inflation pressure remains the overarching risk. The Russia-Ukraine political conflict deals a major blow to the global economy hurting global growth and raising prices mindlessly triggering energy poverty.

The global central banks are under mounting pressure to maintain price stability against elevated inflationary expectations/outlook. Here it is pertinent to mention stable prices are a necessary condition for persistent economic growth and inflation is inimical to growth.

Impact on Indian textiles

The textiles and garment sector plays a significant role in the Indian economy in terms of employment, value contributed, and export revenues. Recently Cotton Association of India (CAI) a prime mover, released its 2022-23 cotton supply and Indian demand prognosis and estimates on the back of global demand headwinds and the available trade data points," Cotton production in India during 2022-23 (October 2022 to September 2023) is estimated to be 34.4 million bales (170 Kgs/bale), while the total supply will be 38.78 million bales (170 Kgs/bale). The consumption is estimated to be about 30 million bales, which is lower than the previous year’s consumption".

Indian domestic consumption by spinners is expected to be lesser by 1.8 million bales vis-à-vis last cotton year, mirroring/echoing muted demand or a not-so-optimistic scenario. Like-to-like comparison Yarn demand is not as great as what we witnessed during the corresponding previous year, given that daily cotton yarn production from June to October 2022 was just about 60% of its usual production levels speaking column of the prevailing weak demand.

The US-China cotton ban has only compounded the problems of India's cotton yarn spinning industry on the back of Chinese tactical cheap offerings leading to unintended & far-reaching consequences in the past couple of months.

According to Textile Secretary U.P. Singh, the Ministry of Textile demand has decreased due to the US's high inflation rate, particularly for home textile items since they are more price-sensitive than clothing and apparel.

Sakthivel, President of the Tirupur Exporters Association, said, "There would undoubtedly be some impact on textile shipments to the US." Items with lower value and a price tag of $3 to $7 per piece will be less impacted. “Yarn enquiry is not there currently,” stated Mr. V. Shanmugam, GM of Aruppukkottai, Jayalakshmi Textiles.

According to Virendra Sharma, the president of Oswal Wool Mills in Ludhiana, which owns the Monte Carlo brand, As much since 85% to 90% of our output is for the domestic market, and on the back of strong festive demand besides exuberance, one has started to see around wedding season, strong early offtake indications of winter merchandise only comes in as a cushion to Indian textile sector.

According to Wazir Advisors, the domestic market fell 30% last year, to $75 billion in 2020-21. The industry is expected to increase to $190 billion by 2025-26.

To play devil's advocate it does not come as a surprise to anyone that of late, the Government of India is beginning to come out with encouraging/supportive policies favouring MMF/synthetic sector to build capabilities and capabilities in response to its rising global sustainable demand tailwind.

Tremors of upcoming recession in the western world are felt across the textile sector worldwide

Bangladesh

A case in point Small and fragile economies are struggling in this new scenario and Bangladesh is a good case study.

India and Pakistan face similar challenges

In India, textile exports face challenges like their neighbors due to a decrease in demand from traditional buyers in the West and China. Since Pakistani textiles are mainly exported to China, US, Germany, and Spain, it is beginning to feel the backlash of the high inflation and the impending recession about to hit Western importers. Meanwhile, China has also steadily declined to import textiles from Pakistan.

China

If the recent ET report is to be believed the situation is no better in China the biggest global exporter of textile merchandising exports," The snapshots from factories in key Chinese hubs indicate subdued manufacturing activity on the back of households spending budgets in developed/advanced economies having come down/they don't have money to spend with heightened inflation biting day in day out adding weight to the argument raising flags/warnings about an impending global recession and protracted slowdown.

How does the global textile industry weave/stitch success during a recession/slowdown?

How to tide over recession; As per Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar, Ph.D., CText, FTI (UK), FTA (Honorary), TAPPI Fellow (USA) & TexSnips," Textile & manufacturing sectors must adopt a new management paradigm 'Caveat Emptor et Venditor'. It indicates that both buyers & sellers must pay attention to global scenarios to have the situation under control. The industry should be cautious in its planning in terms of modernization and non-essential capital expenditure"

There is a compelling need for cotton demand creation to explore new markets, innovation-led value-added production, cost efficiency, margin accretive approach, and deploying sustainable production best practices on the back of improved efficiency and productivity is the way forward as a textile business is got commoditized.

Everybody needs to keep the powder dry as war has unambiguously eroded near-to-mid-term global economic recovery/revival prospects post-pandemic. Overall, governments and manufacturers are coming together to find solutions to ride out this crisis as it involves valuable dollar earnings and employment.

Eventually, together we will have to tick all the boxes right changing the narrative of our playbook to keep going as the cliché is this shall also pass.

Latest Textile News

18 November 2022, Mumbai:

The overarching common thread of thought-provoking digital textile printing is a process involving vibrant, colorful designs coming in embossed form & shape on varied fabrics deploying digital ink-jet printing technology.

The article kicks into the trade discourse with the innovative solutions-oriented approach witnessed around digital textile printing fast being adopted in modern facilities in the printing industry trade landscape. The scope of this spans from equipment, screen printing equipment, stamping equipment and materials, printing paste, and heat press transfer.

Bird's eye view

Digital textile printing offers a practical approach that has encouraged several designers and manufacturers to opt for it over other printing technologies. Despite the proliferation of digital printing being sluggish compared to traditional forms of printing, it is gradually catching up with the introduction of novel technologies.

The demand for textile digital printing will thus increase in the forthcoming years with the changing dimensions of the textile industry.

Sharing the historical quick insights of this unfolding trendy emerging technologies of the day which precisely goes like this," Digital printing was for the very first time patented way back in 1968 and gathered momentum & acceptance in the 1990s.

Whilst, as a case in point in the year 2015 over here in Indian sub-continent/SouthAsia in textile/apparel space Beximco Group, Dhaka was an early mover and probably as a 1st user in Bangladesh too".

Whilst back home in India Surat, Gujarat has been a prolific adopter of this wonderful technology and know-how deploying Digital Printing on Fabrics for all commercial needs on a very broad-base, interestingly as the centre found the use case very sanguine and constructive over the conventional means.

There were an array of applications experienced in Surat such as Digital Printed Services, Sublimation printing on polyester fabric, Digital printing on natural fabrics, and what all the industry over there could think and imagine realistically.

Multiple use cases; direct-to-garment, home décor, design, screen printing, sustainability, and many more to this versatile modern-day wonderful discovery was the surprise element of this unfolding technique.

Best practices

In short, checking the resolution and color values are truly best practices that can make a meaningful impact on print results making an easy switch over conventional means to set aside the debate of changing the ethos of the work style and fixated mindset.

Exploring Growth Trajectories

The global digital textile printing market’s revenue is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 16.3 percent during 2018-2027, according to a new report. 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.

China is expected to be at the forefront, spearheading the growth, said the report titled ‘Digital Textile Printing Market: Global Industry Analysis 2013-2017 and Opportunity Assessment 2018-2027’ by Future Market Insights.

The China digital textile printing market has witnessed rapid growth in the past couple of decades. The APEJ region is characterized by a robust political, demographic, and economic ecosystem of the leading emerging economies

The Merits Of Digital Fabric Printing

Not horribly expensive technology.

Steady price correction across equipment & consumables besides falling prices for processes like plate making and proofing amongst others. Faster turnaround as it can certainly turn the conventional printing process heads on.

Facilitates and improves the cycle of orders by controlled upkeep. Cutting down amazingly the lead-time/debottlenecking the entire cycle of conceptualization/ideation to completion and resultant speedier order fulfillment fuelling superefficiency.

Incredibly it has moderated the sample production process cost structure, besides widening the scope.

What is another good bit is making methodology far easier for the given involved processes by revising/changing/modifying the artwork to exceed the customer expectations; these are some of the inbuilt features that help it overscore.

Compared to screen printing, these machines enable higher creativity in textile printing and provide superior design flexibility.

Designers nowadays prefer digital printing because of its cost-effectiveness.

Digital printing is eco-friendly and requires lesser physical inventory levels.

The digital machine consumes considerably less amount of energy, leading to very little textile waste.

What is Driving Digital Textile Transformation?

Stepping back into the history up until now roller printing technique was in vogue, followed by flatbed and rotary screen printing techniques gathered pace before the emergence of this next-generation Digital Textile swept the market across most of the textile industry applications and categories involving wide format printing and textile printing. Early days yet as it is still evolving every day to spring a positive surprise day in and day out.

Journey of traditional printing to cutting-edge 3D printing

The article is penciling in a prognosis based on the hard trade data points reflecting a very optimistic scenario whereby, it is projected to grow during the forecast period (2021-2028) clocking a CAGR of 10.1%.

Hopefully, the market will exhibit steady growth during the forecast period (2021-2028), albeit it doesn't come as a surprise given the depth and width of its acceptance across trade/Pan-India and is only finding new takers season in and season out.

Manufacturers are nowadays increasingly relying on digital textile printing to cater to the dynamic preferences of consumers.

However, the growth witnessed by the market in the future will be determined by the penetration of digital printing into commercial textile production.

Latest Textile News

16 November 2022, Mumbai:

The global cotton demand outlook continues to be benign in this recessionary environment and delving into how new cotton harvests are arriving in India and the High Plains of Texas does not augur well for the Cotton and Textile Sectors.

As things stand today

Recently Cotton Association of India (CAI) a prime mover, released its 2022-23 cotton supply and Indian demand prognosis and estimates on the back of global demand headwinds and the available trade data points," Cotton production in India during 2022-23 (October 2022 to September 2023) is estimated to be 34.4 million bales (170 Kgs/bale), while the total supply will be 38.78 million bales (170 Kgs/bale). The consumption is estimated to be about 30 million bales, which is lower than the previous year’s consumption".

Again trade estimates for the current year in the period of Oct. 2002-Sep. 2023, reflecting skeptical demand view especially with looming global recessionary concerns even if it is soft-landing in the US and the EU where hopefully it will not be a longer recession/slowdown in the economy yet Indian domestic consumption by spinners are expected to be lesser by 1.8 million bales vis-à-vis last cotton year, mirroring/echoing muted demand or not so optimistic scenario.

Trade bytes

Velmurugan Shanmugam, General Manager of Jayalakshmi Textiles, India avers," The cotton stock situation is stable and we continue to be sanguine on the sector alludes. Albeit, as like to-like comparison Yarn demand is not as great as what we witnessed during the corresponding previous year, given that daily cotton yarn production from June to October 2022 was just about 60% of its usual production levels speaking column of the prevailing weak demand.

Again the tenor of Gnanasekar Thiagarajan, Director of Mumbai-based commodity research firm, Commtrendz Research statement was,“ Currently product demand is pretty weak and, the US-China cotton ban has only compounded the problems of India's cotton yarn spinning industry on the back of Chinese tactical cheap offering leading to unintended & far-reaching consequences in the past couple of months".

Road ahead

There is a compelling need for cotton demand creation to explore new markets, innovation-led value-added production, cost efficiency, and deploying sustainable production best practices on the back of improved efficiency and productivity is the way forward.

Upside; Make no mistake given that cotton is a natural fiber always has a well-accepted story to tell regarding product sustainability in times when global climate concerns are rising.

Disclaimer: Though the evidence is very inconclusive as expectedly we are near the end of the interest rate hike given the moderation in the inflation lately, is only giving hope that demand for items like textiles will improve.

To play devil's advocate it does not come as a surprise to anyone that of late, the Government of India is beginning to come out with encouraging/supportive policies favouring MMF/synthetic sector to build capabilities and capabilities in response to its rising global sustainable demand tailwind.

(CREDITS: Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar, Ph.D., CText, FTI (UK), FTA [Honorary] (India), TAPPI Fellow (USA), Professor, Nonwovens & Advanced Materials Laboratory, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA)

Latest Textile News

21 November 2022, Mumbai:

According to the Economic Survey for 2021-22, the textile sector has received close to Rs. 203,000 crore in investment over the previous decade, employing nearly 105 million people, directly and indirectly, the majority of whom are women.

100% FDI is allowed in the textile sector under the automatic route. Every crisis can be converted into an opportunity like that of Covid-19. Covid-19 is a big crisis and the ‘biggest of the century’ crisis was converted into an opportunity, wherein many of our boys and girls came up with innovative solutions to the problems, said Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, and Textiles, at the ET Startup awards in Bengaluru earlier this year.

The sector has the potential to contribute significantly to the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision to become a USD 5 trillion economy in the next few years owing to significant value addition across the textile value chain.

Textile industry-A lowdown

With a sizable raw materials base and textile manufacturing, India has one of the largest textile industries worldwide. Along with other essential industries, the manufacturing and trading of textiles play a significant role in our economy. The export of textiles and apparel accounts for about 27% of total foreign exchange earnings.

The textile and apparel industry (T&C) contributes about 14% of industrial production and 3% of the nation's GDP. The textile sector contributes about 8% of the total excise taxes collected. So much so that the textile industry is responsible for up to 21% of all employment created in the economy.

The manufacturing of textiles directly employs about 35 million people. Another 60 million people could be used indirectly, including the workforce involved in trade and handling related to producing agriculturally based raw materials like cotton.

Trade Data points; India exported $41 billion of textiles in the calendar year 2021, with a CAGR of 2.7, a little above the average for the world. The domestic textile industry depends heavily on imported wool of the apparel/clothing grade. Because of this, the domestic economy is dependent on imports. India imports raw fleece from several nations. Turkey, China, New Zealand, and Australia make up the top four import markets.

From April 2016 to March 2021, Japan, Mauritius, Italy, and Belgium will have contributed the most foreign direct investment (FDI) to India's textile industry.

Supportive policy interventions

Hon'ble Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Textiles, Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution and Commerce & Industry in a very recent virtual meeting with EPCs (Export Promotion Councils) with divergent interests drawn from across (T&C) the textile & apparel sector, making a strong/solid pitch taking a comprehensive view urging the trade setting a definitive target to accomplish textiles exports of 100 billion USD in the following 5-6 years as we move ahead confidently in the Techade well contemplated by India's Hon'ble PM, Narender Modi.

Furthermore, pressing the need for a cohesive trade approach of engagement and indulging in sustained industry dialogues charting out a holistic approach ensuring the timely oversight mechanism looking into the aspect of track & traceability of cotton and better value-added cotton products a step in the direction of premiumization as it already becomes a commodity business.

Economic Survey 2022: PLI scheme for the textile industry to attract investments in the next 5 years.

The Modified Technology Upgrading Fund (ATUFS) scheme, introduced by the Indian government, is being implemented for the textile sector with a cost of $17,822 crore from 2016 to 2022 to attract $1 lakh crore in investment.

As per official estimates of the Ministry of Textiles (MoT)," India is in a sweat spot & we estimate India can reach $65 billion in exports by 2020 (implying a 9-10% compound annual growth rate) with the correct measures by industry majors and vigorous execution of government programs it has taken in its wisdom.

China plus one sourcing, creating a golden chance for Indian textiles to perform a turnaround and recover a leadership post as a top exporting economy according to the report.".

Win Some Lose Some

Indian textile industry for once is in the throes of disaster. Let us now dwell on the US-China cotton ban to solve this conundrum. Recognizing unequivocally that it has only compounded the problems of India's cotton yarn spinning industry on the back of Chinese tactical cheap offerings leading to unintended & far-reaching consequences in the past couple of months.

India is now China's rival even in terms of overall production. The threat of rising interest rates, labor costs, and worker pay is another significant one. Textile Industry Outlook; Imported inflation pressure remains the overarching risk. According to Upendra Prasad Singh, the textiles secretary, Indian textile makers are beginning to see a slowdown in demand due to rising energy and food costs that have reduced demand for goods like curtains and bedspreads in the US and Europe's key export markets. Inventory levels are pretty high at the time.

Uptick in Indian textile growth story

The value of India’s textile industry can increase to $250 billion in the next 5-7 years and help the country become a developed economy, said PiyushGoyal, Textile Minister at the Asian Textile Conference (ATEXCON) organized by the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry.

Consumer needs gradually increased due to the constant advancement of technology and application standards. And to meet that standard, producers must add something to their goods to increase their value of those goods. He urged the industry to introduce high-quality products and elementary products like zipping and embellishments that are currently being imported.

Piyush Goyal calls upon the Textile industry to focus on the back of deft handling and an approach of innovation and sustainability to drive growth and make the best out of newly stitched trade pacts/FTAs/CEPAs especially knowing that India has a depth of leadership, talent pool, and resources what it takes despite of all odds.

Fostering a Resilient Startup Ecosystem

Textiles companies and startups in India as per one of the trade sources released some time ago, put in context the unfolding increasing interest in this space and the testament to the confidence of investors

SilksBazaar

Uditya Tech Private Limited

The Yarn Bazaar

Bunkaar. ...

Textile Infomedia. ...

Force Multiplier Ecommerce Pvt Ltd

JSP Enviro private limited

Svante Group and counting

Since the launch of the Startup India introduction on 16 January 2015 the Indian startup ecosystem has grown to the 3rd largest in the world with over 60,000 startups across 633 districts from all 28 Slates and & 8 Union Territories with their own dedicated Startup Policies.

India's entrepreneurs responded to the pandemic by reimagining their businesses, and bouncing back in the face of adversity, embodying the true spirit of a self-reliant India.

Small fashion start-ups with a keen eye for design and sustainability are making their mark on the fashion industry in India and abroad and creating a name for Indian design using local artisans and fabrics.

Piyush Goyal is an Indian businessman; He also said that the present situation fits in so beautifully with the Make in India programme launched 8 years ago, - the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative and Textile/Apparel fits well in the larger scheme of things as the true spirit here is a homegrown self-help model.

Goyal listed several illustrations where Startups could provide solutions to resolve problems.

The Indian start-up ecosystem has the ability to transform the country into a center for creativity and invention and considering that India today is one of the best facilitators of harnessing & firing the entrepreneurial visionary spirit.

BOTTOMLINE

As per one ET report reflecting a very interesting observation and validating the claim of the Textile sector as a frontrunner in generating employment in the world’s second most populated/would be most populous shortly,” 70 jobs for every crore rupee invested”.

The point of discussion here is how bright and lucrative is the career prospects for budding bright minds looking at exploring the prospects of career path, future job employability, and hiring scenario in this space as we write Or how about starting a textile business wearing an entrepreneurial cap; It will be quite thoughtful of you as certainly one should know the actual reasons/rationale behind it.

Predominately an enormous source of job creation, and the outcome of Covid-19, everything collectively is helping India’s textile growth trajectory as a shot in the arm.

According to one KPMG report," Moreover, the industry and the Government could come together for attracting investments and creating support infrastructure for emerging sectors like Textile, other job-creating sectors. You can rest assured of your positive business outcome venturing into the global market, as nobody can be decoupled in this connected world today and the resilient domestic Indian economy/to ease the pressure only cushions any business; the Indian growth story is a proxy for itself not for the global economy which is the best part of Indian economy presently and same can be safely assumed for Indian Textile Industry.

Moreover, just to drive a point home the Indian textile industry is also the best place for both manufacturers and retailers to start investing and stay invested short-midterm basis.

The article makes a case for it being a lucrative market to enter, and pretty assuringly as many people have already invested given the caveat of the aforementioned thesis arguably building as a prognosis for a sound business case.

We have to mention here that as a confidence-building "Textiles and Apparel (T&C) sector" is also considered one of the fastest-moving industries, and the demand for the same is always high given that it is construed to be a cornerstone of basic living ROTI, KAPDA aur MAKAAN crowding in the investments given India is an outlier if one were to look from the lens of IMF based on the key economic indicators.

Latest Textile News

17 November 2022, Mumbai:

People used to dress modestly and shield themselves from the elements, the sun, and insects. But unlike today, back then, people only used the tree of decency to cover their bodies from the rain; diverse fibrous materials were less widely employed. Instead, animals and birds covered themselves with leaves from various trees—apparel/clothing made from leaves, bark, and animal skin.

The fabric is created usable with the aid of many weaving techniques using the fiber of the tree, animal-bird lame, etc. Still, with the advancement of human cognition, the bark of the tree, the skin of the animal, etc., is discarded, and the fabric is made appropriate for use.

Ethos of Accessorization

People began to feel the need for accessories in addition to apparel. The accessories include jewelry, shoes, socks, and hair bows. Her style, taste, and preferences can all be expressed through her choice of fashion accessories. As civilization advanced, accessories were no longer just for requirements; they also played a significant part in improving the beauty of people.

Jewelry, purses, haircuts, and shoes are examples of fashion accessories that help to accentuate the wearer's physical attractiveness. Everybody's life requires some accessories. Everyone appears more stunning and glamorous as a result.

Without accessories, the development of the fashion business is impossible. So, there needs to be a comparison of the significance of fashion accessories in the fashion sector.

Demystifying Fashion Merchandising

The local economy currently relies heavily on the apparel/garment industry as a possible source of foreign currency. Because the garment business accounts for most of the nation's export earnings, fashion merchandising is crucial in this apparel market. Fashion merchandising is a broad category of actions that help move apparel, footwear, and accessories from the point of design to the consumer.

A fashion merchandising degree can be used to work as a fashion buyer, visual designer, trend forecaster, or store-based sales and service representative, among other positions.

A fashion merchandiser develops costume and accessory ideas while juggling the designer's functionality and original flair. Then he purchases new goods for their customers or merchants that market new product lines to industrial customers. Retailers then set up visible displays to grab clients' attention and engage in sales and service activities to aid customers in making the proper product selection.

From design to sales, merchandisers are involved in every step of the fashion merchandising process. Merchandisers use their knowledge of advertising and marketing with unique and creative copywriting.

Like the need for apparel/clothing is rising, fashion merchandising is crucial in regulating this desire. Standard tariffs include market trend analysis, cost control, sales control, revenue estimation, and textile selection. Many fashion merchandisers focus on floor displays and layout setup in retail environments or as sales and service reps.

There are currently numerous subfields of fashion merchandise. Different income sources are available for each job. Agents or store managers for fashion advertising can be fashion merchandisers. Currently, a career in fashion retailing is quite favorable. Bangladesh has made significant progress in the apparel/clothing business. Bangladesh has thus consistently created one or more textile companies creating a long runway.

Planning fashion events, developing fashion products, choosing a fashion store site, window-dressing, and fashion advertising are some of its other focuses to say in a lighter vein double clicking. The US Survey of Labor Statistics predicts that between 2008 and 2018, employment in fashion merchandising will increase by roughly 7%.

Additionally, according to the websites of fashion schools, the top career options for earning money in fashion merchandising are projected to be in marketing, sales, and advertising. Pay for fashion merchandising varies greatly depending on a person's region, abilities, and education.

Vitality of Accessories in the Fashion Industry

In summary, the motherhood statement is that it makes basic clothing versatile,“ Different strokes for different folks.

The limited point the article is making here is; a fashion accessory is construed to be a material/an item used to embellish, beautify, and accessorize so to say contributing, in a secondary fashion, to the end-user/wearer's ensemble/dress, this is a humble effort to complement an outfit and thus opted to definitively accentuate one's personality & looks”.

Latest Textile News

16 November 2022, Mumbai:

Thanks to new-age tech-enabled players who have entered India’s logistics arena, it is now easier for small- and medium-sized businesses to transport goods, and there is a drastic increase in the speed and efficiency with which parcels are delivered.

Rise of E-Commerce

India’s e-logistics sector has a compound annual growth rate of 35 percent. It is one of the largest and fastest-growing logistics markets globally. The number of e-commerce logistics shipments is expected to grow by four times in the next five years.

Shopping needs can frequently be driven more by convenience than brand loyalty. The overall online GMV is expected to increase 37 percent over last year to touch $49-52 billion. Growth will be mostly driven by the accelerated online adoption which has been witnessed as an effect of COVID. Secondly, Tier-II-plus cities and towns will continue to drive growth as they are 55-60 percent of the total shopper base this year, similar to or higher than 57 percent in 2020 festive days.

The e-commerce logistics sphere has contributed to the overall growth of India’s logistics sector and enabled the e-retail boom in India. The proliferation of smartphones and localization of the internet in non-English languages is drawing in new consumers from non-metro locations into the internet economy and creating a new demand for online commerce, thus paving the need for disruption in logistics.

The market thrives with the launch of super apps Driven by Gen Next entrepreneurs, the current D2C market in India is thriving with the launch of super apps by big companies like the Tata group and Reliance Group.

State of affairs

In India, e-invoicing and the goods and services tax have streamlined interior logistics, while businesses in the United States are reconsidering just-in-time inventory and looking for new incentives for shippers, truckers, and port workers to ensure the labour is available when it's needed. What in the World Is Going On with Global Logistics in Cotton?

Geopolitical tensions spur; No sector of the cotton & textile supply chain went through more chaos over the past two years than shipping and logistics, which continue to be plagued by a host of issues.

Though the situation on the ground is undergoing sea-change recently given the TOI report having culled data from Container xChange (An online container logistics platform of repute), comes as a big revelation that through the previous six months or so, trade has started to see the relief on the back of persistent downward trend in the containers prices as reported by country's key ports like Mundra and Nhava Sheva.
The report reflects on average Indian container prices witnessed a solid drop of 16% thereabouts in October YoY basis to $3,363, whilst more importantly, the drop experienced for the period January-October 2022 is still more encouraging for the businesses being in excess of say 22% to make businesses more competitive on this given count.

Governments all over the world are reviewing their countries' maritime shipping and logistics systems to remove bottlenecks and increase technology adoption.

Digital adoption

One point which is really under-discussed today is multiple payment options such as UPI, no-cost EMI, BNPL (buy now, pay later), etc. are further driving the adoption of digital commerce by more consumers, thereby creating a need for e-commerce logistics.

National Logistics Policy 2022 - Outlines

According to the commerce ministry communiqué," The National Logistics Policy formulated recently will improve India's trade competitiveness". The underlying objective of this policy intervention document/cost economization architecture is to fundamentally check & control the logistics cost making Indian businesses uncompetitive as an average cost business enterprise presently bearing 14% of GDP or thereabouts to bring it down to less than 10% in the coming 4-5 years which is already the case with competing rival nations.

Logi-Tech

According to one of McKinsey’s reports on this sector," On the back of the sudden rise of e-commerce as a fundamental tailwind of the pandemic which registered a growth upwards of 25 percent or so investors in the logistics industry have become more aware of the challenges, and the corresponding opportunities for growth, and are investing in new ventures with larger funding rounds".

Use cases; Multiple segments in the Indian logistics market are addressed by full-stack-tech-enabled logistics service providers. There is headroom for growth as tech-enabled logistics players venture into adjacent segments such as hyperlocal delivery, express delivery, trucking, and more.

Latest Textile News