03 March 2022, Mumbai:

Maati by Neha Kabra has teamed with The Handloom Project and Fatima Radiowala, a technical and design consultant and handloom specialist, to produce a sustainable womenswear line. 'Summer Sorbet,' the brand's latest collaboration collection, offers pastel stripes, loose shapes, and summery items.

According to the brand's Facebook page, the collection debuted on March 1 and is the label's first collaboration with The Handloom Project.

"To develop this collection, we teamed with Fatima Radiowala and The Handloom Project," the company said on Facebook. "We have the skills to create the proper silhouette, but with Fatima, we got a chance to leverage her experience to explore custom-created fabrics by the weaver's community she supports," says the designer.

Fatima has worked with a number of fashion firms as a technical and design consultant for handloom and handmade textiles, offering environmentally friendly design solutions."

ALSO READ: Pandemic supports the growth of local handloom industry in India

During the Covid-19 epidemic, Fatima Radiowala and Srishti Tehri founded The Handloom Project with the goal of showcasing Indian crafts and assisting handloom weavers and craftsmen across the country.

The cooperation with Maati by Neha Kabra is part of the organization's efforts to promote artisan crafts. According to the brand's website, Neha Kabra operates her clothing business from Udaipur and characterizes the company as a grassroots community.

The vegan brand is available through its own e-commerce shop and retailers in Bengaluru, Indore, Hyderabad, and Kolkata.

RELATED ARTICLE National Handloom Day: Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal exhorts trade for increasing 'Handloom Export'

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*CREDITS: Maatibynehakabra & Fashion Network.

01 March 2022, Mumbai:

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has allowed Future Retail to convene meetings of its shareholders and creditors to approve the sale of its retail assets to Reliance Retail.

The approval was granted exactly a year after FRL approached the NCLT in Mumbai seeking permission to hold these meetings to approve the Rs 24,000 crore transaction.

ALSO READ: (CAIT) Traders Pan-India up in arms against Amazon India

Amazon has objected to the deal and the two parties have been slugging it out in various tribunals and courts in India as well as at an arbitration centre in Singapore since October 2020.

FRL lawyers have pleaded in the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court that the company be allowed to complete the 15 step process required for the deal to go through.

The NCLT clearance marks the ninth step in the overall procedure, according to the company’s lawyers.

RELATED ARTICLE: Amazon challenges Delhi High Court’s order in Supreme Court

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*Figures mentioned in the above article have been sourced from TOI article.

26 February 2022, Mumbai:

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia is creating a tailspin in the global markets, particularly in the energy sector. Crude oil price is trading about $104 per barrel, which will certainly affect stock markets, commodities, and metal prices.

More importantly, it will have an impact on consumer psyche and their buying power, which is important for the global textiles sector.

Immediate reactions by the United States, the EU, and UK focus on imposing economic sanctions against Russia, which is only going to harden. This will impact crude oil and natural gas prices, as Russia is a major exporter of these commodities to EU nations like Germany.

One may also swiftly see the strengthening of the dollar, which will, at least for the immediate future, see higher prices for imports from the United States. The cotton market, which is experiencing a tight supply, will see uncertainty and added volatility due to uncertain demand and ripple effects from higher energy prices.

ALSO READ: India's organic cotton production will increase: Year 2020-21

More importantly, as many EU countries depend on wheat and energy products from Russia and Ukraine being the breadbasket for Europe, increased prices of these commodities will influence the overall markets and consumer confidence.

“The market will be more volatile,” stated Velmurugan Shanmugam, General Manager of India’s Jayalakshmi Textiles – a 100% cotton spinning mill with 72,000 spindles creating fine count cotton yarns for the home textiles market.

India exports cotton home textiles to EU countries like Germany, and a crisis in that part of the world will impact textile exports and consumption.

About Author:

Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar is a professor in the Department of Environmental Toxicology and The Institute of Environmental and Human Health at Texas Tech University.

RELATED ARTICLE: Pricing Strategy to promote Indian cotton production

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*Figures mentioned in the above article have been sourced from Cotton Growers article.

02 March 2022, Mumbai:

Allow 40 lakh bales duty free import of cotton to avoid job losses – SIMA

The predominantly cotton based Indian textiles and clothing industry provides jobs to over 105 million people across the country especially for the people below the poverty line, rural masses & women folks including 6.5 million cotton farmers by consuming over 85% of the cotton produced in the country.

Cotton being an agricultural and seasonal commodity, over 90% of the cotton arrives the market during December to March every cotton season. Owing to working capital constraint and high cost of funding, the spinning mills normally maintain two to three months’ stock after the season and procure the balance cotton from open market during July to October.

The country has been so far producing surplus cotton and exporting the same to different countries, especially Bangladesh. But during the current season, owing to substantial increase in demand and export of around 50 lakh bales, the country is likely to face 30 to 40 lakh bales cotton shortage.

ALSO READ: Union Budget 2022-23 will have a positive impact on Indian textile sector, hail associations - SIMA, CMAI, ITF, PDEXIL, CCI

The unprecedented increase in domestic cotton price from the level of Rs.135 per kg (Feb 2021) to Rs.219 per kg (Feb 2022) in one year, an increase of around 65%, is greatly affecting the exporters to meet their export commitments. The levy of 11% import duty (5% BCD, 5% AIDC & 10% Social Welfare Surcharge on both) has aggravated the cotton market in India.

As the seed cotton price (kapas) is ruling around 70% higher than the Minimum Support Price, the farmers, ginners and traders are hoarding the cotton hoping for further increase in prices.

The cotton arrival has drastically reduced to around 220 lakh bales during February 2022 as against around 293 lakh bales arrived during the same period last year.

Out of 220 lakh bales arrived in the market, around 150 lakh bales have been consumed by the mills, 30 lakh bales have been contracted for exports, 15 to 20 lakh bales are in the pipeline and around 20 lakh bales are with the trade and ginners.

Hence, the spinning mills are having one to two months stock only, as against the normal stock of three to six months during February.

The steep increase in cotton price on a daily basis is seriously affecting the exporters, who have three to four months’ export contracts with a committed prices. Few traders are intensively using MCX and NCDEX cotton futures to speculate the prices by creating artificial scarcity.

Therefore, the entire industry is heading towards a crisis during the off-season.

2 At the Press Meet held today at SIMA premises, Mr.Ravi Sam, Chairman, The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) has appealed to the Hon’ble Prime Minister for his immediate intervention on cotton policies and take appropriate steps to avoid stoppage of production and job losses and enable the exporters to meet their export commitment during the offseason.

RELATED ARTICLE: The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA): Union Budget 2022-23, a growth oriented one

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01 March 2022, Mumbai:

India, which has been growing excess cotton and selling it to various nations, is expected to suffer a cotton deficit of 3 to 4 million bales this season. This is mostly due to a significant rise in demand and the shipment of around 5 million bales.

In light of this, the textile sector has asked the government to allow the import of 4 million bales duty-free. Ravi Sam, Chairman of the Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA) in Coimbatore, has urged the Prime Minister to intervene immediately on cotton policies and take appropriate measures to avoid production halts and job losses, as well as to allow exporters to meet their commitments during the off-season.

ALSO READ: The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA): Union Budget 2022-23, a growth oriented one

He claimed that the cotton crop size for the cotton season 2021-22 will be less than 35 million bales, as opposed to the industries' demand of 36 million bales, due to a 7.2 percent decline in cotton area and crop damage in several cotton-growing States due to severe rain.

"The spinning sector, which has been unable to modernize over 35% of its capacity owing to a long-running recession over the previous 15 years, has recently begun to invest in modernization, capacity growth, and greenfield projects."

Every month, almost two lakh spindles capacity is added in the country, and this trend is expected to continue in the next years provided a favorable atmosphere is formed," he said.

RELATED ARTICLE: Union Budget 2022-23 will have a positive impact on Indian textile sector, hail associations - SIMA, CMAI, ITF, PDEXIL, CCI

BGMEA Vice President Miran Ali and Directors Asif Ashraf, Tanvir Ahmed and Abdullah Hil Rakib were also present on the occasion.

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25 February 2022, Mumbai:

Government efforts leading to greater employment generation in the country: Piyush Goyal

Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal has said the Industry has responded well to the multiple interventions by the Government to enhance Local Value Addition which has benefitted not only the large industries but also the MSMEs.

Chairing a review meeting of the Steering Committee on Advancing Local value-add & Exports (SCALE) here today, he emphasised that these efforts are leading to greater employment generation in the country.

During the meeting, P. Goyal highlighted the need for exploring innovative ways to increase Local Value Add in critical sectors of Manufacturing amidst existing disruptions in the worldwide value chain.

ALSO READ: Piyush Goyal x Fashion Designers Brainstorm: How India can become ''Global Fashion Capital"

This will enhance the presence of India in emerging global value chains, he added. Industry and exports representatives from various sectors including Auto Components, White Goods (ACs, Electronics & TV), Semiconductor Manufacturing, Plastics, Furniture, Bicycles & e-cycles, Batteries, Leather & Footwear and Fisheries participated in the deliberations. MoS (Commerce & Industry) Shri Som Parkash, Secretary, DPIIT, Shri Anurag Jain and Shri Rajiv Singh Thakur, Additional Secretary, DPIIT participated in the meeting.

SCALE Committee members who attended the meeting included Dr. Pawan Goenka (Chairman, SCALE Committee), Shri Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, Shri Arun Chawla, Director General, FICCI, Shri Deepak Sood, Secretary General, ASSOCHAM, Shri Deepak Bagla, CEO, Invest India, Shri Salil Singhal, Chairman and MD, PI Industries, Shri Seshagiri Rao, JMD & Group CFO, JSW Steel, Shri Anil Agrawal, Additional Secretary, DPIIT, Dr. Amiya Chandra, Addl. DGFT, Shri Manish Sharma, Chairman, FICCI Electronics & White Goods Manufacturing Committee and President & CEO, Panasonic India Pvt. Ltd., Shri Vikram S. Kirloskar Vice Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Shri Jalaj Dani, Chairman, Addverb Technologies Pvt. Ltd and Co-promoter, Asian Paints Ltd. and Smt. Manmeet K. Nanda, Joint Secretary, SCALE and Brand India Cell, DPIIT (Member Convener, SCALE Committee).

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*Figures mentioned in the above article have been sourced from PIB article.

02 March 2022, Mumbai:

Launched by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, the new e-commerce platform Dilli Bazaar by the Delhi Government will be a virtual store for traders, shop owners and services.

It will help them sell their products and services online across the globe. The industries department recently invited agencies to partner in designing, developing, operating and maintaining Dilli Bazaar, including both the portal and offline services.

It tasked the Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC) of Delhi with assisting the department in carrying out a benchmarking exercise and preparing a strategic roadmap. The e-commerce platform will promote local business by providing them access to larger markets, says Jasmine Shah, Vice Chairperson, DDC.

ALSO READ: The Delhi government plans to open 'Dilli Bazaar,' which would allow vendors to sell their wares online

The commission has concluded a three-month consultation exercise with various market associations, existing e-commerce platforms, logistics providers etc as well as national and international benchmarking to create a unique roadmap for Dilli Bazaar, she adds.

The first phase of the project will focus on onboarding sellers of products, while the second phase will see service providers getting enabled on the platform. Every seller will have his own virtual 24x7 store front to showcase their products through detailed catalogues.

Customers will be able to search by products, markets, sellers and geographical area. Virtual market tours will be introduced, giving a feel of market streets and shops and easing the journey for their purchase.

RELATED ARTICLE: Jockey India expands 'offline footprint' despite 3X growth in online sales

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01 March 2022, Mumbai:

More textile and clothing firms are going to invest in Madhya Pradesh, according to the Madhya Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation (MPIDC), which has received requests for 800 acres in Indore from textile companies.

Leading clothing exporters such as Best Corporation, Pratibha Syntex, and textile behemoth Vardhman Textiles have recently expressed interest in investing in the state. 

According to state officials, one existing textile company with a presence in Pithampur and three new integrated textile industry players have seen land and filed plans for around 800 acres.

ALSO READ: The Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) apparel industry takes a hit owing to the COVID-19 third wave

"Textile businesses have shown a positive interest in establishing operations in the region. "We have bids from four textile businesses requesting roughly 800 acres in various pockets to establish facilities," Rohan Saxena, ED, MPIDC, Indore, said. He has not, however, revealed the identities of the firms. 

According to Rohan, one of the current textile businesses plans to buy 400 acres in Badnawar, for which the MPIDC regional office has submitted a request to the central office for permission. Other businesses have noticed property lots in Ratlam's investment district.

According to the MPIDC, Indore, over 50 textile and garment firms have paid 25% of the total premium cost to set up factories in the Indore region in the recent year. The total investment from these businesses is anticipated to be Rs. 1,560 crore.

RELATED ARTICLE: Indore Readymade Textile Dealers Association: Demand from weddings to fuel growth

BGMEA Vice President Miran Ali and Directors Asif Ashraf, Tanvir Ahmed and Abdullah Hil Rakib were also present on the occasion.

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22 February 2022, Mumbai:

bluesign® SYSTEM PARTNER textile manufacturers achieve meaningful reductions in water, energy, chemicals, and CO2e emissions.

Through the implementation of the bluesign® SYSTEM, bluesign® SYSTEM PARTNER textile manufacturers have achieved meaningful collective impact reductions in 5 key areas of water, energy, CO2e emissions, and chemistry with an increase in bluesign® APPROVED chemical usage over a ten-year period, 2010 - 2020.

ALSO READ: HIGH FASHION GROUP RECEIVED AWARD FROM THE LENZING GROUP REAFFIRMED ITS POSITION AS A SUSTAINABILITY LEADER!

The deadline to reach carbon neutrality and achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is fast-approaching. And the recently completed impact analysis demonstrates that the bluesign® SYSTEM is accelerating progress towards a more sustainable fashion industry while continuing to ensure that textile products meet very stringent environmental and consumer safety requirements worldwide, giving consumers the confidence of purchasing sustainable products produced with reduced impact on people and the planet.

“With the bluesign® SYSTEM, we help our customers better understand their value chain and make better-informed decisions with verified data from on-site assessments. The results from our impact work couldn’t have come at a more crucial time when voluntary commitments are now calling for the industry to halve its emissions by 2030.

The collective impact reductions achieved through the implementation of the bluesign® SYSTEM are meaningful progress for the fashion industry. Progress Bluesign will continue to report.

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The bluesign® SYSTEM is the solution for sustainable textile production. It eliminates harmful substances right from the start of the manufacturing process, and it sets and controls standards for environmentally friendly and safe production.

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02 March 2022, Mumbai:

What cotton farmers are producing and what textile professionals are spinning appear to be aligned fairly well, with production in the 2021/22 season is currently projected to be 26.11 million tonnes and consumption holding steady at 25.67 million tonnes.

The fundamentals are fine. The problem that today's cotton industry faces is getting the fibre to the spinners. Cotton has a lot of company in its struggle, as the Covid pandemic disrupted global shipping across many industries.

But the cotton supply chain is longer and more complex than it is for most other commodities, especially since so much of the production in the West has to be shipped halfway around the world to the countries where it's transformed into textiles.

ALSO READ ICAC: What in the World Is Going On with Global Logistics in Cotton?

Those challenges are forcing countries to adapt by streamlining their supply chains. China, Vietnam, and Pakistan imported large amounts of cotton from the United States in 2020/21.

The graph below shows how the import profile has shifted away from the United States with large increases in imports from Brazil and Australia. Given Australia’s geographic proximity to East and South Asia, this provides a distinct advantage to Australia when shipping ocean freight to Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam.

Australia is clearly capitalising on their increased production capacity and impressive yields, especially in the 2021/22 season.

The Secretariat’s current price forecast of the season-average A index for 2021/22 ranges from 101 cents to 120 cents, with a midpoint at 109 cents per pound.

Cotton This Month is published at the beginning of the month with the Cotton Update published mid-month. The Cotton Update, which is included in the Cotton This Month subscription, is a mid-month report with updated information on supply/demand estimates and prices. The next Cotton Update will be released on 15 March 2022.

The next Cotton This Month will be released on 1 April 2022.

RELATED ARTICLE ICAC: Cotton prices to stay firm 2021/22 season

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01 March 2022, Mumbai:

Texport Industries, India's largest clothing exporter, will open a garment plant at Sircilla Apparel Park, Telangana.

In the Built to Suit (BTS) unit to be built by the State Government on 7.42 acres in the Apparel Park, the unit will be Plug and Play.

In the first year, the firm will build 800 machines and employ 1,600 people, with the project planned to employ 2,000 people in three years.

Texport employs 15,000 people and generates $80 million in yearly sales from its 19 plants, which have a total annual capacity of 17 million (about Rs. 620 crores).

The availability of skilled people in Sircilla, as well as the State Government's business-friendly policies to develop the sector, were factors in the company's choice to build the plant, according to Narendra Goenka.

After Kitex Garments, Texport is the second well-known clothing exporter to announce its investment in Telangana in recent months.

ALSO READ: GST Textile rate hike: Textile traders in Telangana launch postcard campaign

For this, the firm and the state government have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). In the presence of Industries and IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao, Shailaja Ramaiyer, Telangana's Handlooms, and Textiles Commissioner, and Narendra D. Goenka, MD, TIPL, signed the MoU.

The state government claims that, for the first time in the country, export-oriented garment manufacturing BTS Units on Plug and Play Mode are being established in the Sircilla region by leveraging the state-of-the-art manufacturing environment.

BTS is a sort of real estate development in which a property owner or developer promises to construct a building to the specifications of a potential tenant, who then enters a lease agreement to inhabit the facility after it is finished.

It will allow forward integration of the Sircilla Powerloom weaving business with the clothing and garment production process, assisting the state's textile industry's development.

RELATED ARTICLE: Telangana Minister to centre: Seeking withdrawal of Textile, Apparel (T&A) sector GST rate hike

BGMEA Vice President Miran Ali and Directors Asif Ashraf, Tanvir Ahmed and Abdullah Hil Rakib were also present on the occasion.

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21 February 2022, Mumbai:

The Budget 2022 for the education and skilling sector rightly focused on expanding reach, improving quality education, building capacity, and strengthening the digital skill ecosystem. Further, to brainstorm and discuss ways for effective implementation of initiatives announced in the Budget, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the Ministry of Education, along with other ministries, is organising a session in Skill India webinar themed-

‘Towards Fostering Stronger Industry-Skill Linkage,’ on Monday, February 21, 2022 from 12:15 PM to 2:15 PM. The webinar will be attended by the government officials, industry experts and representatives of key associations. The session is a part of a series of seminars being inaugurated by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

ALSO READ:

He will be addressing the first webinar themed on ??

Digital University: Making World Class Higher Education Accessible for All. The Skill India webinar will be co-chaired by Shri Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Shri Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, MSDE, and Shri Anurag Jain, Secretary, DPIIT. The panellists for the session are Shri N.S Kalsi, Chairman, National Council for Vocational Education & Training (NCVET); Shri Amber Dubey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Shri Manish Sabharwal, Vice Chairman, Teamlease Services.

The session will be moderated by Mr. Ved Mani Tiwari, COO, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). During the session, broader aspects on strengthening the skill ecosystem by enhancing digital skills will be discussed.

The panellists will share their views on the recent announcements made by our finance minister in the Budget 2022.

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*Figures mentioned in the above article have been sourced from PIB article.