March book 2017 by neetu

World of Garment-Textile-Fashion

GLOBAL • INDUSTRY • OUTLOOK

www.fibre2fashion.com

Vol 05 Issue 08 March 2017 `150

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1ST NORTH-EAST INVESTORS SUMMIT

ON THE CUSP OF A TEXTILE REVOLUTION INTERVIEW Renfro | Walmart: Partnering for jobs

Q&A

FMO: We want to develop a brand around the concept of being green

FIBRE & YARN

Man-made fibres driving growth GREEN STRATEGY Dope-dyed fibres: A solution to environmental pollution

TRADE EVENT

Istanbul Yarn Fair: Growing on resilience European Congress: Here Come The Body-Guards

PREMIER Individual Spindle Monitoring System

Draft Monitoring

Energy Monitoring

Consulting Editor Richa Bansal Sr. Assistant Editor Rajesh Kumar Shah Reporter Hiral Oza Sr. News Researcher Rohit Mergu ––––––––– Contributing Editor Subir Ghosh Associate Editor Benita Sen ––––––––– Creative Krishna Dave | Raj Sharma | Montu Chauhan ––––––––– Enquiry Editorial: editor@fibre2fashion.com Advertising: advertisement@fibre2fashion.com Subscription: subscription@fibre2fashion.com

Printed and Published by Jose Daniel on behalf of Fibre2Fashion Pvt. Ltd. B - 3, Abhishree Corporate Park, Iskcon - Ambli Road, Bopal, Ahmedabad - 380 058, India. Editor: Jose Daniel. Copyright Fibre2Fashion Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher. All disputes are subject to the jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Ahmedabad only.

Editor’s Letter Focus: Northeast textiles and handloom The handloom/textiles heritage of the Northeast is reckoned to be phenomenal. The eight states of the region without exception have two elements in common: a readymade workforce that is skilled and locally available raw materials. This could mean a lot of things, and one of those is that the Northeast has a huge investment potential. All that the region needs is for it to be tapped. It was to this effect that a two-day investors’ meet was held during the last week of January in Meghalaya capital Shillong. The meet, especially given that it was the first of its kind, was certainly successful by any yardstick. The summit was themed ‘Exploring Opportunities in Northeast Region’, and was organised jointly by the ministry of development of Northeastern region (DoNER) and the ministry of textiles. The scores of presentations made during the event bore testimony to the fact that even the Shukla Commission, which had looked at transforming the Northeast and submitted its findings in 1997, had not fully emphasised on the textiles potential of the region. Moreover the sector alone has the potential to contribute phenomenally to sustainable development of the region. In terms of numbers, it was a successful event. Nearly 20 memoranda of understanding were signed during the meet, and all these are meant to develop and promote Northeast handicrafts, handlooms, agro-textiles and geo-textiles. The summit saw the participation of over 400 delegates from across the country, and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) were the two major industry partners. On the first day of the summit, `1,040 crore was allocated for textile-based projects like handicrafts, sericulture, handloom, apparel and garments by the Union minister for textiles, Smriti Irani. The event was her own brainchild, and the decision to hold it was announced by the minister at the annual conference of state textiles ministers in November 2016. India Handmade Bazaar, an online portal which will provide direct market access facility to handloom weavers and handicraft artisans, was launched at the summit. A mobile application, e-Dhaga, was also launched to assist weavers in solving issues like delay in receiving subsidies from the government.

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The textiles minister along with Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma inaugurated the first of its kind apparel and garment making centre near Ampati in South West Garo Hills during the event. The centre, sprawling over an area of 45,000 sq ft, has been set up at a cost of around `14.26 crore under the aegis of the North East Region Textiles Promotion Scheme (NERTPS) of the ministry of textiles. The centre has been set up as part of the initiative announced by prime minister Narendra Modi in December 2014. Such centres will be set up in all Northeast states.

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There were sessions and presentations that dwelt on physical infrastructure and the problem of finding finance. In fact, these issues kept cropping up time and again during the summit. It goes without saying that none of these would be going away any time soon. But given the fact that this event was the first of its kind, the investors’ meet was a step in the right direction.

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RICHA BANSAL

World of Garment-Textile-Fashion

GLOBAL • INDUSTRY • OUTLOOK

Vol 05 Issue 08 March 2017 `150

www.fibre2fashion.com

QR Code: www.fibre2fashion.com

1ST NORTH-EAST INVESTORS SUMMIT

ON THE CUSP OF A TEXTILE REVOLUTION

FIBRE & YARN

Man-made fibres driving growth GREEN STRATEGY Dope-dyed fibres: A solution to environmental pollution

INTERVIEW Renfro | Walmart: Partnering for jobs

Q&A

TRADE EVENT

Istanbul Yarn Fair: Growing on resilience European Congress: Here Come The Body-Guards

FMO: We want to develop a brand around the concept of being green

ON THE COVER Pic courtesy: Zuboni Humtsoe

LEAD FEATURE 1ST NORTHEAST INVESTORS SUMMIT

Lead Feature | 1st Northeast Investors Summit (pg: 40)

Contents

March 2017

10. UPDATES | ON THE NEWS BEAT INDIA | BANGLADESH | CHINA | REST OF THE WORLD 40.

LEAD FEATURE | 1ST NORTHEAST INVESTORS SUMMIT ON THE CUSP OF A TEXTILE REVOLUTION

50.

Q&A |RENFRO / WALMART PARTNERING FOR JOBS

58.

Q&A | FASHION MATRIX OVERSEAS WE WANT TO DEVELOP A BRAND AROUND THE CONCEPT OF BEING GREEN

62.

76.

FIBRE & YARN | MMF MAN-MADE FIBRES DRIVING GROWTH

84.

GREEN STRATEGY | DOPE-DYEING DOPE-DYED FIBRES: A SOLUTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

88.

TRADE EVENT | ISTANBUL YARN FAIR TURKEY: GROWING ON RESILIENCE

96.

TRADE EVENT | EUROPEAN CONGRESS HERE COME THE BODY-GUARDS

103. INDEX | DO YOU FEATURE HERE? CHECK OUT YOUR COMPANY/BRAND NAME

AD INDEX

Inside Front Cover

Reliance

Q&A FASHION MATRIX OVERSEAS

Back Cover

Q&A RENFRO | WALMART

TRADE EVENT EUROPEAN CONGRESS

F2F

Madhusudan

Sateri

TradeUNO

China Yiwu

CITPE

Premier Evolvics

Oswal Prints

Mehala - Siruba

Jay Chemical

Eprompt Enterprise

Hi-Tech Eeavy Industry

Peixin

Reckon Industries

SIMTA Group

Mayur Reeds

Trigger

LUX Cozi

Durkopp Adler - Mehala

Amith Garment

F2F - Recruitment

Amarjothi

Texfab

Savio

Orange O Tec

Krishna Associates

101

Aditya Birla -NUVO

Embee

Kandui Industries

Ganpathi Yarn

F2F - Market Intelligence

Narayan Tex Fab

Bhagat Textile

F2F - Magazine Subscription form

102

Eppinger Thies

Vardhman

Index17

F2F -eCAAS

Yingyang Nonwoven

104

SSI Schafer

Atul

Force NXT

Saurer

POLICY

UPDATES On The News Beat

INDIA

Tiruppur job working units can import machinery under EPCG

Job working units like knitting, dyeing, compacting, printing, embroidering, labelling, calendaring, etc, registered as Common Service Provider (CSP) in Tiruppur are now permitted to import

machinery under Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme. The Central government scheme allows import of capital goods, including spares, at zero duty.

“The new relaxation in condition for registration with indirect tax authorities’ paves way for this much expected and required relief to the job working units in Tiruppur cluster,” Tiruppur Exporters’ Association (TEA) president Raja M Shanmugham said in a press release. However, currently CSP units located in Tiruppur (Town of Export Excellence) only are eligible to import machinery under EPCG Scheme and the units located outside Tiruppur town are not eligible. Shanmugham said he would be taking up the issue with the commerce ministry to give a relaxation in this condition also, as more number of job working units are located in the periphery of Tiruppur town in places like Uthukuli, New Tiruppur, and Palladam. Dyeing/printing units are located in Perundurai SIPCOT premises.

India initiates anti-dumping investigation on PSF imports The Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD), under the commerce ministry, Government of India, has initiated anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of polyester staple fibre (PSF) from China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The period of investigation shall be 18 months from April 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016. The investigation has been initiated following an application filed by Alok Industry Limited, Indo Rama Synthetics (India) Limited and The Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Co Ltd for imposition

of anti-dumping duty on imports of non-dyed PSF ranging from 0.6 to 6 deniers, excluding recycled PSF and specialty fibres namely, cationic dyeable, fire/flame retardant, low melt and bicomponent fibres from China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, a DGAD notification said. Non-dyed PSF ranging from 0.6 to 6 deniers are predominantly used to spin yarn of 100% PSF or in blends with natural, artificial and/or synthetic staple fibres for manufacture of textiles, sewing thread, other industrial textiles, nonwoven applications, etc.

Though the period of investigation shall be from April 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016, the injury investigation period will cover the data of previous three years, i.e. April 2012 to March 2013, April 2013 to March 2014, April 2014 to March 2015, and the current period of investigation, the notification said. The probe will determine the existence, degree and effect of alleged dumping and after that, DGAD may recommend the quantum of antidumping duty, which if levied, will be ‘adequate’ to remove the injury to the domestic industry.

Smriti Irani resolves cutting of carpets issue at ports Textiles minister Smriti Irani has assured the carpet industry that carpets would not be cut by customs officials to determine their price. She gave the assurance during a meeting with stakeholders of the carpet weaving industry. The meeting was held in response to an issue raised by carpet exporters that port authorities were damaging carpets by cutting them. Irani told the finance ministry officials that cutting of carpets led to carpets getting damaged, due to which exporters

10 | FIBRE2FASHION MARCH 2017

were not able to realise the full value of their carpets. “She also suggested taking assistance of the Textiles Committee Office in Mumbai and the Indian Institute of Carpet Technology, Bhadohi, to determine other ways to determine prices,” media reports said. Najeeb Shah, chairman, Central Board of Excise & Customs assured the minister that a mechanism in consultation with the textiles ministry would be worked out, to determine

prices in a different manner, to avoid cutting of carpets.

Mega Textile Parks with minimum 1,000 acres recommended A new scheme—Mega Textile Parks— with parks having minimum land size of 1,000 acres has been recommended by a report commissioned by the textiles ministry. Such parks should also have infrastructure support in the form of readymade factory sheds, warehouse, incubation centres and testing labs, with express connectivity to seaports and airports. The new scheme should be implemented by entrepreneurs led by

special purpose vehicle (SPV), industry associations or state government either through their institutions or in publicprivate partnership mode, suggests the report on review of the Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP). The mega textile parks should be established in Industrial Corridors and/ or areas with proximity to seaports, and the financial support must be linked with “extent of area developed, without any ceiling on financial assistance,” says the

report prepared by Wazir Advisors for the textiles ministry. Summarising the status of textile parks across the country, the report says 74 parks have been sanctioned till date, of which 30 are functional, while eight have applied for cancellation and others are at various stages of implementation. The 30 parks that are currently operational employ around 68,000 people, which is only 57 per cent of their planned employment.

Assam govt will plant trees to grow eri & muga cocoons

COTTON

The government of the state of Assam will be planting 25 lakh trees in order to grow eri and muga cocoons for the growth and development of the silk industry of the state. A wildlife sanctuary will be created to plant trees as the government wants to promote its silk products. The Assam Silk Outreach Mission has also been set up in the state. Trees are being planted so that muga cocoons can grow on them, said Ranjit

Dutta, Assam handloom and sericulture minister, according to media reports. He also said that yarn banks have already been established in nine districts in the state and the rest of the districts will be covered soon. Dutta added that silk entrepreneurs will receive government’s support. A handloom park is also slated to come up in the Nagaon district that will benefit over 20,000 people. He will also appoint

a brand ambassador soon to promote the state’s silk products.

CICR gets approval for 3 varieties of Bt cotton seeds The Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR) of the Indian government has received approval for three varieties of indigenous Bt seeds that are suitable for the northern states of the country. The institute will also seek approval for additional seeds

meant for the southern and central states of India from Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). CICR plans to make 11 Bt cotton seeds available by the next cotton sowing season, according to media reports. The Bt cotton crops will also

have a shorter duration and will be ready to harvest by November as they have a gestation period of 160 to 170 days. Moreover, farmers will not be required to buy cotton seeds as they can be derived from the crops, considering that all the seeds contain the resistant gene.

CAI estimates cotton consumption at 290 lakh bales in 2016-17

PETROCHEMICALS

The domestic consumption of cotton during the crop season 2016-17 that began on October 1, 2016, is estimated to be 290 lakh bales by the Cotton Association of India (CAI). The association has estimated the total cotton supply for the season at 404 lakh bales and according to its balance sheet,

there will be an available surplus of 114 lakh bales. The CAI, a representative of cotton traders, has placed the cotton crop for this season at 341 lakh bales of 170 kg each, which is 1 per cent more than last year’s 337.75 lakh bales. The body also expects the cotton

arrival to take a hit this season as farmers are holding back seed cotton. “The arrivals of cotton during the ongoing 2016–17 crop year are estimated to be lower than those up to the same period last year due to holding back of seed cotton by farmers,” said the association in a statement.

GAIL & HPCL JV to build 1.5 million tons ethylene derivatives plant

Two state-owned companies—oil refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and gas producer GAIL India Ltd—have inked an agreement with the Andhra Pradesh government to set up a `40,000 crore petrochemical facility. The joint venture (JV) will put up a 1.5 million tons ethylene derivatives plant, to produce a varied range of petrochemical raw materials. “Expansion of the petrochemical plant in Uttar Pradesh has stabilised,

while production from GAIL subsidiary Brahmaputra Cracker & Polymer in Assam is also being ramped up,” GAIL chairman and managing director BC Tripathi added. According to Tripathi, the company also seeks to capture new overseas markets for petrochemical products, for which it has already started exporting to China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and Vietnam.

MARCH 2017 FIBRE2FASHION | 11

TEXTILES

UPDATES On The News Beat

INDIA

Nitin Spinners commences production at expanded facility

Pic courtesy: Nitin Spinners Ltd

Nitin Spinners Ltd has successfully completed trial runs on expanded capacity of 72,960 compact spindles

and has commenced commercial production. Post-expansion, the total number of spindles and rotors at Nitin Spinners has increased to 2,23,056 and 2,936 respectively. “After this expansion, the company’s production capacity has increased from 38,000 tons per annum (TPA) to 50,000 TPA of cotton yarn and 8,500 TPA of knitted fabrics,” Nitin Spinners said in a press release. “The company will be able to produce

super fine compact premium yarns in the new facilities which will increase its product range and its ability to cater to varying demands of customers and increase its customer base,” the release added. Nitin Spinners makes cotton yarn in single, multi-fold slub, compact, core spun and Elitwist yarns. About 65 per cent of its production is exported to over 50 countries including the US, EU, Africa, Middle East and Far East.

Welspun to market Egyptian Cotton products worldwide Welspun India has entered into a cooperation agreement with Cotton Egypt Association to promote and market Egyptian Cotton products worldwide. The agreement will help enhance the complete supply chain of the Egyptian Cotton starting from cultivation to the final product, which will also benefit the Egyptian farmer and the industry as a whole. After verifying Welspun’s quality and supply chain reliability processes, the Cotton Egypt Association has granted the company the right to use the Egyptian Cotton logo for five years until 2022. The two organisations will now work together to create programmes for promotion of Egyptian Cotton logo in the retail markets across the globe. Welspun will invest a sum of $3

million in a stage wise manner over the next few years to support the joint initiatives. “The sheer nature of Egyptian Cotton makes it a luxury to be cherished by all. Welspun wants the world to know about Egyptian cotton and we want to help promote it among the consumers and the makers alike. Welspun will help create marketing programmes and execute them using its extensive global network,” explained Dipali Goenka, CEO and joint MD, Welspun India. Welspun is also exploring options for expansion of its Egypt operations to include a manufacturing facility for Egyptian Cotton home textile products. “We foresee an increase in demand for Egyptian Cotton and find an ideal condition for making Egypt one of our

Pic courtesy: Cotton Egypt Association

hubs for sourcing and manufacturing Egyptian Cotton products. We are looking at the best option to utilise this opportunity,” added Goenka. The Cotton Egypt Association, established by the Egyptian ministry of industry and foreign trade and Alexandria Cotton Exporters Association, is mandated to manage, promote and protect the Egyptian Cotton and the Egyptian Cotton Logo worldwide.

Aditya Birla Nuvo to be merged with Grasim

HOME TEXTILES

Kumar Mangalam Birla led Aditya Birla Group is merging Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd into Grasim Industries Ltd in a bid to unlock shareholder value. This merger will create an entity with `60,000 crore in annual revenue. The merger was approved by the board of both Aditya Birla Nuvo and Grasim Industries at their respective board meetings.

Aditya Birla Nuvo has in its portfolio, financial services, textiles, telecom and insulators. Among textiles, Nuvo has in its fold Jaya Shree Textiles, the biggest linen producer in India, and Indian Rayon, the biggest manufacturer and exporter of viscose filament yarn. While Grasim, apart from the cement division, also has in its fold the viscose

staple fibre division in Birla Cellulose, a manufacturer and exporter of value added fibres like viscose, modal, etc. “The new entity will have a mixture of mature and new-age businesses with steady cash flows, which is one of the primary objectives of the merger,” Kumar Mangalam Birla said while announcing the merger.

Himatsingka Seide incorporates subsidiary in Europe Himatsingka Seide Ltd, one of the largest producers of home textiles in India, has incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary in Europe. “The company has incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary in Europe namely ‘Himatsingka Europe Ltd’, which is registered with the Registrar of Companies for England and Wales on February 17, 2017. This will help to strengthen the distribution network in Europe,” Himatsingka Seide

12 | FIBRE2FASHION MARCH 2017

said in a regulatory filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange. Himatsingka Seide, the drapery and upholstery division of the Bangalore based Himatsingka Group, has a vertically integrated manufacturing facility from pre-weaving yarn preparation to post-weaving finishing processes. Himatsingka Seide’s manufacturing facility at Doddaballapur in Karnataka

(India) employees around 700 people. It has an installed capacity of 2.2 million metres per annum of fabrics for drapery and upholstery applications. The facility manufactures a wide range of fabrics from ultra lightweight sheers to heavy velvets in a variety of weaves from simple dobbies to very complex jacquards. This facility is equipped to weave fabrics on high-density warps with a repeat size of up to 140 cm.

APPAREL

UPDATES On The News Beat

INDIA

Gokaldas Exports to set up apparel units in Chittoor Gokaldas Exports, the largest manufacturer and exporter of apparel in India with an annual turnover of $200 million, will set up apparel manufacturing units in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. “The company has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Government of Andhra Pradesh on January 27, 2017, for setting up of 4 apparel manufacturing units over a period of next 3 years in Chittoor district involving an investment of approximately up to `200 crore which is likely to generate approximately 5,000 new jobs,” Gokaldas Exports said in a statement filed with the Bombay Stock Exchange.

“The said investment is however subject to such terms and conditions as requested and sought by the company including appropriate infrastructural support and relevant incentives and subsidies being made available to the company with the Government of Andhra Pradesh,” the filing said. Currently, Gokaldas Exports employs nearly 25,000 people across its 23 manufacturing units. It manufactures and exports men’s, women’s and kids’ apparel and outerwear. Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh government has also signed MoUs for setting up 4 new apparel plants at the

Brandix Apparel Park, and another five in Anantapur district.

Pic courtesy: Gokaldas Exports

‘Zeven is creating a whole new market for its products’

FASHION

Zeven, a multi-dimensional brand committed to transforming sports in India, is creating a new market for its products by meeting the demands of a billion Indians. The sports apparel company believes that Indians have been offered products that are too expensive, not suited to the country’s weather, unsuitable for women or of poor quality and styling. “The Zeven core is performance sports apparel, designed specifically for the Indian body type, weather conditions and

terrain. Zeven’s quality product offerings at affordable prices have worked exceptionally well for us. We also have a large sports inspired and active lifestyle product range. We will continue to build on this and provide more options for our customers to pick from,” Poojaa Kumar Deepak, leader - marketing, Zeven, told Fibre2Fashion. The company recently launched its exclusive brand store in Bangalore and plans to expand its footprint by launching more stores across regions.

Pic courtesy: Zeven

India bags best country award at London Fashion Week The International Fashion Showcase (IFS) Country Award was given to India for its sustainable fashion exhibition ‘The Indian Pastoralists’ at the London Fashion Week. Winning country India was selected from 26 participating countries by a panel of industry experts.

Pic courtesy: London Fashion Week

BRAND DEBUT

Zeven’s target is to achieve revenues of `15 to 20 crore in this fiscal and double its business by next year, said Poojaa.

6Degree, a fashion talent and tech platform, organised the exhibition in association with IMG Reliance. The designs showcased at the Fashion Week were inspired by the ethnic lifestyles of nomadic pastoral communities of India. The five participating designers interpreted the heritage of Indian handlooms and textiles. Ikai by Ragini Ahuja, Kaleekal, Ka-Sha by Karishma Shahani Khan, P.E.L.L.A. and Antar-Agni by Ujjawal Dubey participated in the London Fashion Week with Wasim Khan as exhibition designer and Gautam Vazirani as the curator. The award was presented by The British Council, British Fashion Council (BFC) and Mercedes-Benz and the ceremony was held in Somerset House, London.

Spencer’s Retail unveils own garment brand ‘2Bme’ Spencer’s Retail, a RP–Sanjiv Goenka group owned retailer, has launched its own apparel brand ‘2Bme’, catering to men, women and children. 2Bme has replaced Spencer’s private label, Island Monks and other garment brands, and will be the only available fashion brand that Spencer’s Retail will stock in its stores and will also follow a shop-in-shop format. In the initial stages, 2Bme will be launched across 37 hypermarket formats of the retailer and is expected to generate

14 | FIBRE2FASHION MARCH 2017

revenue of `300 crore over the next three to four years. The focus on readymade garments, a high margin business, is expected to help expand Spencer’s top-line and margins, according to Shashwat Goenka, sector head, Spencer’s Retail. Currently, Spencer’s draws 4 per cent of revenues from the fashion category, which will see the revenue share rise to 5 per cent within a year, Goenka said at the launch of the brand.

Wide range of Planetary Gear Heads and Cycloidal Gear Boxes with Cutting Edge Technology

STORE OPENING

UPDATES On The News Beat

INDIA

Forever 21 opens first store in Tamil Nadu

Pic courtesy: Forever 21

Brand: Forever 21 Company: Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited Location: Express Avenue Mall, Chennai Area: 10,000 sq ft

Product profile: The store showcases the spring summer collection with a range of chic fashion at competitive prices. The store also features the retailer’s other brands, including 21MEN, a line of fresh and fast fashion for men of all ages; Love & Beauty, a cosmetics line; and Forever 21’s lingerie and shoe line. About the company: Forever 21 is a California based fast fashion brand that entered the Indian market in 2010. It has considerably grown since then, with 14 stores in major cities in

the country. In July 2016, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL) acquired the exclusive online and offline rights to Forever 21’s India network. Forever 21 in India offers clothes and accessories for men, women and girls. With growing demand for its trendy streetwear and subtle contemporary pieces, the brand launched its exclusive website for the Indian market in June 2014, and now reaches out to its customers in over 300 towns and cities of the country.

Jack & Jones, Vero Moda, and Only open first store in Goa

Pic courtesy: Bestseller

RETAIL

Brand: Jack & Jones, Vero Moda, Only, Selected Homme Company: Bestseller Location: Panaji, Goa, India Area: 6,500 sq ft Product profile: The SS ’17 collection from Vero Moda is all about western, bohemian, beach friendly and formal wear. The collection from Only consists of trendiest designs that are high on fashion and perfect to

bring in summer. Jack & Jones’ range showcases its latest range of denims, shirts, t-shirts, modern menswear accessories, while Selected Homme displays its Mediterranean Hues inspired suits, jackets and shirts. Store design | Interiors & VM | Fixtures: A timeless heritage property that looks like it is straight out of Paris’ Champs-Elysées, the European multibrands store located on high street fashion stretch with its innovative layout, striking visual merchandising and tasteful décor provides an international and luxurious shopping experience to customers. About the company: Bestseller is an international, family-owned fashion

company with a strong foundation. With a range of more than 20 individual fashion brands, Bestseller provides fashion clothing and accessories for both women, men, teenagers and children. Products are marketed and sold under a variety of brands such as Jack & Jones, Junarose, Jacqueline De Yong, Mamalicious, Name It, Noisy May, Object Collectors Item, Only, Only & Sons, Pieces, Selected, Vero Moda, Vila Clothes and Y.A.S. Bestseller brands. Products are available online, in about 2,700 branded chain stores, 15,000 multi-brand and in department stores across Europe, The Middle East, North America, Latin America, Australia and India.

Bombay Dyeing to expand distribution network in Tamil Nadu Bombay Dyeing, a 137–year old textile manufacturer of the Wadia group that is now focusing on the retail business, is planning to expand its distribution network in Tamil Nadu, said a top official of the firm. The company, which already has a presence in about 350 multi-brand textile stores in the state,

Pic courtesy: Bombay Dyeing

16 | FIBRE2FASHION MARCH 2017

plans to double its footprint to 700 stores in four years. Close to 7 per cent of the total revenue of Bombay Dyeing comes from Tamil Nadu and the company plans to increase it to 10 per cent, said Nagesh Rajanna, chief executive officer of Bombay Dyeing Retail, while addressing the media persons.

The company had earned revenue of `306 crore in the last financial year. It plans to open 50 new stores and franchises in 40 towns in Tamil Nadu by 2020. It currently has 25 stores across nine towns in the state. The company will enter 20 towns in the next one year through franchises, added Rajanna.

E-COMMERCE APPOINTMENTS

Snapdeal receives ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification Indian e-commerce company Snapdeal has received the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification—the only auditable international standard which defines the requirements for an Information Security Management System to ensure that sufficient security controls are instituted within the certified organisation. BSI group conducted external audit for the certification. The ISO 27001 certification implies that not only can users be assured of the confidentiality of their private data, but also of the authenticity and reliability of

all sellers on the Snapdeal platform, the online major said in a statement. The certification preserves the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information that helps in implementing an information security management system to gain competitive advantage in the marketplace, meet supply-chain demands and prevent ongoing and evolving cyber threats. “By benchmarking policies and procedures against this internationally recognised standard, Snapdeal reflects its deep commitment to maintaining

NITMA elects new leadership team for 2017-19

industry best practices which enhance customer experience while transacting online,” Rohit Bansal, co-founder of Snapdeal, said.

Myntra appoints Gunjan Soni as head of Jabong

Northern India Textile Mills’ Association (NITMA) has elected new office-bearers for the period 2017-19. Rajiv Garg, MD of Garg Acrylics Ltd has been elected as president, while Manish Bagrodia, MD, Winsome Yarns Ltd and Mukesh Tyagi, director, BST Textile Mills Pvt Ltd have been elected as senior vice president and vice president, respectively.

Flipkart-owned Myntra has named Gunjan Soni as the new head of Jabong. Soni, who was serving as CMO & head – International Brands Business, Myntra, will head the Jabong business and will be responsible for driving it operationally through its next phase of growth. She will report to Ananth Narayanan, who will continue to be the CEO of both Myntra and Jabong. Soni will focus on setting the strategic direction for Jabong and drive growth and profitability for the business in her new role, Myntra said in a statement.

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POLICY

UPDATES On The News Beat

BANGLADESH

Bangladesh Bank inks deal for remediating RMG industry

ACADEMIC

APPAREL

TRADE

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has signed an agreement with 25 banks and 10 non-bank financial institutions (NBFI) for disbursing Tk 268 crore to Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) fund for remediating

the readymade garment industry of the country. Clients can avail loan from this fund to improve the safety measures at their production units. JICA will help the country’s garment sector adopt improved safety measures, said Fazle Kabir, governor of BB while addressing the deal signing ceremony in Dhaka. He added that it will help improve working conditions and play an important role in assisting the Bangladesh apparel industry to achieve its target of earning $50 billion in exports by 2021.

The loan can be availed by the clients at 6 per cent rate of interest and its repayment tenure will be either 10 or 15 years. Owners of RMG production units will also get a grace period of up to three years for repaying the loan. The maximum amount that a factory owner can get from the fund is Tk 35 crore. Bangladesh and Japan had partnered for using the JICA fund to improve safety and working conditions at the former country’s RMG factories as part of the Urban Building Safety Project.

Bangladesh garment exports up 4.14% in July-January FY17 Readymade garment exports from Bangladesh increased by 4.14 per cent year-on-year during the first seven months of the current fiscal 2016–17. In July-January 2016–17, Bangladesh earned $16.413 billion from garment exports compared to exports of $15.761 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, Export Promotion Bureau data showed. The increase in the value of garment exports was slightly lower than the 4.36 per cent growth registered in overall exports by Bangladesh during the sevenmonth period.

Category-wise, knitwear exports rose 6.03 per cent to $8.060 billion in the first seven months of fiscal 2016–17, as against exports of $7.601 billion during the same months of the previous fiscal, as per the data. Likewise, exports of woven apparel increased by 2.37 per cent to $8.352 billion during the seven-month period under review, compared to exports of $8.159 billion during July-January 2015–16. Woven and knitted apparel and clothing accessories’ exports together accounted for 81.61 per cent of $20.110 billion worth of total exports made by

Bangladesh during the period under review. In the previous fiscal that ended on June 30, 2016, garment exports earned $28.094 billion for Bangladesh, showing an increase of 10.21 per cent over $25.491 billion exports made in 2014–15. Of this, knitwear accounted for $13.355 billion while woven apparel constituted $14.738 billion. For fiscal 2016–17, Bangladesh has set apparel export target of $30.379 billion, with knitted and woven categories contributing $14.169 billion and $16.210 billion respectively.

Alliance factories in Bangladesh complete 68% of repairs The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (Alliance), a consortium of North American apparel retailers and buyers said, 68 per cent of all necessary repairs across Alliancelinked factories, has been completed. Further, 60 per cent of Alliance linked factories have, to a great extent,

completed their corrective action plans. The Alliance has helped transform, what was once, one of the most dangerous industries worldwide into one of the safest and as evidence the number of fires and safety incidents was going down, said James Moriarty,

Germany to help train Bangladesh textile students Germany is willing to help with the socio-economic development of Bangladesh through its development agency GIZ. The agency wants to focus on the textiles and higher education sectors to produce skilled manpower in the country and is also keen on training the textile faculty members to encourage research at the tertiary level and improve the teaching quality. A German delegation headed by

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Christian von Mitzlaff, programme coordinator, German-Bangladesh Higher Education Network on Sustainable Textiles conveyed German government’s interest at a meeting with Professor Abdul Mannan, chairman of University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh, according to a UGC press release. The possibility of collaboration between the higher educational

Alliance country director, at a press conference. The Alliance will complete its predetermined five year tenure in 2018, but Moriarty said, “We will not leave Bangladesh without putting in place the required measures to uphold our safety gains.”

institutions of the two countries was also discussed at the meeting. Mannan said that UGC welcomes cooperation and assistance from donor countries for enhancing and internationalising Bangladesh’s higher education. He also said that there is a need to modernise the teaching and learning process of textile education to meet the country’s demand for skilled manpower.

COTTON

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CHINA

China’s cotton imports down 39% in 2016

China’s total cotton imports declined 39.1 per cent to 896,000 tons in 2016, according to customs statistics. In December 2016, China imported 143,500 tons of cotton, which was down both on month-on-month and

year-on-year basis. During the first four months of China’s cotton season beginning September 1, imports dropped 17.8 per cent to 300,000 tons. Meanwhile in December 2016, the China Cotton Association and the small cotton-padded cotton professional cooperatives conducted a survey on the picking and selling of 2,751 fixed-point farmers in 13 provinces and urban areas, and verified the cotton production in Xinjiang and other provinces. The cotton production in Xinjiang was

3.95 million tons, an increase of 10.65 per cent. The national cotton output was adjusted to 4.397 million tons, an increase of 2.4 per cent compared with the same period of last year. According to the surveyed cotton farmers, 96.13 per cent of all cotton picked had been sold at an average price of 6.99 yuan/kg, up 31.1 per cent. At the end of December, Hami, Bachu, Aksu, Yili and other cotton areas announced subsidies, and some farmers began to apply for the first batch of subsidy amount of 0.5 yuan/kg.

Xinjiang cotton spinning capacity up 150% in 2016

MACHINERY

Annual cotton spinning capacity in China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has increased by 150 per cent year-on-year in 2016 to 15 million spindles, according to data from the regional conference on economy and information technology. Total textile sector investment in the region reached nearly 65 billion yuan ($9.39 billion) last year. Xinjiang is a major cotton production base in northwest China and the region produces about 60 per cent of China’s raw cotton. In June 2015, the State Council issued a guideline supporting the textile and garment industry in

Xinjiang and hoped to increase local employment and boost exports. As a result of state support to the textile industry, 112,300 workers were newly recruited in the sector in the region in 2016, accounting for over 50 per cent of new industrial employment in the region, Chinese media reported quoting an official in the region’s textile industry. For the current year, Xinjiang region is aiming to create over 100,000 new jobs in the textile sector through labour intensive projects such as garment manufacturing. This would be two-third of planned new jobs in the region’s industrial sector in 2017, or a quarter of all new jobs.

Xianyang deploys ZinserRing 71 spinning system

Xianyang Textiles Group Co Ltd, a Chinese textile firm that processes cotton, man-made fibres, and their blends to create high-grade yarns, has deployed the ZinserRing 71, the new ring spinning system by Zinser, a leader in the market of ring spinning applications. Zinser is a brand of Saurer Group that specialises in machinery and components for yarn processing. Since 2013, ninety-six ring spinning machines from the textile machinery manufacturer Zinser, featuring a total of more than 136,000 spindles, have been in use at the state-run Chinese textile company in conjunction with the Autoconer package winding machine from Schlafhorst. The new ring spinning system has far exceeded the expectations of the company, with Xianyang Textiles issuing a positive

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appraisal following almost five years of operation. The ZinserRing 71 enabled Xianyang Textiles to record a palpable drop in power consumption. With its energysaving tangential belt drive, its precisionmounted high-speed spindles featuring a low power requirement and its energy-efficient motors, the economical ZinserRing 71 produces more yarn using less electricity. The stable and reliable design of the ZinserRing 71 enabled Xianyang Textiles to increase the spinning speeds without the risk of yarn breaks. The integrated OptiStep software ensures that the start, coast-down and operational spinning speeds are optimally attuned to the technological spinning limit and enables the bobbin build to spin at the absolute maximum speed in every phase.

In the past three years, Xinjiang region is estimated to have attracted more than 90 billion yuan investment in the textile industry, an amount equivalent to the total investment in the sector from 1978 to 2013.

The drafting system of the ZinserRing 71 features mechanical weighting arms that guarantee consistent pressure at all spinning positions. This reliability leads to yarn values that are consistent at all times, enabling Xianyang Textiles to achieve top quality with maximum process reliability and significantly reduced maintenance input.

ZinserRing 71; Pic courtesy: Saurer/Zinser

TEXTILES

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CHINA

Nantong to support high-end textile manufacturing

Pic courtesy: Centre for Advanced 2D Materials, National University of Singapore

RETAIL

Nantong, located in China’s Jiangsu province, will vigorously support manufacturing of high-end textiles, including the use of graphene fibre in various textile applications. This will be listed in Nantong municipal government’s 13th Five Year Plan as one of the three key pillar industries, the textile city’s vice mayor Wang Jianfeng has said at a conference on high-end textile and graphene fibre new materials innovation, held in Nantong. The event focused on the special functions of graphene fibre in different textile applications, and sought breakthrough development in high-end textile industry.

Graphene, one of the most disruptive new materials, is being regarded as the most important new material for research and development this century. In recent years, there has been a rapid development in the use of graphene in new high-end textile materials. The 13th Five Year Plan of the Chinese chemical fibre industry mentions that “graphene composite fibre industrialisation and its application will promote structural reform in the supply side of China’s chemical fibre textile industry to create high-end intelligent textile.” “The application of graphene in the

textile industry is more realistic and good choice,” said Duan Xiaoping, chairman of the China Chemical Fiber Industry Association, and vice president of China Textile Industry Association. He urged business representatives at the conference to make sustained investment in the development of graphene industry. He said the role of private enterprises cannot be ignored in the process of product development to comprehensively assess the performance of graphene in the textile industry. “Graphene is a special new material. It is not a material for innovation and development, but for driving a series of materials to jointly develop,” said Li Yichun, secretary general of China Graphene Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance. Although the current enthusiasm is high, companies must do practical things to achieve great development in the graphene industry, Yichun added. Clothing, home textiles, and industrial textiles are expected to be three major application areas and can open up the market for graphene. Nantong, located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth, saw its high-end textiles output value increase by 8 per cent to 244.16 billion yuan in 2016. Profit earned by leading textile enterprises in high-end textiles stood at 18.77 billion yuan, registering a growth of 10.8 per cent.

Alibaba announces retail partnership with Bailian Group Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has made another move in its push to merge online and offline shopping by forming a new strategic partnership with the Bailian Group, one of China’s retail conglomerates. The two companies said they would leverage their troves of consumer data in order to integrate offline stores, merchandise, logistics and payment tools to deliver a better overall shopping experience. Both companies said they would also “explore new forms of retail opportunities across each other’s ecosystem,” according to a statement. As part of the deal, Alibaba and Bailian will also combine their membership bases to offer

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enhanced customer service through technologies such as geo-location, facial recognition and big-data driven sales and customer management systems. There are plans to make Alipay, the online payments app owned by Alibaba affiliate company Ant Financial, available at all Bailian stores, while Bailian’s Safepass and Bailian OK Card payments services will be integrated with Alipay. “Our partnership with Bailian is an important milestone in the evolution of Chinese retail, where the distinction between physical and virtual commerce is becoming obsolete,” said Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang. Bailian chairman and president, Ye

Yongming, called on traditional retailers to recognise the changes sweeping through their industry that also include adopting the new technologies for driving those changes. He said, “They need to be able to leverage technologies such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and big data to provide consumers with new and immersive shopping experience across channels and product categories anytime and anywhere.” Alibaba has been taking steps to combine its Tmall and Taobao e-commerce platforms with bricks-andmortar stores, particularly last month in its offer for privatising Chinese shopping mall operator Intime Retail.

POLICY

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REST OF THE WORLD

Nigerian government allocates N51 billion to garment industry

The Government of Nigeria has allocated N51 billion ($162.034 million) in this year’s budget for development of the country’s garment and textile industry. The budget allocation is part of the Nigerian government’s efforts to promote the garment and textile sector

to create jobs, diversify its economy, and to increase the use of ‘Made in Nigeria’ clothing. “The ministry has allotted over N51bn in the 2017 budget just to promote our garment industry, because we know it is an area where we have to get it right. And so, out of the six special economic zones, three will be for textiles,” minister of state for industry, trade and investment, Aisha Abubakar said at the opening session of a workshop organised by the Bank of Industry (BoI) for garment operators in Abuja. The minister said that the government understands the

importance of the garment sector in creating jobs and reducing poverty. She added that the government was working hard to support the industry through massive investment in infrastructure, which would help bring down the price of cotton, according to Nigerian media reports. Waheed Olagunju, acting managing director of BoI, said the bank has set up a N1 billion ($3.177 million) fund for the textile sector. Loans are given out from this fund at nine per cent interest rate and payable between three to five years, with a moratorium period of six to 12 months.

Argentina amends content declaration for textiles The Argentinean government has amended the Product Composition Sworn Declaration (also called DJCP) requirements for domestically-produced and imported textiles, apparel, and footwear. DJCPs will be generated through the Integrated Foreign Trade System (SISCO) using a unique numeric or alphanumeric product identification code that will be valid for 180 days. As per Resolution 70/2017, the validity of product identification code has been increased to 180 days from the previous 120 days. The effective date of the new requirements announced in December 2016 has been postponed to May 5, 2017 from the earlier date of February 4. Likewise, the requirement for DJCPs to be accompanied by a laboratory test report supporting the fibre/constituent material content declaration of the product has been delayed from June 4,

2017, to May 5, 2018. The resolution, 404-E/2016, announced by the Bureau of Trade of Argentina in December 2016 required that DJCPs be presented to the Bureau of Trade of the ministry of production by manufacturers and importers of textile and footwear. The declaration must contain the percentage composition of the fibres or of the constituent materials in the product. The declaration will include supporting evidence regarding the validity of the information stated on the product label. Moreover, it required that DJCPs be filed electronically on the SISCO, and an acceptance certificate and code would be issued thereafter. Both the certificate and the code would be valid for a period of 120 days during which the product can enter the Argentinean market. This period has now been

extended to 180 days. For the purpose of this resolution, any product would be considered a textile product, if it has at least 80 per cent of its mass consisting of fibres or textile filaments. It defines textile as any item in its raw, semi-processed, semimanufactured, manufactured, semifinished, or ready-made state, consisting exclusively of fibres or textile filaments. The correctness of the declaration made by manufacturers, importers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers regarding fibre or material composition can be assessed by the Enforcement Authority, with the help of National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI). For outstanding stocks of textiles and footwear without a corresponding DJCP, a grace period of 360 days from the date of enforcement of the resolution is provided to sell such stocks.

EU scraps autonomous quotas on Belarusian textile imports The Council of the European Union has unanimously decided to abolish autonomous quotas on imports of Belarusian textile products. This will help Belarusian exports to the EU of certain textile and apparel items, including cotton fabrics, trousers, blouses, shirts, underwear, coats, raincoats, jackets, dresses, skirts, knitted outwear and linen fabrics. The EU had imposed quotas on import of 33 Belarusian textile items in 1993. Subsequently, quota was abolished on 13 of these 33 items in

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2009. The decision to remove quotas depended on several factors—the extent to which Belarus would get traction on accession to the WTO, the agreements it would sign with the EU, and the scope for integration of Belarusian light industry in the Europe’s one. The EU Council’s decision came after the draft decision on abolition of autonomous EU import credits for Belarusian textile products was approved by the European Parliament on January 19 this year,

and by the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COROPER) on February 1.

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REST OF THE WORLD Kenya to allow textile firms in EPZs to sell in local market Kenya is undertaking measures to boost local textile production, by encouraging

domestic sales of textiles and meet an increasing local demand. The measures include allowing textile companies in the Export Promotion Zones (EPZs) to sell up to 20 per cent of their production in the domestic market, without paying duties. “We want Kenyan citizens to have access to high quality products that are sold in overseas markets, which is the reason for introducing the policy change,” minister of industry, trade

and cooperatives Adan Mohamed said during the launch of the progress report on textile and garment sector. The report informs that the country’s textile and clothing exports have risen to $415 million at the end of 2016. “Domestic producers are under pressure due to the import of large volumes of second-hand clothing, which however, will reduce once there is a rise in local production,” the minister said.

Uzbekistan aims to process all locally produced cotton

TRADE

Uzbekistan, a major cotton producing country, has set a task to process all cotton produced in the country into textiles by 2020, as against 40 per cent of the cotton that is processed currently and just 7 per cent in 1991. As of date, the country exports textiles to over 50 countries and more recently has begun exports to Nigeria, Croatia, Chile and Brazil. Of overall textile exports, yarn shipments account for nearly 50 per

cent, which will be gradually replaced with value added textile products, Uzbek media reports said. In order to achieve the goal, the country plans to invest around $2.2 billion, half of which is likely to come from foreign investments. There is also a plan to build textile complexes, which will house facilities beginning from spinning till processing of fabrics. The plan is to also create 27,000 new

jobs through these investments, while also upgrading 10 existing textile mills.

UK textile & apparel exports up 7.05% in 2016: UKFT The exports of apparel and textiles from the UK have increased by 7.05 per cent to £9.1 billion in 2016, compared to exports of £8.5 billion in 2015, figures

released by the UK Fashion & Textile Association (UKFT) show. The European Union was the biggest market for UK’s textiles and apparel, accounting for 74 per cent of all UK textile and apparel exports. UK’s textile and apparel exports have grown over the last five years. During 2012-2016, apparel exports alone have risen by 41 per cent to £6.2 billion, up £1.8 billion, UKFT data revealed. The rise in exports is due to a number of effects including an increased interest in heritage UK manufacturing, the

creativity of British fashion designers as well as the importance of the UK as a key apparel trading hub. UK apparel and textile exports to the EU rose from £4.9 million in 2012 to £6.7 billion in 2016, representing an increase of £1.8 billion or 36 per cent. Meanwhile, the UK trade deficit, which reflects the difference between imports and exports, increased to £15.4 billion in 2016, up from £15 billion in 2015. This figure represents an increase in the value of imports from £23.4 billion in 2015 to £24.5 billion in 2016.

US textile & apparel imports down 6.44% in 2016 The import of textiles and apparel by United States declined 6.44 per cent in 2016 to $104.722 billion, compared to imports valued at $111.928 billion in the previous year. Apparel constituted the bulk of these imports valued at $80.713 billion, while non-apparel imports accounted for $24.008 billion. China continued to be the major supplier to the US market. The US textile and apparel imports from China were valued at $38.533 billion, accounting for 36.80 per cent share of all textile and garment imports made by the US in 2016, according to the Major Shippers Report, released by the US department of commerce.

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Vietnam, India, Bangladesh and Indonesia were the next four top suppliers of textiles and garments to the US, with goods valued at $11.323 billion, $7.222 billion, $5.492 billion and $4.904 billion, respectively, during the year, the report showed. Segment-wise, among the top ten apparel suppliers to the US, only Vietnam was able to increase its exports by 2.31 per cent year-on-year. On the other hand, imports from Cambodia declined by 13.63 per cent, whereas China and Indonesia saw their exports drop by 8.58 per cent and 4.68 per cent respectively, over the previous year.

In the non-apparel category, among the top ten suppliers, only Turkey registered a positive growth of 6.74 per cent year-onyear. While imports from Vietnam, China, Italy and Taiwan dropped by 29.03 per cent, 16.31 per cent, 12.86 per cent and 11.08 per cent to $515.36 million, $10.611 billion, $516.871 million and $466.577 million, respectively.

PETROCHEMICALS TEXTILES

MACHINERY

FIBRE

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LyondellBasel expands Texas plant ethylene capacity US based producer of petrochemicals and speciality chemicals LyondellBasell has completed the expansion of the 800 million pounds per year ethylene project at its Corpus Christi, Texas facility. This expansion has increased the ethylene production

capacity of the Corpus Christi plant from 1.7 billion pounds per annum to 2.5 billion pounds per year. Since 2012, the company has invested around $2 billion in US Gulf Coast expansion and plans to invest an additional $3 billion in the region.

“By expanding ethylene capacity in the US through debottlenecks rather than long and costly greenfield developments, we quickly added substantial capacity for significantly less than the cost of a new plant,” LyondellBasell CEO Bob Patel said.

Lenzing develops new sustainable fibre generation Lenzing, the world leader in marketing and manufacturing man-made cellulose fibres, has developed a new fibre generation based on cotton scraps and wood to drive circular economy in the textile world. Lenzing’s ‘Refibra’ is the first cellulose fibre featuring recycled material on a commercial scale and was launched at Premier Vision textile fair in Paris.

Refibra from cotton scraps and wood will further build Lenzing’s reputation as a leader in the field of environmental fibre technology and will push new solutions in the textile industry towards circular economy by recycling production waste. Lenzing has developed a new identification system that will assure the users that the fibre is made from recycled material. The system will

help to identify the Refibra fibre in the finished textile. The new Tencel generation Refibra stands for ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’. “The brand name Refibra and the claim ‘Reborn Tencel fibre’ illustrate immediately that this new kind of fibre is made of recycled materials promising reduced reliance on natural raw materials,” said Robert van de Kerkhof, CCO of Lenzing Group.

Melco unveils new embroidery machine with higher efficiency Melco has launched EMT16 Plus, an upgrade of its embroidery machine technology, EMT16, with enhanced processing power, which also comes with a six year limited warranty. In case of multi head configurations, EMT16 Plus outperforms conventional multi heads by as much as 50 per cent, as in case of any issue, each head can be started and stopped independently. According to Melco, this feature is not available in conventional multi head

embroidery machines, as when one of the embroidery heads must be stopped to change a bobbin or correct some other issue, production halts on the other three heads as well, because they can only operate in unison. In the new technology, thread feed is controlled with Acti-Feed technology, Melco’s patented thread control system, in which thread feed is automatically monitored and adjusted and there are no manual tension knobs to adjust.

EMT16 Plus; Pic courtesy: Melco

New synthetic yarn production plant to come up in Honduras

Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández speaking at an event related to incorporation of Unitexa. Pic courtesy: Honduras 20|20

Honduras 20|20, a public-private partnership programme for employment generation and economic growth that prioritises the textile sector, has accomplished a new international

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investment of $73 million, leading to the incorporation of the United Textiles of America (Unitexa) company. Unitexa will be the first synthetic yarn production plant of its size and nature

in Central America, and will produce over 25,000 tons of yarn per year. The draw texturised yarn (DTY) produced in the new unit would be suitable for use in the production of synthetic garments, sportswear, clothing resistant to stain, among others. Due to the need for a greater specialisation in the production of synthetic yarn, Unitexa will continuously seek to develop the personnel it employs, generating a total of 250 direct jobs and approximately 300 indirect jobs. The plant will generate significant amounts of foreign exchange for Honduras due to product exports. A sustainability plan is also in place to ensure a socially and environmentally responsible investment.

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REST OF THE WORLD Tekstil Trans opens $9.5mn textile factory in Kyrgyzstan Tekstil Trans Ltd has opened a new textile factory at a cost of $9.5 million, in the northern Chui province of Kyrgyzstan. The Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund has provided close to $7.5 million for the factory. The factory is likely to reduce the company’s dependency on imports of textile products like fabrics and prove beneficial for the domestic sewing industry. The establishment of this factory is likely to lower the production cost of the country’s sewing industry, said Sooronbai Jeenbekov, prime minister of Kyrgyzstan.

Kyrgyzstan’s textile products are in high demand in foreign markets and owing to the country’s accession of the Eurasian Economic Union, Kyrgyz companies can now enter larger markets, Kyrgyzstan government’s press service said quoting Jeenbekov. The fabric-producing factory has been operational in the pilot mode since November last year. It will create 150 jobs and produce 9-10 tonnes of products per day initially. The capacity will be increased to up to 30 tonnes per day, said Almazbek Abdrayev, general director of Tekstil Trans.

Abdrayev also said that factory has been set up owing to the growth potential of the country’s sewing industry. The new unit uses advanced equipment and high-quality raw materials sourced from China, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

Italy gets first textile finishing company Imprima Spa Imprima Spa has become the first global holding company in Italy that is dedicated to textile printing and finishing sector. Imprima is funded by a pool of financial investors led by the Italian private equity fund Wisequity IV, managed by Wise SGR, a company that has already supported the development of other successful companies in the textile supply chain.

With the creative heritage of the brands acquired, clean and smart manufacturing, proximity to markets, outstanding quality, and sustainability, Imprima aims to establish itself as a preferred partner for brands and retailers in the world of fashion. Thanks to the acquisition of 100 per cent of the German finishing and textile printing company KBC and 100 per

cent of the Italian company Guarisco by Wise SGR, Imprima is enriched, already at this early stage of development, by an international outlook that makes it extremely competitive in the market, which will be reinforced in the coming months with additional acquisitions in Italy and abroad. The company has planned over €30 million for investments in technology.

Two new textile & garment parks to come up in Ethiopia Two new industrial parks for the textile and garment industry are set to come up in Ethiopia as the Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC) of Ethiopia has awarded construction of these parks to Chinese firms. CGCOC will construct the Bole Lemi II industrial park, an extension of the Bole Lemi I, while CCCC will build the Jimma industrial park. The Bole Lemi II Industrial Park will be constructed at a cost of 3.5 billion birr

in southern part of Addis Ababa. IPDC has selected CGCOC to undertake the construction which will take 12 months, while the South Korean firm DOHWA will be the consultant of the project. The Jimma Industrial Park will be built in the Oromia Regional State in Jimma town at cost of 1.5 billion birr. CCCC, the Chinese construction firm, which has accomplished several major construction projects in Ethiopia, will construct the industry park within

nine months. A local consulting firm, MH Engineering, will supervise the construction project.

Russia to build first synthetic fibre & yarn complex Construction for Russia’s first synthetic textile, including fibre and yarn, manufacturing complex will begin this year. Approximately 25 billion rubles ($419 million) is being invested to set up the project that is expected to start production in 2020. The project will

come up in Vichuga town, located in the Ivanovo region of the Central Federal district. The modern integrated plant for synthetic textiles would have capacity to produce nearly 200,000 tons of synthetic fibre and yarn per year,

Ivanovo governor Pavel Konkov told reporters, according to the Russian media. Preparatory procedures are already underway, ahead of the actual construction that is planned to start in summer of this year.

Eastman unveils new cellulosic yarn brand at Interfilière A supplier of filament yarn to the textile industry for 80 years, Eastman Chemical Company has introduced Naia cellulosic yarn as the newest offering for those seeking to innovate in their next collection. Made from wood pulp derived

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exclusively from sustainably managed and certified forests, Eastman Naia cellulosic yarn is a poised, new reflection of a long-standing fibre that enables luxurious, comfortable and easy-to-carefor fabrics and garments. New technical data confirms that Naia

can inherently provide the performance consumers are demanding in intimate apparel, such as moisture management, cool hand and practical usability. Fabrics made of Naia release stains like wine and coffee easily, offer excellent wrinkle recovery, and can be laundered at home.

APPAREL

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REST OF THE WORLD

New York’s Sunset Park to become garment manufacturing hub

Pic courtesy: Office of the Mayor, New York City

New York City mayor Bill de Blasio has announced $136 million commitment in a ‘Made in New York’ Campus at Bush Terminal. Sunset Park buildings will be transformed into a hub for

garment manufacturing and film and TV production to support more than 1,500 permanent jobs. The build-out of modern garment manufacturing space would create over 800 construction jobs. Two buildings in the area will undergo major renovations to create nearly 200,000 square feet of garment manufacturing space. The investment will also be used for making significant utility upgrades. SUNY’s Fashion Institute of Technology will launch two courses for makers at nearby Brooklyn Army Terminal, which will be integrated into the overall project. The Made in NY Campus, anticipated to open in 2020, aims to synergise creative manufacturing uses and provide

affordable, ‘best-in-class’ industrial facilities for garment manufacturing, film and media production and related services and industries. The Made in NY garment manufacturing hub will support between 25 and 35 garment manufacturing tenants. It will provide small white-box spaces, ranging from 2,000 to 20,000 square feet, to companies working in patternmaking, marking and grading, cutting and sewing and sample making. It will include shared services and related uses to support the success of these garment firms and the larger Sunset Park garment cluster, such as shared logistics and common services like photography and educational support.

Bagir fully acquires Ethiopian apparel facility

FASHION

Israel based innovative tailoring provider Bagir has acquired the remaining 50 per cent stake from its joint venture partner, Nazareth Garments, Ethiopia, for $1.9 million. Bagir first acquired a 50 per cent in the company in November 2014, and has

since been focused on investing in and developing the site by upgrading the machinery and infrastructure. In late 2016, Nazareth completed its first international export order for H&M along with a trial order for Haggar Clothing.

Bagir has also chalked out an expansion plan to be implemented over the next five years, under which, it will set up a facility to produce up to 3,000 trousers and 200 jackets per day, and also upgrade the existing machineries.

Nashville poised to be key player in US fashion industry Nashville area is poised to become a key player in the US fashion industry, reveals an economic impact study by the US based Nashville Fashion Alliance (NFA). The report says the projected impact of fashion businesses in Nashville could total $9.5 billion and employ 25,000 people by 2025, as against $5.9 billion and 16,200 jobs, currently. According to NFA, Nashville is just behind Los Angeles and New York City in

the per capita concentration of fashion companies, with the number of fashion brands in Nashville doubling over the last five years. “From designer-led start-ups to emerging brands demonstrating traction and readiness to scale, the NFA is dedicated to creating the support network for fashion companies to grow, thrive, and become solid employers,” NFA CEO Van Tucker said.

Pic courtesy: NFA

Cottweiler and Gabriela win 2016/17 Woolmark Prize

2016/17 IWP menswear winners Ben Cottrell (left) and Matthew Dainty (right) of Cottweiler, with womenswear winner Gabriela Hearst (centre). Pic courtesy: The Woolmark Company

Cottweiler and Gabriela Hearst have been announced the winners of the menswear and womenswear 2016/2017 International Woolmark Prize (IWP), respectively. This year, the menswear

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and womenswear awards were held together for the first time. Representing the British Isles, Cottweiler’s winning collection comprises sheer merino wool baselayers, windproof mid-layers and quilted waterproof outerwear, with wool-blend fabrics ranging from 18.5 microns through to 19.5 microns, and recycled wool scraps used for insulation. The resultant collection brings Cottweiler’s brand of fetish-infused cult and tribe codes into the world of wool, with utilitarian detailing—padded hoods, detachable cargo pockets, running caps, and elasticised hems and cuffs, for

example—at its core. Representing the USA, Gabriela Hearst was praised for her technical innovation and quality craftsmanship. Her winning collection presents sleek silhouettes with updates on trench coats, pleats and an evening dress teamed with the more utilitarian baseball jacket with adjoining scarf, one-piece long johns, reversible puffer vest and cycling trousers. Using ultrafine 14.5 micron merino wool for luxurious knitwear, through to 21.5 micron wool to create a wool-velvet fabrication, Hearst’s clean cuts and precision offers a collection set to stand the test of time.

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RETAIL SOFTWARE | IT

TRAINING

SUSTAINABILITY

UPDATES On The News Beat

REST OF THE WORLD

PVH acquires Tommy Hilfiger men’s clothing in North America PVH Corp has entered into an agreement to acquire the licensed Tommy Hilfiger men’s tailored clothing business for North America from Marcraft Clothes, Inc. PVH intends to consolidate the North America men’s tailored businesses for all of its brands

under one partner, Peerless Clothing International Inc, beginning January 2018. Marcraft operates the business under license from Tommy Hilfiger Licensing LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of PVH. As part of the

transaction, PVH will acquire certain assets related to the licensed business and the license agreement would be terminated effective December 31, 2017. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Kering launches next generation sustainability strategy Global luxury group Kering has announced the next phase of its sustainability strategy across its brands. Kering will support the drive towards a low-carbon economy and help shape the future of luxury as sustainable and to operate within the ‘planetary boundaries’. Underpinning Kering’s vision is the recognition that a company can only become truly sustainable if it goes far beyond the conventional limits of its own direct operations to address the environmental and social impacts across the supply chain. Guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Kering has also included quantifiable 2025 targets in the strategy, under the

themes of Care, Collaborate and Create. Kering has committed to reduce its GHG emissions by 50 per cent in scope 1, scope 2 and scope 3 (transportation and distribution, business flights, and fuel and energy related emissions) by 2025. Further, it will also strive to reduce emissions from purchased goods and services by 40 per cent. Kering said it aims to create a supplier index of sustainability which will ensure that the high standards for raw materials and processes are being implemented by the suppliers at 100 per cent. This step by the company will raise the bar on traceability, animal welfare, chemical use and social welfare.

The company will work towards promoting sustainable design and minimise the environmental impact of a product at every stage, from sourcing and manufacturing to transportation and consumer use, and create an opensourced tool to assess products based on its standards. Kering aims to create new business models by investing in disruptive innovations that can transform conventional processes in luxury, and influence the industry. It will encourage circular economy through turning recycled textiles into new clothing by developing new and sustainable solutions for easy sourcing of raw materials.

VF to train UNCG students in 3D design technology VF Corporation, a global leader in branded lifestyle apparel, has announced that its Jeanswear division, which includes its Wrangler and Lee brands, is partnering with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) to bring innovative 3D design technology to the school’s department of consumer, apparel and retail studies to help prepare students for careers in the apparel and retail industries.

The innovative technology provides students with a unique, hands-on opportunity to learn state-of-the-art techniques and processes used in the areas of apparel design, production, and merchandising. The software enables patternmakers and designers to mimic the real-life process of designing and developing products, which means garments can be made in a few hours, as opposed to

the weeks it takes to make physical samples, helping companies save time, money and resources. The UNCG partnership ensures that students entering the workforce are proficient in the use of 3D design technology and possess the skills to work with this advanced software. The use of this technique is increasing across the apparel and retail industries.

Diesel partners with Certilogo to tackle counterfeiting

Diesel has partnered with Certilogo, a leader in consumer-assisted product authentication, to let consumers verify the authenticity of a pair of Diesel denim, before purchasing it. By the end of this year, all Diesel denim will display the Certilogo code on a heat-printed label in the waistband along with the writing ‘Scan for Authenticity’. Both the entities have come together to protect customers around the world from fake products. Consumers can receive a fast and free confirmation that the product is authentic in any of these

36 | FIBRE2FASHION MARCH 2017

three easy ways – by simply scanning the code with a standard QRcode reader on their smartphone, with the dedicated Certilogo application customised for Diesel or by registering and entering the product’s CLG code at certilogo.com. Since the first 5-pocket denims coded with Certilogo arrived in store, consumers from more than 70 countries have connected to the Certilogo platform to ensure their purchases were authentic. About twenty percent of those authentications were performed by shoppers considering a purchase, 64 per

cent were performed after a purchase in a physical store and 16 per cent were performed after a purchase in an online store or marketplace.

Pic courtesy: Certilogo

NEW PRODUCT

UPDATES On The News Beat

REST OF THE WORLD

A&E launches new reflective industrial sewing thread American & Efird (A&E), a global leader in industrial sewing thread manufacturing, has launched a new product in reflective innovation, Anefil Reflector—a reflective, specialty industrial sewing thread used in coverstitch and overedge applications

for use primarily in activewear, workwear, safety apparel, swimwear, denim, footwear, etc. “A&E’s spirit of innovation continues with this new reflective product, Anefil Reflector,” said Mark Hatton, vice president Americas, A&E. “Offered in

a Tex 120 size, Anefil Reflector adds another layer of functionality in sewing that has traditionally been dominated by reflective tape. This product is a versatile, decorative sewing thread and a valuable addition to the reflective market.”

Ivyrevel & Google launch custom-made Data Dress

Pic courtesy: Google Developers blog

The digital fashion house Ivyrevel, supported by the H&M group, has announced that it is partnering with Google to bring couture into the digital age with the Data Dress—a personalised dress designed using a smartphone app developed by Ivyrevel and Google. The app tracks users’ activities and lifestyle to interpret it into an on-trend, custom-made dress.

Google is the latest groundbreaking partnership for Ivyrevel, the world’s first digital fashion house that merges fashion creativity with technological innovation. The Data Dress is an initiative from Ivyrevel’s Fashion Tech Lab, committed to shaping the future of fashion. Users simply need to carry their phones and over the following week the

dedicated app will use data technology to get to know their lifestyles. A truly unique Ivyrevel dress will be designed over the course of a week, using this knowledge of users’ lifestyles through Google’s technology. As the week goes by, users will be able to watch the design of their dress evolve, as the app gets to know them even better and uses its knowledge to translate their lifestyle into a Data Dress. It is about couture techniques tailored to your story, from material and silhouette to unique details such as personalised embellishments. “It is such an exciting moment. We are about to change the fashion industry by bringing the customer’s personality into the design process through data technology,” said Aleksandar Subosic, co-founder of Ivyrevel.

Hydro_Bot revolutionises moisture management

AWARDS

Hydro_Bot, a new revolutionising technology for moisture management, will solve the challenge of transporting moisture to match human sweat rates in various climates, conditions and activity levels. Osmotex, a Swiss-Norwegian start-up, has joined forces with four textile industry leaders to develop Hydro_Bot that was showcased at the ISPO Munich trade event. The Swiss leading textile manufacturer Schoeller Textil AG is the production partner for the Hydro_Bot panels, while the premium sportswear brand Kjus is the primary product development partner. Kjus will be the

first leading brand to take Hydro_Bot to market in selected skiwear products planned for the 2018/2019 season. The high-tech wearable technology company Belginova is the technology partner for Hydro_Bot. It is providing operating systems and switches for applying the moisture management solution. Belginova will also deliver Hydro_Bot products through their own brand 30Seven. Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, has played a key role in conducting cutting-edge materials and technology research. Together with Osmotex and its

Unifi recognised as 2016 fibre producer of the year Unifi, Inc, a world leader in producing high-quality recycled fibre and other premium value-added (PVA) technologies, has been recognised as the 2016 fibre producer of the year by the World Textile Awards. The recognition highlights Unifi’s outstanding product line-up.

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“We are proud to be recognised as a leader in the textile industry,” said Tom Caudle, president of Unifi. “Through our dedication to developing innovative products that combine environmental responsibility, style and performance,

three development partners, Empa is now involved in the final development to ensure the necessary durability, washability and performance of Hydro_Bot under different conditions.

Pic courtesy: Hydro_Bot

we continue to accommodate the trends of our ever-changing field.” World Textile Awards is the first independent global awards competition dedicated to recognising and rewarding excellence across the entire textile industry.

1st North-East Investors Summit

LEAD FEATURE

Shillong

On the cusp of a 40 | FIBRE2FASHION MARCH 2017

textile revolution The Northeast has huge potential for investments, particularly in the textiles and handicrafts sectors, due to the skilled workforce and locally available raw materials—all of which are rooted in the rich textiles heritage of the region. To tap this potential, an investors’ meet was held in Shillong. The meet, especially given that it was the first of its kind, was certainly successful, reports Richa Bansal

MARCH 2017 FIBRE2FASHION | 41

1st North-East Investors Summit

LEAD FEATURE

Union textiles minister Smriti Irani, minister of state for development of Northeastern region (I/C) Dr. Jitendra Singh, chief minister of Meghalaya Dr. Mukul Sangma, minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju, vice chairman NITI Aayog Dr. Arvind Panagariya, and other dignitaries at the inauguration of the first ever North East Investors’ Summit, at Shillong on January 29, 2017. Pic courtesy: PIB

t has been almost twenty years since the fivemember Shukla Commission submitted its report on the Northeast to the Prime Minister. The high-level commission headed by Planning Commission member SP Shukla, in its 150-page report titled Transforming the Northeast: Tackling Backlogs in Basic Minimum Services and Infrastructural Needs, had surprisingly paid little heed to the textiles sector of the region. The Shukla Commission, tasked to examine the potential of the Northeast, had devoted only part of a short chapter to textiles that had been clubbed under ‘Industry, Handlooms and Handicrafts’. What transpired at the recent two-day investors’ summit themed ‘Exploring Opportunities in Northeast Region’, organised by the ministry of development of Northeastern region (DoNER) and the ministry of textiles in Meghalaya capital Shillong, was evidence that not much has happened since 1997. The scores of presentations made during the event bore testimony to the fact that even the Shukla Commission had not fully emphasised on the textiles potential of the Northeast, and also that the sector alone has the potential to contribute phenomenally to sustainable development of the region.

Union textiles minister Smriti Irani accompanied by Meghalaya chief minister Dr. Mukul Sangma and minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju interacting at the Apparel & Garment Making Centre, at Hatisil, Ampati, in Meghalaya on January 30, 2017. Pic courtesy: PIB

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Event-ful in so many ways Nearly 20 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) were signed on the occasion, to develop and promote Northeast handicrafts, handlooms, agro-textiles and geo-textiles. Various MoUs were signed to promote collaboration in the textiles sector, in each of the various states in the region. The entire textile value chain from fibre to garment, including raw materials, was represented at the event. The summit, the brainchild of Union textiles minister Smriti Irani, witnessed the participation of over 400 delegates from across the country, and the two industry bodies Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) were partners. The summit aimed to showcase the Northeast as a global destination for investments, and also to explore the possibility of bringing in convergence of efforts of various central ministries and the eight Northeast states to attract investments to the region. The event had focused sessions on ‘Showcasing Opportunities in Textiles in Northeast’, ‘Entrepreneurship Development and Startups’, ‘Enhancing Reach of Northeast Textiles through Textile Design and Marketing’, ‘Ease of Financing of Textiles Industry in Northeast’ and ‘Improving Infrastructure in Northeastern Region’ —all of which are expected to unlock the potential of the Northeast in textile manufacturing and generate new avenues for employment in the region. Outlining the allocation of the annual expenditure for handicraft schemes, DoNER minister Jitendra Singh said his ministry has earmarked an annual expenditure of `1,000 crore for the purpose. DoNER will focus on the formation of market avenues, training craftsmen and organising raw material for weavers.

In her inaugural address, Irani noted that the huge participation at the summit showed not only the trust and belief in the investment opportunities in the Northeast region, but also the investors’ belief that the cooperation among the government of India and the governments of the Northeast states can result in exponential multi-sectoral growth in the region. She felt that the wide participation of export houses, councils and investors would ensure that support would be given to local industries across the region through marketing facilities, technical guidance, design interventions and also in areas that require expertise, especially with relation to exports. There was a flurry of activities. On the first day of the summit, `1,040 crore was allocated for textile-based projects like handicrafts, sericulture, handloom, apparel and garments by Irani. The Northeast textiles industry was allocated `820 crore for sericulture-related projects by the ministry. Around four lakh people, mostly women, would benefit from this. In fact, the decision to hold the summit was announced by the minister herself at the annual conference of state textiles ministers held in New Delhi on November 10, 2016. India Handmade Bazaar, an online portal which will provide direct market access facility to handloom weavers and handicraft artisans, was launched at the summit. The portal will facilitate weavers and artisans to enter information about their products for an easy understanding of customers and exporters. Weavers and artisans will be able to access the portal through their mobile number registered with the office of the development commissioner. The mobile number can be registered by visiting the nearest weavers’ service centre and marketing centre as well. Buyers can view the products online and directly contact the weaver or artisan concerned to enquire or place an order. A mobile application, e-Dhaga, was launched to assist weavers in solving issues like delay in receiving subsidies from the government of India. The app will assist online payments and transactions, besides helping in tracking the status of the purchased raw material. The app, which enables handloom weavers to order and track their yarn, is being seen as a boon for handloom weavers. This will enable them to transact business anytime, anywhere; weavers can also send their invoices and payments online through this app. On January 4, the ministry had launched Bunkar Mitra, a helpline for handloom weavers.

THE FIVE TAKEAWAYS FROM THE SUMMIT Dilip Barooah; director, Fabric Plus

Very good initiative by the ministry of textiles for the development of the textiles industry in the Northeast region; eye-opener for garments/textile manufacturers and exporters across the country. Ideal platform to minimise geographical gap between Northeast and rest of India and create a real ‘Make in India’ together. A platform is made for the potential future joint venture between Northeast entrepreneurs and the best of Indian industry. Opportunity for Northeast entrepreneurs to showcase their enterprises to the potential investors from pan-India. Ideal platform to pitch and attract potential investors to the Northeast; and also ideal platform for market linkages, creating new markets, product development and extension.

CR Prayag; officiating director, Ahmedabad Textile Industry’s Research Association (ATIRA)

The meet was able to attract key players from the textiles industry, indicating the potential of the Northeast as a textiles industry hub, and the organisers deserve a round of applause for successfully hosting the summit. The signing of more than 20 MoUs was in itself a very good indicator of the success of the summit. The active participation from the government, nongovernmental organisations, agencies, industry, academia and the people indicated the extent of interest of all stakeholders in the development of the Northeast. The Northeast is a resource centre for talent, with the establishment of premier technology, management and fashion institutes in the region. The vibrant cultural show and fashion show highlighted the abundance of talent in the Northeast. The mini-exhibition offered opportunity to exhibitors, to display the latest technological developments in textiles, ranging from textiles produced from the traditional fibres such as silk to the latest technical textiles produced from specialty fibres.

Zuboni Humtsoe; designer and entrepreneur

It was an eye-opener to the great possibilities and opportunities for Northeastern designs and textiles. Most projects and policies exclude small businesses and entrepreneurs like us. There is a need for more ground-level work and better implementation of projects and policies. It was very inspiring meeting some of the top players of the industry and being able to seek support and mentorship from them. Summits like this are great because they provide us a common platform to put forth our grievances and challenges to the right people at the top.

MARCH 2017 FIBRE2FASHION | 43

1st North-East Investors Summit

LEAD FEATURE

14 per cent of India’s jute production comes from the Northeast and has the potential to earn `1,000 crore; about 98 per cent of the country’s eri silk of 2,400 metric tonnes is from the region and can earn `5,000 crore; all of India’s muga silk production of 125 metric tonnes is from the Northeast and can earn `1,250 crore. Besides these, the ramie fibre is a natural fibre of the region. Together, these alone can earn `7,250 crore for the Northeast. Pic courtesy: Zuboni Humtsoe

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Making the best from participation CR Prayag, officiating director of the Ahmedabad Textile Industry’s Research Association (ATIRA), said, “All sessions were very lively with lot of interaction between the presenters and the participants leading to very useful exchange of knowledge focused on promoting development and business. The presence of representatives from the government, industry, research institutions, bank representatives and entrepreneurs from across the country highlighted the seriousness of the investors in the meet. The thrust on the development of textiles in the Northeast from the government of India as well the respective state governments will boost the growth of textiles in the Northeast.” Designer-entrepreneur, Zuboni Humtsoe, is already looking forward to the next summit which she hopes will provide her more time and opportunity to interact and connect with leaders from the industry. Humtsoe, from the sessions that she attended, realised the utmost importance of design and how it can push business even more. “There is a huge scope/demand for Northeastern textiles, but we still lack the capacity and capability to fulfill the demands. So, listening to SD Giri, director of Shahi Exports, was very inspiring and boosted my confidence into believing that anything is possible. But then, financial institutions should do more to help and support genuine entrepreneurs like us who have the passion and the fire to make things happen but might not have the resources or the collateral,” she remarked. Dilip Barooah of Fabric Plus felt this should now become a regular event every six months across the Northeast. “There should be more focus on collaborative approaches for joint ventures between Northeast entrepreneurs and textile operators from the rest of the country. There should also be more participation from the industry and other stakeholders, including machinery manufacturers, big domestic as well as international brands,” he said. There were smaller issues with the event itself. Barooah felt the exhibition venue was too far away from the main venue, and also that there were too many cramped sessions and discussions. “The event could be extended by another day.”

India Handmade Bazaar, an online portal which will provide direct market access facility to handloom weavers and handicraft artisans, was launched at the summit. Pic courtesy: Zuboni Humtsoe

ATIRA’s Prayag added, “The ATIRA stall at the miniexhibition gave us an opportunity to showcase the association’s innovative research and development (R&D) initiatives under the COE-composites, including the textilebased low-cost TRC modular toilets, developments for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the nanofibrebased water filters for producing clean drinking water from muddy water as well as in presenting ATIRA’s role in implementation of the ministry-led scheme for promoting use of geotechnical textiles in Northeast. The response received from the visitors was positive and encouraging. The signing of an MoU between ATIRA and IIT Guwahati for cooperation in R&D in the field of textile composites and geotextiles, with active support from the ministry of textiles was one of the important events that took place at the summit.”

Leveraging handloom legacy into entrepreneurship Textiles minister Smriti Irani, along with Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma, inaugurated the first of its kind apparel and garment making centre near Ampati in South West Garo Hills even as the event was on. Union minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju, who incidentally hails from Arunachal Pradesh, was present on the occasion. Irani said the project will create employment opportunities for both men and women of the region, thereby empowering them economically. Her ministry is implementing projects worth `70 crore in sericulture and weaving sectors for Meghalaya alone.

A mobile application, e-Dhaga, was launched to assist weavers in solving issues like delay in receiving subsidies from the government of India. Pic courtesy: Zuboni Humtsoe

MARCH 2017 FIBRE2FASHION | 45

1st North-East Investors Summit

LEAD FEATURE

The apparel and garment making centre, sprawling over an area of 45,000 sq ft, has been set up at a cost of around `14.26 crore under the aegis of the North East Region Textiles Promotion Scheme (NERTPS) of the ministry of textiles. This particular centre will constitute three units, with two of them housing 105 sewing machines each, and the third one having seventy machines. The foundation stone for this centre was laid in 2015 by the chief minister of the state. Mukul Sangma believed that the garment centre would become the most sought-after export unit in the state. He spoke of the advantage provided by the proximity of international markets in the form of neighbouring Bangladesh, and the opportunity of forging partnerships with investors of that country. Stating that the weavers of the region were a readymade workforce and that they only required advanced training, he highlighted the importance of providing training for technological upgradation.

The apparel and garment making centre has been set up as part of the initiative announced by prime minister Narendra Modi in Nagaland on December 1, 2014. The prime minister had then announced that such centres will be set up in all Northeast states. Each apparel and garment making centre set up under the initiative is estimated to generate direct employment for 1,200 people. For local entrepreneurs with the relevant and requisite background, facilities to start a unit would be provided through a plug-and-play mode. Once such entrepreneurs become established, they can set up their own units, and in turn their facilities would be provided to new entrepreneurs. The project will be funded by the ministry of textiles at an estimated cost of `18.18 crore in each state. The initiative is being run under the NERTPS of the ministry of textiles, and is an umbrella scheme for the development of various segments of textiles, i.e. silk, handlooms, handicrafts and apparel.

Master craftsmen from the handloom sector will impart training to students across the various NIFT centres from the coming academic session. Union textiles minister Smriti Irani said this will enable students to learn and imbibe the legacy crafts into contemporary fashion. Picture shows the NIFT display at the Textiles Exhibition at the State Convention Centre, Shillong, which was inaugurated by Irani along with the chief minister of Meghalaya, Dr. Mukul Sangma and Union MoS for home affairs, Kiren Rijiju.

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1st North-East Investors Summit

LEAD FEATURE

Shukla Commission recommendations The National Institute for Design, Ahmedabad, should be invited to play a lead role in establishing design bureaus for a variety of textiles and crafts in the Northeast with special funding. The Handloom and Handicrafts Boards and the HHEC should also be geared to the task. Special emporia and exhibition centres should be established within the region, in the rest of the country and at suitable locations abroad in order to promote the marketing of these wares. Disputed areas along inter-state boundaries in the Northeast should, if possible be declared or treated as development zones with the mutual consent of the parties concerned. They could be used for the development of infrastructure and industrial areas that could attract investment for the production of manufactures for export or for meeting some of the region’s consumer requirements. Export processing or special economic zones should be established with all necessary infrastructure at suitable locations in the Northeast to attract export industries. Joint ventures could be floated with Bangladeshi and other entrepreneurs to exploit the Northeast and export markets.

Union textiles minister Smriti Irani accompanied by Meghalaya chief minister Dr. Mukul Sangma and MoS for home affairs Kiren Rijiju inaugurating the Apparel& Garment Making Centre, at Hatisil, Ampati, in Meghalaya on January 30, 2017. Pic courtesy: PIB

Finally, it boils down to money Transforming weavers and artisans into entrepreneurs is easier said than done, and Barooah, in his presentation titled ‘Easing the financing issues for textile industry in the Northeast’, took a closer look at the problem. He enumerated a number of finance-related issues plaguing the small and medium enterprises in the Northeast, and then went on to highlight the potential of certain raw materials that are endemic to the region. For instance: 14 per cent of India’s jute production comes from the Northeast and has the potential to earn `1,000 crore; about 98 per cent of the country’s eri silk of 2,400 metric tonnes is from the region and can earn `5,000 crore; all of India’s muga silk production of 125 metric tonnes is from the Northeast and can earn `1,250 crore. Besides these, the ramie fibre is a natural fibre of the region. Together, these alone can earn `7,250 crore for the Northeast. Barooah called for a number of measures, arguing that these would ease matters. These included

48 | FIBRE2FASHION MARCH 2017

creation of new markets by the opening of borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh; allowing alternative financing (equity crowdfunding or unsecured loans from family and friends); special transport subsidies on raw materials like cotton from distant states; forex handling facilities in the banks. He also suggested new initiatives: setting up of a Northeast Entrepreneur Fund of `50 crore, setting up of a Northeast Technology Fund worth the same amount. The bank credit limit should be `2 crore without collateral, and the goods and services tax (GST) rate for the Northeast needs to be different as well. There were other sessions/ presentations too that dwelt on physical infrastructure. Yet, in many ways, the problems of infrastructure and financing that repeatedly cropped up during the event, were not too different from those highlighted by the Shukla Commission. But given the fact that this event was the first of its kind, the investors’ meet was a step in the right direction.

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Q&A Renfro | Walmart

Partnering for jobs

Renfro Corporation, one of the world’s largest producers of socks, recently landed a deal with Walmart that anticipates creating about 440 jobs at Renfro’s manufacturing facility in Fort Payne, Alabama, as part of Walmart’s January 2013 US Manufacturing Commitment to buy an additional $250 billion of US products supporting American jobs over 10 years. Renfro Corporation is a long time manufacturer of socks for Walmart under brands such as Fruit of the Loom, Russell, Dr Scholl’s, Faded Glory, among others. With changes in energy costs and labour costs overseas, it is increasingly cost-effective and efficient to manufacture closest to the point of consumption, helping Walmart respond to trends and customer demand. Subir Ghosh spoke to senior officials from both Renfro and Walmart about the significance of the deal, especially keeping global trends and processes in mind.

50 | FIBRE2FASHION MARCH 2017

supply all the types of products that our customers want at prices they are willing to pay. Four years from now, Renfro would be completing 100 years. How do you look at the past? Yes, our 100th anniversary is approaching. We are proud of that continuous history—our ability to survive and to prosper through many economic and competitive challenges. We believe that we should honour the past, recognise and appreciate it.

Bud Kilby CEO and President, Renfro Corporation

Please tell us more about this new deal with Walmart. After all, if I am not wrong, Renfro has been selling socks to Walmart since the 1970s. Yes, we have sold Walmart since the 1970s and have grown with them. We provide Walmart a variety of products, both branded and private label, across all departments, all genders. We have participated in Walmart’s US Manufacturing Initiative since its inception several years ago. Renfro was one of the first companies to join this effort with Walmart. This latest expansion is the result of our bringing to Walmart better product, better presentation made in the US. Walmart recognised the value in this latest proposal. We believe it met Walmart’s strategic goals. Renfro Corporation has had a manufacturing facility in Fort Payne since the 1980s. Could you tell us more about the ups and downs with the manufacturing facility there? The Fort Payne factory has existed since the 1980s. Over time, its capabilities have been enhanced, and it has been further automated to improve quality and to lower costs. Its capacity has increased.

And what about the future? Are you planning for the next 100 years, or are you looking only at the immediate future? But, the future brings change. Always. So honour the past, but find the opportunity in change. That is how we will prosper for another 100 years. Of course, we are planning for more than the next year. You have manufacturing and distribution facilities across the world. Do you have expansion plans charted out? We do have expansion plans in the US, the rest of North America and in key markets outside North America. We also have plans for continuing product evolution. Renfro has had partnerships with retailers and suppliers like Walmart, Macy’s, etc. Are you still going to rely heavily on partnerships? Part of our strategy and part of our culture is to maintain key partnerships. Relationships matter. Long-term partnerships matter, and they are a necessary component for success. We have customer relationships that have existed since the 1920s. We have supplier and brand partnerships that have existed for many decades. Trust can take a long time to earn. It is meaningful and valuable, and we recognise how important it is to our success.

Fort Payne itself was once known as the Sock Capital of the World, but over time the title seemed to have lost its significance. How do you react to that? The closing of most of the other sock manufacturers in Fort Payne is unfortunate for that community. We chose a different path for our factory there, and have been able to identify and to manufacture products there that fits the factory’s evolving capabilities and that can be done competitively with similar product manufactured outside the US. US President Donald Trump wants jobs back in the US. But given your global presence, how do you plan to tread that thin line between manufacturing relatively expensive products in the US, and relatively cheaper products outside? We do have a global presence and our resources outside the US are also critical to our total supply chain and critical to our total product offering. Both US and imported products are necessary for our company to

Athletic socks will continue to comprise a significant portion of the market. But consumers have many broadening preferences related to usage occasion, lifestyle and fashion.

MARCH 2017 FIBRE2FASHION | 51

Q&A Renfro | Walmart

Athletic socks have been dominating the socks market for a while. Do you expect this trend to continue? Or do you also see other legwear categories expanding at a relatively faster rate in the near future? Athletic socks will continue to comprise a significant portion of the market. But consumers have many broadening preferences related to usage occasion, lifestyle and fashion. Consumer preferences continue to represent greater variety in construction, fibre, design and colour. In terms of material used (be it nylon, cotton, polyester, wool, or even waterproof breathables), what is the trend likely to be in the days to come? The trend on fibre type, whether natural or synthetic, has changed some recently. The preference on fibre often varies by geographic region, but it also varies by usage intent. Some fibres are preferred for certain technical applications while others are preferred for various lifestyle applications. One thing is certain: Consumers are demanding a greater variety of fibres and constructions depending on usage intent.

The Fort Payne factory has existed since the 1980s. Over time, its capabilities have been enhanced, and it has been further automated to improve quality and to lower costs.

Ceteris paribus, how sustainable are you at the present? How are you ensuring environmental compliance? We monitor, measure and track our sustainability efforts. Part of our culture requires the company to operate in a sustainable manner, to respect the environment. So we have numerous projects under way to improve the impact of the footprint we leave, and we do have goals set to improve continuously. Some of our partners require us to report our progress. Walmart has a significant sustainability initiative, and we believe that Walmart’s leadership in this initiative with its suppliers continues to have a very positive impact on our environment. Please tell us more about your current India operations. Our company operates two factories in India. We also market, sell and distribute a variety of products and brands in the Indian domestic market. We have earned a significant market share there. We are very pleased with our workforce in India. Our staff there is very capable, sophisticated in business practice and competitive with any management group in the world. We are very proud of our group there; it has responsibility for and manages our efforts in Europe and Asia.

Both US and imported products are necessary for Renfro to supply all the types of products that its customers want at prices they are willing to pay.

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How do you see the Indian market? Especially, with respect to other markets? Our Indian operations have grown and our domestic sales have grown. We expect that to continue. We expect our capacities in India to increase with that, growth. Our revenue growth in India is expected to outpace growth in most other markets where we operate.

Scott Markley Spokesperson, Walmart

The new Walmart-Renfro deal is expected to create 442 new jobs. How significant is this, considering that the number 442 is far too small to be of much economic significance. And, apart from the one with Renfro, which are the deals with other manufacturers that will create new jobs in the US? Walmart’s commitment to buy $250 billion in products supporting American jobs by 2023 is having a tangible impact on communities across America. In the three years since we launched our initiative we have seen factories opened, jobs created and American products added to our shelves in stores and online. We evaluated 1,300 categories and are pursuing opportunities across the business. We have hundreds of active initiatives under consideration and have shared many successful examples including: California Innovations, producer of the Ozark Trail ‘super cooler’. The Canadian company with US operations is moving production of the cooler from China to a factory in Atlanta, Georgia, creating 350 jobs. Edgewell Personal Care, a maker of personal hygiene products, which is bringing production from Canada to Dover, Delaware, creating 272 jobs.

In January this year, six research and academic institutions were awarded nearly $3 million in grants by the Fund for their work focused on innovations in textile manufacturing. Could you elaborate on Walmart’s plans and ideas w.r.t textile innovations? In 2014, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation pledged $10 million over five years to fund the development of domestic manufacturing with a specific goal of advancing the production or assembly of consumer products in the US. This current round of grants will complete the $10 million commitment. The Walmart US Manufacturing Innovation Fund is designed to provide grants in support of applied research projects advancing innovative solutions to key challenges that have the potential to lower the cost of making consumer products in the US. The fund is a collaboration between Walmart, the Walmart Foundation and the US Conference of Mayors who strive to find innovative ways to grow local economies. Also earlier this year, Walmart had announced that it would add 10,000 retail jobs in the US with 59 new, expanded and relocated stores. The number of new stores is said to be fewer, but the number of jobs is more. What is the reason for this? Walmart is in a period of unprecedented investment to better serve customers. To do that, we continue to find ways to operate more efficiently and effectively, true to our costconscious heritage. We are getting great feedback from our customers about the changes under way and plan to be aggressive going forward to serve them even better. Overall, how do you see US manufacturing shaping up? Has the US dragged itself out of the global slowdown? Are things looking better? By investing in products that support American jobs, we are able to bring new products to our shelves that our customers want—and new jobs to our communities. Increasing domestic manufacturing will help create additional jobs in the US—that’s good for American businesses.

What percentage of products retailed by Walmart in the US are in fact manufactured in that country? How do you expect to maintain a balance? According to data from our suppliers, items that are made, assembled, sourced or grown here account for about two-thirds of what we spend to buy products sold at Walmart US. The Walmart US Manufacturing Innovation Fund that was launched in 2014 is expected to create 1 million new US jobs. You are already three years into that project. Where do you stand now, and how are you planning ahead? We are four years into our commitment and are excited that we are right on target of where we need to be to accomplish our goal by 2023.

Walmart India currently operates 21 stores across the country in ‘cash and carry’ format and plans to open 15 more stores in next five years.

MARCH 2017 FIBRE2FASHION | 53

Q&A Renfro | Walmart

Walmart is in a period of unprecedented investment to better serve customers. By investing in products that support American jobs, it is able to bring new products to its shelves that its customers want.

Increasing domestic manufacturing will help create additional jobs in the US—that’s good for American businesses.

In this context, how do you see the manufacturing of textiles/apparel? Walmart had embarked on the job creation agenda some 3-4 years before the current US President was sworn in. You were under no compulsion to manufacture in the US earlier, but are you now? We’ve been focused on encouraging manufacturing in the US with our suppliers for several years now and launched an initiative in 2013. As the largest private employer in the US making significant investments in our business that impacts local communities nationwide, we’re proud of the role we play helping create and support jobs in the US. The new US regime is said to be working on a proposal on how imports get taxed. How is Walmart handling this? Very broadly speaking, how do you see Walmart fitting into the new scheme of things?

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We look forward to working with the Administration (and Congress); however, it is too soon to discuss policy at this time. What are your India plans? At the last count, Walmart had 21 stores in India. What are the plans for expansion? The Indian government too wants everyone to ‘Make in India’. How do you plan to operate in a global scenario where every country wants to retain or even expand its manufacturing base? It is in our best interest to have our suppliers succeed. We believe in helping them understand the Walmart business, changing global trends and achieving the right certifications if they are needed. We like to source from local businesses and support sourcing efforts in our countries like Make in India. Walmart India currently operates 21 stores across the country in ‘cash and carry’ format and plans to open 15 more stores in next five years.

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with customised solutions. With headquarters in Mumbai, it has branches spread across multiple locations to be close to its customers. A.T.E. with its reach in textile industry will exclusively market Jost’s material handling products jointly with Jost’s in India & Bangladesh. Products offered includes platform trucks, hand pallet trucks, manual & electrical stackers, dock levellers, electric stackers, reach trucks, electric forklifts, scissor lifts, custom-built trucks, and racking systems. Jost’s has an integrated service team through

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Fashion Matrix Overseas

Q&A

We want to develop a brand around the concept of being green Fashion Matrix Overseas (FMO), a Bengaluru-based manufacturer and supplier of high fashion apparel launched its new venture ENVS Eco-friendly Digital Fabrics India Pvt Ltd (ENVS) in January. As part of the launch event, the company demonstrated its state-of-the-art production technology supplied by Kornit Digital. ENVS will be relying on Kornit’s Allegro for digitally printing on-roll fabrics and on an Avalanche 1000 for direct-to-garment printing. FMO Director VIPIN SETHI spoke to Subir Ghosh about the company’s new initiative that intends adding a new dimension to garment customisation through its portal.

Vipin Sethi, Director, FMO

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Let’s start at the beginning. What’s the story behind Fashion Matrix Overseas (FMO)? I entered the industry in 1996 after completing my business training. I worked for an export house for about seven years. She (Seema Sethi, who is my business partner and sister) joined me in 2001; we worked in the same company. In 2003, one of our customers gave us the encouragement to move on our own. That’s how Fashion Matrix Overseas (FMO) came into existence. When we left, all our customers moved with us and wanted to continue working with us. They moved with us despite the fact that initially we had no office or factory. But they had a lot of trust in us, and wanted to do business with us. The first one year we managed working from the basement of our residence (here in Bengaluru), and in 2004 we started a

3,000 sq ft office. God was kind and things went well. In 2006, we built up an area of 30,000 sq ft (in Peenya), and we started our first garmenting factory in January 2007. Till 2006, we had been shirt suppliers. We saw that the business of shirts was slowly moving to Bangladesh, which was a much cheaper destination. It was a stroke of luck in 2006 that a customer of ours was having some trouble with a Delhi supplier. So, she wanted to do some styles (with us) that were new to us. We took up the order as a challenge, and delivered the product in time. Those were typical high fashion ladies styles, which is essentially the forte of Delhi, and not normally produced in Bengaluru. The customer was happy, and started working with us in a big way. That was the transition of FMO from being a men’s-only supplier to a primarily women’s supplier.

Customisation has a great scope in the future because everybody wants to look different. People can buy/wear what they want, and not what is offered to them.

In 2010, we ventured into a very niche market: Bavarian garments, which are mostly worn in the countryside of Southern Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. It is a very specialised garment; it required a lot of skill and learning. We had to convince a customer to give us a sample. We duplicated the sample and returned it to him. He was satisfied and started placing small orders of a few hundred pieces with us. As he started having confidence in our quality, he started increasing the quantities. Today, we produce about 200,000 pieces every season. Now, customers search for us, and come to us. We now offer an entire package. Who are you doing this for? We are producing for one of the biggest labels in the Bavarian region called Stockerpoint. We are also working with a lot of other labels. We

now offer them a complete package. We not only offer dresses, but also trousers, blouses, shirts, t-shirts, sweaters, among other things. The sweaters are made at our unit in Ludhiana, and meant for the Bavarian region. That (Bavarian dresses) is our niche segment. We have a monopoly in that segment, and have developed our own skills over the years after a lot of mistakes. What were these mistakes? Initially, the fittings take a lot of time. Then people ask for different kinds of embellishments on the garments. At times, customers want specific kinds of laces that have never even been seen in India. Even Chinese suppliers have not been able to make those laces. Now, we make most of them (laces) here. At this point in time we can say with confidence that if there are challenges in the Bavarian segment, we can definitely overcome them and deliver

to the customer. The customers have confidence in us, and that is why they keep coming back to us. So, the Bavarian dresses are your USP. Yes, they are. We want customers in the Bavarian to look at FMO as a onestop destination for everything. Who do you get your feedback from, the brands or the end-user? We get feedback from brands. Now, about this new venture ENVS. We all live on this planet. We all have the right to clean soil, water and air. It is everybodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s responsibility to go green, and give future generations a clean planet to live in. So, the reason we chose Kornit Digital is that they are eco-friendly. I could have purchased ten digital machines at the cost of one Kornit machine. But with those machines I cannot be eco-friendly. We

MARCH 2017 FIBRE2FASHIONâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;|â&#x20AC;&#x201A; 59

Fashion Matrix Overseas

Q&A

ENVS has SA 8000 from Social Accountability International for its European customers, and WRAP for the benefit of US clients. And now it has applied for GOTS certification as well.

want to develop a brand around the concept of being green, and we would want to serve those customers who are conscious about it. We would like to look at a niche market where people are conscious about contributing to a cleaner planet. Kornit is the only company in the world that offers ecofriendly inks. What is ENVS going to do that FMO already doesn’t? We have tied up with Kornit for the backend technology, and with IBM for the frontend. IBM will be managing our portal. We plan to subscribe to a lot of international journals which forecast prints and designs for the next season. We will upload the designs that we buy from them onto our website. To begin with, we will be uploading close to 50,000 prints, and we will be refreshing them every month. We want to introduce concepts called fabric-ondemand and fashion-on-demand. We want customers to express their individuality. When a customer logs on to our portal, s/he will be offered a huge number of designs, and will be able to interact with the site. S/ he can choose the design first, and then the fabric too, be it cotton, silk

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or polyester, etc. We will be offering a range of fabrics on which the customer would want the design to be printed on. We will print the desired length/quantity and ship it to him/ her. This has a potential in both the B2B and B2C segments. In the B2B segment, we will tie up with some furnishing and furniture companies, for instance. They can have bespoke furnishing or furniture for their own customers, ranging from blankets and curtains to cushion covers and pillow covers. There is also a huge space in the children’s segment as well as lingerie. The garments/fabric would be eco-friendly and pass all tests prescribed for children’s clothing. The same reasons would apply to intimatewear as well. When do you plan to go live? We plan to go online in May or June, depending on how fast IBM is able to put things together. The backend is now ready. We will have time till May/June to sort out all the teething issues. We will be ordering another Kornit machine. Once we are online, we cannot afford to have any downtime. It will not only increase my capacity, but also have a backup ready. You cannot tell your customer

that you cannot deliver since the machine is out of order. Once you fail to deliver, you lose face, and the cascading effect starts. So, despite the fact that it is a huge investment, I do not want to take chances. Given this customisation bit, what is also true is that virtual fitting rooms, for instance, have not really taken off. How do you react to that? By and large, the technology had been expensive. Yet, a concept called ‘Try on’ is available at the Indiranagar (Bengaluru) showroom of Louis Philippe wherein a customer can stand in front of the magic mirror and actually see the shirt on him. That technology is available at an affordable price now. So, this will slowly become popular. Moreover, this technology was mostly available in countries like Italy or Germany. How do you see the concept of customisation shaping up in the future (vis-a-vis ENVS)? Will it be hot? No, not immediately. It would all depend on how we advertise ourselves. We have to make ourselves known among the target audience. But for sure, customisation has a

great scope in the future. Everybody wants to look different. People can buy/wear what they want, and not what is offered to them. Currently, you may like a particular print, but it may not be available in the style you want. But now you can get around that issue by getting both the print and style that you want. And size too. What kinds of fabric would you be placing on offer? In cotton, we will be going in for organic. Silk, by itself, is organic. We will be offering viscose, etc, as well. Moreover, we will also be looking at the bags and shoes market, since this machine can print on those surfaces as well. It can print on PU and rexin fabrics too. Fast fashion? No, I wouldn’t call that fast fashion. Talking of fast fashion, and I don’t want to name anyone here, there are brands that offer very cheap products and they are not eco-sensitive. They talk big about being sociallycompliant, but the same brands produce garments which are not ecofriendly, and the garments… how are they disposed of? As it is, they are not eco-friendly or biodegradable.

So, will you source recycled textiles? Yes, we are already in conversation with some mills (mostly in the North) that use recycled polyester. In the South, you get a lot of organic cotton. But here we have to be careful. The cotton can be organic, but when you give it for dyeing, it would end up with a lot of chemicals. So, how would that remain organic? You talk about compliance issues. What kind of certifications do you have? We have SA 8000 from Social Accountability International for our European customers, and Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) for the benefit of US clients. And now we have applied for GOTS certification as well. The Kornit machines themselves are pre-certified by GOTS. We should be getting it soon. Coming to your products, how expensive are your garments going to be? Our products are not going to be cheap. A shirt, for example, would be in the range of `2,500. In any case, we are not expecting a boom the day we launch our portal. We would slowly like to grow our customer base, who want to be eco-

friendly. We will have a whole gamut of products from shirts and t-shirts to blouses and evening gowns. What about your existing business (i.e. FMO)? We have about 8-10 clients and we do a sizeable business with them. I only look at the bottomline: am I making a product that is profitable, or am I just serving the client? There are a lot of companies that concentrate only on the turnover. We don’t want to get into that kind of rat race. We want to remain in a niche segment, supply high quality products to our customers, and take a price for that. What about your financials? Last year, we closed at a turnover of about `50 crore. This year, we are looking at `75 crore. About 90 per cent of our turnover is from exports. At one point, we were serving a lot of domestic clients. But we are not happy with the domestic segment. Many domestic brands have still not evolved, according to me. They expect a lot of things that are realistically not possible. We prefer our customers to be flexible and understanding. Is that why you are going solo? Yes. I don’t want to be supplying to domestic brands. I want to create my own space. Yes, it is going to be a daunting experience and a challenging task. How long did it take you from the conceptualisation to execution of this project? I had contacted Kornit in 2014, and wanted to buy a machine. I know a Kornit printer was 10 times more expensive than a usual one. But at that time they were not supplying in India. I happened to get in touch with them again in September 2016. They said they were still not supplying in India, but if I were keen, then they would work on it. I wanted to buy both the machines (in all costing about $1 million). I signed the deal with them on October 11, and just three months later, the machines are here— installed, and ready to roll.

Kornit is the only company in the world that offers eco-friendly inks. The Kornit machines themselves are pre-certified by GOTS.

About the author Subir Ghosh (www.subirghosh.in) is a Bengaluru-based journalist and researcher.

MARCH 2017 FIBRE2FASHION | 61

NONWOVEN

UPDATES TECHNICAL TEXTILES On The News Beat

Mogul launches Madaline nonwoven textile

Pic courtesy: Mogul

Turkey based manufacturer of nonwoven products Mogul has launched Madaline, a nonwoven fabric, which can be treated like a traditional textile, having similar touch and drape and the capability to be stitched without fraying. Madaline also possesses superb filtration and barrier properties—like a meltblown with the strength of a spunbond. Madaline uses stateof-the-art and patented

bico technology to extrude unique filament designs and is thereafter subjected to high pressure water jets to simultaneously shear, fibrillate, entangle and consolidate microfilaments into a fabric. Madaline’s microfilaments are up to 100 times thinner than a human hair and are the key to its unique properties. The fabric’s dense structure provides very good barrier and filtration

properties and, thanks to its microfilaments, has good moisture management capability. It is absorbent, quick to dry and breathes well. Madaline is washable and has very good and complementary properties of thermal insulation, wind resistance and UV protection. Madaline’s advanced attributes make it uniquely applicable for use in processes such as finishing, dyeing, printing, cutting and

stitching just like traditional textiles. This new fabric provides a very smooth hand, with excellent dyeing and printing capability and is strong and durable. It also does not show any ‘Velcro’ effect. Mogul’s Madaline technology employs polyester and polyamide to form two different filament shapes, Hybrid Mixed Media or Multi-Lobal which provide higher tensile and tear strength (create a ripstop), higher permeability, lower energy costs and no de-lamination as in multiple beam systems. Madaline fabrics can be used for a wide range of applications such as clothing (outdoor performance wear, jeans, sports and leisure wear, uniforms, work-wear), home textiles, mattress covers (anti allergy and dust mite proof), medical (scrubs apparel, wipes), dry wipes and towels (sports towels, industrial special cleaning cloths), sun shield (tents, awnings, shelters, vehicle covers) and window blinds and much more.

New Suominen nonwoven fabric offers high wipes absorbency

Airlace for Workplace; Pic courtesy: Suominen

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Suominen has recently launched Airlace for Workplace, a new nonwoven fabric to be converted into wipes for use in the most demanding work environments like cleaning oil spills and grease. Airlace for Workplace delivers superior combination of strength, absorbency and low linting with its optimum blend of cellulose and synthetic fibres. According to the Finnish producer of nonwovens, the Airlace was developed from Suominen’s recent investments in production technology and R&D capabilities and was specifically designed for strength, durability and

absorption capabilities. The nonwoven fabric is available globally in 60, 65 and 80 gsm weight and also in colour, while offering easy and reliable convertibility for wipes converters. “We have been able to make Airlace for Workplace unbeatable in absorbency,” Eileen Calder, product manager for Workplace segment at Suominen said. “When combined with exceptional dry and wet strength, we are confident to say that Airlace for Workplace offers the best performance and value in the market.”

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UPDATES TECHNICAL TEXTILES On The News Beat

MEDICAL TEXTILES

Asahi Kasei starts new production facility for Bemliese Asahi Kasei’s Fibers & Textiles strategic business unit (SBU) has completed the addition of new production facility for Bemliese cupro continuous-filament nonwoven fabric in Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan. Bemliese, the world’s only cupro continuous-filament nonwoven fabric, is composed of regenerated cellulose fibre made from cotton linter, the fibres around cotton seeds.

Bemliese is the ideal material for a wide range of applications—in the skincare and medical fields, as wipers for industrial and commercial use. Sold in markets around the world, Bemliese enjoys particularly strong demand growth in skincare applications. The company took the decision to construct a new production facility based on the continued demand growth

forecast. With the completion of the new facility, Asahi Kasei’s production capacity for Bemliese has increased by approximately 1,500 tons/year. Moving forward, the Fibers & Textiles SBU will continue to expand production capacity and enhance the production infrastructure in order to strengthen the Bemliese supply configuration in line with additional growth in the global market.

Hygiene products marketer SCA revamps tissue division Swedish hygiene products marketer SCA is investing SEK 160 million ($17.95 million) in a through-air drying (TAD) machine, at its tissue plant in Skelmersdale, UK, which will help production capacity of TAD mother reels to reach 28,000 tons at the facility. SCA is doing so, to meet the growing demand for high quality tissue and strengthen product offering in the UK.

Additionally, the company has also decided to shutdown an older tissue machine in Stubbins and also signed a deal to sell its tissue plant in Chesterfield to Sidcot Group Limited. The cost for closing the Stubbins tissue machine is expected to be approximately SEK 120 million ($13.46 million). For the Chesterfield plant, Sidcot Group will pay approximately SEK 35 million ($3.93 million) and an

impairment loss of SEK 10 million ($1.12 million), which will be recognised as an item affecting comparability in the fourth quarter of 2016. According to SCA, these measures are part of its ‘Tissue Roadmap’ which is aligned with the company’s strategy to streamline production and secure capacity for future growth to increase value creation in the tissue business area.

AUTOMOBILE TEXTILES

ELG & Adesso to make recycled carbon fibre for automobiles UK based ELG Carbon Fibre Ltd, a leading carbon fibre reinforced plastics recycler, and Adesso Advanced Materials Wuhu Co Ltd, a developer of revolutionary re-workable and recyclable epoxy resin systems, have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop lightweight composite components for the automotive industry based on ELG’s recycled carbon fibre materials. The initial focus of the cooperation is to investigate applications which have been identified by Chery New Energy Automobile Technology Co Ltd on the Chery eQ1 electric vehicle. The goal is to further reduce the weight of the eQ1, which already makes extensive use of aluminium technology, through selective use of carbon fibre composites. The longer term intent is to then apply the knowledge gained from these projects in Chery’s conventional vehicles. Following a preliminary evaluation of ELG’s materials by professor Fan Guanghong’s team at the advanced manufacture technology centre of China Academy of Machinery Science Technology (CAMTC), Chery has suggested initial applications to be investigated, and providing that

64 | FIBRE2FASHION MARCH 2017

Pic courtesy: ELG Carbon Fibre

technical and commercial targets are achieved, ELG, Adesso and Chery intend to enter into a definite agreement to start full scale production of these parts in Wuhu. This agreement would see ELG Carbon Fibre establish a carbon fibre recycling operation in China when sufficient volumes of recycled carbon fibre materials are required. “The eQ1, through its extensive use of aluminium, already represents a huge advancement in lightweighting for the Chinese car industry. We are pleased to be working with the innovative engineering team at Adesso and Chery to help them take the next step forward and start introducing carbon fibre

composites into their vehicles,” Frazer Barnes, managing director of ELG Carbon Fibre, said. Bo Liang, president, chairman, and CEO of Adesso, said, “Working together in this project enables us to address the barriers preventing large scale use of carbon fibre composites in automotive applications, namely cost—through the use of recycled materials, design and manufacturing, and collaboration with experienced partners. Our vision is that cooperation leads to an automotive composites hub in Wuhu. It also strengthens our vision on sustainability of the composite industry in China.”

UPDATES TECHNICAL TEXTILES On The News Beat

Lear Corp to acquire Grupo Antolin’s auto seating business

Pic courtesy: Grupo Antolin

Global supplier of automotive seating and electrical systems Lear Corporation will acquire France based Grupo Antolin’s automotive seating business. Grupo Antolin’s automotive seating business has sales and operations in

five European countries and supplies to renowned car makers like Peugeot Citroen, Daimler, Renault Nissan and Volkswagen. Grupo Antolin’s seating business has annual sales of around €300 million

($318.62 million) and operates 12 manufacturing facilities, 2 technological centres and employs 2,273 people, which Lear is acquiring for €286 million ($303.75 million) on a cash and debt free basis. The closing of the transaction is expected to happen in the first half of 2017, subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals in Europe. Grupo Antolin’s seating business offers just-in-time seat assembly, seat structures and mechanisms, and seat trims and additionally has an experienced management team, modern facilities and a reputation for lean manufacturing.

COMPOSITES

Evonik unveils new method for composites mass-production

Pic courtesy: Evonik

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany and one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals, has unveiled the newly developed PulPress method, that manufacturers can use in mass-produce complex moulded parts of composite materials used in the automotive industry, taking the technology from the high-end market to large-scale production.

The new method combines two traditional production techniques: compression moulding and pultrusion. Combined together, they make automated, continuous production of composite parts possible. The most important raw material in the process is Rohacell, a high-performance structural foam core from Evonik that has already proven its merit as a lightweight yet rigid

material—one that retains its shape particularly well and is temperature resistant. Fibers are woven around the core before being impregnated with resin. The complete system is then compressed into the desired shape at high temperature and pressure. The method even allows manufacturers to produce complex geometries and integrate recessed areas for threaded components or other fixtures. Particularly impressive aspects of the new manufacturing process include its design flexibility and cost efficiency, and the crash behaviour of the resulting composite parts—that are around 75 per cent lighter than traditional steel structures. Plus, the PulPress method also reduces costs by up to 60 per cent compared to composite parts manufactured using established methods such as resin injection.

Stratasys inks 3D printing solution deal with McLaren Racing Stratasys has signed a four year agreement with McLaren Racing to supply a suite of 3D printing and additive manufacturing solutions. Under the agreement, Stratasys, the official supplier of 3D printing solutions to the McLaren-Honda Formula 1 team, will supply McLaren Racing with its latest FDM and PolyJet based 3D printing solutions and materials. These will be used for visual and functional prototyping, production tooling including composite tooling,

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and customised production parts, enabling their accelerated delivery while increasing performance and productivity in design and manufacturing operations. “McLaren Racing will be leveraging our nearly 30 years of 3D printing and additive manufacturing experience to stay at the forefront of motorsport technological development,” Stratasys CEO Ilan Levin said. “Stratasys will also gain invaluable feedback and insights from working with ultra-high performance automotive applications,

which we can then apply to our mainstream automotive and aerospace customers.”

Jonathan Neale, McLaren Technology Group COO (left) and Ilan Levin, Stratasys CEO; Pic courtesy: Business Wire

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RAW MATERIAL

HB Fuller acquires adhesives business of Wisdom Worldwide

Global adhesives manufacturer HB Fuller has acquired the adhesives business of Wisdom Worldwide Adhesives for $122 million, and is expected to generate annual run rate synergies of around $6

million starting in 2018. Founded in 1875, Wisdom is a privately owned company, which generated revenue of $100 million and EBITDA at $11 million in fiscal 2016. According to HB Fuller, the purchase

price is in a multiple equal to approximately seven times Wisdom’s fiscal 2016 EBITDA on a post-synergy basis, and expects the transaction to be modestly accretive to earnings in the first year.

MACHINERY

Kolon buying 3 Lectra FocusQuantum laser cutting solutions

South Korean airbags manufacturer Kolon Industries is investing in three FocusQuantum laser cutting solutions from Lectra, at two of its production plants in Asia. One will be installed for cut and sew fabric for its new facility in Vietnam, and the other two for one piece woven (OPW) fabric at an existing site in Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.

The South Korean company aims to double global airbag sales by 2020, by investing in advanced laser cutting solutions at these two Asian plants. Kolon has been using Lectra’s laser cutting technologies in its airbag business since 2004, and has installed more than 20 Lectra Focus airbag

cutters across multiple plants in Asia and North America. The automotive supplier expressed interest in the FocusQuantum shortly after launch and also after evaluating various alternatives in the market, as the FocusQuantum offers state-of-the-art cutting preparation software and valueadded professional services.

INDUSTRIAL TEXTILES

Sioen group company bags ‘Factory of the Future’ Award

Pic courtesy: Sioen Industries

Belgium based producer of technical textiles Sioen Industries said one of its group companies, Veranneman Technical Textiles has bagged the prestigious ‘Factory of the Future’ Award. Veranneman produces

open structure fabrics with applications in roof and pool reinforcement, nonwoven filters, drywall, automotive products, road construction, etc. The Factory of the Future award is

given as recognition for the Belgian manufacturing companies evolved in recent years into a veritable factory of the future. “This award is the culminating result of all the innovative efforts that we made in recent years in terms of products, production and people management,” Michele Sioen, CEO at Sioen Industries said. “This would not have been made possible without the dedication and enthusiasm of our employees.” As at all plants of Sioen, the Veranneman Technical Textiles facility too is equipped with state-of-the-art machines for weaving, knitting and laid scrim production.

Kelheim hosts contest on new viscose fibre applications

The awards ceremony (from left to right): Walter Roggenstein (R&D manager, Kelheim Fibres), the finalists the Deinböck family, Dr. Jörg Dörrstein, Dr. Albert Solleder, Christina Pop (representing Dr. Pettrak), Sebastian Kehrer and Matthew North (Commercial Director, Kelheim Fibres). Pic courtesy: Barbara Rötzer

German specialty viscose fibre producer Kelheim Fibres organised a competition titled, ‘100% cellulose fibres – re-thought’ to generate new ideas on applications of viscose fibres. More than 20 different proposals, ranging from very simple, clearly defined application

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ideas to visionary future products, were submitted by equally varied people. The winner was Dr. Jürgen Pettrak from Straubinger Entwässerung und Reinigung, whose submission was on the use of filters made of functionalised viscose fibres, as a fourth clarification

stage in wastewater treatment plants. Dr. Pettrak proposed filtering out the increasing amount of endocrine substances found in wastewater, which find their way into the water, due to the growing use of drugs in human medicine and farming, which if not filtered out, may finally affect our genetic material. Other proposals included using viscose fibres in environmentally sound, yet at the same time tailor-made wound care, in semi-finished products with printed electrical circuits, eco-friendly felt pens, panels of pressed straw for construction applications, etc.

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PROTECTIVE TEXTILES

Superior debuts world’s first 18 gauge arc flash rated glove

Industrial work gloves manufacturer Superior Glove has launched the world’s first 18 gauge arc flash rated glove, which combines the high dexterity of an 18 gauge yarn with an arc flash level 2 rating. The glove, which was in development for a while, has been manufactured from DuPont Kevlar and will help increase worker safety and protection. According to the company, in 2013,

there were 13,000 arc flash-related incidents, of which 400 turned fatal. “These incidents are preventable with the proper personal protective equipment and Superior Glove aims to increase worker safety and protection with the introduction of this 18-gauge arc flash glove,” it said. Specialising in cut resistant gloves, Superior offers 3,500 styles of work gloves to the safety glove market.

The world’s first 18-gauge arc flash-rated glove; Pic courtesy: CNW Group/Superior Glove

New Honeywell fabric reduces weight of tactical vests by 40% US manufacturer of performance materials Honeywell has launched Centurion, a composite fabric, which is designed to make law enforcement apparels and equipments 35 to 40 per cent lighter. Made from the Honeywell produced Spectra fibre, Centurion is suitable for various types of application where the product needs to be strong but lightweight.

Centurion is laser-cut according to user preference, resulting in slits along the vests from which officers can hang, hook or tie gear as needed. “Because nothing needs to be sewn into these vests, they are lighter and more comfortable for officers to wear, as well as faster and easier for manufacturers to produce,” the company said. According to Honeywell, Centurion-

made vests are resistant to cuts, abrasion and water, making them suitable for tough environments. “Centurion represents the next evolution of lightweight law enforcement equipment, removing several pounds from the more than 20 pounds that an officer can typically wear while on patrol,” Lori Wagner, armour marketing manager for Honeywell Packaging and Composites, said.

SPORTS TEXTILES

Directa Plus & Eurojersey to make graphene-based textiles

Pic courtesy: Directa Plus

Directa Plus Plc, a leading supplier of graphene-based products for use in consumer and industrial markets worldwide, has announced its first collaboration with Eurojersey Spa, an Italian producer of high quality warp-knit technical fabrics, under its Sensitive Fabrics brand, to produce a range of fabrics containing Directa’s graphenebased products. Unveiled by Eurojersey at the recently held ISPO Munich, the companies are now conducting joint R&D to further develop the prototype textiles into product samples that will be marketed to the customers of Directa Plus and

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Eurojersey. The lamination of Sensitive Fabrics with Grafytherm functional membranes containing G+, distributed exclusively by Directa Textile Solutions, produces a technologically advanced fabric with unique thermal features: the presence of G+ graphene, which is highly thermally conductive, allows a homogeneous distribution of the heat produced by the human body in cold weather and a heat dispersion effect in hot weather. The result is an ideal thermal comfort level for every wearer, in any situation, which has not been accomplished with any other material.

The first R&D samples of these innovative technical textiles are characterised, in addition to the thermal features, by high elasticity and a high grade of breathability, waterproofness, and windproofness. As a result, they are ideal for sporting activities, ensuring comfort, and freedom in any weather condition. “This collaboration with Eurojersey marks another milestone for Directa Plus as we expand our textile offering, and alongside the successful launch at ISPO of the second Colmar collection enhanced by our Graphene Plus (G+), reflects the increasing interest that we are receiving in our tailor-made solutions that can significantly improve clothing performance,” Giulio Cesareo, chief executive officer of Directa Plus, said. Andrea Crespi, general manager of Eurojersey said, “These fabrics are ideal for outfits that pair functionality and aesthetics thanks to the ultrathin layers, the raw-cut edges, and their resistance to pilling and to shrinkage. We believe that these qualities will attract the attention of brands that especially focus on innovation and performance.”

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TRADE FAIRS

China International Nonwovens Expo & Forum begins June 21

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, in partnership with other organisations, will organise the second edition of the China International Nonwovens Expo & Forum (CiNE) from June 21-23, 2017 in Shanghai. The first edition held in 2015, hosted 85 exhibitors displaying the latest technologies and innovations, and attracted over 4,800 visitors.

Partnering INDA for CiNE, are the China Nonwovens & Industrial Textiles Association (CNITA), the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade’s Sub-Council of Textile Industry (CCPIT-TEX), and Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd. According to the trade body, this year’s event will attract thousands of buyers who supply raw materials,

machinery and equipment, nonwovens roll or matt goods as well as converters, brand owners, and consultants. “The strength of this event is its sole focus on nonwovens and engineered materials giving a unique platform for those organisations doing business in China or looking to do business in China,” INDA added.

Over 750 companies from 39 countries to exhibit at Techtextil More than 750 companies from 39 countries have already booked exhibition space at the trade fair for technical textiles, Techtextil 2017, which opens its doors from May 9, 2017 at Frankfurt am Main, Germany. This year’s fair will grow in comparison to the prior edition as around 15 per cent of the already booked exhibitors will be exhibiting for the first time or returning to Techtextil after a period of absence. Such companies include Forster Rohner, Freudenberg, Groz-Beckert, Ibena

Textilwerke, Lenzing, Mehler Texnologies, Outlast Europe, PHP Fibers, Sandler, Sattler Pro-Tex, Schoeller Textil, Sioen Fabrics and Trützschler. As in the past, numerous countries will be represented by national pavilions, of which, Belgium and Italy have increased the size of their pavilions, while exhibitors will also come from China, France, United Kingdom, India, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Taiwan, the Czech Republic, Turkey and the US. The trade show will showcase from

conductive yarns, smart textiles, to composites and lightweight constructions and in the process present the complete spectrum of textile solutions for the automobile industry, construction and architecture, industry, medicine and clothing. Texprocess, the fair for processing textile and flexible materials will be held concurrently with Techtextil and offer insights into all aspects of textile processing, including textile finishing and digital printing.

FIBRE & YARN MMF

Man-made fibres driving growth The global demand for textile fibres is expected to witness a growth of 2.5–2.7 per cent between 2016 and 2021, primarily driven by increasing consumption of MMF due to limited cotton production and supply coupled with other factors such as lower prices of MMF. A Fibre2Fashion Market Intelligence report.

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GLOBAL COTTON VS. MAN-MADE FIBRE MARKET SHARE (2011-2021)

2011

29.5%

70.5%

28.4%

71.6%

Source: Secondary Research, Experts Opinion, Fibre2Fashion Analysis

2016

2021

he global demand for textile fibres consumption has witnessed a significant growth in the past three decades, especially that of man-made fibres (MMF) which grew from 19,000 kilo tonnes (KT) in 1990 to 60,762 KT in 2015, thereby contributing more than 90 per cent of the growth in the consumption of textile fibres during the period. In the past three decades, when global population grew by 35–37 per cent to reach 7.3 billion, consumption of fibres reached 84,870 KT by registering a growth of almost 140 per cent. While the

global increase in population is one of the basic drivers for increased consumption of textile fibres, there are other factors such as rising incomes, more affordable fibres, textiles and apparel products as well as changing attitudes to traditional textile products – used increasingly as disposable fashion, that have also played an important role in the growth of the global textile fibres demand all these years. Population growth and growing food products demand have completely changed the textile fibres consumption scenario with MMF dominating the market with more than one-third of the overall consumption in 2011.

27.3%

72.7%

Cotton MMF

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FIBRE & YARN MMF

The demand for synthetic fibres in the Middle East and Africa is expected to grow at the fastest rate due to growing textiles industry there along with the large presence of industrial bases in the region.

REGIONAL COTTON CONSUMPTION, 2011-2021 (KT)

Further, according to the United Nations, the global population is estimated to reach 8.1 billion by 2025 and is moving up the food chain creating nearly 35 per cent of the additional demand for food products, resulting in fierce competition against other crops for arable land. This increase in population, on the other hand, is expected to shrink the limited availability of arable and cropland by creating a food crisis and hence limiting the availability of the arable land and stagnating cotton production. On the other hand, increasing population is also expected to increase the demand for textile fibres–both natural and man-made–by nearly 60 per cent, resulting in more consumption of MMF. This would be so since availability of raw materials for the production of MMF is expected to be available virtually on an unlimited basis for the next few decades and will cost significantly less than natural fibres. Apart from this, one more factor which ensures this unlimited availability is the recycling of MMF as against that of natural fibres, and the freedom of using these fibres in research and production to alter properties to make it suitable for newer applications. These factors are expected to be a major demand driver for MMF in the near future as well as in the long term.

Source: Secondary Research, Experts Opinion, Fibre2Fashion Analysis

Regional Cotton Consumption, 2011-2021 (KT)

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The global demand for cotton fibres was estimated to be 24,107.9 KT in 2015 as against the production of 21,719.5 KT in the same year. The demand for cotton fibres is expected to reach 28,054 KT by 2021 growing at a CAGR of 2.5 per cent during the period of study. The demand for cotton in Asia-Pacific is expected to be driven by increasing domestic consumption in India, China, and other Southeast Asian countries, coupled with increasing textiles exports to Europe and North America. Europe is expected to follow AsiaPacific in terms of demand due to the expanding textiles industry in Turkey. Globally, prices for cotton fibres are expected to remain stable due to the clearing of stocks by China, and lower prices of MMF due to weak crude oil prices. Demand for cotton fibres is expected to grow at a slower rate than MMF as the growth of textile fibres in turn is driven by emerging economies where synthetic fibres are gaining more penetration in textiles fabrics, as well as due to increasing consumption of synthetic fibres in industrial applications.

REGIONAL MMF CONSUMPTION MARKET SHARE, 2015 (%)

Increasing population is expected to increase the demand for textile fibres—both natural and man-made—by nearly 60 per cent, resulting in more consumption of MMF.

Source: Secondary Research, Experts Opinion, Fibre2Fashion Analysis

MARCH 2017 FIBRE2FASHION | 79

FIBRE & YARN MMF

VSF: SINGLE SUBSTITUTE FOR COTTON IN FUTURE

Source: Secondary Research, Experts Opinion, Fibre2Fashion Analysis

Meanwhile, synthetic fibres are expected to outpace cotton fibres in demand during the next decade. Globally, the demand for synthetic fibres is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.8 per cent as against 2.5 per cent CAGR of cotton till 2021. The growth in demand for MMF is driven by factors such as limited cotton production, increasing demand for textiles products due to increasing population, relatively high cotton prices and increasing applications of synthetic fibres into industrial applications. The demand for synthetic fibres in the Middle East and Africa is expected to grow at the fastest rate due to the growing textiles industry there along with the large presence of industrial

bases in the region, followed by Asia-Pacific which currently accounts for roughly 69 per cent of the global synthetic fibre demand. The demand for synthetic fibres in the region is expected to increase at a CAGR of 4.1 per cent between 2015 and 2025 to reach 52,015.0 KT by 2021 primarily driven by growth in domestic consumption, increased adoption of synthetic fibres in the domestic textiles industry and increasing demand for synthetic fibres for the industrial applications in the region. Both increasing population and increasing consumption of textiles, coupled with limited production of cotton is expected to widen the cellulosic gap further with each passing year. The only

Demand for cotton fibres is expected to grow at a slower rate than MMF as the growth of textile fibres in turn is driven by emerging economies where synthetic fibres are gaining more penetration in textiles fabrics, as well as due to increasing consumption of synthetic fibres in industrial applications.

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substitute available to cotton due to its favourable properties is viscose staple fibre (VSF) and it is estimated that cellulosic fibres will still account for 33–37 per cent of the total fibre as certain properties of cellulosic fibres, especially their physiological performance, makes it difficult to be substituted by petroleum-based synthetic fibres. Hence, viscose staple fibres being both an ideal substitute for cotton and being sustainable, are expected to fill this cellulosic gap providing a great opportunity for VSF manufacturers. Overall, the global demand for textile fibres is expected to witness a growth of 2.5–2.7 per cent between 2016 and 2021, primarily driven by increasing consumption of MMF due to limited cotton production and supply coupled with other factors such as lower prices of MMF and increasing consumption of MMF into other applications such as home textiles and industrial products. Also, another major driving factor would be the product and process innovation in both traditional and non- traditional textile product areas using MMF. For more information on this study, contact our Market Intelligence team at +91 9909920034 or write to us at mi@fibre2fashion.com

MARCH 2017 FIBRE2FASHION | 81

GREEN STRATEGY Dope-dyeing

DOPE-DYED FIBRES

A solution to environmental pollution

Viscose has been a fibre loved by consumers on account of its excellent attributes of comfort, fluid drape and aesthetic appeal, write Ajay Sardana and Amit Dayal

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Dope-dyed viscose-based fabrics have better wash and perspiration fastness than piece-dyed viscose fabrics.

ade from a renewable natural resource— wood pulp, viscose has been a preferred choice across applications like women’s fashionwear, menswear in blends and in home textiles. Why dope-dyed fibres? Wet processing, a common step used in the textiles industry, has the potential to cause a significant impact on the environment and on human health. This is because large amounts of chemicals and dyes are used in wet processing, resulting in effluents with a complex chemical composition. The cellulosic textiles industry consumes a large quantity of water in wet processing operations like desizing, scouring, mercerising, bleaching and dyeing during conversion of fibre to fabric. The last decade has seen growing concern about environmental issues which have increased manifold because of increasing industrial pollution, waste problems and the effects of global warming. In this context, dope-dyed viscose is one of the solutions in reducing environmental pollution and wastewater discharges in the textiles industry.

Dope-dyed viscose applications include dress pants, workwear, uniforms, leggings, knitted tops, thermalwear, carpets and nonwoven wipes.

MARCH 2017 FIBRE2FASHION | 85

GREEN STRATEGY Dope-dyeing

Dope-dyed viscose is one of the solutions in reducing environmental pollution and wastewater discharges in the textiles industry.

Benefits of dope-dyed viscose Dope-dyed viscose as an alternative offers innumerable advantages. Sustainability: To verify the issue of sustainability, a qualitative life-cycle assessment between viscose dopedyed knitted fabrics and viscose piece-dyed knitted fabrics has been completed by the North India Textile Research Association (NITRA). It is clear from this independent study that: Greenhouse gas emissions are reduced up to 20 per cent by using spun-dyed viscose, compared to the conventional dyeing of viscose. Wastewater generation is reduced up to 10 per cent and a significant reduction is noticed in heavy metal concentrations in the effluent generated by spun-dyed viscose. By adopting dope-dyeing, less chemicals and energy are needed as the process is short and less wastewater is generated. This enables direct savings on production costs, and ensures substantial reduction of the environmental footprint of the final products. Quality: Dope-dyed viscose-based fabrics have better wash and perspiration fastness (rating of 4–5 for both wash and perspiration fastness against rating of 3 for piece-dyed fabrics) against piece-dyed viscose fabrics though there is no significant difference in rubbing and sublimation fastness.

The cellulosic textiles industry consumes a large quantity of water in wet processing operations like desizing, scouring, mercerising, bleaching and dyeing during conversion of fibre to fabric.

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Cost: Apart from the above, dope-dyed viscose fabric is about `15–20 per kg cheaper compared to piece-dyed viscose. Ease of processing: As the fibre is already dyed, the process of dyeing is completely eliminated leading to the saving of a large amount of resources such as water, energy and chemicals. This results in less loading of effluents into the environment. Regulations: China is said to be planning to introduce an environmental tax on printing and dyeing companies. The law, to enter into force on January 1, 2018, will be key in combating pollution. The law will target enterprises and public institutions that discharge listed pollutants directly into the environment. So, dope-dyed viscose can be helpful for manufacturers in using piece dyeing processes and facing the issues of environmental pollution, shade consistency and cost in their production process. Dope-dyed fibre can be a significant part of the solution to all such problems. Applications of dope-dyed viscose Dope-dyed viscose applications include dress pants, workwear, uniforms, leggings, knitted tops, thermalwear, carpets and nonwoven wipes. In all these applications, consumers will value the benefits of dope-dyed fibres through their enhanced performance and the conservation of scarce natural resources.

About the authors Ajay Sardana is chief sustainability officer at Grasim Industries Ltd., Aditya Birla Group. He has rich experience of more than 20 years in the global textiles industry. He heads customer and market intelligence, liaison and sustainability of pulp and fibre business of Grasim. Amit Dayal is AVP of the textile research and application development centre at Grasim Industries Ltd, Aditya Birla Group, and has over 20 years’ experience in areas like application development, customer value propositions, seasonal collections, technical storylines for product and market promotion.

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TRADE EVENT Istanbul Yarn Fair

Turkey: Growing on resilience

The Turkish textiles and apparel industry holds a key position in the national economy thanks to the massive creation of employment (around 865,000 direct jobs) and huge export figures.

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Turkey has been beset with problems for a while. But since the referendum of 2016, the country’s economy has been stabilising. Turkey’s textiles and apparel industry, which exports mostly to the European Union, has shown remarkable resilience in times of turmoil, reports Jozef De Coster from the ground.

China was by far the strongest foreign presence in the Istanbul Yarn Fair.

he Istanbul Yarn Fair considers itself the world’s second top yarn fair after Pitti Filati of Florence. In yarns, Turkey is number one in Europe and among the top three in the world. This year, the fair was all the more interesting because it offered an opportunity to get comments from exhibitors and visitors about how and to what degree the Turkish textiles and apparel industry has been affected by the lingering problems and unrest in the Middle East, the failed coup of July 15, 2016, the spate of terrorist attacks in Turkey, and the use of cheap Syrian workforce in Turkish factories. The Turkish trade fair organiser Tüyap, which in February put the Istanbul Yarn Fair on the agenda for the 14th time, along with the small fair Knitting Tech, was happy with the results. The 215 exhibiting companies attracted 8,755 visitors, including 1,955 foreigners. Some exhibitors felt that they saw less foreign visitors at their stands, and that business was slower than in the previous editions. However, the industry associations and representatives of leading companies argued that taking into account the 2016 turmoil in Turkey and the region and the reluctance of many foreign buyers to book a flight to Istanbul, the yarn fair was indeed a success. They now see several reasons why 2017 should be a better year for the Turkish textiles sector than 2016. There’s hope that international negotiations may end the war in Syria. Russian buyers are returning to Turkey, and exports to markets like Iran, the US, Algeria, Israel, Poland and Bulgaria are increasing. A new free trade agreement (FTA) with Pakistan is under negotiation, while a group of textile investors are working towards a huge viscose production investment. Turkey’s textile machinery is becoming stronger (exports increased from $326 million

in 2013 to $502 million in 2016, but imports stood still at $1,224 million in 2016). The Turkish lira depreciation is making exports easier, and after the constitutional referendum of April 16, 2017 on stronger presidency sought by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, long-term decision making will be simpler for both domestic and foreign investors. At the start of 2017, the domestic textiles and garment market was developing well. Foreign professionals who are interested in the Turkish market (81 million inhabitants) and want to get a hang of what Turkish consumers buy, should not only windowshop along the famous Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul, but also visit two textile centres: Merter district for clothing, and the showrooms of the Tekstilkent and Gyimkent sales centres which together occupy 600,000 sq m. Koray Yurteri, director of the Tekstilkent Association, which has around 4,000 members mainly selling home textiles in Turkey, expects that the next special sales days from April 22 to 30 will be a success. He also believes that after the 2016 referendum the Turkish market will show accelerated growth.

A strong and resilient industry Turkey, an emerging market economy, is the world’s 17th largest economy in terms of nominal gross domestic product (GDP). In spite of the negative experiences the country has faced in the last few years, the Turkish economy remains strong. The Turkish textiles and apparel industry holds a key position in the national economy thanks to the massive creation of employment (around 865,000 direct jobs) and huge export figures. Industry associations are convinced that Turkish textiles and apparel export figures will continue growing. They want to realise an export value of $72 billion in 2023, the year of the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic. After China (and for some items also after India and Bangladesh), Turkey is the biggest supplier of textile goods to the European Union (EU). Since the end of 1995, Turkey has a Customs Union agreement with the EU.

MARCH 2017 FIBRE2FASHION | 89

TRADE EVENT Istanbul Yarn Fair

The White and Black shop in Merter sells jeans at $4–7 per piece.

For Europe, which has lost or de-located a substantial part of its traditional textiles and garment industry, it’s important that neighbouring Turkey remains a strong and competitive textile nation possessing two complete supply chains— starting from cotton and man-made fibre. Talks with exhibitors and visitors at the Istanbul Yarn Fair led to a twin conclusion: first, in spite of many domestic and regional troubles, the Turkish textiles sector remains surprisingly resilient and strong; second, Turkey currently faces huge challenges not only affecting its image as a textile power but as well as its long-term international competiveness.

Export growth not self-evident However, strong export growth cannot be achieved by the industry alone. The Turkish economy is dependent on national and regional stability. The government has to play a decisive role in maintaining good international trade relations, especially with the EU, the principal trade partner of the Turkish textiles and apparel industry. This is not obvious for several reasons, and relations between Turkey and the EU are under acute pressure too. Some Turkish textile players also think that the existing government’s subvention and support policy should be adapted (e.g. more sector incentives instead of regional incentives). The sector must also find the right remedies for some serious flaws. For instance, the number of textile students is rapidly dwindling, and textiles/garment companies are not finding enough workers, especially skilled workers and engineers. Young people prefer jobs in other sectors like tourism and new technologies. They do not consider working in the textiles industry to be ‘cool’. The ‘unsexy’ image of the industry could probably be changed if Turkey would be at the forefront of the creation and production of technical textiles. This is, however, not the case. The Turkish textiles industry is mainly a producer of traditional textile products, especially home textiles and apparel.

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Another handicap is the steady decrease in textile investments since 2013. According to Adil Nalbant, chairman of the textile machinery association Temsad, investments in textile machinery went down from $2.17 billion in 2013 to $2.0 billion in 2014, $1.36 billion in 2015 and $1.23 billion in 2016. Last but not least, Turkey must ensure that measures to protect its textiles and apparel industry do not backfire. At the Fair, KM Farhad of Farkantex, member of the Bangladesh EPZ Investors’ Association, remarked that Turkey recently removed the GSP status of Bangladesh. As a consequence, Turkish importers of Bangladeshi textile products now face import duties up to 38.5 per cent. This is a blow for Bangladeshi exports to Turkey which in 2016 reached about $2 billion. Other foreign countries complain about Turkish additional import duties and anti-dumping measures.

India looking for Turkish investment partners Part of the Istanbul Yarn Fair’s success was because of the special invitations extended to purchasing committees from India and 18 other select countries: Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Armenia, Morocco, Georgia, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Macedonia, Egypt, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Russia, Serbia, Syria, Tunisia and Ukraine. They all visited the fair as Tüyap’s guests. Among the 215 exhibitors, Turkish companies outnumbered foreign companies from 17 countries. There was a strong Chinese presence of around 30 exhibitors, but the Chinese drew less attention than the Indians (19 exhibitors), who took an interesting initiative. On the second day of the Fair, Texprocil, represented by joint director Ravindra Kumar and executive director Siddartha Rajagopal, staged an official presentation aimed at glorifying India as a textile nation. Afterwards, interested companies could participate in business-to-business talks with Indian exhibitors.

TRADE EVENT Istanbul Yarn Fair

Rajagopal surprised the audience by calling India ‘the most competitive manufacturer in the world’, producing textiles at a 30 per cent higher speed than China. Kumar invited the Turkish industrialists to engage in joint ventures with Indian companies. This seemed a clever move since several Turkish textile groups have enough capital and experience to engage in big strategic investments (like e.g. Ayka Textile did in Ethiopia). Subrato Gupta, joint secretary in the Indian textiles ministry, said that an excellent way to explore the potential of the Indian textiles industry would be to visit the textiles fair ‘Textiles India’, which in July 2017 will take place at the Gandhinagar Exhibition Centre in Gandhinagar, Gujarat with more than 1,000 exhibitors. Also, foreign companies that want to tap the fast-growing purchasing power of the Indian middle class should attend the show where they can meet Indian retail buyers.

Competing with recycled and special yarns

yarns with special properties like heat-resistant yarns, antibacterial yarns and texturised luminescent dyed yarns. Other exhibitors said that their competitiveness is based on superior quality. The Polish producer of Nylon 6.6, Nylon T and PBT Stilon-Martis was represented at the Yarn Fair by Istanbul based distributor Elta. According to Elta, Stilon’s products are competitive in Turkey because they stand at the same high level of quality as those of Italian company Fulgar, which is considered as an ambassador of Italian excellence in the textiles sector. Few exhibitors hailed price competition. However, Jessica, financial director of West Forest Thread from Cambodia (a subsidiary of the Chinese company Xin Hua Thread from Guangdong) said that the competitive price of the yarns made in Cambodia allowed West Forest to get already some Turkish customers. Lila, CEO of the Chinese company Aomu from Shaoxing, said Aomu’s products (hand-embroidered knits and home textiles) are successful in Turkey and other Middle East countries because she decided to focus on Muslim countries and to adapt the designs to Muslim taste.

A high number of Turkish exhibitors at the Fair, many of them from the Usak region, offered regenerated or recycled yarn. Oguzhan Kopal, sales representative of yarn No problems with Brexit producer Haksa, explained In 2016, 64 per cent of that Chinese recycled Turkey’s total textiles and yarn may be cheaper but apparel exports were for it was inferior to Haksa the EU countries. Among yarn because the latter those countries, the United used only strictly selected Kingdom was the second clean material. Marketing biggest export market with manager Zeki Celik of Sesli a share of 9 per cent in Tekstil, also from Usak, Turkey’s total textiles and said that the market share apparel exports. However, of regenerated yarn is Ismail Gülle, chairman growing, though in Turkey of İstanbul Textile and regeneration does not enjoy Raw Materials Exporters Koray Yurteri, General Manager of the home textiles association any government support. Association (ITHIB), does Tekstilkent expects a good 2017 for domestic sales in Turkey. Gama Recycle Elyaf, from not expect big problems Gaziantep, was calling due to Brexit. itself ‘the world leader of recycling’. The representative He said: “As trade partners of the United Kingdom, of Kaleiplik contended that the quality of his company’s we do have to respect the Brexit decision of the people of regenerated yarn was the best of the world after that of the Britain. It is known that Britain’s official separation from the Spanish quality champion Vilarrasa. EU will take some time. The effect of Brexit on short-term Another product niche which was well represented at exports of Turkey’s textile and apparel industries will be the Istanbul Yarn Fair was metallic yarn. Istanbul based limited. From the recent visit to Turkey of Theresa May, the producer of metallic yarns Betareks, which also has prime minister of the UK, we know that the bilateral talks a factory in Georgia, boasted being a ‘world leader in on a possible free trade agreement between the UK and metallic yarns’ in terms of volume (75 tonnes per day) Turkey have already started. Whatever the solution may be, as well as in terms of quality. Volume is not what Kit we believe that the common and historical trade relations Blake, managing director of the British Lurex Company, between the UK and Turkey will last forever, and of course is looking for. He said that the Lurex brand of metallic will grow continuously.” polyester yarn, which is praised for its softness and dye resistance, is only interested in the top-of-the-fashion Russians are coming back market. “Other companies may sell tonnes of metallic Turkey-Russia relations went sour after the downing of yarns at $8–10 per kg; we prefer selling 100 kilos at $100 a Russian fighter plane over Syria in November 2015. per kg,” Blake said. Russia banned a number of Turkish products, including Some exhibitors offered yarn with hi-tech textiles, readymade garments and leather products. This properties. Nicolay Ganjha, head of sales at OJSC was a heavy blow for Turkey since Russia is traditionally an SvetlogorskKhimvolokno, from Belarus, remarked that important export market. However, the two countries have this large government company, whose annual polyester decided to make a fresh start once again. An intensive yarn production exceeds 30,000 tonnes, is focusing on bilateral political dialogue has been established since the

92 | FIBRE2FASHION MARCH 2017

TRADE EVENT Istanbul Yarn Fair

second half of 2016. According to statistics of January 2017, Turkey’s total exports to Russia are rising again, and Turkish textiles and apparel products are among the leading ones. Alpay Yildirim, manager at the yarn wholesale company Birteks, mentioned that the current Turkish textile investments in Russia not only are done by garment production companies, but increasingly also by SME companies. Referring to the positive results of the Travel and Tourism Trade Fair EMITT (Istanbul, January 26-29, 2017), some observers predicted that the rapidly rising number of Russian tourists (possibly 3 million in 2017 compared to less than 1 million in 2016) will also add to increasing domestic textiles and garment sales. Seret Fayat, president of the Turkish Clothing Manufacturers’ Association TGSD argued that in 2017 the domestic market for clothing would grow 8–10 per cent.

Growing train transport from China to Western Europe Recently, for the first time in history, a freight train from China arrived in London. It is obvious that China will continue investing in the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st century Maritime Silk Road, also known as the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative, which in 2013 was launched by Chinese leader Xi Jinping. In Istanbul, where many foreign tourists visit the famous Galata Tower, they can read on a placard that in previous centuries this place was the last stop of the historical Silk Road. Ismail Gülle does not believe that a direct train connection between China and Western Europe is a threat for Turkish textile exports to EU countries. He explained: “A direct rail link between China and Western Europe will result in lower transport costs and quicker delivery. The line may not provide a suitable alternative for all producers, but it’s going to have dramatic results for sure. As for Turkey, our country will be one of the most important stations on the Modern Silk

Road. It may become once again the international trade centre of the western and eastern parts of the world. Turkey should not be afraid of China’s increasing competitiveness thanks to lower transport costs and quicker delivery. Turkey’s comparative advantages in textiles and apparel exports are mainly based on fast fashion, flexible production, qualified and talented employees. In other words, our multiple competitive advantages are beyond the basic advantage of low transportation cost and short delivery times.”

Turkey wants an active role in TTIP One of the first administrative steps of the Trump administration was to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). It is also known that the Trump administration has no positive feelings for the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement (TTIP) either. According to the impact analyses that ITHIB made of the negotiations between the US and the EU, Turkey would be seriously affected if Turkey does not participate in the partnership. One of the country’s main concerns about the current Customs Union agreement with the EU is the “totally unacceptable position” of Turkey when any third country concludes a free trade agreement with the EU. Until now, any third country that concluded an FTA with the EU, surprisingly also earned the advantage of entering the Turkish market without any limitation, thanks to the existing Customs Union Agreement (since December 31, 1995). Yet, Turkey is excluded from similar advantages. Until now Turkey has not been included in the decision mechanism of the EU-Turkey Customs Union. The Turkish minister for customs and trade recently stated that the updating of the Customs Union agreement was very important for Turkey and also for the EU. He insisted that Turkey absolutely wanted to be included in the EU’s FTAs made with third countries.

The issue of the Syrian refugees in Turkey

L to R: Subrato Gupta (Joint Secretary, Indian Textiles Ministry), Azar Khan (Counsellor General of India in Turkey) and Siddartha Rajagopal (Executive Director, Texprocil) invited Turkish textile groups to join forces with Indian companies.

94 | FIBRE2FASHION MARCH 2017

About 3 million of the total of 5 million Syrians who since 2011 fled from their country because of the ongoing violence are in Turkey. ITHIB joined forces with other organisations to design a solution called Humanitarian Industrial Zones. The solution is aimed to provide lifesupporting jobs for Syrian refugees living in harsh conditions in the region, thus alleviating both political and economic costs for all of the stakeholder countries. At the same time, Turkish companies can find workers at a competitive labour cost. Setting humanitarian purposes as its focal point, ITHIB and the US-Turkey Business Council recommend establishing an industrial zone that will operate within the context of a (duty-free) preferential trade agreement with the US and other similarly disposed countries. Gülle remarked: “I can happily state that our offer has received many good responses both in national and international circles. We hope we may bring a new and useful solution for better living conditions to our Syrian brothers and sisters.”

TRADE EVENT European Congress

Here Come The BODYGuards Textiles were once about covering the body. New inventions and innovations, however, indicate that the interplay between textiles and the human body could soon be the stuff that sci-fi films are made of, reports Jozef De Coster from Belgium.

96 | FIBRE2FASHION MARCH 2017

Several European textile and nonwoven companies work on new systems developed with state-of-the-art technology which guarantees more privacy and comfort to the patient and at the same time reduces the ecological footprint of the products used.

n India and other Asian countries, textile professionals tend to believe that the European textiles and garment industry is nearly dead. This may be true, in most European countries, for the home textiles and apparel manufacturing sectors, but not at all for technical textiles. This year again, this fact will

be demonstrated at the bi-annual Techtextil Trade Fair (Frankfurt; May 9-12, 2017) that technical textiles is a very dynamic and steadily growing sector in which European companies are playing a leading role. New developments in the subsector ‘textiles for healthcare’ were discussed at the Second European Congress on Innovations in Textiles

for Healthcare, organised by Belgian organisations Centexbel and Fedustria on February 7 and 8 in the textile city of Ghent. There’s no doubt that the production and consumption of textiles for healthcare will continue growing in the next decades. But it’s impossible to predict what will be the impact of innovations. Will innovations

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TRADE EVENT European Congress

lead to a step-by-step improvement of such textiles? Or, will there be some dramatic breakthrough as suggested in Ghent by Serbian textile researcher Lena Milivojevic? She reminded the audience that the human body is itself a fibre manufacturer and produces various kinds of fibres to protect our health. She believes that by 2050 the communication between nanofibres in a cell (DNA) and nanofibres in clothes will be possible. Her ideas tally with those of Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who recently argued that we must all become cyborgs if we are to survive the inevitable competition with robots endowed with artificial intelligence.

Starting from artificial uterus The range of textiles for healthcare is impressively diverse. At the European Innovations Congress in Ghent, several dozens of textile researchers presented healthcare products in various stages of development, covering human needs literally from birth to death. Some researchers focused on textile products for babies, others on products for the sick and elderly people, many on products for people in full activity, doing sports or working in hospitals or care centres. The famous German Hohenstein Institute for Textile Innovation presented a new technical fabric called Artus (Artificial Uterus), which acts as a physiotherapeutic artificial uterus for preemies. In Germany alone, around 50,000 babies are born premature every year. They have to stay in specialised incubators at neonatal intensive care units for weeks or even for months. Their situation is worse than that of prisoners. It often leads to severe motoric and sensory developmental deficits later in childhood. Maybe inspired by the famous experiments (1958) of American psychologist Harry Harlows with infant rhesus monkeys who formed an affectional bond with soft, cloth surrogate mothers, the Hohenstein Institute has developed a special textile-based artificial uterus for neonatal-incubators, which mimics the specific sensory impulses of the uterus (swing motions, mother’s

98 | FIBRE2FASHION MARCH 2017

voice and heartbeat, moisture/ heat management,…). A prototype is already available for clinical observations, and will now have to prove its use as a medical device. Other textiles that focus on newborns and babies are mattresses responding to sleeping apnoeas. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is the biggest cause of death of newborns and premature babies. This syndrome unexpectedly causes infants to die in their sleep without any evidence of accidental asphyxia, injuries or organic diseases. Belgian textile research organisation Centexbel has now joined forces with paediatricians and mattress manufacturers to develop a smart monitoring mattress that detects sleep apnoea in real-time and restores the baby’s breathing while recording data on the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Until the end of life Even people who enjoy robust health during childhood and adulthood may need specialised health care during the last days of their life. An increasing number of people attain a high age, and form a vast potential market e.g. for continuous health monitoring materials or incontinence products.

Swiss company Empa has developed a range of so-called ‘smart’ textile materials that react or adapt to physical stimuli. They are intended for the continuous monitoring of elderly people and chronic patients. The range includes a textile electrocardiogram sensor which is able to measure the electrocardiogram over long time periods and even on dry skin. Another development of Empa is that of textiles incorporating polymer optical fibres to be used for the prevention of decubitus ulcers. Empa has also developed a smart wound pad containing biosensors for wound healing monitoring based on fluorescent textiles. The Swiss company says it’s always doing its best to develop affordable textile materials. Current incontinence care systems for elderly people bring along many burdens for patients and care givers. Therefore, several European textile and nonwoven companies work on new systems developed with state-of-the-art technology which guarantees more privacy and comfort to the patient and at the same time reduces the ecological footprint of the products used. Their research and development efforts are not

By 2050 the communication between nanofibres in a cell (DNA) and nanofibres in clothes will be possible.

We must all become cyborgs if we are to survive the inevitable competition with robots endowed with artificial intelligence.

restricted to diapers for the sick or elderly people. They also cover fabrics for patients’ and staff clothing, bed linen, drapes, etc. An example is the new ecofriendly wash permanent flameproof finishing of cotton and cotton/polyester blends developed by Czech company Inotex. The healthcare textiles treated with the newly developed finishings of Inotex (Texaflam DFR system) are said to combine three advantages: they are flame retarding and wash permanent; they are free of harmful substances; and they ensure a high wearing comfort. The Hohenstein Institute and the William-Küster Institute believe that many of the antimicrobial treatment substances available on the market today are very effective on cotton, polyester, polyamide and mixtures of these fibres, but not on wool and mixed fibres containing wool. This is a pity because normally woollen articles are less frequently washed than cotton ones. Therefore, the German research institutes have for the first time developed a treatment based on colloidal complexes specifically for wool and wool and PET fibre blends. By applying colloidal layers of the SA/ TSA complex (in a 1:2 ratio), together with a colloidal zincpyrithione

formulation over the sol-gel coating, a strong antimicrobial effect was achieved which lasted even after 25 wash cycles.

Low pressure plasma technology Plasma is considered to be the 4th state of matter. It interacts with all exposed surfaces of the material, including the inner surfaces of open cell materials. Over the years, plasma technology has been further developed to achieve specific functionalities on textile materials such as hydrophilic, super-hydrophilic or super-oleophobic. In health care, a new trend is coalescing which will replace disposable products (also called single use products) by products and articles that can be reused. Examples of such materials are surgical apparel and woven polyester-based garments. Low pressure plasma coatings of these products offer an environmentfriendly alternative of the traditional durable liquid repellent coatings typically deposited via pad-dry-cure processes where huge amounts of water, chemicals and energy are used. A recent study on plasmatreated textiles showed a substantial reduction in use of chemicals and energy combined with a zero

water consumption. Europlasma, a Belgium-based nanocoating specialist, contends that contrary to what many people think, low pressure plasma technology is also very cost effective. Europlasma expects that environmental legislations will drive more textile producers from wet chemical processing to a dry and clean technology such as plasma. Researchers from the Ghent University have announced that they in cooperation with other European specialists in the context of the European research project ‘Plasma-Tex’ have tested a plasmaassisted route to engineer polymer films and nonwoven fabrics with antimicrobial nano-composite coatings. The cytotoxicity of the coatings and materials was investigated for different deposition conditions of nano-composites and analysed in terms of possible medical applications.

Healthcare textiles without toxins Currently, many hospitals and care centres use antimicrobial chemicals and metals to kill microbes on surfaces. But, now there is a trend emerging that removes these toxins from healthcare to provide healthier environments both for healthcare workers and patients. Florida-based biotech company Sharklet Technologies has developed a patented microtexture inspired by the texture of shark skin. The unique texture and pattern of shark skin naturally slows the growth of barnacles and algae.

The organisers of the European Congress in Ghent encouraged companies and research institutes to participate in ‘partner meetings’.

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TRADE EVENT European Congress

According to a study on antimicrobial resistance and infection control, the shark skin microtexture, when applied to high-touch surfaces, reduces surface contamination by as much as 94–97 per cent. Leading producer of release papers Sappi North America has partnered with Sharklet Technologies to develop a new technology to impart the Sharklet microtexture onto its release paper. Manufacturers using Sappi’s new release paper Neoterix ST can now transfer the Sharklet micropattern and its microbial resistance properties onto new product surfaces. By the way, Speedo’s super-fast LZR Racer swimsuit was shark-skin inspired. It gave swimmers like Michael Phelps such an edge that in 2009 it was banned from international swimming competitions.

Companies in search of innovations The organisers of the European Congress in Ghent encouraged companies and research institutes to participate in ‘partner meetings’. This was not an Europeans-only encounter programme since companies like Welspun (India), Sappi (US) and a series of South Korean companies presented themselves as being in

Empa has developed a smart wound pad containing biosensors for wound healing monitoring based on fluorescent textiles.

search of innovative technologies in the field of healthcare textiles. Welspun India Ltd presented itself as one of India’s fastest growing business houses, with a turnover of nearly $3.5 billion and with over 24,000 skilled workers. Welspun also boasted being the largest company in the terry towel business globally. Dayal Mehta, manager (innovation and marketing) of Welspun, mentioned on the profile page for the partnering meetings that Welspun was looking for possible partners in the fields of bedding/

Europlasma expects that environmental legislations will drive more textile producers from wet chemical processing to a dry and clean technology such as plasma.

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sleeping, wound care, hygiene and auxiliaries. But, what were the 11 participating South Korean companies looking for? An example. Good Uniform, from Korea’s largest textile city Daegu, presented itself as a producer of highclass functional textiles at reasonable prices destined to create uniforms such as nurses’ wear, doctors’ gowns, surgery uniforms and patients’ gowns. The company boasted that its online shopping mall was growing at a high speed. It said it was looking for an innovative technology for manufacturing medical uniforms. The Koreans hoped to find a partner who was able to develop uniforms on which the propagation of bacteria would be impossible, even after washing the uniform 50 times at 75–100 °C. Probably, several European companies that were present at the Ghent Conference were able to respond to the requirements of Good Uniform. Take for example Vetex, a Belgium-based specialist of performant textile and tapes, who said that its surgical gowns, drapes and covers were 10 times stronger than the required standard, that its materials for multiple use were protecting doctors, nurses and patients 100 per cent against contamination and infection, and that its materials were composed of membranes that exceeded the waterproof six times.

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Patent Caution Notice Our Clients M/s. Arvind Limited (erstwhile The Arvind Mills Limited) are the proprietor in India of the patent in respect of a “METHOD, DEVICE AND SYSTEM FOR TRANSFERRING YARNS IN THE FORM OF BEAM/ROPE INTO YARN PACKAGES” which was published on May 13th, 2005, was granted on November 27th, 2006 and bears patent no. 203921 (hereinafter referred to as “said patent”). The said patent discloses “a method and a device thereof for transferring yarns from beam into yarn packages. Accordingly, yarn ends unwound from a yarn beam, are maintained in separate state from the adjacent end, by passing the unwound yarn ends into a plurality of eyelets and then drawing them using at least a pair of rollers. The drawn yarn ends are supported and guided simultaneously by multiple substantially long hollow tubes towards individual winding heads for forming packages.” Notice is given to whom it may concern that in view of the grant of the said patent, our Clients are entitled to prevent unauthorized third parties from the act of making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing for those purposes the patented device. Further, our Clients are entitled to prevent unauthorized third parties from the act of using the patented method, and from the act of using, offering for sale, selling or importing for those purposes the product obtained directly by the patented method in India. Thus, all unauthorized third parties are requested to refrain from such aforementioned infringing acts, failing which you shall be liable for civil action as well as damages. Unauthorized end users particularly Textile Mills/Process Houses and all Textile Machine Manufacturers are warned to ensure that they buy and place orders for products obtained directly by the patented method only from our Clients and none else or obtain proper authorization/license to the said patent from our Clients, failing which they may also be liable for civil action and damages. All those Textile Mills/Process Houses OR Textile Machine Manufacturers who are interested in being an authorized/licensed user of the said patent are requested to send an email at arvind.patentcell@arvind.in

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Index A Adan Mohamed, Minister of Industry, Kenya 28 Adesso Advanced Materials Wuhu Co Ltd 64 Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail Ltd [ABFRL] 16 [ATIRA] Ahmedabad Textile Industry’s Research Association 43, 45 Aisha Abubakar, Minister of State for Industry, Nigeria 26 Ajay Sardana, Chief Sustainability Officer, Grasim Industries Ltd 84-86 Aleksandar Subosic, Co-Founder, Ivyrevel 38 Alibaba Group 24 Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (Alliance) 20 Almazbek Abdrayev, General Director, Tekstil Trans 32 Alok Industry Ltd 10 Alpay Yildirim, Manager, Birteks 94 [A&E] American & Efird, Industrial sewing thread manufacturer 38 Amit Dayal, AVP, Grasim Industries Ltd 84-86 Ananth Narayanan, CEO, Myntra & Jabong 17 Andrea Crespi, GM, Eurojersey 70 Asahi Kasei Corp 64 Ayka Textile, Vertically integrated textile manufacturer 92 B Bagir Group Ltd 34 Bailian Group 24 BC Tripathi, CMD, GAIL 11 Bestseller 16 Betareks, Istanbul-based producer of metallic yarns 92 Bill de Blasio, Mayor, New York City 34 Birla Cellulose 12 Birteks, Yarn wholesaler in Macedonia 94 Bo Liang, President, Chairman & CEO, Adesso 64 Bob Patel, CEO, LyondellBasell 30 Bombay Dyeing 10, 16 Brahmaputra Cracker & Polymer 11 [BFC] British Fashion Council 14 British Lurex Company, Metallic yarns producer 92 BSI Group, Business management consultant, Mumbai 17 BST Textile Mills Pvt Ltd 17 Bud Kilby, CEO & President, Renfro Corporation 51 C Centexbel, Belgian textile research centre 97-98 [CICR] Central Institute for Cotton Research 11 Certilogo, a leader in consumer-assisted product authentication 36 CGCOC Group Co Ltd 32 Chery New Energy Automobile Technology Co Ltd 64 [CAMTC] China Academy of Machinery Science Technology 64 China Chemical Fiber Industry Association 24 China Cotton Association 22 [CCPIT-TEX] China Council for the Promotion of International Trade’s SubCouncil of Textile Industry 72 China Graphene Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance 24 [CiNE] China International Nonwovens Expo & Forum 72 [CNITA] China Nonwovens & Industrial Textiles Association 72 China Textile Industry Association 24 Christian von Mitzlaff, Programme Coordinator, German-Bangladesh Higher Education Network on Sustainable Textiles 20 [CII] Confederation of Indian Industry 42 [CAI] Cotton Association of India 11 Cottweiler, Menswear brand 34 CR Prayag, Officiating Director, ATIRA 43, 45 D Daimler AG, German automotive corporation 66 Daniel Zhang, CEO, Alibaba 24

Dayal Mehta, Mgr-Innovation & Mktg, Welspun India Ltd 100 Diesel, Italian retail clothing company 36 Dilip Barooah, Director, Fabric Plus 43, 45 Dipali Goenka, CEO & joint MD, Welspun India Ltd 12 Directa Plus Plc, Supplier of graphenebased products 70 DOHWA, Engineering firm in South Korea 32 Donald Trump, US President 51 Dr Scholl’s 50 Dr. Jürgen Pettrak, Operational Div, Straubinger Entwässerung und Reinigung 68 Duan Xiaoping, Chairman, China Chemical Fiber Industry Association & VP, China Textile Industry Association 24 E Eastman Chemical Company 32 Eco-Friendly Digital Fabrics India Pvt Ltd 58-61 Edgewell Personal Care, Producer of personal hygiene products 53 E-Dhaga, Mobile application to assist weavers 43 Eileen Calder, Product Manager, Suominen 62 ELG Carbon Fibre Ltd 64 Elon Musk, Founder of Tesla & SpaceX 98 Empa, Swiss federal laboratories for materials science and technology 38, 98, 100 Eurojersey Spa 70 European Innovations Congress 98 Europlasma, Belgium-based nanocoating specialist 99 Evonik Industries 66 F Fabric Plus Pvt Ltd 43, 45 Faded Glory, Walmart’s private denimdriven lifestyle brand 50 Farkantex Ltd 90 [FMO] Fashion Matrix Overseas, Manufacturer and supplier of high fashion apparel 58-61 Fazle Kabir, Governor, Bangladesh Bank 20 [FICCI] Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry 42 Fedustria, Belgian non-profit federation of the textile, wood and furniture industry 97 Flipkart 17 Forever 21 16 Forster Rohner 72 Frazer Barnes, MD, ELG Carbon Fibre 64 Freudenberg 72 Fruit of the Loom 50 G Gabriela Hearst, Womenswear brand 34 GAIL India Ltd 11 Gama Recycle Elyaf, Integrated regenerated yarn manufacturer in Turkey 92 Garg Acrylics Ltd 17 Gautam Vazirani, Curator, IMG Reliance 14 Giulio Cesareo, CEO, Directa Plus 70 [GOTS] Global Organic Textile Standards 61 Gokaldas Exports, Manufacturer & exporter of apparel 14 Good Uniform Co 100 Grasim Industries Ltd 12, 86 Groz-Beckert 72 Grupo Antolin 66 Gunjan Soni, Head, Jabong 17 H H&M 34, 38 Haksa Yarn Co 92 Harry Harlows, American psychologist 98 HB Fuller, Adhesives manufacturer 68 Himatsingka Seide Ltd 12 [HPCL] Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd 11 Hohenstein Institute 98-99 Honeywell Packaging & Composites, US based manufacturer of performance materials 70 Hydro_Bot, Technology for moisture management 38

I Ibena, German textile manufacturer 72 IBM 60 Ikai, Label by fashion designer Ragini Ahuja 14 Ilan Levin, CEO, Stratasys 66 IMG Reliance, Event management company 14 Imprima Spa 32 INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry 72 India Handmade Bazaar, Online portal providing direct market access facility to hand loom weavers and handicraft artisans 43, 45 [ICAR] Indian Council of Agricultural Research 11 [ISRO] Indian Space Research Organisation 45 Indo Rama Synthetics (India) Ltd 10 [IPDC] Industrial Parks Development Corporation 32 Inotex, Industrial chemical wholesaler and producer of textile products 99 [IWP] International Woolmark Prize 34 Island Monks, Spencer’s private label 14 Ismail Gülle, Chairman, ITHIB 92, 94 ITHIB, Istanbul Textile and Raw Material Exporters’ Association 92, 94 Ivyrevel, Digital fashion house 38 J Jack & Jones 14 Jacqueline De Yong 16 James Moriarty, Country DirectorBangladesh, Alliance 20 [JICA] Japan International Cooperation Agency 20 Jaya Shree Textiles, Linen producer 12 Jessica, Financial Director, West Forest Thread 92 Jitendra Singh, Minister, DoNER, India 42 Junarose, Fast fashion brand 16 K Ka-Sha, Label by Karishma Shahani Khan 14 Karishma Shahani Khan, Fashion designer 14 KBC Fashion GmbH & Co., German finishing & textile printing company 32 Kelheim Fibres, German based specialty viscose fibre producer 68 Kering, French luxury goods holding company 36 Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Home Affairs, India 42, 45-46, 48 Kit Blake, MD, British Lurex Company 92 Kjus, Premium sportswear brand 38 KM Farhad, MD, Farkantex Ltd 90 Kolon Industries, South Korean airbags manufacturer 68 Koray Yurteri, Director, Tekstilkent Association 89, 92 Kornit Digital Ltd 59 Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group 12 L Lear Corporation 66 Lectra, Software company 68 Lena Milivojevic, Serbian textile researcher 98 Lenzing, Manufacturer of man-made cellulose fibres 30, 72 Li Yichun, Secretary General, China Graphene Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance 24 Lila, CEO, Shaoxing Aomu Import and Export Co Ltd 92 Lori Wagner, Armour Mktg Mgr, Honeywell Packaging & Composites 70 Louis Philippe 60 LyondellBasell 30 M Macy’s 51 Mamalicious 16 Manish Bagrodia, MD, Winsome Yarns Ltd 17 Marcraft Clothes, Inc 36 Mark Hatton, VP-Americas, A&E 38 McLaren Racing Ltd 66 Mehler Texnologies 72 Melco Holdings Inc 30 Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd 72 MH Engineering, Scottish engineering firm 32

Michele Sioen, CEO, Sioen Industries 68 Mogul, Turkey based manufacturer of nonwoven products 62 Mukesh Tyagi, Director, BST Textile Mills Pvt Ltd 17 Mukul Sangma, Chief Minister, Meghalaya, India 42, 45-46, 48 Myntra 17 N Nagesh Rajanna, CEO, Bombay Dyeing Retail 16 Najeeb Shah, Chairman, Central Board of Excise & Customs 10 Name It, Kidswear brand 16 Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, India 46 [NFA] Nashville Fashion Alliance 34 National Institute for Design 48 Nicolay Ganjha, Head-Sales, OJSC SvetlogorskKhimvolokno 92 Nitin Spinners Ltd 12 Noisy May, Fashion brand 16 [NITMA] Northern India Textile Mills’ Association 17 O Object Collectors Item 16 Oguzhan Kopal, Sales Representative, Haksa Yarn Co 92 OJSC SvetlogorskKhimvolokno, Producer of polyester textile yarns, nonwoven polypropylene materials, heat-resistant materials 92 Only 16 Only & Sons, Danish brand 16 Osmotex, Swiss-Norwegian start-up 38 Outlast Europe 72 P Antar-Agni, Label by Ujjawal Dubey 14 Peugeot Citroen 66 PHP Fibers 72 Pieces, Clothing brand 16 Poojaa Kumar Deepak, Leader -Mktg, Zeven 14 Professor Abdul Mannan, Chairman, UGC-Bangladesh 20 PVH Corp 36 R Raja M Shanmugham, President, TEA 10 Rajiv Garg, MD, Garg Acrylics Ltd 17 Ranjit Dutta, Handloom & Sericulture Minister, Assam 11 Ravindra Kumar, Jt Director, Texprocil 90 Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President, Turkey 89 Renault Nissan 66 Renfro Corporation 50-54 Robert van de Kerkhof, CCO, Lenzing Group 30 Rohit Bansal, Co-Founder, Snapdeal 17 RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group 14 Russell, Athletic wear brand 50 S Sandler 72 Sappi North America 100 Sattler Pro-Tex 72 Saurer Group 22 SCA, Swedish hygiene products marketer 64 Schlafhorst, Manufacturer of automatic winding machine 22 Schoeller Textil AG, Swiss based textile manufacturer 38, 72 SD Giri, Director, Shahi Exports 45 Seema Sethi, FMO 58 Selected Homme 16 Seret Fayat, President, Turkish Clothing Manufacturers’ Association 94 Sesli Tekstil, Exporter of acrylic blanket, cotton blanket, acrylic yarn from Istanbul 92 Shahi Exports Pvt Ltd 45 Shaoxing Aomu Import and Export Co Ltd, Chinese manufacturer of garments, textiles and accessories 92 Sharklet Technologies, Florida-based biotech company 99-100 Shashwat Goenka, Sector Head, Spencer’s Retail 14 Sidcot Group Ltd 64 Siddartha Rajagopal, Executive Director, Texprocil 90, 94 Sioen Industries 68, 72 Smriti Irani, Textiles Minister, India 10, 42, 45-46, 48 Snapdeal 17

[SISCO] South India Surgical Company 26 SP Shukla, Ex-Member of Planning Commission, India 42 SpaceX, American aerospace manufacturer 98 Spencer’s Retail 14 Stockerpoint, Traditional costume store in Bavarian region, Germany 59 Stratasys, Manufacturer of 3D printers & 3D production systems 66 Straubinger Entwässerung und Reinigung, Cleaning enterprise of Straubing city 68 Subrato Gupta, Jt Secretary, Textiles Ministry, India 92, 94 Suominen Corp 62 Superior Glove, Industrial work gloves manufacturer 70 T Tekstil Trans Ltd 32 Tekstilkent Association, Turkish Home Textile Industrialists’ Association 89, 92 Tesla Inc 98 Textilwerke 72 TGSD, Turkish Clothing Manufacturers’ Association 94 [TEXPROCIL] The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council 90, 94 Theresa May, Prime Minister, UK 92 [TEA] Tiruppur Exporters’ Association 10 Tom Caudle, President, Unifi 38 Tommy Hilfiger 36 Trützschler 72 Tüyap, Turkish trade fair organizer 89 U Ujjawal Dubey, Fashion designer 14 [UKFT] UK Fashion & Textile Association 28 Unifi, Inc 38 United Textiles of America (Unitexa) 30 [UNCG] University of North Carolina at Greensboro 36 V Van Tucker, CEO, NFA 34 Veranneman Technical Textiles 68 Vero Moda 16 Vetex, Belgium-based specialist of performant textile and tapes 100 VF Corp 36 Vila Clothes 16 Vilarrasa, Cotton mill in Spain 92 Vipin Sethi, Director, FMO 58 Volkswagen 66 W Wadia Group 16 Waheed Olagunju, Acting MD, BoI, Nigeria 26 Walmart 50-54 Wang Jianfeng, Vice Mayor, Nantong Municipal Govt 24 Wasim Khan, Exhibition designer 14 Wazir Advisors Pvt Ltd 11 Welspun India Ltd 12, 100 West Forest Thread, Subsidiary of Xin Hua Thread Co Ltd 92 William-Küster Institute 99 Winsome Yarns Ltd 17 Wise SGR, Italian private equity fund 32 Wisequity IV, Subsidy of Wise SGR 32 [WRAP] Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production 60-61 X Xi Jinping, Gen Sec, Communist Party of China 94 Xianyang Textiles Group Co Ltd, Chinabased yarn manufacturer 22 Xin Hua Thread Co Ltd, Sewing thread producer 92 Y Y.A.S. 16 Ye Yongming, Chairman & President, Bailian Group 24 Z Zeki Celik, Mktg Mgr, Sesli Tekstil 92 Zeven, Sportswear & accessories manufacturer 14 Zuboni Humtsoe, Fashion designer 43, 45 6Degree, Fashion talent and tech platform by Nikhil Hegde and Amit Bhardwaj 14