Textile Today | May 2018

Bangladesh

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Bangladesh

Driving business with knowledge

Editorial Panel Editor in chief Prof. Md. Monirul Islam Executive Editor Prof. Dr. Engr. Ayub Nabi Khan Technical Editor Prof. Dr. Engr. Md. Saifur Rahman Dr. Engr. Md. Fazley Elahi Dr. Md. Abbas Uddin (Shiyak) Dr. Mohammad Nazmul Karim Consulting Editor Dr. NN Mahapatra Dr. Mohammed Tareque Aziz C.N. Sivaramakrishnan Ashfaque Ahmed Associate Editor Jamal Abdun Naser Md. Mominul Motin (Tusher)

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Sub Editor Akhi Akter Rahbar Hossain Technical Team Co-ordinator Setara Begum Member S.N. Abdullah Amzad Hossain Monir Md. Abdul Jobber Mir Abdullah Al Mahfuz Rakibul Islam Al Takbir Mahim Editor & Publisher A.S.M Tareq Amin Published on 1st June 2018 by Amin & Jahan Corporation Ltd. House-41, Road-5, Block-B, Monsurabad R/A, Adabor, Dhaka-1217 Tel: +88 02 55093682 Email : info@textiletoday.com.bd Web : www.textiletoday.com.bd Printed by: VIP Printers, Fakirapool, Dhaka.

The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher or the editor. We have taken every effort to ensure accuracy. Bangladesh Textile Today does not accept any liability for claims made by advertisers or contributors. The publisher reserves the right to edit and publish any editorial material supplied and does not accept responsibility for loss or damages of any unsolicited material or contribution. Š All rights reserved to Amin & Jahan Corporation Ltd. 2018 Volume 11, Issue 05 (May 2018) Reg 8/2012, Dhaka.

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Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Driving business with knowledge Volume 11 |

Issue 05 |

ISSN 1999-2076 Reg. 8/2012 May 2018 www.textiletoday.com.bd

BDT 150, USD 10

On the Cover Driving business with knowledge

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Bangladesh should utilize the possibility of long-term export opportunity in Russia

Canada, a potential growth market for Bangladesh RMG Bangladesh has a great prospect to expand its apparel export in Japan

10 reasons why Bangladesh will be able to achieve $50 billion apparel export by 2021

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Content

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Special Feature

10 reasons why Bangladesh will be able to achieve $50 billion apparel export by 2021

Denim Today

22-23

Lenzing increases capacity and sales intensity on Tencel™

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Will the jute polymer production project be sealed for 17 million taka?

Market Analysis

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Challenges and opportunities of Bangladesh denim industry

Export Today

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Apparel exports grew 9.37 percent in first 10 months

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Household sewing machine consumption is set to reach 30 million units by 2025

What needs to build trust with busy, sustainability-minded consumers?

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BGWTF annual get together 2018 held, 5 companies received Best Development Award

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National budgetchallenges in inland resource mobilization

Textile People

18

Industry academy collaboration sought in designing outcome based curriculum for textile education

News & Analysis

Bangladesh has a great prospect to expand its apparel export to Japan

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Career Fair held to provide jobs for skilled trainees of BKMEA-SEIP project

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Canada, a potential growth market for Bangladesh RMG

Accord gets six more months from BGMEA

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BD should utilize the possibility of long-term export opportunity in Russia

Content Factory Tales

41

May’ 18 |

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Issue 05

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Accord provides financial support to five RMG factories

News and Analysis

49-52 42

Protection policy hurts export diversification

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Our own brand will give more control on the market and the manufacturing facilities will be less vulnerable to major market changes.…

Dekko Group launches its own Fashion Store ‘KLUBHAUS’ SQ Group partnered with Mercer Consulting to transform its organizational HR practices

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Lenzing Group set strategies to bounce back the fall of revenue in first quarter of 2018

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SGS BD presents ZDHC certified training in chemical management

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Aamra Resources to do marketing, sales and services of Atlas Copco products

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Archroma made partnership with ‘House of Denim’

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CPD stresses to improve labour standard to cope with SDG

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Loepfe appoints Daniel Link as new CEO

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Extraction, processing, properties and use of hemp fiber

Major qualitative change in economy, infrastructure and governance is needed for sustainable LDC graduation

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Bangladeshi designer got gold medal in China

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Snowtex launches its own fashion brand SaRa

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91st Textile Institute World Conference to be held in July in Leeds in the UK

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Nanollose developed a sustainable fabric from Nullarbor

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Bangladesh RMG industry moving towards environmental sustainability

Meditex expo 2018 showed huge demand of medical textile for future healthcare

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President stresses for more investments to sustain industrial growth

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Editorial

10 reasons why Bangladesh will be able to achieve $50 billion apparel export by 2021

Tareq Amin

By the end of the current fiscal year in June 2018, Bangladesh will have three financial years remaining to take its yearly apparel export to USD 50 billion. After a sluggish financial year 2016-17, current FY is going to be encouraging and now the sector again can hope that Bangladesh may be able to make it happen. Or even if it fails, the country may get closer to the target.

Table 1 shows that strategic apparel/RMG export target is 30.16 billion USD for the FY 2017-18. At the end of first 10 months, the country achieved 25.31 billion USD which is 3.17 % higher than the strategic target of the same period. That means if the country can continue to do export in the similar pace at the end of the year RMG export will be around 31.12 billion USD.

3. Getting more close to the growth markets: A trend has been visible in recent times that, Bangladeshi manufacturers once getting bigger they have achieved the capacity to invest in their own marketing and so they are going closer to the markets and bringing more orders to them.

4. Safety reputation: Because of the strong intervention of Accord and Alliance, Bangladesh has achieved a strong reputation on workers’ safety. Now the country is one of the safest apparel making country in the world.

5. Huge capacity, easier control on the supply chain: Bangladeshi companies have built unbelievable vertical capacity which is unique to China. Brands

Table 1: Summery of RMG export performance of Bangladesh in the period July-April of FY 2017-18 and comparison with strategic targets. (Source: EPB) Export for 2016-17

Products

Export Target of 2017-18

Strategic Target for July-Apr. 2017-18

Export Performance for July-Apr. 2017-18

% Change of export Performance Over s. Export Target

Export Performance for July-Apr. 2016-17

% Change of export performance July-Apr. 2017-18 Over July-Apr. 2016-17

(a) Knitwear (Chapter 61)

13757.3

15100

12280.13

12540.29

2.12

11254.17

11.43

(b) Woven Garments (62)

14392.6

15060

12247.6

12765.27

4.23

11883.14

7.42

RMG(Chapter 61&62)

28149.8

30160

24527.72

25305.6

3.17

23137.31

9.37

To achieve 50 billion USD within June 2021, Bangladesh has to increase its RMG export from 31.12 billion USD to 50 billion USD in three years, which is a growth more than 60%. To achieve this target Bangladesh needs to get 16.9% year on year average growth as shown in table 2. Considering the current export trend it is may be told that is very difficult but definitely not impossible.

Table 2: Target growth to be achieved in coming years in an expected CAGR of 16.9% Expected RMG Export 2017-18 (Billion $)

Target RMG Export 2018-19 (Billion $)

Target RMG Export 2019-20 (Billion $)

Target RMG Export 2020-21 (Billion $)

31.12

36.38

42.53

49.71

If somebody asks, why Bangladesh will be able to achieve this? We can mention 10 strong reasons why the country will achieve 50 billion targets.

those who want to make their supply chain more transparent, they are shifting more orders to Bangladesh as if controlling the supply chain is easier here.

6. Huge crowd of global brands: Any global retail brand selling apparel now considers Bangladesh if they want to open second overseas sourcing office after China.

In Bangladesh they get experts and suppliers to run their operations.

7. Technology adoption, qualitative transformation: The country in recent times has adopted most sophisticated technologies for textile and apparel manufacturing. The achievement rate of quality and technical compliance is very high in Bangladesh.

8. Power & gas supply is getting better: Even though cost is increasing, government now in the position to make sure uninterrupted supply of power and gas to the industries.

1. Strong government support to the entrepreneurs: it has been seen distinctively in recent times that the government is extending all sort of necessary supports to the industry owners. Some of those supports could be mentioned as tax cut, continuing incentives, depreciating taka against USD, more and more apparel businessmen in the government etc.

9. Human capital transformation: It is not only a slogan now. Even though quality of education is still a question, but the country is producing huge number of graduates every year in the area of textile and apparel. Such big influx of educated and trained youth is making the sector capable of taking any challenge forward. There has been a strong growth in professional level training as well.

2. Huge private sector investments: despite turmoil in the banking sector it has been seen that unprecedented amount of investment went to the textile and apparel sector of Bangladesh. Most of the renowned apparel makers are increasing their capacities very rapidly.

10. Green branding: Being the host of top 7 USBC LEED certified green factories; Bangladesh has done a revolution in green investment in garment sector.

This is the time for Bangladesh to capitalize on ‘Green’ branding by attracting the attention of global consumers and the brands.

12

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Volume 11, Issue 05

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D e n i m To d a y

Challenges and opportunities of Bangladesh denim industry Textile Today Research Bangladesh is the second largest producer of denim products after China. Bangladesh is exporting denim products approximately 200 million pieces every year all over the world mostly in the EU and US market. This thriving industry is mainly driven by its large-scale manufacturing capacity and lower production cost. According to Bangladesh Textile Mill Association (BTMA), Bangladesh currently has 31 denim fabrics manufacturing mills, which produce over 437.877 million yards of fabrics every year.

Figure 1: Popularity of denim products for youth is increasing significantly.

Denim export trends Bangladesh has become a major hub for sourcing trendy denim products for international retailers mainly due to its competitive pricing. Brands like Charles Voegele, G-Star, Jack and Jones, s.Oliver, River Island, H&M, C&A, PVH and Gap, Uniqlo, Tesco, Walmart, Levi’s, Diesel, Wrangler, Hugo Boss have turned to Bangladesh in the last couple of years for denim product imports.

Many companies in Bangladesh are

The largest exporter of denim products to Europe with a 27% market share

According to the Table 1 and 2, Bangladesh denim export to the US and EU is rising significantly and denim export to the US has been

Year

Value of export (in billions) $0.939

Year

Value of export (in millions)

2014

2014

$426.45

2015

$1.17

2015

$439.86

2016

$1.29

2016

$463.61

2017

$1.30

$507.92

Table 2: Bangladesh’s denim export to EU. Source: Eurostat

2017

Table 1: Bangladesh’s denim export to the US. Source: Eurostat According to Eurostat, statistics directorate of the European Commission, Bangladesh exported

The third largest exporter of denim products in the US with 14.20% market share

doubling their capacity. Nowadays Bangladesh exports Blue Denim Trousers WG, Blue Denim Trousers MB, Blue Denim Skirts, Blue Denim Jackets, Blue Denim Suit Type Coats MB, Playsuits, and Sunsuits, among other products, to the international markets.

14

increased more than that of EU.

The denim products export was woth of €1.30 billion, in 2017

China earned $921.90 million with 1.41% negative growth, while Mexico registered 7.9% negative growth by earning $793.42 million.

Meanwhile, Pakistan and Vietnam, the two closest competitors of Bangladesh, posted positive growths by over 13% earning $213.78 million and nearly 20% earning $207.28 million, respectively.

Opportunities

denim products worth of €1.30 billion in 2017, a 0.54% hike from 2016’s €1.29 billion. According to data from the Office of Textiles and Apparel (Otexa) in the US, Bangladesh earned $507.92 million, a 9.55% growth – exporting denim products to the US markets in 2017, which was $463.61 million in 2016.

The previous discussion has proved that demand of denim fabrics and products is increasing rapidly in the global market.

According to a study by Cotton Inc, almost 71% of people in Europe and Latin America recline wearing denim, followed by 70% in the US, 58% in China, and 57% in Japan.

To meet the growing demand of denim fabric to International market, the local mills are enrobing

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

D e n i m To d a y

enormously on state-of-the-art imported machinery especially on the weaving and processing side and setting up large plants in the country.

Sayeed Ahmad Chowdhury, General Manager of Square Denim, said, “Investment in denim fabrics and denim manufacturing has increased sharply. As a result, production capacity has increased too, pushing the export earnings up and taking the lead in the global markets.” ‘’Manufacturers are now also taking less time to produce the products as they are sourcing the fabrics from local mills instead of importing. As a result, buyers are placing more orders here,” he added.

He also said that “In the last two years, Square Denim has increased its production capacity from 1.5 million meters to three million. Considering the increasing demand they will be launching another unit soon.’’

“Buyers always want quality fabrics in case of denim products.

To manufacture quality fabrics,

the latest technology is must for any industry. And we have already established that,” said Abdus Salam Murshedy, Managing Director of Envoy Textiles.

On the other hand, production cost has onward, but the manufacturers are forced to offer lower prices due to price cuts in the finished products by global retailers.

Two years back, Bangladesh was highly dependent on imported denim fabrics, but now Bangladesh can meet about 50% of the demand locally and are also exporting to some of the globally renowned buyers.

The challenge for Bangladesh is also adding further value to denim products through design development and innovation. In this regard, the sector currently needs more investment in research and innovation to meet the goal.

Moving towards value-added products is another issue that needs more attention.

Challenges Along with opportunities, the industry has some challenges also.

Infrastructure is a major challenge.

Inefficiency in ports, inadequate rail and road networks, gas and electricity crisis and the need for a deep sea port are some of the major challenges for Bangladesh denim industry (and for other industry also). These are also the root causes of why Bangladesh is among the highest lead-time countries.

Another major challenge is dependency on external sources for fabrics, as Bangladesh still has to import about 50% denim fabrics.

In fine, Bangladesh has an enormous opportunity to grow in the RMG export markets as denim products have emerged as major players in the global markets.

There are challenges to grow the sector, however, the industry has great prospect to overcome the challenges and to become the leader in the global market. In this regard, Bangladesh government should prioritize denim products and provide all-out support to the entrepreneurs.

Apparel exports grew 9.37 percent in first 10 months Desk Report

3.64

Apparel exports grew 9.37 percent year-on-year to $25.30 billion in the first 10 months of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017-2018. Knitwear exports rose 11.43 percent to $12.54 billion and woven garments exports were up 7.42 percent to $12.76 billion.

According to the data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), overall, exports increased 6.41 percent year-on-year to $30.40 billion in the July-April period.

The earnings slightly missed the periodic target of $30.49 billion.

Exports rose 7.11 percent year-onyear to $2.95 billion in April riding on the higher shipment of garment items. Although the receipt is 0.51 percent higher than the monthly target of $2.94 billion, it was the lowest in six months.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

3.41

The president 3.2 3.09 3.08 3.05 3.05 2.95 2.84 of Bangladesh Garment 2.03 Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Siddiqur Rahman stated, JUL,17 AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN 18 FEB MAR APR “We will be able to achieve more Figure: Export earnings (in billions of dollar), Source: Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) than 10 percent garment export growth at the end of the fiscal year cotton products, and yarn exports went up by 19.01 percent as the trend in the international to $108.22 million, jute and jute market shows very bright goods increased 7.66 percent prospects.” to $889.74 million, home textile “At the end of the current fiscal exports rose 13.07 percent to year, we will be able to surpass the $751.67 million, leather and leather garment export of $30 billion for goods sector down 10.02 percent the first time,” he added. to $916.74 million.

According to the report of EPB for FY 2017-18 July-April, Cotton,

Volume 11, Issue 05

15

To p S t o r y

National budget- challenges in inland resource mobilization AKM Asaduzzaman Patwary, Research Fellow, DCCI

The national budget is an important episode in national economic planning and it is the annual fiscal operation forecast of an economy. Many economists have made different views on National Budget across the time. In Bangladesh, there are different school of thoughts on national revenue collection and resource allocation into the economy. Some believe the government is spending budget or doing budget cut for the greater engagement and mobilization in development activities and others believe that the lifeline of the economy is bureaucracy and government administrative wings accordingly they should be privileged.

The Deficit National budget in Bangladesh traditionally follows the deficit budget, it is quite common in the developing, and least developed economies considering the economic transition and huge government spending commitment. It is also witnessed off late developed countries especially Federal Government Budget in the USA and the UK also have the deficit budget.

Since continuous economic shift is taking place aligning with global changes, the biggest challenge of our economy is finite resource and balance between resource limitation and growing demand of resources.

Any efficient government whoever comes in the power always faces the criticism of national budget on basically the deficit management.

Bangladesh Government tries to keep the deficit limit within 5% for almost a decade under the pressure of IMF as a strong advice of efficient fiscal and monetary management of Bangladesh.

More tax It is worth mentioning that national budget of Bangladesh always sets a target of tax to GDP ratio. Increase in Tax to GDP ratio is inevitable for our economy and 14% is targeted for the current fiscal year. Traditionally we always fail to realize the given target, however, the target helps as an ambitious plan for government and other stakeholders to follow.

It is also noticed in most of the developed economies that the revenue receipts have the largest share from income tax and corporate 16

tax revenue is not as significant as Income tax which means businesses are more protected. Every fiscal year begins with commotion on revenue target, sources of revenue and tax collection. The center of budget discussion remains at revenue collection and share of NBR revenue collection. It is always seen that NBR and Government try to extend the revenue collection based on direct tax and indirect tax mainly corporate tax and Vat followed by Duty imposed on trade. Corporate tax rate escalation led tax revenue generation and Vat led revenue always create manifold challenges for the business communities including rising cost of doing business.

NBR revenue target of the current fiscal year was TK. 2,48,190 crore out of TK. 2,87,991 crore revenue target having 14% growth which was TK. 2,18,500 crore in FY2016-17. The imminent fiscal Year aims to realize revenue from NBR TK. 2,91,000 crore

having 17.2% growth with TK 1,10,000 crore Vat target. If we look at the major revenue collection trend of recent past years, it shows that VAT and Income tax account for 70% of NBR revenue collection.

NBR always upholds the behavior of putting higher direct and indirect tax incidence whereas private sector business community endeavor to rationalize and lower the tax incidence through corporate tax rate cut.

Private sector challenges The rationale for reduced corporate rate tax is the higher tax rate that does not help the business community all along as corporate always does not make a profit due to fledging business environment.

Currently, the private sector is encountering various external business and market risks including inflation, weak infrastructure, energy insecurity and uncomfortable tax system of various business unfriendly

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

To p S t o r y

policy pressures, market volatility and many bureaucratic and process delays.

High expenditure, high revenue need The upcoming budget for FY2018-19 seems to have huge revenue target estimated at BDT. 3.6 Trillion having the same deficit in the national budget. There is no doubt that direct and indirect tax are major streams of revenue generation of government operation but this long-held tradition and heritage needs to be changed, as Non-NBR tax and revenue are also potential to realize some resource for the government.

It is ironic that center of attraction in national budget in revenue collection and resource mobilization as a rich and secure revenue stream is the root of operating all economic courses of actions and main debate remains on enlarged target of revenue collection and revision of lowering revenue target as well as revenue collection failure.

It is undeniable that population and economic activities of our country are on the rise. To meet the growing need of 165 million people and their fundamental and social safety needs as well as civil rights, the government expenditure is incremental, therefore, the resource management policy and approaches of government need to change and accommodate accordingly. With that given reality, internal resource management to operate the government operation, it is the high time to address other untapped revenue sources rather than being limited to conventional direct and indirect sources and extreme incidence on a particular community.

Since any major economic activity has wider multiplier impacts across the country, the cost of that economic activity should be shared by all. We know that VAT is a much-debated issue- whether the 15% flat Vat will be enforced or existing practice continues. The mixed reaction from the two-edged incidence of VAT on the economy such as in one hand government is losing substantial revenue and on the other hand, it can fuel huge food and non-food inflation, cost of living and doing business as VAT is

Bangladesh Textile Today |

common almost on all daily essential consumer and non-consumer traded commodities and services.

Increasing tax and VAT network The other reason that Bangladesh lies behind in tax collection as positioned in bottom rung in ease of doing business Index Paying taxes index criteria over past couple of years.

Under this volatile circumstance, the government is in an uncomfortable state in implementing this act as there are severe challenges and infrastructural bottlenecks to implement this approved act and extreme resentment from different stakeholders.

The tax revenue collection is now limited to major metropolitan cities land, river and seaport stations and countryside area remain out of NBR reach.

The revenue collection from district and upazilla level does not have the full attention of the government yet. The economic activities in countryside may not be mega-scaled like Dhaka and Chittagong but the regional agricultural activities, non-tax revenue sources like Mobile court fee, Toll from different communication infrastructure project, land wage, agriculture land transfer tax, vat and yearly khajna, rural small business tax, district level small shop and business license fee, small poultry business license can amass revenue. Alongside, a surcharge on the huge land property as well as VAT collection from shops in rural and district area for daily essential commodities like edible oil, biscuit and soap, mineral water and many common items worth Vat sold can heighten revenue. The VAT collected in the countryside must be regularly deposited to Government exchequer.

Against the aforesaid revenue collection state of Bangladesh, some strategic and effective means and ways are recommended below to improve the Inland resource generation state of Bangladesh: • The Central Government representative District Magistrate or District Collectorate can be given

Volume 11, Issue 05

a target to raise the Non-NBR revenue charge, wage, fees and other form of revenue from rural economic operations.

• Realizing new revenue streams to offset the revenue shortage from delayed Vat and SD act implementation.

• NBR wings can be extended to the district and rural area to determine the economic activities and identify potential taxpayers, encourage local people to pay tax through awareness building operations as well as VAT wings.

• Non-development expenditure efficiency is to be ensured and sector/ministry wise budget allocation and expenditure transparency are to be in place then saving from this nondevelopment expenditure can be resource reservoir of Government.

• The entire tax ecosystem has not been yet equipped enough to enable all kind of business taxpayers to pay their business tax, Vat in the ICT backed digital process and it will take ages to implement across the country. Therefore, co-existence of conventional and new Vat payment procedure can continue to keep the revenue collection trend consistent. The gradual development of ICT culture in the rural area may enable countryside businesses to be digitally connected to Tax and VAT payment process.

• Targeted programme and project

by GOB to improve our position in paying taxes criteria and ease of doing business index to expand our tax revenue and net.

• Withholding tax may be compulsory for bringing more people in the tax net of government and easily collecting the tax at source by the employers in both private and public sectors.

• Direct Tax revenue ratio is 25:75 individual and corporate though the number of individual taxpayers can be huge and substantial considering our population size

17

To p S t o r y

and a number of public and private sector professionals thus the given ratio can be improved.

• Out of 3.2 million TIN holders, 2.8 million submit tax return which is less than 3% of our population and to bring huge people into the tax net, people friendly tax payment process.

• The corporate tax rate for all categories of business can be gradually reduced in order to increase FDI stream.

• Likewise, mobile fund transfer and easy ATM cash point, the easy and technologically convenient tax payment mode need to be introduced alongside conventional process to enhance the tax net and revenue generation.

•Around 10 million SMEs are operational in the country and all of them need to be informal tax payment network encouraging all informal businesses for contribution in resource building of the country.

We belong to such an economy, which is on the track of emergence despite being laden with wideranging socioeconomic challenges including unemployment, poverty, maternal and child mortality, limited healthcare, illiteracy and lack of fundamental rights and other social security issues apart from economic transformational challenges. Therefore, we are required to address these core vulnerabilities to ensure all fundamental rights as a priority of our growing population.

Alongside, communication infrastructure, education, human and skill development and industrial employment equally are more important for sustaining smooth socioeconomic shift. The required resource to support these huge economic activities is tied with conventional sources, which deprive our economy from the required scale of growth. In addition, this era resource deficiency will end and lead to a new economic trajectory with given thoughts in Bangladesh.

18

Te x t i l e P e o p l e

Career fair held to provide jobs for skilled trainees of BKMEA-SEIP project Desk Report A career fair was held in collaboration with Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and Skills for Employment Investment Program (SEIP) with the association of NRB Jobs at Sundarban hotel in the city on 9 May. Bangladesh Society for Apparel HR Professionals (BSAHRP) was the associate partner and Bangladesh Textile Today was the media partner of the fair.

President Fazle Shamim Ehsan, BKMEA Vice President (Finance) Md. Homaun Kabir Khan Shilpi, Director G.M. Faruq and Head of Business, NRB Jobs Nahid Ferdous Ani were also present.

BKMEA Vice President said BKMEA has been working to build a modern and contemporary Bangladesh and making skilled workers in the ready-made garments sector as well as creating jobs.

Figure 1: Distinguished guests were present at the fair.

The day long fair was organized to facilitate jobs to the trained trainees of the BKMEA-SEIP project. In the fair, 850 students and 35 organizations of the BKMEA-SEIP project participated.

DBL Group, Envoy Group, Asrotex Group, Viyellatex Group, Noman Group, SM Group, Fakir Fashion Limited, Fakir Apparels Ltd., Metro Group, Micro Fiber Group, Knit Concern Group etc were present at the fair.

Monsur Ahmed, 1st Vice President of BKMEA was present as the chief guest at the Career Fair and Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Deputy Project Manager of the SEIP Project (DEPD) Md. Khairul Islam was present as special guest. Among others, BKMEA second Vice-

Md. Khairul Islam, DEPD, SEIP Project, said that skilled manpower is needed for the true development of the country and to start the dream journey. I believe that SEIP is playing the role of creating this skilled manpower.

Nahid Ferdous Ani, Head of Business, NRB Jobs, said in his speech, “NRB Jobs is working for the job seekers to find jobs easily and to select skilled people.

35 organizations said that they would fill 430 vacancies from the participants and on the basis of direct interview 43 appointments were confirmed during the program. Besides, 700 people have been nominated initially by selecting CV.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

Cover Story

Bangladesh has a great prospect to expand its apparel export to Japan Md. Ariful Islam Introduction Japan is the Bangladesh’s most promising export destination in Asia and apparel exports to the country is rising gradually. Having a population of 127.1 million, US $ 36,194 per capita GDP, world 3rd largest economy Japan is the world’s third largest apparel importer and the fourth largest apparel market in the world after China, USA and Germany.

Japan presents some of the most exciting fashion and apparel opportunities globally for the highly enthusiastic and sophisticated consumers. Fashion capital Tokyo is a key trendsetter and an excellent

The third largest apparel importer next to EU and US

The fourth largest apparel market in the world after China, USA and Germany

Beginning of the 2018 clothing market amounted US$ 87.32 billion

Japan Apparel Industry

Figure 1: Japan apparel industry at a glance.

test market for further expansion in Asia. Although high-end European fashion is extremely popular in Japan, Japanese consumer buying habits differ significantly to those of consumers in Europe.

Annual turnover of the clothing industry

US $ 96 billion

Domestic market value of the fashion industry

97 billion dollars

Employment in textiles and clothing 431,000 manufacturing Annual turnover of women’s wear

US $ 58 billion

Annual turnover of menswear

US $ 28 billion

Annual turnover of children wear

US $ 10 billion

Source: Fashion United Fashion Companies Japan has a huge fashion market that offers great potential for Bangladeshi clothing suppliers.

Contemporary women’s wear, especially products made from high quality fabrics, one-of-a-kind items and clothing with details have good potential in Japan. The number of SPA (Specialty store retailer of Private label Apparel) stores has been increasing.

Opportunity for Bangladesh apparel exporters

Apparel market is expected to reach US$ 92.40 billion by 2021

Garment shipments to Japan from Bangladesh began after the adoption of ‘China Plus One’ policy by the Japanese government in 2008.

The policy was taken to reduce overdependence on China for goods like apparel, electronic gadgets and home appliances. The ‘China plus One’ policy was supplemented by the relaxation of the Rules of Origin by Japanese government for least-developed countries.

5 largest fashion companies in Japan Company name

Market value (in Billion US $)

Annual revenue (in Billion US $)

Company type

Fast Retailing

31.5

16.4

Public Company

Apparel industry in Japan Apparel market in Japan is expected to reach US $ 92.40 billion by 2021. Beginning of the 2018 clothing market amounted US $ 87.32 billion and expected annual growth of 1.9%. Main market share of women’s and girl’s apparel is calculated US $ 35.83 billion, which is showing the future business opportunity for big growth.

20

Shimamura group

5

5.2

Public Company

Asics Corporation

4.50

3.90

Public Company

United Arrows

1.40

1.17

Public Company

Onward Holdings

1.13

2.3

Public Company

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

Source: Fashion United

Cover Story

The figure 3 has shown that the apparel market of Japan is raising significantly, which is a great opportunity for Bangladesh apparel exporters to expand their business in Japan.

Bangladeshi exporters have been benefiting by special incentives by the government as nontraditional market.

Japanese buyers are very strict in terms of quality and production process. No Figure 2: Apparel market in Japan is increasing significantly, which is a chance for Bangladesh other buyers are requiring apparel exporters to expand their business in Japan.

100% quality inspection of Bangladeshi garment manufacturers have been the goods where rest of enjoying zero-duty benefit on apparel exports to the buyers is following AQL for quality auditing. This Japan. Garment export to Japan grew 1.94 percent it is a golden opportunity for the manufacturer to to $445.99 million in July-January in 2017-2018 Fiscal improve factory quality standard and manufacturing Year and it is expected to cross $1-billion mark at the process in compare to work with any other market end of the year. More than 40 items are exporting and buyers. to Japan from Bangladesh including T-shirts, jersey On the other hand, Japanese buyers are very 25,000

in million US$

20,000

18,031 15,419

15,000

19,255

20,402

21,463

16,746

14,075

10,000

5,000

2016

2017 Total

2018 Apparel

2019 Footwear

Figure 3: The growth of Japan apparel market.

pullovers, shirts, baby garments etc. Overall export was not satisfactory in fiscal year 2016-2017 but last 11 month (July 2017 to May 2018), exports are growing again around 8 percent.

Currently Bangladesh is exporting mostly basic items but there is a huge opportunity to export fancy, fashionable and high value added items. Bangladesh needs to diversify its product category to grab the opportunity of growing business with Japan as a nontraditional market.

According to the apparel experts, local entrepreneurs are already understood this and updating accordingly the manufacturing practices and product offering to the Japanese buyers.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

2020

2021

2022

Bags & Accessories

Source: Statista, April 2018

cooperative. If manufacturer faces any problem and can explain logically, they not only understand it but also try to support the factory to overcome the issue. They consider the supplier and business partner and believe in mutual growth and development. Their ethics is to build a win win business relationships with the supplier.

In fine, Japan is a very promising market for Bangladesh and the only destination in Asia where Bangladesh’s overall exports crossed the $1 billion market last two years. Bangladesh government and other organizations of apparel makers and exporters should come forward to fetch the non-traditional market that will ultimately help to attain the USD50billion target by 2021.

21

Sustainable Fiber

Lenzing increases capacity and sales intensity on Tencel™ Special Correspondent

Lenzing has been looking beyond fiber. With wood as their natural resource, it provides high-quality cellulose fibers to the global textile and nonwovens industry. They are the leading supplier in many business-to-business markets – from special cellulose fibers to high-tech plastics polymers. The company has 80 years of fiber production expertise, from viscose to lyocell and modal.

On 10 May Lenzing organized a symposium at Le Meridien Hotel in Dhaka to show its latest innovations where Avinash Mane, Commercial Head South Asia Region AMEA, presented those innovations.

Avinash Mane said, ‘’Lenzing is building a new plant, once completed, it will be the largest tencel fiber plant in the world.

The facility is scheduled to start production in 2019.’’

“Lenzing offers fully biodegradable wood-based cellulose fibers in compost, landfill, water, and seawater. By 2020 Lenzing plans to generate 50 percent of its revenue with eco-friendly specialty

22

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

Sustainable Fiber

Figure 1: Avinesh Mane, Commercial Head South Asia Region AMEA, presented the innovation of Lenzing at the program.

fibers like TENCEL™ and VEOCEL™ and with other LENZING™ specialty fibers. Following the decision in favor of a further plant in Mobile (USA) and the securing of land in Prachinburi (Thailand) for the construction of a state-of-theart lyocell fiber production plant. The further expansion of Lenzing’s production capacity for LENZING™ lyocell fibers will be based on market requirements,” he added.

probably the most sustainable fibers from natural raw materials.

Refibra™ fibers unite two innovations. These fibers are made based on the technology of TENCEL™ fibers. The TENCEL™ fibers won the EU prize for the most eco-friendly production.

Wood as a renewable raw material from sustainable forest plantations is another important aspect when it comes to the sustainability of TENCEL™ fibers. Refibra™ fibers now combine both advantages - the recycling of cotton scraps and the most sustainable of fiber technologies.” ‘’LENZING™ ECOVERO™ fibers generate up to 50 percent lowers emissions and water pollution.

With these fibers, Lenzing can offer its customers, partners, and ecologically minded end consumers viscose fibers with a low environmental impact,” he continued.

Figure 2: Bhargavi Rao, BD Marketing & Branding SA Region AMEA

Avinash showed in his presentation that, ‘’Lenzing’s current global tencel capacity is 222,000 tons per year. The new plant in Mobile will increase total tencel fiber capacity by more than 50 percent by 2019.”

He ensures to the guests that, ‘’As Lenzing is driving the circular economy in the textile industry, so the company will reduce sulfur emissions (CS2, H2S) by 50 percent by 2022 and specific wastewater emissions (COD) by 20 percent by 2022. This will also contribute to achieving EU Ecolabel standard at all Lenzing Group sites.’’

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Bhargavi Rao, BD Marketing & Branding SA Region AMEA, and Gunasekaran Muthusamy, Technical Customer Service SA Region AMEA talked about the registration process.

Manish Gupta, Director, Kaizen International (Pvt.) Ltd and Rifat Shahidul, Senior Manager, Marketing Region South Asia, Bangladesh were also present at the symposium.

‘’Global fiber consumption in 2017 by type of fiber in percent 6.2% Wood-based cellulose fibers, 24.1% Cotton, 1.1% Wool, 64.2% Synthetic fibers 4.4% others natural fibers.

It is a huge gap the percentage of using Wood-based cellulose fibers and cotton fibers so we want to fill up this gap and it is a huge demand in South-Asia market,” he continued.

Avinash also said, ‘’EcoVera and Refibra fibers are their new innovations. Refibra™ fibers are reinventing TENCEL™ fibers.

Based on the technology of TENCEL™ fibers, Refibra™ fibers are an exceptional innovation and

Volume 11, Issue 05

Figure 3 : Rifat Shahidul, Senior Manager, Marketing Region, South Asia, Bangladesh, Lenzing.

23

Market Analysis

Household sewing machine consumption is set to reach 30 million units by 2025 Desk Report At present, Asia-Pacific is the largest global producer and consumer for sewing machines.

DIY (Do it yourself) culture has regained popularity in recent years. Home crafts, such as knitting and sewing, are now widely recognized and used as a medium for enabling people to make their clothes more personalized. Sewing is now not as difficult and is less time consuming than it was considered to be previously. Electronic sewing machines have facilitated this process by enabling amateur tailors to take advantage of modern features and automatic intricate embroidering styles.

In addition, electronic sewing machines are now relatively affordable, even for those households with modest incomes.

The growth in small and medium businesses involved in the tailoring of designer clothes and apparel, and the production of environmentally friendly clothes etc, bypassing mass production processes and generates demand for the use of non-industrial sewing machines.

Household sewing machine consumption is set to increase, against the development of smallscale clothing businesses and an interest in sewing as a hobby, or leisure activity.

The household sewing machine market is projected to continue an upward consumption trend with a CAGR of +1.4%, which will lead

24

Figure 1: Household sewing machine production and consumption is increasing day by day.

the market volume to 30 million units by 2025. However, the global household sewing machine market showed steady growth until it contracted slightly from 2015-2016, finally amounting to 27 million units in 2016. Over the period from 2007 to 2016, the market increased by 25%, expanding with a CAGR of +2.5%. In value terms, it stood at $1.9 billion in the wholesale prices, fluctuating mildly over the last four years. Recently IndexBox, a leading AI-based market research publisher in the world, revealed this in a new report titled “World: Household Sewing Machines - Market Report. Analysis and Forecast to 2025�.

The production of household sewing machines The production of household sewing machines in China has slightly decreased, while production in India, Vietnam, and

Thailand continues to grow, said the report. From 2007 to 2016, the global household sewing machine production showed steady growth, expanding from 22.6M units in 2007 to 28.3M units in 2016, with a CAGR of +2.6%.

China was the key world household sewing machines producing country with an output of about 17M units in 2016, which accounted for 60% of total output.

The other major producers were India (17%), Vietnam (12%) and Thailand (6%).

Producer

Total Output

China

60%

India

17%

Vietnam

12%

Thailand

6%

Table 1: Country-wise household sewing machines production market share in 2016.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

Market Analysis

According to the report, China continues to dominate production, but its leadership weakened over the recent years, surrendering to the rapidly developing manufacturing in Vietnam, Thailand, and India. Labor cost in China is on the rise; therefore, its competitive advantage against the other Asian countries is waning.

From 2014 to 2016, household sewing machines output in Thailand (+16%), India (+8%) and Vietnam (+6%) increased, while in China it shrunk by -3%. European production has almost dwindled to a minimum over the past tenyear period, as sewing machine manufacture was relocated to Asian countries.

Worldwide household sewing machines’ supply China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand and Germany account for approximately 83% of global exports of household sewing machines’.

In 2016, global exports of household sewing machines totaled approximately 16.8M units.

dynamic, while China showed a negative dynamic (-1.8%) during the period under review.

In value terms, global exports stood at around $1.1B in 2016, a decline of 3% against the 2015 figure.

Exporter

Units

China

7,809K

Vietnam

2,647K

Taiwan

1,709K

Thailand

1,137K

Germany

712K

The main consumer is USA and Germany

Table 2: Top exporting countries of household sewing machine and number of units exported in 2016.

In 2016, China (7,809K units) was the main global supplier of household sewing machines in the world, with a share of 46% of global exports. It was followed by Vietnam (2,647K units), Taiwan (1,709K units), Thailand (1,137K units) and Germany (712K units), with a combined share of 83% of global exports.

Among the main exporters, Vietnam illustrated a significant rate of growth with regard to exports. From 2007 to 2016, Thailand (+6.1%) and Germany (+7.2%) showed a positive

In physical terms, total imports of household sewing machines stood at 15.5M units in 2016. In value terms, imports amounted to approx. $1.2B, with an average annual rate of growth of +2.2% from 2007 to 2016.

The report revealed that the U.S. (2,484K units) and Germany (2,205K units) were the main consumers of household sewing machine imports, with a combined share of 31% of total global imports in 2016. The fastest growing consumer was Germany (+15.7% per year) from 2007 to 2016. By contrast, the U.S. illustrated a stagnant rate of growth during the period under review. Germany significantly strengthened its position in the global import structure (+10 percentage points), while the U.S. saw its share reducd (-6 percentage points).

Textile engineer cum bureaucrat Engr. Mustafijur Rahman killed after tumbled tree in Dhaka Desk Report Mustafijur Rahman Manik, a textile engineer who has been a graduate alumni from Bangladesh Textile University, was killed after a tree falls on him at Dhanmondi in Dhaka on 11 May 2018. He was one of the Directors of a government authority called Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) under the Prime Minister’s Office of GoB. He was born in Laxmipur District, however, 50 years old Mustafijur Rahman lived at Dhanmondi.

Khairul Islam, Sub-Inspector of Dhanmondi Police Station, said: “The incident happened while he was walking just opposite road of Shudha Sadan at Dhanmondi on Friday morning.”

Earlier, he worked as Director

26

teaching in number of private universities. Textile engineers and related personalities of textile sector expressed their great condolences on the sudden death of Engr. Rahman. They prayed for his departed soul.

Figure: Mustafijur Rahman Manik.

of Privatization Commission.

While BIDA was constituted by abolishing the Board of Investment (BoI) and the Privatisation Commission (PC), he was appointed as a Director of BIDA, said one of his colleagues.

Engr. Rahman has been a wellknown and humble personality in the greater textile community. He was involved in textile education

Engr. Rahman has been a well-wisher and associates of Bangladesh Textile Today. BTT expresses deep thought and condolences on the accident and it’s caused loss on Engr. Rahman and his family. Bangladesh Textile Today also urges The Dhaka City Corporations to take necessary steps as if such incident doesn’t bring such great losses to any family or nation anymore. Death of Engr. Rahman is not only a loss to his family it is a great loss to the country as well.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

C a m p u s To d a y

Industry academy collaboration sought in designing outcome based curriculum for textile education Campus Correspondent A modified curriculum is needed to provide skilled manpower in Textile & RMG sector. Speakers opined at a workshop on ‘Development of Outcome-Based Curriculum’ organized by the Textile Engineering Department of Daffodil International University (DIU) on 14 May 2018.

Md. Siddiqur Rahman, President

universities in the country and a large number of graduates are graduating from those universities but industries don’t get properly skilled manpower equipped with quality education as it required.”

He also stated that “The reason behind this is that there is no collaboration between industry and academy. That is why in spite of a huge number of graduates, the

Figure 1: Md. Siddiqur Rahman, President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) spoke as the chief guest at the workshop.

of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), was present at the workshop as chief guest while Engr. MS Zaman, Managing Director of Micro Fibre Group, was present as special guest.

Presided over by Dr. Md. Sabur Khan, Chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT) of Daffodil International University, the program witnessed the presence of Professor Dr. Yousuf Mahbubul Islam, ViceChancellor of DIU, Professor Dr. SM Mahbubul Haque Majumder, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of DIU, Dr. Md. Mahbubul Haque, Professor & Head, Department of Textile, Professor Dr. AKM Fazlul Haque, Director of IQAC, Abu Taher Khan, Director of CDC and other industry leaders from garments sector.

While addressing as chief guest, Siddiqur Rahman said, “We have lots of public and private

Bangladesh Textile Today |

“

We have lots of public and private universities in the country and a large number of graduates are graduating from those universities but industries don’t get properly skilled manpower equipped with quality education as it required.”

various activities to change the course curriculum and make the course curriculum time befitting.

Today’s work is one of the endeavors of those activities.”

“DIU regularly organizes industry academia lecture series where successful entrepreneurs share their knowledge and experiences among the students. DIU helps the entrepreneurship minded students through providing Venture Capital facilities and has introduced Department of Entrepreneurship,” he added.

Emphasizing on research work MS Zaman said, “We should conduct more and more research on industry related issues. Public and private universities, as well as other research organizations, should come forward to fulfill research works to guide the industry and also to solve its problems.”

Dr. Md. Mahbubul Haque said, “Factory owners should participate in the curriculum process and the

Md. Siddiqur Rahman, President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA)

industry cannot find their required skilled person.”

“It’s very necessary to bring change on course curriculum to overcome the present scenario,” he added.

Dr. Md. Sabur Khan said, “Daffodil International University is doing

Volume 11, Issue 05

Figure 2: Engr. MS Zaman, Managing Director of Micro Fibre Group, highlighting way outs of a modified curriculum.

teaching process should come from the UGC.” He also added that “Foreigners are taking over 5 billion dollars every year from this sector which is concerning.”

27

News & Analysis

Canada, a potential growth market for Bangladesh RMG BTT Technical Team With its positive approach in dealing with global humanitarian issues Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau successfully could uphold Canadian economy as well. The country had a great 3 percent GDP growth in 2017. With the increase of the economic production, expenditure capacity is also increasing and so its imports are also increasing significantly (figure 1).

Recently trade economics informed that the country imported record breaking amount CAD 51.7 billion (39.8 billion USD) in one single month March 2018.

The trend is about to continue in coming days.

Canada imported goods of US$432.3 billion in 2017 which is 7.3% higher than the import of 2016.

CANADA IMPORTS

2016

CAD Million

2014

52000 50000 48000 46000 44000 42000 40000 38000 2018

SOURCE: TRADINGECONOMICS.COM | STATISTICS CANADA

Table 1: List of supplying markets for a product imported by Canada (Source: ITC Trade Map) Product: 62 Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, woven (Unit : US Dollar thousand) Exporters

Imported value in 2013

Imported value in 2014

Imported value in 2015

Imported value in 2016

Imported value in 2017

World

4400109

4407907

4338147

4235912

4365128

China

2022820

2002380

1908935

1752302

1774704

Bangladesh

555299

536594

574706

600624

594930

Viet Nam

239079

289302

319583

326374

358249

Cambodia

145761

147531

157615

170074

192311

India

169505

171412

174732

178871

169689

United States of America

222526

194235

172456

162115

165314

Italy

134230

137968

135845

147676

159276

Mexico

203327

204780

178632

148488

154900

Indonesia

136531

147903

141449

144580

140923

Turkey

66087

66434

67472

75281

83004

Table 2: List of supplying markets for a product imported by Canada (Source: ITC Trade Map) Product: 61 Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, knitted or crocheted (Unit : US Dollar thousand) Exporters

Figure 1: Trend of Canadian imports over last five years.

Though apparel products are not one of the top ten importing goods of Canada, the country is importing significant amount of apparel every year. In the year 2017 the country imported 4.37 billion USD woven garments (table 1) and 4.87 billion USD knit garments (table 2). As per the table 1 and table 2 Bangladesh is among the market leaders in Canada.

Overall increase in import of Canada is not equally reflected in apparel or RMG products as this was not increasing at the same pace. It is mainly because of the lower product price of apparel products. However Bangladesh’s export to Canada has been quite stable for last 5 years.

28

Imported

Imported

Imported

Imported

Imported

value in

value in

value in

value in

value in

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

World/Total

4660382

4764207

4673770

4550858

4873863

China

2129774

2115792

1993275

1820893

1884184

Cambodia

455717

492394

501110

556880

622365 494585

Bangladesh

478162

455649

454456

468121

Viet Nam

249327

308197

342730

337200

394195

United

207526

208916

195481

167528

160972

States of America India

120220

124316

128522

130177

138884

Indonesia

137019

136778

126736

132661

134143

Honduras Mexico Sri Lanka

66711

65133

84931

90700

107431

127709

124011

116222

103834

100240

61171

68966

89481

92295

96602

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

News & Analysis

Table 3 shows that Bangladesh export to Canada reached to 918 million USD in the first 10 months of the fiscal year 2017-18. If the trend continues this year also Bangladesh will have a good growth in the market.

Table 3: Major/Important Products (2 Digit HS Code) Exported to Canada from Bangladesh (Source: EPB)

Figure: Distinguished guests were present at 4th Showcase Canada 2018.

Table 1 & 2 shows Bangladesh is in the 2nd position in export after China in the Canadian market.

Bangladesh exported RMG of 1.089 billion USD in the year 2017 which was 1.068 billion in 2016 an increase of about 2 percent.

But the good news is recently Canadian government has expressed its interest to increase its import of textile and apparel products from Bangladesh, which enjoys duty-free access to Canadian markets.

The interest was proclaimed at the 4th Showcase Canada 2018 (Trade and Education Fair) held from 6-7 May 2018 at the International Convention City, Bashundhara, Dhaka.

Export in Million USD (July 2017 to April 2018)

03: Fish and crustaceans, mollusc and other aquatic invertebrates

3.61

19: Preparations of cereals, flour, starch or milk; pastrycooks’ products

3.74

39: Plastics and articles thereof

2.44

42: Articles of leather; saddlery and harness; travel goods, handbags and similar containers; articles of animal gut (other than silk-worn gut)

2.89

58: Special woven fabrics; tufted textile fabrics; lace; tapestries;trimmings; embroidery

4.04

61: Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, knitted or crocheted

331.41

62: Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, not knitted or crocheted

455.51

63: Other made up textile articles; sets; worn clothing and worn textile articles;rags

69.56

64: Footwear, gaiters and the like; parts of such articles

28.37

65: Headgear and parts thereof

9.33

90: Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof

1.30

94: Furniture; bedding, mattresses, mattress supports, cushions and similar stuffed furnishing; lamps and lighting fittings, NES or incl.; illuminated signs or name-plates and the like; prefabricated buildings

1.99

All products

918.25

High Commissioner of Canada to Bangladesh The event has been organized by the Canada Benoit Préfontaine said, “Canada is going to be a Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry key garment export destination for Bangladesh in (CanCham) and supported achieving the $50 billion overseas sales target by by the High Commission the end of 2021’’. of Canada, Bangladesh.

He also said, “We have good diplomatic relations Commerce minister Tofail Canada is going to with Bangladesh. Showcase Canada 2018 will Ahmed, inaugurated the event be a key garment facilitate people to people links, thus promoting as a chief guest. export destination trade and investment. We have a plan to arrange Commerce Minister Tofail for Bangladesh in exhibitions in Canada too.”

Ahmed said, “If the present achieving the $50 As per table 3 Bangladesh’s export to Canada is trade facilities offered by the billion overseas sales still very much concentrated to RMG products.

Canadian government remain target by the end of Industry insiders asked for diversification in the unchanged, Bangladesh’s 2021. export busket. exports to Canada will reach $3 billion by 2021.”

Benoit Préfontaine, Bangladesh and Canada may form a “Blue Ribbon

“

High Commissioner of Panel” to explore possibilities of expanding “In enlarging trade volume Canada to Bangladesh trade and investment. The signing of a “Bilateral in the Canadian market, we Investment Treaty (BIT)” between the two are planning to showcase our countries would also go a long way towards products especially leather increasing foreign direct investment from Canada to and diversified jute products as there is a huge Bangladesh. This may be taken into consideration opportunity for growth,” he added. by the governments of both countries,” said Masud “Last year Bangladesh’s exports to Canada were Rahman, President, Canada Bangladesh Chamber of worth $1.1 billion, while imports from Canada were Commerce and Industry (CanCham Bangladesh). worth $600 million,” said Tofail Ahmed.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

29

Special Feature

Will the jute polymer production project be sealed for 17 million taka?

Arvi Rahman

Bangladeshi scientist Dr. Mubarak Ahmad Khan, Advisor of Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) and Former Chief Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, invented a biodegradable and ecofriendly bag from jute, which took six years to complete the process.

Dr. Mubarak named his discovery ‘jute polymer’, which is being considered as a great achievement for Bangladesh and already, a significant number of national and foreign institutions have expressed their interests in that but unfortunately the jute polymer production project may be sealed due to lack of 170 crore Tk. Gave a recent interview on textile Today and discussed his frustrations and opportunities of his new invention.

Dr. Mubarak Ahmad Khan, the inventor of polythene from Jute, said that the invention of polythene from Jute has not been promoted as it has been expected. It requires a separate budget, separate identity, and separate institution. He has given importance to these three issues.

If these are not available, the polythene production project from jute will be stopped.

The scientist said, “Due to the lack of 170 crore Tk, the project polythene from Jute production is on the way of depletion. A huge bureaucratic complexion is an obstacle for the money. There is no guarantee for the availability of the money after going through so much complexity. It is not clear whether allocation will be available at all.”

For this reason, Scientist Mubarak

30

Ahmad Khan is embarrassed and frustrated. He said, “Why did I leave the job of the University of Michigan and came here? For this still, now I am going through a ‘Cold War’ with my family.”

He said, ‘We could not continue the work of the project according to the expectations. I do not have the money needed for it.

Jute Ministry’s Ministers, State Ministers, BJMC and above all

“

Due to lack of 170 crore Tk, the project polythene from Jute production is on the way of depletion. A huge bureaucratic complexion is an obstacle for the money.

There is no guarantee for the availability of the money after going through so much complexity. It is not clear whether allocation will be available at all.”

Dr. Mubarak Ahmad Khan, the inventor of polythene from Jute

Latif Bawani Jute Mills authority are sincere in this regard. But the government’s process of giving the money is very long. It is not immediately available if you want the money. Following the rules of government requires a lot of time to get the money.

Read Also: ‘Jute polybag’ discovered by Dr. Mubarak could begin a new era of reviving jute He also said, “The way we were working, we got a huge response in the country and abroad. From Europe, Australia, UK and the United States, we have received much more response than that from the traders of Bangladesh.”

“Australian government banned poly bags in the country from April 1. They are now looking for alternatives. A team from Australia came to this option to find the alternative. I hear, they also talked with the minister. The minister also met with the Japanese. I have heard that they have demanded 100 tons per day,” he added.

ACI Company makes 25 tons

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

Special Feature

Either the government will cooperate with my expectations or the government will say - you go through your technology, I will leave.”

The jute polymer, which is also called ‘Sonali bag’, is produced by extracting cellulose from jute fiber and jute is one of the major crops that grow in abundance in our land. Jute polymer can take one and a half times more load than polythene. Although the polymer does not absorb water, it decomposes within three to four months under the soil.

Figure: Dr. Mubarak Ahmad Khan, the inventor of polythene from Jute, is seen with Textile Today reporter.

polythene-packaging packets every day. They are very interested to take this product. Besides, also various organizations in Bangladesh have also shown their interest in this product.

Dr. Mubarak is very pleased with his technology. If any government or non-government organization wants to invest here, then he will transfer his technology.

He said, “Every day 100 to 500 tons, no matter how many thousands demand, it’s not a problem in production quantity.

I created the technology myself.

You can say it’s a milestone. But a good aspect is that now a replica of it has been created. As a result, you can make a bigger and more modern machine. If someone comes forward, of course, I will help him.”

Asked for a separate budget, a separate identity, and a separate institution, Dr. Mubarak Ahmad Khan said, “There is a big problem in getting these. The issue must be emphasized by the government.

Which I do not see right now.

The Scientist said, “If the total produced jute in Bangladesh transferred in ‘Sonali Bag’ or other carrying material then it can full-fill one-third of world’s demand.” On the other hand, jute composite can replace steel as the fiber strength of jute is 22 times higher than steel. If we work on every part of jute, Bangladesh’s jute industry will grow bigger.”

The jute polymer production project has given a new hope to flourish the jute industry. The government has already taken an initiative to establish a plant equipped with automatic machines to produce the polymer. However, the required 170 crore Tk should provide urgently and make the money allocating process easy, otherwise, the project will nip in the bud.

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S u s t a i n a b i l i t y To d a y

What needs to build trust with busy, sustainabilityminded consumers?

Desk Report 64 percent of consumers participated in Oeko-Tex’s global research survey “The Key to Confidence: Consumers and Textile Sustainability—Mindsets, Changing Behaviors, and Outlooks” were aware of eco-textiles claimed that they check at least some of the time to see if sustainability claims are true. That number increased to 69 percent of the Millennials and to 74 percent of the parents of young children who participated in OEKO-TEX®’s global research survey.

To simplify the shopping process, many sustainability-conscious consumers choose to do their homework in advance. Doing so establishes a brand set or a collection of brands that align with their values. That brand set can include clothing and home textiles brands as well as retailer brands and certifications.

According to the survey, 42 percent of consumers in the study said they like to know the values and principles of the brands they buy, 34 percent want to know about a brand’s sustainability practices, and 38 percent like to know what small steps brands have taken to be more sustainable – even if they are not fully ‘green’.

Where do consumers get this advance sustainability information about brands and retailers? Here, age is a factor. For Millennials in the OEKO-TEX® study, the internet ranked highest with 69 percent of these 18-36-year-olds relying on it compared to 55 percent of Boomers+. Social media is

Bangladesh Textile Today |

labels, through online product descriptions, and informed sales associates, can be highly effective in providing relevant textile sustainability information.

another favorite with 55 percent of Millennials as opposed to only 25 percent of Boomers+. Three quarters (74%) of Boomers+ chose mainstream media as their preferred source.

In store and on the product are two prime point-of-sale opportunities to educate and influence consumers. More than half (52%) of consumers in “The Key to Confidence” research said that they check textiles for a label from an independent organization that verifies claims are true.

Almost half (49%) read the fiber content labels to determine what kind of fabric is used. Forty-one percent judge a textile product by where it was manufactured.

These research findings clearly support a multi-media approach to communicating a brand’s or retailer’s commitment to environmental and social responsibility. First, consumers are interested in what brands themselves say on websites, in advertising, and on social media.

Next, consumers appreciate thirdparty validation with certifications and labels from trusted organizations. Third, information available while shopping, such as signage, hang tags and packaging,

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The report said that consumers are quickly learning and being taught about textile sustainability. They are looking for information to help them do the right thing. They rely on brands, certifiers, and retailers to do some of the work for them to make shopping for and buying sustainable products a positive, time-efficient, and feel-good process. Said one Millennial in “The Key to Confidence” study, “The world is heading towards disaster due to global warming and climate change so we have to do everything possible to protect the environment. That means buying sustainable products, supporting industries that produce environmentally friendly products, and thinking about workers in those industries.”

The survey also said that the brands, certifiers, and retailers who work together to provide credible information and reassurances will make it easier for busy consumers to do the right thing, provide another small step towards a more sustainable lifestyle, and enable more buying without worry about the impact on the environment or society. And those are the factors that will establish trust and loyalty with today’s skeptical, sustainability-minded consumers.

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Te x t i l e P e o p l e

BGWTF annual get together 2018 held, 5 companies received Best Development Award Staff Correspondent Bangladesh Garments Washing Technologists Foundation (BGWTF) arranged their annual congregation 2018 on 1st May that was cheered up with the participation of approximately thousands of guests and washing technologists.

Giving thanks to everyone for joining the program during the holiday Engineer Mehedi Hasan, Founder president of BGWTF, said, “This organization has been working to change the mentality and to create skilled manpower in the washing sector and this trend will be continued in the future.”

Highlighting the achievement of Bangladesh textile and apparel industry in safety, BGMEA Vice President (Finance) Muhammad Nasir said, “By the collaboration of Accord and the Alliance, we have been able to stand this industry as safe and sound. Today Bangladesh is the role model in the world.’

Participants also discussed about May Day. BGWTF annual general meeting, captivating cultural program and lunch were also

Figure 1: Md. Mehedi Hasan, Founder President of BGWTF spoke at the event.

arranged in this program.

In BGWTF’s Annual Program, Best Development Award -2018 was given for keeping the commendable role in the washing sector. Natural Washing Ltd, Starling Laundry Ltd, Genesis Washing and Orient Washing got respectively first, second, third and fourth prize.

Gazi Ahmad Hasan, President of Bangladesh Washing Owners Association; Dr. Mahbubul Haque, Professor and Head of Department, Faculty of Textile Engineering, Daffodil International

University attended as special guest while Engr. Md. Syed Farid Ahmed, Chief Adviser & Engineer, BGWTF; Helal Uddin Ahmed, Adviser; Ananta Ahmed, USGBC Faculty, Alhaj Muhammad Harunur Rashid, Chairman of Asian Group were also present among others.

In BGWTF’s Annual Program, Best Development Award -2018 was given for keeping the commendable role in the washing sector. Natural Washing Ltd, Starling Laundry Ltd, Genesis Washing and Orient Washing got respectively first, second, third and fourth prize.

Gazi Ahmad Hasan, President of Bangladesh Washing Owners Association; Dr. Mahbubul Haque, Professor and Head of Department, Faculty of Textile Engineering, Daffodil International University attended as special guest while Engr. Md. Syed Farid Ahmed, Chief Adviser & Engineer, BGWTF; Helal Uddin Ahmed, Adviser; Ananta Ahmed, USGBC Faculty, Alhaj Muhammad Harunur Rashid, Chairman of Asian Group were also present among others.

Figure 2: Distinguished guests handed over the prize to the winners of “Best Development Award -2018”.

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Bangladesh Textile Today |

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S p i n n i n g To d a y

Making sure effective sizing through effective 3M function Jahidul Hoque Majumder (Shipon), AGM (Project Head), Noman Textile Mills Ltd.

Currently some latest air jet loom developed that can run in 1000 -1100 RPM. To run a fabric in this high speed loom it is mandatory to have quality sizing and good yarn strength as well. Correct sizing can avoid ball formation during weaving, reduce warp breakage in loom and consequently lead loom efficiency and make sure elite quality fabric.

Sizing put impact on yarn properties by increasing strength, abrasion resistance, stiffness, frictional resistance, yarn weight and diameter.

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For the first time in Bangladesh, SGS Bangladesh Ltd. organized new ZDHC certified (ZDHC ACADEMY) training on top ten issues and best practices on 8 May 2018. The top 10 issues of Chemical Management complements the existing training module.

Based on knowledge obtained from the introductory course and using on-ground experiences, this new training focuses on the 10 main chemical management issues found in the textile, apparel, footwear and leather industry.

Being a member of ZDHC as value chain affiliate, SGS is continuously driving different kind of training sessions and technical seminars on ZDHC to support apparel industry in order to meet ZDHC goal.

Sizing is called the heart of weaving. During weaving the warp sheet have to go through subsequent stress and friction.

Appropriate sizing and yarn strength play the vital role to

withstand on that stress and friction. This article discusses the way of doing effective sizing by making sure proper control and combination between Man, Machine & Material- the 3M’s method.

Currently some latest air jet loom developed that can run in 1000 -1100 RPM. To run a fabric in this high speed loom it is mandatory to have quality sizing and good yarn strength as well. Correct sizing can avoid ball formation during weaving, reduce warp breakage in loom and consequently lead loom efficiency and make sure elite quality fabric. Sizing put impact on yarn properties by increasing strength, abrasion resistance, stiffness, frictional resistance, yarn weight and diameter. On the other hand it decreases yarn hairiness, irregularity, flexibility, elongation and static electricity formation.

Once in warp yarn improper sizing is done, there is nothing to do with the warp set but put into junk as

Bangladesh Textile Today |

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S p i n n i n g To d a y

there is no reprocess or corrective chance further on. So on or before sizing all precaution and corrective measure should be taken.

3M’s functionalities means the function of man, machine, and materials on sizing.

Function of sizer or sizing technician - Main responsibility of a sizing technician is to select proper sizing recipe, machine, machine route and operate the machine properly.

- Cocking size recipe with maintaining correct cocking procedure ( mixing first synthetic adhesive in cold water then modified starch in cold water then raise temperature 900 C cock 30 minutes and agitate liquor properly then mix acrylic binder and softener and cocking whole ingredient 5-10 minutes in temp 900C ) - Keep size box temperature 850C and maintain regular liquor viscosity, reflection. Also adjust squeezing pressure, machine speed, warp immerse time in order to maintain a regular and standard pick up of 10-12%.

- Keep no of warper beam as low as possible, adjust beam alignment parallel, also zonal tension setting i.e. creel tension, abonid roller, dryer cylinder speed, leasing rod orientation, table tension or winding tension, head stock beam pressure roller pressure in order to synchronize warp tension regular and thus keep yarn elongation and loss of yarn elasticity minimum.

Standard elasticity loss is 1.5% - Yarn must contain 7-8% moisture during sizing. No of dryer cylinder, cylinder temperature setting base on yarn fineness and density .Take care about proper yarn drying as over dry make the size film brittle and under dry create sticky sizing. For course and dense yarn cylinder

Bangladesh Textile Today |

temperature required 1300 C to 1400C and machine speed would be lower. For fine and low dense yarn, cylinder temperature required 1200 C to 1300 C and machine speed would be higher.

- Sizing technician should be attentive all the time during size beam preparation. S/He must cut off and clear lapper as swiftest as possible. Also adjust head stock V reed to ensure parallel and even winding on beam. Take care on flange side overlapping or entanglement problem.

Function of machine - Sizing machine and machine specification play vital role for quality sizing - Machine with double and larger size box length with double dip double nip immersion roller can make good sizing quality for high dense higher total ends fabric. In double dip double nip process immersion time is higher and so more penetration is occurred, also the more spread the warp sheet is the more chance of having coating with size film.

Covering % by a warp sheet in a particular size box should be below 65%.

- PLC control machinery with automatic zonal tension synchronize system can keep a regular tension through full set.

- Machine should have moisture control unit (like Pleva) which can control uniform and standard moisture (7-8%) in yarn. Machine should have sufficient drying cylinder 12 to 16 pieces, the more no of drying cylinder the more possibility of run the machine with high speed and high speed increase pick up% and lead higher productivity.

- Squeezing roller has to be uniform and if required need to grind or rubberizing properly, also hardness of squeezing roller need to be below 600 shour. It’s

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require to control uniform pick up%.

Function of raw materials or sizing chemical - Selection of sizing recipe mainly depend on yarn count, blend, type (kw/cw/ac), total no of ends etc.

- Primary sizing ingredient is the starch which act as adhesive. Its function is to increase strength by penetrate a portion in the yarn and coating the yarn to make yarn surface sooth and reduce hairiness. Previously native starch use but currently modified starch of maize, potato used combined with synthetic adhesive polyvinyl alcohol, acrylic co polymer.

- Softener/ lubricant is the next primary ingredient which mainly is used to reduce the stiffness of yarn and make yarn flexible. Oil , wax etc. are used as softener/ lubricant - Secondary ingredient for sizing is the antiseptics, wetting agent, antifoaming agent, brightening agent etc. All these are applied based on requirement. Now a days combined ingredient name as ‘one short chemical’ found in market which mainly is combination of these entire ingredients.

- Corse yarn/AC yarn( 10-20 Ne count) require less viscosity (16-17) and less pick up 8-10% normal sizing and fine (30-50 Ne) yarn require medium sizing i.e. pick up 11-12% whereas CVC / PC / high ends picks fine count fabric require heavy sizing i.e. pick up 15-16%. For dyed yarn require less sizing i.e. pick up 8-9%. All these are general guideline, although all these things i.e.- viscosity, reflection, add on and overall all sizing depend on sizing ingredient properties and quality.

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Cover Plus

Bangladesh should utilize the possibility of long-term export opportunity in Russia Desk report ‘Bangladesh Textile & Jute Fair’ in Moscow was a great opportunity to expand Bangladesh’s apparel and textile export to Russia, a non-traditional export destination for Bangladeshi garments. The three-day long fair was held at the Radisson Slavianskaya Hotel and business center in Moscow from 21 to 23 May organized by the Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau, the Bangladesh Embassy in Russian Federation and Ministry of Textiles and Jute organized the fair.

Bangladeshi garments and jute sector entrepreneurs participated in the fair. Organization of owners and entrepreneurs of readymade garment sector BGMEA, jute entrepreneur, BJMC, and Jute Diversification Promotion Center (JPDC) also participated in the fair.

The participants expressed their views where they urged to the local embassy to focus more on economic diplomacy to an important market like Russia.

Saber Hossain Chowdhury, President of Textile and Jute Parliamentary Standing Committee, said, “Russia’s relations with Bangladesh are fantastic. Apart from the cooperation of nuclear power plants and Bangabandhu satellites, our relationship with the country is increasing even in the military direction. We hope that bilateral trade will also grow. For this, the government and businessmen have jointly organized this exhibition.”

“We have identified the problems and possibilities. This will help us to move forward. We just want to work to grow our market, not only in Russia but also in CIS

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Figure: Inauguration of the first ever Bangladesh Textile & Jute Fair in Moscow organized

by Ministry of Textiles & Jute, Bangladesh Embassy in Russian Federation with support from Export Promotion Bureau.

“

importance to increase bilateral trade with this country.”

Russia is an important and big country. We have to work with greater importance to increase bilateral trade with this country.”

Siddiqur Rahman, President, BGMEA

(Commonwealth of Independent States) countries,” he added.

Also Read: Bangladesh targets to catch Russia’s $50 billion clothing market Munnujan Sufyan, a Parliamentary Committee Member of the Ministry of Textile and Jute, said that though we did not get expected a response from the local buyers, however, Bangladesh has huge potential in Russia and she advised to work for the welfare of the people of the country.

BGMEA President Siddiqur Rahman said, “Russia is an important and big country.

We have to work with greater

He added that this step is quite positive and this will open the door to our possibilities. The government is helping us at home and abroad to do business.

But there is a slight exception in Russia. The fair did not come to the desired buyer. Hopefully, this initiative will give a positive feedback.”

BGMEA Vice-President Mohammad Nasir said, “The main task of the readymade garment sector in Bangladesh is to diversify markets and commodities. And with this goal, we have come here.

However, commercial wing in Russia is not doing necessary work.”

He advised the local embassy to inspect the apparel diplomacy and said that the local embassy of Bangladesh will have a more robust role in these countries in the world to take advantage of poverty alleviation, women empowerment, and employment

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Cover Plus

opportunities.

BGMEA first Vice President Moin Uddin Ahmed said, “What we cherished to come here in Russia the expectations were not fulfilled, but with such initiatives, a large area of Bangladesh’s products will be made in Russia in the future. As a result, it will be possible to implement the $ 50 billion projections from the garment sector on the golden jubilee of the country.

Only one and a half percent of the country’s total export earnings comes from Russia, though the country’s readymade garment sector market is more than $ 50 billion. The textile industry in Russia is the third-largest industry, behind food/beverages and transportation.

Accord gets six more months from BGMEA Staff Correspondent Accord will stay in the country for six more months as the government confirmed it this week. The announcement was made at a joint press conference, on 10th May 2018, organized by Bangladesh Garment

The press conference said, “As no local body is still formed to monitor the RMG sector and Accord’s remediation rate still remains at 85 percent, the government has formed a Transitional Monitoring Committee

Opportunities for Bangladesh in the Russian market According to the experts, the Asian garment manufacturing industry is undergoing a certain kind of segmentation, China’s position as world’s number one destination for cheap textiles has been shaken by emerging Asian counties such as India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia.

“Textile and footwear production is gradually leaving China. Countries such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and up to a lesser extent Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Korea have significantly developed their garment manufacturing industries,” Olga Strelnikova, Head of Textile Department at SCS Group, said.

There are some major factors that make garment imports to Russia from these countries. Bangladesh and Vietnam are on the list of seven largest apparel exporters to Russia, according to Consulting Group data. Although their shares are not as big as China’s, the growth is more impressive. In 201214, imports from Bangladesh grew at 25.59 percent and Vietnam at 16.96 percent while imports from China fell by 4.48 percent.

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Figure: Distinguished guests were present at the joint press conference organized by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Accord.

Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Accord at BGMEA office.

They said five years back on 15 May 2013, a group of global brands and retailers and two global unions and their national trade union affiliates signed an agreement to make garment factories in Bangladesh safe and the tenure of agreement exhausts this month.

Earlier in 2017 on 29th June Accord unilaterally declared to extend its tenure until 2021, which was highly criticized by the government and the garments organizations of Bangladesh. Later in August 2017 BGMEA offered a new platform called ‘Shonman’ to replace Accord and Alliance, but now it’s clear that the trade body could not hold on his earlier position. And now with the joint press conference BGMEA has given legitimacy to Accord for its new tenure.

(TMC) to run the work of the extended six months.”

BGMEA president Md. Siddiqur Rahman, while reading out the press release, said the government formed a Remediation Coordination Cell (RCC) under Inspection for Factories and Establishment Department which will take over the responsibility of monitoring from Accord after being fully organized and capable.

He said the government and entrepreneurs are working jointly for making the RCC active before the end of the extended six months.

Karl Gunnar Fagerlin, a member of Accord steering committee, said the TMC will start on 1 June and will run until they can achieve the full remediation.

Thirteen members of Accord steering committee and BGMEA leaders were present at the program among others.

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S a f e t y To d a y

Accord provides financial support to five RMG factories Desk Report The Accord on Fire and Building Safety recently has approved two additional applications from Accord-covered factories to receive financial support for remediation through the Accord Inactive Factory Remediation Fund, adding up to a total of five factories, said an official release.

The Inactive Factory Remediation Fund was launched to support Accord covered RMG factories that no longer have any Accord company signatories as customers.

Remediation progress is slower at these factories than at factories with continued business with Accord signatory companies.

The factories receiving financial support are Hypoid Lingerie Ltd., Ritzy Apparels, Everbright Sweater Ltd., Ayesha Enterprise Ltd. and Meek Knit Ltd. The amount of support provided thus far totals more than 4 crore BDT ($ 514.000).

List of the factories that received financial support from Accord 1. Hypoid Lingerie Ltd. 2. Ritzy Apparels 3. Everbright Sweater Ltd. 4. Ayesha Enterprise Ltd. 5. Meek Knit Ltd. The Accord will contribute to the outstanding remediation costs of these factories and will distribute the funds in four installments.

The first is provided when signing the funding agreement and the remaining three will be provided based on Accord verified completion of the remediation commensurate with the preceding installment.

To be deemed eligible, factories that submit a funding application must demonstrate they have made legitimate efforts to complete the

Bangladesh Textile Today |

safety remediation. All immediate safety items (e.g. removal of locking features from the egress doors/gates, load management to relieve column stress) and lowcost maintenance remediation items must have been completed.

Quoting Tawfiq Quadir, Chairman of Everbright Sweater Ltd. the release said, “Everbright Sweater

Ltd. signed the remediation financial support agreement with the Accord in December 2017. Two months later we have completed the outstanding retrofitting work and the installation of the fire hydrant system.”

Nazmus Sakib Khan, Director Ayesha Enterprise Ltd., said, “When we applied for the Accord Inactive Factories Remediation Fund, Ayesha Enterprise Ltd. had already completed 86% of the safety remediation. After receiving the first installment, we have completed most of the requirements of the Engineering Assessment (e.g. install permanent RCC water tank, install lightweight wall partition panel) and we started the procurement of the fire standpipe system.”

Faruque Khan, Managing Director Meek Knit Ltd., said, “After receiving the financial support through the Accord Inactive Factories Remediation Fund, we were able to open the Letter of Credit to import the fire detection and hydrant systems. Now we can move

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forward with the installation.”

According to the press release, the Accord will monitor the factories’ expenditure of funds and will recognize the remediated factories on its website.

Quoting Joris Oldenziel, Accord Deputy Director for Implementation, the release said, “The funding provided by the Accord through the Inactive Factories Remediation Fund does not require repayment by recipient factories. The Accord will closely monitor the expenditure to ensure that the financial support is spent exclusively on safety remediation work.”

Accord covered factories with no more business with Accord signatory companies for more than six months are encouraged to apply for financial support to complete remediation. The Accord is currently reviewing an additional five applications received from inactive factories.

JOB OPPORTUNITY One of the globally leading textile dyes and chemical manufacturing companies is looking for technically sound, dynamic, self- motivated, proactive and enthusiastic persons for their Bangladesh office.

Assistant Manager (Technical Support) The Ideal Candidate should be a B. Sc. in Textile Engineering from any reputed university/institutions with at least 5 year(s) of relevant technical experience, preferably in textile dyeing finishing production floors.

Vacancy : 3 (Full Time Positions) Salary: Depends on competence and experience of the candidate.

However it could be more or less around BDT 75,000 per month consolidated.

Interested candidates are encouraged to send a complete resume to: info@textiletoday.com.bd

41

News and Analysis

Protection policy hurts export diversification Staff Correspondent Protection policy affects export diversification as non-RMG exports suffer for the policy, said Policy Research Institute (PRI) at a roundtable discussion titled ‘Protection Policy, Export Diversification and the Forgotten Consumer’ on 8 May in Dhaka.

Dr. Mashiur Rahman, Advisor to the Prime Minister (Economic Affairs) was the chief guest while Ghulan Rahman, President of Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) was present as special guest. Dr. A B Mirza Azizul Islam, Former Advisor of Caretaker Government presided over the roundtable discussion where Dr. Zaidi Sattar, Chairman of PRI was the keynote presenter.

On a global scale, Bangladeshi consumers pay the highest prices for most consumer goods, as imports are subject to the highest protective tariff rates in the region.

They pay 70 percent more than in international markets to buy imported and import substitute products due to high tariff protection, said Zaidi Sattar in his keynote speech.

During the last five-year period, FY2013-17, the total protection cost to consumers works out to a sustainable amount of US$70.6 billion. “About 9 percent of NBR revenue originates from taxes on imported consumer goods that are subject to protection. It must be kept in mind that protection actually restricts importation, so the revenue collected could be higher if protective import taxes were lower,” said Zaidi Sattar “‘In a static sense, industrial protection is a zero-sum game.

What producers gain, consumers lose,” he added. He also showed that the average protection tariff on import and import substitutes in Bangladesh was 26.6 per cent and the rate was much higher

42

Figure : Dr. Mashiur Rahman, Advisor to the Prime Minister and Ghulam Rahman, President, CAB are seen in Round Table Discussion meeting.

than those in many other regional countries.

He said, “Tariff raises the prices of competing imports and it helps rise profitability of sales, but does not raise export profitability. Consumers are the large stakeholders of the economy but they have not been in policy discourse.”

Ghulam Rahman, president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh, said neither the country’s political parties nor the civil society think about the interest of people.

He also said that due to protection the prices of MS rod and cement went up on the domestic market while the prices of the items were going down on the international market. This type of protection cannot protect the interest of consumers.”

“It is never said that the budget should be consumer-friendly.

Rather, it is said that the budget should be business-friendly, industry-friendly. Political parties also do not talk about the interests of consumers,” he said.

“In the name of protecting domestic industries, the government is giving different incentives to the local refiners.

Some of the refiners are importing

crude soya bean oil, making little modification, bottling and gaining huge profit,” PRI Executive Director Ahsan H Mansur opined.

Tariff protection creates inefficiency among producers, so they should not continue for long, said AB Mirza Azizul Islam.

“There should be a transition policy,” he added. Citing the protection given to importsubstitute industries such as steel, Ahsan H Mansur said “Any country can produce anything but the question that needs to be asked is at what price.”

Bangladesh has not taken serious tariff reforms since the mid-90s, said Selim Raihan, Executive Director of the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling.

Trade policy in Bangladesh is primarily a revenue-seeking policy not development oriented policy, he added.

“Development works are suffering for the spiral in rod and cement prices. Why is such a high protection?” asked Ghulam Rahman, president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh.

He went on to regret that consumers’ interests are not considered properly in government policy-making.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

May 2018

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Key success factor to design studio and product development is mindset and willingness to take risk…”

Natural Denim story of developing outstanding products and processes

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Natural Denim story of developing outstanding products and processes Md. Masudur Rahman Garment washing technology is applied to add prestigious outlook, appearance, ease and design of garments. It is the sector where innovation and creativity is a must and a washed product could bring 100 times more profit than a nonwashed product. Bangladesh Garments Washing Technologist Federation (BGWTF) was established in 2009 to drive the innovation of Bangladesh garments washing industry. Every year BGWTF organizes a washing development competition

laundry.

Product Development Criteria BGWTF sets below criteria to develop the product1. May Day theme 2. Outlook 3. Value addition 4. Process cost 5. Production friendly 6. Quality Process The product is developed based on the theme of the May Day. Item surface looks like a vintage wash, however, it will get your attention for its outstanding modern development. A towel bleach wash is applied after that whiskering, destroying, grinding and tagging embedded for stunning aesthetic. Slogans, symbols, and logos of the Mayday printed on woven fabric are attached with gum, it captivated with zigzag sewing. The splash effect enhanced the outlook.

Finally, micro silicon finish allows excellent handling and comfortability.

Natural Group

Figure1: Engr. Mahasinuzzaman Shishir.

and this year more than 70 washing industries participated in the competition. Natural Denim’s Wash & Wear crowned as champion of competition.

Mahasinuzzaman Shishir, Deputy General Manager of Natural Denim (Wash & Wear Ltd), General Sectary, BGWTF gave an interview with Textile Today and this report is made based on that interview. The report focused on the strategies and plans behind doing innovative products and process in a Bangladesh

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

Natural Group started its journey in 2004. The Group has its two sister concern, Natural Denims Ltd., and Natural Sweater Village Ltd. Natural Woven Division running with 4 production units named, Natural Denims Ltd., Natural Apparels Ltd., Natural Washing Plant Ltd., and Natural Wash & Wear Ltd. The factory employed more than 8000 people.

Natural Denim manufacture both twill and jeans item like Jeans Pant, Jackets, Twill Pants, Shorts, Kids item etc. for some of the world-famous brands like H&M, ZARA, MANGO, K Mart, Pull & Bear, DEBENHAMS, S Oliver, OVS, KappaAhi etc.

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F a c t o r y Ta l e s - P r o d u c t D e v e l o p m e n t

Its laboratory is self-sufficient for all kinds of testing.

The lab has H&M nominated level three ranked laboratory.

Research and innovation Natural denim believes in innovation, its R&D lab is well established with 16 dedicated small to medium machines. It is not only set recipe for bulk production but it also develops their own designed denim garments. “Our team is extensively focused on our own design and development, we present our factory developed product to the buyers, many of our designed product was chosen by buyers for production,” Engr. Shishir explained.

Figure 2: Modern technology used at Natural Denim, Wash and Wear Ltd.

Washing plant The natural group has two washing unit, Natural Washing Plant Ltd., and Natural Wash & Wear Ltd. Plants are fully occupied with both mechanical and modern machines. At unit -1, it has eight conventional and twelve modern front rolling machines. At unit -2, is has 20 modern machines like Tonello 420 LD2 machine with Nano-bubble technology.

“Nano-bubble technology allows to wash garments with minimum water and chemical consumption, it also extends wash bath lifetime, enables washing at lower temperatures,” Mr. Mahasinuzzaman Shishir told.

The factory using leaser fading system by Jeanologia, a Spanish leaser technology manufacturer for denim finishing. “Laser technology is capable to enhance productivity, reduce water and energy consumption and diminish damaging emissions and waste, guaranteeing ZERO contamination, which allows sustainable eco- friendly denim production,” Mahasinuzzaman Shishir added.

Figure 4: Product development studio at Natural Denim.

Sustainability The factory set a target to become sustainable of all three aspects of it. Already it has begun to use sustainable technology for denim washing and creating aesthetic appearance; it allows environmentfriendly production and leads to zero hazardous solutions. It already has 100 cubic meter recyclable ETP plant and another 200 cubic meters of fully recyclable ETP is under construction.

“Denim Garments washing consumes approximately 250 liters of water for 1 kg of garments in its process chain, though Bangladesh has an abundance of water but discharging hazardous chemicals pollutes water body and each year water layer of Dhaka went 2-3 foot down. Therefore we are trying to consume less water in our process,” he told.

Efficient manpower is the key to reduce the cost of production, that’s why the factory arranges training, seminars, and workshop for technology know-how, chemical management and occupational safety at its factory premises.

Figure 3: Laser Technology is used at Natural Denim Ltd.

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The factory allows trade union for collective bargaining. Provides decent wages and bonus for all employees and workers. It has separate child care center for employees. Provides 24 hours medical facility and fast aid support.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

F a c t o r y Ta l e s

Snowtex launches its own fashion brand SaRa Staff Correspondent Snowtex, a reputed apparel manufacturing company has launched its own fashion brand ‘SaRa’ in Dhaka on May 12. It is another exemplary initiative

by Bangladesh’s local RMG entrepreneurs to establish clothing brand in the world of fashion. The first flagship shop of ‘SaRa’ has been opened in Section 6, Mirpur-Dhaka.

Fashion show, catwalk, video presentation and other events were arranged at the grand opening. Famous media personalities Ali Zaker and Sara Zaker were present as special guest while some other actors, models, singers and media people also attended.

The main objectives of Sara is to provide quality clothing at affordable price for its customers.

To celebrate upcoming Eid-ulFitr, it will present a collection of different clothing, which is designed by following local and

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western culture to attract the customers and make its brand loyalty. Snowtex has capitalized the experience of 20 years of garments making and selling for international reputed fashion brands.

expand its store in Dhaka and other districts of the country,” said Khaled in the opening ceremony in a short speech. “We have a plan to open SaRa stores internationally in near future,” he added.

“All kinds of men’s, women’s and kid’s products will be available at the flagship shop where customer will get local, traditional and western tastes of fashion,” said Mr. SM Khaled, Managing Director of Snowtex Outerwear and Sara Lifestyle Ltd. in a press conference at ‘The Daily Star Centre’ in Dhaka on 9 May.

Snowtex started its journey in 2000 by a buying house and now it has three different apparel manufacturing units where more than 10,000 of people are working.

Snowtex Outerwear Ltd. is a green garments factory, which has achieved LEED gold certificate from US Green Building Council and Health and Safety Award from the Ministry of Labour and Employment in 2018.

The clothing including punjabi, Shirt, t-shirt, polo shirt, chino pant, and jeans are for men and boys.

Western tops, shirt, ethnic tops, exclusive party tops, t-shirts, polo shirts, leggings, jeans, and chinos are for women and girls.

“We have now started our first store in Mirpur. Gradually we will

Sharifun Reba and Md. Mosarrof Hossain, Director of Snowtex Outerwear and SaRa Lifestyle, Assistant Director Mohammed Motiur Rahman and Head of Designer Kashfia Nehreen Hossain were also presented in the opening ceremony.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

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F a c t o r y Ta l e s - R e c o g n i t i o n

President stresses for more investments to sustain industrial growth Desk Report President Md. Abdul Hamid handed over the ‘President’s Award for Industrial Development 2016’ to the thirteen industrial units at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka on May 22.

At the ceremony, President Abdul Hamid stated, “There is no alternative to the development of private sector to achieve the desired goal in the industrialization of the country”.

“The industrialization pace in the country will gain further pace as much as the private sector gets stronger and faster,” he added.

He further said, “The government has been providing various incentives to the private sector and entrepreneurs considering this fact. The entrepreneurs in SME sector are given a single digit interest loan, while women entrepreneurs in this sector are given a collateral-free loan.

Plots are also given to them on a priority basis. This President’s Industrial Development Award is also part of the incentives.”

Hamid said the government is setting up 100 special economic zones to achieve the target of sustainable and environmentfriendly industrialization.

“Alongside creating some ten million jobs, the government has targeted to raise the export volume to US$ 40 billion by setting up the special economic zones. So, most plots in these economic zones are being allocated for private entrepreneurs,” the President added.

He mentioned that local and foreign investment is on the rise because of tax exemption and

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Figure1: President Md. Abdul Hamid is seen with recipients of the ‘President’s Industrial Development Award-2016’ at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital. Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu was also present on the occasion.

other government incentives provided to investors.

The awards were given to 13 industrial units in six categories for their contribution to the economy.

Fariha Spinning Mills from Narayanganj received the top award in the large industry category, while Spectra Engineers Limited and Envoy Textile Limited the second and third ones in this category.

BRB Polymer Limited, Chittagong Denim Mills Limited, Basumati Distribution Limited were awarded the first, second and third prizes respectively in the medium-sized industry category.

In the small industry category, the winners were Runner Automobiles from Mymensingh, Oco-Tex Limited from Gazipur and Abul Industries. Smart Leather Products was the lone company recognized in the new micro-industry category.

Super Star Electrical Accessories Limited from Narayanganj and Service Engine Limited from Dhaka were awarded under the hi-tech category, while Karupanno Weaving Factory was the lone awardee in the cottage industry category.

Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, Industries Secretary Muhammad Abdullah, representatives of the award winner industrial units and the secretaries concerned to the President`s Office were present on the occasion.

Figure 2: Tanvir Ahmed, Director of Envoy Textile Limited, received the award from the President Md. Abdul Hamid at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital.

Earlier, the Industries Minister presented a crest to the President.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

Our own brand will give more control on the market and the manufacturing facilities will be less vulnerable to major market changes.…

S M Khaled, Managing Director of Snowtex and SaRa Lifestyle Ltd.

Fast Fashion is creating fierce competition mainly on price issue and so the brands and retailers built on creating brand identities to claim bit more from the consumers. However the manufacturers when doesn’t have brand visibilities suffers the most, sometimes there is no feasibility for them in the business. Bangladeshi apparel makers, in particular, has been investing a lot in complying with global safety and compliance requirements trying to improve its reputation and brand value to be able to ask bit more money for their work for the global brands.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

I speculate that with the development going forward on the base of textile and apparel manufacturing in Bangladesh, the fashion retail business will also flourish here in coming days.

And even in international market, our brand will give more protection to our manufacturing business.

So, Snowtex already passed 20 years in garments manufacturing and still we are planning for expanding but we came up with ‘SaRa’ as a long term business strategy as we can survive when the garments industry in near future will be having a great transformation. Our own brand will give more control on the market and our manufacturing facilities will be less vulnerable to major market changes.

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F a c t o r y Ta l e s - B r a n d i n g

survive when the garments industry in near future will be having a great transformation. Our own brand will give more control on the market and our manufacturing facilities will be less vulnerable to major market changes.

Figure 1: Workers in Snowtex Outerwear Ltd. enjoys safe and sound working environment.

When brands and its protection is very important for global brands & retailers, a positive brand visibility of manufacturers helps the final sellers to achieve more confidence and trust from the consumers. And so Textile Today is promoting the importance of brand awareness building for the textile and apparel manufacturers of Bangladesh.

Understanding the importance of building a strong brand, doing promotion and making marketing strategy, still, there is a lot of confusion in textile and apparel industry on making a strategy on this. Companies are confusion in priority setting also. And so since Bangladesh is the second largest garments exporting country in the world, still it is lagging behind in branding and marketing strategies. Consequently, textile and apparel industries are suffering from financial aspects and losing competitiveness.

S M Khaled, Managing Director of Snowtex and SaRa Lifestyle Ltd. having a distinctive view on this and creating significant examples in the subject matter could be considered as an icon. Mr. Khaled shared his knowledge and experience in apparel industry branding and promotion concept during a conversation with Textile Today team. Here is the glimpse of the

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We thought this is the right time to start own fashion retail brand as we got enough experience on this. We are already working with the world best brands and we know how they work, how they run their business. So that why don’t we use these experiences? I think every established garment industry of Bangladesh should adopt this business strategy.

Textile Today: Over the years, where do you want to see the ‘SaRa Lifestyle’ and what is the business strategy of ‘SaRa’?

conversation for the readers.

Textile Today: Recently Snowtex has launched its own fashion brand “SaRa”. How do you get the idea of making such a fashion retail business besides garments manufacturing?

S M Khaled: About six months earlier, I was invited to an international seminar of Decathlon buyer as the best business partner from Bangladesh in Lille, France.

About 40-50 years ago, Lille was full of garments industry and over the time the industry was shut down and it became the poorest area in France. However, I have seen a number of garment manufacturing companies in Europe is now actually in selling garments under their created brand. Manufacturers in Bangladesh and other countries are manufacturing for them.

I speculate that with the development going forward on the base of textile and apparel manufacturing in Bangladesh, the fashion retail business will also flourish here in coming days. And even in the international market, our brand will give more protection to our manufacturing business. So, Snowtex already passed 20 years in garments manufacturing and still, we are planning for expanding but we came up with ‘SaRa’ as a longterm business strategy as we can

S M Khaled: This is just beginning of “SaRa” and next 2-3 years will be trial and error period then we will rework and introduce it in the international market. After 10-15 years, I want to see “Sara” in the front line among the worldwide fashion retailer companies. Our business plan is that primarily we will spread it in the whole country and attract the people by quality and variety of products. As we are already making world-class quality products in our own garment factory, we can also make products for “SaRa” as well.

Textile Today: As we all know that Bangladeshi garment industries have a reputational crisis and what should be the branding strategy of the industries for sustainable business?

S M Khaled: Garments business could be two types, one is the high price of products compare to quality with prestigious branding and another is the competitive price with high quality with branding. We should go with the second concept if I consider the Bangladeshi Market.

This is also applicable for “SaRa” and we want to reach the door to door by lower price and high-quality concept.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

F a c t o r y Ta l e s - B r a n d i n g

Textile Today: As you are an owner of an industry, How do you see the position of Bangladesh garment industry among other competitor countries?

S M Khaled: Often I visit too many countries and participate in international textile fairs and seminars to get latest technology and business ideas. In China, India, Vietnam and other competitor country’s factories don’t have latest machinery and processes like ours.

Apart from this, if GSP facility is changed in near future I think it will not be a problem for us since many of the industries are 100% compliant and others are working on it. Therefore, I think Bangladesh is in the safe side and in a good position but still, we have a lot to do to survive and grow in the business.

Textile Today: What do you think about ACCORD and ALLIANCE activities since many factory owners have alleged that they are investing money in many safety issues but they do not get a satisfactory price for their products?

S M Khaled: I think we need compliance for our own betterment and if a factory follows all safety rules then buyers will spontaneously give a standard price for products.

So, all the existing factory and new entrepreneurs should think wisely about compliance, branding, and marketing to sustain in this competitive market.

Textile Today: By 2021, Bangladesh has 50 billion USD garments export target. How much is Snowtex contributing to achieve this target?

S M Khaled: Snowtex started its journey in the year 2000 and from the very beginning our growth is 50%-60% round the year. In 2016, our turnover was 70 million USD, in 2017, it was 100 million USD, this year our target is 130 million USD and by 2020, it will be 200 million USD. From the data, it is very clear that we are contributing to the national target and our Snowtex family cordially working for this.

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Innovation

LENZING™ ECOVERO™ fibers production commences in China Desk Report The Lenzing Group marks a new milestone in its sustainability journey. It is introducing the eco-responsible process for the production of LENZING™ ECOVERO™ branded viscose fibers, which were first launched

by Lenzing in autumn 2017, also at its Chinese location Lenzing Nanjing Fibers (LNF). As of now, the Lenzing Group is able to produce LENZING™ ECOVERO™ fibers not solely at the site in Lenzing (Austria) but also in China and, hence, even better meet the strong demand for eco-responsible products.

The environmental awareness of consumers has been growing steadily over the last decade, more recently in the fashion and textile industry. Textile consumption is expected to double by 2025, and the industry is anxiously looking for more sustainable solutions with low environmental impact.

The Lenzing Group addresses this market need for more ecoresponsible products by offering LENZING™ ECOVERO™ fibers that mark a new milestone in Lenzing’s sustainable viscose production based on three pillars: I) LENZING™ ECOVERO™ viscose fibers are derived from sustainable wood and pulp, coming from certified and controlled sources (FSC® or PEFC™ certified) following the stringent guidelines of the Lenzing Wood and Pulp Policy.

II) LENZING™ ECOVERO™ fibers have been certified with the EU Ecolabel, a label of environmental excellence.

III) LENZING™ ECOVERO™ fibers can be robustly identified in the final product.

“Our fibers have great added value for consumers, and we want to make this even clearer,” said Stefan Doboczky, CEO of Lenzing Group.

“The re-design of our brands

Eco Vero New eco friendly viscos fiber

further emphasizes what Lenzing stands for. ‘Innovative by Nature’ and always aware of the world’s wants and needs, we gladly take responsibility for our partners’ and consumer’s quality of life as well as for the environment we all live in,” he added.

Hu Jian, Senior Vice President North Asia of the Lenzing Group, said, “We have a special manufacturing system; we are supporting the trend in the fashion industry towards greater transparency. It is becoming increasingly important to know where the products come from and which path they have covered”. “By now only two locations worldwide to produce LENZING™ ECOVERO™ fibers and this is something we are particularly proud of,” he added.

Avinash Mane, Commercial Head South Asia Region AMEA, stated that “LENZING™ ECOVERO™ fibers generate up to 50 percent lower emissions and water pollution.

With these fibers, Lenzing can offer its customers, partners, and ecologically minded end consumers viscose fibers with a low environmental impact.”

The expansion of the production of LENZING™ ECOVERO™ fibers emphasizes the focus of the Lenzing Group on specialty fibers.

In line with the corporate strategy sCore TEN, the Lenzing Group follows the goal to raise the share of specialty fibers in revenue to 50 percent by 2020 from currently 42 percent.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

F a c t o r y Ta l e s

Dekko Group launches its own Fashion Store ‘KLUBHAUS’ Desk Report Dekko Group begins its own fashion brand KLUBHAUS, at Jamuna Future Park on May 11. It was the 3rd outlet of the fashion brand located at Jamuna Future Park after the opening of two outlets at Bashundhara City Shopping Mall and Wari in the last two consecutive weeks.

Dekko Group celebrated the grand launching of the fashion brand ‘KLUBHAUS’ on the same day.

Fashion show, catwalk, video presentation and other events were arranged at the grand opening. During the fashion show popular musician, Jon Kabir performed a number of tracks to create a brilliant fusion of music and fashion with the models.

The models displayed the apparels from the latest Spring Summer 2018 and the Eid collection which could be purchased at the KLUBHAUS stores located in Bashundhara City Shopping Mall, Wari and Jamuna Future Park.

Figure: Mr. Shahadat Hossain (Kiron), Chairman of Dekko Group, Mr. Shahid Hossain, Managing Director of Dekko Group, Chairman of Klubhaus and Ms. Rayana Hossain, Director of Dekko Group and Klubhaus were present in the inauguration ceremony.

They introduced four product lines of basic, casual, premium, and heritage which have been respectively named after the rivers of Bangladesh-Boral, Atrai, Mogra, and Kalindi.

Dekko Group is a leading company in the ready-made garments sector of Bangladesh with a legacy of

producing high-quality garments exclusively for major players in the international market including Zara, Espirit, and Tommy Hilfiger.

Having accumulated enough experience for producing high-end garments and accessories, they are now offering that quality to the local market of Bangladesh.

SQ Group partnered with Mercer Consulting to transform its organizational HR practices Desk Report SQ Group, a leading name in the apparel manufacturing industry, is known for its belief and ethos of “Stand Tall or Naught”. In keeping with the spirit, the organization has collaborated with Mercer Consulting, one of the leading HR consulting companies in the world, to transform its organizational HR practices.

To embolden and move forward with the partnership, SQ Group and Mercer Consulting signed an agreement. According to the agreement, over a period of approximately six months, Mercer will redesign HR practices in such a way that builds right organizational culture, drives performance orientation,

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Figure : Distinguished guests were present in the signing ceremony.

motivates and keeps employees engaged, and ultimately achieves business priorities and targets.

Nilanjana Dutta, Associate of Mercer Consulting and Warisul Abid, Chief People Officer of SQ

Group signed the agreement.

During the signing ceremony Nivedita Balgi, Associate of Mercer Consulting, Johan Ahmed, Deputy Chief People Officer of SQ Group along with other high officials of SQ Group were also present.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

News & Analysis

CPD stresses to improve labour standard to cope with SDG Staff Correspondent Representatives of the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) have said that Bangladesh is behind the labor standards required to achieve Bangladesh’s sustainable development goals (SDGs).

They said this in the dialogue on ‘Emerging Labor Standard Demand in the Era of Bangladesh’s LDC Graduation and SDG Implementation’ organized by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) on 15 May 2018.

CPD Research Director Dr. Khondaker Golam Moazzem made a presentation over the emerging labor standard. In his presentation, he suggested that a well-coordinated approach could be taken to address the emerging labor standard (ELS) under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) framework.

CPD Distinguished Fellow Debapriya Bhattacharya said, “This is the era of rising protectionism.

It is the era of unilateral trade measures. It is the era where multilateral rules are being flouted. It is the era when the WTO (World Trade Organization)

This is the era of rising protectionism. It is the era of unilateral trade measures. It is the era where multilateral rules are being flouted. It is the era when the WTO (World Trade Organization) is paralyzed. Therefore, we will see what happens.

On the one hand, the bilateral and at the same time some regional standards will become more important than multilateral issues.

is paralyzed. Therefore, we will see what happens. On the one hand, the bilateral and at the same time some regional standards will become more important than multilateral issues. So, the rulebased multilateral standard issues may become much weaker in the future, at least in the near future.”

“SDG implementing agencies and stakeholders in Bangladesh are hardly aware of emerging labor standard issues. Raising awareness and effective coordination is a

must to address this if we are to achieve the global agenda by 2030,” he added.

Addressing the discussion as the chief guest, State Minister for Labor and Employment Md. Mujibul Haque Chunnu said, “A decision had been taken to incorporate the labor provisions in the EPZs by the inspector general with inspectors under the Bangladesh Labor Act 2006, with the minimum threshold of 20% worker support to form a trade union,” he added.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association President Md. Siddiqur Rahman “We will get GSP facility in the EU market for next 10 years so no need to worry. We will achieve the required standard within the time,”.

The dialogue was addressed, among others, by General Secretary of Bangladesh Trade Union Kendra Dr. Wajedul Islam Khan and Executive Director of Bangladesh Institute of Labor Studies (BILS) Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmmed.

Loepfe appoints Daniel Link as new CEO Desk Report In an official release, Loepfe Brothers Ltd. recently has announced the appointment of Daniel Link as Chief Executive Officer effective from May 1st, 2018. The former CEO Maurizio Wermelinger has retired but will remain as an advisor for a limited period of time to ensure a smooth transition.

The management of Loepfe shows their cordial gratefulness to Maurizio Wermelinger for his valuable contribution for the company. Maurizio Wermelinger guided Loepfe successfully over the past ten years, particularly during periods of difficult economic situations in the textile

Bangladesh Textile Today |

services have been successfully developed and integrated into the portfolio.

Figure: Mr. Daniel Link (left), Mr. Maurizio Wermelinger (right).

industry.

As a former Production Manager, he focused strongly on Swiss quality in manufacturing, an approach, which has been proven to be a big success. Under his aegis, several new instruments and

Volume 11, Issue 05

Daniel Link is an experienced leader in the textile industry. He holds a Master in Engineering from EPFL, Lausanne, and an MBA in General Management from the University of St. Gallen. Daniel Link held several management positions in R&D and Product Management at OC Oerlikon, before he joined Rieter Management AG in 2007 as a Senior Project Manager Corporate Planning & Development. In the last 8 years, he successfully served as CEO of Bräcker AG.

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Advertorial

Honghai’s model of achieving high output maintaining best quality using Reter Card C 70 Desk report Winterthur (Switzerland) based Rieter is one of the leading yarn processing machinery manufacturing companies in the world. Honghai Hangzhou Textile Co. Ltd. a potential customer of Rieter has taken an aim to become China’s largest manufacturer on the market for air-jet-spun yarn. Despite increased energy and personnel costs, the company’s goal is to market a yarn offering a high level of quality and consistency. The company has invested in a full system of semi-automated rotorspinning machinery from Rieter, producing an annual output of 50 000 tons of Ne 10 and Ne 30 viscose yarn.

These yarns are high quality and have a demand in the local and international market also. As a demand, the company is selling these yarns in the Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong regions in China and are also exporting to international markets (Brazil, Turkey, etc.).

In 2016, Honghai faced a very high demand for viscose yarn. The C 70 card machines from Rieter, which already deliver a high level of performance, processing 80 to 115 kg of sliver per hour, were unable

to meet the demand. To meet the production demand Rieter recommended enhancing the card production with new technological parts. It was extremely important to the customer that the quality level of the sliver was retained, even at higher production speeds.

Upon this recommendation, Honghai decided to test various parts with new technologies such as an aero-dynamically optimized profile, or “tongue” that influence the transition of the fibers from the card cylinder to the doffer.

During the trial period, the company then ran two cards with a high level of success, achieving a production rate of 160 kg/h each while maintaining the sliver quality.

“With Rieter’s innovations and technology we could maximize our profits with high production rate although the costs for the conversions were very low. As a result, we have bought more sets of parts and upgraded all our cards,” said Xinfeng Cui, Mill Manager at Honghai Hangzhou Textile Co., Ltd.

91st Textile Institute World Conference to be held in July in Leeds in the UK Desk Report The 91st Textile Institute World Conference (TIWC) is going to be held from 23 to 26 July this year at the University of Leeds, UK. This year’s conference will explore the theme of integrating design with sustainable technology.

Bangladesh Textile Today is one of the media partners of this conference. The event is to be sponsored by James Heal, XIROS, Taylor & Francis Group and many more.

The conference will be encompassing with Advanced Fibers and Materials Manufacture, 56

Biomaterials, Business, CAD/ CAE Technology, Circularity and New Business Models, Clothing, Coloration and Finishing, Comfort Science, Composites, Costume, Craft, Design, Economy & Supply Chain Management, Fashion, Fiber and Fabric Functionalization, Floorcovering, Footwear, Industry, Household/Interiors, Innovative Fabric Structures/Products, Leather, Modelling & Simulation, Nanotechnology, Printing, Retailing & Branding, Smart Textiles, Sustainability, Technical Textiles, Testing and Materials

Analysis, Textile Machinery, Textile Manufacturing – Knitting, Nonwovens and Weaving, Textile Recycling, Textile Cultural Heritage Science, Textile Education, Yarn Structures and Spinning.

The event will be opened from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm on the aforementioned date. To know the registration process and full conference information visit the 91st Textile Institute World Conference website: http://www. tiworldconference.org/

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

B u s i n e s s To d a y

Lenzing Group set strategies to bounce back the fall of revenue in first quarter of 2018 Desk Report from the market side was clearly The Lenzing Group planned the noteworthy in the first quarter. financial year 2018 with solid Against this background, we figures. Against the background of are contending with the solid a challenging market environment numbers. At the same time, we are for standard viscose combined with maintaining to drive forward the changed exchange rates, sales and Figure 1: Not only the logo of Lenzing implementation of our corporate earnings fell compared to the first has been changed many other things in strategy sCore TEN and the quarter (Q1) of the previous year. its communication and strategy has been changed to reshape company’s position in expansion of production capacity The corporate strategy sCore TEN the market. for our specialty fibers’’. continues to be raised with great discipline in order to extend the range “We are confident in our chosen strategy as it will of specialty fibers and to provide even more intensive help us to be more resilient in the coming quarters” he support to customers and partners. added.

The revenue of the company has declined by 6.1 percent to EUR 550.3 million. Lenzing explained that the decline was primarily due to an ambivalent currency crisis. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) declined by 24.8 percent to EUR 101.6 million, mainly due to downcast prices for standard viscose and ascending costs for key commodities, a recent press release informed. The EBITDA margin diminished from 23 percent in the Q1 of 2017 to 18.5 percent in the Q1 of 2018. The operating result (EBIT) abated by 32.7 percent to EUR 68.9 million, resulting in lower EBIT. Figure 2: “We are confident in our chosen strategy as it will help us to be more resilient in the coming quarters”, said Stefan The margin of 12.5 percent (Q1 2017: 17.5 percent).

Doboczky, CEO of the Lenzing Group.

The benefit for the period of EUR 50 million was 33.3 percent down on the previous year’s figure of EUR 75 Expansion of capacities and new brand appearance million. Earnings per share exacerbated to EUR 1.89 Investments (CAPEX) more than doubled from EUR (Q1 2017: EUR 2.75).

26.9 million in the first quarter of the previous year to EUR 58.9 million in the first quarter of 2018. This Key figures in accordance 01-03 / 2018 01-03 / 2017 is mainly due to the propagation of the capacities of with IFRS, on a Group basis (in EUR m) specialty fibers in Heiligenkreuz in Burgenland and in Mobile, Alabama (USA), as well as the expansion Revenues 550.3 586.2 and modernization of the fiber pulp mills in Lenzing EBITDA (operating 101.6 135.1 (Austria) and Paskov (Czech Republic). As part of income before the sCore TEN corporate strategies, these activities depreciation) are progressing as well as the planning for the EBITDA margin in% 18.5 23.0 construction of the next state-of-the-art lyocell EBIT (operating 68.9 102.3 fiber production plant in Prachinburi (Thailand). The result) brand TENCELTM as an umbrella brand for the textile applications of all specialty fibers in the context of EBIT margin in% 12.5 17.5 Première Vision in Paris, one of the most important Net income 50.0 75.0 textile trade fairs in the world, Lenzing launched a CAPEX 1 58.9 26.9 new phase of market positioning in February 2018.

Stefan Doboczky, CEO of the Lenzing Group said, Prospect “After the record year of 2017, Lenzing started the The International Monetary Fund (IMF) anticipates prospective challenging financial year 2018 with sales global economic growth to rise to 3.9 percent in and earnings declines. The headwind

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Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

B u s i n e s s To d a y

C o l l b o r a t i o n To d a y

2018. The increasing demand for cotton should support prices despite higher production and ensure consistent stocks. Polyester fiber prices are stable after the increase in recent years.

The strong demand in Lenzing’s relevant market segment of woodbased cellulose fibers continues.

After years of reduced capacity expansion in the viscose industry, significant additional volumes will be available in 2018. As a result, prices for standard viscose will come under pressure starting in the first quarter and increasingly in the second quarter. In light of this market development, the Lenzing Group is confirmed in its chosen

corporate strategy, sCore TEN, and will continue to drive forward its implementation with focused growth in the specialty fibers segment.

For 2018, the Lenzing Group sees several opposing factors that limit visibility on fiber prices. On the commodities side, the prices of some key commodities, such as caustic soda, are still at a very high level and their price development remains difficult to predict. Based on these general conditions, the Lenzing Group expects a challenging market environment for standard viscose for the coming quarters. Coupled with the changed exchange rates, the Lenzing Group expects earnings for 2018 to be below the excellent last two years.

SGS BD presents ZDHC certified training in chemical management

Aamra Resources to do marketing, sales and services of Atlas Copco products Desk Report Atlas Copco is one of the largest compressor manufacturing company in the world with a successful experience of 140 years and also the pioneer in introducing, rationalizing and implementing the screw compressor technology globally.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing was held on 9 May at the Aamra business lounge between Atlas Copco Bangladesh and Aamra resources ltd. for the rights of Marketing, Sales, and Services of Atlas Copco unique products for Bangladesh market.

Amongst other participant’s heads of different functions of Aamra Resources Ltd. and key personnel

Desk Report For the first time in Bangladesh, SGS Bangladesh Ltd. organized new ZDHC certified (ZDHC ACADEMY) training on top ten issues and best practices on 8 May 2018. The top 10 issues of Chemical Management complements the existing training module.

ZDHC to support apparel industry in order to meet ZDHC goal.

SGS Bangladesh is one of the ZDHC accepted provisional labs and has a full range of capability

Based on knowledge obtained from the introductory course and Figure: Training session was conducted by Mr. Rafiqul Islam. using on-ground experiences, for testing of DETOX, ZDHC, and this new training focuses on the MRSL. SGS is also one of the 10 main chemical management approved training providers (ATP) issues found in the textile, apparel, under ZDHC Academy and based footwear and leather industry. on that SGS Bangladesh organized Being a member of ZDHC as value this new training. The objective chain affiliate, SGS is continuously of the training was to explain driving different kind of training ZDHC identified issues among the sessions and technical seminars on participants.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

Figure : Syed Farhad Ahmed, Managing Director, Aamra companies and Deepak Varshney, General Manager, Atlas Copco Bangladesh Ltd. signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations.

of Atlas Copco Bangladesh graced the ceremony.

Aamra Resources is a renowned company providing marketing and servicing support for number of leading global brands in the area of textile machinery, equipment and software.

Founded in 1873 , Atlas Copco has more than 140 years of experience innovating for sustainable productivity. Their products and services include compressors. vacuum solutions and air treatment systems, construction and mining equipment , power tool & assembly systems.

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R e t a i l e r s To d a y

DJ Bravo launches his apparel brand in India Desk Report

C o l l b o r a t i o n To d a y

Archroma made partnership with ‘House of Denim’ Desk Report

Dwayne Bravo, the West Indian Cricketer, popularly known as DJ Bravo, has brought his apparel brand called ‘DJ Bravo 47’ to India.

3 Big Dogs, a celebrity apparel company based in Singapore, coowns the brand along with Bravo.

Luke Keech, Managing Director of 3 Big Dogs stated that, “The brand will initially introduce t-shirts for men, women and kids in India.” “Track suits, hats and other accessories will also be launched under the brand within the next six months,” he added.

“I have my biggest fan base in India. There are more people here who love me and I wanted to share something which is very close to my heart too,” Bravo told.

‘DJ Bravo 47’ is already available in the US, Australia, South Africa, and the Caribbean market. Bravo is hopeful of selling over 200,000 units in a year and is going to perform in Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad to promote the brand. He also hopes to bring his brand in Bangladesh in future.

Harbhajan’s own sports apparel and accessories brand ‘Bhajji’, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s‘Seven’, ViratKohli’s ‘Wrogn’ and Yuvraj Singh’s ‘YWC’ are already established brands in India.

Archroma, a global leader in color and specialty chemicals, has entered a partnership with the House of Denim Foundation (‘House of Denim’). According to an official release, Archroma will support House of Denim with a yearly financial contribution to the Foundation’s Denim City and will share its expertise and network with House of Denim.

Figure: Archroma will support House of Denim with a yearly financial contribution and share its expertise and network with ‘House of Denim’.

House of Denim is a non-profit organization that conceives and initiates collaborative projects to make this denim industry cleaner, dryer and smarter, through education, research & innovation, enterprise, and networking, under the motto ‘Towards a Brighter Blue’. House of Denim has established the Denim City in Amsterdam, an innovation campus for the denim industry with facilities such as the Blue Lab, the Academy and the Jean School.

Archroma has made remarked contributions to the denim industry with cutting-edge dyeing technologies and products that bring together creativity, performance, and sustainability.

In particular, Archroma today is in the unique and envied position to offer a complete solution package combining eco-advanced colors, auxiliaries, and finishes, such as its ADVANCED DENIM, a sulfur dyes based concept allowing massive water and resource savings, used by brands such as Patagonia.

The company also introduced an

60

award-winning, patented range of ‘biosynthetic’ dyes, EarthColors, which are made from the waste left over by the agricultural and herbal industry after extraction, such as almond shells, saw palmetto, or rosemary leaves. The gorgeous EarthColors can already be seen in the collections of denim brands such G-Star.

For designers and brands who long for authentic indigo inspiration, Archroma designed Denisol® Indigo 30, a pre-reduced indigo solution manufactured in Archroma’s ‘zero water discharge’ production facility in Pakistan, a GOTS, and bluesign® certified option.

With this partnership, Archroma and House of Denim aim to implement safety, health & environmental best practices in the Denim City’s Blue Lab, work together in the activities of the Denim City’s Academy and Jean School, bring new skills and knowledge to the participants, as well as some of Archroma’s exclusive tools such as the Color Atlas color library especially developed for designers.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

Sustainbale Fiber

Extraction, processing, properties and use of hemp fiber Dr. N.N.Mahapatra B.Sc (Hons), B.Sc (Tech) (Bom) M.Sc (Chem), Ph.D (Chem), M.B.A (IMM,Cal) C.Col FSDC (UK), CText FTI (Manchester), Int Trg (Australia), Sen Mem, AATCC (USA), FAIC (USA) FIC, FTA, FICS, FIE, FIIChE, MISTE (INDIA) President COLORANT LTD. Natural and organic fibers become more and more popular these years. Most of the people come to realize that nature,

was so important in England in the sixteenth century that King Henry VIII passed an act on parliament which fined farmers

Hemp is also one of the bast fibers known to ancient Asians, long before the birth of Christ.

The primary hemp fiber is attached to the core fiber by Pectin – a glue-like soluble gelatinous carbohydrate. The primary hemp fibers can be used for composites, reinforcements, and specialty pulp and paper.

The wood-like core Hemp fiber can be used for animal bedding, garden mulch, fuel and an assortment of building materials.

Hemp also produces an oil seed that contains between 25 to 35% oil by weight, which is high in essential fatty acids considered to be necessary to maintain health.

Table 1: The composition of Hemp

Figure 1: Erica McBride and Geoff Whaling of the Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council check the growth in a hemp field near Bethlehem. The picture is credited to www.whyy.org .

soft and healthy are the most important things of the textile.

Hemp is naturally one of the most ecologically friendly fabers and also the oldest. The Columbia history of the world states that the oldest relics of human industry are bits of Hemp fabric discovered in tombs dating back to approximately 8000 B.C. Hemp is called a fiber of hundred uses. The significance of Hemp to the economic and day to day lives of our ancestors is increasingly being recognized. It was important for textile, paper, rope and oil production. Indeed, Hemp 62

who failed to grow the crop.

Besides fabrics, Hemp is also used in the production of paper. The oldest piece of paper – over 2000 yrs old – was discovered in China and is made from Hemp. Until 1883, between 75% and 90% of all paper in the world was made with Hemp fiber. Hemp paper can also be recycled more times than wood-based paper.

Hemp is a bast fiber plant similar to Flax, Kenaf, Jute, and Ramie.

Long slender primary fibers on the outer portion of the stalk characterize bast fiber plants. It was probably used first in Asia.

Alpha-cellulose

62-67 %.

Hemicellulose

8-15 %

Lignin

4%

Ash

5%

Wax

1%

Hemp (Cannabis sativa) could be an important crop enabling the production of environmentally – friendly, locally produced, high-quality textiles. Hemp is an annual plant that grows from seed. It can be grown on a range of soils but tends to grow best on land that produces high yields of corn. The soil must be well drained, rich in nitrogen, and non-acidic. Hemp requires limited pesticides because it grows so

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Sustainable Fiber

quickly and attracts few pests.

Hemp is a traditional fiber crop which for centuries was important in meeting our needs for textiles, paper, and oils. It is easy to grow organically. That is, without a need for artificial pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers, so it can make an important contribution to a sustainable future. The production of cotton, on the other hand, needs a lot of pesticides.

Germany, West Indies and India.

In India, Deccan Hemp is grown both as crop and hedge plant. It is cultivated largely in Maharastra, Tamil Nadu, and north Gujarat. It can be grown in all temperature and tropical countries of the world.

Currently, the bulk of our demand for textiles is met by cotton and synthetics, both of which have serious environmental problems associated with them.

Hemp is environmentally friendly in many ways. It can displace the use of cotton, which requires a massive amount of chemicals harmful to people and the environment. The production of cotton consumes 50% of the pesticides sprayed in the entire world. Hemp has a deep root system that helps to prevent soil erosion, removes toxins, provides a disease break, and aerates the soil to the benefit of future crops.

True hemp is a fine, light-colored, lustrous, and strong bast fiber, obtained from the hemp plant, “cannabis sativa.” It is a plant similar to jute, grown in many countries. When spun, it is rather like flax but thicker and coarser. It is a very strong fiber and is used in the manufacture of carpets, rugs, ropes etc., but has limited use because bleaching is difficult.

Following are the steps required for Hemp processing in textiles.

Hemp is a renewable resource which grows more quickly and easily than trees making hemp more cost effective than waiting decades for trees to grow to be used in man-made fiber production such as Lyocell and Rayon from wood pulps. The bark of the hemp stalk contains bast fibers, which are among the earth’s longest natural soft fibers and also rich in cellulose.

The term “Hemp” is often incorrectly used in a generic sense for fibers from different plants eg; Manila “Hemp”, Sisal “Hemp”, Sunn “Hemp” etc. Hemp is grown in countries like Canada, USA, France, Hungary, Belgium, Holland, Thailand, Austria, Italy, China, Philippine island, Russia, Mexico,

Bangladesh Textile Today |

1. Retting - Harvesting is done with a conventional combine harvester machine. Once cut, the plants, which are composed of two types of fiber – long outer fibers suitable for textiles, and short inner fiber suitable for paper or industrial applications – are left in the field for about 10 to 20 days to ‘ret’.

2. Decortication- In this process the de-leafed Hemp stems are then dried, i.e. conditioned and freed from the wood kernel in a sequence of a squeeze, break and scutching processes.

In other words, it is described as breaking the stems by passing through a “breaker” or fluted rollers. Then the fiber is separated from the woody core (“scotching”) by beating the broken stems with a beech stick or passing through rotary blades.

3. Softening- By using a so-called Hemp softener or roller, the decorticated fibers are made softer and suppler.

a. Water Retting- It involves lying the stems in water in tanks, ponds or in streams for around 10 days–it is more effective if the water is warm and bacterialaden.

4. Combing- The shortening of the initial fiber lengths from up to 3 m down to 650 mm is done on a special cutting machine. Then the short and tangled fibers are combed out, the long fibers are parallelized and smoothed using a hackling machine. In other words “hackling” (combing) means to remove any woody particles and to further align the fibers into a continuous “sliver” for spinning.

b. Dew Retting- It is a natural process that is triggered by dew that falls on the crop each morning. After cutting, the hemp stems were laid parallel in rows to dew ret. The stems needed turning at least once (sometimes) twice in order to allow for even retting. Retting (or rotting) being the name given to the process whereby bacteria and fungi is break down the pectins that bind the fibers to the stem allowing the fiber to be released. Retting is complete when the fiber bundles appear white, separate from the woody core and divide easily into individual finer fibers for their full length. Once this process is complete (dry), the stalks are collected and sent to the “decortication” machine.

The major Hemp varieties are called F 34, F 56, Uniko BF and Kompolti.

5. Spinning- After several drawing and doubling passages, the manufactured slivers are pre-spun roving yarns and according to quality and the desired yarn fineness, spun into Hemp yarn by wet or dry spinning processes. Although as Hemp is coarser than Flax, the pins on the board for drafting the combed fiber into a sliver needed to be set differently. The rove produced was then boiled in caustic soda to refine it and most of the yarn was bleached with hydrogen peroxide. As it is similar to Flax fibers, generally the best yarns are obtained by wet spinning. In which fibers are allowed to pass through a trough of hot water before being spun. This softens the Pectin allowing a greater drawing out and separation of the fibers and producing a finer yarn (greater than 12

Retting is of two types.

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Sustainable Fiber

Nm). Dry spinning is cheaper, producing yarns and fabrics with a different appearance and handle. Using the above process two types of 100% Hemp yarn is made known as long yarn and short yarn.

Normally the counts are Nm 7/1, Nm 8.5/1, Nm 10/1, Nm 16/1, Nm 18/1, Nm 24/1 and Nm 36/1.

The above preparatory processing of Hemp fiber incur considerable waste and add significantly to the cost of the fiber which could be made available as a raw textile fiber for 3500 USD /tons. The Hemp was successfully processed to produce nonaligned fibers, with a yield of 20-25%.

Properties of Hemp fiber Hemp fiber is dark tan or brown and is difficult to bleach, but it can be dyed bright and dark colors.

Hemp fiber is a lustrous fiber, has characteristic nodes and joints of linen, but the central canal is wider. The cells are blunt-ended when the fiber is viewed under a microscope. The Hemp fibers vary widely in length, depending upon their ultimate use. Industrial fibers may be several inches long, while fibers used for domestic textiles are about a ¾ inch to 1 inch (1.9 to 2.54 cm) long. The elongation (1 to 6%) is low and its elasticity poor.

The thermal reactions of Hemp and the effect of sunlight are the same as for Cotton. Hemp is moth resistant, but it is not impervious to mildew. Furthermore, Hemp has the best ratio of the heat capacity of all fibers giving it superior insulation properties. As a fabric, Hemp provides all the warmth and softness of other natural textiles but with a superior durability seldom found in other materials.

Natural organic Hemp fiber “breathes” and is biodegradable.

Hemp fiber is longer, stronger, more absorbent, more mildew resistant and more insulative than Cotton fiber. There are thirty varieties of Hemp fiber.

It is a tall plant with a natural woody fiber. All these varieties resemble one another in general 64

appearance and properties, but only those having fibers of high tensile strength, fineness, and high luster have commercial value.

It resembles flax closely, and its fiber is easily mistaken for linen.

Hemp is harsh and stiff and cannot be bleached without harm to the fiber. As Hemp is not pliable and elastic, it cannot be woven into fine fabrics. Hemp is durable and is used in rug and carpet manufacturing. It is especially suitable for ship cordage as it is not weakened or rotted by water, this means that Hemp will keep you warmer in winter and cooler in summer than Cotton. Hemp is more effective at blocking the sun‘s harmful ultraviolet rays. The nature of Hemp fibers make them more absorbent to reactive dyes, vat dyes and sulfur dyes, which coupled with Hemp’s ability to better screen out ultraviolet rays, means that Hemp material is less prone to fading than cotton fabrics are.

Table 2: Cotton was known for their naturalness but look at the comparison as below: parameters

cotton

Hemp (single fiber)

Fiber length ( mm )

20-30

15-25

Fiber diameter (um)

15-19

22-25

Fiber fineness (tex)

0.1 – 0.4

0.25-0.52

Specific weight ( gm/cm3)

1.52

1.47

Tensile strength (N tex –1)

0.15 -0.55

0.530.62

Breaking elongation(%)

6-10

3-4

The blending of Hemp fiber Like Cotton, Hemp can be made into a variety of fabrics, including high-quality Linen. When blended with materials such as Cotton, Linen, and Silk. Hemp provides a sturdier, longer lasting product while maintaining quality and softness.

Hemp Active, an Austrian company supplies Hemp blended yarn which is made of Hemp with cotton/organic cotton. Nowadays

few mills in Europe are making Hemp/Polyester 60/40 blends and Hemp/Wool/Polyester 40/40/20 blends.

Hemp Textiles Intl., Canada supplies blend of Hemp/Wool 50/50. Hemp blended with other fibers easily incorporate the desirable qualities of both textiles. When combined with the natural strength of Hemp, the soft elasticity of Cotton or the smooth texture of Silk creates a whole new genre of fashion design.

Uses of Hemp fiber Coarse Hemp fibers and yarns are woven into cordage, rope, sacking and heavy –duty tarpaulins. In Italy, fine Hemp fibers are used for interior design and apparel fabrics.

Hemp is used in tapestry, hats, shawls, rugs, posters, and towel.

Dyed hemp yarn from Hungary is suitable for rug weaving, placemats, crochet and other craft items. It has been found that 3 plies, 6 plies, and 12 plies are used for weaving, knitting or crochet. Hemp is stronger than linen and jute fiber, hence it is ideal for making twine, ropes, cables, carpets, canvas, ship cordage, sailcloth, etc. Central American Hemp is chiefly used for cordage.

Manila “Hemp” is a fiber from the leaves of the Abaca plant; it is very strong, fine, white, lustrous and, though brittle, it is adaptable for the weaving of coarse fabrics.

Lastly, more research work has to be done on Hemp fiber like scouring/bleaching using enzymes without affecting the strength of the fiber.

Trials can be taken in cotton and synthetic spinning by adding Hemp fiber in many value-added items and make various types of fancy yarn which can be sold in the market at a premium rate.

Acknowledgment - The author is thankful to Mr. Subhash Bhargava FSDC (UK) MD, Colorant Ltd., Ahmedabad for giving permission to publish this article.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

B u s i n e s s To d a y

Major qualitative change in economy, infrastructure and governance is needed for sustainable LDC graduation Staff Correspondent To acquire the eligibility of graduation from the LDC (Least Developed Country) to DC (Developing Country) status, Bangladesh is going to be able to allure larger foreign direct investment (FDI) for its improved country-image and higher rating for investment by international rating agencies.

Since Bangladesh has proudly met all three criteria for DC graduation in the first review in March 2018 and hoped to meet the criteria in the second review in 2021, then the country will finally graduate from the LDC to DC status in 2024 and consign a number of benefits.

Speakers opined while South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) celebrated its four years of “Thinking Aloud” on the title of “Looking beyond LDC Graduation” at Golden Tulip the Grand Mark in Dhaka on 12 May. Dr. Selim Raihan, Executive Director of SANEM and Professor of Economics, University of Dhaka chaired the discussion and made a presentation on “Looking beyond LDC Graduation” along with Sunera Saba Khan, and Iffat Anjum Senior Research Associates.

In his presentation, Dr. Selim stated that a number of risk factors for Bangladesh associated with its graduation from the LDC status.

Bangladesh needs a wide obtainment to face feasible investment policies, efficient resource allocation among sectors, better governance, gender equity and sustainable climate change to equipage the risk of LDC graduation.

Dr. Selim showed that if Bangladesh can officially graduate to DC from the LDC status in 2024 then the country will lose

66

Figure: Dr. Selim Raihan, Executive Director of SANEM showed a presentation at the program.

the preferences in the markets of European Union, Canada, Australia, Japan, India, and China in 2027. It might lead to an annual retrenchment in total exports of Bangladesh by 11 percent, which would be equivalent to around US$ 6 billion as per the current projection of export growth.

Since Bangladesh has already graduated from the World Bank’s ‘low-income’ category to ‘lowermiddle income’ category, the augmentation for loans at lower interest rates would be limited and this may result in balance-ofpayments problems.

Later, graduation could have a more significant effect on access to Official Development Assistance (ODA) and other concessional financing, he added.

Bangladesh’s private sector investment and foreign direct investment remain supine due to poor competitiveness, delays of implementation of critical projects, institutional inefficiency, and costly projects. Since the 7th FYP targets 8 percent real GDP growth rate by 2020 and there are aspirations to have 9 percent growth rate by 2030, these requires huge investment with the assumptions of incremental capital-output ratio (ICOR) and

meet growth investment-GDP ratio rising annually by 0.7 percentage points which is more than two times higher than the current annual percentage points rise (0.3).

Dr. Selim highlighted that the country needs to attract large volumes of the private sector and foreign direct investment through improvement of trade competitiveness, increment in physical and social infrastructures, quality of economic and political institutions, reforms in trade policy, monetary and fiscal policies, industrial policy and quality service delivery by the public institutions.

Between 2013 and 2016-17 the average annual GDP growth is 6.6 percent, but average annual jobs growth is 0.9 percent. Youth unemployment rate, gender wage gap increased. Manufacturing and female manufacturing jobs declined by 0.77 million and 0.92 million respectively, he added.

The aim of SANEM is to promote the production, exchange, and dissemination of basic research knowledge in the areas of international trade, macro economy, poverty, labor market, environment, political economy and economic modeling.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

SHIMA PRODUCT LINE Automatic Cutting with Superior Productivity and Cost Performance SHIMA

SEIKI’s

P-CAM

multi-ply

computerized cutting machine has established a reputation for high effiiciency, productivity and quality. The automatic cutting machine lineup now features new versions with emphasis on cost-performance.

P-CAM183

and

P-CAM223 feature increased cutting-head clearance to enable easier loading of multi-ply fabric before suction, and maximum fabric cutting height upon suction increases from 75 to 80 millimeters.

A new knife mechanism yields strength and durability. The modified suction minimizes air leakage, and a new electrically controlled presser foot provides ideal press amount by fabric type for stable cutting. A new cutting head features lower vibration and noise for improving the work environment.

New functions such as a one-touch drill attachment enhance operability and ease of maintenance.

The P-CAM machines also have unique features like double-cut prevention, cutting speed auto set, flip point auto set, automatic knife width measurement system, continuous cutting and head height control. P-CAM automatic cutting machines are the perfect choice for flexible high-volume production in a new era of global apparel production, as well as for such other applications as Denim Wear, Shirt Industry, Woven Fabric, Knit Manufacturing, Automotive, Industrial Material, Container Bag, Flexible Container Bag, Cloth Container, Carbon Fiber Fabric, Carbon Cloth, Aramid Fiber, Tent, Canvas, Nonwoven Fabric, Filter, Felt, and Furniture.

A 3-day long private show on the latest innovation of the textile and garment industry, jointly host by SHIMA SEIKI (Japan) and Pacific Associates Ltd. (Bangladesh) was held on the SHIMA SEIKI Show Room and Service Centre at Gulshan 2 on 17th to 19th April 2018. A lot of respected members of different prestigious buying houses, textile, and garment industries were present there to visit the very first cutting machine showroom of Bangladesh. The presentation about P-CAM and its automatic cutting technique drew the attention of a lot of potential buyers, with an emphasis on productivity and cost performance. The next private show will be held in July.

Key success factor to adopt effective design studio and product development is mindset and willingness to take risk…”

Asif Ashraf, Managing Director, Fakhruddin Textile Mills Ltd, a sister concern of Urmi Group

The Textile and Apparel (T&A) industry of Bangladesh has been undergoing profitability crisis in reality of downward prices from fast fashion brands and increasing cost of materials and manufacturing. ‘Value chain up gradation’ has become a demand of time not only to grow further but even to survive sustainably.

While more control and influence on the market is way to upgrade in

68

the value chain after production.

Developing own designing and product development capacity is another way to upgrade in the value chain in the pre-production stages.

While Bangladesh is well known for its skills and capacities in effective production, there are companies who are also setting examples in upgrading in the value chain as well. Fakhruddin

Textile Mills Ltd (FTML), a sister concern of Urmi Group is one such companies who has set remarkable example in product development, diversification, design studio.

Though Bangladesh has sat in the second position next to China, it has not much control in the global business. Bangladesh has passed almost more than three eras in T&A industry, so there is no more time for doodling and

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F a c t o r y Ta l e s - Te x t i l e I c o n

manufacturers should go through more diversification, innovation, production & process innovation, new concepts ideas and designs to sustain and grow further in the business.

Asif Ashraf, Managing Director of Fakhruddin Textile Mills Ltd (FTML), a sister concern of Urmi Group, is dynamically working on many new trends and concepts of pre-production activities. He shared his experience, thought and views on FTML’s newly launched ‘Design Studio’ and diversified synthetic products with Textile Today team. Urmi Group has been one of the dominant players in the synthetic garments production in BD. Here is the striking part of the discussion revealed for the readers.

Textile Today: Urmi Group started its’ journey in T&A industry in the early 80’s and have seen many ups and downs of the industry.

Now the T&A industry is in a huge transformation, so how do you relate this time phase of the industry?

Asif Ashraf: This is true that industry has gone through many ups and downs over the years and we are also the sufferer, so far it’s a part of the business that you have to face.This is one of the challenges of the business and we tackle this nicely, also we have expanded in last 15 to 20 years.

Our Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) is about 14% in the last 10 years. What we have done is we tried to catch the available up-market but in the true sense BD is not avail the real up-market.

We have high product quality, high production, cost effectiveness but still many renowned buyers don’t accept the “Made in Bangladesh” tag just because unfortunately we have problem in country branding.

Though we all the industry trying to come out from this damnation and Urmi group always tries to brand the country and work with the renowned buyers by producing better product and concept.

Textile Today: As we know FTML

Bangladesh Textile Today |

made its own design studio with many design expertise, could you please tell us how you got this value-adding concept?

Asif Ashraf: This concept mainly comes from the value addition aspect and another thing is that now many buyers and retailer brands are shutting down their own design studio to reduce the cost and they wants support from us in this regard. Fortunately we build a design team with many expertise and the leader of design team is from abroad.

We launched it in the middle of 2017. Our main strategy is to show our caliber in designing and product development to attract the potential buyers and I think it’s a kind of company branding and marketing. Hence, there will be more business opportunities with these buyers.

Textile Today: How many investment you needed and currently what type of challenges you are facing?

Asif Ashraf: Infrastructure investment is not very high to launch a design studio but we have many regular basis cost that we have to maintain. The main component of cost is hiring the designers, second one is buying

Volume 11, Issue 05

the latest fashion trending product from abroad, where innovation could be driven. This is a kind of recurring cost and monthly it is $1.5-2k. Thirdly, we have cost for producing fabrics to make the samples. In addition, we source the best quality fabric from many countries for sample. The main challenge right now we are facing is reach to the right market. What we are hoping is in near future customer will come to our design studio, choose the design, do necessary audition-alteration and finally place the order here. We are working on it, already we have dedicated a part of our sample section to produce samples for design studio. This month our target is to develop about 110 samples and we have already produced fabrics for 25 samples.

We also have to invest here for raw materials to produce fabric. From beginning we have already spent about BDT 1.5 Corer and monthly it is about BDT 1.5 million.

Textile Today: If anyone wants to establish such design studio, what he has to consider?

Asif Ashraf: Definitely a design studio will add value to your industry but you have to know enough your customers, their

69

F a c t o r y Ta l e s - Te x t i l e I c o n

buying pattern, their thinking etc., than you can approach to design studio rightly. Alternatively if you have such business plan that you want to catch the real up-market then you can think of design studio. More importantly, it is not very easy to cherish a design studio because it will not give you direct revenue. You should have passion and patience to set up such a successful design studio.

Urmi Group always tries to be the head of market by innovative idea generation and activities and this design studio gives us such an unparalleled place in the market.

Textile Today: 25% turnover of Urmi Group comes from synthetic garments export, 100% polyester and polyester-elastane blended garments you produce where other factories produce about 90% of cotton based products.

Could you please share the FTML strategy, challenges and business model so that others could get help if they want to come up to this business?

Asif Ashraf: We came to this polyester business because we wanted to do something better and different from others. But there is a thing that Chinese polyester fabric production industries must get some hidden subsidy from their government, because they export polyester fabrics and garments in considerably less price than ours and that makes them a difference between China and Bangladesh in polyester business. It is true that their efficiency level is higher than us. Here our government should give support and subsidies to the industries to import the raw materials and export the products.

Being first and second, China and Bangladesh business difference is more or less 30% that means about $100 billion. There are many contender of us to grab that $100 billion market like India, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Vietnam etc. Bangladesh has to do something extraordinary and polyester market as emerging one. There are huge consumption

70

R e t a i l e r s To d a y

The main challenge right now we are facing is reach to the right market. What we are hoping is in near future customer will come to our design studio, choose the design, do necessary auditionalteration and finally place the order here.

We are working on it, already we have dedicated a part of our sample section to produce samples for design studio.

of active wears all over the world and our target should be catch that up-market.

UNIQLO to launch its first store in India Desk Report

UNIQLO, the Japanese apparel retailer, will launch in India with the opening of its first store in Delhi next year and mark the brand’s entry into the South Asia region.

India will become the latest in a string of new markets for UNIQLO worldwide, following earlier announcements to launch in Sweden and the Netherlands in fall 2018.

Following the establishment of a wholly owned subsidiary in Delhi this month, UNIQLO will soon begin recruiting local talent as it prepares to open its store in the world’s fastestgrowing major economy.

“The company will focus on expanding its presence in the capital region before considering other areas,” it said.

“Our entry in India represents a

Textile Today: What should be the strategy of Bangladesh T&A industry for product diversification and product positioning to sustain in the business robustly?

Asif Ashraf: Bangladesh is working on product diversification concept but bit slowly and we are clearly lagging behind in product positioning. Key success factor to adopt effective design studio and product development is mindset and willingness to take risk.

Because here you have to work with high-end product if you want to sustain this business. Naturally, your production will be decreased and many other challenges will arise, but you have to be patient.

Over early, we had a very good buyer of polyester but we lost that buyer just not to cater their order. Sometimes we deliver the order by airfreight but we lost that customer because they need right goods at right time. So, if you decide to produce diversified product you must have to be prepared mentally to handle any situation.

Figure: UNIQLO has around 2,000 stores in 19 markets worldwide including Japan, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, and the UK, US, among others.

significant step in our company’s global strategy, and we are very pleased and excited to be part of the country’s growing retail market,” said Tadashi Yanai, chairman, president and CEO of Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. the operator of the UNIQLO brand. “We look forward to introducing UNIQLO and our high quality, affordable LifeWear apparel in India, while at the same time contributing to the expansion of the Indian economy.”

LifeWear is the UNIQLO commitment to creating perfect clothing that meets the needs of everyone’s daily lifestyles. High quality, functional, affordable and constantly evolving, UNIQLO offers LifeWear in a variety of colors and styles for people of all ages.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

R e t a i l e r s To d a y

Do you have stories to tell in providing

‘Sustainable Fiber, Yarn & Fabric’ from below industries?

Natural Fiber

Knitted Fabric

Kids fashion company KIDILIZ and SEMIR to merge Kidiliz Group, the European leader in children’s fashion, and Zheijiang Semir Garment Co. Ltd, the leading children’s fashion group in China, announce their entry into exclusive negotiations.

Regenerated Fiber

Woven Fabric

Synthetic Fiber

Denim

Non-Woven

Functional Textiles

Technical Textiles

Yarn

Nano Fiber

Recycled Fiber

Desk Report With around € 2 billion in combined sales, the merger between the two groups will create the number two worldwide dedicated to children’s fashion. At the end of the transaction, the Semir Group will acquire the entirety of Kidiliz Group, with the support of its management.

Established in 1996, the Semir Group is a multi-brand leader in China’s apparel market. The Group owns the Balabala brand, the undisputed leader in the Chinese

You can send your articles/advertorials as below categories to be published in the special sustainability supplementary Editorial Interviews Case Studies News & Views Results of Piloting Feasibility Reports Product/Service Analysis etc.

children’s fashion market, and Semir, another major brand, leader in the “casual” youth segment. The Semir Group operates a number of international brands in the Chinese market through joint ventures and licensing agreements. It has 3,000 employees, a network of 8,000 single brand stores and generates 25% of its online sales for a turnover of 1.6 billion euros. The Semir Group has been listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange since 2011, with a market capitalization of approximately 3.9 billion euros. The group is controlled by its founders, the Qiu family.

Kidiliz Group, with a portfolio of 15 premium brands, generated 427 million euros in sales in 2017. It has a significant international presence in more than 80 countries. China, which had about 17 million births in 2017, is a geographic area of strong markets where Kidiliz Group has been present for more than 20 years.

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This combination, complementary in terms of markets and product offerings, will enable Kidiliz Group to continue its development in Europe and accelerate its presence on the Chinese market. As for the Semir Group, it will be able to reinforce its expertise in the premium child textile market.

C o l l a b o r a t i o n To d a y

Bangladeshi designer got gold medal in China Desk Report A Bangladeshi design scholar S M Minhus secured gold medal in ‘CUORI CUP’, the 2nd International Student Fashion Design Competition in China. The International Student Education Management Branch of Chinese High Education Institute and Shanghai Donghua University jointly organized the competition on April 26, during the 24th Shanghai Fashion Week.

Under the title ‘One Belt and One Road’, 35 students from 18 universities of 21 countries participated in the competition where Bangladeshi student Minhus bagged the gold medal.

S M Minhus stated that, “I used the traditional ‘nakshikatha’

“S M Minhus has completed his bachelors on Fashion Design and Technology (FDT)) from BIFT and masters on Fashion Design from Wuhan Textile University School of Fashion under a scholarship program. He did research on fashion culture and cultural merge, also did research on Bangladeshi cultural fashion. He organized cultural costume exhibition in Wuhan Textile University to show different cultures costume and also represents Bangladeshi cultures costume to another Figure: S M Minhus, the gold medalist in the middle and the country. handcrafted craftsmanship and cultural color concept in my design. After that, I combined them with modern design as people of different countries will feel the attraction and innovation of mixed culture in their attire.

other competitors.

ITET opens its membership for graduates from four govt. colleges under BUTEX Desk Report BSc engineers of four government colleges have achieved the competence to get membership of Institution of Textile Engineers and Technologist (ITET) Bangladesh.

ITET Membership Accreditation Committee took the decision in an urgent meeting on 18 May at Bangladesh University of Textiles (BUTEX).

The four government colleges include Pabna Textile Engineering College, Barishal Textile Engineering Colleg, JorargonjTextile Engineering College, Chattagram and Begumgonj Textile Engineering College, Noakhali.

Engineers of other public university and Public Textile Engineering Colleges will be able to attain ITET membership

Bangladesh Textile Today |

criteria to get a membership.”

“These four colleges are maintaining a standard for engineering education and in future other colleges or universities who will maintain Figure: In an urgent meeting BSc engineers of four government colleges declared eligible to get ITET the standard membership. for engineering education can be able to get ITET gradually. membership,” he added.

Dr. Engr. Ayub Nabi Khan, Pro BUTEX Vice-Chancellor Professor Vice-Chancellor of BGMEA Engr. Mashud Ahmed presided University of Fashion & Technology over the meeting where ITET (BUFT), said, “Engineers of the President Engr. Shafiqur Rahman, four government colleges under ITET Senior Vice President Engr.

BUTEX can be a member of ITET Md. Salim Reza was present from now. Others public university among others. and colleges will get the chance gradually when they meet the

Volume 11, Issue 05

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S u s t a i n a b i l i t y To d a y

Nanollose developed a sustainable fabric from Nullarbor Desk Report

Australian technology company Nanollose has developed a sustainable fabric from Nullarbor, a fiber created using natural coconut by-products. This fabric is the first of its kind marking a breakthrough for an industry that is urgently seeking sustainable alternatives to rayon and cotton, both of which cause significant environmental issues. Nullarbor is named from Latin phrase nullus arbor, which means “no trees” (much like the Nullarbor Plain near the Great Australian Bight).

There is an increasing demand from both consumers and clothing manufacturers, for fibers that do not rely on or damage the environment, said Nanollose CEO Alfie Germano adding that these fibers were synthesized into microbial cellulose and then converted into fiber using our unique technology.

“To create the rayon fibers that are currently used in clothing and textiles, countless trees have to be cut down, chipped and then treated with hazardous chemicals, and to make enough cotton for a single t-shirt it takes 2,700 liters of water,” Germano said.

Nanollose is best known for its ability to create “fermented fashion” out of beer and wine. The technology is based on the work of Perth scientist and winemaker Gary Cass, who accidentally discovered a new type of material when he ruined a batch of wine.

By contrast, no trees or plants are impacted by the production of Nanollose’s Nullarbor fiber and fabric, and the process requires very little water. The

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Figure: Nanollose Director Gary Cass with the company’s world-first plant-ree rayon fiber.

“

process.”

To create the rayon fibers that are currently used in clothing and textiles, countless trees have to be cut down, chipped and then treated with hazardous chemicals, and to make enough cotton for a single t-shirt it takes 2,700 liters of water.

Consumers are demanding more environmental responsibility from their favorite brands and retailers.

With an increasing consciousness around ‘how we make things’ and issues like water wastage and toxicity of pollutants increasingly on consumers’ minds, the industry is now at an inflection point.

Alfie Germano, CEO

result is a fiber that can be used to make clothing and textiles, but with a dramatically reduced environmental footprint.

Germano added that the company is initially tapping into the established coconut industry to secure pilot-scale supply of the raw material, but when operating on a larger scale, waste streams from bigger industries will come into play. “Our process has the potential to convert a number of biomass waste products from the beer, wine, and liquid food industries into fibers using very little land, water or energy in the

It is very evident that consumers are going to reward progressive fashion brands and companies who facilitate this eco-change, as they are increasingly seeking knowledge around how their clothing is made and what effects its production is having on the planet.

“My 30-year history in the textile and apparel industry has opened my eyes to the environmental concerns that plague the industry.

My vision is for Nanollose to be at the forefront of offering fashion and textile groups a viable alternative, and decreasing the industry’s reliance on environmentally burdensome, raw materials,” Germano concluded.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

Zhejiang Runhe Chemical New Material Co. Ltd.

Exhibition Review

ITM has become a place to launch innovation and ideas Special Correspondent With the closing of International Textile Machinery Exhibition (ITM 2018) held on April 14-17, the exhibition proved that it has become a trusted place for launching new technologies and innovation to the industry. ITM, Istanbul’s premium textile machinery show now has truly become a global platform for textile machinery, textile fiber, yarn and for the innovation institutions. This year ITM 2018 attracted a record-breaking visitors and technology launches.

Visitors and participants from Turkey and many other countries around the world, flocked to ITM 2018 exhibition, make an indelible impression throughout the four days. There were 58,942 visitors from 94 countries.

ITM 2018 exhibition, being organized by Teknik Fairs Inc. and TÜYAP, Tüm Fuarcılık Yapım Inc. in partnership and with the cooperation of TEMSAD (Textile Machinery and Accessories Industrialists’ Association) hosted textile technology leaders for four days. Textile Today was one of the media partners of the exhibition.

The 15th International Istanbul Yarn Fair and the 7th International Technical Textiles and Nonwoven Trade Fair also held concurrently with the ITM 2018 Exhibition. In addition to this, the 8th ETT 2018 Istanbul International Textile Conference was also being organized in the same venue by Marmara University. With all these activities TÜYAP Exhibition and Congress Center, Istanbul was full of sharing and sessions on technology innovation and ideas.

Over 1150 textile technology manufacturers and company representatives from 64 countries participated at the ITM 2018 exhibition, which took place in 11 different halls and exhibited their products and technologies that have been introduced to the industry for the first time. As per the information was

Figure 2: Picture shows iSAVER attachment in ITEMA R95002denim rapier loom displayed in ITM 2018.

given by the organizers, national and international companies made sales of millions of Euros in the exhibition.

Exhibitors expressed their satisfaction to this reporter also. Valentina Brignoli from ITEMA, one of the global leaders in manufacturing looms told that the exhibition has been outstanding for us. We have seen a good number of valuable customers not only from Turkey but also from many other countries.

The company has launched iSAVERTM, a device that eliminates the waste selvage on the left-hand side of the fabric thus leading to unparalleled savings.

As per the company, this has been a revolutionary addition to their already famous rapier loom denim R95002denim. The machine has been providing enormous energy consumption reduction and now with the addition of iSAVERTM, it is bringing great benefits in terms of fiber saving.

ITM 2018 exhibition has turned into a textile show with the participation of hundreds of textile machine producers and global investors who are developing leading technologies in their field, have realized world launches. Participating companies drew attention with a larger number of machines exhibits in the larger booths.

ITM 2018 has significantly enlarged in both country diversity and visitor numbers compared to the previous ITM exhibitions. It has raised the success level according to the very positive feedback that has been received from the companies and visitors.

The ITM 2018 has also offered incredible commercial opportunities for all professionals who wanted to take the industry’s pulse and follow the innovations. A good number of visitors came from Bangladesh in the exhibition.

Figure 1: Bangladesh was one of the participating countries in ITM 2018 held in Istanbul in this April. Bangladesh Textile Today participated at the show.

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The next version of the exhibition, ITM 2020 will held in Istanbul same venue on 3-6 June 2020.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

S u s t a i n a b i l i t y To d a y

Bangladesh RMG industry moving towards environmental sustainability Md. Ariful Islam

The article has been written based on the keynote speech ‘Environmental complianceExpectation and reality, in terms of sustainability’ delivered by Mohammad Monower Hossain, Senior Deputy Secretary, Environment Cell, BGMEA at the ‘First National Compliance Carnival-2018’.

Introduction Sustainability in RMG business operation is an evolving issue for Bangladeshi entrepreneurs after Tazreen and Rana Plaza incidents.

Bangladesh RMG industry, the main catalyst for the country’s economy, is blamed by the buyer for lack implementation of sustainability issues in the factories.

Environmental sustainability is the most important and emerging issue at the present phase of industrialization, which is considered as a burning issue. In this regard, nowadays apparel buyers are focusing on the eco-friendly way of production.

Bangladesh RMG industry needs to adopt cleaner and improved technology and management for better environment in order to achieve its goals. Considering the buyers demand and requirements, industry owners have set priority to implement the guidelines from the world renowned organizations for eco-friendly production.

The goals of sustainable developments are cleaner water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, industry innovation infrastructure, climate action and responsible consumption and production. Environmental sustainability consists of energy usage, water usage and chemical

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Figure 1 : Now Bangladesh RMG industry is focusing on environmental sustainability for eco-friendly production.

storage and handling.

the clothing supply chain is as figure 2.

Environmental cost in apparel supply chain

Achieving environmental sustainability in RMG industry

The apparel industry has various impacts to the environment. It is polluting the environment in many ways. Environmental pollutions are wastewater discharge, solid and hazardous waste discharge, air emission and nuisances. According to Mohammad Momower Hossain, environmental impact of textiles and

Sustainable manufacturing framework required to achieve environmental sustainability for green earth. It can achieve by following ways: Resources efficiency  Energy efficiency  Reducing energy usage

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 05

S u s t a i n a b i l i t y To d a y

Distribution of Environmental Impacts along the Supply Chain

Value Chain Levels

Resource Extraction

Production of Inputs

Direct Suppliers

44%

19%

28% 2

Fashion Retailing Companies (own sites)

Overall

9%

Greenhouse Gases

14 Megatonnes CO2eq

47%

25%

20%

8%

Air Pollution

0.04 Megatonnes No.

84%

9%

7%

0%

Water Consumption

600 Mm Water 3

98%

1%

1%

0%

Land Use

1.0 M ha

Figure 2 : Now Bangladesh RMG industry is focusing on environmental sustainability for eco-friendly production.

 Maximize alternative energy resources  Water efficiency  Reducing water usage  Maximize alternative water supply Material efficiency  Optimizing material flow and usage  Manage inventory and procurement Emission reduction Below steps require for emission reduction:  Control and reduce environmental flow

(environmental and business) • Identify, develop and implement business cases for sustainability improvement

Bangladesh RMG industry owners are very much concern about business sustainability. Compliance factories are implementing a numbers of best practices to improve their efficiency and sustainability.

Some best practices are:  Rain water harvesting

 Handle, store, treat and dispose appropriate

 Generator exhaust gas boiler

 Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (3R) of water

 Prevent ground water and land contaminations

 Condensate recovery and economizer in boiler

 Account for carbon emissions

 Water efficient dyes and chemicals

 Reduce carbon emission

 Use of renewable energy (solar panel)

Improving management practices

 Prismatic skylight

Effective environmental management system, enhance auditing and environmental monitoring performance and comply with environmental systems are essential to improve management practices.

 T5 and LED light

• environmental decision making • Implement industrial clustering and resource pooling • Undertaking risk assessment

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Desk Report Garment exports from Egypt brought $385 million (LE 6.77 billion) in the first quarter (Q1) of 2018, showing the enhancement of 17 percent over exports of $330 million during the same period of the previous year, an Egyptian daily reported quoting data from the Ready Made Garments Export Council. The council expects $1.8 billion readymade garments exports this year.

Bangladesh RMG industry practice to achieve environmental sustainability

 Implement and apply waste management hierarchy

On the other hand, for sustainability improvement of below things are needed:

Egypt’s garment exports rise 17 percent in Q1 2018

 Sustainability reporting and etc.

Conclusion Sustainability has a broader aspect than compliance. Bangladesh RMG industry needs a comprehensive strategy to be sustainable for environmental issues. Both industry owners and policy-makers need to understand the global impact of production and consumption patterns. Sustainability has to be evolved within the industry, which is not as print rather than a marathon.

Volume 11, Issue 05

Figure: Garment exports from Egypt are increasing significantly.

Of the total export in JanuaryMarch 2018, around 48 percent or $185 million of garments were ascertained to the US. This a 16 percent jump compared to $160 million during the comparable period of 2017.

Month-wise, exports earned $129 million, $133 million and $123 million in January, February and March respectively, compared to exports of $104 million, $110 million and $116 million in the corresponding months of the previous year.

If the current trend continues, the council is hopeful of achieving $1.8 billion in exports this year, the daily said quoting the council’ s Executive Director Sherin Hosny.

Egyptian garment industry is also expected to profit from the recently agreed African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA), as it will boost Egyptian apparel exports to other African countries, including South Africa (RKS).

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To p S t o r y

Meditex expo 2018 showed huge demand of medical textile for future healthcare Shariful Islam Arvi

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Dr. Khandaker A Mamun also described the below challenges for the sector.

• Unskilled workers • Workforce • Less Accessibility • Less Financial support • Less facility

Figure 2: Medical textiles market revenue in Europe, by application, 2012 - 2022 (USD Million).

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Expressing hope he said that Bangladesh will soon overcome this problem by new innovation and research.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

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Honorary Professor IMC Bangladesh BIRDEM Prof. Dr. Shubhagata Choudhury said, “Better Healthcare depends on every sector”.

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Md. Mustafizur Rahman, Directorate General of Drug Administration, said, “Bangladesh government is trying to produce every technology for better future of Medical sector”.

World end-use consumption of technical textiles in application areas ec bit

Zahid Maleque, State Minister, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare inaugurated the expo where Salina Begum, M.P and Member of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Health and Family Planning; Priti Chakraborty, Director of FBCCI and Chairman of Universal

After the seminar, the reporter of Textile Today asked Dr. Khondaker about the role of textile in the medical sector. He answered, “Medical textiles are the major support for digital healthcare.”

Bangladesh will soon catch up and will have the opportunity to be the biggest medical textile suppliers.

Many companies like Asahi, Elite, Trademacs international, Brinntex Inc, N.R.G. inc, Rotex International, Kais Hi-tech corporation etc are producing medical textiles.

Mo

Director of Advanced Intelligent Multidisciplinary Systems Lab (AIMS Lab) gave a close relationship between engineering and medical sector on a seminar titled ‘The Future of Healthcare’ in 11th Meditex Bangladesh 2018 held on 3 May to 5 May at International Convention City Bashundhara in Dhaka.

Dr. Khondaker A Mamun said in his keynote speech that once textile sector was only meant for producing only textile products.

Now and for better future textiles are being manufactured for medical and healthcare. Today medical textile is in the fourth position in the total produced textile. Europe has grabbed the opportunity of producing medical textile.

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Figure 1: Zahid Maleque, State Minister, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, inaugurated the ‘11th Meditex Bangladesh 2018’.

Dr. Khondaker A Mamun was the keynote speaker of the seminar where he gave the financial report of healthcare of Bangladesh and highlight of his speech was the mathematical formula of healthy life.

Insurance Limited Md. Jalalul Azim said that they are also trying to make a better health insurance for people.

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Medical college & Hospital Ltd.; Meherun N Islam, Group President & Managing Director of CEMS Global USA & Asia Pacific and Tanveer Qamrul Islam, Executive Director of CEMS Bangladesh were also present.

Sp

Medical textile defines as the nonwoven textile based manufactured products used in hygiene, healthcare, and private healthcare. It is one of the most rapidly expanding sectors in the technical textile market. Dr. Khondaker A Mamun, Founder and

Volume 11, Issue 05

Agrotech Mobitech