Spinning Today | September 2018 | Textile Today

Unveiling industry best practices

F i b e r to Ya r n Se pte m be r 2 018

A Textile Today Initiative l Published with Volume 11, Issue 09 l Pages 79 to 96

Diversification of cotton sourcing is a crying need for spinning industry

Environmental and social footprint of fiber

Unveiling industry best practices

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Editorial

Environmental and social footprint of fiber Currently, the majority of industry-scale recycling process exist solely for the mechanical recycling of cotton pre and post-consumer waste. However, mechanical and chemical innovations are coming up for blended compositions and to assure the quality of recycled fiber.

Abdul Wadud CEO & Management Consultant, TRANSFORM Almost 150 million metric tons of clothes and shoes are sold every year worldwide and it is growing with the increase of population. These huge consumption is negatively impacting environmental and social footprint. If we look at the history and the future trend of the fashion industry and the focus of type of fiber consumption, we can broadly divide into three clear eras: Table: Focus fiber of fashion industry in a different era.

Time

Focus Fiber

Before 1990

Era of Natural and manmade fiber

From 1990-2020

Era of Sustainable fiber

2020 & beyond

Era of Circular Economy focusing on reuse of clothing & recycling of Pre & Post Consumer Waste + Sustainable Fiber – Animal Fiber

Global Fashion Agenda says, “73% of the world’s clothing eventually ends in a landfill, of which less than 15% is collected to recycle.” Under 1% of this regenerated into new clothing, according to research undertaken by Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

The circular economy is a hot topic at the moment and it is the demand of time as over-population and over-consumption have reached a level that demands a new system of fiber production. Current

fiber system alone is not really sustainable, as a world needs more food and urbanization, we must focus to “Re-use” and “Re-cycle” on a larger scale which is basically “Circular Economy”.

The challenge in the retailer side is creating growing consumer demand for the “Circular Economy” and the challenge to the recyclers of pre and postconsumer side is segregation of different types of fiber while recycling those into the fiber.

It is better not to do or try it alone. There are two mentors worldwide who can help in recycling postconsumer waste, namely: • The Copenhagen Fashion Summit and • The Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

At a first step, re-use production leftovers. In the second step, re-cycle Pre-consumer waste. There are two methods of re-cycling pre-consumer waste: 1. Mechanical recycling and 2. Chemical recycling Currently, the majority of industry-scale recycling process exist solely for the mechanical recycling of cotton pre and post-consumer waste. However, mechanical and chemical innovations are coming up for blended compositions and to assure the quality of recycled fiber. We have to go a long way to achieve a fully closed-loop fashion industry and we need a coordinated effort from all side in order to

Old Clothing from Consumer

by Retailer

Recycled into Fiber

er um

ns Co

Sp k inn dy intt ing Ga e in rm ing g en & tin g

Retailer

cled Recy iber F into

Old C lo t h in colle cted g by Reta iler

Spinning kintting dyeing & Garmenting

Consumer

-u Re

sed

Retailer

Pre &P C o nsu ost Wa mer ste

Figure 1 & 2: Circular Economy

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Volume 11, Issue 09

Figure 1& 2: Circular Economy

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S T- E d i t o r i a l

take it forward.

Noble fibers such as cashmere, mohair, and wool are natural and renewable resources with low impact on the environment. A number of key retailers take a stance against using animal-derived fibers and with Topshop, H&M and Marks & Spencer banning the use of mohair asos.com removing mohair, silk, and cashmere from production by 2019, things are set to change.

The 2020 Circular Fashion System Commitment asks brands to commit to the increased collection and recycling of garments, plus an increase in recycling Post-consumer textile fibers. So far 93 companies, representing 207 brands and 12% of the global fashion market have signed up.

Circular Economy

Recycling of clothing

Pre-consumer waste

Post-consumer waste

Re-Use of clothing

Recycling of clothing

We wish innovative solutions would come forward to improve the environmental and social footprint and the world in the future would be a better place to live.

H&M and HKRITA to set up recycling facilities in Hong Kong Desk Report The H&M Foundation and The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) have developed the opening of two textile recycling facilities which will put HKRITA’s hydrothermal method for recycling cotton and polyester blends to use.

In the last year, within four-year( 2016-2020) long partnership between HKRITA and nonprofit H&M Foundation, HKRITA presented a technological breakthrough with a hydrothermal method for recycling cotton and polyester blends into new fibers. Blends are the most common, yet unrecyclable, type of textile in the world.

Erik Bang, Innovation Lead at H&M Foundation, said in a statement that this is a significant step towards a new fashion industry that operates within the planetary boundaries.

“As we scale up and make this technology freely available to the industry, we will reduce the

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speech, “After successfully developing revolutionary recycling technologies, we have devoted sustained effort to put them into practice.”

dependence on limited natural resources to dress a growing global population,” he said.

H&M and HKRITA added that the purpose of the facilities is to invite fashion companies and their stakeholders to see, test and implement the technology. HKRITA will license the results widely to make it available to all and enable a bigger impact.

Erik Bang also added, “Seeing is believing, and when customers see with their own eyes what valuable resource garments at the end of life can be, they can also believe in recycling.”

Edwin Keh, Chief Executive Officer of HKRITA, said in his

He further added that their recycling systems represent the industry’s well-applied innovation efforts. These not only revitalize a decades-old major industry but also do it most sustainably for the benefit of their community and as a responsible global citizen.

The facilities will be located at the Novetex Factory in Tai Po Industrial Estate, Hong Kong.

The opening date has not been disclosed. The H&M Foundation is set to invest approximately 7 million US dollars in the project, over the next four years.

The H&M Foundation allocates 50% of the total surplus to research on textile recycling and the other 50% to projects focusing on equality and inclusion of marginalized groups.

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Volume 11, Issue 09

from field to fashion

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

Raw Materials - Cotton

Diversification of cotton sourcing is a crying need for spinning industry Imranul Imran In spite of being the 2nd largest RMG exporter country in the world and the upcoming denim king in the field of export, our primary textile sector i.e. spinning industries are totally depended on cotton import to manufacture the required amount of yarn in spinning industries. Bangladesh imports cotton from almost 42 countries around the world.

high time for us to diversify our cotton sourcing to overcome this situation.

Why single dependency can ruin our emerging sector gradually In 2010, the Indian Government imposed restrictions on cotton export to Bangladesh that affected our textile value chain badly at that time. In recent

the production of home textiles, and another is for export-oriented RMG and supportive industries.

Actually, export-oriented yarn quality has a far difference with local yarn. Local spinners consume Indian cotton for producing local yarns for several reasons.

• Unavailability of several types of cotton like 29mm, 30mm, 31mm except for India. Sometimes they collect from other sources but cannot meet the quality yarn.

• The price difference between Indian cotton and another sources cotton on the context of same quality.

• Spinners are not so much concern about yarn quality.

Shohel Rahamman, CEO of Bridge Asia Ltd opined that at present there is no alternative without Indian cotton for the production of local yarn due to the affordable price and lower lead time as well as availability.

Figure 1: Diversification of cotton sourcing is a crying need for the spinning industries.

Statistics show that Bangladesh imports cotton from India approximately 26% but the real scenario is not exactly known. According to a business report of Maasranga Television, approximately 60 percent of cotton is imported from India.

This means that we are going to push this emerging sector towards single-source dependency. This type of dependency especially towards India on the context of cotton business between India and Bangladesh is not good for sustainable cotton business. It is

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years, the anti-dumping policy is imposed on Jute and jute products of Bangladesh. As a result, one of the main concerns of cotton-related industries is the unexpected implications from India to Bangladesh. This type of circumstances can create a catastrophic situation in our emerging Textile Industry.

It is a good news that some local entrepreneurs of Bangladesh are trying to replace Indian cotton with West African cotton. But, this is not on a large-scale production stage.

According to Director of Infinia spinning Ltd, Mominul Motin Tushar, “For proper coordination and proper quality management, we can replace Indian cotton with West African cotton.’’

No alternative except Indian cotton for local yarn

Local yarn market is in a critical situation due to wastage export to Abroad

The spinning industry is producing yarn for two different market segments, one is the local yarn for

In many cases, the yarn which is produced from cotton wastages in the spinning industry known as

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 09

Raw Materials - Cotton

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

2% 7% 2% 2% 3% 2% 4%

Export oriented yarn market consume the huge amount of Indian cotton every year that pushes the spinning industry towards single-source dependency.

The rate of consumption of Indian cotton is increasing at an alarming rate. Previous year cotton import statistics from India is given below:

26%

5% 7%

16%

7% 8%

9%

India

Uzbekistan

USA

Brazil

Cameroon

Benin Chad

Mail

Turkmenistan

australia

Burkina

Ibory

Tajikistan

others

coast

faso

Figure2: Country-wise cotton import shares; courtesy: USDA, Bangladesh Bank

Rotor yarn that is used in home textiles and denim production.

Continual improvement of the denim industry, which is totally export-oriented, the demand for the local yarn is increasing. The whole denim market consumes local yarn that is generally used in home textile in huge amount and collected from the market at a higher price than the home textile consumer. As a result, local spinners are showing an unwillingness to sell their yarn to home textile manufacturers. This causes the crisis of local yarn in home textile and affects their production at a serious rate as well as they feel concerned about losing the competitive market of USA with India and Pakistan.

According to a Daily star Report, Bangladesh Terry Towel and Linen Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BTTLMEA) proposed that the government should give permission for the duty-free import of 10 single, 16 single and 20 single open-end yarn (for towel production) through land or sea port from India or Pakistan, which would be 15-20 percent cheaper in price.

It was also proposed that a five-year cash incentive scheme for exports to the US market that would increase the export basket of these products from USD 1.2 billion to USD 2 billion

Bangladesh Textile Today |

over the period. Putting in place measures to open up the market for importing raw material at most competitive rates and the implementation of policy measures that would not only protect the industry but also allow Bangladesh to effectively take advantage of the China-USA trade rift, where China’s textile exports to the US may soon face further duties.

It is a prime time to cash in on the China-US trade war and put Bangladeshi home textile/terry towel export in an advantageous position over India/Pakistan.

The possibility of source diversiďŹ cation of cotton in export-oriented yarn market Owing to lower lead time, comparatively better quality, availability and competitive price,

But, there are several possibilities in hand to go out from single dependency to diversification of cotton import source in Exportoriented yarn market to ensure sustainable cotton supply in our existing spinning industry. Various possibilities are given below: Bangladesh can enter the supply chain of the dierent cotton initiative Due to the worldwide environmental issue, sustainability and sustainable goal as well health and safety, different cotton initiatives are becoming popular day by day. They are keeping their great impact in global cotton supply chain continuously. Different global brands and retailers have acknowledged the works worldwide. They offer various privilege towards manufactures whether manufactures use the different initiative cotton for their product manufacturing. It is a good time for Bangladesh to join this new revolution and consume cotton from these sources and giving the privilege to attain

Cotton Imports (in millions of bales)

Total

8

Import from India

7 6 5

5.2 4.37

4.87

5.18

5.59

4

2.99

3 2 1

6.1

2.2 1.66 1.12

1.31

1.73

Figure 3: Cotton Import trend from India.

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Raw Materials - Cotton

Selection of raw materials in coordination with price and desired quality from different sources is an important factor in the cotton industry. Mill owners should be concerned about the cotton quality of different sources and go out from using cotton from the same source in the whole Year. The Technical persons in the industry should think out of the box and use different sources cotton of the same quality in different time, and make them understand the owners about its importance for getting desired quality yarn as well as increasing profitability and resource optimization.

Figure 4: Partners of ‘Better Cotton initiative’.Courtesy: BCI

Selection of cotton in an innovative way and better policy research optimization

According to Shohel Rahamman, “At the time of any cotton harvesting and initial storage, cotton quality is optimum and cotton quality is deteriorating with the time period. I give a suggestion towards spinners that you will collect any type of cotton from any source at the time of cotton harvesting.’’

He also added, ‘‘ Generally Indian cotton is harvested at the month of October. On the other hand, Australian cotton is harvested in the month of April. Everyone should use cotton at the time it’s harvesting. Generally, Mill owners are usually using the same type of cotton around the year and arise different quality issue. Mill owners should use same type of cotton from different sources in the different time by proper cotton

PRODUCTION IN THOUSAND METRIC TONS 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000

B ra Pa zil ki st an A us tr al ia Tu rk U ey zb ek Tu is ta rk n m en is ta n B ur ki na

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Mohammad Mahamud Alam, Deputy General Manager, Noman spinning Mills Ltd opined that “In our Noman Group, we use different types of cotton initiatives cotton according to buyer requirement because RMG exporters generally get extra privilege for using different cotton initiatives cotton for manufacturing products from foreign buyers.’’ But, some uncertainties are existing in our country about the cotton quality of different cotton initiatives especially cotton made Africa and other initiatives.

Many manufacturers seem that European and other western investors are trying to establish their business agenda in the name of sustainability and other issues.

Actually, the possibility of consumption of different cotton initiative cotton creates the opportunity of diversification of cotton sourcing in disguise for Bangladesh. If Bangladesh capitalizes this opportunity, our spinning industry will be more stable and hassle-free.

di

According to a cotton specialist, Abdul Wadud, CEO & Management Consultant at TRANSFORM opined that “There is no concern about the cotton quality of different cotton initiatives. Many manufacturers are using their cotton simultaneously.’’

According to Md. Majibur Rahman, General Manager, spinning Division of Envoy Textile Limited “We have several unpleasant experiences about the cotton quality of cotton made in Africa. At this moment, For the sake of buyer requirement, we use cotton made in Africa with cotton to attain our desired quality yarn as well as customer satisfaction.’’

In

higher price in their product as well as promoting the possibility of promoting sustainability that helps to diversify our RMG market.

Different cotton initiatives are such as Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), Cotton Made in Africa (CIMA), Organic Cotton.

Figure 5: Worldwide cotton production (Country wise). Source: STATISTICA.

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Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 09

Raw Materials - Cotton

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

constraints and higher price create an unwillingness to import cotton from the USA.

Major export of U.S. cotton

3000000 2500000 2000000 1500000 1000000 500000

er s th

O

ia gl ad e Th sh ai la nd

B

an

S. Ko r

In di a

ke y In do ne si a M ex ic o Pa ki st an

Tu r

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2014/15

2015/16

2016/17

Figure 6: Major Export destinations of USA Cotton (USDA).

management and better policy as well as establish strong research and development wings where they test different sources of cotton in sample size’’ Potential sources for cotton sourcing around the world Besides India, Bangladesh is importing cotton from West Africa, East Africa, Brazil, CIS countries, The United States of America, Latin American countries and Australia. A proper balance should be considered for future cotton sourcing to reduce supply chain risk. Though it is not easy to collect cotton from diversified sources in the perspective of Bangladesh, an investment for this in cotton import and corresponding financial and technical management will be worthy enough to remain safe in a volatile world.

Mohammad Mahbub Alam said, “Africa could be next big destination for cotton sourcing.

In spite of the contamination problem, African cotton quality is increasing day by day. At present, we import approximately 20% of our total cotton import from Africa. If they can reduce lead time and ensure reliable financial technical structure in importing from African region that will provide a sustainable spinning sector in Bangladesh.”

Shohel Rahamman, CEO of Bridge Asia Ltd, said that most of the mill

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owners are feeling the interest to buy afloat cotton from West Africa and East Africa because it takes 10-15 days to rush our Chittagong port. This procedure is very cost effective and hassle-free buying procedure rather than direct shipment from the African region, actually, shipment of cotton from Africa takes above 2 months or more to rush Chittagong port due to some unavoidable system loss.

As a result, afloat cotton takes a great impact to consume a higher amount of African cotton every year.’’

The possibility of increasing US cotton consumption due to the battle of the commercial war One of the biggest cotton producer’s countries of the world, USA is trying hard and soul to find out any alternative market due to the embargo on China.

Recently, Cotton Council of USA and big merchants of Cotton USA reveal that they see Bangladesh as potential alternative market and trying to increase their export in Bangladesh at 10 percent rate in every year to sustain their cotton business around the world.

Cotton Council of USA addressed our government for the amendment of cotton fumigation rule, the capacity utilization and increasing the capacity of Chittagong port that causes for higher lead time for importing USA cotton. Actually, these

If Bangladesh resolves this issue, US cotton is going to get a level playing field in Cotton Business. Moreover, US cotton is in a critical condition to find out their potential alternative market.

At this moment, If Bangladesh is successful to consume a higher amount of US cotton by proper price fixation, will create the huge possibility of product diversification in RMG industry and minimize the risk in the field of cotton business as well as to go out from single source dependency.

Shahriar Ahmed is a dynamic manufacturer whose company, Apex Spinning and Knitting Mills Limited, does weaving, all over printing, cut and sew, placement prints and make stitching. He had problems with needle breakage and shade runs…until he was introduced to COTTON USA. Now, this valued partnership allows him to forge a long-term partnership deals with premium brands and retailers.

According to Shohel Rahamman opined that Pricing of US cotton is a major concern for Bangladeshi Importers. Manufacturers of Bangladesh use US cotton in most cases for the production of white yarn where higher quality cotton is required. They can’t increase their customer at a satisfactory level in Bangladesh. Without price reduction, they cannot grab the Bangladeshi market in this competitive stage.

Conclusion Proper coordination of all measures taken by the top to bottom stakeholders of cotton business in Bangladesh, strong and contemporary legislation Act as well as strong policy research and capacity improvement in Research and development and creation of required technical persons can gift us a sustainable spinning industry by diversification of cotton import at the supreme level.

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Volume 11, Issue 09

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

Green technologies can ensure green processing of cotton Microplastics and effluent issues have heightened the need for green processing of textiles.

Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA Discharge of textile mill effluents and disposal of single-use textiles such as hygiene pads are watched very carefully by regulatory bodies. Therefore, the textile industry has been working to find costeffective solutions to tackle these environmental issues to become green.

Recently, a collaborative research between scientists from Kerala, the southwestern state of India, and Florida has utilized supercritical carbon dioxide as a carrier to size and resize cotton.

They have identified supercritical carbon dioxide attractive chemistries such as sucrose octaacetate, glucose pentaacetate and polyethylene glycol that can be applied to textiles via supercritical carbon dioxide at a pressure of about 90 bars, making the process cost-effective.

The researchers claim the process is cost-effective as it avoids other costlier functional chemistries and is environmentally friendly. Sucrose octaacetate in supercritical carbon dioxide system provided good results for cotton and polyester and the chemical is inexpensive as it is an agricultural product.

Green technologies such as supercritical fluids and plasma have been getting serious attention these days.

“Typically, wet-chemical treatments used to create surface hydrophilicity to woven and nonwoven textile materials can damage the polymer matrix and produce, as a byproduct, large volumes of hazardous waste effluents. Atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) technology is an eco-friendly alternative for obtaining similar or better results with these materials, compared to wet chemical treatments. It is also commercially recognized that the APP process can Figure: Green processing of cotton also significantly will help to find cost-effective reduce dye solutions to tackle environmental consumption due issues. to enhanced dyne uptake and wicking,” stated Rory A. Wolf, Business Unit Manager, ITW Pillar Technologies.

Consumers prefer sustainable processes and clothing. Stating a survey, Melissa Bastos of Carybased Cotton Incorporated said, “63% of consumers globally put time and effort into finding sustainable clothing.”

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

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Luckyfield Yichang’s success story with Rieter cards Luckyfield Yichang, a customer company of Rieter, has been using four generations of Rieter cards from C 4, C 51, and C 60 to C 70. And they recognize card C 70 as their key to success for constant high-quality ring yarn Desk Report Luckyfield Yichang, a customer company of Rieter, was able to boost its production significantly with the latest generation of cards C 70, said a press release.

Luckyfield Yichang is located in Yichang City, Hubei Province, China. The company is very well known in its province as the leading producer of combed cotton ring spun yarn with a high and constant quality (5% USTER Statistic level). Luckyfield operates 80,000 ring spindles. All fiber and spinning preparation machines are from Rieter. Over the years, the customer has invested in four generations of Rieter cards, which are all in production.

The challenge: High-quality yarn at a high production level

Figure: Cards C 70, the key to high-quality ring yarn.

required production increased continuously. So it was important for the customer to produce the same high quality with every new card generation at a higher production level.

The solution: The card C 70

For many years, Luckyfield has utilized Rieter C 4, C 51 and C 60 cards. These cards meet the full expectations of the customer in terms of economic production and quality. Based on the excellent experience with those previous Rieter card models, Luckyfield decided in 2012 to purchase four sets of C 70 cards with the Integrated Grinding System IGS (IGS classic and IGS top). C 70 cards with an IGS system secure the quality at an excellent level Data Comparisons: Combed Cotton, Ne 40.5% and require little USTER STATISTICS maintenance. The Card No. Production Sliver Delivery new C 70 cards (kg/h) count speed produce 90 kg/h of (g/m) (m/min) sliver at the same C4 8 40 4.6 145 quality level as the C 51 21 50 4.9 170 C 60 card at 75 kg/h, the C 51 at 50 C 60 6 75 6.5 192 kg/h and C 4 at 40 C 70 4 90 6.5 231 kg/h.

For Luckyfield as a high quality combed cotton yarn spinner, it is important to set the quality parameters at the beginning of the spinning process. In order to achieve this, already at an early stage, Luckyfield decided to use Rieter cards to lay the foundation for the yarn quality. Luckyfield’s customers appreciate the high quality of the yarn. Along with an expanding customer base, the

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The customer benefits: Increased production at minimal maintenance costs Every new generation of Rieter cards realized a significant increase in production (see table, fig. 1). On the same machine space, the silver production was doubled. This led to lower investment in the building.

With the IGS system on the C 70 card, the customer is able to produce up to 3,800 tons of sliver with one set of wires and flats before they need replacing. Since the commissioning of the C 70 in 2012, the customer exchanged the wires and flats only once. This is far above the industry standard of around 1,000 tons per set of wires.

The savings are tremendous as regards the wire maintenance and low downtime for the wire.

“We are a loyal partner of Rieter.

We now have four generations of card from C 4, C 51, C 60 to C 70 in use. Rieter cards are the best in the world. We will keep on buying Rieter cards when we have a new project,” the release said quoting Shengwu Yi, Mill Manager of Luckyfield Yichan, a customer of Rieter cards.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 09

Spinning

Icon

Spinning sector is now being operated at loss…

Modern technology and efficient manpower can revitalize the spinning sector of Bangladesh.

Abu Hasan Mahmud Director (Operation), Amber Cotton Mills Ltd. The resiliency of the spinning industry directly dominates the other forward industries utterly. In the last few years, total industry environment has changed dramatically due to some unavoidable issues like utility problem, cotton price increase, workers wage hike etc. All the circumstances of Bangladesh spinning industry came out in a recent discussion between Factory Tales Research Team of Textile Today and Abu Hasan Mahmud, Director (Operation), Amber Cotton Mills Ltd., some important conversation revealed here for the readers.

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Textile Today: What is the present scenario of Bangladesh spinning sector?

Abu Hasan Mahmud: To meet the export target ‘USD 50 billion by 2021 set by RMG leaders, the spinning sector has the potentiality to play a leading role for bridging the gap in value contribution. As much as it supplies the yarn to make fabrics for RMG, it can gain the maximum price of the profit.

According to Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), there are 425 spinning yarn-manufacturing mills in Bangladesh. Value addition in knit and woven RMG are over

70% and 35% respectively. Around 90% yarn demand for knit RMG and 35-40% yarn demand for woven RMG are met by Primary Textile Sector (PTS). Local fabric demand and the yarn demand for handloom are also met by PTS. Backward and Forward linkage industries provide employment for more than 5 million people where 80% are female.

According to the report of USDA (November 2017), yarn and fabric consumptions in Bangladesh is expected to rise to 1.13 MMT and 7.4 billion meters on strong international demand for clothing due to population

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 09

01

Present Situation of

B an g l ad e s h

02

Spinning sector at a glance.

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425 spinning yarn manfacturing mills.

Around 90% yarn demand for knit RMG are met by Primary Textile Sector (PTS).

Around 35-40% yarn demand for woven RMG are met by PTS.

Value addition in knit and woven RMG are over 70% and 35% respectively

growth, urbanization, and disposable income growth.

Demand for quality cloth also increases in domestic markets as wages and living standards rise. The retail market size of clothing in Bangladesh is nearly $8 billion a year, according to industry insiders.

Albeit having greater opportunity to ourish considering the strong demand, the spinning sector at present is undergoing through various obstacles and situations, which are getting more crucial day by day. The price of raw cotton is increasing drastically and very volatile as usual. We do not have any control over it and cannot make a sustainable stock what China, India and other countries do. The price is around 20% higher comparing to the corresponding month of last year. Price of electricity, wages, and transportation costs have also increased concurrently whereas the yarn prices are the same as before.

Hence, the spinning sector is now at a breakeven point or often being operated at a loss.

Textile Today: Government is importing LNG and announced for yet another round of gas price increase. How will it affect your business and how will you manage the additional cost?

Abu Hasan Mahmud: The price of gas may go up in captive power and industrial sector, which is like to pour water on a drowned mouse. Any increase in prices of gas will deal a blow and have a negative effect, forcing front-end industries to suffer further.

Production costs will be higher than before. To mitigate the additional cost we need to increase productivity by means of increasing unit production and increasing output realization as well which can be possible if the other factors like availability of raw materials, manpower, financial facilities, and even electricity are available.

Besides, we need to pay concentration on increasing

Visit us at ITMA ASIA 2018 October 15 -19 Hall H1 / Booth D01

Spinning

Icon

Spinning

the efficiency of both man and machinery. Reduction of electricity consumption has important environmental and economic benefits, which can be achieved by replacing old machines with new machines equipped with advanced technology where we get more output by consuming less electricity. Setting automation is another way of reducing cost.

Moreover, there are value-added products for earning more premiums.

automate elements of the RMG industry, then that would be a very positive outcome. Productivityenhancing technology, after all, is a crucial pillar of social and economic progress. Hence, the RMG industry needs to increase their overall efficiency. As it is not yet fully able to produce high value-added goods, it needs to concentrate on it, which can mitigate the excess production cost by earning more value.

Textile Today: How will RMG makers cope up with the current wage hike?

Finally, RMG millers must emphasize on escalating its export to the emerging markets in Asia, Africa, and America. As much as it expands its market, it can have a remarkable success.

Abu Hasan Mahmud: The government of Bangladesh has raised the minimum wage of RMG workers to Tk 8,000 that is 51 percent higher than the current minimum wage Tk 5,300. At this stage when RMG is struggling hard to meet their export target by competing with the other countries who are playing well for their highly value-added goods, the wages hike can be very crucial to sustain. On the other hand, if minimum wage hikes really do spur the creation and adoption of high-quality new equipment to

Textile Today: What are the initiatives Amber Cotton Mills Ltd has taking for a sustainable business?

Abu Hasan Mahmud: Amber is one of the prominent local conglomerates having an integrated textile unit of 3 Ring Spinning mills, 2 Open-end spinning mills, and 2 Denim mills.

We strongly believe the proverb

To d a y

“First reach your target in your mind, then reaching your target, in reality, will just be a formality.”

As we cannot cut down the fixed cost and in some cases, variable costs are also unavoidable, we are going for productivity-enhancing technology by replacing age-old machinery phase by phase, which enables us to achieve more output with less input. We are incessantly striving to reach our targeted goal. At present, commissioning of compact yarn attachment is going to dig up more unit output with improved quality.

Undoubtedly, our textile sector needs to concentrate on more value-added products and we are no exception to that. We are producing slub, ciro, core-pun, multi-count, multi-twist and blended yarns like Viscose, Modal etc.

Considering the market demand for quality and value-added products, we have planned for another fully automated new project where efficient use of power (both electricity and manpower) will be ensured.

Graf to share wide range of solutions at ITMA ASIA Graf + Cie AG, a subsidiary of the Rieter Group, will present its wide portfolio of spinning and fiber preparation process solutions at ITMA ASIA 2018.

Desk Report Graf + Cie AG, the world’s leading supplier of clothing and comb in the field of carding-, combing- and nonwoven-processes, will present its wide portfolio of solutions at ITMA ASIA which will be held in Shanghai from October 15 to 19, 2018 at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre.

The company Graf is a complete system provider, which offers a comprehensive package from the product and technical advice through to service and service equipment. This full range of products and services are designed to deliver maximum value to customers. Graf also supports its customers by

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trade fair. With 35 or 40 teeth respectively, NEP values can be improved by up to 30%.

Figure: GRAF_Fixpro_C30_ Imagebild_1. developing custom-made solutions for all their application needs.

Ri-Q-Comb flex, the innovative circular comb series with adjustable height for up to 20% lower imperfections.

The new top combs FIXPRO C35 and C40 will be presented for the first time at an international

The EasyTop System of flat clothing stands for optimal settings of the carding gap and reduces the loss of good fiber.

In addition, the handling of flat clothing replacement is much easier and can be done without special equipment.

The reputable product line of flexible flat clothing’s, well-known by the brand names resist-O-top or InLine-X-Top, stand for better quality in combination with higher lifetime compared to competitorproducts in the short to medium staple range.

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 09

Textile Today Question of the Month All the textile and apparel industry has ‘Compliance Department’. In recent times Bangladesh has done a revolution in terms of compliance and eventually, the industry has become one of the safest textile and apparel industry in the world. But at the same time, the factories are suffering for profitability crisis. The transformation achieved in social and building safety and the improvements done in the environment is not being well reflected in the economics of the companies. To achieve sustainability holistically, efforts should be taken in all three pillars Economic, Social and Environmental of ‘Sustainability’.

Do you think transforming the existing ‘Compliance Departments’ into ‘Sustainability Departments’ is the way to implement sustainability in the textile and apparel industry? How this transformation could be done?

Kazy Mohammad Iqbal Hossain South Asia Regional Sustainability Manager Lindex HK Ltd., Bangladesh Liaison Office.

Compliance is something, which requires money from a company but may not give anything in return, the reason is simple as it’s all about the legal requirements to set up an industry. Everybody has to keep in mind, it is not enough to just meet the basic legal requirements, more needs to be done to make the organization popular with skilled workers. Once, the factory will be known as one of the safest and most reliable workplace in the market, then efficiencies of the employee, workers, and stakeholder will be increased which in turn will give better outcome and the factory will realize profitability.

Transforming compliance to Sustainability will increase the profitability for sure. However, the scope of work for the sustainability team should not be the same as of compliance department, it has to come out of the box. The ideal scope of work for Sustainability team would start from beyond compliance. So, to me, the Sustainability team of a factory will only get enough things to do once all the compliance issues are solved. And of course, the skill set of the professional is required, who can work on Energy, water, chemical efficiencies as well as building the culture of cost saving in all possible ways like print both sides of the paper. And to get a most desirable result, the Sustainability Team need to work hand in hand with the production department. A clear communication with all concern department of the factory as well as with the stakeholders will ensure efficiencies, transparency, and accountability, which will increase the profitability.

Ayesha Shefa, Director of Sustainability, Simco Spinning and Textiles Ltd. If the compliance departments become more manageable, sustainability will more likely be achievable. If a company wishes to be sustainable they usually benefit in many ways- for instance, better public perception and enhanced cost savings- as toxic substances and hazardous waste are removed from manufacturing processes. It is a goal worth working for because not only companies will benefit themselves but also the three pillars “Economics, Social and the Environment will be benefitted.”

Companies can achieve this by taking the necessary steps depending on which sector they are in. Making and encouraging to make ECO-FRIENDLY choices is the first step towards sustainability.

Sustainability is one of the major pillars and most of the factories, brands, and suppliers are working on it. As a manufacturer definitely compliance department will transform into the sustainable department, we trying to save our inventory cost to sustain, because day-by-day production cost is increasing but the price is decreasing. Now, Bangladesh has the highest number of green factories in the world. More skilled set of professionals are required, who can work on Energy, water, chemical efficiencies as well as building the culture of cost saving for sustainable business.

Faiaz Rahman, Director, Urmi Group

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 09

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Textile Today Question of the Month

Sabina Yasmin Shurovi Manager, Sustainable Development LBL Bangladesh Ltd.

Yes, it is going on the perfect way. A lot of factories/textile are implementing LEED certification, most of the factories/textiles are now implementing modern technology in regards of energy saving, water recycling method, heat transferring, transform the chemical ETP to biological ETP. In the production history, organic textile production growth in Bangladesh is now 32% from the conventional cotton.

Transforming sustainable business practices means to create strategies that preserve the longterm viability of People, Plant, and Profit, the proverbial triple bottom

line. Sustainability requires that we see the world as an integrated system that connects businesses to society and the environment through both space and time.

Pollution in one part of the world affects others thousands of miles away. Socially responsible corporate strategies impact communities not only today but also leave lasting impressions for generations to come.

If the compliance department can make sure of the above activities easily can transform its pattern to sustainability. Compliance department’s Head, responsible Compliance officer, Welfare officer, Safety officer they all are can play roles as follows. They can Implement changes and

“

Maher Abdullah Al CEO, Fakir Fashion Ltd.

The question of fair price and sustainable business model is being heard among the RMG community which is sounding better as first step towards the solution. Some raised the question, when we are going to get a better price as we have completed the 100 % remediation in our factories in terms of structural, fire and other safety scopes among other social compliance (need to do much more here yet within scopes). It is time to realize all these safety measures and so-called compliance factors

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have nothing to do with fair price or profitability. Let’s think! then another point of view, without a safe building, happy workers and proper working condition - how one can we even sustain production?

But to achieve a better profitability, one has to revisit own business units irrespective of the production facility to the corporate office, upgrade the basic things and look for ‘excellence’ to move forward. Again, ‘innovation’ is the key here to excel, and to increase profitability.

communicate to the employee effectively. They can make sure creating strategies to make the workplace greener. They can conduct effective training gradually to all factories/textiles employees on sustainability and transfer of knowledge. They should attend national/ international seminars on Sustainability to provide proper roles and responsibilities and its authority of implementation.

Compliance department’s responsible persons can measure the factories/textile’s sustainability performance. They can take control of the development, implementation, promotion, and monitoring of environmental strategies within a factory/ textile. They can manage the budget, liaising with marketing departments to promote a sustainability strategy, and communicating plans. Since the compliance department has the sufficient knowledge and skills, so no separate department is needed to be in.

By making green buildings, green factories and ensuring all the safety measures we had surely accomplished a great job but is this bringing any benefits in terms of prices from customers yet? On the other hand, customers are facing a yet bigger challenge to stay in business too. It is time to start a sustainable joint venture or bigger co-operation among local suppliers, all stakeholders need to find a sustainable business model by cutting all unnecessary fats. We do not have to go far to learn this - let’s just watch how Amazon has chopped the unwanted wings and ensured the delivery to the door stops of the Clients right from the machine. For the end consumers, it is ‘ Oven fresh - healthy products’. They did not check the factory yet - green or not but checked the price tags and loved the speed!

Bangladesh Textile Today |

Volume 11, Issue 09