October 2020

VOLUME 8 | ISSUE NO. 10 | RS 100 | Pages 60 ISSN NO : 2278-8972 |RNI NO : MAHENG/2012/43707

OCTOBER 2020

HR ARCHIVES

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COVER STORY

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COVER STORY

Minimum space, maximum potential: the new autoleveller draw frame TD 10

Better blending from the beginning: TD 10 With the TD 10, an ultramodern autoleveller draw frame featuring the latest digital levelling technology comes to the market.

The TD 10 incorporates technical highlights more compact than ever. Due to its clever design, the TD 10 requires on average 20 % less space than comparable competitive models. In addition its intelligent SMART CREEL, combined with the T-LED remote display, offers unparalleled functional |OCTOBE R 2 0 2 0 reliability and transparency.

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COVER STORY

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C O N T E N T PA G E

CONTENTS COVER STORY

08 10 Improving the Textile Education in Maharashtra 14 Covid-19 Fules Internal hires in Asia-Pasific needs and skills acquired gap analysis for 16 HRtextile machinery segment training- pre requisite for the growth of iNDIAN TEXTILE INDUSTRY 19 Skill 22 Is remote work here to stay in Asia-Pacific?

Why does a company need good HR practices?

49 51 54

23 get bamboozled by bamboo...there are more sustainable alternatives 25 Don’t 26 Circular economy 30 Sustainable denim processing in different stages 33 Bio fabricated built in sustainability 35 Microbiologically stable fibres : An overview 40 43

HANDLOOM REPORT Handloom woven fabric- journey through talkshow with ikat & Jamdani weavers Handloom woven fabric- story of banarasi a brocade and chanderi

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Basic textile export marginally up in september

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Get the most out of your spinning mill

BRAND UPDATE ADVERTISER INDEX

Back Page : Raymond Back Inside : Oerlikon Front Inside : Rimtex Page 3 : n9 resil chemical Page 4 : Trützschler Page 5 : Rieter

CONTRIBUTERS

LOOM SECTOR

Mr. Rajiv Misra

Mr. Naveen Kumar Jha

Mr. B.Basu

Dr. V.D Gotmare

An exclusive eyes; age old competition between handloom and powerlooms

Mr. N.D. Mhatre

Mr. A.L.Bhongade

Mr. Avinash Mayekar

Mr. Radhagovind Das

FASHION UPDATE

Dr. N.N Mahapatra

Ms. Vasavi Mehta

Mr. Manoj John

Mrs. Anju Tulshyan

Ms. Aparna Sardar

Mr. Vijay Gotmare

Ms. Shrutirupa Pati

Dr. Ela Dhedia

Ms. Dixha Rani

Mr.Nitin Madkaikar

Avant garde designing the future of fashion

INTERVIEW

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National weavers of kutch challanges and opportunities

YARN REPORT

SUSTAINABILITY Processing of algiknit fibres in textile industries

NATIONAL WEAVERS REPORT

Sustainability starts from self-sustainable living

|OCTOBER 2020

EDITORIAL

DNA of Organization: Human Resource (HR) Human beings are called as a “Resource” in the commercial world. Every resource has its own properties that benefits the universe. Humans have the learning ability, understanding, intellect to understand situation and apply in commercial world with their skills, which is utilized during the employment stage of life, which will benefit to make the world a better place.

Resources can be for the creation of an Organization or it can be utilized by already existing Organizations.

The first face of the is commodity based and creative industry. Humans created many organizations but for maintaining them, again need humans. Automation in the systems and processes has reduced human intervention in many industries. The Textiles and Apparel industry is the highest employment generating industry. The processes of industry still need human intervention. The manufacturing segment in the Industry contributes to the Economy. Manufacturing involves the use of the latest technology, textile sub segments like natural fibers need more human, less automation; Synthetic fibers need more automation and less human intervention. To process chemicals the spinning industry needs more Automation less human to process fibers. So also, weaving involves both human and automation with equal importance.

More automation is required to process fabrics; garmenting involves more Human and less automation; for ancillary industries like chemical and others, more automation is needed. The second face of the Industry is the Technical based human intervention which involves Research and Development, Innovation and intelligence to develop new material/technology with available resources, where major human resources are needed.

Third Face is the Technology change. The current Pandemic has changed the entire world. Human involvement, cost of Human Resources is a major issue for many organizations, as technology has replaced human in many operations. TVC October 2020 issue is focusing on HR trends, gap analysis and more.

Hope it will be an eye opener to many. Human resources must be ready to gear up for “New Normal” world!!!

Wish you all Happy Diwali …!

JIGNA SHAH EDITOR AND PUBLISHER

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All rights reserved Worldwide; Reproduction of any of the content from this issue is prohibited without explicit written permission of the publisher. Every effort has been made to ensure and present factual and accurate information. The views expressed in the articles published in this magazine are that of the respective authors and not necessarily that of the publisher. Textile Value chain is not responsible for any unlikely errors that might occur or any steps taken based in the information provided herewith.

| OCTOBER 2020

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COVER STORY

Why does a company need good HR practices?

Rajiv Misra OWNER / MD AT R. SQUARE CONSULTING

A

c. An objective Performance should be able to do. s an owner/ MD of the compaManagement Process (PMP) g. Multiple issues come up in ny you could be thinking why you the workplace amongst emwhich helps in clearly idenneed good HR systems and processployees which often need tifying your high performers, es for your company. A well-funcyour intervention to resolve. the steady contributors and tioning HR system is aligned to the h. Employee satisfaction and the not so great performers. business strategy and goals and d. A well-defined Compensamotivation is consistently acts as a competitive advantage for low. tion, Benefits and Incentive your organization and results in imframework. proving both the ‘Top’ and e. Training and Devel‘Bottom’ line of business. opment to ensure To answer your question constant upgrada“why?” take the test of tion and skill buildchecking some signs that ing of the employees. existing HR systems and It does not matter if you are running a small or a mulf. Employee engageprocesses need an overtinational organization; Good HR practices help any ment framework to haul business or company achieve its business goals. keep the employees a. Inability to recruit motivated and willand select the reing to do more for quired team memthe organization with bers . a linked reward and b. The person whom recognition process. you selected thinking he or i. If things go wrong, blame g. Talent management and she is a great performer is games start with no one taksuccession management unable to meet the requireing ownership of getting the framework. ments for the role for which issue resolved. h. To build the desired orgahe/she was hired . nization culture or as it is c. High attrition amongst the A typical HR system would include commonly understood, the high performing employees the following processes: way things are done in a of the company. a. A process which covers Recompany or shared belief of d. Issues with on time delivery cruitment, selection and the employees. and quality of product and onboarding. services provided to cusb. Policy framework which tomers leading to low cusclearly defines expectations It does not matter if you are runtomer satisfaction. the organization has, from ning a small or a multinational ore. Team members not perthe employee and what the ganization; good HR practices help forming to the standard exemployee will get from the any business or company achieve pected of them. organization while at the its business goals. If appropriately f. As an owner or MD you need same time aligning with done, HR management can prove to get involved in things compliance requirements to be a pivotal step for building a which the team member and statutory requirements. great workplace, and it benefits not |OCTOBER 2020

COVER STORY only the company but also the people who are working there by creating conditions for a healthy and productive.

Let us understand the 8 key aspects of HR systems and processes in a little more detail: Recruitment, Selection and Onboarding: Your company’s success depends to a large extent on the quality of people who are there in your company. Bringing the right kind of people on board is a very tough job without having the right process of attracting from the desired talent pool. The first thing which you must do is to understand what are the skills, knowledge and experience which are required to perform a specific role in an effective manner . This is normally done with the help of a job description.

Once this is done you need to decide how you will assess that the prospective candidate has these skills and knowledge, What methods will you use to check for a specific skill , and if they are able to use these skills in a role related situation. This is normally done through a formal selection process which specifies the methods which will be used to assess these skills. Once the team member has been selected it is imperative that the first impressions of the organization are positive in the selected team member’s mind. This is done through a clearly defined onboarding process which makes contact with the team member even before he/she has joined till about 90 days post joining. This onboarding process ensures a positive experience for the team member post selection on every touchpoint that he/she has with the organization.

Policy framework: A good policy framework is the first step in ensuring a structured process which clearly defines the expectations the organization has from the team member and what the team member would get in return. Policies normally cover aspects like work timings, leaves of various types,

benefits provided by the company and compliance issues. A good policy framework encourages a consistent way of doing things in the company. In the absence of a policy framework, discretionary decisions are made which bring about a perception amongst the employees that there is bias in the way the organization treats different people.

Performance Management Process: Most of us want to be recognised and rewarded for the work that we do, however, before the reward can take place it is important that performance should be measured objectively. The employees must feel that the process of measuring the work which they put in is fair and everyone is being measured by similar parameters.

A good performance measurement process with periodic reviews and feedback help the employee understand what he/she is doing well and which are the areas which s/ he needs to improve to meet the performance expectations for his/ her role. The performance management process needs to have a clear link to compensation and rewards as without this link, people would get demotivated and do just enough to protect their jobs.

Compensation, Benefits and Incentives: For every owner/MD, the one question which always perplexing them is “Am I paying more/less to my employees?”. A well-designed compensation, benefits and incentive framework answers this question to a large extent. It builds in a correlation between qualification, skills and knowledge and compensation and also compares it with compensation for similar roles in similar industry. In addition, best in class benefits like health insurance etc. which add to employee retention without a commensurate cost are also suggested/implemented.

Training and Development: A well designed training and development framework adds as a compet-

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itive advantage by upskilling employees and building capability in the organization. Training could be planned as a result of developmental needs which flow as an outcome of the performance management process or could be to ensure that t the team is able to meet new challenges which are thrown up due to the business and competitive environment. Understanding what each your employee or group of employees needs as part of training and then ensuring that this training is provided to them helps in building this competitive advantage Employee Engagement: Happy people make a more productive workspace. No one would like to work in a tense and boring environment. The workplace is like a second home to many people and they spend most of their time at their workplace which is sometimes even more than what they spend in their own homes. Therefore, workplace relationships amongst team members, peers, seniors and interdepartmental become the key to a happy workplace. This can be facilitated by ensuring constant channels of communication between the employees and the management and having a good understanding of what employees want by a process of conversations designed to capture the employee’s aspirations and how they feel about various workplace issues.

Talent management and succession management framework: Leaders who take ownership and accountability and demonstrate entrepreneurship qualities are assets which every organization would like to have. A process of selecting these high potentials and building the desired competencies in them is the key to building an organization which will succeed in achieving its present and future goals. In addition, having a backup designated for most of the critical roles provides peace of mind to the owner/ MD that in case of loss of any role holder due to unforeseen circumstances, the company would still be | OCTOBER 2020

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able to perform at the highest level.

Organizational Culture: Organizational culture is the collection of values, working rules, company vision, traditions and beliefs that a company has adopted over the

years. A well-organized HR framework plays a vital part in influencing the organizational culture within an organization. Establishing guidelines, procedures and company standards lets employees know and learn the behaviors that are

acceptable in the workplace. Organizational culture has an important role to play in the way people do their work and cooperate with one another and with customers.

Improving the Textile Education in Maharashtra B. BASU TEXTILE EXPERT

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engagement, achievement, and attainment of students who are hat is Education? not excelling in more traditional It can be defined as the wise, hopeacademic programs. The practical ful and respectful cultivation of learning experiences that are often learning undertaken in the belief provided in career and technical that all should have the chance to programs appeal to many students, share in life. Education, as we unand certain common elements— derstand, is a process of inviting the focus on critical thinking, new truth and possibility of encouragtechnologies, real-world settings, ing and giving time to hands-on activities, and develop knowledge the application of learning and vigour. Learning is to practical problems, and a process of outcome. civic contexts throughout a As a process it is part of student’s life. It is suggested living in the world with In this era of unemployment, only technical edu- that rather than learning majesty. Education is re- cation can assure one of a job or source of income from books, taking tests, spectful, being informed in terms of technical skills and it can provide and discussing abstract and wise appreciating comfortable living. concepts in classrooms, what can make people students should gain pracflourish. It develops the tical, relevant, marketable capacity to reflect. It skills that will help them Ables to evaluate and more employable adults judge the situations. after graduation. panded like anything in every way The government of India constitutAn educated man knows, under- in special sphere and thest experts ed the All India Council for Technistand what to accept and what to get ready right from the 1 year in cal Education (AICTE) in 1945 as a deliver. His communication skill in- the Engineering Colleges. Tech- national level apex advisory body creases, and he can influence oth- nology education is an offshoot of for conducting a survey on the facilers with proper justification. He can the Industrial Arts tradition and the ities available for technical educavisualise between good and bad. Craft teaching . It is a kind of educa- tion in the country. The aim was to He can prepare and build the Na- tion which equips with skills that in- promote development of technical tion. It is the Instrument to be per- volve the use of practical approach- education in a coordinated and infect, makes the way to earn bread & es and other physical instruments tegrated way. butter and knows how to build the in executing and implementing projects. The Technical education The Importance and Benefits of future career with full honour. helps to increase the educational Technical Education: The main What is the Technical Education? Technology education is the study of technology, in which students “learn about the processes and knowledge related to technology”. Technical education is learning something about a specific work scientifically in detail and practical. Technical knowledge has ex-

|OCTOBER 2020

COVER STORY aim of the technical education is that, it makes the students skilled and technically fit for the industries.

The technical education schemes are having very good opportunities for career and employment. It imparts the knowledge strongly from the basics to advanced and modern technologies for the budding technical aspirants.

The education which provides special practical knowledge of technologies and skills is known as technical education. It is different from general education. As far as concern the technical education promotes independent and self-learning, tunes the student effectively and increases the potential of the students. The technical education is not about studying and passing of the examinations, but it imparted a technical bias to the electrifying today’s students.

Technical Education offers good opportunities for employments and it would be helpful to make successful career. If we talk about the technical education, it contributes a major share to the overall education system and plays an important role in the social and economic development of our nation. In India, technical education is imparted at various level right from ITI , Diploma to any higher level in specialized technical fields, accommodating to various aspects of technological development and economic progress.

In this era of unemployment, only technical education can assure one of a job or source of income in terms of technical skills and it can provide comfortable living. Those who are still in the conventional institutions, passing examination that have little relevance in the modern systems, may not find opportunities of employment.

And, quite naturally, they end up becoming the victims of frustration and find themselves in dilemma in this modern world.

If a country owns enough technical hands with full of skills, it undoubtedly accelerates the pace of development. Technical hands cannot be unemployed. On the other hand,

technical hands do not need to request others for jobs, if they start their own business; they can provide job opportunities to other educated people as well. Thus technical education helps us to reduce the problem of unemployment.

The Education in Textile Technology: The Textile technology is a program of study that can cover a broad range of topics, from chemistry and physics in textile production to textiles used in apparel, Garments and interior design,Technical , industrial & Medical Textiles, Cotton to Polymers, All natural Fibres like Jute, linen, hemp, bamboo , banana to Silk and in every sphere of life. It is the 2nd highest employer after Agriculture and highest earnings of revenue from Export market. It has the wide Industrial range from Agricultural field to Spinning, Weaving, wet processing, Knitting, Garment, Textile Machinery to Govt. jobs and Corporate sectors.

It has the wide scope of the Self employment and entrepreneurship.

Training in textile science offers a variety of career options, including in the manufacturing and design industries. Textile Manufacturer, Textile Design Job Information, Textile Designer, Interior Designer, marketing and Sales in Yarn, Fabrics and Textile Machineries.

The Textile Colleges in Maharashtra: Out of 36 Degree colleges Textile Engineering Colleges in India, Maharashtra is having 7 Degree Colleges inclusive Textile Technology & that of Textile Chemistry, 5 Diploma Colleges in Textile Technology, 5 Diploma Colleges in Garment and Dress Designing, 2 Colleges in Home Sc. and 1 NIFT. Apart from them, there are some more Private Diploma Colleges in garment and fashion in Nasik, Latur, Aurangabad areas and all are in the control of MSBTE. The total passing Students per year is approx. 1100 inclusive all. Now the Question is how many of them are employable and how many are getting employment in each year?

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Who gets preference in employment? (i) If the students are from Branded Colleges like ICT, VJTI etc (ii) If the Alumni of that colleges is very strong and supportive (iii) The college is having very good rapport with the Industries and that of employers (iv) The Student himself/herself is able to impress the employer either by personal contact, through skype or telephonic or could impress during In-plant Training (v) Having good knowledge in subject which the management demands (vi) The Project work performed by him/her found to be helpful by the Industries (vii) Not much choosy about the Organization, it`s location and salaries , nature of job and duty hours, ready to do any hard work to gain the experience (viii) Having his/her own potential to impress the employer during face to face interview and (ix) overall impressive personality, good communication power, good writing skills, having manageable GK .

How to prepare the students of Textile especially in Maharashtra? The preparation of the Textile students in Maharashtra is not much differ from other states in India except (i) Maharashtra is Industrial rich hence, jobs are easily available (ii) 70% of the students in any College in this State is local and 30 % is from other States hence the students prefer to communicate in local language than to learn English.

I would like to suggest the followings in these aspects. (i) Although the job availability is not so difficult especially in Maharashtra but to prosper in future in the Industries, the syllabus must be in accordance to the need of the Industries.

Every 3 years, the syllabus is to be changed by the syllabus committee where the Industrial Experts including Alumni must be present (ii) The industrial Visits should be at least two in each Semester where various types of industries must be covered. (iii) the vocational training must be two /three within 8 semester (iv) There should be job assignment to each student in each semester | OCTOBER 2020

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who`s marks with attendance to be taken into consideration. For example, there can be total 20 marks for the assignment where 10 can be for the subject and 10 can be for the attendance. This should be included in the over all marks in the semester.

This will increase more analytical approach, writing skills, enhance sincerity to attend the classes, and the students will be more devoted. (v) There should be some debate classes/competition by which the speaking power in English with expression will be enhanced. (vi) The students have taken in granted that their employment is the responsibilities of their college and even the insincere students feel that they need not to upgrade their calibre to face the competition in the job market and accordingly they should be prepared himself/herself by attending the classes , Industries and In plant trainings . (vii) Let the students organise the Industry visits and let them prepare the drafts of the letters to be sent to the employers so that their communication skill will be enhanced , feel the responsibilities, understand the toughness in the job market and would understand the value of the job. (viii) The Campus Interview etc should be organised by them in coordination with the Faculty members .(ix) Let the Industrial experts and Alumni visit the Institution at each week to interact with the students who will explain the expectation of the Industries and how to be get ready for the same . One weekly slot (say every Thursday 3 to 5pm) can be kept ready for the same. (x) Let the students show the dreams of the brighter future and let them just not think that as they are in Maharashtra state the jobs are near

their door! (xi) The students are to be aware of the name of the Industries at various categories (today most of them are aware of hardly a few name of the Branded Name) so that they accept any job in any industry at any place. (xii) The most of the female students do not want to go to the far off places from their natives because of the fear of the uncertainty , lack in knowledge of that particular location( more restricted by their parents as they are totally unaware) and they want jobs of her choice especially those are from the Garment Background. Hence such students can be arranged Entrepreneurship Training so that they can start their own business in group or individually to earn their bread& butter. (xiii) It is disappointing fact that after getting good jobs in good industries through Campus or by arranging the jobs , they leave(a) because of marriage (b) Parents do not allow them to stay in far away (c) Fear of social uncertainty that “my daughter may marry any one out of my cast “at the working place (d)Fear that “If the daughter is not getting married within 24 years of her age then I will lose my social status”! (e) daughter should be a housewife than to be an employee / officer etc. Hence the female students and their parents can be counselled that “if the daughter is the self sufficient then her future is more secured”. The marriage is unavoidable which is the part and parcel of the life but today, in the age of competition and looking to be Economic conditions, the female students must not leave any lucrative job that supports her family too.

Conclusions: The education makes a man perfect

www.textileappareljobs.com

|OCTOBER 2020

in gaining his/her knowledge, it improves one`s thought process who can differentiate between good & bad and makes one`s life easy.

The Technical education makes a man fit to earn his livelihood; his future prospects improves through his gain in skills.

Textile Technology is a vast ocean today and there are multiple scopes to earn bread in this profession including self-employment.

In this course, the students from the Branded colleges get preferences in the Job market The strong Alumni, good Industrial relationship with the Institutions are also the key for the job availabilities to the future.

The students must search and create their own jobs rather than to expect 100% jobs will be arranged by the college and put them at the industries of their liking the department, Industry and location. The college should just guide them.

They should be self-prepared for the jobs.

Maharashtra State being the self-sufficient state in the Industries, the students must not neglect to communicate in good English so that they can go to other states, must have the geographical knowledges of other states and industries.

The female students especially from the rural background feel uncertain to go to the far-off places and hence the Industries do not prefer them.

They should be trained how to become Self sufficient in earning their bread and butter.

Email : texappjobs@gmail.com

COVER STORY

TOP 5 REDUNDANT ROLES

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TOP 5 TRENDING JOB

1. Administrative and executive secys 2. General and Operation Manager.

3. Assembly and Factory Workers.

4. Accounting, Book keeping, Pay roll Clerk.

5. Data Entry Clerk

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COVID-19 fuels internal hires in Asia-Pacific

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rior to COVID-19, recruiting was already going through a period of change. The rise of analytical and digital tools, the increasing focus on diversity, and the shift in skills needed meant the role of the recruiter was evolving.

But now recruiters and HR face a unique challenge of filling roles in an environment where talent is increasingly inclined to stay where they are and many organisations are contemplating or have initiated hiring freezes.

While internal mobility has always been important, in today’s climate, recruiters are focusing more and more on existing talent and AsiaPacific is embracing this trend. The average rate of internal mobility* in Asia-Pacific increased by about 15% in 2020, compared to a year earlier. (*Internal mobility rate is calculated as the transitions made within the same organisation, to dissimilar roles, as a percentage of all transitions.)

We analysed LinkedIn’s data to gain insights on how the region is pacing, and took a deep dive into the type of roles, functions and industries with the highest internal mobility rates across key markets.

These insights can help any talent professionals get the right mix between looking internally and externally to fill gaps in their workforce.

Asia-Pacific outpaces global trends in internal mobility rates Globally the internal mobility rate between April to August 2020 was 19.5%, but many Asia-Pacific countries are sitting above that. Indonesia is the regional leader, with a 24% rate of internal mobility, followed by New Zealand at 22%, and Singapore at 21%. It's also worth

noting that the region's two largest markets, China and India are both below the global average.

Compared to their 5 year average, most Asia-Pacific nations recorded an increase in internal mobility rates in 2020, with India seeing the highest growth of 4%. China was the only country that recorded a decrease, with internal mobility rates falling by 2% from their 5-year average.

There are a number of factors which drive the divergence in trends between countries - from generalist roles which lend themselves to easy transitions, to the dominance of certain industries or functions.

Many factors dictate how internal hires get made.

We looked at internal mobility rates within three categories of environmental factors: industry, function and location. The top categories in each attribute observe between 1.2X and 1.3X higher internal mobility rates above average.

In Asia-Pacific, data shows that energy and mining, manufacturing, and consumer goods are the indus-

|OCTOBER 2020

tries with above-average internal mobility.

Typically the types of roles we see moving internally are generalist roles, with many transferable skills that can be adapted to different sections and demands of the business. In Asia-Pacific, this frequently includes functions like product management, finance, and consulting.

Deep dive - What factors are driving internal mobility in key markets?

While Asia-Pacific has some broad, uniting trends, there still are differences between each country.

Talent with generalist skills like product management or finance appears frequently on many country’s lists.

The industries and functions with a high mobility rate reflect each country’s own market. Australia’s tech workforce is expected to contract.

ACS Digital Pulse report predicted that COVID-19 would see 35,000 fewer technology workers between March and December 2020. This is despite Australia’s hardware and networking sector growing, amid tech demands. A shortage of tal-

COVER STORY ent on the ground may be what is seeing the industry foster a higher degree of internal mobility. Meanwhile, Australia’s largest employer, the NSW Government, is also likely to be fuelling the high mobility rate in public administration - as talent moves between roles within the government.

Balancing internal and external recruitment Based on our findings, roles with functions like product management, marketing, finance and consulting more readily transition, meaning recruiters can focus in-

ternally when sourcing this talent.

Meanwhile, functions like engineering and healthcare services are in high demand, but less inclined to make an internal shift. A targeted upskilling and reskilling program might help foster this in-demand talent internally.

Balancing the mix of internal and external recruiting plans is key to building a strong talent pipeline.

Plotting out which roles are more likely to make an internal transition, versus those that are in demand can make knowing where to look for talent much easier.

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While COVID-19 has seen organisations quickly transition to remote working and adopt more technology, the health crisis has also been a catalyst for more internal mobility. LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends report found that employees stay 41% longer at companies with high internal hiring. Internal mobility can boost retention and increase engagement because talent can see their own pathway to success within their organisation.

Reference https://business.linkedin.com/

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COVER STORY

HR Needs and Skills acquired-GAP Analysis for Textile Machinery segment N. D. Mhatre DIRECTOR GENERAL (TECH) , ITAMMA

traditional trend of displaying these developments during ITMA, once in 4 years. Such frequently changing technological developments cannot be involved /adopted in the regular syllabus, but can be further updated to the students through following initiatives at appropriate intervals, helping him to be a SMART Student :-

ix) Installation of cut-models of important assemblies of newly developed machine for training purpose, x) Installation of latest technology machines through tieups with machine manufacturers under R & D/Training/Sample development purpose.

These activities will help the students in getting exposure to new Importance of HR & Skills in present skills by overcoming the Employment Trend and lacunae of conventional Pattern of Indian Textile technologies as per the Engineering Industry Government funds in Indian Textile Industry and regular syllabus, reducing In the Indian Textile thereby appropriate allocation of the same with the technology/skill gaps Engineering Industry the a result orientation strategy for R&D and Skilling especially in the Indian employment trend is projects of Applied Research, JVs, Technology Textile Engineering sector. mainly towards Marketing/ transfers, Skill-cum development, etc in TEI and Sales of machines & spares, further make the Indian Textile machines/Spares a brand for Global market.

Consultancy (Project handling), Academia and Government agencies/ bodies. It is observed that due to Modern workshops of the i) Visits of students to International ii) Guest lecturers b) Industry Association level with processes like designing, foundry, exhibitions, of Industry Experts to Institutes, an objective of “Adding to skills” welding, cutting, bending, molding, iii) Visits of students to state- Industry Associations play a very vital simulation, finishing, erection, etc. of-the-art Factories with latest role in connecting the Industry with of other Units like Automobiles, IT, technology machines, iv) Portable the Government and Academicians. etc. the employment shift is less Technical Clinics involving machine Today due to digitalization the towards Indian TEI, where even manufacturers and Industry Experts, interaction of Industry Associations CNC machine units are < 25%. v) Technology Display Centres in with the Government has reduced HR & Skill Development needed the Institutes through tie-ups with drastically due to availability of all at machine manufacturers, vi) Whats DATA promptly and regularly on the a) Educational Institute level with app technology group of students Government web-site; and so their an objective to develop a SMART roping in machine manufacturers, role has changed from a facilitator Industry Experts and R & D Institutes/ to a proactive body interacting with Student vii) Student’s its members at grass-root level.

Today due to Digitalization and Smart Associations, Corner inviting presentations of Considering more than 80% of manufacturing, the Technological students on new technology/ Textile Engineering units are MSMEs, development of Textile machines process on weekly/fortnightly the Industry Associations are in metallurgy, design, process, IT, basis, viii) On-line webinars on new expected to organize Technology Computerization, etc. are taking technology/process through tiescouting missions by collaborating place frequently, overcoming the ups with machine manufacturers, with research institutes/bodies, |OCTOBER 2020

COVER STORY through training programmes on 5s, Kaizen, Lean, Six Sigma-Yellow & Green belt, etc. for skilling the technical man power of their member-units in various important subjects of waste management, personal productivity tool, energy conservation, etc in order to make them competent in delivering the products at world class standards.

Also skilling the members for internal audits on ISO, ZED,TUV, etc and Lean Competitive schemes for upgrading their factory set-up at state-of-the-art level. Association also has to take active part in recognizing/ appreciating the member units through business scouting missions giving them opportunity to learn and observe the HR & Skills of Sales and Marketing Teams of their competitors and also to display their own skills at national and international levels through events, thus conveying an encouraging message to others in following these skills, and helping to fill up the skill gaps /short falls on such business oriented platforms. Also coordinating the member units during technology/ skill display meetings/trials, etc. of the machine manufacturers during international exhibitions, helps them in understanding newly developed technology/skills which can be further adopted at his/her factory.

Cleaning and Lubrication activities are always neglected however they play a vital role in sustaining the maintenance and performance of the machines. Every machine manufacturer provides a Preventive Maintenance Programme along with the machine manual involving details of Lubricant type, quantity, place of application, etc. However in case of pre-owned imported machines ( such looms have already being installed in huge numbers through TUF scheme) such DATA is found not available with the machines in many cases, leading to improper lubrication of these machines. Indigenous lubricant manufacturers and suppliers need to work on this aspect, providing an appropriate substitutes for

imported products ( ‘ATMA NIRBHAR BHARAT ‘ through ‘Make in India’ initiative) and also organize a detailed Skilling programmes for the User Industry on ‘ Lubrication with Right type, at Right quantity, at Right place, at Right frequency and with Right Appliance’ jointly with relevant Industry Associations.

Since such activities involve lot of human interventions affecting the quality of work, the developments in the lubricating systems have taken place viz. topping can – centralized system – Oil Reservoirs controlled by servo motors for oil filtration on the running machine itself. c)Government level with an objective of ‘ATMA NIRBHAR BHARAT’

Government has to play an important role in encouraging the students in the Textile Engineering field. Due to Digitalization, the DATA in regard with industry’s stability/ growth and future prospects is available to every student at ease and so today they take independent decisions in regard with their carrier without interference of family members, ancestors, etc. which was followed traditionally. Further it is observed that the students prefer white caller job with User-friendly, healthy and environment-friendly work atmosphere having a set-up of state-of-the-art technology.

Following initiatives may help in reducing the skill gaps and improve HR a) SMART DATA Clinic India’s textile machinery trade with the world was US$ 4857.91 million (12.31%) in 2018, out of which imports contributed to 83% i.e. US$ 4032 million; while Exports were

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only 17.29 % i.e. US$ 839.78 million, thus the sector still lags globally standing on the fourth position.

Further the figure of in-house production of Textile Machines, Spares and Accessories is US$ 858.13 million, fulfilling only 46.61% of Home –consumption against the demand of US$ 1625.51 million and far behind of our target of US$ 50,000 to 85,813 million for 2026-27.

In order to improve and encourage the employment status of this field, the above DATA needed to be presented and linked with the opportunities in new developing areas of technology and technocommercial, scope and availability of turnkey projects, scope of employment through Government schemes/policies, etc. at national

and international levels. In nutshell SMART DATA Clinic should serve the purpose of a Clinic, giving a platform of solution to everyone right from student, employee, employer, Industry expert, etc. and will further encourage the flow of Textile Engineers as same as Textile Technologists. b) TUF scheme for TEI We are aware that huge numbers of pre-owned imported looms equipped with computerized gadgets have been installed in India under TUF scheme. However it is noticed that many entrepreneurs of decentralized sector with a setup of 8 to 50 looms couldn’t avail the after sales services and also couldn’t employ a special technical man power to attend these high value sensitive IT Gadgets, which are important technology accessory of these Hi-tech shuttleless looms.

It would have been appropriate if such activities would have been involved as the part and parcel | OCTOBER 2020

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of this subsidy scheme, involving Student, technical man power (Industry Expert/Consultant) and machine manufacturer to deliver these services and help in reducing the skilling gaps further sustaining the performance of these looms.

Such scheme needed to be framed out for TEI along with a scope for Student, technical man power (Industry Expert/Consultant) and machine manufacturer.

Focus for Innovative HR & Skills promoting Indian TEI • Fashion show specifically highlighting the features of machines • Projecting machine features while sale/marketing of fiber, yarn, fabric, garment, etc.

• Machine manufacturers to be proactively involved in the pilot plant projects and thesis of the students • Convey the user-friendly, eco-friendly and operational

safety features of machine at the factories/mills through attractive display boards/ posters Conclusion It is said that more funds needed to be invested on R & D in order to overcome the technology gap in Indian TEI, to deliver state-ofthe-art machines/spares to cater in-house production and import substitution, and capture the global market. However the study by UNESCO of Gross expenditure in R & D in various sectors spend by the Government, Business Enterprises and Educational Institutes, state that Indian Government is 2nd highest in the contribution when compared with other 9 countries, whereby Japanese Government is spending the least on R & D among all and still in Technology aspects Japan is considered at top among

fashionvaluechain@gmail.com

|OCTOBER 2020

all. Which calls for evaluation of Government funds in Indian Textile Industry and thereby appropriate allocation of the same with a result orientation strategy for R&D and Skilling projects of Applied Research, JVs, Technology transfers, Skill-cum development, etc in TEI and further make the Indian Textile machines/Spares a brand for Global market. This initiative will ultimately encourage new skills/ start-ups in Indian TEI, and will also make it ready for HR and Skills considering the requirement of 35 million skilled workers, by 2024-25 as per the sector growth rates.

www.fashionvaluechain.com

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Skill training - Pre requisite for the growth of Indian textile industry Avinash Mayekar MD & CEO, SUVIN ADVISORS PVT LTD

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ucts require a particular resource beyond the raw material resources i.e. the manpower with finite skill sets.

There is just not one raw material like cotton or to say the natural fibers creating baskets of products in different sectors there is also the synthetic industry having its dominance in India. Most of the value-added products produced are automated products manufactured

the different sectors across the textile industry. he Indian textile industry is In ginning, as we all are aware most employing more than 105 million of the ginning press is close to the people directly and indirectly. It is cotton-growing areas. So many one of the industries giving direct practices are just carried forward employment to such a large numfor years now & the same old style ber of people approximately 45 of operations is still functional as in million. It is also the industry that earlier days. We have observed that employs the highest number of sermany malpractices are followed vices from the labor forces. even today. Another angle for the no change in this training or skilling of the workforce of this sector is the hardship or environmental conditions in which the In Weaving, highly skilled people are required for the workers are working.

Figure 1Handloom, source internet ones working on looms. In the case of warping & siz- The operations involve a lot of dust and dirt from Our textile industry has a ing the skills can be learnt on the job while working the cotton bales, hence very rich culture. We are on the machines. the people hired are known in the textile world not professional or not as a prominent player after trained at all. They hire China. Our worthiness & many small-time farmrich heritage is reflected in ers who are simply put various textile products. We have on highly engineered machines. So to work here without giving them also recently shown our compe- the level of manpower needed in proper training. So there is a lot of tence in shuttles looms as well as this industry requires a skillset driv- gap as far as training needs are condominated few sectors of the en by technology adaptions. The cerned. Similarly, we also know that emerging technical textiles. workforce required is less in num- the automated ginning equipment ber than the cotton industry but lines having the US technology are highly skilled manpower is needed. still not implemented in India. This Indian cotton is famous in the world In each intermittent process, hu- is where the gap exists so we need for producing high-value products. man help is needed. This human to improve firstly the technology The focus is more on how things are hand needs to be trained efficient- utilized for ginning and also where being done for ages in the industry. ly. This is where I feel currently an ever such machines are bought in There are many technologies in- intervention is needed as profes- the subsequent training needs to volved as far as technical textiles are sional training and developing the be provided. concerned for e.g. spunlace, nee- manpower is what is lacking or mis- The next process in the cotton texdlepunch, spunbond, melt blown, handled in our country. Let us try to tile industry is spinning, which is chemical bonded etc. So the point understand the need gap analysis fairly organized. India is having a is that these many varieties of prod- of the way things are happening for market share of 14% in global yarn human resource development in | OCTOBER 2020

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productions. We have done remarkably well in the yarn supply. This has led us to adopt fairly all the good practices that are followed internationally. In many firms, there is senior-level training done which then trains and develops the staff under and a chain of training is created. So there is only on the job training that is provided. From the skillset point of view in spinning, the highest level of skill sets is required at the ring-spinning stage. As in this process, the production levels are very high & involves many manual operations. Let us assume the ring frame is running at 20000 rpm, the tenter needs to piece the yarn at that speed which happens periodically.

Thus ring frame tenter is one of the major job profiles which needs high level of technical skills. Any errors by the tenter will get reflected on the quality parameter of the product & it needs to be rectified in the next process. The tenter skills also require training about understanding the production loss & efficiency loss to improvise his involvement in the process.

So to scale down, there is on the job training taking place for the ring frame department. But if we consider other departments like blow room, carding, combing, draw frame, or speed frame there are no proper training measures taken.

However, for the entire production hall of spinning, the procedures of the on-job training are being followed.

Nowadays there is a need of involving an expert agency in man to man training for the textile workforce.

This expertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s involvement with vast knowledge has also identified the physical attributes of the workforce suitable for the work for eg. Identifying what types of fingers are best suitable for the specific task. We are associated with a company called Werner International, a USA based company. One of their unique working models involves bifurcating the workforce based on their physical traits. For eg. A tenter role is handed to a person with very good eyesight having long fingers and good height that makes it easy for him to piece

or to creel bobbing at the same time he should be clean and trim to move within ring frame aisles. Similarly, a person involved in the combing department must be the one with an alert mind as certain short fibers are removed. So an alert mind will ensure that good fibers do not end up as waste while removing the short fibers. At the same time by looking at the web, coming out of comber he needs to be smart enough to assure that the quality is maintained.

Also, there should not be any piece mark that results in unevenness in the yarn. This particularly is to be taken care of, as it is an intermittent process where fringe by fringe is combed.

Similarly, by looking at the card web, we must check the number of neps forming in the process. So all the counts of faults like neps, thick place, thin place etc ultimately affect the yarn quality as they are measured in the final product.

If we take a screenshot of the Indian textile industry, in many units we will see that most of the manpower learns on the job with their experience or through the instructions given by the supervisor or the textile engineers. They are spoon-fed of how to do it, what to do etc without making them aware of the causes thus a new problem in the batch remains undetectable on many occasions. They are taught only to take care of the operations.

As we know the major emphasis in our country is on productions, hence the finer things may not be trained to the workers. Another role done by Werner international is believe in a time and motion study. Wherein they handle a list of operations to be performed by the workers instead of providing a particular set of machines for them to work on. This ensures that the skills of the workers are utilized to his full efficiency. Such training manuals prepared by the renowned international players need to be followed by the Indian textile industry to ensure optimal utilization of the skill manpower resource.

In the post spinning process, there

|OCTOBER 2020

is winding, assembly winder & TFO for double yarn process. This department also needs highly trained workers like the ring frame department. In this department also there is a gap as far as trained manpower is concerned as many times the available manpower is used & while operating the department they learn and adapt. So a proper prejob training and monitoring of the process are the necessity for the growth of this segment of the industry.

In the knitting industry, most of the work is done by the machine itself.

Especially in the case of the state of the art machine the knitting operator needs to have very good eyesight. He must be efficient enough to understand if anything is going wrong by looking at the fabric in the process. Also, another physical attribute needed for the operator is a good height is the creel is on top of the machine. The Skillset of mending for the packages is necessary not of high degree but the good observer is the criteria while selecting the workforce in this department.

In Weaving, highly skilled people are required for the ones working on looms. In the case of warping & sizing the skills can be learnt on the job while working on the machines.

Nowadays the weaving industry utilizes high-speed machines like shuttles looms. So a worker with proper logical reasoning & analytical mindset is preferred. As he needs to understand how to handle the breaks of the machines & effectively resolve the issues. He needs to be alert on faults occurring at the backend of machines as most of the time the worker will be in between aisles monitoring the process and may not be able to see back side of the machine. Even though most of the machines have built-in signals for machine errors, an alert & cautious worker will be able to attend & resolve the issue without major delay in the system. Few agencies provide this type of specialized training. Many organizations are carrying out this training in-house for new entrants. Incorporating the feature of owning the operation

COVER STORY is what is needed for brushing the skillsets of people involved in this segment.

Figure 3: Garment Factory, source internet

Figure 2Finishing process, source internet

In the case of finishing, the people are working are chemist with the common traits like good eyesight with a superior color differentiating ability. This helps in understanding the deviations such as color or shade change, change in the quality of the dye or print produced, etc. All of this also demands good observation skills. At the same time as the entire process is chemistry, they should be thorough on the knowledge of dye & its impact on various color combinations. Many units do not have sampling machines in the setup, hence the skills of masters in dye or printing are what is relied on.

These masters are trained while on the job with the years of experience as their greatest teacher.

Most people learn while on the job, make changes to the procedures, develop skills, and evolve themselves as masters by creating their own best methodologies to follow.

This learning & adapting to the job is a phenomenon that will be seen across all segments of textiles.

Though there is indeed no greater teacher than experience. It is also necessary that some skills are to be trained for increasing the efficiency of these self-learning people thereby ensuring much better results.

The largest stage for conventional textiles is Apparels, where the stitching process is where the most skilled workers are needed. Here we will find that highly accurate and long working hours are the demands of the job. So a person with high patience is needed. It is observed that many mills prefer women for this department due to its specific skill requirements like efficiency & high patience, quality checking, good eye sights so a bit of multitasking is the need for this job. Also, part of this job like sewing is mostly learned by the ladies since childhood as part of our culture.

This stage also needs the workers to continuously monitor a few mm of garment that they are stitching and keep the work going without gaps in between. As it is a continuous chain where time & quality is the major factor involved. This last part of zero time breaks is where the focus of the apparel industry should be today. Because when compared to the International markets our people are not trained for giving such high efficiency. The other factor affecting our efficiency is the shortcomings of consistency. Our workforce though is multitalented where the same person is involved in stitching various parts of designs as per the production demand we fall short of reaching the 100% efficiency for a single product as the personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s practice is diverted when a new part with a different type of stitch or design comes to picture.

So training is a must for the new set of people joining. Another issue is the finding new replacement of the workforce as it involves ladies.

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Many of the times after marriage the girls are moving to new locations or household problems that increase the absenteeism thereby affecting the production levels. So training & brushing skills for high efficiency to compete internationally is a must in this segment.

When it comes to technical textiles, very few units currently are present but we are growing in this segment.

This segment is where highly educated people are needed with analytic minds for understanding the machine signals. The person also requires good readability &understanding of the English language as it is the display language on machines software & thereby must make plans of machine cycles accordingly. Usually, entrepreneurs send key people abroad before bringing machines also few people have learned about the new machines while working on them and adapted efficiently to the changing times.

Conclusion There is a wide gap as far as training needs are concerned. We need to have classroom training & shop floor training. There is already a global market evolved containing the methodologies that are developed for the best practices.

Also, many renowned agencies are equipped in bridging this gap of trained skilled workforce. It is time to adopt the tools available to upgrade the training systems. A continuous training must be incorporated in day to day practices. We need to bring these training models to academic practices so that they learn new technologies and processes evolving. A syllabus reconfiguration is needed every 2 years or at least live projects are to be part of the curriculum for developing the youth of textiles. These are the small yet significant steps that will help us regain a position of being the strong competitor from the current image of distant number 2 players.

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Is REMOTE WORK HERE TO STAY IN ASIA-PACIFIC?

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OVID-19 saw our lives change nearly overnight. As Asia-Pacific responded to the crisis, organisations quickly adapted to support a remote workforce. Digital transformations that would normally take months, if not years, were managed in days and weeks.

Now as we start to adjust to our new normal, a big question lingers - is remote work here to stay?

While remote work isn’t new, COVID-19 made it a sudden priority.

Across the region, many organisations are still navigating the new demands and constraints on their work.

However, there are early signs in the region that working from home could become a permanent trend.

Australian tech giant Atlassian has announced a permanent shift away from the office and has plans to recruit talent regardless of where

they are. India’s leading IT players Tech Mahindra and Tata Consultancy have both revealed long term remote working plans.

Looking at job postings on LinkedIn across key APAC markets, we can see an uptick in remote job postings and applications.

More job seekers are interested in remote work.

Globally, the volume of job searches using the “remote” filter on LinkedIn has increased ~60% since the start of March. In Asia-Pacific, applications for remote jobs are growing too, showing an increasing demand for remote work among job seekers.

Strong growth can be observed in remote job applications across key markets, such as China, India, New Zealand, Australia, and Singapore.

India leads the pack in terms of remote job application growth, as it grew by a multiple of 4.65 between

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March and May. Malaysia recorded the slowest growth, with an increase of just 1.5 times.

The difference in uptake of remote work between countries can be attributed to a wide range of factors, from infrastructure capabilities and sector compositions - to cultural factors like presenteeism.

What does this mean for recruiters and talent leaders?

The shift towards remote work presents new opportunities for talent professionals as they help their organisations navigate the new world of work.

For roles that are well-suited for remote work, recruiters can consider expanding their search, using the “remote” filter on LinkedIn or including it in the job description, to tap in to a wider talent pool Reference linkedin.com/business

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PROCESSING OF ALGIKNIT FIBRES IN TEXTILE INDUSTRIES N.N. MAHAPATRA BUSINESS HEAD (DYES) SHREE PUSHKAR CHEMICALS & FERTILISERS LTD

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graphic’s Chasing Genius award in the Sustainable Planet category, receiving the $25,000 prize along with three other ventures.

of biomass. It grows on non-productive and non-arable land, so it doesn’t compete with other crops for land. Because it doesn’t require fresh water, it can be fertilized more efficiently than land crops, and you can avoid the intensive water usage, wasteful fertilizer runoff, and downstream eutrophication associated with modern agriculture.

limate change affects everyone – and the textile industry is not immune. Biomaterials research group AlgiKnit, is doing its The goal of AlgiKnit is to eventually bit for the environment by aiming replace petroleum-based materito create a biomaterial alternative als and become a go-to zero waste that serves as a replacement for fabric suitable for clothing and footeveryday, man-made textiles such wear.AlgiKnit Inc. is a biomaterials company integrating science and as polyester. Their goal is In view of resources to keep fashion products dwindling fast and natufrom filling landfills and ral fibres like cotton becausing microplastic pollu- The fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters ing resource-intensive tion. Their goal is to create on the planet. It is also a $1.2 trillion global industry, to process and petroa sustainable BioYarn that leum-based fibres like with more than $250 billion spent annually on can quickly biodegrade affashion in the United States alone, according to in- acrylic, polyester, nylon ter its use-life is over and and spandex not being dustry analysts. can be recycled through the most environmenthe earth’s biological systally friendly, it is about tems. Chiefly, they are ustime to look for sustaining alginate, a biopolymer able alternatives when derived from kelp, to do producing fibres and this. The seaweed is “rapfabrics.

In this series, FashionUnitidly replenishable and one of the design into textile production. Ad- ed explores the sustainable alterfastest growing organisms in the dressing the ecological damage natives and textile innovations that world”. The company is currently caused by the fashion industry, Al- are currently being pursued all over analysing its properties to see if the giKnit is creating durable yet rapidly the world. fibre is strong and flexible enough degradable yarns. to be knitted on an industrial power New York-based AlgiKnit is a biomachine.

They aim to operate in a closed materials research company that loop product lifecycle, utilizing has developed a compostable yarn The fashion industry is one of the materials with a significantly low- from readily abundant biopolymers biggest polluters on the planet. It is er environmental footprint than that can be formed into wearable also a $1.2 trillion global industry, conventional textiles, to bring textiles. In other words, AlgiKnit with more than $250 billion spent sustainable bio-based textile al- makes a bio yarn from kelp, seaannually on fashion in the United ternatives to the footwear and weed or algae via the readily abunStates alone, according to industry apparel industries. dant biopolymer ‘alginate’.Bio yarn analysts.AlgiKnit’s investors include is renewable, closed-loop and good RebelBio and SOSV, although the What’s so great about algae? It for the environment total investment amount is undis- grows 10 times more rapidly than closed. In 2017, AlgiKnit beat 2,800 terrestrial plants, and less than AlgiKnit develops biomaterials submissions to win National Geo- a tenth of the land is needed to from the most renewable and fastproduce an equivalent amount | OCTOBER 2020

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ed growing organisms on earth - kelp, laminaria digitata to be precise, a large brown alga also known as oarweed. It grows up to 10 times faster than bamboo and is grown in aquatic farms around the world in coastal communities, often by fishermen and women, thus providing income for them during off-season.

Kelp in coastal waters also absorbs nutrients from agricultural and sewer run-off that can alter coastal environments. This recaptures nutrients for the next generation of biomaterials and thus improves the environment. Kelp is thus an ideal material for the future of sustainable manufacturing.

From kelp, AlgiKnit extracts alginate and combines it with other renewable biopolymers to produce yarn, which is strong enough and stretchable enough to be knitted by hand or by machine to be used in textile manufacturing. The final product can be dyed with natural pigments.

“They use an extrusion process to turn the biopolymer mixture into a filament. They extrude the mixture into a salt bath that cures the bio yarn”, explains AlgiKnit. But that is not all, to minimise waste, all products are knit to shape. This technique allows AlgiKnit to produce products with little to no waste.

And when the textile’s life cycle comes to an end? No problem - it can be reused. “When it’s worn out or you don’t want it, it can be broken down by microorganism and the nutrients reclaimed to feed the next generation of product,” says AlgiKnit co-founder Aleksandra Gosiewski when speaking to Creative Bloq. “I envision a future where the materials we use can be transformed to feed the next generation of products.”

2018 has already been an exciting year for AlgiKnit: The early stage biomaterials startup is participating in the 2018 RebelBio Accelerator

program in London. Their participation is part of a 100,000 US dollar investment deal through RebelBio and their parent company SOSV. The company has also been chosen as one of the 15 start-ups that will take part in Fashion for Good’s Plug and Play accelerator initiative.

AlgiKnit was founded by Tessa Callaghan, Aaron Nesser, Aleksandra Gosiewski, Theanne Schiros and Asta Skocir and grew out of BioEsters, the winning team from the 2016 BioDesign Challenge. AlgiKnit is continuing to pursue a material-driven design approach to biopolymer-based materials with generous support from the Fashion Institute of Technology. It is also supported by the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC), National Geographic and start-up accelerator RebelBio. Kelp is one of the fastest growing organisms on earth and is readily available worldwide. By creating knit yarn from kelp (Laminaria Digitata) Algiknit aims to build a sustainable biodegradable fiber alternative to today’s domineering petrochemical textiles.

AlgiKnit grew out of BioEsters; the first national winning team of the 2016 Biodesign Challenge. The Algiknit team, is a collaboration between scientists and designers, with a nature-inspired approach to the exploration of divergent ways to design a new set of materials that operate within a sustainable framework, respecting planetary boundaries limits and a social justice foundation.

AlgiKnit is the brand name. The name was inspired by the first BioYarn they created using bioplymers derived from kelp, the yarn which we then knit into a textile.

As designers they wanted to put this fiber into the realm of their expertise, textiles. Textiles are comprised of two major material structures: wovens and knits. They chose knit-

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wear because this was their area of expertise and also an area that has not been widely explored in BioMaterials world. Knits are comprised of a series of interlocking loops, and because of this, knitting lends itself to a great deal of stretch, flexibility and strength not found wovens; properties they felt would benefit their biomaterial.

As consumers living in a wasteful, “throw-away” society, they purchase far more clothing than they need. As a result, they are not wearing their clothing until it degrades; most clothing is discarded because it is no longer useful. RealReal’s founder and CEO Julie Wainwright states that, “more than 80 billion pieces of clothing are produced worldwide every year, with 75% percent ending up in landfills.” In a world where consumption continues to increase, and with retailers feeding into this fast fashion model, they wanted to create textiles that are non-toxic, non-hazardous, and are a compostable alternative to petrochemical textiles.

By using rapidly replenishing organisms like alginate, and traditional processing and manufacturing methods, they aim to develop products which biodegrade at the end of their useful life to provide nutrients for the next generation of materials.

The American start-up AlgiKnit makes fibers from kelp that can be spun into yarn. AlgiKnit offers a solution that could transform the highly polluting textile industry into a circular economy by using biomaterials. After having been used, this seaweed textile can serve as compost or animal feed. It also reduces the carbon footprint of the clothing industry, because no harmful fiber particles are lost during washing, such as is the case with polyester.

The company is working on a prototype of a T-shirt and sneakers will be next.

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Don’t Get Bamboozled by Bamboo….

There are more Sustainable Alternatives Manoj John CEO & FOUNDER OF WEARACTIV

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amboo fabric has been paraded as one of the Sustainable alternatives to ‘resource guzzling’ cotton or polyester - a ‘polluting’ petrochemical derivative. With fame came detractors, and soon we were made to realize that Bamboo fibre production process was indeed ‘unsustainable’.

alkalization is not considered sustainable or environment friendly because it poses severe health risks and pollutes the surrounding environment. This process is similar to the production of Rayon from wood chips and plant-based materials, and should be ideally called bamboo-rayon with no residual natural properties of bamboo.

ly such disclosures are not available for bamboo fabric used in garments.

For the community of health-conscious consumers of Activewear, it has been a genuine desire to opt for clothing that is also ‘healthy’ for the environment. Many leading sports brands have championed the cause of recycled polyester and nylon by salvaging PET bottles, ocean plastic or fishing nets. Their branding efforts have created credible awareGrowing of bamboo grass was pro-nature with incredible set of The ideal ‘sustainable bamboo fi- ness among consumers, significant benefits like lower requirement of bre’ can be achieved only through a enough to command a 30 to 50 percent price premium for water, fertilizer, or pestitheir recycled products. cides, and sequesters a Its important to underlarge amount of carbon distand the spectrum of oxide, absorbing five times products along the susmore carbon dioxide and releasing 35% more oxy- In most of the factories, the revival of solvent is 50%. tainability scale to take an informed decision gen than similar plants. It’s This means the other 50% is discarded into the about choosing the right also naturally regenerating, environment. pair of Activewear. so harvesting bamboo still allows the plant to survive.

However, the truth is that the process of converting this fibre present in bamboo stalks to fabric is ‘chemically mechanical extraction process that toxic’ for our environment. The pro- involves combing out the fibres and cess involves dissolving the har- spinning these into threads, which vested bamboo stalks using strong is then called bamboo linen. This is chemical solvents like sodium hy- labour-intensive and offers low prodroxide and carbon disulfide. This duction output. Given these ineffiprocess is also known as hydrolysis ciencies, the cheaper alternative is alkalization which is combined with the chemical-intensive alternative. multi-phase bleaching.

Another sustainable alternative of In most of the factories, the reviv- bamboo fibre production would It has become increasingly importal of solvent is 50%. This means be if ‘lycocell-process’ is adopted ant to incorporate circularity in ‘prothe other 50% is discarded into for bamboo. It’s made in a closed- duction & consumption’ process. the environment. The production loop cycle, so its chemicals and wa- For the textile industry, these are processes for bamboo and other ter are recycled and never released understood as recycling of post-inregenerated fibres using hydrolysis into the environment. Unfortunate- dustrial waste and post-consumer | OCTOBER 2020

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waste. Few notable examples are ones like joint efforts by Invista and Nylstar to produce recycled nylon yarn from the post-industrial waste.

Invista sources post-industrial nylon 6.6 material from its plant in Kingston, Canada, where fibres for airbags and carpets are produced.

Through its proprietary process, Invista then converts post-industrial fibre waste to pellet form and supplies it to Nylstar for spinning, enabling some of the world’s top fashion houses to deliver sustainable garments to the market.

Lenzing has approached the post-consumer circularity concept through its proprietary REFIBRA™ technology; which involves upcycling a substantial proportion of cotton scraps e.g. from garment production, in addition to wood pulp, where the raw material is transformed to produce new virgin TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers to make fabrics and garments.

For Activewear, in addition to Tencel and Micromodal, few preferred sustainable fibres are reprocessed cotton like Cupro and Hemp. Cupro is a regenerated cellulose fibre derived from cotton linter. Cotton linter is the short downy fibre that enfolds the cotton seeds. The production process does not release anything into the environment using only clean water systems. Cupro is smooth, hypoallergenic, anti-static fabric with great resilience, especially in higher temperatures.

The breathable fibre with micropores that quickly absorb moisture and release it to the outside making it a fantastic fabric to regulate body temperature by effectively reducing clinging and transporting moisture away from the skin, making it a perfect fabric for activewear with amazing technical properties.

Growing hemp is more sustain-

able than cotton and bamboo as it grows more densely, needing no pesticides or herbicides and returns almost 70% of the nutrients it takes back to the soil. The manufacturing process of hemp textile can be done organically through a mechanical process that requires no chemicals similar to the linen manufacturing.

Hemp is naturally UV-protective and holds its shape because it stretches less than other natural fibres. It finds application in near-to-skin activewear which helps in sweat management, temperature regulation

and also outerwear which requires higher rip-strength and UV protection at same time being soft & comfortable.

The emergence of Athleisure category has merged Activewear into the world of ‘fast-fashion’ due to broadened use of activewear garments and constantly changing trends, creating a huge environ-

mental burden. Many brands have embraced responsible manufacturing by including ‘sustainable collections’ alongside their regular range of activewear. From a customer’s point of view, it is still difficult to identify an ethical brand, as many companies use sustainability as their advertising slogan or greenwashing. It’s a journey of realisation and taking corrective steps, the bigger responsibility lies with leading brands who have power to influence the entire value chain and communicate effectively to consumers.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY APARNA SARDAR INTERN AT TEXTILE VALUE CHAIN

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Keywords: Circular Economy; Sustainability; Sustainable Development; Closed loop; Literature Review; Circular Business Model.

generational equity, and widening inequalities. Economic challenges, such as supply risk, problematic bstract ownership structures, deregulatIn a Linear Process of Manufactured markets, and flawed incentive ing Raw Material Today’s World, structures lead to increasingly freRaw materials are taken from the Introduction quent financial and economic inenvironment , turned into raw prodstabilities for individual companies ucts and disposed after use. But the Natural resources are beingex- and entire economies. To address process will eventually result in run- ploited extensively intoday’s these and other sustainability isning out of limited raw resources world.After remaining so many- sues, the concept of the Circular and accumulation of waste which years under the earth,Fossils Economy – while not entirely new – will again lead to Pollution and Ad- are developed. But accordingto has recently gained importance on reports,the rate in which we are ditional cost of Disposal. using up the fuels , we have fuel the agendas of policymakers.

But Circular Economy products are left for hardly 40 years . After this Environmental problems, such as designed in such a way, that they time period no fuel will be left any- biodiversity loss, water, air, and soil are enough durable, reusable and more. pollution, resource depletion, and recyclable to withstand longer peexcessive land use are increasingly riod of time compared to now. The Hence Several Big Companies- jeopardising the earth’s life-supproduct lifecycle has to be longer nowadays are shifting to circular port systems. Societal expectations so that there is less disposal maxi- economy from Linear economy. are not met due to issues such as econmising output and minimizing in- Thoughthisideaofcircular omy is similar to the process of high unemployment, poor workput. India by focusing on circular ing conditions, social vulnerability, economy can build more resource Recycling but not thesame. In- the poverty trap, inter- and intraefficient system and grow with new Recycling,there is a need for ex- generational equity, and widening heights. While the terms Circular pensiveinstrument,and in India inequalities. Economic challenges, Economy and sustainability are in- wehaveveryless such Instrument, such as supply risk, problematic creasingly gaining traction with aca- though several organisations are ownership structures, deregulated demia, industry, and policymakers, taking initiative to increase such markets, and flawed incentive structhe similarities and differtures lead to increasingly ences between both confrequent financial and cepts remain ambiguous. economic instabilities The relationship between for individual companies the concepts is not made Environmental problems, such as biodiversity loss, and entire economies. To explicit in literature, which address these and other is blurring their conceptu- water, air, and soil pollution, resource depletion, sustainability issues, the al contours and constrains and excessive land use are increasingly jeopardising concept of the Circular the earth’s life-support systems the efficacy of using the Economy – while not enapproaches in research tirely new – has recently and practice. This regained importance on search addresses this gap the agendas of policyand aims to provide conmakers. The Circular ceptual clarity by distinguishing the Economy has also become an imterms and synthesising the differ- instrument Installation. But in Cir- portant field of academic research ent types of relationships between cular Economy, the products are with a steep increase in the number them. We conducted an extensive designed for durability,Reusean- of articles and journals covering this literature review, employing bib- dRecyclabilityforlongerlifetime- topic during the last decade. Comliometric analysis and snowballing span. panies are also increasingly aware techniques to investigate the state Environmental problems, such as of the opportunities promised by of the art in the field and synthesise biodiversity loss, water, air, and soil the Circular Economy and have the similarities, differences and re- pollution, resource depletion, and started to realise its value potential lationships between both terms. excessive land use are increasingly for themselves and their stakeholdWe identified eight different rela- jeopardising the earth’s life-sup- ers tionship types in the literature and port systems. Societal expectations illustrated the most evident similar- are not met due to issues such as Background ities and differences between both high unemployment, poor work- Thissectionprovidesashortintroconcepts. ing conditions, social vulnerability, ductiontothetwomainconceptsadthe poverty trap, inter- and intra- dressedinthis research, sustainability and the Circular Economy. | OCTOBER 2020

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Starting with the former and concluding with the latter, this paper briefly introduces the historical origins of the concepts, compares and synthesises the selected definitions, and discusses the notions’relevance Sustainability The term sustainability itself originates in the French verb soutenir, “to hold up or support. and its modern conception has its origins in forestry. It is based on the silvicultural principle that the amount of wood harvested should not exceed the volume that grows again. This conceptualisation was written down already in the early 18th century in “Sylvicultura oeconomica”. seem to be even older sources that follow the underlying principles in face of shortages in woods upply and the husbandry of cooperative system.

The concept’s uptake can be traced back to the increasing evidence on globalscale environmental risks, such as ozone depletion, climate change, biodiversity loss or the alteration of the nitrogen cycle. These risks have been systematically investigated since the 1960s, raising questions about whether present prosperity trends can be maintained in the future and, consequently, revealing many sources of tensions. This includes, for example, the limited store of resources, its uneven geographical distribution and appropriation and the implications of the assimilative capacities of ecosystems over economic growth Sustainability has been institutionalised into the agendas of policymakers and strategies of large organisations, becoming cumulatively more embedded into the rules that structuresocialinterventionsandshapebehaviour.

Whileincorporatingabroadrangeof contradictions and being ambiguously instrumentalised by diverse interest groups, the concept proves to be a “political concept as persistent as are democ-

racy, justice and liberty” Circular-economy The concept of the Circular Economy has been gaining momentum since the late 1970s .

The earth can be described as a closed and circular system with limited assimilative capacity, and inferred from this that the economy and the environment should coexist in equilibrium. Stahel and Reday (1976) introduced certain features of the Circular Economy, with a focus on industrial economics. They conceptualised a loop economy to describe industrial strategies for waste prevention, regional job creation, resource efficiency, and dematerialisation of the industrial economy. Stahel (1982) also emphasised selling utilisation instead of ownership of goods as the most relevant sustainable business model for a loop economy, allowing industries to profit without externalising costs and risks associated with waste.

The contemporary understanding of the Circular Economy and its practical applications to economic systems and industrial processes has evolved to incorporate different features and contributions from avariety of concepts that share the idea of closed loops.

Hence Circular Economy can be defined as ‘the Circular Economy as a regenerative system in which resource input and waste, emission, and energy leakage are minimised by slowing, closing, and narrowing material and energy loops. This can be achieved through long-lasting design, maintenance, repair, reuse, remanufacturing, refurbishing, and recycling.’

Methodology The previous sections summarised the history, definition, and relevance of sustainability andtheCircularEconomy.

Both concepts are essentially global in their nature,sharinconcerns with the current state of tech-

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nology, industrial production, and consumption, stressing the importance of better integrating environmental and social aspects with economic progress, and set system-level changes at their very core. Although both concepts are being adopted by a growing number of academics and practitioners, the relationship between both notions has not been studied extensively, and the similarities and differences between them remain underexplored. Knowledge about their relationship, similarities, and differences is relevant for conceptual clarity, as well as to reveal the interests and goals behind the use of these terms by policymakers and companies.

Therefore, this research can assist efforts aiming at integrating these concepts to better promote social inclusion, environmental resilience, and economic prosperity.

Similarity and differences Both notions emphasise intraand intergenerational commitments motivated by environmental hazards and signal the importance of increasing agency and public deliberation upon the multiple and coexisting pathways for development. They also share an essentially global perspective, emphasising problems on a planetary scale that lead to shared responsibilities and to the relevance of coordination between multiple agents. Both concepts frequently employ multi- or interdisciplinary approaches to better integrate non-economic aspects into development, which often conclude that system design and innovations are the main drivers for reaching their ambitions.

They also describe not only potential costs and risks, but also the importance of diversification in taking advantage of distinct opportunities for value creation.

Both concepts view cooperation between stakeholders not only as desirable, but as imperative to reach their expectations. To guide and align stakeholder behaviour, both concepts rely heavily on regulation and increasingly on

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No. of reviews and articles per year with topic circular economy

the deliberate design of incentive structures. Private business plays a central role among relevant stakeholders because it commands more capabilities and resources than any other actor.

Since the implementation of more sustainable solutions seems to lag behind expectations and technological capabilities and advances in material and production technology are becoming ever more incremental, authors increasingly see business model innovation as the key pathway to the necessary socio-technical transitions .

Furthermore, there are different goals associated with the Circular Economy and sustainability in the literature. While it seems clear to most authors that the Circular Economy is aiming at a closed loop, eliminating all resource inputs and waste and emission leakages of the system, the goals of sustainability are open-ended and different authors address a considerable multitude of goals, which also shift depending on the considered agents and their interests. This is also reflected in the main motivation underlying each concept. The motives behind sustainability are based on past trajectories, are diffused and diverse, and often embrace reflexivity and adaptivity to different contexts. In

contrast, the Circular Economy is mainly motivated by the observation that resources could be better used and waste and emissions reduced with circular rather than linear make-use-dispose systems.

In fact, sustainability aims at benefiting the environment, the economy, and society at large while the main beneficiaries of the Circular Economy appear to be the economic actors that implement the system. The environment is also seen to benefit through less resource depletion and pollution, and society benefits from the environmental improvements and certain add-ons and assumptions, like more manual labour or fairer taxation. Different underlying motivations also lead to different systems being prioritised in the literature. The Circular Economy clearly seems to prioritise the economic systems with primary benefits for the environment, and only implicit gains for social aspects. Sustainability was originally conceptualised as holistically treating all three dimensions as equal and balanced.

Finally, the perception of responsibilities is also clearly distinct between both concepts. In the sustainability debate, responsibilities are shared, but not clearly

defined, while the literature considers that the responsibility for the transition to a circular system lies primarily with private business, regulators, and policymakers. Moreover, the commitments, goals, and interests behind the use of the terms differ greatly.

The focus seems to be on interest alignment between stakeholders for sustainability, whereas the Circular Economy prioritises financial advantages for companies, and less resource consumption and pollution for the environment Conclusion First, based on key literature, we define the Circular Economy as a regenerative system in which resource input and waste, emission, and energy leakage are minimised by slowing, closing, and narrowing material and energy loops. This can be achieved through long-lasting design, maintenance, repair, reuse, remanufacturing, refurbishing, and recycling. Second, we define sustainability as the balanced integration of economic performance, social inclusiveness, and environmental resilience, to the benefit of current and future generations.

We found that the Circular Economy is an emerging topic that has attracted increasing research in| OCTOBER 2020

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terest. While the roots of the topic are European, much of this recent surge started with Chinese authors after the implementation of regulatory controls in this country. Chinese and European scholars have in particular have taken up this topic and there is an exponential growth in publications.

This could reflect the increased interest from companies and policymakers in these regions India is moving towards circular economy,we only need to speed up the

process for sustainable growth.

In India, huge wastes in the form of Solid waste Hazardous waste, Biomedical Waste, Textile Waste, Electronic Waste etc is being dumped in the country. Hence we have a huge potential to reuse and recycle products. This need good policy framework which will expedite the whole process of circular economy. Circular economy is going to be beneficial for all – consumers,manufacturers,entrepreneurs, climate and overall en-

vironment.

Reference 1.https://kenniskaarten.hetgroenebrein.nl/en/knowledge-map-circular-economy/what-is-the-definition-a-circular-economy/ 2.https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy/ concept 3.https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/economy/20151201STO05603/circular-economy-definition-importance-and-benefits 4.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311776801_The_Circular_Economy_-_A_new_sustainability_paradigm 5.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329293962_Worldwide_Research_on_Circular_Economy_and_Environment_A_Bibliometric_Analysis

Sustainable Denim Processing in different stages Shrutirupa pati INTERN AT TEXTILE VALUE CHAIN

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mental impact of denim dry and wet washing techniques, and the importance of sustainable washing techniques. The paper includes latest denim finishing technologies, comparing their impacts on the environment with those of the classic techniques.

Though initially the fabric was developed for use in sailcloth, but at present denim has a wide range of bstract use and is mainly used for producThe denim sector is booming ing garments, particular trousers worldwide, and it has brought a for young people. Since denim is an huge trend of fast-changing fashion. apparel preferred by all age groups Denim washing and finishing has and due to this popularity, a lot of emerged as one of the important development work related to washproduction ways toward meeting Keywords: Denim, Environmental ing, finishing, dyeing has been done the fast-changing demands of the impact, Ozone fading, Sustainabili- in the last few decades. Today’s fashion industry and market. There ty, Textiles, Washing consumers enjoy more casual, reare huge ecological concerns relat- Introduction laxed, sophisticated lifestyles and ed to this sector as it is enormous. are interested in clothing that not Approximately 1500 gallons of wa- Denim is the oldest, widely used, only looks good but also feels great ter is needed to make one pair of fashionable, and most versatile fab- and comfortable. Due to these injeans out of 1.5 pounds of novations, many vacotton. If this wastage conrieties of denim are tinues, soon it will become a available to the cusserious problem to drinking tomer in today’s times. water supplies, which will The major pollution problems generated by denim The expectations from lead to scarcity. It is there- wet processing are usually due to water pollution. fabrics have changed fore important to study and There are also minor problems related to air pollu- with developments in analyse the environmental textile technology and tion, which is due to chemicals, lint, etc. impacts of denim and find innovations and the alternative sustainable proconsumers’ living stancesses. This paper describes dards. Denim is strong the different types of denim and versatile and gets washing and finishing techsofter and more comniques. It also covers the environ- ric among other fabrics in the world. fortable when used more often by |OCTOBER 2020

RY Y S U SCTOAVI E NR A BSITLO IT the wearer.

Denim washing and finishing

1.1. Denim and sustainability

Traditionally, denim has been made only from cotton fibre, but now with technical improvements, many new fibers have been produced to replace cotton with many special features. These advances are encouraging the production of innovative and sustainable denim from different fibers. Then gradually several different washes have been introduced, such as stone wash, acid wash, moon wash, and monkey wash. In a few decades, India has probably seen the most dramatic and evolving changes in the washing of denim garments.

Although, if we see manufacturing jeans in the conventional method, it may not seem to be a big issue in terms of sustainability and eco-friendliness, but if the size of the denim sector and the methods of its production are considered, it will make a big difference in every aspect. So, one can imagine the impact of this huge denim sector on the environment, if all the jeans in the world are produced by using eco-friendly methods and considering sustainability. Fortunately, many denim companies all over the world today are striving hard to embrace greener and sustainable methods for the production.

Brands are trying to develop new ways and techniques of producing jeans, washing, finishing and dyeing as a part of their business strategies to save the environment. They have understood the importance and are aware of the need to build a sustainable business. In addition, the denim companies should be clear of the practices carried out by the denim suppliers. Although, the supply chain is well spread in different countries but, when the company compromise on their ethical and environmental standards, the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reputation can get damaged.

Currently, cotton prices are quite high and there is a rising demand from the customers for jeans and other denim products. In this tricky situation, denim manufacturers also need to stick to the idea of sustainability. Sustainable denim is not a concept that has been introduced only in developed nations, but also in developing countries like India and China. Many Indian designers have also come up with sustainable and eco- friendly denims for their customers.

Denim washing can be achieved in many ways, for example by using pumice stones, hypochlorite, or some enzymes. Enzyme washing is mostly preferred as its very simple and also because it is eco-friendly in nature when compared with hypochlorite and pumice stones. Enzyme washing is a process, in which different enzymes are used to clean fabric, especially in the case of denims and other garments having a worn-in look. For regular cleaning process, enzymes carry numerous economic and environmental benefits. Looking at an industrial aspect, enzyme washing has replaced many laundering techniques such as stone washing, saving companies money and enhancing sustainability too.

Eco-friendly Processes The major pollution problems generated by denim wet processing are usually due to water pollution.

There are also minor problems related to air pollution, which is due to chemicals, lint, etc. The largest impact, with respect to water and air pollution occurs mainly during wet processing of denims. The denim industry consumes a huge amount of water and chemicals, and therefore its generation of wastewater is therefore also very high.

Sizing and Dyeing

Fig. Sustainable Denim Production

The main purpose of sizing of yarn is to increase its strength by chemi-

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cally binding the fibers to together.

The protective size coating also prevents indigo dye in denim from rubbing off during production process.

Normally, 8â&#x20AC;&#x201C;12% size is applied in sizing. According to a report, the sizing process can contribute around 50% of the total pollution content.

Dyeing of denim is associated with many pollutants, such as dyes and chemicals like sodium hydroxide and sodium hydrosulphite. Pollutants are also associated with chemicals used in dyeing, maintenance of equipment, and cleaning. Usually, not all dyes used for denims get fixed on the warp sheets or layer. It is not possible to achieve 100% fixation while dyeing, so the unfixed dyes mix with the water bodies which results in high turbidity and this affects the ecosystem as it is toxic, carcinogenic, or mutagenic.

Turbidity affects light transmission, severely affecting the photosynthetic capability of aquatic plants.

Environmentally Friendly Dyeing of denims Because of the demand and limited production of natural indigo mostly synthetic indigo is used in the dyeing process. Currently, natural i.e. plant-based indigo is used for only 1% of all total indigo applications.

Larger-scale production of plantbased indigo dyes will require large land areas for cultivation which is not viable. Therefore, synthetic indigo is produced from crude oil which is also known as aniline. But it is not possible to apply 100% of the dye to the warp sheets, so some of this synthetic dye is left over and gets discharged in wastewater, adversely affecting the ecosystem. So nowadays many organizations are promoting the use of natural indigo in their brands to help protect the environment at least to some extent.

Indigo is insoluble in water, and it requires a huge quantity of alkali (NaOH) and a reducing agent such as sodium dithionite (Na2S2O4) to increase its water solubility. Utilization of alkali and a reducing agent will increase the BOD, and other pollution parameters. | OCTOBER 2020

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Fig. Indigo Dyeing of denims Many researchers and scientists are working on the electrochemical reduction of indigo dyes. They have studied electrochemical reduction of indigo dyes with the help of ultrasonics, to provide water-soluble indigo dyes in an eco-friendly manner, using an aqueous system during production. The reduction potential can increase with increasing pH, which means that mass transfer is better with increasing pH. The use of ultrasound in the process helps with the reduction of particle size. This is a green and eco-friendly technology, which offers many advantages over the conventional (chemical) reduction technique. Lower cost, greater energy efficiency, and no need for use of Na2S2O4 and NaOH are some of the advantages. This is a very novel route for environmentally friendly and sustainable indigo dyeing.

sis, oxidation, reduction, coagulation, and decomposition simultaneously, although the most common reaction among all is hydrolysis. Enzymes accelerate reactions, they act only on specific substrates, operate under mild conditions, easy to control, and are also biodegradable.

Because of these special characteristics, enzymes are used extensively in denim processing. In the traditional stone washing process, denim color used to get faded by the abrasive action of pumice stones on the fabric to give a worn-out appearance. In bio stoning finishing, cellulase enzyme is used to accelerate the abrasive process and, in this process, the cellulase works by reducing the indigo dye on the denim surface. This enzymatic process offers a lesser pollution load and

Looking at the current demand for bleached denim products, it is especially important to utilize alternative processes that do not affect our environmental systems. Therefore, as alternatives enzymatic bleaching, water jet fading, ozone bleaching and laser engraving are now used as environmentally friendly processes. These alternatives can possibly replace sodium hypochlorite which is commercially used for bleaching but none of them can provide the same effect as this chemical. In the last few decades, many researchers have worked on ozone bleaching, but it has not been commercialized because it requires a huge investment. Recently, use of laccases which belong to the oxidoreductase type of enzyme has been reported for bleaching indigo

Stone Washing Pumice stones are commonly used in stone washing. Pumice is a lightweight, highly porous, rocky substance, which can float on water due to its porosity. It is a product of volcanic eruptions. During stone washing, the fibers on the surface layer of the fabric are broken and hence removed, and the inner white fibers of the warp yarn, commonly known as â&#x20AC;&#x153;ring dyeing,â&#x20AC;? are gradually exposed.

Fig. Schematic of ozone denim bleaching mechanism better ease of treatment in effluent plants.

Eco friendly Enzyme Washing Technique With consideration of environmental factors and efficiency, various eco-friendly enzymes have come into the picture of denim processing. Chemically an enzyme is defined as a protein complex composing near about 200â&#x20AC;&#x201C;250 amino acids. Enzymes can bring hydroly-

fabrics. Generally, these enzymes do not work independently, rather a chemical mediator needs to be employed between the enzyme and the indigo dye. In the presence of an aqueous medium, this laccase enzyme gets oxidized and attacks the mediator and converts it into free radicals. The free radicals attack the indigo and later convert it into oxidized products.

Conclusion and Future Scope

Fig. Denim bio washing mechanism Eco Friendly Bleaching Process

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In the denim processing line, there are many related processes that create environmental hazards. Researchers and scientists from the field of chemicals are trying to find alternatives for this issue. Though

RY Y S U SCTOAVI E NR A BSITLO IT some alternatives are already available, their use will not be economically feasible unless the consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable denim products. New sustainable products are always costly as they require a huge investment in research and development that are required for the invention of any alternative process. If consumers i.e. the target market are willing to pay more for sustainable denims, then this will reduce the processing costs because when the market potential is increased, the product price will gradually decrease.

In the denim processing industry, the process of Eco-friendly fabrics or products cannot be attained immediately. Every stage of this supply chain must be implemented and analysed. It also requires participation and co-operation of all the stakeholders along with the consumers. The customers must involve and cooperate in the process of Eco-friendly denim for any crucial

change to begin. More investment is required to clean the polluted water and other resources. The efficiency of sulphur dyes is around 50% left in the trough which contaminates the water sources and is most difficult to remove from water. It is one of the most severe problems in the denim industry. From the point of sustainability, the trend of less water-based technologies, such as a laser, plasma, ozone and sandblasting have also been explored for denim washing and have produced excellent fabric handle. With proper level maintenance in fastening and accurate production of the fabric by controlling the laser process parameters has been found as a useful tool for the color fading of denim fabric by the laser treatment.

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ed, Duxford, United Kingdom, pp 257–282, 2. Achwal WB (1990) Environmental aspects of textile chemical processing: part-I. Colourage 37:40–44 3. Periyasamy AP, Chilukoti GR, Thavasiappan K (2012) Dry finishing: enhancing value of denim. Indian Text J 122(5):40–44, http://www.indiantextilejournal.com/articles/FAdetails.

4. McLoughlin J, Hayes S, Paul R (2015) Cotton fibre for denim manufacture. In: Paul R (ed) Denim and jeans. Woodhead Publishing, UK 5. Patra AK, Pattanayak AK (2015) Novel varieties of denim fabrics. In: Paul R (ed) Denim. Woodhead Publishing Limited, Cambridge 6. Khan S, Malik A (2014) Environmental and health effects of textile industry wastewater. In: Malik A, Grohmann E, Akhtar R (eds) Environmental deterioration and human health: natural and anthropogenic determinants. Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht 7. Dekanic T, Soljacic I, Pusic T (2007) Influence of special finishes on denim properties. Tekstil 57: 226.

8.Ayaz SM (2010) Pakistan textile journal, Enzymes: a revaluation in textile processing 59: 48.

References 1. Periyasamy AP, Jiri M (2017) Denim and consumers’ phase of life cycle.

9.Schemidt M (1995) Melliand International 1: 116.

In: Muthu SS (ed) Sustainability in denim. Woodhead Publishing Limit-

Bio fabricated built in Sustainability Introducing Algae foam in Shoes Dixha Rani INTERN AT TEXTILE VALUE CHAIN

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bstract Ecologically, algae are very important since they form the largest portion of primary aquatic producers. At present, algal biomass has attracted a great deal of interest in biofabrication, food processing, bioactive compounds and bioenergy. The natural water medium was used in this research to cultivate the algal biomass of the mixed culture

in the photo-bioreactors with different detention periods. On the heels of independent sustainability study, the mission- driven to make unisex shoe, which highlighted eco materials as a key factor in customer buying decisions with the help of algae foam based. The project aims to achieve a functional reactor design and to improve the productivity of the developed algae foam material.

This performance-based foam has been developed by BLOOM Foam.

To make shoes, surfboards and

more, the sustainably sourced foam made of algae biomass is used Algae should be used to help reduce the harmful levels of phosphorus and ammonia that cause ecologically harmful algae blooms and water quality problems in industrial and agricultural waste water. After years of study, it was discovered that the protein-rich algae biomass underwent a plasticization process when put under substantial heat, strain, and time. | OCTOBER 2020

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Keywords: Microalgae, Biomass, largest harvester of algae based in Despite being based on algae, the Natural water medium, Detention Meridian, MS. Rob Falken, Effekt's bio-foam is not biodegradable â&#x20AC;&#x201C; managing director and founder of though Bloom says it may be in time, Bio fabrication.

BLOOM, developed the algae-based the future. For now, though, they Introduction foam as a solution to both our reli- combine the algae with a substance Algae are one of the few organisms ance on petrochemical ingredients called ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) which, due to global warming, actu- and to turn the algal bloom that in- that improves the output qualities, ally survive, creating a problem of fests the world's waterways into a but is not biodegradable. The biotheir own. Algae grow rapidly, but helpful sustainable foam Vivo and foam comprises 15 to 60 per cent of only live for a brief period of time BLOOM are like-minded companies the mass of the algae. Bloom claims until they begin to die, a process in many ways. Both are young com- that foams with nearly 100 per cent that absorbs oxygen from the water. panies powered by creativity, with algae content can also be made.

Algae can suffocate marine life in the sincere aim of changing the large amounts, referred to as algal status quo of our respective indus- Result bloom. A US-based business named tries by environmental responsibil- In the cold, the material offers greater durability and is highly resilBloom has found a way to extract ity. ient to abrasions and general wear. and transform the algal bloom into bio-foam. Bloom, of which Algix is One pair of VIVOBAREFOOT x Bloom Susterra Propanediol uses 42 per the parent company that manu- algae shoes supplies the world with cent less electricity and 56 per cent factures bioplastics, does not farm 57 gallons of clean water. Sustain- less greenhouse gas emissions than their own algae because they want ability equals shoe-making bare- the conventional petroleum-based to provide a solution to the issue foot. Shoes made from repurposed products used by the global footof algae that is rapidly growing. algae (Ultra Bloom) and another wear industry. The mission of VivoFurthermore, they fear that geneti- Eco range of 17 recycled bottles per barefoot is to build the most sustainable shoes on the cally modified algae strains planet, and the founders could leak into the enviare firm believers that ronment and cause even sustainability equates to more harm. They therefore derive their algae in waters Algae should be used to help reduce the harmful lev- barefoot shoe- making. that are at risk of heavy al- els of phosphorus and ammonia that cause ecologi- Conclusion gal blooms, such as lakes, cally harmful algae blooms and water quality probEcologically speaking, rivers, and ponds. In Mislems in industrial and agricultural waste water. these foams are not sissippi, Alabama, and the ideal alternative, throughout China, they are however. Nevertheless, currently harvesting. it continuously works Nevertheless, the foam has towards the aim. If demany benefits over other forms of pair made from 50 percent recy- mand increases and corporations foam. They keep the ecosystem of cled plastic have already been pio- start to understand that environthe rivers in check by algae harvest- neered. Last year, in our shoes, the mental stewardship and the acing, use less non-renewable oil, and brand diverted over 2 m of plastic complishment of business objecuse GMO- and pesticide-free feed- bottles from landfills this way. tives are not mutually exclusive, stock. Furthermore, the foam has we will be able to do more to exantimicrobial properties that are Methodology tend our environmental benefits. derived exclusively from algae. This With algae blooming, a mobile har- It is working towards the developantimicrobial factor is 99.99% effec- vester machine pumps up the pond ment of high-algae foams that are tive against the production of odor- water. The water is combined with 100 % biodegradable. Laboratories causing bacteria. All the foams are a coagulant that is water-safe, al- have achieved this goal as a proof hypoallergenic as well. Bloom pro- lowing the algae to clump together. of principle, but the cost of develvides eight stock colours, and for Through air bubbles, these flocks oping this technology is currently negotiated minimum order quan- are forced to the surface, then too costly to promote mass market tities, they manufacture custom skimmed off into a storage tank. adoption. This report also seeks to colours. Since algae have a natural The water is filtered and put back in save the world, pragmatic about greenish colour, at the moment the pond after that. In a solar drying the problems facing corporations they do not give white. technique, the algae mass is dewa- when it comes to embracing digital tered and dried. It is converted into technologies and what it takes to Background versatile foam when the mass is dry.

Effekt is an environmental materi- While Bloom is a bit unclear about hit the demand for new products. It als development company based in how, they say that their method is believes that reached a balance for what is needed to conduct business San Diego, and ALGIX is the world's safe for fish and other aquatic life. today in a responsible manner. |OCTOBER 2020

SUS CTOAVIENRA B S ITLOI T RY There is currently a tug between the development of sustainable materials with a higher price point or poorer quality and high-performance materials with negative impacts on the environment. Sincerely hope it is motivated by environmental consciousness and a desire to empower and enrich our global society, whatever the future of wearable technology looks like.

35

4.Ramaraj R., Tsai D.D.W. and Chen P.H., Freshwater microalgae niche

References

ofair carbon dioxide mitigation, Ecol. Eng., 2014; 68: 47-52.

1.Vilchez C., Garbayo I., Lobato M.V.and Vega J.M., Microalgae-Mediated chemicals production and wastes removal, Enzyme Microb. Technol.,1997; 20: 562-572.

2.Drapcho C.M. and Brune D.E., The partitioned aquaculture system: Impact of design and environmental parameters on algal productivity and photosynthetic oxygen production, Aquacult Eng, 2000; 21: 151-168.

3.Di Iaconi C., Ramadori R., Lopez A. and Passino R., Preliminary bio-

5.Microalvve production in liquid foam-bed photobioreactors, Wageningen University and Research (2017) 6.BLOOM BRAND - The Bloom Story (2019) 7.Andrea Miller, ASI - Using Algae to Create Sustainable Footwear (2018) 8.Algenesis, Bio-Foam has Proven to Biodegrade in the Natural Environment, (19. Aug 2020)

mass-characterization in a sequencing batch biofilm reactor, Ann Chim., 2004; 94:889-898.

Microbiologically Stable Fibres: An Overview

A

Naveen Kumar Jha

Dr.V.D.Gotmare

A.L.Bhongade

Research Scholar (PG)

Former HOD

Asso.Professor

bstract Microbiologically steady strands are impervious to microbiological specialists, along these lines delaying their existence and benefiting the earth. Conditions were set down by the scientist for getting fibers of such category.

As per the set conditions fibers should be non-cancer-causing, strong, non-allergenic and nontoxic. If the fibers have powerful antibacterial activity, it must release scent in very less amount for developing protected and solid piece of clothing.In another way we can also say that for making healthy, comfortable and safe garment, odour must be reduced by the fibers. To develop antimicrobial property, compounds like bivalent hydroxide and tetravalent metal phosphate, are being incorporated in the fibers. There is a new fiber like Amicor which is based on acrylic fiber, with the same type of behaviour. It should be noted that the antimicrobiological agent has capacity to

provide protection against larger pests like dustmites, bacteria and fungi. Due to abrasion, weathering and so forth, there become loss of surface agent which is further replaced by the incorporated agent which migrates from inside to the outer surface of the fiber. The present paper provides extensive review on developments in the application and characterization of microbiologically stable fibres for various applications in the healthcare and allied area.

Introduction: In current scenario people have been very health centric thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why they choose the products which are good in hygienic and durable. Textile is the product category which you can find everywhere. You can say that human beings start their lives with textile and end up with textile.

So hygienity alongside solidness is significant worry for some material items which individuals utilize the greater part of time.

The textile products which people use for daily purposes are mostly threatened by microbs/fungi and other insects. So technologists

are involved in their research to make textile products for long lasting durability against harmful microbes. A new generation fiber is Amicor, which has antibacterial property and being used for many textile products such as mattresses, bedding, bedsheets , pillow, blanket, quilt, carpets, leggings, socks, denim, towels, baby care products etc.

Researchers have also claimed to develop tetravalent metal phosphate incorporated fiber.

There has been made in use of an organic substrate having very fine particle size for getting effective antimicrobial characteristics without deteriorating original features of fiber.

Many times due to humid and hot environment socks produce bad smell due to action of bacteria and fungi which tends to reduce its strength after prolonged exposure to bacterial environment. Natural fibers like cotton easily affected by bacteria/fungi as compared to synthetic fibers. The acrylic based Amico fiber developed by blending with cotton to increase stability of the Amicor- cotton based products. | OCTOBER 2020

36

S CU OS VT EA RI N SA TO BR I LYI T Y

Mostly synthetic non- to adherence of microbes. humidity of the environment in biodegradable fibers are used Aavailability of nutrients and which fabric is going to be used. for the stability against microbs, substratum for colonization by e) Composition of fabric and fiber but there exist biomimetic bacterial cells are advantages content textiles obtained from different of such site of interaction [19]. methods of functional finishing, Mutual interaction of microbes f) Surface treatment of the fabric. fiber processing and fiber and substrate play an important Biofilms on a substrate formed orientation[1], and biopolymers role in adherence of microbial by adhered microorganisms can obtained from sea weeds like agents. Variation in attributes of not be treated as biofilms so sodium alginate obtained from microbial cell surface, substrate easily as it provides protection algae[2] have characteristics surface and interacting medium against any harsh physical to stabilize in microbial between the two affect the or chemical treatments [13]. interaction of microbes and Microbial adherence mechanism: environments.

Interaction between substrate There are various chemical substrate [19,20]. methods which are being There are some prime features and microbial cells is not an easy employed for making textile fibers of microbial cells regarding process. It involves many kinds of forces and interactions. Some stable in bacterial environments. adherence: These methods are incorporation a) Charge on cell-surface of interactions are of long range and some are of short range. Long of antibacterial agent in the fibers microbiological agent. range interactions are effective and antibacterial finishes on the textile substrate. Antibacterial b) Hydrophobicity of microbial when the distance between microbial cells and substratum agents reduce the colonization cell surfaces. becomes more than150 nm and of bacteria and this helps to c) Receptors of cell. for short range interactions, reduce the effect of bacteria.

Newly developed antimicrobial d) Microbial cellsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ability of distance should becomes less than 3nm [20]. In fibers like Amicor broad way microbial TM, Rhovyl AS has interaction can be significant properties to divided into two phases; be used in commertial Reversible phase involves products.

Functional physicochemical finishes for improving There are various chemical methods which are the antibacterial activities being employed for making textile fibers stable in interaction under forces bacterial environments. like electrostatic forces, are silver nanoparticle hydrophobic forces, finishes, insect proof Vander-wall forces, finishes, plasma Brownian motion, finishes, chitosan gravitational forces while based finishes and anti in irreversible phase, bacterial finishes etc. more specific interaction occurs These chemical processes reduce forming slime or biofilm. the activity of bacteria/fungi and e) Dependency of cell surface in which cell surface of microbes prevents from odors and itching. nature on carbon-to-nitrogen plays a vital role. The extracellular structures and secretions like ratio of growth.

Adherence of microbes: Fimbriae, flagella, slime, EPS, LPS , outer membrane proteins, For research groups including f) Centrifugation parameters. food and medical industries, g) pH, composition and ionic antigens O and H, M protein adherence of bacteria to the strength of suspending media of on cell wall are responsible for holding substratum and in this surface has emerged as a vital cell. interaction, hydrogen bonding, topic. Studies for bacterial important physico- covalent bonding and ionic adherence are done in broad Some are responsible range of subjects such as synthetic chemical characteristics which interaction and natural fibres[3,6-10], surgical affect the adherence of microbes: forces[18,20] . With the help of sutures[11], glass[12],contact a) Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Classical Derjaguin LandauVerwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory lens [4,5] surgical grade metals nature of fabric. or XDLVO theory, interaction of and implants[13], dental bacteria and their adhesion to restorative materials[14], b) Fabric surface charge urinary catherators[15], c) Structure and surface solid surfaces can be explained and it can also be applied in hydrocarbons[16], sand[17] and roughness of fabric bacterial interaction and their stainless steel[18]. Generally solid-liquid interface is prone d) Temperature and relative adhesion models, among which |OCTOBER 2020

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y XDLVO theory also considers Lewis acid-base interaction other than electrostatic interaction and Lifshitz-vander-wall interaction for estimating net interactions of bacterial adhesion to inert solid surfaces[17,21].

There are following steps for bacterial adherence on fabric: 1. At first few microbial cells contact with fabric.

2. Initial bacterial cells forms micro colonies on fabric surface.

3. biofilm is formed by coalescing neighbouring colonies.

4. stains, foul smell and pigmentation on fabric appear.

5. bio degradation of fabric occurs Influence of microbial adherence on textile products: Due to presence of cellulosic constituent in natural fibers, these are affected by various types of bacteria like Cellvibrio, Cellulomonas, Sporocytophaga, Cytophaga, Clostridium Bacillus[22]. Several species belonging to genera Pseudomonas, Actinomycetes and Bacillus are known to be responsible for degradation of wool fiber[22]. Streptomyces, Serratia, Pseudomonas are genera of bacterial species which are responsible for degradation of silk fiber[22].

Followings are the important effects of bacterial adherence on fabric.

1. Bacterial growth on fabric causes discolouring or staining, discolouring of material.

2. After establishment of bacterial population there are chances of altering cloth pH, which can be responsible to change the colours of fabric material or dyes.

3. Bacterial growth can be cause of fibre degradation reducing elasticity and tensile strength of textiles.

4. Bacterial growth on fabric can be cause of formations of substances such as amines and

acids.

5. Bacterial infection and its development in fabric can be responsible for several diseases such as eczema, allergies, etc.

6. Bacterial infested textile materials which are infested by bacteria can cause of spreading pathogens.

Amicor ,a stable fiber against bacteria & fungi: AmicorTM is a specialty antimicrobial fibre available from Thai Acrylic Fibre Limited. It was developed by Acordis (UK) in late 1990s and is protected by two patents. It was manufactured using patented intelligent fibre technology.

AmicorTM is specifically engineered to incorporate additives into the core of fibre. It promises durable & long lasting anti-microbial function upto 100 washes. Figure1 is showing the cross-sectional view of Amicor fiber.

Figure 1. Amicor fiber crosssection reproduced from apparelviewsbd.com Intelligent Fibres for the 21st Century should be anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-dust mites and related allergens, durable, long lasting action, gentle, safe and soft and applicable to all textile applications.They are expected to be dyeable to brightest and most delicate shades using AmicorTM. It is available as a staple fibre or as a continuous tow. It is a blend fibre that needs to be used at between 20% to 30% of the composition of the article. It can be converted into products by all conventional techniques- yarn spinning, nonwoven processes etc. It dyes and finishes like a regular acrylic fibre/yarn and offers exceptional durability – up

37

to 100 washes.

Its Anti-microbial testing is performed by Internationally recognized protocols JISL 1902:2002 against Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae. It can also test AmicorTM for effectiveness against other bacteria/fungii upon request .

Certification criteria: •Seal of Approval’ from the British Allergy Foundation •Oeko Tex Standard 100 Class 1 Certified •REACH SVHC Certified •Fully compliant with BPR legislation The average person spends as much as one-third of their lifetime in bed . It is very important to ensure a safe environment in bedrooms and AmicorTM ensures a fresh and safe bed feeling every time, every single time of its use, It helps to prevent fungal spores from developing which in turn helps to prevent dust mites from colonizing the bedding article. These two factors reduce allergens from building up in the bedding article. It assures complete sleep protection for you & your family[25].

Amicor in Denims: According to the presentation of Aditya Birla Group, when a sample of denim which was composed of 70% cotton and 30% Amicor TM fabric whose warps were 100% cotton and wefts were 100% AmicorTM, was studied for 20, 50 and 100 washes for Staphylococcus Aureus and Klebsiella Pneumoniae and discovered that the reduction of both types bacteria after the 20, 50 and 100 washes were 99.95 and 99.98% respectively. JISL 1902:2008 test method was used to find adherence of bacteria.

Due to excellent antibacterial behaviour of Amicor TM it is also used in athletic shoes, carpets and hotel towel[25].

Advantages of Amicor: – Long | OCTOBER 2020

38

C SO UV SE TR A IS NTAO BR IL YI T Y

durability as active ingredients are embedded inside the fibre (Upto 100 washes) – Uniformity of the application – Compatible with all types of garment finishes except coatings. _ Reduces the chance of Asthama due to the prevention of House Dust Mites.

Antibacterial Activity of Rhovyl AS: For test purpose Polyvinyl chloride Rhovyl AS (Figure2) was chosen as an object as it displays antibacterial activity by the introduction of Triclosan directly into the polymer melt of this fibre [27,28]. Like other Polyvinyl Chloride fibers, Rhovyl AS also does not sustain fire, and gets negatively charged after being rubbed against human skin it is electrified. This negative ionisation, in turn, causes expansion of the blood vessels on the surface of the body, thus improving the circulation of blood and having a positive effect on body temperature [29]. The end-use properties of Rhovyl AS are supplemented by its physical and mechanical characteristics; the breaking strength of the fibre is 13-16 cN/tex. Rhovyl AS is manufactured in a range of linear density from 2.4 to 5.6 dtex and staple length from 26/32 mm to 70/110 mm, which enables the fibre to be processed by various spinning techniques.

Figure 2. Rhovyl Laine chlorofiber blended with wool reproduced from old.swicofil.com The results of the antibacterial activity tests of the blanket fabrics shows that the fabrics

are characterised by high bacteriostatic and bactericidal activity regardless of the percentage and amount of Rhovyl AS in the weft. Antibacterial activity of the grey blanket fabrics with Rhovyl AS in their weft after 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 washings were studied. It was seen that the bacteriostatic activity was slightly lower after 2washings, but the level of activity remained unchanged after further washings.

The bactericidal activity(Figure 3.), however, can be regarded as retaining the same level, since the values 3.1 and 3.4 were within the interval of confidence for values describing the amount of bacteria on the sample. All in all, the above results indicate permanent biological activity of the Rhovyl AS fibres imparted to them by washings, but the level of activity remained unchanged after further washings. All in all, the above results indicate permanent biological activity of the Rhovyl AS fibres imparted to them by Triclosan added to the polymer melt. Micro-biological tests of the bacteriostatic and bactericidal activity of the blanket fabrics made with varied proportions of Rhovyl AS were conducted at the Microbiological Laboratory of the Institute of Chemical Fibres, Łódź.

Anti-bacterial agents: It has been found that some metals have antibacterial activities in their ionized form.

Ag, Cu and Zn ions are utilized as antimicrobial agents. Stability and releasing of ions are the main concerns when it is incorporated in the fibers or applied as coats or finishes. To overcome these difficulties researchers are trying to develop various methods to improve antibacterial activities of the ions. Metal phosphonates are applicable in chemical synthesis as catalysts, in gas separation as solid sorbents, in electrochemical devices as material and in drug delivery as matrices[31].

Titanium having monolayer of phosphonate containing silver had biocompatibility as well

|OCTOBER 2020

as antibacterial properties[32].

From various studies, it can be concluded that silver ion can perform coactively with other antibacterial substances, including Zn2+[33]. Even dead antibiotics can be revived and can protect from MRSA with full capacity when combined with silver[34].

According to tests performed for antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity, AgZn– TCP and AgCu–TCP had better performance when compared with Ag–TCP and b-TCP, and AgZn-TCP showed low cytotoxic behaviour[30].

Natural fibers having stability against bacteria: Hemp: It is one of the most versatile natural fibers(Figure 4.) having antibacterial activity, durability, resiliency and functionality of natural AC. After extraction with ethyl alcohol antibacterial property of hemp fiber decreases[24].

After about four hours inhibition rate of Candida albicans, E-coli, and Staphylococcus aureus reach equilibrium stage[24]. By the help of different experiments like UV and FTIR, it was found that hemp contains chalcone[24].

Saponins, alkaloids, and flavones may antibacterial constituents in hemp fiber[24] . Hemp has also very advantageous properties in perspective of environmental pollution that, it requires very less amount of water and no requirement of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or genetically modified seeds to grow .

Figure 4. Hemp fiber reproduced from indiamart.com Bamboo Fiber: Bamboo(Figure 5.) is known for its

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

eco-friendlyness and multifunctionality. It is said that Bamboo clothing contains antimicrobial properties but the scientific evidence regarding this is very less but it is being sold in the market on the name of this property. Extracts of bamboo plant grown in Australia were analyzed for its antibacterial properties[35]. Two types of samples were prepared; one is prepared with 20% aqueous solution of DMSO and another sample was prepared with 90% aqueous solution of dioxane. The antibacterial properties of both the samples were studied for Escherichia coli and found that second sample gave better result, and antibacterial agent exists in lignin[35] Flax: Flax(Figure 6.) comes in the category of bast fibre. This fiber is known to be favourable for the skin of human beings. By affecting physiological parameters, Linen fabric gives high comfort to end users.

Flax fiber is breathable for human epidermis , less allergic and antibacterial. But it is to be pointed out that there is less number of literatures available in which antibacterial properties are precisely described. Chemical composition of fibers get influenced by extracting method and there exists different level of antibacterial properties of fiber[23]. Clinical strains of Staphylococcus aureus is used to estimate biological properties of flax fibers[23]. Nike, Sara and Modran are the varieties of flax which give very good results against bacteria due to highest constituent of lignin [23].

Conclusion: In future the role of microbiologically stable fibers is going to be very crucial because of changing need of customer with respective to hygiene. Today harmful bacteria and viral attack has created a challenge for researchers to develop protective clothing for the safety of human being. The application smart fibers such as Amicor and Rhovyl AS which release metal ions and reduces the bacterial growth .Emerging methods of surface finishing of textile materials with the use of Silver, Copper and Zinc ion has created a new benchmark . The use of such metal based material is effective against the microbes but creates additional load on the environment and skin irritation problem to the user. It becomes need of hours to develop more sustainable formulations based on the natural resources in order to have better effectiveness both for product and environmental ecology.

References: 1. V. D. Gotmare, Shirish S. Joglekar, Hrishikesh Kirkire, Application of Textile Technology in developing Biomimetic Textiles, Colourage 58(10):37-46 · October 2011.

39

6. Hsieh Y. L. and Merry J., The adherence of Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Escherichia coli on cotton, polyester and their blends, J.Appl. Bacteriol., 60(6), 535-544, (1986).

7. Rochex A., Lecouturier D., Pezron I. and Lebeault J. M., Adhesion of a Pseudomonas putida strain isolated from a papermachine to cellulose fibres, Appl. Microbiol. Biotech., 65(6), 727–733, (2004).

8. Ghione M., Parrello D. and Granucci C., Adherence of bacterial spores to encrusted fabrics, J. Appl. Microbiol., 67(4), 371-376, (1989).

9. Mcqueen R. H., Liang R. M., Brooks H.J.L. and Niven B. E., Odor intensity in apparel fabrics and the link with bacterial populations, Text. Res. J., 77(7), 449-456, (2007).

10. Seventekin N.and Ucarci O., The damage caused by microorganisms to cotton fabrics, J. Text. Ind., 84(3), 304-314, (1992).

11. Ananthakrishnan N., Rao R.S. and Shivam S., Bacterial adherence to cotton and silk sutures, Nat. Med. J. Ind., 5(5), 217-218, (1992). 12.

Jones J.F., Feick J.S., Imoudu D., Chukwumah N., Vigeant M. and Velegol D, Oriented adhesion of Escherichia coli to polystyrene particles, Appl.

Environ. Microbiol., 69(11), 6515-6519, (2003). 13. Harris L.G., Mead L., Muller-Oberlander E. and Richards R.G., Bacteria and cell cytocompatiblity studies on coated medical grade titanium surfaces, J. Biomed. Mater. Res., 78A(1), 50-58, (2006). 14. Montanaro L., Campoccia D., Rizzi S., Donati M. E., Breschi L., Prati C., Renata C. and Arciola C. R., Evaluation of bacterial adhesion of Streptococcus mutans on dental restorative materials, Biomat., 25(18), 4457–4463, (2005). 15. Parka J. H., Cho Y. W., Kwon I. C., Jeong S.Y. as coating materials for urinary catheters in vitro bacterial adhesion and encrustation behaviour, Biomat., 23(19), 3991–4000, (2002). 16. Rosenberg M. and Rosenberg E., Bacterial adherence at the hydrocarbon water interface, Oil Petrochem. Poll., 2(3), 155-162, (1985).

17. Jacobs A., Lafolie F., Herry J. M. and Debroux M., Kinetic adhesion of bacterial cells to sand:cell surface properties and adhesion rate, Coll. Surf. B. Bioint., 59(1), 35-45, (2007). 18. Vananhaecke E., Remon J.

2. R. K. Rakisht, V. D. Gotmare, Vinay G. Nadiger, Biopolymers-A pathway

P., Moors M., Raes F., Derudder D. and Peteghem A.V., Kinetics of Pseu-

to ecotextiles, Colourage 59(5):40-45 · May 2012

domonas aeruginosa adhesion to 304 and 316-L, stainless steel: role of

3. Hsieh Y. L., Timm D. A. and Merry J., Bacterial adherence on fabrics by a radioisotope labelling method, Text. Res. J., 57(1), 20-28, (1987).

cell surface hydrophobicity, Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 56(3), 788-795, (1990). 19. Palmer J., Flint S. and Brooks J., Bacterial cell attachment, the beginning of a biofilms, J. Ind. Microbiol. Biotech., 34(9), 577-588, (2007).

4. Bruinsma G. M., Mei H. C. V. and Busscher H. J., Bacterial adhesion

20. Yuehuei H., Richard A. and Friedman J., Concise review of mecha-

to surface hydrophilic and hydrophobic contact lenses, Biomat., 22(24),

nisms of bacterial adhesion to biomaterial surfaces, J.Biomed. Mat.

3217–3224, (2001).

Res. (Appl. Biomater), 43(3), 338-348, (1998). 21. Patel H. and Pandey S.,

5. Andrews C. S., Denyer S. P., Hall B., Hanlon G. W.and Lloyd A. W., Com-

Physico-chemical characterisation of textile chemical sludge generated

parison of the use of an ATP-based bioluminescent assay and image

from various CETPs in India, 2(3), 329-339, (2008).

analysis for the assessment of bacterial adhesion to standard HEMA

22. Jadwiga S. K., Bio deterioration of textiles, Int. Biodeteriorat. Bio-

and biomimetic soft contact lenses, Biomat. 22(24), 3225–3233, (2001).

degrad., 53(3), 165-170, (2004). 23. Malgorzata Zimniewska, Goslinska Kuzniarck, Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity of Flax Fibers Against the Staphylococcus aureus Bacteria Strain, 24 (2), 120-125, (2016).

| OCTOBER 2020

C LO V OE MR SSETCOTROYR

40

AN EXCLUSIVE EYES: AGE OLD COMPETETION BETWEEN HANDLOOM AND POWERLOOMS radhagovind das INTERN AT TEXTILE VALUE CHAIN

A

it has to classify the weavers on the basis of quality of cloths produced.

Handloom sector is the biggest The weavers can be classified in 3 employment generator after agtiers, higher quality (unique, excluriculture and brings a substantial sive, high value-added items), the amount of foreign exchange that medium tier (not-so-fine counts of has a vital role to play in our Indian yarn), and the lower tier (those proeconomy. However, in recent times ducing plains and low-cost textile the sector is facing a wide range of items). So now what the study sugproblems and challenges due to ingests is that the lower tier weavers appropriate competition between not only produce the lower quality the handloom sector fabrics but also has no marand emerging power ket demand. So, the govloom penetration into ernment has suggested that a wider market. Accordthe weavers of lower tier ing to a recent research should be shifted to other around 94% of market Handloom sector is the biggest sector to provide di- activities than weaving or holders of handlooms rect employment to around 65 lakhs weavers and to power looms. According artisans in India at current phase is the to a research by Dr. Manoj, cooperatives. So, this P.K and Rajesh S most of paper, will not only the unorganised sector embring light on to the ployees belonging to textile constant decline of field have a work life and handloom worker but job satisfaction subjected also will critically analyse the prob- economy of India, there are major to issues related to social security lems and challenges of this industry problems faced in terms of its sus- and legal protection. In a generalise and offers some remedial strategies tenance and survival of the crust of perception, the women workers are and policy options. sustainability in it. The sector has a the one who are mostly victimise contribution of around 19% in In- in the whole thing so, suitable reKey words: handlooms, power diaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total textile production. The medial strategies are needed to be looms, competition, government. government financial assistance, framed against the challenges faced welfare schemes and developmen- in the handloom industries of India.

Introduction tal programmes have been the reaHandloom sector is the biggest sec- son for its survival in its competition Handloom industries in India: tor to provide direct employment to with power looms at this moment. The handloom industry of India around 65 lakhs weavers and arti- According a report by the Satyam caters to 95% of worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s handloom sans in India. The sector has a ma- committee for the formulation of requirements. In general, the chaljor a contribution of 6% in the gross the Textile Policy, 2000. One of its lenges are mostly about unparallel domestic products of our economy principal objectives is coping with growth with regards to its flexibility, & makes a significant stand of 13% the competition at an internation- versatility, experimentation and enin the exports to the foreign coun- al level. According to this report, if couragement of innovation. Now, tries. Now there are around 4.33 bstract

million number of total number of weavers associated to the economy of India in different variety of climatic conditions and out of which 2.33 million number of handlooms are modified at a primary level for making it more versatile. Even though the industry is subjected to this vast scope of development and has this major role to add onto this vast

|OCTOBER 2020

LCOOOVME R S ESCTTOORRY power looms can replicate and build designs according to the requirement but the strength of handloom lies in innovative designs which requires manual settings. So, the handlooms are playing the major role of showcasing the heritage of India with its richness and diversity with regards to the artistry of various weavers. The production by the sector has a significant contribution to the national GDP and export earnings. According to reports by ministry of textiles the export earnings between 1998-1999 has been 1956 crore and employment generation around 12.5 million, considered as the largest rural employment provider after agriculture.

It is also the reason for employment generation in semi-urban and urban section of India. According to many research and surveys conducted by various research institutions over the last decades the country has more than 38 lakhs handlooms. It has also suggested that out of the total handlooms around 15 lakhs belongs to North-eastern states. It has been concluded that the handlooms in Northern and Southern India are geared mostly for commercial need of domestic and export market. There have been remarkable changes in the nature and structure of the handloom sector with regards to technology, production and marketing since 1960s.

If we see closely there has been parallel line of changes have been occurring social lives of these all weaver communities with respect to their survival responses. There has been a tremendous increase in the production of handloom sector from 1.5 lakhs in 1963 to 3.09 lakhs in next decade.

Figure 1: The weaver need to dedicated, but there are so many design possibilities

The growth of power looms in the 60s till this time has added many difficulties in the survival of weavers of the handloom sector. It has directly impacted the handloom sector with regards to production, weavers, designs and requirement of time interval. Now, there are many reasons responsible for the fall of handloom sector which can be divided into three heads, A) Independent weavers, B) Cooperative society and C) Master-weaver sectors.

Problems of Handloom industries in India 60s was the era when the cheaper and low-priced power loom product started penetrating in the Indian market and especially in the countryside. This was also the point of handloom sector when the sector had undergone cut throat competition in the comparison to former times. The next biggest problems were rise in prices of cotton hanks and the available dye. The main reason behind this was mostly rising independent weavers and smalltime master-weaver-cum-traders.

Towards 70s there was a major displacement of independent weavers into urban power loom sector and also started working under master-weavers. This was not the case all the time since many young weavers started getting into booming employment opportunities in urban areas which was relatively better with regard to wage assurance and continuity perspective.

The next best alternative with the handloom industry was a cooperative society, which had the accountability for a vast proportion of weavers after master-weaver segment.

The next biggest interruption was increasing political and governmental interference which drifted the cooperative society away from there actual moto and also led to development bureaucratised and corrupted tendencies. The actual job of cooperative society is to ensure the availability of raw materials and wage payments. But still the cooperative society stood ineffective in meeting the regular supply

41

of raw materials and timely wage payment which lately force the average weavers to incline for jobs under master-weavers. So, this has left many cooperative societies gone none functional and many floating.

All of this in a wholesome perspective has led to credibility crisis for many cooperative societies in India.

In our next head it is about the master-weaver system. Here the master-weaver produces the crafted clothes via wage labourers. The master-weaver is the one who is responsible for production and commercialisation by the sector to the traders. Now there are two types of production practices that was prevalently followed in the system. The first one is where the weaver will work from home on his own loom with the support of master-weaver regarding the raw material and other necessities. In this production process the adults of the family will be engaged in weaving related activities in particular and others will help in the pre-preparatory process. Then the weaver will be payed accordingly and this process is called as the “Put-out system”.

In the second process the weavers will be working under a same roof, on the looms provided by the master-weaver this process is called as “Karkhana system”. With 1990s and the trade liberalisation there was major crisis witnessed in the handloom industries especially due to the rise prices in the yarn and dyes. The master-weavers were no more inclined to continue production and weavers were pushed into hunger and suicide. After this phase, the weavers started getting shifting and the sector started becoming loom less and loom ideal.

Since the weavers were no more with their looms and it was all ideal back in their villages. The priority of handloom weavers was completely moving around the productivity, efficiency and competitiveness with the new power loom units. The major strength of the handloom sector is its ability to commercially produce in small volumes covering quick switches to variations in newer designs and exquisite looks | OCTOBER 2020

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CLO OV OEMR SSETCOTROYR

of the designs. This is something which isn’t very possible with the power looms. According to research report by Meera seth the handloom sector can only survive by market acceptance and commercial viability with respect to export growth business strategy and design outcome which can not be replicate on power loom. The handloom weaver remains badly fostered by government schemes for more than five decades which made the whole sector completely dependent on the government. Only the upper sector of the weaver community could make their way towards survival and Esurance the competition, whereas, a major crust of average weavers ended up giving up their occupation. The sector had a complex picture of diversity, which became lately realised strength of the handloom sector. The future of this sector can only be ensured with an organised struggle of all the weavers against unaware anti-handloom policy.

The financial crisis was also something which can be talked major head. There was a limited financial availability of resources for the majority of handloom weavers with respect to simple marketing and at an operational level. This problem always comes in between the final product and the final market and has always resulted in decrease in market share.

Even though the sector is largely supported by the government has largely made financial assistance programmes and welfare schemes for the benefit of this sector as whole but the sector needs a complete movement for its survival. The third handloom census of the country says that more than 25% of children want to perceive their future in the handloom sector as their profession. It has the workforce with around 77% of women workforce, but still the sector is largely missing in terms of its basic facilities and other necessities. Prime minister Narendra Modi in his statements has urged many times that every

Indian should buy, at least on handloom product made up of Khadi, ranging from bedsheets to handkerchiefs. The sector accounts for 11% of fabric production in India which resulted in 2812 crores of exports for the year of 2012-13 and has created even more job opportunities than the IT sectors in the 1st quarter of the fiscal year of 2010.

There are even other challenges faced with regards to the accusation of the yarn requirements, the National Development corporation is accountable for ore than 15% of yarn requirements by the handloom sector. The recent planning commission has mentioned the availability of common facility center which will be accessed by all the weavers at a marginal charge.

The yarn and dyeing depots were made available these centres which can be democratically accessed by these weavers. Now, these are the not only problems, but also there are other problems such as, irregular payment of dues, lack of rebate assistance to the weaving accessories and higher rate of interests on financial loans etc.

Now, even if we see everything and every ideology has an equal right to exist on this planet. So, the power looms do exist and there is nothing wrong with the power looms but its all about how handloom can make its presence. Handlooms need more weavers than power looms, so what it is necessary is that it should give more focus on the variation in its design types.

Discussion and conclusion The power looms started its penetration into the main market in 1960s, since then handloom industry has gradually seen its declination with regards to its survival. People have all the rights to what there is available in the mainstream market and the only thing that is given is there incomes. So, we can’t just keep on sympathising on the survival on the name of “hand crafted”. Thew designs need to touch the sensibilities

|OCTOBER 2020

beyond just the fact that the weavers are not well paid and we need to protect our handlooms on national handloom day. The design sensibility has to be such that it does not need any kind of sympathies to sustain but its own relevance which could be self-explained when our handloom products make it to the market. At the same time, we can not undermine the fact that handloom can not compete the monotonously producing power looms, but then handlooms can provide thousands of designs on a single set up (only handlooms can give us many designs on a single warp setting).

The government has to reorient it’s focus on making the weavers self-dependent. There has to be training by government where the weavers can understand how to market their products and to stay all updated about the welfare schemes. The unskilled weavers need to be trained well, with respect to advancement in technologies and with respect to making cost effective products. The competition can never be avoided but handloom can survive on its own with design and marketing sensibilities because if anything with complete sympathy base does not last longer.

Reference 1. K. Srinivasulu, 2010, Textile Policy and Handloom Sector, Serials Publications, New Delhi – 02.

2. Dr. Manoj P K, and Rajesh S (2013), “Job Satisfaction and Quality of Work Life: Impact on Industrial Relations i Textile Units in Kannur District, Kerala”, Indian Journal of Applied Research, Vol. 3, Issue 11. Nov. 2013, pp.305 308. (Available online at www.theglobaljournals.com/ijar) 3. Dr. Monica Bansal, Dr. Arti Gaur, 2008, Strategic Decisions and marketing Perspectives of Handloom Export Units – A Case Study of Panipat District (Haryana) 4. Anne T. Kuriakose, 2010, Policies for Regional Development: The Case of Handloom Textiles, with reference to Andhra Pradesh, Serials Publications, New Delhi – 02.

5. HANDLOOM INDUSTRY IN KERALA: A STUDY OF THE PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES

By Anu Varghese and Dr. M H Salim

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AVANT GARDE: DESIGNING THE FUTURE OF FASHION VASAVI MEHTA

ANJU TULSHYAN

INTERN AT TEXTILE VALUE CHAIN

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SVT COLLEGE OF HOME SCIENCE

A

bstract

sey Miyake, and Iris Van Herpen etc. take inspiration from their personal experiences and various Japanese aesthetic philosophies, keeping in mind the trend’s key concepts i.e. transformability, personalization, uniqueness and sustainability. Today, it feels safe to admit that people are opening up to the idea of expressing themselves however they wish to and this style that was once raising eyebrows is now a worldwide phenomenon, giving space to

style. To the mainstream, it might seem like a style that is subversive, post human, alien and basically something from a different world altogether but to those who are bold enough to step out of their comfort zone, avant-garde is a style that can be defined through a strong personality.[1] Apart from being bold, striking and powerful, avant-garde fashion gives you the freedom to experiment with unusual fabrications, shapes, silhouettes etc.

Some call it “fashion from another planet, unwearable, subversive, radically post human, alien and fashion that's an entire galaxy faraway from the mainstream”. Defined through a strong personality, this style can be sophisticated and striking”, Avant garde is all things experimental, radical or unorthodox with reference to How it all started art, culture or society.

Fashion designed in this The term "avant-garde” manner can sometimes came from France, Italy According to designer Barbara Gongini, avant-garde be considered intimidatand later Germany. It focuses on a sustainable and responsible way of proing for typical consumtranslates to vanguard or ducing garments. ers. The research findings advance guard. [5] This indicate that avant garde term defines the few who fashion designers deal dare to go out in the front, with all kinds of unusual are unorthodox and defy fabrics and materials like conventions. Avant-garde rubber, PET, Mylar etc has dual meanings.

The first comes and its principles go beyond mere creativity. from the historical movements like aesthetics including ways in which Dada, Futurism, Vorticism and conclothes are produced and worn. Introduction structivism. The second definition People want to define themselves outside the social norms and con- Today, we live in an era where self ex- comes from the innovation practicstantly want to experiment, which pression, freedom of choice, equal- es in the late 20th century. [11] is why they get attracted to some- ity have become the hot topics. thing that is bold, versatile, gender Majority of the population believes Fabrics and materials used by fluid and has a lot of drama to it. that true creativity comes from the avant-garde designers The most The research reflects that design- freedom of self expression and that celebrated designers are Yohji ers like Lee Alexander McQueen, is where fashion comes into the pic- Yamamoto, Late Lee Alexander McYohji Yamamoto, Paco Rabanne, Is- ture. So does avant-garde fashion Queen, Viktor and Rolf, the John | OCTOBER 2020

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CFO AV SE HR I OSNT O UR PY DAT E

Galliano of India - Manish Arora, Thierry Mugler, Vivienne WestwoodQueen of punk fashion, Paco Rabanne, Rei Kawakubo of Comme de Garçons, Walter Van Beirendonck, Issey Miyake, Guo Pei, Junya Watanabe, Martin Margiela etc.[9][3] Lately, British fashion designer Iris Van Herpen has been a major inspiration, depicting the brilliance of a human mind when combined with science and technology.

The materials used to make a garment determine its functionality and comfort. Designers like Walter Van Beirendonck designed a dress using PET whereas Paco Rabanne used Rhodoid that is a cellulose acetate plastic.[18] Another example of the unconventional materials can be rubber, cork and eel skin that Krizia used in 1970’s. The metallic gold and copper tones of a jacket

by Krizia are highly original. This garment had quite an androgynous shape except for the large curvilinear sleeves that give it a feminine touch. Nylon and polyester fabrics make it very lightweight.[19] Factors affecting avant garde trends The three most important factors affecting any fashion trend would be values, political environment, social environment and direct influences.[8] A concept like “less is more” that focuses on simplicity and minimalism has become the cornerstone for a lot of avant- garde designers.[8] They believe that a simple piece of clothing can be feature a variety of designs and you can further style them according to your own creativity. Similarly, political climate also has a major impact on the fashion world as designers and innovators need their freedom to create without any hindrance.

With the growing demand of sustainability, the social environment and society pressures can also shape the design process. A highly environmentally conscious society will focus on how the garments are being manufactured. This builds a pressure on the designers to be more mindful and aware during the

entire creative process. Personal experiences, Japanese philosophies and preferences of the designers can also inspire them.[10]

garde clothing does not have an age requirement. [17]

Breaking Stereotypes

Avant-garde clothing is not for the faint hearted. You need to constantly experiment with unusual and unconventional fabrics, textures, cuts and colors. Avant-garde clothing is all things drama so add loads of that. It lets you play with the imperfections as well so feel free to focus on details like a particular hemline, thickness of a weave, daring ruffles, crazy zipping and buttons.[14] [17] The current trend is to go monochromatic, as that will give you a lot of room to combine more textures and cuts. Apart from that, you can underline your style with bold colors, mesh, paper, cardboard and metallics. [14]

According to designer Barbara Gongini, avant-garde focuses on a sustainable and responsible way of producing garments. Designers are limiting their impact on the environment and actively promoting sustainability through their process of procuring and using materials. [8] A lot of designers have been recycling and reusing their materials. When a garment doesn’t sell or attract customers, it is broken down and recreated or redesigned using the same materials to minimize wastage. In simpler words, while fast fashion encourages a throwaway mentality, in avant-gardism, the undistributed stock is upcycled and given new forms. It again depends on designer to designer, how aware they are of the environmental conditions and how they choose to contribute to the concept of sustainability. Another way of supporting the idea of clothing longitivity is multiway design or styling a piece of garment in several ways. Avant-garde talks about the use of monochromatic color palette, black being the dominant color. [8] Nowadays people want to have “real talks” that involve freedom of self-expression, unapologetically being yourself, human equality regardless of gender, background, social status etc.

We believe that talking about such issues is crucial in emphasizing an individual’s strength. It is important to understand that true creativity comes from the freedom of self-expression and to be able to practice this, all working parties must be comfortable and involved in the creative process. One of the issues that avant-garde fashion helps to eradicate is the lack of gender fluid garments. Barbara Gongini believes that many avant-garde pieces appeal to a wider audience because they are designed and crafted to be gender fluid. Versatility is clearly noticeable through the fact that avant-

|OCTOBER 2020

How to dress avant-garde?

Result Taking inspiration from Siamese fighting fish and Peter Gentenaar’s paper sculpture models, we have designed an entire womenswear collection.

Conclusion Avant-garde principles transcend mere aesthetics including ways during which clothes are produced and consumed. It rejects trends and judgments so anything that’s tied to the mainstream are going to be of little interest to an avantgarde wearer as he or she believes in defining themselves outside the societal norms.[14] Avant-garde is progressive and forward thinking and it manages to transcend the boundaries of convention through experimentation by proposing a special way of doing things.[17] It demands to be constantly on the sting , thinking forward and exploring new possibilities, keeping in mind its key concepts- Transformability, personalization, uniqueness and sustainability.

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| OCTOBER 2020

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References

barbaraigongini.com/universe/blog/the-non-trends-of-avant-garde-

1.French, G. (2016). Otherworldy. Gestalten.

9.Leonhardt, J. (2014, May 06). 10 of Fashion’s Most Avant-Garde Design-

and Glitz to Avant- Garde. Retrieved July 14, 2020, from https://www.

ers. Retrieved April 19, 2019, from https://www.therichest.com/expen-

universityoffashion.com/blog/paris-

sive-lifestyle/fashion/10-of-fashions-most- avant-garde-designers/

garde/

10.Siddiqui, P. B. (2017, July 27). Avant-garde Fashion: A Look Into The

16.Avant Garde Art. (n.d.). Retrieved July 14, 2020, from https://

Future. Retrieved April 19, 2019, from https://wittysparks.com/avant-

milenaolesinska.blogspot.com/p/alternative.html

fashion/

Editors: Theo-Mass Lexileictous, Sven Ehmann & Robert Klanten 2.Neelima. (2009). Fashion and textile design. New Delhi: Sonali Publications.

goes-into-an-outfit/ 15.Sardone, A. (2019, November 01). Paris Fashion Week: From Glam fashion-week-glam-glitz-avant-

3.Eceiza, Laura, et al. Atlas of Fashion Designers. Rockport, 2010.

garde-fashion-a-look-into-the-future/

4.Martin, Richard, and Harold Koda. Haute Couture. Abrams, 1996. The

11.Reimann, M. (n.d.). Vorticism: The Movement That Tried (and Failed)

barbaraigongini.com/universe/blog/avant-garde-fashion-a-modern-

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

to Lead the Modern World. Retrieved April 19, 2019, from https://blog.

definition/

5.(n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2019, from https://www.apparelsearch.com/ terms/a/avant-garde- fashion.html 6.Avant Garde Style in Fashion: How to Dress Avant-Garde. (2014, November 20). Retrieved April 19, 2019, from https://fashionisers. com/2014/01/06/avant-garde-style-in-

fashion-how-to-dress-avant-

garde/ 7.Avant-garde. (2020, July 03). Retrieved July 14, 2020, from https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avant-garde 8.Barbara I Gongini. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2019, from https://

17.Barbara I Gongini. (n.d.). Retrieved July 14, 2020, from https://

bookstellyouwhy.com/vorticism-the- movement-that-tried-and-failedto-lead-the-modern-world

more of a ‘state of mind’”. Retrieved July 14, 2020, from https://theface.

12.Contributor. (2018, October 04). Designful. A trend of avantgarde fashion. Retrieved April 21, 2019, from https://www.vogue.it/en/voguetalents/news/2018/10/01/fashion-inspiration-

18.McCord, B. (2019, June 21). Walter Van Beirendonck: “My clothes are

design-avantgarde-

trend-bern-puma/

com/style/walter-van-beirendonck- archive-collection 19.Impossible Fashion: Avant-Garde Fashion at the Museo del Traje Museo del Traje, Madrid - Google Arts & Culture. (n.d.). Retrieved July 14, 2020, from

13.“Art & Fashion.” Exposition Art Blog, milenaolesinska.blogspot. com/p/avant-garde- fashion.html.

https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/impossible-fashion-avantgarde-fashion-at-the-

14.Barbara I Gongini. (n.d.). Retrieved July 14, 2020, from https://

museo-del-traje-museo-del-traje-madrid/

KQJykKcQdcQwKw?hl=en

barbaraigongini.com/universe/blog/how-to-dress-avant-garde-what-

Contract jobs jumped 150% from Jan-July 2020 As per data from job site Indeed, job seekers' interest in ‘contract or temporary jobs’ jumped by 150%, while postings for these jobs increased by 119% between January and July 2020, While the demand for contract workers has risen steadily since January 2020, month-on-month comparisons between 2019 and 2020 showed that hiring for contract jobs more than doubled in June and July this year, at 110% and 143% respectively. Data from Indeed also shows that job seeker interest jumped 2.5 times in seven months. In July 2020, searches for contract jobs on Indeed was 3 times higher than in July 2019, at 207%

www.innovativedesigns.in

|OCTOBER 2020

tvcmedia.digital@gmail.com

C OIV NETRE R SV TIOERWY

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Sustainability starts from self-Sustainable living

“Sustainable development is the pathway to the future we want for all. It offers a framework to generate economic growth, achieve social justice, exercise environmental stewardship and strengthen governance.”

Vijay Gotmare Former Head,Textile Department VJTI, Mumbai.

Dr. Vijay Gotmare, Ph.D (Tech.) in Textile Engineering (Textile Chem.) from Institute of Chemical Technology ( ICT ) Mumbai University, India.

He served as Head of Textile Manufactures Department, Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), Mumbai. He has 32 years of academic and three years’ of experience in the Industry. He has been awarded the most prestigious award of Hon. Fellow of Textile Association (Hon. F.T.A.) of year 2017. His research area is Chemical modification of fibers, Eco-Textile Materials, Nano material application in Textiles for value addition, recycling and reuse of textile waste and Sustainable textile materials. He has presented more than 62 research papers in National and International conferences; published in Research Journals and guided more than twenty-five post-graduate and three doctoral students. He also worked as Ph.D thesis evaluator for various Indian universities. He is the Chairman, Eco-Mark Committee of KVIC, Government of India. He has membership of several professional bodies such as the Textile Association of Indian as GC member, Indian Fibre Society, Indian Natural Fibre socie-

ty, ICT and VJTI Alumni Association.

He has evaluated various research projects under the Department of Biotechnology, DST, Government of India in the area of biotechnological applications in textiles. He was also member of Research Advisory Committee at BTRA, Mumbai. He works as member of Board of Studies (BoS) of various Indian universities. He visited NCSU, USA to attend a training programme on Specialty subject and also visited Australia, Germany, France, South Africa, Egypt , Mauritius, and Thailand for training and academic purposes.

Three patents applications are currently under review. He has to his credit a book chapter on the topic “Recycling of textile mill waste” in a book titled “Biopolymers and Biomaterials” by Apple Academic Press and CRC, Taylor and Francis Group.

He has also completed ‘Sustainable Fashion” course from Copenhagen Business School, Denmark.

Being an educationist, your journey in industry life and interaction.

After post-graduation from UDCT (Now Institute if Chemical Technol-

ogy (ICT), I worked with Raymond’s and Jam Shree Mills, Solapur in my early days and understood how academic study and working in the industry has a difference. I always feel there should be a strong Institute–Industry Interaction. I would invite Industry expert once in a week to keep the students more updated changes in technology.

During student’s industry internship period, the Faculty gets a chance to visit them and learn many innovations, so while delivering lecture, the knowledge can be shared with the students. It is advisable to conduct a day workshop on emerging trends in the industry by inviting resource persons from reputed textile organizations. Many conferences are organized by various textile bodies including exhibition like ITMA, during this period, it would be mandatory for all textile institutions to arrange compulsory visits to these exhibitions. During my tenure HoD, we have organized training to industry persons since many of them needed updates and management gradates working in textile organization would like to learn about textiles manufacturing and processes to help them in product | OCTOBER 2020

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INTERVIEW

promotion and marketing. Efforts were taken to introduce courses like “Sustainable textile Materials and “Eco-friendly Textile Production” at UG and PG level. One of my PG students worked on ‘Solar Textiles” under aegis of “Door Dharshan” Sayandri, National Channel through their programme “ATULAY SHODH” (based on Scientific development) aired in 2013.

As a Mentor, what qualities, capabilities you choose in your Ph.D.students Well, every student who wishes to join research programme-Ph.D would have already gone through partial grooming process during his M.Tech. study. Today’s practices in academics for Ph.D. students are totally different compared to two decades back. Students have a tough journey in their First-Year study period. They have to complete certain mandatory courses and research based related courses; which help the mentor understand his/her analytical ability and subject knowledge. I make students quite capable and orient him/her to plan their research program. I always see hard working qualities and surely smart working qualities in them. I also insist that the student should be well versed about internet and computer-based programme needed for his study. I specially see how best he can connect and develop his network and would become comfortable working with other colleagues in the research lab. I always discuss with them about Citation, Scopus Indexed Journals and new Textile Journals published time to time. I encourage the student to present their research work in reputed Conferences and to published their research paper in highly reputed Journals which makes it easy for them in facing open defence.

How has the industry evolved In the last few years ?

Let me tell you, every industry has ups and down and textile industry is no exception. Since we are more than 130 Cr Industry with a major-

ity of young population, higher per capita income; people love to spend on fashion fabric, eco-friendly dress materials, multifunctional dress materials. This is the reason for the evolvement of this industry.

Moreover, there is a rise in technical textiles area of all those twelve sectors in general and medical textile, home furnishing textiles, sports textile in particular. If you look into innovations in this sector about in machinery and automation, we are heading toward Industry 4.0.

This shows that there is potential for growth in this industry. I would like to add that some challenges are there due to the pandemic. Slowly, we are controlling this situation and industry will start functioning in big way. We can take advantages of this situation since some of them are shifting toward a new normal and entered in health and hygiene textile business. It has been reported that the textile industry is expected to attract an investment of about $120 billion by 2024-25 and create about 35 million additional jobs in the process. Exports are also expected to rise from the current $39 billion to $300 billion by 2024- 2025.

What are the latest trends in the industry?

The domestic and Global textile industry is changing to meet the needs of the new market. With new trends, innovations in fibres, manufacturing and chemical processing technology, non-woven materials, domestic sales, green textiles and environmental sustainability, textiles will no longer just be clothing anymore. These new trends have seen an increased growth in the market as well. Currently viral infection has forced the Industry to develop anti-viral finishes, antimildew finishes on garments. Use of organic textile materials, recycling and up cycling technology are well adopted in denim materials. Many fashion brands are adopting this and bringing innovative products in the market. Khadi and Handloom textile sectors are having a good market. The textile industry is also looking to use nanotechnology

|OCTOBER 2020

and nano science concept to create more scientific clothing, like firerepellent, self-cleaning, and waterrepellent items and medical textile materials. Product advancements in the textile industry include those related to colour adaptive clothing and fabrics, composite materials, DNA clothing, and smart clothing.

Sustainability, Carbon footprint, Waste management how it’s relevant and important? It’s just a talk of the town or any fruitful measures taken by industry?

Well, very valid question. During my last talk at the Techtextil India Symposium 2019, I began my talk saying that if you would have decided in your schooling to keep few alphabets study as an option then imagine what would have happened to you. Exactly the same theory is true, if you decide to follow ‘Sustainability” as an option in your manufacturing practices. You would be in trouble in many different ways. Carbon footprint, waste minimization are very important concepts in this 21st Century. We are experiencing worldwide trouble since no one had focused on these issues. People, profit and planet are to be taken care and this would be possible using green technologies and adopting sustainability practices. The carbon footprint is also an important component of the Ecological Footprint, since it is one competing demand for biologically productive space. Low carbon foot print processes cut costs by reducing waste of raw materials and energy. Water and energy usage reductions by the textile dyeing and finishing sector can help reduce global carbon dioxide emissions.

Government has made various regulations in this regard. It our duty to follow them very stringently to save our planet. Awareness about these issues is already spreading from school education and the new education policy would be taken care.

The various stages in textile manufacturing hurt the environment through the constant and relatively huge emissions of GHG, water withdrawal, the release of toxins into

N AT I O N A L W E AV E R S R E P O R T our ecosystem from pesticides and herbicides used in growing cotton and many others. Developing sustainable textiles is the best solution to these problems.

How you personally adopted sustainability in your life.

I believe that Sustainable living is a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual’s or society’s use of the Earth’s natural resources and

personal resources. Practitioners of sustainable living often attempt to reduce their carbon footprint by altering methods of transportation, energy consumption, and diet.

There is a saying “create more out of less” which is well fit for this practice which I adopt and follow. Going paperless, use of solar energy, green office, water conservation at home and working places, training people to do sustainable activity, minimizing waste, using kitchen

49

waste for compost purpose, resell and donate cloth, recycling goods at home are some of the practices I personally adopt besides giving talk on sustainability in textile and fashion industry. Recently I gave a virtual talk on “Handloom Textiles and eco-friendly practices” on a eve of National Handloom day. Discussing with fashion industry personals on sustainable textile materials and their leading characteristics through STTP programme organized by BAIT, Salem, Tamil Nadu.

NATIONAL WEAVERS OF KUTCH CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES Dr Ela Dedhia INCHARGE PRINCIPAL COLLEGE OF HOME SCIENCE NIRMALA NIKETAN

A

National webinar on NATIONAL WEAVERS of KUTCH was held on 7th August, 2020 from 2 to 3.30pm, National handloom day, by the Department of Textile and Fashion Technology of College Home Science, Nirmala Niketan, Affiliated to University of Mumbai, NAAC Accredited A Grade. Delegates included students, teachers, professionals, craft lovers, artisans and others related to this field at National and International level.

Dr. Ela Dedhia, Head of Department of Textile and Fashion Technology, gave an overview of the theme. She said that it is the correct and a very important time to understand the present condition of Indian craftsmen during this Covid 19 times.

India is a treasure of very rich crafts.

Craft and craftspeople (artisans) have always been the life line of India. There are thousands of craft persons and their entire families

are dependent on their livelihood on these crafts. During this tough period of pandemic era our artisans are struggling for their daily basic necessities. So this is the right time to discuss and understand what is the present scenario and their future and how to take this further in this era. Connecting artisans directly to potential customers, entrepreneurs and other field related professionals who can help the weavers through purchases or otherwise was also the objective of the webinar.

Dr Dedhia moderated the session including the questions raised by participants on YouTube.

Along with Dr Dedhia on the organizing committee included Dr. Pratima Goyal, Dr. Vishaka Karnad, Dr. Ritu Madhan, Ms. Neha Mulchandani, Ms. Vrinda Udiaver, Dr. Anjali Srivastav, Ms. Sanghmitra Navalgund and Ms. Vibhuti Khedekar.

Edfly was the Technical partner and Textile Value Chain was the Media Partner. Dr Pratima Goyal, proposed the vote of thanks. The webinar was conducted through online video platform and telecasted on YouTube for the audience.

The Video is available on YouTube. com/TFTNN.

There were three weavers & dyers in the webinar from Kutch Bhujodi.

Since many decades, weavers have woven and uplifted this paramparik culture. Weaver Mr Naresh, his main work is dyeing with natural dyes.

He is recognized as the Indigo Man in the village. He mainly dyes Kaala cotton which is called as Organic Cotton. This particular dyeing is done since three generations and his whole family is involved in this work. In this pandemic situation, the dyer has faced several ups and downs but he has a very positive thinking towards life. The main Moto of the Weaver in the village is giving a small contribution to the country by making a Chemical free India.

Mr. Madan Magariya is graduated and was always working as a Weaver alongside as weaving is his family heritage. His main work is to weave fabric mainly of kaala cotton which is famous for extra weft designs. Another artisan Mr. Navin Bhai whose family is also into weaving since past 4 years. He is graduated in Electronics and Communication.

His marketing skills are good, and he is the first one to started online selling of products in his village. He came up with the thought to taking artisans work and showcasing it to the outside world to uplift the arti| OCTOBER 2020

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sans.

The artisans showed their work like dyeing of yarns. Mr. Naresh had experimented different combinations of dyeing with natural dyes in the lockdown. He used the mordant harda and dyes like Aal ki lakdi (madder root powder). Also he showed different handloom products like bedsheets, cushion covers, natural dyes tussar silk scarfs, shawls, etc. He had got orders from California for bedsheets woven from local sheep wool yarns with extra weft.

Due to pandemic, some of the artisan incurred losses, they donot have money even for daily meals, as some were earning daily wages and now as there are no orders and no work, so they donot have money to eat, or survive their livelihood. Around 50%- 60% have left their work and joined in farming to earn their daily livelihood. The master craftsmen of the village have started talking to the buyers to help them and give orders to them so that the weavers could start again with weaving to uplift the arts and so that they are not left to die. Some artisans showcased their work on Social media like Instagram, Facebook, Etsy, etc. Along with selling to buyers Dr. Dedhia also explained to them about participation in Digital Media fairs, tradeshows, market places etc. Lastly the weavers were very thankful to Dr. Dedhia to give them this first time opportunity on a digital platform.

These webinar gave in-depth information about various kutch crafts, and also about the situation the craftsmen are facing currently due to Pandemic and also ways where students and new entrepreneurs and designers can work together with artisans to help them think of various ways to tackle it. There is a huge opportunity to grow with the artisans and also overcome these problems.

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HANDLOOM WOVEN FABRIC - JOURNEY THROUGH TALKSHOW WITH IKAT & JAMDANI WEAVERS Dr Ela Dedhia INCHARGE PRINCIPAL COLLEGE OF HOME SCIENCE NIRMALA NIKETAN

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National webinar on HANDLOOM WOVEN FABRIC - JOURNEY WITH IKAT & JAMDANI WEAVERS was held on National Handloom Day, 07th AUGUST 2020, 4 to 5.30pm by the Department of Textile and Fashion Technology, College Home Science, Nirmala Niketan, Affiliated to University of Mumbai, NAAC Accredited A Grade. Delegates included students, teachers, professionals, craft lovers, artisans and others related to this field at National and International level.

Dr. Ela Dedhia, Head of Department of Textile and Fashion Technology, gave an overview of the theme.

She said that Weavers are pride of India because since childhood as part of family tradition, the artisans are indulged in learning the art and their mastery produces such fine art pieces of National and International acclaim. Their love and passion for the art and fabric is what brings artisans here on this platform. National handloom day is an auspicious day for all the textiles loverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and passionate consumers therefore celebrated.

Dr Dedhia moderated the panel discussion including the questions raised by participants on YouTube.

She wished all artisans that they will soon come out of the clutches and impact of pandemic.

Along with Dr Dedhia on the organizing committee included Dr.

Pratima Goyal, Dr. Vishaka Karnad, Dr. Ritu Madhan, Ms. Neha Mulchandani, Ms. Vrinda Udiaver, Dr. Anjali Srivastav, Ms. Sanghmitra Navalgund and Ms. Vibhuti Khedekar.

Edfly was the Technical partner and Textile Value Chain was the Media Partner. Ms. Vibhuti Khedekar proposed the vote of thanks. The webinar was conducted through online video platform and telecasted on YouTube for the audience. The Video is available on YouTube.com/ TFTNN.

using Kantha but she said that it is very time consuming and laborious and slow process so got interested in handloom weaves so gave it more time and resources for it. She believes that her love for craft she had it in her genes, coming from a Bengali family of artists and poetry.

Her aunt Mrs. Mahamaya Sikdar is a President National Award winner for Kantha embroidery so Antara founded Maya weaves along with her. Antara said that her interest o work with artisans didnot come suddenly. The concept of marketing Maya weave products came through having interest for kantha embroidery combined with handloom fabric which Is something that got up the interest in Maya weaves.

Ms Antara Chiripal Bengali women born & brought up in Kolkata, an MPhil by education, who began her career as an Investment banker for five years, then simultaneously with a boutique for kantha in New Delhi and as her true calling in life was her roots of crafts, she left the job.

She has been in touch with Kantha embroiders, specially handmade quilts/godhdis/floormats etc since childhood, made by grandmothers

She said they are associated with many corporates such as Tata, Raymonds and with designers such as Anita Dongre, Raghavendra Rathore, Rohit Bal etc and many exporters and buyers. They exhibit in craft museums, Art museums of state government and state craft houses, kamala craft house, craft shops etc with whom it has been a long association and lot of learn| OCTOBER 2020

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ing. She has completely enjoyed her journey and has no regrets of leaving the bank corporate job and moving on completely to crafts and fashion.

West Bengal is very famous for muslin since they are very soft. According to her there are 36 varieties of muslin and Jamdani is one of the variety of muslin. There are 64 traditional motifs in Jamdani. Ms Antara experiments various combination of cotton with Marino Wool, Silk and Khadi. Adding many contemporary designs and trying to depict different stories of village scenes, story of Bengal, River, women’s working, animals, forests, etc. Major challenges in production of Jamdani is lack of availability for natural dye, and dyeing facility, therefore having to send to south for dyeing which adds on to the cost. For production majorly Pit loom is used by the artisans. A heavy jamdani such as story telling jamdani takes a longer time to produce a few inches in a day. Whereas simpler jamdani like Buti wali goes sometimes very fast. Hand spun or mill spun yarn are used. A group of women in the organisation works on hand spun yarns. Usually mill spun are used as hand spun gets little expensive. Majorly working with cotton and silk yarns

Many people are aware about Jamdani in India. Major market internationally is from Australia, Europe and Japan. Many variations with jamdani products are in demand, such as stole, home furnishings, products like curtain, pillow cover, table mat, table runner, etc. There are few International agents whom they give their products to sell and few international designers who

come up with their designs.

Balancing the work with the weavers is a challenge, as she stays at Gurgaon and weavers are in West Bengal. She said weavers are her extended family and she is from one of the weaver’s family. She just sends the PDF of designs and weavers makes it by their own self following it. Other than that her father and aunty are there to look after everything there. Once or twice in a month she goes to Kolkata. As her presence being near the market, it is helpful for her cluster. She has been getting lots of contacts as she is near to market, the buyers can come and see the samples instead of going to the village, There is lots of assurance to the buyers as they don’t have to go back to villages again and again. People in the north India are more into zardozi, Ari work, etc. The understanding is much more there in Mumbai but in Delhi side the awareness about the Jamdani came very late. People are aware about the art but they are more into zardozi. However the market is changing. She showed sarees and samples with village scenes, jungle scenes, river scenes, tedcha (diagonal), phool, etc. She also tries natural dyeing for weft yarns. They use pit looms as there is no electricity involved. They use primitive looms and jacquards also.

Intricate Jamdanis per day production is only few inches as insertion of weft is done one by one based on the designs. Mainly they use silk and fine cotton, sometimes add zari.

Mr Sridhar Rao Ikat (Tie and dye of yarns) weaver from a small town called Pochampalli where people came to sell from nearby villages like Nalkonda, Koilagudam etc.

Even Hyderabad was a small town then but ikat was being marketed

|OCTOBER 2020

in Pochampalli. He is into producing single Ikat using natural dyeing since his age of 21 years and he is practicing since 22 years. He was pacticing farming but got into this directly. None of the family members were involved in this weaving as they are all traditionally farmers.

He is trained by Salimbhai who has trained many. Monthly he produces 1000 to 2000 metres of fabric for which he has employed 25 people only for looms weaving from yarns dyed in natural dyes of which half of them are involved in natural dyeing of yarns also. Weavers set up the warp but the weft he also gets it set outside. They make very simple designs. He is planning double ikat.

The traditional Pochampally ikat was woven only into sarees & bed sheets which is said to be brought to the small town of Pochampally from Chirala twice a week on the weekly market days. There was no popularity for the Pochampally Ikat initially. It got its popularity from the traditional labourously produced Telia Rumal and Telia sarees all for local market only but later ikat got popular through exhibitions all over the country. Last ten years its doing well. Initially the Pochampali was produced using Naphthol dyes and there was not much design variation available. With exports growing azo free vat colours became popular. Mr Sridhar came up with natural dyeing with design variations. The main challenge faced by him is Natural dyes had mostly poor colour fastness thus people don’t show interest thinking colours bleed and and colour faded so they don’t buy.

Today quality in colouration of Ikat is well developed and Natural dyes are healthy according to him and will bleed a little in the initial wash so he says you cannot compare it with synthetic dyes. He campares with human life and says as we grow old we become duller, same way is natural colours so we have to accept it according to him. However Dr Dedhia explained to him that if applied properly, natural dyes can also be fast to washing, sunlight etc and presently many consumers wash clothes together in wash-

H A N D LCOOO T VM E RR E SP TORY ing machines so it is an important quality requirement, which he finally agreed. He further explained that only superficial dye which is on the surface will be washed off and it will not affect any other surface directly, including white fabrics as it requires mordants. He insisted the fabric. He introduced natural in Delhi Craft Council of India. He got very good response. He is working with National Institute of Rural Development for natural dye production. Very few people otherwise in production. Designers, Craftsmen, Dastkar Andhra, does lot of good design development with National Institute of Rural Development.

Lot of good workshops also happening there. Currently production and marketing both suffering due to Pandemic.

Under the guidance off Salim Bhai he got the Mastery in weaving.

With 25 members of natural dyers and weavers, he produces 10002000mtrs of work per month depending on the orders majorly making sarees, fabrics and duppattas.

He majorly uses cotton yarns. Mr Shridhar sources raw materials from Hyderabad. Convenient to go to Hyderabad and come twice to thrice a week. He wants to produce double Ikat using natural dyes. Domestically there is very good response and internationally Sri Lanka and China have good demand. In lockdown period there was disturbance in income flow but production was high as every artisan has a loom at home. Difficulties was in getting raw material, courier service was slow but marketing was good. There was time to look at old stock too.

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This webinar gave detailed information about Jamdani and Pochampali crafts, and also about the diferent challenges faced by the craftsmen due to Pandemic.

The session was very enlightening and it briefly touched upon various minute but major factors involved in Handloom with commercial perspective. After the presentation from both the speakers, there was an interactive question and answer session where the questions from YouTube as well as from zoom were answered.

HANDLOOM WOVEN FABRIC â&#x20AC;&#x201C; STORY OF BANARASI BROCADE AND CHANDERI Dr Ela Dedhia INCHARGE PRINCIPAL COLLEGE OF HOME SCIENCE NIRMALA NIKETAN

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National talk show on Handloom Woven Fabric â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Story Of Banarasi Brocade And Chanderi, was held on National Handloom day 7th August, 2020 from 11:00 am

to 12:30 pm by the Department of Textile and Fashion Technology of College Home Science, Nirmala Niketan, Affiliated to University of Mumbai, NAAC Accredited A Grade.

Delegates included students, teachers, professionals, craft lovers, artisans and others related to this field at National and International level.

Dr. Ela Dedhia, Head of Department of Textile and Fashion Technology, gave an overview of the theme of the webinar. Due to the lack of exposure and awareness, people are not directly connected to han-

dloom weavers and because of which weavers have been facing a lot of difficulties in marketing and selling their products. The main motto of the webinar was to have direct talk with handloom weavers and connecting them directly to potential customers, entrepreneurs and other field related professionals who can help the weavers through purchases or otherwise.

Dr Dedhia moderated the session including the questions raised by participants on YouTube.

Along with Dr Dedhia on the or| OCTOBER 2020

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ganizing committee included Dr. Pratima Goyal, Dr. Vishaka Karnad, Dr. Ritu Madhan, Ms. Neha Mulchandani, Ms. Vrinda Udiaver, Dr. Anjali Srivastav, Ms. Sanghmitra Navalgund and Ms. Vibhuti Khedekar.

Edfly was the Technical partner and Textile Value Chain was the Media Partner. Ms. Sanghmitra Navalgund proposed the vote of thanks. The webinar was conducted through online video platform and telecasted on YouTube for the audience.

The Video is available on YouTube. com/TFTNN. There were two handloom weavers during the webinar.

Moharram Ali, Alias Hasham Turabi, a Banarasi Brocade handloom weaver from Banaras in Uttar Pradesh, India who is also a poet and an innovator. Mr. Alias Ali started by introducing himself as requested by Dr. Ela Dedhia. The introduction was very unique and sweet in shayrana andazz by Mr. Ali goes as “Badlav ne Duniya Ka Badal Dala Sabhi Kuch, Kayam Hai magar Ab bhi Vahi Shahane Banaras, U hin Nahi Le jate hain Sab Sadi Yahanki, Mashoore Zamana Hai Ye Samane Banaras” He along with his family are in this profession since seven generations.

His motto is to help the weaver community by directly connecting weavers to customers without any middle men and also help customers by providing them authentic products. He also spoke on the history of Banaras brocade fabrics tracing back from the era of Bhagwan Buddha. He also talked about an innovation done by him on “Banarasi Portable Mini Jacquard Handloom” which is created and patented by him. The handloom is pit less with size of 15” by 36” and the length of Jacquard is 9”. The loom was created to help students to get practical knowledge of weaving. Mr. Ali showed some masterpieces from

his collection which included traditional sarees, stoles, bed sheets, pillow covers, cushion covers, and wall hangings which were created by him and his family. Products are created based on customers demand. Mr. Ali answered satisfactorily, all the questions raised by the participants on the YouTube.

The second weaver was Arshad Iqbal, a Chanderi handloom weaver from a very small village Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh, India. Mr. Iqbal introduced himself and explained how he along with his family are in this profession from 10 generations.

More than 500 weavers are connected with chanderi weaving and in their village there are more than 90 handlooms. There is no power loom in the entire village. Every house in the entire village will have atleast one handloom. The working system in the village is such that 6 days in a week the weavers weave sarees and on the 7th day they get their payment reimbursed from Master weaver/Trader. The unique feature of chanderi weaving is that it is lightweight and has a sheer texture with luxurious feel. They also make sarees and stoles as per customers demand. They can create saree with human portrait and they are capable of weaving almost any motifs. Mr. Iqbal showed some masterpieces from his collection which included traditional sarees, stoles, and fabrics which were created by him and his family. He also showed a saree which was worn by famous celebrity actress Anushka Sharma.

Dr. Ela Dedhia asked both the weavers the opportunities and challenges that they have come across during the lockdown period. On this Mr. Alias Ali said that the price of

|OCTOBER 2020

raw materials was almost doubled from before and many of the weavers started doing other work such as selling vegetables, driving auto rickshaws, etc. and Mr. Arshad Iqbal said that from past 4-5 months not a single product is sold but weavers are making the sarees although they are not able to pay them appropriately. Basic survival has also become very difficult for many weavers. They don’t have any mode to sell their product internationally or digitally.

This webinar gave in-depth information about crafts, and also about the situation the craftsmen are facing currently due to Pandemic and it showed the way by which students, new entrepreneurs and designers can work together with artisans to help them tackle their challenges.

There is a huge opportunity to grow with the artisans and also overcome the problems they face.

Dr. Ela Dedhia and many other participants were encouraged to help them in this situation and as suggested by them both the weavers were ready to sell their products through online platforms. Both the weavers and all the participants on YouTube were very happy and sent several messages through the YouTube live chat saying that they are feeling very fortunate that from the comfort of their home, they are able to observe and enjoy such kind of rich crafts and they were very thankful to the organising team.

The session ended by meeting the family members of weavers and some online photography through screenshots to cherish these beautiful memories.

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Basic textile export marginally up in September Nitin Madkaikar

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n September, basic textiles comprising fibres, spun, filament yarns and fabric shipment was up 7% YoY in terms of US$ worth US$821 million or INR6,057 crore, accounting for about 2.95% of total merchandise exported from India during the month. The increase was mainly a recovery of sharp decrease seen in September 2019.

Spun Yarn Spun yarns shipment totaled 119 million kg worth US$294 million or INR2,168 crore. They were 32% higher than August 2019 in terms of volume and 15% up in terms of US$.

Bangladesh was the largest importer in spun yarns with value up 71%, followed by China (11). These two markets accounted for about 37% to total yarn shipment during the month.

Cotton yarn export was 96 million kg worth US$198 million (INR1,790 crore). These were shipped to 75 countries at an average price of US$2.06 a kg, down US cents 43 from previous month and US cents 86 down from a year ago. Bangladesh was the top cotton yarn market, followed by China, Peru, Portugal and Egypt.

was worth US$5.41 million and were exported at an average unit price of US$3.10 a kg. Turkey was the largest importer of polyester yarn, followed

by Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Blended spun yarns worth US$32 million were exported in September, including 9.8 million kg of PC yarns and 2.7 million kg of PV yarns.

Egypt was the largest importers of PC yarn from India followed by Peru while Turkey was the largest importer of PV yarns from India followed distantly by Brazil.

Filament Yarn All kinds of filament yarns shipment totaled 57 million kg, valued at US$75 million or INR556 crore.

Nylon exports which had shown increases until now, fell in September. Viscose filament, which were falling sharp-ly until August, the fall decelerated in September to 0.3%).

Polyester filaments export was also down 12% during the month, slower than in preceding months.

Cotton Cotton fibre shipment in September continued to surge with volume at 541 thousand bales worth INR1,004 crore or US$136 million.

With this, the 2019-20 season (Oct19 to Sept-20) end with 61.84 lakh bales worth US $1,580 million or INR 11,368 crore. In 2018-19, exports had totaled 54.63 lakh bales worth US $1,678 million or INR 11,777 crore.

Bangladesh was the largest market for Indian cotton export during September, followed by China and Vietnam.

Manmade fibre All kinds of manmade staple fibres shipment totaled 36 million kg, valued at US$31 million or INR2306 crore. Polyester staple fibre exports were up 24% in volume but down 11% in terms of value. The per unit realization was US$0.73 a kg or INR1.01 a kg, down 28% year on year. Viscose fibre export surge 65% in volume and up 8% in value with price realisation down 34%.

Fabrics All kinds of fabric totaling 667 million sq metres valued at US$285 million or INR2,099 crore was exported from India in September 2020. They were 19% down in value but volumes shipment was 44% higher year on year.

100% man-made fibre yarns exports of 7.77 million kg, comprised 3.51 million kg of polyester yarn, 2.37 million kg of acrylic yarn and 1.75 million kg of viscose yarn. Polyester yarn export was worth US$6.9 million or INR51 at an average price of US$1.97 per kg in September. USA was the largest market followed by Brazil. Viscose spun yarns export | OCTOBER 2020

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CBORVAENRD SUTPODRAYT E

Get the Most Out of Your Spinning Mill Earn More Money with a Rieter Compact-Spinning System

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he current situation caused by COVID-19 means priorities in the spinning industry have shifted. It is essential to get the best out of existing systems. But there will also come a time after COVID-19, in which investments will be made in new systems; such as in the Rieter compact-spinning system, which enables a significantly higher cash flow.

The Rieter compact-spinning system with the high-performance card C 80, comber E 90, ring spinning machine G 38 and the compacting device COMPACTdrum is known for very good yarn quality, the highest possible level of flexibility and low production costs. A complete Rieter system draws on Rieter’s expertise throughout the entire spinning process: from raw material to yarn.

What factors influence production costs? In this example, a compact-spinning system is used to produce combed cotton yarn with a count of Ne 60 for shirting fabrics (Fig. 1).

Fig.1 Process sequence for Rieter compact A Rieter system is compared with a “mixed spinning mill” equipped with machines from different manufacturers. Rieter systems are most impressive when it comes to raw-material utilization, energy requirements as well as personnel and space requirements. The cash flow generated demonstrates the outstanding economy of the complete system, which is perfectly synchronized and is supplied from one source.

Good Raw-Material Utilization Optimal raw-material utilization is achieved in the blowroom line VARIOline thanks to the combination of microtufts, the function VARIOset and progressive cleaning. An efficient blowroom process is dependent on the raw material being well opened from the outset. The automatic bale opener A 12 is capable of breaking down the bales into microtufts. The removal of trash and dust from small tufts in the downstream blowroom process is considerably more efficient and gentle. On the high-performance cards C 80, the maximum technological carding area with 40 active flats and a working width of 1.5 meters as well as the pre- and post-carding zones that can be equipped individually ensure reduced loss of good fibers while retaining the same sliver and yarn quality (Fig. 2). High-quality technology components and optimally coordinated combing movements on the comber E 90

Fig . 2 The high performance card c-80 with largest card Fig.3 The comber E90 guarantees allow reduced noil extraction while retaining the same yarn quality. Over the entire spinning process, this results in a raw material saving of 1%. |OCTOBER 2020

B RCAONVDE R U PSD TA OTREY

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The Energy Saver Rieter compact-spinning machines save energy. This also applies to Rieter ring spinning machines combined with compacting device COMPACTdrum (Fig. 4).

The sieve drum of the compacting device that compresses (i.e. compacts) the fibers has been optimized and the compacting zone reduced to the necessary minimum. The energy required for compression is therefore very low, at around five to eightwatts lower per spindle than that of compacting solutions from other suppliers. With energy-efficient drive concepts and innovative machine components throughout the process, the Rieter system is capable of offering 10% energy savings – all the while maintaining the highest possible levels of productivity.

Reduced Personnel and Space Requirements The high productivity of Rieter machines allows a reduction in the number of (Fig. 4 compacting device) machines, thus saving a lot of space compared to a process using a “mixed system.” In the case study mentioned above, the Rieter spinning mill requires one compact-spinning machine, one autoleveler draw frame, one comber and two cards fewer than the “mixed system.” Space-saving machine concepts, such as for draw frames, also lead to a more compact spinning mill layout. This allows space savings of approximately 7% (750 m2 ) – and therefore lower building investment and maintenance costs. Thanks to the reduced number of machines and therefore a reduced operator workload, the automatic roving bobbin transport system SERVOtrail and user-friendly machines with a uniform design, 6% fewer personnel are required and can therefore be used for more efficient tasks.

Higher Cash Flow Thanks To Lower Production Costs Taking raw-material utilization, energy and labor costs, interest rates, yarn and noil sales and ongoing operating costs into consideration, the total production costs calculated for the Rieter system for the combed compact- spinning process are lower than for a solution from different suppliers. This means that customers who invest in the Rieter compact-spinning system as per the example shown generate a cash flow that is around USD 250 000 per year higher than that of customers who opt for a “mixed spinning mill” (Fig. 5).

Maximum Flexibility as an Additional Advantage The combination of the ring spinning machine G 38 with the compacting device COMPACTdrum is ideal for customers who appreciate flexibility in yarn production.

COMPACTdrum makes it easy to change between ring and compact yarn, because the compacting device can be easily attached and removed from the ring spinning machine. COMPACTdrum can be supplied with a new ring spinning machine, and existing Rieter ring spinning machines can be retrofitted. In addition, the G 38 is capable of producing high-quality special yarns. Thanks to the integrated VARIOspin system for slub yarns, which is integrated in every G 38, the customer can change between standard and slub yarns simply at the touch of a button. The G 38 with COMPACTdrum is suitable for all raw materials and yarn counts.

(Fig. 5 customer who choose the Rieter compact)

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Clean Technology.

Smart Factory.

COVER STORY

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From Melt to Yarn, Fibers and Nonwovens Oerlikon Manmade Fibers Segment with the product brands Oerlikon Barmag, Oerlikon Neumag and Oerlikon Nonwoven is one of the leading provider for filament spinning systems, texturing machines and BCF carpet yarn, staple fiber spinning as well as nonwovens solutions.

For further information visit us at www.oerlikon.com/manmade-fibers.

Spinning

Creeling

Drying

Cutting

Continuous Polycondensation Transfer Line

Gear Metering Pumps

Drawing/Cooling

Baling

Spinning/ Quenching Take-up/Winding

Doffing Texturing

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COVER STORY

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CONDUCTIVE TEXTILE