Ministry of Textiles celebrated the 7th International Day of Yoga today. The programme commenced with practice of yogasanas by the Ministry officials, which included Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Shri Upendra Prasad Singh and other senior officers. More than 150 officials participated in it. The yogasana practice was coordinated by trained and certified Yoga teachers from Art of Living International. In addition, the other attached and subordinate offices, statutory bodies and public sector units of Ministry of Textiles also observed the International Day of Yoga in their respective organisations, and field offices. The theme of this year is ‘Yoga for Wellness’, which focusses on practising Yoga for physical and mental well-being. Shri U.P. Singh also addressed the participants highlighting the need for practicing yoga everyday. In a tweet message on seventh International Yoga Day, Union Minister for Textiles and Women and Child Development Smt Smriti Zubin Irani said, “7 years to this day global recognition was bestowed upon India’s rich legacy for holistic wellbeing in the form of #InternationalDayOfYoga . Theme ‘Yoga for Wellness’ is now more relevant than ever, let us adopt Yoga in our daily lives for overall mental and physical fitness.”
Source: PIB
"While the impact of the second wave-induced lockdowns on businesses is clearly visible, there is a silver lining on the horizon...With different states getting into the unlock mode, there are immediate indications of improvement in economic activity," the survey said. With states easing lockdown curbs due to declining number of COVID-19 cases, there are immediate indications of improvement in economic activity as companies are hopeful of better performance in the next 6 to 12 months, according to a survey. About 60 per cent of 212 companies, which participated in the survey conducted by Ficci and Dhruva Advisors, said there was a high impact on their businesses due to the state-level lockdowns. With different parts of the country under different sets of restrictions and consumer sentiment impacted due to the ferocity of the second wave of COVID-19, an evident dip in demand was witnessed by companies, it added. This time it was not just demand in urban areas that was constrained but even the rural areas saw a compression in demand, according to the survey. "While the impact of the second wave-induced lockdowns on businesses is clearly visible, there is a silver lining on the horizon...With different states getting into the unlock mode, there are immediate indications of improvement in economic activity," the survey said. Ficci said that with the number of new cases ebbing and states getting into the unlock mode, there is hope that business and economic activities would regain normalcy in the months ahead. "Even as we see signs of improvement, we must prepare ourselves well for the subsequent waves....Clearly, vaccination at scale has to be the priority if we have to beat COVID-19 and put it behind us," it added. For dealing with any subsequent waves, it suggested five measures -- ramping up investments in healthcare infrastructure in smaller cities and rural areas; maintaining a sufficient pool of essential medicines; continuing with newly created temporary facilities; strengthening testing infrastructure, and setting up a national facility for vaccine manufacturing with government funding. The survey also suggested setting up vaccination facilities at airports, railway stations, bus depots, schools and village panchayat ghars; organizing mobile vans that can undertake vaccination in slums, rural areas and planning for vaccination of the elderly and people with disabilities, who have limited mobility, at home.
Source: Economic Times
Agriculture will see a deeper cut from the second wave compared to the first wave where it grew. It has been more than a year and a half since the COVID-19 pandemic penetrated the deepest core of human civilization and made us realizes the power of mother nature. In India, after the first wave, we thought that we had gained control of the situation but the second wave found us wanting for basic necessities such as oxygen and medical supplies. It might appear that the second wave is on its way out with daily cases coming down to under 60,000 from the peaks of nearly 4 lakh cases, but we have lost over 3.8 lakh precious lives to COVID-19 already. With the hope that the situation will significantly improve on the medical side, it is time to assess the impact of the second wave on macroeconomics. The government’s approach in dealing with the two waves has been different. The response to the second wave has been localised and driven by the states while in the first wave we went for a national lockdown. I attribute this to the economic compulsions of the hard-hit central government and progressive spread of the virus. The second wave started in the west with Maharashtra, went up North and now is peaking in the south of the country. This spread journey makes a national lockdown economically suboptimal. To understand the economic impact of the second wave, let’s remind ourselves of the first wave and its impact on the economy. In the first wave, we went through a prolonged national lockdown and a significantly lower number of peak cases. Manufacturing and the urban economy had come to a grinding halt while the rural economy continued to move because of less strict lockdowns. As a result, agriculture, which is the primary driver of our rural economy providing employment to 58% of our population, continued to grow. Agriculture further benefited from good monsoon and cheaper and higher availability of labor. Reflecting on the GDP figures, our agricultural economy grew by 3.4% while the overall economy contracted with 7.7% in FY21. The first wave was primarily urban in its spread. Urban areas reported more cases than rural areas for the first five months of the spread. In the second wave rural areas started reporting more cases than urban ones from the second month itself. An analysis of more than 50 most severely hit districts, 26 were in rural areas. Rural areas in the state of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala were the worst impacted. The situation was further aggravated, due to the inadequacy of medical infrastructure in the rural areas and the rush of patients from villages and smaller towns to urban centers.
Agriculture
The second wave has seen stricter and longer lockdowns in the rural parts of the country. Due to the lockdowns, APMC Mandis have been closed for operations or have taken such steps voluntarily. Specifically, APMC Mandis in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra were closed during the peak harvesting season. Farmers were not prepared for the ensuing chaos. As the Mandis have still not opened fully, crops are rotting in the fields. Due to the closure of Mandis, vegetable vendors, and processing industries have also been hit. We can see the contrasting impact of the first and the second wave in the agriculture wage growth data. The average wage growth for the agriculture sector for the period of November 2020 to March 2021 has reduced to 2.9 percent (2nd wave) from 8.5 percent in April to August 2020 (1st wave).
Manufacturing
Manufacturing was at the receiving end in both the first and the second wave. To control the coronavirus spread, most of the manufacturing sector had to work at a lesser capacity or shut down. Non-essentials manufacturing was hit for longer and with more severe restrictions. The fear of prolonged lockdowns led to migration back to villages. In addition, the global and local supply chains had also not fully normalized after the first wave. This has meant higher cost of procuring raw materials for both small and large industries. As per the IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) in May 2021, PMI slumped to 50.8 from 57.5 reported in February. It is at a tenmonth low.
Services
The services sector in the last two decades has become the bedrock of the Indian economy contributing to more than half of the GDP. But, our services and knowledge-based industries have been built on the manufacturing industry premise of the 18th century i.e. proximity and discipline of workers to the factory is critical in getting good output. We apply the same philosophy for our software engineers and telecalling workforce. With the internet revolution this premise has proven to be an unnecessary legacy of the past. Now the workforce can be decentralized and anyone can work from anywhere till the time there is 4G internet. I do believe that COVID will prove a positive disruption for the services sector in the long run. The first wave required a steep learning curve for the organizations to develop infrastructure and processes for remote working. For the employees, first wave lockdowns were a new paradigm and it took them some time to adjust to work from home and be productive. Prolonged lockdown and unlocking phases during the first wave ensured that both the employer and employee got into a rhythm and the productivity started reaching pre-covid levels. The second wave disrupted this rhythm. But the impact of the second wave has been localized and centered around groups of people with typical disruptions costing 3-4 weeks of productivity. My assessment is that the services sector will be the least hit from wave 2 from an output standpoint.
The overall impact on GDP
On May 31, the Indian government released the data for GDP that during the financial year 2020-21, GDP contracted by 7.3 percent. It is the most severe contraction from the time India got its independence. The reasons behind this trajectory are obvious – lockdown leading to the closing of business units, increasing unemployment rate and a significant decline in domestic consumption. For the current financial year, the Reserve Bank of India has anticipated growth of 10.5 percent. But the rating agencies across the globe have downgraded it due to the impact of the second wave of COVID-19. Moody’s initially projected 13.7 percent of growth for FY 2021-22, but later lowered it to 9.3 percent. The same goes with S&P Global Rating. They have lowered the 11 percent growth to 9.8 percent in case of moderate impact of the second wave, but for a worst-case scenario, it would be 8.2 percent. The ideas around a third wave are not helping the situation at all. To summarize on the macroeconomic numbers of GDP, I expect a less severe impact of the second wave due to less strict, localized lockdowns and practically a lesser number of days in reaching the peak number of infections. Agriculture will see a deeper cut from the second wave compared to the first wave where it grew. Our hopes of economic revival are pinned to us having an express vaccination drive, which takes away the fear of a third wave and a revival of consumer confidence and spending.
Source: Financial Express
The World Investment Report 2021 by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), released Monday, said global FDI flows have been severely hit by the pandemic and they plunged by 35 per cent in 2020 to USD 1 trillion from USD 1.5 trillion the previous year. India received USD 64 billion in Foreign Direct Investment in 2020, the fifth largest recipient of inflows in the world, according to a UN report which said the COVID-19 second wave in the country weighs heavily on the country's overall economic activities but its strong fundamentals provide "optimism" for the medium term. The World Investment Report 2021 by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), released Monday, said global FDI flows have been severely hit by the pandemic and they plunged by 35 per cent in 2020 to USD 1 trillion from USD 1.5 trillion the previous year. Lockdowns caused by COVID-19 around the world slowed down existing investment projects, and prospects of a recession led multinational enterprises (MNEs) to reassess new projects. The report said in India, FDI increased 27 per cent to USD 64 billion in 2020 from USD 51 billion in 2019, pushed up by acquisitions in the information and communication technology (ICT) industry, making the country the fifth largest FDI recipient in the world. The pandemic boosted demand for digital infrastructure and services globally. This led to higher values of greenfield FDI project announcements targeting the ICT industry, rising by more than 22 per cent to USD 81 billion. Major project announcements in the ICT industry included a USD 2.8 billion investment by online retail giant Amazon in ICT infrastructure in India. The report noted that the second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in India weighs heavily on the country's overall economic activities. Announced greenfield projects in India contracted by 19 per cent to USD 24 billion, "and the second wave in April 2021 is affecting economic activities, which could lead to a larger contraction in 2021," it said, adding that the outbreak in India severely hit main investment destinations such as Maharashtra, which is home to one of the biggest automotive manufacturing clusters (Mumbai-PuneNasik-Aurangabad) and Karnataka (home to the Bengaluru tech hub), which face another lockdown as of April 2021, exposing the country to production disruption and investment delays. "Yet India's strong fundamentals provide optimism for the medium term. FDI to India has been on a long-term growth trend and its market size will continue to attract market-seeking investments. In addition, investment into the ICT industry is expected to keep growing," the report said. The country's export-related manufacturing, a priority investment sector, will take longer to recover, but government facilitation can help. India's Production Linkage Incentive scheme, designed to attract manufacturing and exportoriented investments in priority industries including automotive and electronics can drive a rebound of investment in manufacturing. The report said FDI in South Asia rose by 20 per cent to USD 71 billion, driven mainly by strong M&As in India. "Amid India's struggle to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, robust investment through acquisitions in ICT (software and hardware) and construction bolstered FDI," it said adding that cross-border M&As surged 83 per cent to USD 27 billion, with major deals involving ICT, health, infrastructure and energy. Large transactions included the acquisition of Jio Platforms by Jaadhu, a subsidiary of Facebook for USD 5.7 billion, the acquisition of Tower Infrastructure Trust by Canada's Brookfield Infrastructure and GIC (Singapore) for USD 3.7 billion and the sale of the electrical and automation division of Larsen & Toubro India for USD 2.1 billion. Another megadeal - Unilever India's merger with GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare India, a subsidiary of GSK United Kingdom) for USD 4.6 billion - also contributed, it said. FDI outflows from South Asia fell 12 per cent to USD 12 billion, driven by a drop in investment from India. India ranked 18 out of the world's top 20 economies for FDI outflows, with 12 billion dollars of outflows recorded from the country in 2020 as compared to 13 billion dollars in 2019. "Investments from India are expected to stabilise in 2021, supported by the country's resumption of free trade agreement (FTA) talks with the European Union (EU) and its strong investment in Africa," the report said. The report cautioned that while the Asian region has managed the health crisis relatively well, the recent second wave of COVID-19 in India shows that significant uncertainties remain. "This has major impacts on prospects for South Asia. A wider resurgence of the virus in Asia could significantly lower global FDI in 2021, given that region's significant contribution to the total," the report said. FDI inflows to developing Asia grew by 4 per cent to USD 535 billion in 2020, making it the only region to record growth and increasing Asia's share of global inflows to 54 per cent. In China, FDI increased by 6 per cent to USD 149 billion. While some of the largest economies in developing Asia such as China and India recorded FDI growth in 2020, the rest recorded a contraction, it said. The report added that FDI inflows in Asia are expected to increase in 2021, outperforming other developing regions with a projected growth of 5-10 per cent. Signs of trade and industrial production recovering in the second half of 2020 provide a strong foundation for FDI growth in 2021. Yet, substantial downside risks remain for the many economies in the region that struggle to contain successive waves of COVID-19 cases and where fiscal capacity for recovery spending is limited. "Economies in East and South-East Asia, and India, will continue to attract foreign investment in high-tech industries, given their market size and their advanced digital and technology ecosystem," the report said.
Source: Economic Times
While the relaxed lockdown measures and moderating cases were expected to trigger a snap back in mobility, the real economy would likely show improvements only gradually, Nomura said. Uptick in business activity continued into June, reaching levels last seen in October, according to data from Japanese brokerage Nomura. The Nomura India Business Resumption Index (NIBRI) picked up to 81.3 for the week ended June 20, from 74.9 recorded a week earlier, the firm said in a note on Monday. This also represented a 21.1 percentage point (pp) gain from the nadir seen in Mayend, which felt the brunt of the impact of the second wave of Covid-19, the note said. The improvement in the index was led by mobility as Google’s workplace and retail and recreation mobility indices increased by 6.7pp and 11.9pp, respectively, from the previous week, while the Apple driving index jumped by 16.2pp, continuing a trend of solid weekly improvement. While the relaxed lockdown measures and moderating cases were expected to trigger a snap back in mobility, the real economy would likely show improvements only gradually, Nomura said. However, “a third pandemic wave over the next few months is a key risk that bears monitoring,” Nomura economists Sonal Varma and Aurodeep Nandi said in the note. Other high-frequency indicators tracked by the index like labour participation rate inched up to 40.5 from 39.8 in the previous week, even as the unemployment rate rose by 0.7pp to 9.4%. On the other hand, power demand contracted by 2.2% compared to a week earlier after rising by a weekly average of about 5.8% over three consecutive weeks.
Source: Economic Times
Madurai: Small scale textile store owners from Madurai have urged the state government to allow them to operate at least for a few hours every day to help them come out of their financial problems. A large number of owners and employees from the sector gathered at Vilakkuthoon on Monday morning to stage a demonstration. A police team reached the spot and made them disperse citing the Covid-19 restrictions. Textile store owners said that it has been close to two months since the stores were closed due to lockdown. While the state government has announced some relaxations including public transportation in Chennai and its neighbouring areas, they were disappointed that relaxations to open textile stores were not given in places like Madurai, where the number of cases has come down. Congratulations! You have successfully cast your vote Login to view result They added that they are already facing various financial issues as they continue to pay wages for their employees and rent of the shops. They will fall into deep debts if they are not allowed to open soon, they said. A V S Britto of Madurai textile association said that they are struggling to pay their employees. “We have heavy debts for which we need to pay interest. We have to pay electricity bills and rent. We are not in a position to spend any more. State government should allow us to operate for a few hours regularly. They can also allow us to operate on alternative days,” he said. There are 2,000 textile stores in Madurai, employing around 10,000 people. The livelihood of all these people will be affected if the government does not come forward to heed to our demands, owners said. Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged the government to allow opening of jewellery stores functioning in less than 3,000 square feet space as employees are losing their livelihood.
Source: Times of India
India proposed banning flash sales on e-commerce websites and said their affiliate entities shouldn't be listed as sellers on their platforms, in a proposed tightening that could hit Amazon, Flipkart India proposed banning flash sales on e-commerce websites and said on Monday their affiliate entities should not be listed as sellers on their platforms, in a proposed tightening of rules that could hit Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs' rules, which were released in a government statement, come amid complaints by brick-and-mortar retailers that foreign e-commerce players bypass Indian laws by using complex business structures. Amazon and Flipkart say they comply with all Indian laws. Amazon said on Monday it was reviewing the draft rules and had no immediate comment, while Walmart's Flipkart did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Under the stricter proposals, e-commerce companies should not hold flash sales in India. These are hugely popular during festive season, but have faced anger among offline sellers who say they cannot compete with the deep discounts online. E-commerce firms must also ensure that none of their "related parties and associated enterprises" are listed as sellers on their shopping websites, and no related entity should sell goods to an online seller operating on the same platform. The changes could impact business structures used by Flipkart and Amazon in the fast growing Indian e-commerce market, industry sources and lawyers said. A Reuters investigation http://reut.rs/2OCOT2W in February showed Amazon had given preferential treatment to a small group of sellers for years. Amazon holds an indirect stake in two of the top sellers on its website, but says it does not give any preferential treatment. Foreign e-commerce players must not make direct sales to consumers, and can only operate a marketplace for sellers. Amazon and Flipkart are also regulated under India's foreign investment rules for ecommerce, and it was not clear if the proposed consumer ministry rules will supersede them or not. The proposal, which is applicable to both Indian and foreign players, is open for public consultation until July 6, the Indian government statement said. The rules also call on companies to make suggestions of alternative products before customers make purchases "to ensure a fair opportunity for domestic goods." "This proposal basically changes the way e-commerce is structured. This is way beyond consumer rules - this is basically like an e-commerce industry policy," one e-commerce executive said, adding: "It will be extremely disruptive." Amazon and Flipkart are separately locked in a court battle with federal antitrust watchdog to stall an investigation into their business practices.
Source: Business Standard
By Monday noon, about 90% of shops in Chickpet and adjoining areas were brimming with customers not just from Bengaluru but also from the districts like Tumakuru, Ramanagara and Chikkaballapur. Traders at Chickpet told DH that there was a great demand for textile products, electrical goods and other essentials. The resumption of BMTC and Metro services brought in more customers. “People were unable to shop for two months, except for essentials. The business was good, though not like it was earlier. We hope this will prevail in the coming days,” explained a trader from Chickpet. Sajjanraj Mehta, trade activist and ex-president of Karnataka Hosiery and Garment Association, said shop owners and workers were educated about Covid-19 protocols and they pledged to voluntarily watch customers’ behaviour. As lakhs of people descended on the streets, several areas witnessed traffic gridlocks and slowmoving traffic for hours, especially the CBD and Airport Road. The Kempegowda Bus Terminus at Majestic saw a high density of travellers. With just a few buses plying, traffic controllers were struggling to control the crowds. Though buses were supposed to ply with 50% capacity, in many buses, passengers had occupied all the seats even as conductors and officials pleaded with them to maintain social distance. Jewellery merchants were a happy to see customers again, especially after missing out on most of the wedding season and Akshaya Tritiya this year. T A Sharavana, president of Karnataka Jewellers Association, said, “People are buying gold and silver jewellery as the wedding season is not fully over. We expect business to pick up in the upcoming weeks.”
Source: Deccan Herald
The country’s textile group exports have witnessed 18.85 percent growth during the first eleven months (July-May) of the current fiscal year 2020-21 and remained $13.748 billion as compared to $11.567 billion during the corresponding period of the last financial year. According to the data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the textile group exports witnessed a decline of 20.45 percent in May 2021 standing at $1.060 billion as compared to $1.332 billion during April 2021. However, the textile group exports registered an increase of 41.14 percent on a year-on-year basis as it reached $1.060 billion in May 2021 compared to $751.124 million in May 2020. Raw cotton exports registered a 96.51 percent decline during July-May 2020-21 and remained at $0.593 million compared to $17.002 million during the same period of the last year. Raw cotton exports remained zero during May 2021 and were also zero in April 2021.—TLTP
Source: Pakistan Observer
Israel allowed a limited resumption of commercial exports from the Gaza Strip on Monday in what it called a "conditional" measure one month after a truce halted 11 days of fighting with the Palestinian enclave's Hamas rulers. Gaza border officials said the easing of Israeli restrictions would last two to three days and would apply to agricultural goods and some textiles, reports Reuters. Israel keeps tight controls Gaza crossings, with support from neighbouring Egypt, citing threats from Hamas. The Israeli restrictions were intensified during the May fighting, effectively halting all exports. But with the Egyptian-mediated ceasefire largely holding, Israel said some exports would be allowed out through its territory as of Monday morning. "Following a security evaluation, a decision has been made for the first time since the end of (the fighting) to enable ... (the) limited export of agricultural produce from the Gaza Strip," COGAT, a branch of Israel's Defence Ministry, said. COGAT said the measure was approved by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's government and was "conditional upon the preservation of security stability". Egypt stepped up its Israel-Hamas mediation last week after incendiary balloons launched from Gaza drew retaliatory Israeli airstrikes on Hamas sites, challenging the fragile ceasefire. But with that flare-up having ebbed since early Friday, some workers in Gaza voiced hope that the easing of Israeli restrictions would last, and potentially be expanded. Some 10,000 people in Gaza, home to 2.0 million people, work in textiles. "This could be a start ... today we exported clothing, and tomorrow, maybe something else," said Gaza truck driver Ismail Abu Suleiman, 55, who transports export-bound goods to Israel's Kerem Shalom border crossing. Gaza's agriculture ministry said farmers had lost $16 million due to the restrictions on exports.
Source: Financial Express
Guangdong, China's main manufacturing hub, has been left in the throes of an electricity shortage following scarce rain and rising coal prices, casting uncertainty over 10% of its economic output China's southern province of Guangdong, which is the country's main manufacturing hub, has been left in the throes of an electricity shortage following scarce rain, rising coal prices and rapid inland industrialisation, casting uncertainty over 10 per cent of the country's economic output. According to Nikkei Asia, the effects are being felt on factory floors and in managers' offices, with one Japanese-owned metal parts supplier sent scrambling to rearrange work schedules after local authorities ordered power cuts. The biggest question emerging is how long the electricity shortage will last. A Honda Motor spokesperson said there was no impact on production at this time. But if the power constraints become chronic, they would risk rattling global supply chains. "With two power cuts a week, we can still ensure enough output. With two power cuts a week, we can still ensure enough output," said a Honda executive. On Thursday, a spokesperson for the National Development and Reform Commission, China's economic planning body, acknowledged in a news conference that Guangdong and other southern provinces face power shortages. During the mandated power cuts, companies can use only enough electricity for essential operations, such as security. Going over the limit results in a penalty in the form of extended hours of restrictions, according to Nikkei Asia. Guangdong houses 8 per cent of China's population and some of the Chinese biggest companies, such as Huawei Technologies, electric-vehicle builder BYD, appliance group Midea and Tencent Holdings. Meanwhile, authorities have attributed the electricity shortage to a drought and elevated summer demand. Guangdong received about only about 40 per cent as much precipitation from January to early April as in the same period last year, while the average temperature was 2.2 degrees Celsius higher, local media reported. Low coal inventories -- an effect of rising prices -- are also taking a toll. Domestic coal prices stood at 878 yuan (USD 136) per ton in early June, up roughly 70 per cent on the year, based on 5,500 kilocalories of heat per kg, official data shows. Nikkei Asia further reported that wider factors in the regional economy are also at work. About 30 per cent of the power used in Guangdong comes long-distance from Yunnan and other provinces. One of its nuclear plants, in the Guangdong city of Taishan, appeared at risk of releasing radioactive materials into the environment, CNN reported last week. However, Chinese authorities have provided few details on the situation while admitting that there had been fuel rod damage at the plant. Guangdong is also witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases, resulting in hundreds of flights being cancelled and lockdown imposed in some cities. Guangdong's health commission reported a total of six new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, including two from Shenzhen and one each in Foshan and Dongguan, South China Morning Post reported.
Source: Business Standard
Bangladeshi garment factories are on a mission to clean up their act, and improve their bottom lines by adopting sustainable practices Zaber and Zubair Fabrics Ltd, a supplier of home textiles to major European retailers H&M and Lidl, is one of a growing band of Bangladeshi garment factories on a mission to clean up their act, and improve their bottom lines by going greener. The business on the outskirts of Dhaka previously used large amounts of sulphuric acid to remove excess caustic, a chemical that strengthens fabric, from its waste water. But in 2010, the factory installed two plants that recover from the water 95% of the caustic used to rinse the fabrics made into goods like sheets and pillow covers, saving 6.5 million litres of caustic soda annually as well as sulphuric acid. The plants also generate hot water as a by-product, which is used in machines to process fabrics at high temperatures, economising on water and electricity. The plants cost about $2.3 million to set up but have helped the factory save $3.8 million a year through buying fewer chemicals, treating less waste water and lowering energy bills. "Using green energy, or installing plants that recycle, saves cost in the long run," said Zakir Hossen, sustainability head for the factory which employs 8,000 workers. Climate activists say the global fashion industry should intensify efforts to cut climateheating emissions in line with the Paris Agreement goals of limiting average temperature rise to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial times. Zaber and Zubair Fabrics has rooftop solar panels that can generate about 400 kilowatts of power. While that is less than 1% of the factory's needs, it plans to add more solar capacity in the coming years. "To survive, we have to give customers good products at a low price. And if we don't gradually shift to green energy, we won't be able to do that... This also helps the environment," Hossen told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The apparel industry produces 4% of the world's planet-warming emissions, equal to the combined annual total of France, Germany and Britain, according to a 2020 study by the nonprofit Global Fashion Agenda and consultants McKinsey and Company. The UN Environment Programme in 2019 put the fashion industry's share of global carbon emissions at 10%, more than for all international flights and maritime shipping, and said it was the second-biggest consumer of water. Bangladesh's overall emissions are tiny compared with industrialised countries, but its garment sector is the world's second-largest exporter of clothes and employs about 4 million people. Brands pay the same Last year, the Green Climate Fund, the main UN-backed climate finance channel for developing countries, approved a $250-million loan programme for projects to make garment factories in Bangladesh more energy efficient. Buoyed by economic arguments and pressure from brands to reduce emissions along the fashion supply chain, an increasing number of Bangladeshi factories are taking steps to lower their energy usage, industry experts said. The Partnership for Cleaner Textile (PaCT), a programme led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to assist Bangladeshi factories in adopting cleaner production practices, said it has helped 338 factories cut their greenhouse gas emissions by more than half a million tonnes a year. "That’s equal to removing over 119,000 cars from the road," said Nishat Chowdhury, programme manager for PaCT, which was launched in 2013 and is supported by Denmark, Australia and the Netherlands, as well as major clothing brands. "More and more factories are nominating themselves for the programme, because they know they must go green to remain competitive in the international market. However, uptake is slow due to policy barriers... This market needs to grow," she added. PaCT's recommendations include installing heat recovery boilers to utilise exhaust gas heat from generators, cutting power usage through energy-efficient appliances, and recycling water after condensation. These steps have helped factories each save thousands of dollars annually, curb emissions and save water, five owners told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Bangladesh also has more than 140 factories certified by LEED, a US-based rating system for green buildings. Constructing such factories requires at least 15-20% more capital investment, the owners said. "You need to spend on expensive things," said Asif Ashraf from Urmi Group, which owns a LEED-approved factory. "For instance, you need a special toilet that doesn't use more than a specific amount of water, you also need a special AC." Despite their extra investment, factory owners said they had failed to secure better prices from international brands. Buyers need to pay more if they want their supply chains to be climate-neutral or climate-positive in the future, manufacturers said. "If (brands) want to achieve this goal, they will need to give a favourable price... They need to motivate factories," said Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, which has about 4,000 members. Mohammad Tamim, dean of the School of Engineering at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, said he did not think it would be possible for most factories to go fully "climate positive" or depend solely on renewable energy. "Factories can further minimise emissions and maybe go to net zero at some point. But with the limited space (they) have, renewable energy can at best serve just 5% of their power needs (now)," he added.
Source: Reuters
Twenty-five European non-governmental organisations (NGOs) recently rebuffed voluntary agreements to clean up the fashion industry, calling for the European Union’s (EU) upcoming textile legislation to hold brands accountable for their contribution to global pollution. As part of the Wardrobe Change campaign, NGOs are calling for new policies to stop runaway overproduction of textiles. Proposed measures include minimum standards for how long clothes should last, a ban on the destruction of unsold and returned goods, rules to verify and substantiate green claims, and ambitious targets for an absolute reduction in the amount of natural resources used across the supply chain, according to a press release from RREUSE. RREUSE is an NGO network representing social enterprises active in the field of reuse, repair and recycling, with 30 members across 26 countries in Europe and the United States. The group also called for urgent rules on hazardous chemicals in fashion and for moves to combat environmental harm to include action to end labour rights’ violations in supply chains. The European Commission is currently gathering feedback from industry and civil society organisations, to put forward new measures by the end of the year. The NGOs’ position paper has four key demands. The first is to make sustainable textile products the norm through high minimum design standards, better production processes, traceability, transparency and information disclosure, and banning the destruction of unsold and returned goods. The second is to drive resource-sufficient textile consumption with rules on what reliable green claims can be made on products, harmonised labelling, and better information on the expected lifetime and repairability of a product. The third is to leave the linear business model behind by taxing virgin resource use and making producers responsible for the products they put on the market from cradle to grave. And the final demand is to hold the EU textile industry accountable for its role in the world through a trade reset and strong human rights and environmental due diligence rules. “The EU urgently needs to redesign the textile industry by tackling overproduction and overconsumption as well as unfair working conditions. To ensure longer-lasting and repairable products, priority must be given to waste prevention and preparing for re-use. In parallel, greater support and protection must be given to social economy enterprises active in the sector to help ensure an inclusive and fair textile value chain,” Mathieu Rama, senior policy officer at RREUSE, said. Members of the Wardrobe Change coalition include the following groups and their members: the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), ECOS, RREUSE, Plastic Soup Foundation, Zero, Future in Our Hands, Changing Markets Foundation, HEJ Support, Generation Climate Europe and Green Liberty. Adapting labour Shifting towards a greener model could lead to an increase in factory automation, suppliers said. They predicted differing impacts on the sector's workers, thousands of whom lost their jobs at the start of the covid-19 pandemic last year when brands shut shops and cut orders. One supplier said the arrival of energy-efficient machines that cut threads sprouting from finished clothes could make workers now responsible for that task redundant. "Having an adequately skilled labour force that can adapt to new technologies will be critical for jobs in the future," Wendy Werner, IFC country manager for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Other suppliers believe the apparel industry is less suitable for high levels of automation as fashion changes fast. Some said a shift to green energy would benefit workers. "An upgrade to the machines would decrease physical work and that would in turn improve the work atmosphere in the factories and make it more labour-friendly, aside from helping the environment," said Hassan of the garment manufacturers' group. Regardless of the impact, workers rights activist Kalpona Akter believes there is no alternative to a green energy shift. "Energy from fossil fuels is hurting our environment and wildlife ... also nobody can stop automation," she said. "We need to have an alternate industry that can give more jobs and not just focus on garments."
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
China's textile industry, driven by technological innovation, is embarking on its intelligent manufacturing journey. Nowadays, the textile industry is one of the most active industrial sectors in China in terms of scientific and technological innovation. Some 11 achievements in the textile industry were awarded the State Science and Technology Awards from 2016 to 2019. A number of technical problems have seen breakthroughs in the fields like fiber materials, green manufacturing and textile machinery. In terms of making rules, Chinese textile and apparel companies are active in the development of international standards and technical regulations……………
Source : China Daily
