The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council

MARKET WATCH 21 SEPT, 2021

NATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL

Govt To Start 24X7 Helpline For Exporters And Resolution Of Issues: Piyush Goyal

 The government is going to Institutionalise a 24 hours “Helpline” for assistance to exporters and resolution of issues, said Piyush Goyal today at the launch of nationwide celebrations of the iconic week for Amrit Mahotsav for Commerce & Industry Ministry. Shri Piyush Goyal said that our aim is to make ‘Brand India’ a representative of quality, productivity, talent & innovation”, while delivering “Keynote address at Launch of Vanijya Saptah” at SEZ NOIDA to commemorate Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. It may be noted that Commerce and Industry Ministry is launching 7 days of special events across the country today to celebrate & commemorate 75 years of progressive India as part of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations Shri Goyal said that Uttar Pradesh has made commendable progress in Industrial growth and Exports Improvement in Law and order has made doing business and trade much easier and safer in UP. He added that there was a need to jointly create a road map for next 25 years and contribute to make India a world leader . The Minister said that reforms in social sectors have made the development wholesome. Path-breaking Expansion of health programs, Toilets Infrastructure have been a major success and made the devlopment inclusive. Availability of electricity, cooking gas to households have made an extra ordinary impact on lives of crores of citizens of the country, who never had those benefits before. Goyal said that PM Modi’s call for ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ is a tribute to our freedom fighters & freedom movement and it is an opportunity for us to inspire & reignite new fervour, exuberance & enthusiasm The Minister said that ‘Vanijya Saptah’ embodies a pan-India character and will reflect spirit of Jan-andolan and Jan-bhagidari Ministry of Commerce & Industry has curated Vanijya Saptah has been around the 5 pillars of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav i.e. Freedom Struggle, Ideas @ 75, Achievements @ 75, Actions @ 75 and Resolves @ 75. Some of activities planned during this week include –1. Inclusive activities for stakeholders, States & people’s participation highlighting Aatmanirbhar Bharat, showcasing India’s rise as economic force

2. Sessions focusing on ‘From Farm to Foreign Lands’ (>10 lakh tea plantation participants)

3. Vanijya Utsav’ covering all 739 districts

4. 35 Export Promotion Events / Exhibitions, in each State / UT by EPCs

 5. Virtual Investor Summit in North East

6. Swachhta campaign & tree plantation by 250 SEZs

 7. 5 National Seminars / exhibitions and National Essay competition, etc. will be organised

 Goyal added that 75 years ago all worked to get Swarajya, now all must work in mission mode to be Aatmanirbhar. Modi Govt as a facilitator of this mission has introduced several reforms for inclusive growth. The Minister for Commerce & Industry, Textiles, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said that Centre has taken a series of measures to give further impetus to growth and job creation like Reduction in Corporate Tax, Liberalisation of FDI Regime, Single Window Clearance, ODOP, etc. Goyal added that despite COVID-19, due to decisive & bold leadership of PM, our economy is reviving and exports are increasing significantly. The Minister noted that FDI Inflows are highest & industry is on a high growth path. He said that FDI has increased by 10% to $ 81.72 bn from $ 74.39 bn (2019-20) and highest ever merchandise exports have been recorded in a quarter (Q1 2021-22, $ 95 bn).

Source: PragatiVadi

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FinMin to kick-start exercise for Union Budget 2022-23 on October 12

This will be fourth budget of Modi 2.0 govt and FM Nirmala Sitharaman. Union Budget to be announced on Feb 1, 2022, as has been done the past few years The finance ministry will kick-start the exercise to prepare the Union Budget for financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from October 12, according to an official notification released on Monday. “The pre-Budget meetings as well as the meetings to discuss the revised estimates will start from October 12 and will continue till the second week of November,” according to the Budget circular of the Department of Economic Affairs’ Budget Division. The Union Budget is expected to be announced on February 1, as has been the practice of the past few years.

On the agenda

Keeping in view the special circumstances this year, the government circular said final budgetary allocations will be decided according to the overall financial position and absorption capacity of the ministry concerned. Sources say that pre-consultations or meetings with ministries and central departments happen in alphabetical order according to the name of the ministry or department. This time, the exercise will involve the new ministry of cooperation, taking the total number to 56. While the number of demands for grants will rise to 102. Finance secretaries of all Union territories have also been asked to prepare in advance a statement detailing all plan outlays and these should be made available to the Union home ministry. Apart from holding internal discussions on various crucial macro numbers such as gross domestic product (GDP), revenue and expenditure accounts, fiscal deficit, the finance ministry also meets corporate houses and other stakeholders and seeks their views. The Budget Estimates (BE) for FY23 will be provisionally finalised after the expenditure secretary completes discussions with other secretaries and financial advisers, the circular noted. “The final ceilings will be decided separately by the Ministry of Finance latest by January 15, 2022, taking into account the resource assessment of the government and the available fiscal space,” the circular said. The notification said that the pre-Budget consultation will also take up the issue of fixing limits for all types of expenditure, including centrallysponsored schemes. It is expected that the Revised Estimates for the current fiscal will be prepared based on the expenditure till November. This fiscal, there was no expenditure cap during the first quarter, but in Q2 a cap was implemented for 82 out of 101 demands for grants. Considering lower expenditure during the first four months and cap during Q2, there is an expectation that Revised Estimates for this fiscal and Budget allocation for next for many of central ministries/departments could be lower. With improvement in revenue receipts, it is prudent to watch government action on expenditure management with respect to Q3 as that will decide the outlay in Q4. The exercise will have to focus on accelerating economic growth, while maintaining fiscal prudence amid the threat of a third wave of the pandemic. The Centre’s fiscal deficit was just 21 per cent of Budget Estimates in the first four months of the current fiscal thanks to robust revenues and brakes on capital expenditure by state governments. By then, the fiscal deficit had crossed the Budget Estimates of last year. Because of that and the move to make subsidies transparent, the Centre’s fiscal deficit had risen to 9.5 per cent of GDP in FY21 against the Budget projection of 3.5 per cent. The Centre’s target of reining in the fiscal deficit at 6.8 per cent seems to be on track, but it will have to step up capital expenditure to perk up growth. While the economy grew 20.1 per cent in Q1 on a low base, the GDP at constant prices was still 9.2 per cent lower than Q1 of FY20, a pre-covid period.

Source: Business Standard

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The PLI principle – Progressive approach to providing incentives to industry

From encouraging crop diversification to generating employment, the use-cases are many For the government, giving conditional incentives seems clearly the way to make money work. A performance yardstick helps in sift through players. The first sense of such an approach was when conditional cash transfers were made to households in Latin American countries; these ensured that children went to school or had regular medical check-ups. In India, the mid-day meal scheme is an example as the free meal ensures that parents send children to school. This worked well for girls, especially from the lower income groups, who otherwise would not be allowed to go to school. The PLI is hence a very progressive approach to providing incentives to industry. How it is interpreted by the global community remains it to be seen, because it directly gives cash to companies that meet certain performance parameters. It can be defended as not being a subsidy, such as those in agriculture where inputs are given virtually free to farmers. The PLI has been crafted to encourage domestic production, against importing the product from other countries. It doesn’t distort prices but makes industry more competitive. This should help to pass the barrier. This can be pursued in other areas too to make government expenditure more effective. The government had offered alternative corporate tax rate schemes to companies (22% against 30%), and the observation was that, while they did make use of the benefit, there was little evidence that it enhanced efficiency or led to higher investment. In this context, the government can make tax benefits conditional where companies that are able to generate investment of a certain minimum amount along with production and employment performance (PLI talks of the first two components) can get a tax refund. This will ensure companies invest more instead of using the benefit of lower taxes for paying higher dividend or piling up reserves. Indeed, there was a time when the tax laws had the concept of investment reserve that could be deducted from profits before tax. The  compensation through a refund will ensure that the companies contribute to capital formation, which is a challenge today. A similar idea can be pursued on job creation where units, from SMEs to large corporates, can be given an employment-generation-based incentive with firm targets set. Employment is the critical factor that spurs economies because, in the absence of new jobs being created, demand can’t be sustained. Jobs have been a problem even before the pandemic, where GDP growth didn’t translate into commensurate job creation. With the greater reliance on technology post the pandemic, job creation is rarely on the radar of large corporates. Providing incentives will work well and ensure that the focus is on being fair to labour. The important part of this story will be how well the PLI works out in the next 4-5 years, the average time framework that has been set for the 13 industries identified in November 2020. Overall, the government has targeted around `2 lakh crore of incentive spread over five years or so. There will be spillovers to the exports sector, especially in pharma, textiles, etc, though the initial focus was more on import substitution through higher domestic production. As the idea catches on, the government could also use the PLI scheme to change the cropping pattern in India which is heavily skewed towards rice and wheat as they have MSP-based procurement. This can help farmers to migrate to crops like oilseeds and pulses where we are more vulnerable and help in conserving water. If this is accepted conceptually, the details can be worked with the panchayats for implementation.

Source:  Financial Express

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Will focus on new products, markets for export diversification: FIEO

 FIEO Vice Chairman Khalid Khan said that the continuous growth in exports since March will help in achieving the target of USD 400 billion for this fiscal Apex exporters' body Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) on Monday said it will focus on new products and markets for diversification with a view to boost the country's outbound shipments. FIEO President A Sakthivel also said that the order booking position is encouraging till October, but many exporters are not in a position to take further contracts due to erosion of liquidity and uncertainties on the policy front. "I have raised the issue of shortage of containers, frequent shutouts by the shipping lines and exorbitant freight rates, that are having a dampening effect on the exports, with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal," he said at the organisation's annual general meeting. The other issues which FIEO has raised with the government include rationalisation of export policy of raw material to strike a balance between exports and domestic requirement; automatic enhancement of the existing working capital requirement by 20- 25 per cent by banks; extension of factoring facilities with institutions like ECGC; and removal of transport and logistics problems by regulating movement of empty containers from India. "The federation has also highlighted the skyrocketed increase in freight rates between 300 per cent to 350 per cent and to some destinations like South America and West Africa, it is over 500 per cent. It was suggested that freight subsidy may be given till freight charges normalize," he said. He added that large ships may be encouraged to call on some Indian ports so that the backlog is reduced; and the Shipping Corporation of India may be asked to take a few ships on lease for sailing to our major exports/imports destinations. Speaking at the meeting, FIEO Vice Chairman Khalid Khan said that the continuous growth in exports since March will help in achieving the target of USD 400 billion for this fiscal. "We are confident that we can revive our export growth and meet the export target of USD 400 billion by this fiscal and USD 1,000 billion by 2027 set by the government. This will mean registering annual export growth of above 25 per cent for the next five years, which is challenging but achievable," Khan said.

Source: Business Standard

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India jumps 2 spots to 46th rank in Global Innovation Index 2021

The country's rank has been consistently rising in the last few years. From 81 in 2015, it has moved to 46 in 2021 India has climbed two spots to 46 in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2021 prepared by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The country’s rank has been consistently rising in the last few years. From 81 in 2015, it has moved to 46 in 2021. “India (at 46) moves further ahead, by two spots (48 in GII 2020), after making it into the top 50 last year. It takes second place in the lower middle-income group. India held the third position in its income group in 2019 and 2020, having entered the top three in 2019,” the GII report said. It added that India has been portrayed as successful in developing sophisticated services that are technologically dynamic and can be traded internationally. It continues to lead the world in the information and communication technology services exports indicator (1) and holds top ranks in other indicators, such as domestic industry diversification (12) and graduates in science and engineering (12). The Centre in an official statement said that the consistent improvement in the GII ranking is due to the immense knowledge capital, vibrant start-up ecosystem, and the amazing work done b “Scientific wings like the Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Biotechnology, and the Department of Space have played a pivotal role in enriching the national innovation ecosystem,” the statement said. It added that a constant thrust on monitoring and evaluating India’s position in the global rankings has been provided by the NITI Aayog. The GII report is published by WIPO in partnership with the Portulans Institute, with support of corporate network partners, such as the Confederation of Indian Industry, Brazilian National Confederation of Industry, Ecopetrol Group (Colombia), and the Turkish Exporters Assembly. Meanwhile, lauding India’s efforts, the GII report said that selected middle-income economies are changing the innovation landscape, starting with China; Turkey, Vietnam, India, and the Philippines now pulling their weight. “Beyond China, these four particularly large economies together have the potential to change the global innovation landscape for good,” the report added.

Source: Business Standard

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DEA secy-led panel to firm up sustainable finance road map

 The task force will firm up recommendations to further strengthen the resilience of the country’s financial sector against risks emanating from various climate and ESG issues, a senior government official told FE. It will firm up recommendations to grow sustainable finance in India and set a clear time frame for their implementation. Amid the growing global focus on the economic impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, the government has set up a key task force under economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth to lay out a concrete road map to bolster India’s sustainable finance architecture. The task force will firm up recommendations to further strengthen the resilience of the country’s financial sector against risks emanating from various climate and ESG issues, a senior government official told FE. It will firm up recommendations to grow sustainable finance in India and set a clear time frame for their implementation. As part of this initiative, a survey is being undertaken with the help of the United Nations Development Programme (India) to assess climate and ESG resilience in India’s financial sector. Bankers, who are among the key stakeholders in the financial system, have submitted their responses on this issue as well. According to the UN Development Programme (UNDP) estimate before the pandemic, India requires an estimated $2.6 trillion to realise targets under the sustainable development goals by 2030. Since the government alone cannot generate or deploy such massive resources for this purpose, it requires collective efforts of both the public and private sectors. In August 2020, the department of economic affairs had launched the Sustainable Finance Collaborative in partnership with the UNDP. It included dialogues on various related issues, including barriers to deploying new and innovative modes of financing, such as impact investing, the role of blended finance instruments, green finance instruments for sustainable development and sustainabilityrelated disclosures by companies.

Source: Financial Express

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FDI key to India's aspiration to be a USD 5 trillion economy, says Deloitte CEO

 The CEO of the top multinational professional services network said, "FDI, I believe, is the key to India's aspiration to be a USD 5 trillion economy and I think that is eminently doable. I am certainly a very big proponent of India and what can be accomplished." Foreign DirectInvestment (FDI) is critically important for India to become a USD 5 trillion economy, Deloitte CEO Punit Renjen said while noting that over two- fifths of the 1,200 business leaders surveyed in the US, UK, Japan and Singapore are planning additional or first-time investments in India. Referring to the survey, he said India continues to be "one of the most attractive" FDI destinations. "Despite the COVID-19 destruction, inflows hit a record high last year. Business leaders, whom Deloitte surveyed, are preparing to make additional and first-time investments in India," Renjen told PTI. The CEO of the top multinational professional services network said, "FDI, I believe, is the key to India's aspiration to be a USD 5 trillion economy and I think that is eminently doable. I am certainly a very big proponent of India and what can be accomplished." The fourth key takeaway from the survey was the value of the skilled workforce and prospects for economic growth, particularly domestic. These are important attractors for FDI, he said. Also, it is still believed that India is a challenging place to do business. This perception is due to low awareness about government programmes, incentives and reforms, particularly those that have just been announced by the government, he said. "Of 1,200 business leaders surveyed in the US, UK, Japan and Singapore, 44 per cent are planning additional or first-time investments in India. Among the first-time investors, nearly two-third are planning to do so within the next two years," Renjen said. The Deloitte CEO noted that although there is a significant crossover, access to India's domestic market is very important in addition to the country being an export hub. But the attraction of the domestic market is very important for FDI investment, he said, adding, "Business leaders rated India higher on economic growth and skilled workforce, which are great attractors." Observing that government policies are certainly very welcome and are helping in attracting FDI in India, Renjen said some of the recent policy clarification is very good and the stated investment in infrastructure is very positive. He said 16 per cent of surveyed business leaders in Japan, and nine per cent in Singapore were less aware of the initiatives such as digitization of customers, clearance and production. There is a lack of awareness of all the really good things that the government is doing." Under Renjen's leadership, Deloitte this month became the first professional services firm to cross USD 50 billion. Even during the COVID-19 times, the company grew by 5.5 per cent. He said Deloitte has informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi that it will hire 75,000 more people in India in the next three years. The company currently has 65,000 people in India, out of a total global workforce of 3,45,000. During the COVID-19 crisis in India, Deloitte provided massive assistance both in terms of finances and healthcare equipment and also came out with the Sanjeevani Pariyojana -- a supervised, virtual home-care initiative to help people quickly access healthcare for mild to moderate symptoms of Covid. The programme is now being rolled out in various parts of the country. Several other countries, South Africa in particular, are adopting the project. "We have taken what we have done in Haryana, and we're now implementing it with the government in South Africa... We will also take it to Southeast Asia," Renjen said. "We leveraged home healthcare oximeters, oxygen concentrators and India's unique capabilities like the Asha workers. This was a very uniquely Indian answer to a problem. We also learned that this is a good way to provide primary healthcare, especially in rural areas," he said. The lessons that were learnt in India are definitely "exportable", the Deloitte CEO said. Responding to a question, Renjen said the first lesson India can learn from the Covid crisis is an investment in primary healthcare, the second is that vaccination is very important and the third is COVID-19 is a very difficult enemy. "We cannot let our guard down. We have to be very vigilant and this will take us a lot of effort to address. The last lesson is this is not an Indian problem but a global problem," he added. Renjen also said that India is "absolutely key" to Deloitte the next three years, he said adding the intent is to reach tier-two and tier-three cities.

Source: Economic Times

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E-way GST bill generation picks up pace ahead of festive season

Going by the recent weekly trends, the daily average is expected to rise further for September when data for the full month is captured. Between September 1 and 19, as many as 4.04 crore e-way bills were generated. Daily e-way bill generation for goods transportation under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system came in at 22.71 lakh for the week ended September 19, up 10.4% over the daily average for the previous week, reflecting a pick-up in economic activity ahead of the festival season. The daily average for the first 19 days of September was 21.24 lakh, almost at par with the daily average (21.26 lakh) for August. Going by the recent weekly trends, the daily average is expected to rise further for September when data for the full month is captured. Between September 1 and 19, as many as 4.04 crore e-way bills were generated. Thanks to the easing of lockdowns, e-way bill generation by businesses rose to 6.59 crore in August from 6.42 crore in July and 5.5 crore in June. The gross GST collections came in at Rs 1.12 lakh crore in August (largely July transactions), up 30% on the year but down 3.8% on the month, signalling an ongoing economic recovery but suggesting that activities aren’t picking up evenly across sectors. GST collections, after posting above the Rs 1-lakh-crore mark for eight months in a row, had dropped below Rs 1 lakh crore in June 2021 due to the second wave of Covid-19.

Source: Financial Express

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Icra expects consumer demand to pick up in festive season

 "It appears that the temporary boost, provided by the easing of state-wise restrictions after the second wave of Covid-19 ebbed, has petered out," said Aditi Nayar, chief economist at Icra. "While the early trends for September 2021 are unconvincing, we are cautiously optimistic that rising confidence will amplify demand during the festive season." Rising confidence among consumers is expected to boost demand during the festive season even as high performance indicators remained a mixed bag during August and the first half of September, analysts at ratings agency NSE -0.40 % have said. "It appears that the temporary boost, provided by the easing of state-wise restrictions after the second wave of Covid-19 ebbed has petered out " said Aditi Nayar chief economist at Icra.

Source: Economic Times

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High-tech Turkey embraces industry 4.0 digitalisation in its clothing and textile sector

 The garment and textile industry in Turkey is investing heavily in Industry 4.0 across the manufacturing spectrum, as digitalisation and e-commerce becomes increasingly common place in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The clothing and textile sector in Turkey has understood the importance of digitalisation and e-commerce, with retailers selling more online over the past year, requiring quick deliveries to market, near-shoring, improved inventory management and innovation. “The pandemic has changed everything, shaking the business from the top to the bottom. Digitalisation and 3D facilities for sampling to production to enable easy traceability and fast sampling has become essential due to the pandemic,” said Mehmet Kaya, President of the Istanbul Apparel Exporters Association (İstanbul Hazır Giyim Ve Konfeksiyon İhracatçıları Birliği – İHKİB). While Turkish investment in digitalisation has increased over the past year, the country’s textile and clothing industry has long been investing in technology to retain its competitive edge as a more expensive garment producer, compared to Asian and African manufacturers. German brand Hugo Boss has helped demonstrate how Turkey’s clothing and textile sector can adopt the most sophisticated Industry 4.0 tech, with advanced factory in Izmir in Western Turkey being a high-profile example of good practice. Opened in 2015, it uses more than 1,600 tablets throughout the facility to track production in real-time, connected via artificial intelligence (AI) with semi and fully-automated machines and robots. “The Hugo Boss facility is now the level Turkish manufacturers are increasingly at, as digitalisation gives speed and agility to the industry,” said Kaya. He said fabric and textile producers across Turkey are also adopting Industry 4.0 technology “for high-tech fabrics and smarter products”. The country’s educated and skilled workforce, strong ties with universities and technical colleges, and research institutions is further providing value-added advantages, from operating high-tech machinery to innovative designs. Turkey is focusing on value-added garments, and we provide most customers with our own designs. We have invested over the last decade in design institutes, while factories have invested in research and development and the hiring of designers,” said Cem Altan, a board member of İHKİB and founder of Aycem Tekstil, based in Istanbul. The digital shift has required the upskilling of workers and hiring of software engineers and specialists. “Turkey used to buy software and technology from abroad – we still are – but the domestic software industry is taking off, and more people are joining the industry because of the opportunities to work with new techniques and innovations. Before we had just ‘blue collar’ and ‘white collar’ workers, now we also have ‘metal collar’ workers” able to work with the latest technology, said Kaya. Manufacturers are increasingly teaming up with technology providers to customise and develop innovative solutions. Silk, linen and cotton producer Mert Ipek, based near Izmir, produces some 40,000m of silk and 20,000kg of linen per month. The company has recently invested in high-end technology that is fully automated at the factory, and has fully-integrated robotic dispensing machines at its laboratory. “We have been working on this for two years, and are aiming to be fully Industry 4.0- integrated by the year end,” said Tahir Mert, general manager of Mert Ipek. But for the company to successfully adopt new technologies for silk production in particular, technical cooperation has been required. “Our machinery is developed with the manufacturers to have the right modifications. It takes a lot of specialisation and knowledge,” said Mert. Meanwhile, Turkey has become a hub for brands and retailers to experiment and develop new innovative fabrics. The UK’s LiquidNano textile coatings brand DiOX for instance has carried out testing in Turkey on durable water repellent (DWR) coatings that use nano-scale silica dioxide technology as a finishing chemical. While efficacy testing was carried out at the UK’s Cambridge University, the tests in Turkey explored how the specialised coating works with different fabrics and how it can be processed. With Turkish companies increasingly automated, cutting edge technology is being adopted across the country. For instance, Özak Tekstil, based in Başakşehi, Istanbul, in May (2021) inked an agreement with US-based IT company Gerber to source its digital cutting technology. The Turkish ready-to-wear manufacturer cuts some six million pieces per year. “By using digitalisation and technology, we don’t have quality issues, pattern issues, or second quality issues that much. With 3D technology, we are able to understand a garment’s fit better, and the new technology improves sustainability through less waste,” said İsmail Kolunsağ, CEO of Cross Textiles and an İHKİB board member. There is interlinkage between the adoption of new technology and the drive for more sustainability and circularity in the industry. “A significant part of new investment is in renewable energy and energy-saving technologies,” said President Kaya. Business interactions and showcasing products has also become increasingly digital, further accelerated by the pandemic. “We used to visit our customers with big suitcases to show everything physically, now it is via a digital showroom or with a laptop. This has been a big change for the industry,” said Kaya. Virtual catwalks have become more in vogue as well. “Once you have the design done on 3D, and present the garments on a virtual catwalk the customer better understands how a garment looks, and that can easily be converted into patterns sent via email. Most of our work is through automated management systems,” said Kolunsağ.

Source: Just-Style

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Euratex unveils vision for sustainable industry

Euratex has shared its vision for a sustainable industry in line with the EU Strategy on Sustainable Textiles, revealing 15 action points for increasing industry efficiency and growing global market share. Given the EU textile and clothing industry’s contribution to the economy as a whole, Euratex says EU policy makers have put a “strong focus” on the sector with a dedicated ‘EU Sustainable Textiles Strategy’ to be published by the European Commission before the end of 2021 and a transition pathway developed for the textiles sector as one of the 14 critical ecosystems of the EU’s new Industrial Strategy. “The current context offers an opportunity to shape a new European framework for the T&C industry, which is at a crossroad. EURATEX wants to contribute actively to this process, to make sure we can develop a forward-looking business model, laying the foundations for a competitive and sustainable European textiles industry.” Euratex says its ambition is to promote a competitive and sustainable European textiles and clothing industry where the EU is a global leader on sustainable textiles; has a strong and efficient textiles industry and that it grows its share of the global market. In line with the Euratex Charter:

• Euratex strives for a recognition of the Textiles & Clothing (T&C) sector as an essential and strategic part of the European economy.

• Strongly believes in innovation, quality and sustainability as a source of competitiveness.

• Emphasises the value of a skilled workforce, embracing new green and digital skills.

 • Maintains its support for open markets, based on free but fair competition. The full strategy can be read here. To successfully implement the above strategy, Euratex calls on the European Union to pay attention to the following:

 • When developing this strategy, policy coherence should be ensured. While the EU Green Deal provides an important basis, this textiles strategy needs to be aligned with other relevant EU policies, including the EU Industrial strategy, the new EU Trade strategy, the EU Pact for Skills, the Sustainable Chemicals strategy, the Sustainable Product Initiative, etc. The strategy should lead to harmonised European actions and remove contradictions between EU policies.

 • The textiles sector is a very “wide” industry; it covers complex and global value chains involving multiple production steps, resulting in a variety of products, some of which are strategic to the European economy. To be meaningful, the strategy should consider the entire value chain of the industry, as it is closely interconnected, as well as its direct links with other sectors (agriculture, chemicals, plastics, etc).

• Many of the technologies for making that transition already exist but investments are needed to bring the circularity to industrial scale in the European textile sector. Capital base within the industry is limited and most companies are small or medium-sized. It is important therefore to focus funding and investments to support and scale innovations, e.g., advanced bio-based and recycled materials, technologies, green production technologies and advanced multifunctional products.

• To avoid frustration about lack of implementation or follow up, the strategy should also suggest an appropriate governance set up; a (virtual) structure that gathers legitimate representatives of the industry, policy makers and other key stakeholders. Euratex proposes to create a “textile alliance” that will assess policy impact in textiles and avoid contradicting actions resulting from different policy areas. Last week, a new project launched, funded by the European Commission, aimed at exploring solutions for fair and effective market surveillance on textile products.

Source: Just-style

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UKFT successfully concludes British Textiles Week 21

The UK Fashion & Textile Association (UKFT), the largest network for fashion and textile companies in the UK, successfully concluded the British Textile Week 21, that took place from September 13 to 17. The theme for this year was ’New Horizons’ to celebrate the creative concepts that UK textile companies have developed for a post-pandemic world. In this year’s showcase, UKFT captured some of the most interesting and dynamic manufacturers, brands and designers throughout the UK textile industry. From luxury worsted fabrics to bold tweeds and the finest cashmere, to original prints and eye-catching embroidery, next-generation technical textiles and a wide range of yarns, as per the organisation. UK textile mills have been embracing new ways of working and developing new products while ensuring sustainability is at the forefront of business decisions, explained a panel of industry leaders at a roundtable as part of UKFT’s British Textile Week 21. he global pandemic has driven most businesses and industries to do things differently but while the disruption to life has been challenging, resourceful UK textile companies have taken the opportunity to carve out new niches, streamline processes and explore new markets or applications for their products. While most export-focused businesses are keen to get back to international travel once things settle down, a greater focus on stocksupported collections, brand story and digital communication tools are some of the changes that are likely to stay for the longer term. Firms including Johnstons of Elgin, Abraham Moon, County Brook, Harris Tweed Hebrides, MYB Textiles, Laurent Garigue and more are harnessing new technology, developing new products, focusing on innovation, looking to new markets, flying the British flag, telling the story behind the brands, embracing changing seasons and buying patterns, making real progress on sustainable initiatives, championing responsible production and looking back to move forward, said UKFT. UKFT co-ordinated the project, with the generous support of The Clothworkers’ Company and the Campaign for Wool.

Source: Fibre 2 Fashion

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