The Textile Ministry will hold stakeholder consultations with representatives of industry on the draft guidelines of the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme before it calls for applications from investors. The industry is continuing to press for further expansion to the list of eligible items and lowering of the minimum investment and turnover requirements, but it may be difficult for the government to do so, a source tracking the matter has said. “Some in the industry have demanded that certain items be added to the list of eligible items under the scheme. That may not happen as the list was finalised after detailed consultations. There are also some calls for lowering of turnover threshold so that smaller players can qualify, but doing that would be difficult too as Cabinet nod for the same has been obtained,” the source told BusinessLine. The areas that may be open to discussion include the criteria for grading the applications for selection of an applicant, the details on how incremental investments and turnover would be calculated, and the concept of a ‘dies-non year’ when an investor is not able to meet the investment or turnover criteria in a particular year, the source said. In September, the Union Cabinet cleared the much-awaited ₹10,683 crore PLI scheme for the textile industry, with incentives for identified items from the MMF (man-made fibre) and the technical textiles sectors over a period of five years. While the list of eligible items was expanded after discussion with the industry to include 15 lines of MMF fabric in addition to 40 MMF apparel products and 10 technical textiles segments, there were not many changes in the threshold criteria for investment and turnover.
High threshold remains
The PLI scheme is divided into two parts. In the first part, minimum investment required is ₹300 crore attracting higher incentives, while in the second, the minimum investment is ₹100 crore with relatively lower incentives.
“During the formulation of the scheme, the industry had proposed that the minimum investment requirement of ₹100 crore should be lowered further as many MSMEs got left out due to the high threshold. While the government brought down the higher criteria of ₹500 crore at the upper end of the scheme to ₹300 crore, it did not lower the ₹100 crore threshold. Hence entry for smaller players remains blocked,” a Delhi-based garments manufacturer and exporter said. If the government wants the PLI scheme to increase employment generation and push exports, the smaller players should also be allowed to participate as the MSME sector contributes significantly to both employment and exports, the garments manufacturer added.
Point-based system
In the draft guidelines, the Ministry has suggested a point-based system with criteria including employment generation, location, financial and technological soundness. “There can be discussion with the industry around this criteria,” the source said. The government has estimated that the PLI scheme will lead to fresh investment of more than ₹19,000 crore, a cumulative turnover of over ₹3-lakh crore, additional direct employment to 7.5 lakh and indirect employment to several lakhs.
Source: Business Line
• South Gujarat Textile Processors' Association has planned to make a presentation to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal in the coming week. • The textile manufacturers have already taken 2 hikes in prices for the customers and plan to increase them to the tune of 10-15 percent again. • Cost of dyes and chemicals have gone up by 40-50 percent in the last six months: Textile Processors The production and demand in the textile industry are back to the pre-covid levels. However, the high input cost is hurting the margins of the mills. The cost of textile and fabrics could go up by 10-15 percent this Diwali due to the manifold rise in production cost, textile associations in the know said. According to some traders, the industry has already passed on over 15 percent cost to the customers. The production and demand in the textile industry are back to the pre-covid levels. However, the high input cost is hurting the margins of the mills. "Production cost has gone up nearly four times, and we are witnessing a hike every fortnight. We have been informed again by dye manufacturers that there will be one more from 1st November 2021. Production cost for a high quality fabric has now soared to Rs 12-18 per meter, while that of a normal fabric is at Rs 7-8 per meter -- twice more than the what it cost earlier," says Jitubhai Vakharia, President, South Gujarat Textile Processors' Association. He added that in the last six months the cost of dyes and chemicals have gone up by 40- 50 percent. Over and above this the transportation and power charge hikes have impacted the industry severely. The textile manufacturers have already taken 2 hikes in prices for the customers and plan to increase them to the tune of 10-15 percent again. Sanjay Jagnani, President, Federation Of Surat Textile Traders Association says that a hike of 12-15 percent has already been passed on to the customers. The traders are now worried in any revision in GST slab for South Gujarat Textile Processors' Association has planned to make a presentation to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal in the coming week. On the other hand the industry is hopeful of higher sales during the festivals like Diwali and Pongal. Vakharia says that the demand is expected to remain high as the wedding season picks up. He shares that the demand this season is 25 percent higher than that of pre-covid levels. Currently, the production is normal but if the price pressures continue, then it could be impacted.
Source: Times Now News
She took part in the annual meeting of the board of governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) via video conference Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the government’s social protection and economic stimulus packages, along with timely structural reforms in various sectors, have been pivotal in India’s economic recovery process. She took part in the annual meeting of the board of governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) via video conference. During the event, the minister said multilateral development banks like AIIB need to intensify private sector capital mobilisation for inclusive and green development.
Source: Business Standard
The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal reviewed the progress on Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) initiative of DPIIT. The meeting was attended by Shri Anurag Jain, Secretary, DPIIT and members of Advisory Council of ONDC including Shri R.S. Sharma, CEO, NHA, Shri AdilZainulbhai, Chairman, QCI, Shri DilipAsbe, MD&CEO, NPCI, Shri Suresh Sethi, MD&CEO, NSDL-e Gov Shri Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, RAI, Shri Arvind Gupta, Founder, MyGov and MsAnjali Bansal ofAvaana Capital. The Minister was apprised about the significant progress made for the project. QCI has established a team of experts for execution of the project in a mission mode. A number of small and medium enterprises have been on-boarded as volunteers to complement ONDC team. An ONDC gateway has also been established. About 20 entities covering all network components are at various stages of on-boarding. DPIIT has approved a budget of approximately Rs 10 crores for initial work on the project. It has been suggested to establish a private sector led non-profit company. The entity is expected to provide a start-up mindset for a population scale implementation, enabled by a management with a futuristic vision, leadership with a deep understanding of commerce, comfort with cutting edge technology, and missionary outlook to drive change. A non-profit company structure removes any incentive for owners to drive for profit maximization, keep focus on ethical and responsible behaviour while providing for trust, rigorous norms of governance, accountabilityand transparency. The role of the entity would be to develop the network by adopting and building enabling technology and encouraging wide-scale voluntary participation by eco-system players. It would ensure network discipline by establishing a code of conduct and rules of network based on principles of consumer protection, fair trade and regulatory conformity. The entity will also provide foundational services for managing the network like digital infrastructure for the network, common registry, certification of participants and certifying agencies, grievance redressal, etc. The entity will develop and operate reference applications for buyers, sellers and gateway for market activation and priming the network along with partner entities. It will also support SMEs in their digital transformation by developing readymade tools to help existing software applications quickly adapt to the network. The meeting was also attended by a number of prospective promoters including senior representatives from State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, NABARD, SIDBI, National Payments Corporation of India, NSDL, CDSL, NSE and BSE. Shri Goyal expressed satisfaction with the progress made and desired to compress timelines for making this network a reality soon. He directed that wide participation from ecosystem should be ensured and the institutional structure should be created in such a manner so as to ensure that the entity conducts itself in an ethical, cooperative, democratic and responsible manner.He directed that special efforts must be made to build trust in the ONDC network and elaborate mechanisms must be put in place for dispute resolution.
Source: PIB
Stating that they were facing a loss of ₹ 5.83 a metre due to regular increase in price of yarn, the Tamil Nadu Federation of Power Looms Associations has urged the district administration to take up the issue with the State government and ensure that price of yarn is fixed once in a month. In a petition submitted to the administration, the federation coordinator P. Kandavel said that next to agriculture, the power loom sector provides more jobs to people in the State. Most of the power looms produce rayon fabrics using yarn, which in turn is made from synthetic fibre. The price of fibre has increased from ₹ 153 a kg to ₹ 160 a kg in the last one month, whereas the price of yarn has increased from ₹ 190 a kg to ₹ 250 a kg during the same period. The petition said that on October 1, one kg of 30 count rayon yarn was sold at ₹ 214 and now it has increased to ₹ 255. Though the price of raw materials increased by ₹ 7 a kg, the price of yarn was increased by ₹ 41 a kg. The federation blamed mill owners for hiking the price. Since the price of fabrics did not increase, owners are facing a loss of ₹ 5.83 a metre, the petition said and added that orders cannot be executed now. The federation wanted the price of yarn fixed once in a month based on the price of raw materials. It also wanted the Central government to make the six National Textile Corporation mills in South India operational and the 18 mills of the State government modernised. “If these mills are operational, the price of yarn will be under control”, the petition said. Of the total six lakh power looms in the State, rayon is produced in 50% units that provides employment directly and indirectly to three lakh workers. The petition urged the district administration to take up the issue with the State government and recommend necessary action.
Source: The Hindu
Thanks to brisk trade and commerce ahead of Diwali, daily e-way bill generation for goods transportation under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system came in at 24.86 lakh for the week ended October 24, 17.6% higher than the corresponding number for the previous week. If September quarter results posted by large retailers and many banks mirrored a moderate but steady pick-up in consumption demand after the second wave of the pandemic, festive fervour seems to be solidifying the revival. Thanks to brisk trade and commerce ahead of Diwali, daily e-way bill generation for goods transportation under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system came in at 24.86 lakh for the week ended October 24, 17.6% higher than the corresponding number for the previous week. E-way bill is mandatory for inter-state movement of goods of consignment value exceeding Rs 50,000 in motorised conveyance. The daily average of e-way bills for the first 24 days of October was 22.68 lakh, 3.8% higher than the same for the first 26 days of September. Between October 1 and 24, as many as 5.44 crore e-way bills were generated. Going by the recent weekly trends, e-way bill numbers are expected to rise further in the short run and the data for the whole of October could be more robust, analysts reckon. “Festive dispatches by month-end will be very high,” All India Transporters Welfare Association (AITWA) joint secretary Abhishek Gupta told FE. Even though the rise in the number of e-way bills is a good sign, some analysts have sounded caution. “It remains to be seen if all this (the rise) is because of pre-festive/festive season in which wholesalers and retailers stock up goods. If demand in festive season is good and shopkeepers are able to sell out most of it, then there will be second round of demand,”said India Ratings chief economist DK Pant. If the trend is sustained postDiwali, it will give a clear indication that economic revival has taken stronger roots, Pant added. E-way bill generation by businesses rose to 6.79 crore in September from 6.59 crore in August and from 6.42 crore in July. It was 7.12 crore for March, before the second wave of Covid-19 hit economic activities. In recent weeks, the number of transactions rose in a steady manner, except during the week ended October 17, which saw holidays due to Dussehra. Higher e-way bills generation is reflected in higher GST revenues. GST collections came in at `1.17 lakh crore in September (largely August transactions), up 23% on-year and 4.5% on-month, signalling a sustained pick-up in trade and commerce. Robust tax collection in recent months lent credence to the notion that the expansion of the formal sector of the economy, which got a leg-up from demonetisation and the GST roll-out, gathered steam with the Covid-19 outbreak.
Source: Financial Express
State seeking to accelerate economy Investment opportunities in Rajasthan will be showcased in a big way at a global investors’ summit to be organised here in January 2022 with the theme “committed and delivered”. The State Government is seeking investments for accelerating the economy affected by the pandemic and increasing the employment opportunities for the youth. The “Invest Rajasthan-2022” summit will highlight agricultural processing, automobiles and electric vehicles, petrochemicals, information technology, medical and health, minerals and ceramics, renewable energy, textiles and tourism as the thrust sectors in the State. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has asked the officials to contact Indian Embassies and High Commissions in different countries for inviting potential investors and ensure successful conduct of the summit. Mr. Gehlot referred to the “ease of doing business” policy, which had created a positive environment for investing in the State.
Source: The Hindu
The feedback received is under consideration and meetings have been continuing to finalise those rules, Nandan told reporters. The consumer affairs ministry is likely to finalise the draft e-commerce rules next month, official sources said even as secretary Leena Nandan refused to divulge any details. It is not clear whether the ministry will remove some controversial rules like ban on flash sales. There have been objections by many e-commerce companies to some provisions of the draft rules that could derail the growth in this sector. The feedback received are under consideration and meetings have been continuing to finalise those rules, Nandan told reporters. The department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) and the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) had also expressed their reservations and flagged some anomalies. DPIIT has suggested the duties of sellers be aligned with the framework in draft National E-Commerce Policy such that sellers don’t distort the market. It is not clear, though, how distortion will be defined. Earlier, the finance ministry had found the e-commerce draft rules to be ‘excessive’ and ‘without economic rationale’ and raised about a dozen objections, according to a Reuters report. Niti Aayog has also reportedly expressed apprehensions that the draft rules may harm ease of doing business. A key proposal is one that seeks to make the e-marketplace liable for the failure of a seller to fulfil any orders in the requisite manner. Indeed, holding the marketplace responsible for the actions of entities — thousands of them — that are not under its control is unreasonable, experts said. The draft rules disallow flash sales that offer high discounts and attractive deals. The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, were first notified in July last year. However, the consumer affairs ministry released draft e-commerce rules for public feedback in June by proposing a lot of changes. Meanwhile, Nandan also said that the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued 217 notices to sellers on e-commerce platforms for violating consumer protection rules and collected Rs 42.85 lakh from 76 companies in compounding of offences during the past year. She did not disclose name of any seller. Majority of the notices were sent to sellers of electronic appliances for displaying incorrect Country of Origin about the products. The other violations included charging more than MRP, non-declaration of MRP and non-standard units.
Source: Financial Express
Sentiments improved sequentially in Q2FY22 with regard to production, domestic sales, exports, new orders, imports of raw materials, and pre-tax profits As the second wave of Covid-19 eased off, business sentiment in the country hit an over two-year high in the September quarter (Q2) of the current financial year (FY22), according to a survey by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER). The NCAER Business Confidence Index (BCI) increased by about 80 per cent to 117.4 in Q2FY22 from 65 in the year-ago quarter, while it jumped about 90 per cent on a quarteron-quarter basis. The index was also up 13.8 per cent over the pre-pandemic period of the second quarter of 2019-20, when it stood at 103.1. However, companies were apprehensive about the rising costs of raw materials. The index showed improvement -- sequentially, year-on-year, as well as compared with the pre-Covid period -- in all the four parameters that it is based on: Whether the overall economic conditions will be better in the next six months, financial conditions of the firms will improve in the next six months, present investment climate is positive, and present capacity utilisation is close to or above optimum level. The index was also higher over these periods for the consumer durables, consumer nondurables, intermediate goods, capital goods and services industries. The BCI was the highest for consumer non-durables at 123.9, and the lowest for capital goods at 111.4. Services, which were battered by Covid-induced lockdowns for most of the first quarter, showed the BCI at 115.4. Against the popular notion that micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) were not in a proper shape even after the Covid-induced lockdowns were relaxed, the NCAER survey showed that all sizes of firms had a higher confidence index quarteron-quarter, year-on-year, and compared with the pre-pandemic period. Only firms with annual turnover of more than Rs 500 crore showed the index at a lower level during Q2FY22 compared with the pre-Covid level. Poonam Gupta, director-general, NCAER, said, “The current survey points to a recovery in business sentiments post the second wave of the pandemic. The recovery is broad-based across firm size, ownership, and industrial sectors.” All regions, except the west, experienced an improvement in business sentiments. The BCI of the west fell by 9.5 per cent in Q2 compared with the first quarter. However, it was higher by 151 per cent from the year-ago period. Compared with the pre-pandemic period of the second quarter of 2019-20, the index was lower by 22 per cent. Sentiments improved sequentially in Q2FY22 with regard to production, domestic sales, exports, new orders, imports of raw materials, and pre-tax profits. Sentiments about costs, especially ones related to raw materials, remained elevated with two-thirds of the firms expecting the costs of raw materials per unit of output to go up in the next six months as compared to the 54 per cent reporting so in the first quarter. The Political Confidence Index (PCI), which measures the confidence of the firms about the Centre's management of key economic parameters, rose to 117.4 after staying below 100 since the fourth quarter of 2019-20. However, the PCI for "managing inflation" was lower in the second quarter compared with the pre-pandemic level. This is probably due to the elevated sentiments regarding the cost of raw materials, said the NCAER. The BCI is based on a business expectations survey conducted by the NCAER with a sample size of 500 firms of various sizes. The survey elicited responses from these firms in six cities -- Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Chennai.
Source: Business Standard
ET Now puts a spotlight on the Chiripal group, a textile company that is based in Ahemdabad which has been in this business for 50 years. The textile industries shares are doing great in the market at the moment with various segments of textiles seeing huge growth in both domestic as well as global markets. We are joined by Ronak Chiripal and Vinay Dadlani both senior executives of the Chiripal group. While the owners of the originally hail from Haryana they found home in Gujrat and kept on expanding in the business. We discuss the growth of the dynamic firm over the years and recent market trends.
Source: Times Now News
The textile sector of Pakistan has immense significance for the economy, as evidenced by its contribution to the country's GDP as its largest manufacturing and exporting sector. The sector achieved growth of 27% in the first quarter of FY22 compared to the same period last year, and is undergoing impressive levels of expansion. Following a 13-year period, there has been $5 billion worth of investments across the entire textile value chain including spinning, weaving, finishing, processing and garments. The introduction of proexport policies by the government in recent times has enabled unprecedented growth in the sector. It is important to note that the energy cost is the sector's leading component in terms of conversion cost, comprising around 35-40%. Moving forward, it is critical to continuing the provision of energy at regionally competitive tariff rates, for the country's long-term economic stability and GDP growth. As Pakistan's economy progresses towards sustainable growth, it is essential that export-led growth becomes a cornerstone of government policy. An economic growth rate of 7-8 percent has been deemed necessary in the next 30 years to meet the needs of our growing population, and with over 100 new textile units being set up across the country, this goal seems achievable. New investments have a central role in the sector's expansion and will serve as the ladder to economic growth, generating 500,000 fresh employment opportunities along the way. However, this is all contingent upon the future of energy tariffs. Numerous studies have demonstrated that an electricity tariff above 9 cents/kwh is regionally uncompetitive and the industrial demand of providing electricity at 9 cents/kwh and gas/RLNG at $ 6.5/MMBtu is unassailable. The major factors of production in textiles apart from capital are raw material (i.e., cotton), energy and labor. In terms of cost of conversion (where the cost of raw material is subtracted from the total cost of production), energy cost is the leading component, particularly in spinning and weaving. Due to intense competition among regional countries, a minor cost difference in relative terms brings an exponential impact on the international market. The cross-country comparison in the cost of conversion in the table above shows that the textile units in Pakistan are incurring power and energy costs 2.4 percentage points more than India and 7.8 percentage points higher than Bangladesh. This demonstrates that the ideal, regionally competitive electricity tariff would be around 7.4 cents/kWh. The industry is presently demanding that the tariff must not go over 9 cents/kWh, as anything higher would have disastrous consequences for exports. The textile sector is currently in expansion, where it requires unwavering support to maintain its growth, so the sustained provision of a supportive energy package will have long-term benefits for the entire economy. In the undesirable case of replacing competitive energy tariffs with DLTL, which has been proposed in the past, 80% of the textile industry would end up needing to pay electricity tariffs at 14 cents/kwh, thereby making all exports uncompetitive. The output price will also be uncompetitive; any downstream unit in the value chain will prefer imported inputs instead of expensive domestic inputs. In this case, local units at the higher end of the value chain will be at risk of closing down, losing countless jobs in the process. As highlighted in the comprehensive study we carried out on RCET via PIDE in March 2021, the upstream industry (spinning and weaving) would be most affected in the event of any changes to the competitive energy tariffs, rendering these two crucial parts of the textile chain regionally uncompetitive. The spinning sector will not only lose international market share but also leave domestic sales in jeopardy. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) declared that out of loan applications under Temporary Economic Relief Facility (TERF) in 2021, around 60% came from the textile sector alone. Moreover, the textile sector experienced approximately $ 1.60 billion investments during the first half of the previous fiscal year. The overwhelming loan demands for investment from the textile sector are largely due to competitive energy tariff rates. Continued investment is thereby predicated on uninterrupted supply of RLNG/gas for power and steam at regionally competitive energy tariffs, with 9 cents/kWh for electricity and $6.5/MMBtu for gas/RLNG across the entire textile value chain. Any increase in energy tariffs will undermine the entire industry's efforts and offset the economic progress made over the past year, as the textile industry will struggle to remain productive under the pressure of unsustainable high energy tariffs. At this stage where Pakistan's industry is in the midst of impressive expansion and is successfully attracting a healthy level of investments, a rise in costs would directly result in a reduction in market share, once again leaving Pakistan far behind its regional competitors. The promising levels of export growth in the past few months with positive impacts on industrial expansion and job creation are a boon for economic stability in the country, and henceforth must be maintained through the continuation of the critical RCET policy.
Source: Business Recorder
Khan and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday agreed to further bolster their bilateral ties, including full realisation of the potential offered by the Phase-II of the Free Trade Agreement Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday agreed to further bolster their bilateral ties, including full realisation of the potential offered by the Phase-II of the Free Trade Agreement to overcome the economic headwinds. The two leaders reviewed the bilateral ties and cooperation during a telephonic conversation Prime Minister Imran had with President Xi, the PM Office said in a statement. Khan was appreciative of China's successful containment of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the relief measures to developing countries, including the vaccine cooperation with Pakistan, it said. Taking stock of the negative impact of COVID-19 on the global economy, the two leaders agreed on further strengthening bilateral economic and commercial ties, including full realisation of the potential offered by the Phase-II of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement, to overcome the economic headwinds, it said. The Prime Minister has lauded the successful, timely and high-quality implementation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, and welcomed Chinese investments in the CPEC Special Economic Zones. He also stressed that early start of work on the ML-1 railway project would complement Pakistan's geo-economics vision for national and regional development. The two leaders agreed to promote CPEC's green development as a high-quality demonstration of China's Belt and Road Initiative. The ambitious CPEC was launched in 2015 when President Xi visited Pakistan. It aims to connect western China with the Gwadar seaport in southwestern Pakistan through a network of roads, railways and other projects of infrastructure and development. While acknowledging China taking the lead role in combating climate change, Khan also briefed President XI on Pakistan's wide-ranging measures undertaken for climate change mitigation and adaptation, including the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami initiative a landmark project supported by the United Nations Environment Programme which sets out to plant ten billion trees by 2023. The discussion also veered towards Afghanistan. The two leaders called on the international community to provide immediate humanitarian and economic assistance as well as continued engagement required for rebuilding the war-torn nation. The Prime Minister also stressed the need to continue with the momentum of high-level exchanges to further diversify All Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership between the two countries. Through the course of the conversation, Khan congratulated President Xi on the centenary of the Communist Party of China, the unprecedented victory in the Chinese people's battle to eradicate poverty. The two leaders also felicitated each other on the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China, and reviewed the gamut of their bilateral strategic cooperative partnership. Khan has extended his invitation to Xi to visit Pakistan at his early convenience.
Source: Business Standard
At the recent Conference on Sustainable Finishing of Textiles, the members of TMAS (textile machinery association of Sweden) announced that the association will be introducing extended producer responsibility (EPR) for waste textiles and clothing at the beginning of 2022, ahead of the adoption of a similar European Union-wide EPR system in 2025. The wasteful processes involved in the manufacturing stages are only one component in the development of viable circular supply chains for textiles that are now being aggressively established in Sweden, according to the statement by TMAS. In Sweden, this is already leading to the establishment of advanced digital sorting and recycling infrastructure and from a brand perspective, H&M now leads the field in both addressing circularity from its suppliers and minimising its own waste. Swedish companies are active in the development of new fibres derived from waste clothing, building on the country’s legacy leadership in pulp and paper production. At the Sustainable Finishing of Textiles Conference, however, it was said that all of the environmental gains made by such sustainable new fibres can potentially be cancelled out in the further processing they are subjected to – and especially in resource-intensive conventional dyeing, finishing and decoration. TMAS members Baldwin Technology and Coloreel have both developed solutions to address this issue. During the conference, Rick Stanford, Baldwin’s VP of global business development explained that his company’s TexCoat G4 non-contact spray technology significantly reduces water, chemistry and energy consumption in the finishing process. “Customers can expect no bath contamination during the finishing process, as well as minimal downtime during changeovers, which are made easy with recipe management that includes automated chemistry and coverage selection,” Stanford said during the event. The TexCoat G4 also wastes no chemistry during colour, fabric or chemistry changeovers, and because only the required chemistry volume is applied to the fabric, wet pick-up levels can be reduced by up to 50 per cent – leading to 50 per cent less water and energy consumption compared to conventional finishing processes. Furthermore, several customers are combining TexCoat Spray and back-coating in series prior to the stenter. This simplifies the production process from two steps to one, delivering both drying savings and productivity increases. Furthermore, Coloreel’s CEO Mattias Nordin outlined the benefits of his company’s technology which enables the high-quality and instant colouring of a textile thread ondemand and can be paired with any existing embroidery machine without modification. This enables unique effects like shades and gradient to be achieved in an embroidery for the first time. “Our technology is now commercialised and we are scaling up our business gloablly,” Nordin said. “The foundation of the company was based on the idea that there were millions of varieties of thread reels out there, many of which would become obsolete and turned into waste and that it would be simpler to dye the thread as you use it. That’s what we have achieved.” In addition, existing thread dyeing plants can add a single solid colour to a thread, but by instantly colouring a white base thread during production, Coloreel enables complete freedom to create unique embroideries without any limitations in the use of colours. Colour changes along the thread can either be made rapidly from one solid colour to another, or gradually, to make smooth transitions or any colouring effect desired. This provides big benefits when it comes to sustainability. There is a significant reduction in wasted inks, while water usage is minimised, and production speeds are increased. The technology allows set-up and lead times to be reduced as well as significant flexibility in production quantities, while eliminating the need for large thread inventories. “Our system is allowing customers to achieve colour effects that have never been seen before – and at a new level of efficiency,” Nordin added. “It’s great to see TMAS members playing a pioneering part in what is now shaping up to be a vital rethinking of the textile supply chain here in Scandinavia,” Therese PremlerAndersson, TMAS secretary general said. “All of these ideas are now gaining momentum and likely to be adopted throughout the world. A more circular and sustainable industry will be the result, to the benefit of everyone.”
Source: Fibre2 Fashion
The British Heart Foundation is appealing to retailers and brands with end of line or surplus stock to donate items to help raise funds for its research. The charity is also urging more textiles brands to join the Textiles 2030 initiative to help create a more sustainable, circular textiles industry. The charity sent out the appeal during WRAP’s (The Waste and Resources Action Programme) Textiles Action Week, which took place last week. The week forms part of WRAP’s Textiles 2030 initiative. Launched in November 2020, the voluntary agreement aims to bring together UK fashion and textiles organisations to accelerate progress towards a circular economy and climate action within the textiles industry. Last year also saw WRAP appeal to the public to donate more unwanted clothing. A founding signatory of Textiles 2030, the BHF hopes to encourage other textiles brands to consider signing the agreement and to collaborate with them. The charity is keen to help fashion businesses adopt better practices when it comes to keeping their product in circulation for longer. The BHF already works with several high-profile retailers, such as Marks and Spencer and runs a successful brand partnerships programme. This means the charity’s partners donate stock that can be sold in the BHF’s 712 shops across the UK. This year, brand partners are set to help raise £8.6 million for the charity’s important work and contribute to saving 71,000 tonnes of items from going to waste. Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Executive at the British Heart Foundation, said: “We want to encourage others to join the Textiles 2030 initiative, so together we can build a more sustainable and circular UK textiles sector. Although strong strides have been made towards improving practices within the textiles industry, there’s more to do. “Our 520 clothing and accessory shops across the UK and online outlets – eBay and Depop – play an essential role in the reuse cycle. We rely heavily on brand partners donating surplus stock as it provides much-needed items for our network of shops. This year, by selling over 7 million pieces of preloved women’s and men’s clothing we will save almost 14,000 tonnes of clothing from going to waste, while raising millions of pounds for life saving research. “We want to continue to collaborate with other fashion and textile brands who can support the British Heart Foundation’s vital work by simply donating their unwanted stock. Doing so will help reduce waste, raise vital funds for research and take us a step closer to creating a truly circular economy.” Dr David Moon, Director of Collaboration and Change at WRAP said: “The learnings and success of the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan have provided the foundations for Textiles 2030. SCAP was the first voluntary agreement of its kind to measure and act within the UK textiles sector and the knowledge we have gained from this agreement has underpinned what needs to happen to make Textiles 2030 even more impactful. “Sector-wide change is essential if we are to achieve climate targets and a circular economy in materials, so we have been collaborating with businesses, Governments and other stakeholders to develop Textiles 2030. The public, investment managers and policy makers are all demanding practical action, sustainable products and evidence of outcomes. We need more companies to show their commitment to action through Textiles 2030, continuing and evolving the legacy of SCAP.”
Source: Fund Raising
