The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council

MARKET WATCH 18 FEBRUARY, 2016

NATIONAL

 

INTERNATIONAL

 

Textile Raw Material Price 2016-02-17

Item

Price

Unit

Fluctuation

Date

Bottle Grade Chip

944.94

USD/Ton

0%

2/17/2016

PSF

958.75

USD/Ton

0%

2/17/2016

VSF

1945.11

USD/Ton

0.79%

2/17/2016

ASF

1913.67

USD/Ton

0%

2/17/2016

Polyester POY

961.05

USD/Ton

0%

2/17/2016

Nylon FDY

2208.96

USD/Ton

0%

2/17/2016

40D Spandex

4832.10

USD/Ton

0%

2/17/2016

Nylon DTY

5715.68

USD/Ton

0%

2/17/2016

Viscose Long Filament

1135.16

USD/Ton

0%

2/17/2016

Polyester DTY

2055.56

USD/Ton

0%

2/17/2016

Nylon POY

2097.75

USD/Ton

0%

2/17/2016

Acrylic Top 3D

1035.45

USD/Ton

0%

2/17/2016

Polyester FDY

2485.08

USD/Ton

0%

2/17/2016

30S Spun Rayon Yarn

2669.16

USD/Ton

0%

2/17/2016

32S Polyester Yarn

1549.34

USD/Ton

0%

2/17/2016

45S T/C Yarn

2454.40

USD/Ton

0%

2/17/2016

45S Polyester Yarn

2822.56

USD/Ton

0%

2/17/2016

T/C Yarn 65/35 32S

2423.72

USD/Ton

-0.63%

2/17/2016

40S Rayon Yarn

1718.08

USD/Ton

0%

2/17/2016

T/R Yarn 65/35 32S

2116.92

USD/Ton

0%

2/17/2016

10S Denim Fabric

1.07

USD/Meter

0%

2/17/2016

32S Twill Fabric

0.90

USD/Meter

0%

2/17/2016

40S Combed Poplin

0.97

USD/Meter

0%

2/17/2016

30S Rayon Fabric

0.72

USD/Meter

0%

2/17/2016

45S T/C Fabric

0.74

USD/Meter

0%

2/17/2016

Source: Global Textiles

Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15343 USD dtd. 16/02/2016)

The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com.  SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.

 

Xstok.com completes 300 auctions to sell surplus textile goods

Xstok.com, an online business-to-business (b2b) market place for selling surplus textile stocks, has completed 300 auctions in the last seven months. The platform enables both buyers and sellers to transact without intervention of intermediaries, thus saving on cost. Leading textile companies such as Arvind Mills, Grasim Industries, Donear Industries, Mafatlal Industries, Bombay Dyeing, Trident Industries, Welspun Group, Gokuldas Export and Indo Count have sold their inventory on the platform. It also has over 4,000 registered buyers and about 130 sellers. Founded by Sanjiv Khandelwal and Mihir Shah, the company is equipped to handle sale of surplus commodity generated by multiple industries but at present it is focusing on textile. Early-stage investment firm Oliphans Capital and a group of undisclosed angel investors recently invested ₹3 crore in Xstok. The company charges suppliers a listing fee and transaction fee for every successful deal.

The Indian textile industry generates surplus goods worth about $6 billion per annum. Since the market for surplus garment is fragmented there was no transparent mechanism to arrive at right price. “Xstok aims to ensure transparent pricing, secure transactions and a large market for the seller. For buyers it provides access to much larger real-time inventory of surplus, irrespective of their location,” said Shah, who has worked with Bank of America-Merill Lynch as an investment banker. Khandelwal has over 20 years of experience in developing and running business-to-business marketplaces and e-auction platforms.

SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line

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Textile demand is both need-based and fashion-based: Kailash R Lalpuria, Indo Count Ind

In a chat with ET Now, Kailash R Lalpuria, ED, Indo CountBSE 1.92 % Ind, says US being a major market, the company is doing pretty well.

ET Now: To start off, 60 per cent of your total revenues come from the US. The rest comes from Europe. How serious are the slowdown concerns in the global markets and how much is it affecting your business?

Kailash R Lalpuria: Basically we are in a need-based product and made to order product. The US being a major market for us, we are doing pretty well. The conditions are positive out there and business is growing. I just visited Walmart Summit and they had grown their home segment by 3 per cent. So we feel that retail is still stable with positive trends. Some of the retail may not be doing well in some of the countries which have their own economic and social problems but by and large in our product, the retail is doing well. This is the reason we have been growing our existing customers and adding up new customers and new countries all the time.

ET Now: The China slowdown fears and the dumping by them in several markets is also a bit of a concern. Are are facing higher competition like some of the other tyre and steel companies?

Kailash R Lalpuria: We feel that in every country that grows and becomes well off, textile is being seen to be consumed much more both due to the fashion and the need based line. China has become rich in the last decade and their consumers want better end products so their home consumption is growing as far as textile is concerned. Yes, we do hear about other categories where some of the commodities like steel, cement and tyre may be dumped to a certain extent. But we feel that by and large India is also consuming very well and in time, it will grow.

SOURCE: The Economic Times

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Vastramandala to revive Kozhikode's legacy as textile hub

Vastramandala, a novel initiative of Kudumbashree in apparel manufacturing, has been inaugurated by MK Muneer, Kerala's minister for social justice and panchayats to revive Kozhikode's legacy as a textile hub, according to a national daily. Vastramandala is a consortium of apparel units in Kozhikode south constituency under Kudumbashree, one of the largest women empowering projects in the country. The objective of the consortium is to promote the products of these apparel units under Kudumbashree brand across the state. The products which mainly include children's apparel and other readymade clothes would undergo strict quality check so as to compete with the top brands in the field. The minister, while inaugurating the two apparel manufacturing units, said implementation of Vastramandala in Kozhikode south constituency will revive Kozhikode's heritage as a textile hub. The new units have been named Calico Designs and Calico Fashions.

Kudumbashree members and their family members, who have an experience in stitching, are part of the consortium. They have undergone training in apparel designing at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, and would be soon provided further training with modern technologies in the field. The project, formed by the state government, is to be implemented in select assembly constituencies in the state after it is experimented in Kozhikode. Later on, the Kudumbashree district mission also plans to open similar units in various municipalities.

SOURCE: Fibre2fashion

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Rupee not far from hitting 70 to the dollar; hurtling towards record low

The rupee is not too far away from hitting 70 to the dollar and could slump even further to a new record by the end of the year, according to an ET Poll, as global investors pull out funds due to growing market uncertainty and worries that the government may ease up on fiscal deficit targets to shore up growth. On Wednesday, the rupee lost about 10 paise, or 0.15%, to the dollar, closing at 68.47, the weakest so far this calendar year, having slumped to a 30-month low during trade.  The currency may slide as much as 5% to 72 against the dollar by December, according to three of the investors and economists polled by ET. The median estimate is 69.72 compared with the all-time low of 68.85 set in August 2013.

Among emerging market currencies, the rupee was the best performer last year. So far in 2016, it has lost about 3.5%. On Wednesday, the rupee fell as low as 68.67 to the dollar, but it strengthened after what traders said was Reserve Bank of India-directed intervention. Crucially, there is little panic over the rupee's weakness. Experts said the depreciation isn't necessarily seen as a bad thing and reflects not just the local economy but the global reality amid shrinking international trade and collapsing commodity prices. Besides, it could also help exports that have fallen for 14 months in a row. Foreign funds have sold a net $1.96 billion of Indian equities and debt this year (until February 16), compared with purchases of $7.21 billion last year, according to data from the depository NSDL. This is also due to rising redemptions in mutual funds elsewhere. "If you are a fund manager and you are seeing redemption, you don't have a choice," said Uday Kotak, managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank. "There is not much option on that. Some of that may also be happening. India's story is better. India's macro story is strong, but the micro story is more challenging. Our focus has to be in changing the micro story." The fall of the currency this time around could take place over a period of time and a sudden plunge as in August 2013 isn't likely. Investors said macroeconomic fundamentals are much stronger now than they were then. On the other hand, the rupee has been one of the worst-performing currencies in 2016 in terms of total returns including the spot exchange rate and interest income.

RISK AVERSION

"Risk aversion has taken centre stage with lower oil and commodity prices since the beginning of this year," said MS Gopikrishnan, head of FX, rates and credit trading at Standard Chartered Bank. "There have been outflows from emerging market equity and debt funds, mainly on the back of withdrawals from institutional investors. Personally, I expect the rupee to weaken to 69.25 by March." More than half the poll's 15 participants peg the rupee at 70 or weaker by yearend while seven expect it to trade at 66.80-69.10. IDBI BankBSE 0.00 %, Standard Chartered Bank and Kotak Securities were most sanguine, putting the currency at 66.80-68.00 to the dollar by December. Global markets were hit last year as the Chinese currency depreciated suddenly.

Although India remains the most preferred among emerging markets by brokerages such as CLSA and Morgan Stanley, fears of the US slipping back into recession and financial market concerns are leading to investors pulling out, analysts said. "Though the trade deficit is expected to be low, foreign investor flows have turned negative, impacting INR," Gopikrishnan said. With government bond yields at almost the same levels as they were a year or so ago, foreign investors in debt now look to be stuck with their investments yielding no profits. "Rising bond yields are a concern for overseas investors, who now may be looking to exit domestic debt securities amid increased currency market volatility," said Anindya Banerjee, associate vice-president for currency and interest rate derivatives at Kotak Securities. "Some option trades are already signalling future fund outflows." Some foreign banks are already cutting option deals, going long on 'call' options on behalf of their overseas investors. This implies that market volatility is likely to rise with more fund outflows. One indication of where the non-deliverable forwards market sees the currency in 2021— the five-year rupee is available for 89.

SOURCE: The Economic Times

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Exporters seek fiscal sops, service tax exemption

With exports falling continuously for the past 14 months, exporters’ body Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has called for fiscal incentives for the micro, small & medium enterprises (MSME) sector, correction of inverted duty structure and exemption from service tax, in its pre-Budget proposal for 2016-17 submitted to the government.

MSME push

“MSME exporters need to be provided additional export benefits to help them market their products aggressively in view of the current downfall in exports,” FIEO said in its recommendation. It also said that the inverted duty structure in respect of various items needs to be corrected in the Union Budget as it not only affects exports but also the manufacturing sector and the Centre’s `Make in India’ initiative. Inverted duties (where the import duty on inputs is more than that on finished products) exist in a number of sectors in the country such as marine products, chemicals, solar equipment, rubber and silk. In its memorandum, FIEO made a case for exemption of service tax for exporters as the actual refund mechanism for service tax is “cumbersome and time-consuming and blocks the working capital of exporters.” The services for which it specifically asked for exemption include ECGC Premium, CFS services, CHA charges, banking charges on collection of bill and foreign currency related to exports, service charges for conversion of inward remittances and courier charges for exports documents and commercial shipments. Goods exports in the period April-January 2015-16 was 17.65 per cent lower at $217.67 billion when compared with the same period last fiscal mostly due to falling commodity prices and low global demand.

SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line

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Budget 2016: Tax exemption threshold to be raised to Rs 3 lakh

Individual taxpayers could get some relief as finance minister Arun Jaitley is likely to raise the minimum income threshold for paying personal income tax for those below 60 years of age to Rs 3 lakh a year from Rs 2.5 lakh at present, multiple sources told FE. The income levels where the tax kicks in for senior citizens (of age above 60 years) and super seniors (age above 80 years) could also be correspondingly raised. In case of senior citizens, the current threshold for paying tax is Rs 3 lakh while it is Rs 5 lakh for super senior citizens. However, the higher slabs are unlikely to be revised, the sources added. Currently, tax is payable at 10% of the amount by which the income exceeds Rs 2.5 lakh (up to Rs 5 lakh), at 20% (between Rs 5 lakh-10 lakh) and at 30% (above Rs 10 lakh) in case of individuals up to 60 years of age and HUFs. Jaitley may also reintroduce the extra window of Rs 50,000 for claiming deductions under Section 80C for investments in infrastructure bonds. Currently, various specified investments are eligible for deductions subject to threshold of Rs 1.5 lakh and additionally, a deduction of Rs 50,000 is allowed for contributions to the National Pension System under Section 80CCD.

The government is aggressively taking steps to bring in more individuals under the tax net but it also wants to reduce the burden on the lower strata of the tax-paying community to the extent possible. “Of course, we are taking measures to bring in more persons under the tax net. We have a target of about 10 million new tax payers to be added in the current financial year. Till November, we added 3.74 million new taxpayers because of these measures,” revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia had said in a recent interview with FE. In India, there are about 35-40 million individual taxpayers, a tiny segment considering the country’s huge population. “Considering the savings rate and inflation, the threshold limit (for personal income tax) is expected to be raised so as to provide more disposable income in the hands of the individual. This could help in channelising the higher disposable incomes towards increasing consumption and thereby the economic growth,” said Vineet Agarwal, partner at KPMG in India.

Although, Jaitley has already announced that his government cannot afford a ‘populist’ Budget and rather there are needs for structural reforms, he is unlikely to turn a blind eye to the demands from the individual taxpayers. “The finance minister could look at increasing the limit under Section 80C up to Rs 250,000 so that people channelise their savings into investment linked deductions,” said Divya Baweja, partner at Deloitte Haskins & Sells. The government extended the limit to Rs 1.5 lakh in 2014-15 from Rs 1 lakh earlier. This includes investments in schemes such as postal deposit, provident funds, pension schemes, mutual funds and insurance. The deduction for NPS investment has helped individuals at higher tax brackets to save more funds. For instance by availing the Rs 50,000 of deduction for NPS, the tax burden for individuals in the highest 30% tax bracket could come down by Rs 16,000, while it will be Rs 10,000 for those on the 20% tax slab and Rs 5,000 for those paying 10% tax.

SOURCE: The Financial Express

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India to expedite RCEP agreement: Govt

The government has called for expediting the conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement in the country’s interest, particularly after the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. Addressing the session on Asean-India Relations at the 8th edition of Delhi Dialogue VIII, Anil Wadhwa, secretary (east) MEA said, “Negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership have moved satisfactorily, with modalities being agreed in August 2015.” “If the technical negotiations which are underway are completed swiftly, RCEP may turn into a dynamic reality very soon, particularly if we succeed in forming regional value chains and production networks. With the TPP becoming a reality, expediting RCEP is in our interest,” he said. The US, Japan and 10 other Pacific-Rim nations recently concluded the TPP agreement described as largest regional trade pact in history. RCEP negotiations were launched in Phnom Penh in November. The 16 countries account for over a quarter of the world’s economy, estimated to be more than $75 trillion.

According to the MEA secretary, enhancing India-ASEAN trade is a priority area under the new plan of action to implement the ASEAN-India partnership for peace, progress and shared prosperity (2016-20). The plan of action envisages a number of steps in the areas of trade and investment, finance, transport, food, agriculture, forestry, information and communication technology, tourism, science, technology and innovation and mining & natural resources management. Wadhwa said the ASEAN-India Trade Negotiating Committee has been tasked to undertake review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement, which came into effect on January 1, 2010, noting that the review will help optimise its utilisation and bring it up-to-date with today’s standards. Stressing on deeper ASEAN-India collaboration, Wadhwa said: “We need to undertake capacity building programmes, workshops and seminars that focus on the ASEAN-India FTA, Rules of Origin, services liberalisation, regulatory aspects of ecommerce, elimination of non-tariff barriers, competition policy and intellectual property rights, SME cooperation and promotion”.

SOURCE: The Financial Express

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India and Iran holds talk on oil trade, explore ways to fix payment issues

India and Iran are holding negotiations to revive Asian Clearing Union (ACU) mechanism to increase oil exports to Delhi and address the payments due from Indian refiners.  An Iranian delegation is currently here to discuss various aspects of energy partnership, including payments and export of additional crude oil to India, people familiar with the developments said. Various aspects are being considered including ACU mechanism to spruce up energy ties in the post-sanctions period, domain experts said. Besides connectivity, energy sector could be another success story between two nations. Iran was once number two crude oil supplier to India but lost the position owing to sanctions. "We are looking to steadily increase oil supplies to India. We are also looking at reviving ACU mechanism to increase oil exports to Delhi as well as address payment due from Indian refiners. Iran has received few more tranches of due since last October from Indian side," Iranian Ambassador to India Gholamreza Ansari told ET. Last October Essar Oil, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals and other Indian refiners paid the second instalment of $700 million to Iran to clear part of their outstanding oil dues. The payments came on top of $700 million the four refiners had cleared on September 30. After October payment, they have cleared a one-fifth of the $6.5 b owed to Iran. Before the payments made last September-October, Essar Oil owed $3.34 b to Iran, MRPL $2.49 billion and Indian Oil Corp $581 million. HPCL-Mittal Energy owed $97 million and HPCL another $29 million. Due to absence of Iranian banks in India smooth and timely payment for oil imported from Tehran became a challenge for Indian refiners when the sanctions were in place.

SOURCE: The Economic Times

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WTO trade facilitation pact cleared

Nearly two years after the Bali agreement, the Cabinet on Wednesday approved the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which seeks to ease Customs procedures to boost commerce. To implement the agreement, two-thirds of the total members, or 107 countries, have to approve it. India was the 71st country to give nod to the agreement. The pact aims to expedite the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit, for international trade. For this purpose, it sets out measures for effective cooperation between Customs and other appropriate authorities on trade facilitation and Customs compliance issues. Towards this end, a national committee on TFA would be set up to coordinate and implement the provisions of trade facilitation. The committee will be co-chaired by both the revenue secretary and commerce secretary.

According to the WTO, full implementation of TFA could increase global merchandise exports by up to $1 trillion annually. The overall boost to world export growth has been estimated at 2.7 per cent per annum. Talking to reporters, Commerce & Industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the pact will bring much-needed predictability to trade related matters, by allowing advance authorisations, easier sharing of information with exporters and ease of business. Sitharaman, however, pointed out that lots need to change in terms of the Customs Act to fulfil India’s commitments under the pact. Also, changes in rules will need to be instituted in a range of areas. These include allowing goods to be released before duty is paid on a guarantee basis in cases of certain imports and allowing inward and outward processing for facilitating re-import and re-export of goods for repair. The scope of advance ruling has to be broadened to extend the facility to “any importer, exporter or any person with justifiable cause”. India’s current regime allows advance rulings to a limited set of persons such as joint ventures and foreign investors. The minister said bringing about these changes will require a significant amount of money. However, she said the government has not sought funding.

OTHER DECISIONS

  • NITI Aayog CEO to be part-time member of Telecom Commission
  • Nod to urban planning pact with Singapore
  • Ex-post facto approval to 13 MoUs on agriculture
  • Approval to a pact between AYUSH ministry and WHO on traditional medicine
  • LIGO-India mega science proposal for research on gravitational waves
  • Apprised of BRICS MoU on cooperation in science, technology and innovation

SOURCE: The Business Standard

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Global Crude oil price of Indian Basket was US$ 29.89 per bbl on 17.02.2016

The international crude oil price of Indian Basket as computed/published today by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was US$ 29.89 per barrel (bbl) on 17.02.2016. This was lower than the price of US$ 31.48 per bbl on previous publishing day of 16.02.2016.

In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket decreased to Rs 2050.06 per bbl on 17.02.2016 as compared to Rs 2151.20 per bbl on 16.02.2016. Rupee closed weaker at Rs 68.59 per US$ on 17.02.2016 as against Rs 68.34 per US$ on 16.02.2016. The table below gives details in this regard: 

Particulars

Unit

Price on February 17, 2016 (Previous trading day i.e. 16.02.2016)

Pricing Fortnight for 16.02.2016

(28 Jan to  11 Feb, 2016)

Crude Oil (Indian Basket)

($/bbl)

29.89             (31.48)

30.05

(Rs/bbl

2050.06         (2151.20)

2040.70

Exchange Rate

(Rs/$)

68.59             (68.34)

67.91

 

SOURCE: PIB

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Investing in Iran

With the US lifting sanctions on Iran, the country is looking to expand trade and business ties with many nations, including India. Considering that India maintained commercial contacts with Iran during the sanctions, it is keen that India invests in infrastructure projects there. There are multiple advantages for India in this. For starters, it gets access to Iranian gas (the second-largest reserves globally) and oil (fifth-largest). India has also been looking for a stake in the Farzad B gas field that is estimated to have reserves of 12.8 trillion cubic feet. That would supplement the oil and gas that India sources from the Middle East. Also, since some of India’s biggest refineries—Mangalore, Jamnagar, Kochi and Vadinar—that account for refining capacity of 105 mmtpa are on the west coast, it means much cheaper freight. In FY15, Iran accounted for just 6% of Indian oil imports down from being the second-largest supplier with a 17% share almost a decade ago. That could soon change. The advantage with Iran is not restricted to fuel imports.

Iran has invited India to invest in infrastructure projects worth $8 billion that include railway lines, bridges and ports. That fits in with India’s plans to build linkages with the CIS countries, that have some of the largest energy reserves. Among the projects on offer is the 600 kilometre Chahbahar -Zahedan rail link. That fits in with the Indian plan to help Iran build a port at Chahbahar, which is just across the border from Pakistan’s Gwadar where China is building a port as part of the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) programme. But, for that to happen, India needs to take quick decisions on its investment plans in Iran. India has also been looking at building a 1,300 kilometre sub-sea pipeline that brings gas from Iran and Oman to Gujarat. The deep sea pipeline will skirt the Pakistan economic zone in the Arabian Sea. The time is right for the BJP government to engage with Iran in a big way. After all, the advantages in the relationship are far too many. Both foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and prime minister Narendra Modi are slated to visit Iran soon as part of the dialogue process. The advantage that Iran offers is that it is geographically well positioned to serve as India’s gateway to Afghanistan, Central Asia, the CIS countries and Russia. But, with the world wooing it today, India needs to push the right buttons quickly.

SOURCE: The Financial Express

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BioLogic a research team creates new form of performance fabric

In the Tangible Media Group within the MIT Media Lab, BioLogic a research team has created a completely new form of performance fabric that combines biomaterials research with textile design. BioLogic is growing living actuators and synthesizing responsive bio-skin in the era where, they declare, “bio is the new interface.” They are imagining a world where actuators and sensors can be grown rather than manufactured, being derived from nature as opposed to engineered in factories. Under the direction of Professor Hiroshi Ishii, the bioLogic team has unearthed a new behavior of the ancient bacteria Bacillus subtilis natto: the expansion and contraction of the natto cells relative to atmospheric moisture. The team is capitalizing on this natural phenomenon by embedding the bacteria into fabric to ventilate garments. They harvest the animate natto cells in a bio lab and assemble them with a micron-resolution bio-printing system, transforming them into responsive fashion, a “second skin.” The synthetic bio-skin reacts to body heat and sweat, causing flaps around heat zones to open, enabling sweat to evaporate and cool down the body through an organic material flux.

Together with New Balance, bioLogic is applying this technology to creating sportswear that regulates athletes’ body temperatures, thereby enhancing performance. Lining Yao, who is responsible for concept creation, interaction design, and fabrication for biologic said that they are trying to explore how the physical materials and physical environment can be smarter, more adaptive, and become part of us. This garment will understand when you sweat, and it will sense and open up to release your sweat, and close up to keep you warm again. A garment can become an interface that can communicate with your body. The reason they started to explore this bacteria is that they knew that in the natural world there are a lot of smart materials that are naturally responsive. It’s very sensitive to even tiny changes in the skin condition, so they thought an on-skin transformable textile would be a really interesting application.”

Beyond the industrial collaboration, a grant from the MIT Council for the Arts enabled bioLogic to invite fashion- and product designers from the Royal College of Art, Oksana Anilionyte and Helene Steiner, to bring the project to a new artistic level. Yao said that bioLogic chose to focus their efforts on the more cutting-edge technological, artistic, or conceptual ideas, and hope some of the pragmatic concerns — like washing and caring for garments made from the “bio-skin” — will be addressed by the wider design community who produce and use the fabric. The project has already piqued the interest of several fashion designers from Central Saint Martins and Parsons, who see a number of potential uses, including creating a garment for Korean women who fish and using this natural nanoactuator to explore other forms of clothing.

While this project appeals to fashion designers and those creating athletic attire, Ishii points out that the Tangible Media Group focuses on diverse actuated materials: This is one specific instance. They are not really dedicated to fashion design or dance performance wear, but for this project they did specific experiments applying to those areas. They are devoted to the much more fundamental concept of ‘radical atoms.’ Basically, they are interested in materials that artists and designers would use to express their ideas. For example, a product designer may use metal or glass or plastic. Computer designers may use a pixel in the computer screen, but that’s intangible. Physical materials are nice, but frozen; they’re dead. So they are interested in making materials that transform dynamically. That’s what they call ‘radical atoms.’” Yao said that this project aligned perfectly with the group’s vision of “human interaction with future dynamic materials. She adds that “the general idea is not only how we can be inspired by nature, but how we can collaborate with nature. The Tangible Media Group is leading the project in collaboration with MIT Department of Chemical Engineering, the Royal College of Art, and New Balance. Team members come from diverse backgrounds including design, art, science, and engineering.

SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers

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New China-Iran train cuts cargo time by 30 days

In a milestone in reviving the Silk Road, the first cargo train from China to Iran arrived in Tehran on Monday, opening a new chapter of win-win cooperation between China and Iran, Xinhua has reported. The highlight on the train service which takes 18 days is that it cuts time delivery time of cargo time from China to Iran by 30 days. The train, also referred to as Silk Road train, has passed through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to Iran, travelling a distance of 10,399 kilometers. It had left Yiwu city in east China's Zhejiang Province on January 28. The train was carrying dozens of cargo containers, according to the deputy of Iran's Road and Urbanism Minister, Mohsen Pour-Aqaei, who made a welcome speech after the arrival of the cargo train at Tehran Train Station. The "Belt and Road" initiative started by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, refers to the New Silk Road Economic Belt, linking China with Europe through Central and Western Asia, and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, connecting China with Southeast Asian countries, Africa and Europe. "To revive the Silk Road Economic Belt, the launch of the train is an important move, since about 700 kilometers of trip has been done per day," said Pour-Aqaei, who was present at the welcome ceremony of the train in Tehran's Railway Station. “Compared to the sea voyage of cargo ships from China's Shanghai city to Iran's Bandar Abbas port city, the travel time of the train was 30 days shorter,” he said.

Pour-Aqaei, also the Managing Director of Iran's Railway Company, added that according to the plan, there would be one such a trip from China to Iran every month. The travel of cargo train from China to Iran is part of a Chinese initiative to revive the ancient Silk Road used by the traders to commute between Europe and East Asia. Tehran will not be the final destination of these kinds of trains from China, the Iranian deputy minister said, adding that in the future, the train will reach Europe. This will benefit Iran as the transit course for the cargo trains from the east Asia to Europe, he said.

Chinese ambassador to Iran Pang Sen told Xinhua that as one of the cooperation projects after Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Iran, the cargo train is playing a important role to promote construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative. The railway line from Yiwu to Tehran provides the two countries an express and efficient cargo trade transportation method, Pang said, adding that the countries along the railway line will further upgrade rail technology with the aim to make its transportation ability faster and better.

SOURCE: Fibre2fashion

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