Navsari Agricultural University (NAU) has been devising schemes to market its bananaplant fibre obtained from the plantain’s pseudostem. One of the most glamorous industries in the world is also one of the most polluting industries: fashion and textile. A major chunk of the produce goes to landfills and untreated toxic waste from textiles factories ends up tainting water bodies. A significant amount of humanity’s carbon emissions is credited to the textile industry. While big brands and fresh startups promise ethical and sustainable practices being followed in production, credible reports to verify the claims are majorly absent. Experts suggest several ways to treat the pollution issues caused by the industry. One of the more popular approaches is substitution of chemically produced raw materials with naturally obtained options. Surat, popularly known as ‘The Diamond City’ and ‘The Silk City’, has many important structures setup for textile production across the city. For a while now, traders and stakeholders in the city have been trying to experiment with sourcing. Surat is developing a biodegradable yarn sourced from pineapple, birch wood, banana and bamboo. The city had previously experimented with plant-based cupro fibre and viscose rayon. As per a report in The Times of India, Navsari Agricultural University (NAU) has been devising schemes to market its banana-plant fibre obtained from the plantain’s pseudostem. J M Patel, head of Soil and Water management Research Unit, NAU, told the media outlet, “Plantain stems weighing around 45kg each were earlier considered waste and would actually incur the farmer an additional Rs 15,000 per hectare cost for removal of the ecotrash.” He added, “With the innovation of plant-based fibre, farmers can earn from that waste.” The majority of the struggle is polyester, which according to experts is hard to be substituted with a naturally made option, at large. Rajnikant Bachkaniwala, president of MANTRA, a textile research institute said that natural yarns and fibres have been around for some time. These substitutes have to grow in commercial production so as to make it available at customer-friendly prices. A private group from the city, Meher International is using pineapple leaves to make fibre and the yarn can be derived after a long process. Director of the firm, Sumit Agarwal said that for farmers these leftovers are waste and tend to throw them away.
Source: News18
"We think this will open a global opportunity for SMEs to spread the communities and accelerate India's progress as a manufacturing destination that can export to the world," McKenna told a CII conference Monday. "I actually love the phrase 'Make in India for the world," she added. Walmart International chief executive Judith McKenna has reiterated the US retail giant's commitment to export $10 billion worth of goods out of India annually by 2027, which she said will create a network of small and medium enterprises selling to the company's global buyers and help in the Make-in-India programme. "We think this will open a global opportunity for SMEs to spread the communities and accelerate India's progress as a manufacturing destination that can export to the world," McKenna told a CII conference Monday. "I actually love the phrase 'Make in India for the world," she added. McKenna leads Walmart's global operations consisting of 24 international markets outside of the US. In India, Walmart employs about 140,000 staff, mainly in its Flipkart Group unit. With the Flipkart acquisition, Walmart also inherited PhonePe digital payment cogmpany. McKenna said PhonePe currently does about 20 billion UPI transactions a year. McKenna lauded India's enterprising ecosystem, especially in the digital economy space. "We have seen incredible signs of India's enterprising spirits accelerating through Covid and I hope the way the world looks at India, they see what we see ... that is extraordinary public commitment to make it a digital economy," she said over video conferencing. "We see a nation of entrepreneurs with a spirit that is hard to match, and we see an opportunity to support and build new businesses that can realise India's potential."
Source: Economic Times
The UAE was India’s second-biggest goods export market until FY20, behind only the US, before China pipped it in FY21 when the pandemic caused severe trade disruptions. India has zeroed in on more than 1,000 products across sectors, including textiles & garments, gem & jewellery, leather, spices, engineering goods, chemicals and poultry, where it wants duty concessions from the UAE under a proposed free trade agreement (FTA), sources told FE. New Delhi and Abu Dhabi held the third round of FTA negotiations from December 6 to 10. They have hammered out broad contours of the deal and are giving final touches to it, said an official source. It would be the first FTA to be signed by India in over a decade. While the UAE, India’s third-largest export destination, currently slaps a 5% duty on textiles & garments and jewellery, certain steel products are taxed at 10%. These three segments alone made up for 34% of India’s $16.7 billion exports to the UAE last fiscal and 43% in the pre-pandemic year of FY20. The UAE has also prohibited poultry imports from India on concerns of bird flu. Seeking the lifting of the ban, New Delhi has highlighted that it has been strictly adopting the safety norms stipulated by the World Organisation for Animal Health. For its part, Abu Dhabi, too, has drawn up a long list of products, including in food items such as dates and confectionary, where it’s pressing for duty concession. Both the sides started formal negotiations for a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), as the FTA is formally called, in New Delhi from September 23. They aim to wrap up talks by December and sign a deal by March 2022 following due processes of ratification. Prime Minister Narendra Modi may declare the CEPA when he visits the UAE, possibly in January, said the sources. The India-UAE FTA is expected to raise bilateral merchandise trade to $100 billion in five years following the signing of the pact from about $43 billion in FY21. It also aims to more than double bilateral services trade to $15 billion during this period. In services, as FE has reported, both the sides might clinch a deal on labour-intensive sectors, which would ensure freer movement of skilled professionals. This is expected to boost job creation in both the countries and spur multifarious economic activities. The negotiations with the UAE are a part of India’s broader strategy to forge “fair and balanced” trade agreements with key economies and revamp existing pacts to boost trade. The move gained traction after India pulled out of the China-dominated RCEP talks in November 2019. India is also engaged in talks with Australia, the UK and the EU for FTAs. Balanced FTAs will enable the country to achieve sustained growth rates in exports in the coming years. Already, India has set an ambitious merchandise export target of $400 billion for FY22, against $291 billion in FY21. The UAE was India’s second-biggest goods export market until FY20, behind only the US, before China pipped it in FY21 when the pandemic caused severe trade disruptions. India’s major exports to the UAE include petroleum products, precious metals, stones, gems and jewellery, textiles and garments, food items, engineering goods and chemicals. Its main imports from the UAE include petroleum and petroleum products, precious metals, stones, gems and jewellery, minerals, chemicals and wood and wood products.
Source: Financial Express
The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal has said India and the UAE will wrap up the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by next month. “Hopefully by the end of this month or next month, we hope to conclude them (the negotiations) so that this would probably be one of the fastest trade agreement between two countries ever made,” he said, addressing the India Global Forum, UAE-2021 through video conference. Shri Goyal said the agreement will be a mutually beneficial win-win solution for both countries, “provide market access to each other. Some of the elements of the agreement are the first of its kind, particularly for both countries.” Shri Goyal said, this year Indian economy has been able to “largely recover” from what it had contracted last year due to the “very severe lockdown” we had imposed to tackle the Covid. “We have been able to look at very attractive growth rates, - Second quarter, that’s July-Sep, we grew at 8.4% which is one of the fastest growing growth rates in the world today. Our investments are at an all-time high, we are getting some of the highest FDI or FPI in recent months. Indian businesses are showing more compliant growth, more profitability growth. In the last few months our exports have been at an all-time high, - both merchandise and in services.”
Source: PIB
The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal today called for Partnerships among countries for achieving Sustainable Growth. Addressing the Inaugural Session of the CII Partnership Summit 2021 on the theme “Partnering for Building a New World: Growth, Competitiveness, Sustainability, Technology” through video conferencing, Shri Goyal said India, as it assumes presidency of the G20, will leverage global partnerships for collective solutions to global issues. Quoting the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi: - “It is only partnerships that will get us to our goals. Partnerships between citizens, Partnerships between communities, Partnerships between countries,” Shri Goyal said India has emerged as the ‘World’s Trusted Partner’. “Even in the peak of the Covid, even under lockdown, India met all of its international service commitments despite lockdowns and Services supply chains did not suffer for even a second,” he said. Shri Goyal assured India will supply Covid vaccines to the whole world to tackle this “once in a century of its kind pandemic” and plans to manufacture 5 billion doses next year. “In addition to protecting its own population, India has also provided medical supplies & equipment to more than 150 countries across the globe,” he said, adding, “It is in line with India’s ancient wisdom of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’(The World is One Family). Nobody will be safe, until everybody is safe; nobody will be happy, until everybody will be happy . "Shri Goyal said the pandemic has put India under the spotlight, to introspect its potential as a Global leader especially at a time when the country is celebrating 75 years of independence “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”. “India’s cumulative COVID-19 Vaccination coverage exceeds 1.33 billion doses,” he said. Shri Goyal said all of us Ministers are working for the welfare of the poor with the Government’s philosophy of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas.’ “We have been running the world’s largest food distribution programme serving more than 800 million beneficiaries for 19 months besides the world’s largest health insurance programme reaching out to the poorest of the poor,” he said. Calling for a just and equitable world trade order, Shri Goyal said, with ‘Panchamrit’, the PM has set very, very ambitious targets for India at the COP26. “India will reach its nonfossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030 & meet 50% of its energy requirements from RE.We hope to attain Net Zero (Carbon Footprint) by 2070 in the fastest possible time,” he said. Shri Goyal said, under PM Modi, India is on a Reform Journey that has transformed its landscape with several schemes like the PLI, PM Mitra, Reduction in Corporate Tax, Ease of Doing Business and Single Window. “Today India’s businesses are moving towards adoption of tech. like 5G, AI, IoT (Internet of Things), etc. to achieve Manufacturing excellence. India’s 65 million MSMEs are fast moving to embrace digitisation to make India a trillion-dollar digital economy,” said Shri Goyal. “India’s economic performance has been robust; all economic indicators continuing on an upward trajectory. 8.4% GDP growth in Q2; Exports - $30 bn (Nov. 21; +26% over Nov. 20); Record GST collection (Rs 1.31 Lakh Cr in Nov); Highest ever FDI,” he added. Reiterating PM Modi’s message given today at Varanasi, - “PM asked for 3 resolutions from the people for the country - cleanliness, creation and continuous efforts for a selfreliant India,” Shri Goyal exuded confidence that this summit will help in building new bridges to foster balanced & equitable global growth.
Source: PIB
The labour participation rate picked up to 41.4 per cent from 40.5 per cent -- its highest in eight weeks Despite fears of the Omicron variant, business activity touched an all-time high since the onset of the pandemic for the week ended December 12, a Japanese brokerage said on Monday. The Nomura India Business Resumption Index (NIBRI), which compares the activity for a particular week as against the one before the onset of the pandemic, rose to 115.8 from the 112.9 for the previous week. "Despite Omicron risks, neither policy restrictions nor public fear factor appear to have had any impact on mobility so far, which is supporting a further normalisation in services," it said in a statement. Mobility indicators rose for the week, led by a 4 percentage point (pp) uptick in the Google mobility index, 2 pp increase in retail and recreation index, while the Apple driving index rose 2.9 pp. The labour participation rate picked up to 41.4 per cent from 40.5 per cent -- its highest in eight weeks -- and power demand reversed last week's fall with a 3.7 per cent gain, it added. After supply-constraint induced declines in August and September, industrial output growth rose sequentially in October, although its pace appears to be plateauing. India remains at risk of virus setbacks since those fully vaccinated account for only 37.5 per cent of the overall population, it said, adding data thus far suggest that incremental growth momentum in Q4 may be driven more by services and re-opening and less by industry.
Source: Business Standard
Bangalore Wholesale Cloth Merchant Association have urged the Union government to drop the proposal to increase GST (Goods and Service Tax) on garments and textile industries from 5 percent to 12 percent. With effect from January 2022, the government has raised GST on finished goods such as garments, textiles, and footwear from 5 percent to 12 percent. In a unique campaign, the association has decided to send postcards to the PMO (Prime Minister Office) daily from all the shops here in Bengaluru against the proposal. "From Karnataka alone we are sending 3,000 cards daily. Every shop is sending a minimum of five cards daily," says Bangalore Wholesale Cloth Merchant Association President Prakash Pirgal. In a letter to Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman, the association president stated, "A humble request to maintain status-quo: The textiles and garments shop owners are shocked to note the recommendations at the 45th GST Council Meeting, to Increase the G.S.T from existing 5 to 12 percent from 1 January 2022. [Increase by 140 percent]. Always our Government promotes roti, kapada and makan - the basic necessities of life at utmost minimal prices, so that almost every citizen of India, even below BPL could afford these basic necessities of life." "One can see that our government subsidises the rates and makes them tax-free too, to be economical for all to afford these basic necessities and most of our textiles and garments manufactures come under above bracket. But it is terrifying to note that our government is contemplating increasing GST, on textile and garments from 4 percent to 12 percent. This will create a negative impact and affect the total textiles and garments trade and industry, thereby resulting in the closure of lakhs of factories and shops which cause unemployment to thousands of people and loss of revenue to the exchequer," Prakash Pirgal mentioned. He said, almost 85 percent of textile trading shops and manufacturers are in the small and medium sector and are below Rs 40 lakhs turnover per annum and not in the GST ambit. But all pay GST on their purchases and contribute to government exchequer. "Please note that the GST of 5 percent is fully borne by these small traders and industries, and not passed to consumers," he explained. "If the GST is increased, this would be a very huge burden to bear for our small and medium traders who may either pass on to consumers, which would cause inflation, or find it tough to compete with larger stores and are finally forced to shut down business," he further explained. He expressed the fear that several textile shops employing 4 to 10 people could vanish unable to bear the GST increase.
Source: The Hans India
A special sub-portal within SAMADHAAN portal and an online reporting system has been developed for reporting the dues and monthly payments by ministries. The government ministries, departments and central public sector enterprises have paid dues of over Rs 75,472 crore to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) vendors between June 1, 2020 and October 31, 2021, minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on Monday. A special sub-portal within SAMADHAAN portal and an online reporting system has been developed for reporting the dues and monthly payments by ministries, departments and CPSEs to the MSMEs, Chaudhary said. SMEs have long been facing a problem of delayed realisation of their receivables, leading to liquidity constraints and a key reason for many of them turning into non-performing assets (NPAs).
Source: Financial Express
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), along with the Rajasthan Government, hosted a programme on Monday as a precursor to the Invest Rajasthan Summit. The Rajasthan Government on Monday bagged investment proposals worth Rs 74,312 crore, which comprise four MoUs and 15 Letters of Intent, at an investor connect programme held in the city. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), along with the Rajasthan Government, hosted a programme on Monday as a precursor to the Invest Rajasthan Summit, due to be held in Jaipur on January 24-25 2022. These investment committments came from technology-based industries, such as robotics, EVs, technical textiles, and renewable energy, along with conventional sectors of hospitality, healthcare and real estate. JSW Neo Energy made a proposal to develop a 1,000-MW hydro pump-based energy storage plant in Sirohi district, at an estimated investment of Rs 4,900 crore, while Addverb Technologies plans to develop an industrial automation and robotics products manufacturing unit at Karoli EMC Zone in Alwar district. Rajasthan also bagged investment proposals worth Rs 160 crore from Mysore. “Investor enthusiasm at the recent connect programme testifies to their confidence in the state’s potential and policies of the State Government. It has also raised our expectations of the success of Invest Rajasthan,” said Rajasthan Industries and Commerce Minister Shakuntala Rawat.
Source: New Indian Express
Four leading textile players — Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, B K Goenka’s Welspun, Sanjay Dalmia’s GHCL and Dinesh Kumar Himatsingka’s Himatsingka — placed bids for the bankrupt Sintex Industries, which weaves fabrics for global fashion brands like Armani, Burberry and Diesel. While RIL teamed up with stressed asset buyer Assets Care & Reconstruction Enterprise for the Sintex bid, the other three parties have made solo offers. The four proposals will be evaluated by the resolution professional handling the Sintex bankruptcy matter and then will be placed before the creditors’ committee for further consideration, the Gujaratbased company said in a regulatory filing. Sintex owes about Rs 8,000 crore to financial and operational creditors. Sintex is the second company under the Indian bankruptcy code for which RIL has shown interest. It had previously bought Alok Industries in partnership with JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Company. Welspun has bid for multiple assets under the Indian bankruptcy code but met with no success so far. For Sintex, Welspun has routed its bid through Easygo Textiles. The proposed deal will help Welpsun in its backward integration strategy, said a person familiar with its plans. Previously, Welspun had offered a little less than Rs 2,000 crore to Sintex’s creditors but the proposal didn’t enthuse them. Sintex, incorporated in 1931, has a market cap of Rs 594 crore. It reported a loss of Rs 1,306 crore on sales of Rs 1,696 crore in fiscal 2021. GHCL’s move for Sintex comes after it inked a deal to sell its home textile business in Gujarat to Indo Count Industries for Rs 576 crore. While Bengaluru-based Dinesh Kumar Himatsingka has routed the Sintex bid in his personal capacity along with his son Shrikant and Himatsingka Ventures. Sintex was admitted into the bankruptcy process by the National Company Law Tribunal, Ahmedabad on April 6 this year on a plea by Invesco Asset Management over a Rs 15- crore default in payment of principal and interest of non-convertible bonds in September 2019.
Source: Times of India
The Trade Law Centre (Tralac) says trade under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) cannot start until tariff books reflect the outcome of the negotiations on tariff concessions, and the rules of origin for products are finalised. African countries were meant to have started trading under the AfCFTA from the 1st of January this year, however, negotiations among all 54 member states are still under way. Executive Director at the Trade Law Centre, Trudy Hartzenberg, says the rules of origin that stipulate which goods will be subjected to tariffs and duties must be finalised in order for trade to commence. The AfCFTA aims to phase out 90% of tariff lines over the next 10 years. “So there was a deadline set for the 30th of June this year to have all the tariff offers set on the table, and this has not happened and that hasn’t happened either. Some tariff offers have been made by the AfCTA secretariat but we’re still at a point where all member states have not submitted tariff offers that meet the modalities as agreed upon,” explains Hartzenberg. Hatzenburg says so far the rules of origin for 87% of tariff lines have been agreed upon. “Automotive products textiles and clothing some 568 tariff lines. And there are some key challenges when it comes to the textile and clothing industries because so many countries have an interest because they have a garment factory for example but they want to expand that. But major challenges lies in the textile industry. The lack of sufficient yarn and fabric production on the continent to meet the demand of the grarmet manufacturing industry across all countries,” Hartzenberg adds. The founder of the Trade Law Centre, Professor Gerhard Erasmus says disputes between countries are currently settled through consultation and not litigation. “The dispute settlement mechanism of the AfCTA is modelled on the WTO dispute settlement understanding. It has panels, in other words there are three phases. If a dispute settlement party with another one the first phase is to call for consultation. If you solve the problem there fine, well done. If you still disagree after consultation then go to the dispute settlement body.” The Trade Law Centre says a list of product definitions and tariff codes will be made available from the 1st of January 2022.
Source: SABC News
Bangladesh has already conquered the international apparel market and is currently the second-largest exporter of garment items worldwide after China with a 6.8 per cent global market share. Although Bangladesh depends on imports for cotton, a key raw material for textile, the country is fast becoming a major source for yarn and fabrics for textile and garment producers. The shipment of the raw materials and intermediate goods is rising fast thanks to a government incentive. Yarn, fabrics and waste yarn worth $80.48 million were exported from Bangladesh in the July to November period, registering a 38.73 per cent year-on-year growth, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau. Bangladesh shipped yarn and fabrics worth $154.29 million in the last financial year of 2020-21, up 15.52 per cent year-on-year. Well Group, one of the yarn exporters, ships $7 million to $8 million worth of spun polyester yarn, synthetic, sewing thread and embroidery thread mainly to Turkey. The same yarn that the company exports is also re-exported to some central Asian countries, said Syed Nurul Islam, chairman and chief executive officer of Well Group. He said the government's incentive for new markets and products in 2009 inspired him and other local spinners and weavers to begin exporting yarn and fabrics after meeting the demand of local garment factories. Envoy Group, a major fabrics and garment manufacturer, is another fabrics exporter that sells denim fabrics in Turkey, China, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and India. The company exports eight lakh yards of denim fabric per month, according to Kutubuddin Ahmed, chairman of Envoy Group. "The prospects of denim yarn and fabric are very high as local spinners and weavers are producing a lot of yarn and fabrics and expanding their manufacturing capacity," he said. "Exports of denim yarn and fabrics are growing," he said, adding that local entrepreneurs have installed a lot of denim fabric production capacity. Well Group produces 1,000 tonnes of yarn a month and is planning to expand its capacity as the demand is rising, both locally and globally. "The export of yarn and fabrics is not very profitable. The export incentive from the government has made the business viable," said Mohammad Ali Khokon, president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA). Vietnam has recently agreed to buy yarn from Bangladesh. The garment producing country purchases one lakh tonne of yarn from India every year. Similarly, textile millers and yarn and fabrics users in Turkey, South Korea, Egypt and Taiwan are lobbying with the BTMA to buy more yarn and fabrics from Bangladesh, Khokon said. Local spinners and weavers are expanding their capacity to produce man-made fibres because of its growing demand. In the next two years, Bangladesh's yarn production capacity will see an addition of 2.5 million spindles. Currently, 13.5 million spindles are used to manufacture textile raw materials, according to Khokon.
Source: The Daily Star
Bangladesh's imports increased further by volume and value both amid gradual economic pickup as well as higher import-payment obligation due to international inflation. Official count on November imports shows the rise is particularly caused by higher purchase of fuel oils to meet a growing domestic demand amid expanding activity after the pandemic slowdown. The settlement of letters of credit (LCs), generally known as actual import, in terms of value, rose by 5.16 per cent to US$5.54 billion in November 2021 from $5.27 billion in the previous month, according to the central bank's latest statistics. On the other hand, the opening of LCs, generally known as import orders, increased 7.62 per cent to $6.06 billion in November from $5.63 billion a month before. "The existing upward trend in import may continue in the coming months following the reopening of business activities across the country," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE on Sunday. He said higher prices of essential commodities, including petroleum products, on the global market also pushed up the country's import payments in recent months. Actually, the country's foreign trade, covering import and export, increased significantly in recent months thanks to a gradual pickup in economic activities, both domestic and global, amid reopening after more than one year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Echoing the BB official's view, a senior executive of a leading private commercial bank (PCB) said that the existing trend in import-payment obligations may continue in the near future if the rising trend in petroleum products along with other commodities' prices on the global market persists. Meanwhile, actual imports for fuel oils jumped by nearly 58 per cent or $208.59 million to $568.52 million in November from 359.93 million a month ago, the BB data showed. Talking to the FE, a senior official of the state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) said import expense for petroleum products increased significantly in November following upturn in both price and quantity. He also predicts that the existing trend in import-payment obligation for fuel oils may continue until March mainly due to seasonal impact. The demand for fuels has been increasing in recent months as economies have started reopening gradually around the world, the official explained. However, import under back-to-back LC settlement of textile products was almost stable at $616.19 million in the month of November against $622.64 million a month before as apparel exporters purchased their textiles products earlier in line with buyers' orders to avert price volatility on the global market. "Imports under back-to-back LC may increase from January 2022 while apparel manufacturers are expected to start to get fresh purchase orders in the global market," Sayeed Ahmad Chowdhury, director, operations, of Square Denims, told the FE while explaining latest market situation. He also predicts that the existing uptrend in export earnings will continue through this month despite falling trend in the textile products. Import of capital machinery or industrial equipment used for production was up by more than 4.0 per cent to $361.59 million in November as against $346.40 million a month ago. Higher capital-machinery imports were needed for apparel and clothing, pharmaceutical industries alongside implementation of different infrastructure-development projects, including metro rail, according to another BB official.
Source: The Financial Express
If local manufacturers do not afford changes in line with sustainable and greener production, better energy conservation and higher responsibility to the environment, global clothing brands may no longer place orders to the former. That is one of the main points given during a seminar on Vietnam’s textile and garment industry co-hosted by the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas) and the WWF late last month. According to speakers at the seminar, global clothing brands have shifted their priority to be in favor of “green businesses” when they place orders in Vietnam. Polluting manufacturers that do not put into use energy-saving solutions and plans to consume fewer natural resources may face a refusal of their products or a halt of new orders. James Phillips, general director of the garment manufacturer TAL Vietnam, said more than 250 global fashion brands have set standards and codes of conduct responsible to the environment applicable to their suppliers of clothing items. Vietnamese garment businesses are therefore expected to comply with green production, which will help them do business more effectively, generate higher profit and sustain growth rates. Garment factories are supposed to save energy and water, use environmentfriendly materials and fulfill their corporate social responsibility. Tran Nhu Tung, head of the Sustainable Development Board of Vitas, contended that the majority of enterprises involved in the garment supply chain formed by global fashion brands have adopted the “green” requirements for production, such as assuming their corporate social responsibility, being friendly to the environment and cutting emissions. According to Mr. Tung, the compliance with the criteria on social responsibility and the environment set by the global brands remains a fundamental commitment to be made by garment factories when they engage in a production chain. For the immediate future, the implementation of sustainable development criteria may be a challenge to local garment businesses because these criteria require huge investment and personnel. However, in the long run, argued Mr. Tung, the credibility and brand value of the business in question will be better. Furthermore, such a business may later receive support from global clothing brands, international organizations and financial institutions. “Businesses are compelled to be adaptive to changes to further develop,” said Mr. Tung, adding that aside from meeting requirements and criteria set by the global brands, “green” development also means a business itself has to be more responsible to the community and later generations when it comes to production. Participants at the seminar argued also that in reality the compliance with sustainable production criteria at factories will both raise the number of new orders and facilitate more effective operations which help cut costs by using less energy and water. Experts insisted that once an enterprise is regarded as having developed sustainably, it will create added value to the entire textile and garment industry of Vietnam. Global clothing brands will then treat Vietnamese enterprises differently and may shift more orders to the country. Considering the many opportunities created by free trade agreements signed by Vietnam and her trading partners, the local textile and garment industry is being given a big chance. However, that comes with an enormous challenge to local businesses when they have to meet requirements for environmental protection and low emissions included in the free trade agreements. To rise to the challenge, local textile and garment enterprises are gearing toward modern production lines and technology which opt for cleaner production, save more energy and improve competitiveness of their products. This is, however, more challenging to smaller companies whose financial capabilities are limited. Some speakers said to give a facelift to Vietnamese textile and garment enterprises, in addition to efforts made by businesses themselves, support from the Government, financial institutions and global clothing brands is also indispensable.
Source: Vietnam Net
After going from strength to strength over the last four decades, Bangladesh's garment industry suffered something of a shock last year when it fell behind Vietnam as a sourcing destination. That was largely down to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which saw the bulk of the country's 3,500 garment factories closed for up to two months and cost the industry US$3.26 billion in order cancellations, although most of these were subsequently reinstated. Faruque Hassan, who became the president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) in April, has recently led a charm offensive designed at cementing his country's role as a leading sourcing destination for brands.
Source: Eco Textile
A regular series from Goodman Property examining environmental sustainability and how New Zealand business is working to get us there. Today: Fashion and textiles. The problem: Waste, environmental impact, global warming and climate change. The expert: Bernadette Casey, sustainability consultant and co-founder of Used Fully, a low-carbon clothing system where textiles are used to their full potential. The issues: • The fashion industry is responsible for 10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions – more than international air and shipping travel combined. • 80-100 billion items of clothing are made each year – but on average are worn only seven times. That will soon increase to 150 billion items. • New Zealand sends about 100,000 tonnes of clothing to landfill each year – about 44kg per person. • Textiles create about three times their weight in CO2 in landfill – so while they make up 5-6 per cent of landfill, they produce about 30 per cent of the carbon impacts. • The T-shirt you don't wear any more also took two-and-a-half years of drinking water to produce. • But we don't have a clear plan about what to do. The government – the country's biggest procurer of textiles and clothing – is moving too slowly to address the carbon impact arising from what Kiwis wear. That's the contention of Deborah Crowe, of textiles-focused sustainability consultancy Formary and Used Fully's Casey, who say the government is not addressing the environmental aspects of clothing – and do not yet have a plan to.
Source: NZ Herald
For the first time ever, the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) will present awards in the categories ‘Sustainability and Innovation’ and ‘International Cooperation’ in 2022. The international forum is on a mission to support and promote sustainable environmental, social and economic production along the entire textile value chain. Companies and organisations around the world are investing time and resources to develop and improve sustainable solutions. Another important aspect in today’s complex world is the increased necessity to cooperate with different partners from industry, research, and governments. Against this backdrop, ITMF wants to recognise companies/organisations and/or persons along the textile value chain that are striving to make a difference and that have achieved outstanding results. In the Innovation & Sustainability category, ITMF will recognise sustainable and innovative achievements in the textile industry with focus on innovation, design, development, and production under the strictest standards of sustainability and respect for the environment. In the International Cooperation Objective, ITMF will recognise progress in the area of international collaboration in the textile industry according to the values of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The jury will grant these awards to companies/organisations or persons which/who significantly improved textile manufacturing through the means of international collaboration, ITMF said in a press release. The deadline for applications is January 29, 2022. The winners will be invited to present their achievements at the ITMF Annual Conference 2022 in Davos, Switzerland.
Source: Fibre2 Fashion
