MSME units (specifically Gujarat based units) of Indian textile sector have received good response in the trade fairs held in three cities of the US by South Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI). MSME exporters are expecting orders of apparel, home textiles and fabrics worth ₹80-120 crore ($10-15 million) from the trade events. Last month, SGCCI organised its first Global Textile Trade Fair (GTTF) in the US to promote the world’s second largest man-made fibre (MMF) manufacturing hub based at Surat. GTTF was held at three places—Atlanta (Georgia), New Jersey, and Los Angeles. As a platform to strengthen the textile trade relations between both countries, GTTF presented textile stakeholders of India and the US an opportunity to discuss business possibilities, joint ventures, and technology transfers, to take the textile trade between both countries to the next level. Speaking to Fibre2Fashion, on returning from his US trip after attending GTTF at three places, SGCCI president Ashish P Gujarati said, “This is a good time for MSME exporters. They can expect good orders from the US as their cost of production is lower than merchant exporters and large-sized manufacturing exporters.” He said that there was good response not only for apparel, but also for home textiles and fabrics. The participating exporters feel there is huge demand for viscose and pure silk fabrics also. The SGCI president said the response to the exhibition will boost confidence in current challenging conditions. “It is the right time to replace the textiles products of China with textile products of India. The buyers were from sourcing houses, boutique owners, US Hotel and Motel Association members, Hospital association members etc,” said Gujarati. He informed that SGCCI signed an MoU with the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and Industry for textiles and diamonds industries, for demand and supply. “A team from Direct Resource Group of Atlanta and members of Hotel and Motel Association will be visiting Surat in the coming months to explore more business opportunities.” India’s apparel export to the US was $4.405 billion in 2021 and $2.929 billion in 2020. The export was $2.281 billion in first four months of this year, according to Fibre2Fashion’s market insight tool TexPro. Home textiles exports from India to the US were valued at $4.745 billion in 2021 and $3.321 billion in 2020. The export was $1.472 billion during January-April 2022, as per TexPro. Fabrics exports stood at $0.552 billion in 2021, $0.367 billion in 2020, and $0.197 billion in first four months of 2022.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
Power prices are set to rise by 60-70 paise per unit due to higher coal imports and discoms requiring to pass on the increased cost to consumers, Union power minister RK Singh said on Thursday. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 75the foundation day of the Damodar Valley Corporation, he said the generation cost would increase since the landed cost of imported coal would come at around 16,000 -17,000 per tonne against an average price of 2,000 per tonne of domestic coal, Singh said. He said while NTPC has been asked to import 20 million tonnes this fiscal, DVC would import 3 MTs, state generating units around 5-6 MTs and Coal India Ltd (CIL) around 15-16 MTs. The two tenders floated by CIL for a total of 6 MT imports for the medium term has kept an option of increasing the bid quantity by 100%. This could take CIL’s total medium-term imports to 12 MTs and added to that the 2.416 MTs of import tender for the short term, could take CIL’s total import to close to 15 MTs, a ministry official clarified. Singh said the higher cost of generation has to be factored in tariff and state discoms and regulators would require to increase tariff, if they had to maintain the financial health of the discoms. ” If state Discoms refuse to increase tariff the subsidy has to provided by the states then”,Singh said adding states would have to buy power from the Central generating sector at the cost of generation. On the imported coal based power plants, Singh said some of the 5 closed plants have already been referred to NCLT but the remaining plants generating a total of around 13,400 MW has been directed to scale up generations after reporting their coal stocks to the power ministry. These units have already been directed to import coal, he said. He said the demand for power has increased and peak demand grew 15% year -on-year in FY 22 touching a level of 2.12 lakh MW. He said DVC would to increase its installed capacity from present 6,897 MW to 16,000-17,000 MW in another 5-7 years on its own land closer to coal mines and would create a national foot print instead of confining only within West Bengal and Jharkhand. From a loss making utility it has turned to a profit making utility and its profits at present have started growing, Singh said. He said there has to be more efficiency brought in managing transmission and distribution losses, especially by the state owned transmission and distribution companies. While many private sector power distributors have been able to bring down their T&D losses to level 5-6%, the state sector was still continuing with an average T&D loss of 20-25%.
Source: Financial Express
Union minister for commerce, industry and textiles Piyush Goyal said that pricing of things like land and power should be affordable. "Power cost should be affordable as investors look at it very seriously. High cost will act as a deterrent to industry... If we find that the existing parks are not being put to use then I promise you that no new parks will come in your area. At least government will not support you. States that will ensure support measures such as affordable power, land and effective labourlaws will get preference in the selection for the proposed Mega Investment Textiles Parks scheme, Union minister for commerce, industry and textiles Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. He said that the industry needs power at affordable prices and wants to see consistency in the rates. "For textile parks, we will only give to those states that give an assurance of affordability of power, land and labour laws being implemented to the fullest and state incentive schemes will be given preference," Goyal said at the first meeting of the apex monitoring authority of of National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT). Last year, the Union Cabinet approved the setting up of 7 Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (MITRA) parks with a total outlay of Rs 4,445 crore for five years to strengthen India's position on the global textiles map. He also said that states need to attract investors in the projet developed under national industrial corridors. For all the projects that have already come up or that are coming up, we must look at attracting investors quickly," he said. He added that setting up an industrial park with modern plug-and-play infrastructure, single-window system, effluent treatment facility and good labour laws "is great but we want private sector to take that land". He urged states and officials to do roadshows and encourage industries to invest faster. Goyal said that pricing of things like land and power should be affordable. "Power cost should be affordable as investors look at it very seriously. High cost will act as a deterrent to industry... If we find that the existing parks are not being put to use then I promise you that no new parks will come in your area. At least government will not support you. "So it is a very clear-cut wake up call for all the states that industry needs power at affordable prices," he added.
Source: Economic Times
The share of Chinese imports in the country's total inbound shipments has declined to 15.4 per cent in 2021-22 from 16.5 per cent in 2020-21, sources said on Thursday. They also said the major items imported from China into India are used for meeting the demand of sectors like telecom and power. Citing some examples, they said imports like Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and drug formulations provide Indian pharma industry raw material for producing finished goods which are also exported. Increase in imports of information and communication technology products and medical and scientific instruments can be attributed to the surge in demand of these products during COVID-19 times. "Moreover, the rising prices of commodities globally have also played a significant role in adding to import value," one of the sources said. Exports to China increased marginally to USD 21.25 billion last fiscal from USD 21.18 billion in 2020-21, while imports rose to USD 94.16 billion from about USD 65.21 billion in 2020-21. India's exports to China at USD 21.2 billion in 2021-22 were its third highest, after the US and UAE. Exports to the neighbouring country stood at USD 11.9 billion in 2014-15. Further, sources stated that imports of mobile phones from China dropped by 55 per cent to USD 626 million in 2021- 22, from USD 1.4 billion in 2020-21. "Technical regulations have been framed for several products for maintenance of standards/quality of imported products. This will check import of sub-standard products from any country, including China," a source said.
Source: Economic Times
The Indian fashion industry saw a 2% decline in revenues in 2019–20, as earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization (Ebita) margins declined from 3.4% to 6.8%. As the pandemic continued to run its course, performance inequalities were more pronounced than ever. The Indian fashion industry saw a 2% decline in revenues in 2019–20, as earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization (Ebita) margins declined from 3.4% to 6.8%. As the pandemic continued to run its course, performance inequalities were more pronounced than ever. More than two years hence, supply-chain disruptions have created massive opportunities for India, and the industry is now pivoting towards growth. But has India leveraged it? A significant risk is potential shortages of products and resources. It is due to congested supply chains and increased transportation costs. The goal now for textile and apparel manufacturers is to rebuild operations—to be as predictive, proactive, and responsive as possible to create digital and analytics skills, strengthen the ecosystem, ensure business continuity, and minimize the outbreak’s downside. The latest episode of Mint Zetwerk Smart Manufacturing dialogue, titled ‘Shifting Gears of the Textile Industry through Digital Transformation’, in partnership with Zetwerk delved into how digitalization is shaping the future of the textile and apparel supply chain. Shalil Gupta, business head of Mosaic Digital, an HT Media Group firm, moderated the session. If India wants to become China plus One in the textile manufacturing space, the focus needs to move away from a price mindset. “Right now, we have a fixed mindset driven by the price. This is not going to help us scale. We are not serious about building a robust supply chain. Today, we are getting inquiries from foreign brands who want to start production units, but what is lacking is the right awareness," said Manish Daga, managing director of Cotton Guru. “The natural question in our thought process and as part of our strategy is how do we encourage our vendors or the industry to produce in India. So, now, as a part of Tata group, we are focused on ensuring that production takes place here," said Raja Harbinder Singh, head of global sourcing, Westside, Trent Ltd. But, for this to be successful, manufacturers will have to invest in digitization. There are five pillars of change—leadership, digital operations, pace of innovation, ecosystem, and platform. The first four pillars need reset to suit the Indian perspective, and relevance to the times isn’t a matter of choice anymore. It is a compulsion. Spykar has been serving only fashion for 30 years, without a year of having missed our objectives. And that wouldn’t happen if we don’t keep ourselves abreast with what is happening around us,," said Sanjay Vakharia, chief executive officer of Spykar.
Source: Live Mint
Industry minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain on Tuesday made an appeal to the central government to sanction a PM MITRA (Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel) Park to Bihar. Shahnawaz said 1719 acres of land has already been identified in West Champaran for this purpose. PM MITRA Park scheme aims to integrate the entire textiles value chain, right from spinning, weaving, processing or dyeing and printing to garment manufacturing at one location, thus reducing logistics cost of Industry. The Union ministry of textiles in October, 2021 issued notification for setting up of seven PM MITRA Parks in the country Shahnawaz pitched for a MITRA Park in Bihar while speaking in the first meeting of the apex monitoring authority under Industrial Corridor Development Programme at New Delhi on Thursday. We have identified 1719 acres of land in West Champaran. Bihar has adequate trained manpower for textile industries and with the creation of Kushinagar airport, excellent road connectivity as well as international air connectivity has been created,” Shahnawaz said. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who was presiding the meeting, also advocated for Bihar to get PM MITRA Park during her address. “If there is potential for textile industries in Bihar, then we must consider it,” Sitharaman said. PM Mitra Park apart, Shahnawaz said Bihar is rapidly progressing in the work of developing an industrial manufacturing cluster on 1670 acres of land in Gaya under the Amritsar- Kolkata industrial corridor project. “Around 1200 acres of land has been acquired and the work of acquisition of remaining land would also be completed by September, this year. For this, funds to the tune of Rs83 crores have been made available to Infrastructure Development Authority (IDA) in two instalments- Rs50 crores and Rs33 crores,” he said. He added that the industrial corridor at Gaya's Dobhi is being set up by the industries department and Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA) through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in association with National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust. Shahnawaz also expressed gratitude to the Centre for providing funds to the tune of Rs503 crores to Bihar under PM Gati Shakti part-2. “A huge land bank is available for industry in Bihar. Considering the proposals placed before the Center, if an amount of Rs1200 crores is made available under various projects, it will give a lot of impetus to industrialization in the state,” he said. The first apex monitoring authority meeting of the Industrial Corridor Development Program held in Delhi in the presence of union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, railway minister Ashwani Vaishnaw, was attended by representatives of 18 states including chief ministers of six states.
Source: Times of India
In his address, Das highlighted the importance of the SFS conference as an effective platform to deliberate on, and find out effective ways to address various issues relating to states' debt and cash management, RBI said in a statement. Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday asked state governments to find out effective ways to address the issues related to debt and cash management. The governor was addressing the 32nd Conference of the State Finance Secretaries (SFS). In his address, Das highlighted the importance of the SFS conference as an effective platform to deliberate on, and find out effective ways to address various issues relating to states' debt and cash management, RBI said in a statement He emphasised on the need for the states to adopt prudent borrowing strategy and efficient cash management practices, keeping in view the evolving macroeconomic scenarios. Further, Das stressed on the need for the states to focus on improving quality of expenditures, better handling and monitoring of contingent liabilities and improving the governance in the cooperative banks. During the meeting, market borrowings by the states and administration of the Consolidated Sinking Fund/ Guarantee Redemption Fund were reviewed. The other issues discussed in the meeting included quality of expenditure by the states, role of states in inflation control, debt management strategies of the states, the need for capacity building programmes for debt and cash management, and various operational matters. The conference was attended by the officials from the Union Ministry of Finance, Controller General of Accounts, Comptroller and Auditor General of India and the finance secretaries of 24 States and one Union Territory.
Source: Economic Times
Gartex Texprocess India 2022 edition will join hands with the Maskati Cloth Market Mahajan to expand the fair’s Fabrics & Trims segment. Aimed at showcasing Gujarat’s strength in fabric, cotton and natural-based fabrics, the region’s nodal textile trade body Maskati Cloth Market Mahajan has signed up for Gartex Texprocess India 2022. Over 75 brands representing fabric manufacturers and suppliers are expected to join the Delhi edition alongside exhibitors of Gartex Texprocess India this August, expanding the fabric supply chain showcase at this key business event to present the best of Indian fabrics. Gujarat, known for its textile industry, is the largest cotton producer in India with nearly 30% of cotton and 56% denim of the country’s total production, according to Messe Frankfurt India. “Bringing garment and apparel machinery manufacturers together with fabric manufacturers will have a dual advantage as it will not only open business opportunities for our members but also pave the way for developing infrastructure and modernising technology to make the State’s textile industry competitive both in domestic and international markets,” said Gaurang Bhagat, President, Maskati Cloth Market Mahajan. Gartex Texprocess India offers the industry a platform to bring forth industry innovations, hold creative and collaborative discussions with potential buyers and leverage the textile industry’s strong professional network. Through its focused segments of Denim Show, Fabrics & Trims Show and the co-located Screen Print India, Texprocess India will present a combined showcase of textiles and garment machinery, fabrics and accessories, digital and screen-printing technologies as well as denim innovations from 4 – 6 August 2022 at Pragati Maidan, in New Delhi. “Fabrics are the pivot around which the entire garment manufacturing industry spins and as fashion evolves, innovations and variety in every aspect of garment making increases which makes the ‘Fabrics & Trims Show’ a much-needed segment on the show floor. This development is another important example of Gartex Texprocess India’s commitment to partnering with leaders in the industry and our objective of creating collaborative and growth opportunities within the sector. We are proud to combine strengths with Maskati Cloth Market Mahajan and confident that this partnership will provide a scalable platform and strong business boost to fabric players,” said Raj Manek, executive director and board member, Messe Frankfurt Asia Holdings Ltd. Bharat Tekwani, managing director, Shree Mahadev TexFab Pvt Ltd, added: “This is a significant step as it will allow fabric manufactures from Gujarat to expand their networks and showcase alongside distinguished companies from the apparel, denim, garment machinery and printing technology side, thus bringing the material, creative and technology value chain on to a one-stop selling and sourcing platform.” At the end of last year, minister of state for textile and railways for India, Darshana Jardosh told audiences ahead of the Dubai Expo, India is eyeing the position of “preferred sourcing partner” for the global textile industry.
Source: Just Style
With the aim to promote the indigenous handloom products of the state, the Department of Textiles, Commerce and Industries distributed looms to 61 weavers of Khurai constituency on Wednesday. The weaving looms were distributed by CAF and PD Minister, L Susindro at an event held at his Khurai Lamlong premises. Speaking at the occasion, Susindro highlighted that loom distribution programme was carried out under the supervision of CM N Biren to promote handloom industries in the state. While pointing out that Department of Textiles, Commerce and Industries has provided looms to select weavers in every AC free of cost, Susindro said that in respect of Khurai AC the 61 weavers were selected after a survey conducted by the department in 43 polling stations of the constituency.
Source: KNN India
"For some reasons...the three corridors coming from the south have not been dealt with in an elaborate fashion," Sitharaman said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday asked the government’s policy think tank NITI Aayog to map different projects such as industrial corridors, freight corridors, National Industrial Manufacturing Zones, PLI-based industry parks, logistics parks and pharma hubs, among others to be incorporated under the GatiShakti initiative. Chairing the first meeting of the apex monitoring authority constituted to review the activities of National Industrial Corridor Development programme, the Finance Minister said the GatiShakti national master plan was expected to bring greater coherence in all investments in infrastructure projects. She also suggested that the shipping ministry look at all seaports in the country and their linkages with industrial corridors. Sitharaman is the chairperson of the monitoring authority. Commerce and industry minister, railway minister, shipping minister, minister of road transport and highways, vice-chairman, NITI Aayog, and chief ministers of states concerned. Chief ministers from six states — Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttarkhand, among others attended the meeting. The next meeting of the monitoring committee will be convened in November. “I would like the NITI Aayog to map all this (industrial corridors, freight corridors, defence corridors, manufacturing zones, textile parks, logistics parks, medical and pharma hubs). Map it all and tell us where you see a possibility for bringing them under the PM Gati Shakti,” the minister said. “I find many of them still lying loose and unconnected. Mapping it up will probably give a better idea of how they can all come into this scheme of things,” she said, adding that NITI Aayog has been asked to prepare the report by October-end. She also urged Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to undertake a review of three industrial corridors in south India — the Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor, Bengaluru Mumbai Industrial Corridor, and Vizag Chennai Industrial Corridor and their nodes. “For some reasons...the three corridors coming from the south have not been dealt with in an elaborate fashion,” Sitharaman said. The government is developing various industrial corridor projects as part of the National Industrial Corridor Programme, aimed at developing greenfield industrial smart cities, which can compete with the best manufacturing and investment destinations in the world. The National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) undertakes project development activities and acts as an intermediary for development and establishment of smart and self-sustainable industrial nodes.
Source: Business Standard
Egypt is actively engaged with Brazil to boost biliteral trade in various sectors including textiles. The free trade agreement (FTA) between Egypt and the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay), which entered into force in 2017, plays a pivotal role in promoting trade between Egypt and Brazil. Exports have jumped 3 times since the FTA. There are distinguished investment opportunities for the Brazilian business community in the Egyptian market in the areas of the manufacture of textile, spare parts, pharmaceuticals, engineering, along with new and renewable energy, Egyptian minister of trade and industry Nevine Gamea said at an event of Arab-Brazilian Economic Forum, which she attended virtually. The FTA between Egypt and Mercosur countries contributed to increasing the competitiveness of Egyptian exports and enhancing its access not only to Brazil but to all Mercosur countries, given that the Brazilian market remains a focal point in the penetration and marketing of goods to neighbouring countries, the minister added. After the FTA entered into force, Egyptian exports to Brazil increased over three times from $155 million in 2017 to $541 million in 2021, as agreement provided access to many strategic goods at competitive prices. The FTA also encouraged export of Egyptian apparel and home textile products to Brazil. Egypt’s apparel exports to Brazil were just $0.944 million in 2017, which increased to $2.281 million in 2020 and $2.249 million in 2021, according to Fibre2Fashion’s market insight tool TexPro. In home textiles, Egypt’s exports to Brazil were valued at $1.158 million in 2017, which increased to $3.507 million in 2020 and $9.223 million in 2021, as per TexPro.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
Researchers develop a comfortable, form-fitting fabric that recognizes its wearer’s activities, like walking, running, and jumping. Using a novel fabrication process, MIT researchers have produced smart textiles that snugly conform to the body so they can sense the wearer’s posture and motions. By incorporating a special type of plastic yarn and using heat to slightly melt it — a process called thermoforming — the researchers were able to greatly improve the precision of pressure sensors woven into multilayered knit textiles, which they call 3DKnITS. They used this process to create a “smart” shoe and mat, and then built a hardware and software system to measure and interpret data from the pressure sensors in real time. The machine-learning system predicted motions and yoga poses performed by an individual standing on the smart textile mat with about 99 percent accuracy. Their fabrication process, which takes advantage of digital knitting technology, enables rapid prototyping and can be easily scaled up for large-scale manufacturing, says Irmandy Wicaksono, a research assistant in the MIT Meddia Lab and lead author of a paper presenting 3DKnITS. The technique could have many applications, especially in health care and rehabilitation. For example, it could be used to produce smart shoes that track the gait of someone who is learning to walk again after an injury, or socks that monitor pressure on a diabetic patient’s foot to prevent the formation of ulcers. “With digital knitting, you have this freedom to design your own patterns and also integrate sensors within the structure itself, so it becomes seamless and comfortable, and you can develop it based on the shape of your body,” Wicaksono says. He wrote the paper with MIT undergraduate students Peter G. Hwang, Samir Droubi, and Allison N. Serio through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program; Franny Xi Wu, a recent graduate of the Wellesley College; Wei Yan, assistant professor at the Nanyang Technological University; and senior author Joseph A. Paradiso, the Alexander W. Dreyfoos Professor and director of the Responsive Environments group within the Media Lab. The research will be presented at the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Conference. “Some of the early pioneering work on smart fabrics happened at the Media Lab in the late ’90s. The materials, embeddable electronics, and fabrication machines have advanced enormously since then,” Paradiso says. “It’s a great time to see our research returning to this area, for example through projects like Irmandy’s — they point at an exciting future where sensing and functions diffuse more fluidly into materials and open up enormous possibilities.” Knitting know-how To produce a smart textile, the researchers use a digital knitting machine that weaves together layers of fabric with rows of standard and functional yarn. The multilayer knit textile is composed of two layers of conductive yarn knit sandwiched around a piezoresistive knit, which changes its resistance when squeezed. Following a pattern, the machine stitches this functional yarn throughout the textile in horizontal and vertical rows. Where the functional fibers intersect, they create a pressure sensor, Wicaksono explains. But yarn is soft and pliable, so the layers shift and rub against each other when the wearer moves. This generates noise and causes variability that make the pressure sensors much less accurate. Wicaksono came up with a solution to this problem while working in a knitting factory in Shenzhen, China, where he spent a month learning to program and maintain digital knitting machines. He watched workers making sneakers using thermoplastic yarns that would start to melt when heated above 70 degrees Celsius, which slightly hardens the textile so it can hold a precise shape. He decided to try incorporating melting fibers and thermoforming into the smart textile fabrication process. “The thermoforming really solves the noise issue because it hardens the multilayer textile into one layer by essentially squeezing and melting the whole fabric together, which improves the accuracy. That thermoforming also allows us to create 3D forms, like a sock or shoe, that actually fit the precise size and shape of the user,” he says. Once he perfected the fabrication process, Wicaksono needed a system to accurately process pressure sensor data. Since the fabric is knit as a grid, he crafted a wireless circuit that scans through rows and columns on the textile and measures the resistance at each point. He designed this circuit to overcome artifacts caused by “ghosting” ambiguities, which occur when the user exerts pressure on two or more separate points simultaneously. Inspired by deep-learning techniques for image classification, Wicaksono devised a system that displays pressure sensor data as a heat map. Those images are fed to a machine-learning model, which is trained to detect the posture, pose, or motion of the user based on the heat map image. Analyzing activities Once the model was trained, it could classify the user’s activity on the smart mat (walking, running, doing push-ups, etc.) with 99.6 percent accuracy and could recognize seven yoga poses with 98.7 percent accuracy. They also used a circular knitting machine to create a form-fitted smart textile shoe with 96 pressure sensing points spread across the entire 3D textile. They used the shoe to measure pressure exerted on different parts of the foot when the wearer kicked a soccer ball. The high accuracy of 3DKnITS could make them useful for applications in prosthetics, where precision is essential. A smart textile liner could measure the pressure a prosthetic limb places on the socket, enabling a prosthetist to easily see how well the device fits, Wicaksono says. He and his colleagues are also exploring more creative applications. In collaboration with a sound designer and a contemporary dancer, they developed a smart textile carpet that drives musical notes and soundscapes based on the dancer’s steps, to explore the bidirectional relationship between music and choreography. This research was recently presented at the ACM Creativity and Cognition Conference. “I’ve learned that interdisciplinary collaboration can create some really unique applications,” he says. Now that the researchers have demonstrated the success of their fabrication technique, Wicaksono plans to refine the circuit and machine learning model. Currently, the model must be calibrated to each individual before it can classify actions, which is a timeconsuming process. Removing that calibration step would make 3DKnITS easier to use. The researchers also want to conduct tests on smart shoes outside the lab to see how environmental conditions like temperature and humidity impact the accuracy of sensors. “It’s always amazing to see technology advance in ways that are so meaningful. It is incredible to think that the clothing we wear, an arm sleeve or a sock, can be created in ways that its three-dimensional structure can be used for sensing,” says Eric Berkson, assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery at Harvard Medical School and sports medicine orthopaedic surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital, who was not involved in this research. “In the medical field, and in orthopedic sports medicine specifically, this technology provides the ability to better detect and classify motion and to recognize force distribution patterns in real-world (out of the laboratory) situations. This is the type of thinking that will enhance injury prevention and detection techniques and help evaluate and direct rehabilitation.” This research was supported, in part, by the MIT Media Lab Consortium.
Source: MIT News
Aiming to give a big push to their bilateral trade, South Korean Prime Minister Han Ducksoo and his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh have agreed to achieve trade of $100 billion next year and increase it to $150 billion by 2030, up from $78 billion last year. South Korea is an important economic partner for Vietnam and the largest source of FDI. During their telephonic call this week, Han and Chinh also agreed to seek ways to narrow the gap in bilateral trade, according to media reports. Vietnam incurred a trade deficit of $34 billion with South Korea last year. Vietnam exports textile products like apparel and home textile to South Korea, while it imports fabrics and other textile products in limited volume from its Asian trade partner. Last year, the bilateral trade of apparel and home textiles was over $4 billion. Vietnam had exported apparel worth $3.294 billion in 2021 and $3.065 billion in 2020 to South Korea. During January-May 2022, Vietnam’s apparel exports to South Korea stood at $1.361 billion, according to Fibre2Fashion’s market insight tool TexPro. Vietnam’s home textiles exports to South Korea were valued at $395.606 million in 2021 and $347.747 million in 2020. The figure was $169.606 million in the first five months of this year. Vietnam’s apparel imports from South Korea were worth $388.507 million in 2021 and $334.721 million in 2020. Imports stood at $156.932 million in the first five months of 2022, as per TexPro. The country’s home textiles imports from South Korea were $21.993 million in 2021 and $18.804 million in 2020. The figure was $8.199 million in JanuaryMay 2022.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
Building on over 20 years of excellence in the textile industry, new tiered service offerings will strengthen Bluesign’s capabilities as a full-service sustainability solutions system for the entire textile value chain and expanding into promotional, workwear, corporate wear, home textile and footwear segments. As the textile industry continues to grapple with evolving regulations, increased consumer and stakeholder pressure to meet sustainability goals, and the lack of verified data, bluesign has updated its service offerings to help brands, manufacturers and chemical companies to better understand and manage their value chains. The new initiatives expand Bluesign’s core competencies of reducing impact across the supply chain, providing reliable, third-party verified data, mitigating the use of hazardous chemicals through input stream management and replacing substances with bluesign Approved chemistry (a positive list of chemical products with less impact on people and planet). As the textile industry’s most-trusted partner, it is CEO, Daniel Rufenacht’s vision to democratise access to Bluesign’s sustainability solutions by offering them at attainable levels for the whole textile industry and beyond. Bluesign’s high value services are available for all companies willing to reduce the impact of their value chain without compromising on quality, the company said in a media release. As an organisation with a team of experts in chemical management, process know-how, worker health and safety, sustainability and environmental sciences, bluesign has been offering a best-in-class suite of services under System Partnership for over 20 years. Bluesign recognises that taking environmental responsibility to a higher level requires tools and validation methods to reduce impact on people and the planet. With this in mind, Bluesign is extending its System Partnership services and launching Data Services and Impact Services for brands and manufacturers. These tiered service packages provide expanded capabilities that enable brands to actively monitor and manage their supply chain through Bluesign verified impact data, covering the critical measures of water consumption, energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, chemical consumption, and waste. Data Services allow brands and manufacturers to access data from its unique supply chain and give a snapshot of their impact. Through the Impact Service package, companies are provided this data plus a foundational assessment of its overall performance and detailed analysis of its suppliers. The new Impact Service enables manufacturers to present their achievements in impact reduction and their excellence in resource management. The new tiered packages will allow companies to incrementally implement Bluesign’s services with the ultimate goal of attaining full System Partnership which includes company-specific action plans. At all service levels, a yearly impact report or dashboard is provided; access to this data enables accurate analysis for decision-making and reporting both internally and externally. CEO, Daniel Rufenacht stated, “Over Bluesign’s 20-year history, the company has provided unprecedented leadership in eliminating hazardous chemicals and creating unique roadmaps for its System Partners to continually improve its processes. The deadline to reach carbon neutrality and achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is fast-approaching. And Bluesign’s new vision and strategy will help to accelerate progress in reducing impact. Our focus over the last year has been on expanding our expertise to accelerate towards producing more responsibly without compromising on quality and performance. We also call on companies outside of the textile and apparel industry to incrementally clean up their practices by sourcing their custom corporate clothing from bluesign System Partners.”
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
