PC, poly spun yarn prices up in India amid tight supply
Direct Employment In Textiles Sector Estimated At 45 Mn: Centre
'Abnormal' anti-dumping duty should not be levied on VSF: SIMA to Finance Minister
Centre watchful of inflation, averted recession, says FM
FDI brought investment of US $ 1522.23 million in the textile sector from 2017-2022
Indian economy likely to grow at over 7% in FY23, says Arvind Panagariya
Arvind worked with KVIC to develop 'Khadi Denim' fabric, The Summer House creates exclusive designs
INTERNATIONAL
Fashion brands failing to put money where their mouth is on fossil-fuel synthetic fibre pledges
China Covid outbreak threatens apparel supply chain
UK's Coats Digital helps Handa digitally transform garment production
Inditex to invest 10 million euros in environmental restoration projects together with WWF
Small businesses working to prevent textile waste
IFC to help Egypt's garment-textile chamber attract $50 mn FDI by 2026
NATIONAL
India’s polyester and polyester-cotton yarn prices improved due to tight supply and relaxations in restrictions in China. PC, poly spun and recycled polyester fibre prices rose today. PC and poly spun yarn increased by ₹3-7 per kg, while recycled polyester fibre rose by ₹2-3 per kg. Spinning mills were not keen on selling the yarn at low prices. “PC and poly spun yarn gained in the Ludhiana market as mills sold limited products to avoid price cut. Tight supply helped traders and stockists to increase the yarn prices,” a trader from Ludhiana market told Fibre2Fashion. In Ludhiana, 30 count PC combed yarn (48/52) was sold at ₹210-215 per kg (GST inclusive) and 30 count PC carded yarn (65/35) was priced at ₹180-185 per kg. 30 count poly spun yarn was sold at ₹150-155 per kg. Recycled polyester fibre (PET bottle fibre) was at ₹76-79 per kg, according to Fibre2Fashion’s market insight tool TexPro. In Surat, Gujarat, poly spun yarn prices increased by ₹4-5 per kg due to improved buying and an increase in the demand for raw materials. A trader from Surat market said, “Improved buying coupled with China’s relaxations in COVID restrictions have supported yarn prices. Chinese government has relaxed COVID restrictions after protests across the country. The resulting high economic activities jacked up the demand for raw materials of polyester.” Reliance had also increased raw material prices after China relaxed the rules. 30 count poly spun yarn was traded at ₹135-136 per kg (GST extra) and 40 count poly spun yarn at ₹145-146 per kg. Reliance Industries Limited had increased the prices of purified terephthalic acid (PTA), monoethylene glycol (MEG) and MELT for the current week. On Friday, RIL fixed the prices as: PTA at ₹77.60 per kg (+1.70), MEG at ₹55.80 per kg (+1.10) and MELT at ₹85.71 per kg (+1.84). Earlier, RIL had reduced the prices of PSF by ₹3 to ₹99 per kg for the current fortnight. North Indian cotton prices improved as the natural fibre was priced high in futures. The prices increased by ₹50-100 per maund of 37.2 kg since Monday. According to local traders, cotton arrival remained limited. The prices found support from the future market. North India’s cotton arrival was estimated at 20,000 bales of 170 kg. The natural fibre was traded at ₹6,350-6,450 per maund in Punjab, ₹6,350-6,450 per maund in Haryana and ₹6,550-6,600 per maund in upper Rajasthan, and at ₹61,500-63,000 per candy of 356 kg in lower Rajasthan.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
The direct employment in India's textile sector is estimated at 45 million, said Union Minister of State for Textiles, Darshana Jardosh in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Jardosh cited figures from National Accounts Statistics and said that the contribution of the textile industry to gross domestic product (GDP) in terms of percentage share of industrial output was around 7 per cent during the last three years. The government is implementing schemes such as the Integrated Processing Development Scheme, National Handloom Development Programme, National Handicraft Development Programme, etc to increase employment, investment and expansion of the textile industry. Jardosh added that the Centre has approved the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for textiles and the Pradhan Mantri Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel Parks (PM-MITRA) scheme for setting up seven mega textiles parks over a period of three years. "The PLI scheme will promote the production of high-value man-made fibre, garments and apparel and Technical Textiles in the country," the minister added.
Source: businessworld
The Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA) on Wednesday urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to reject the 'unrealistic recommendation' made by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) on levying anti-dumping duty on Viscose Staple Fibre (VSF). The government has been taking various path-breaking policy initiatives to address the raw material structural issues, especially the man made fibres (MMF), the future growth engine of the Indian textile industry, by removing the anti-dumping duty levied on various raw materials, polyester staple fibres, acrylic fibre and VSF, SIMA Chairman Ravi Sam said in a letter addressed to the Finance Minister. However, based on the appeal made by the Associations of MMF industry, the DGTR recommended levying USD 0.512 per kg on VSF from Indonesia as anti-dumping duty charges, he pointed out. The rejection of the recommendation would ensure the survival of MSME spinning mills, decentralised powerloom and handloom sector and also the garment sector, he said. Such an abnormal protection was totally unwarranted and on the contrary, would greatly affect the entire VSF value chain. Over two lakh powerlooms in Tamil Nadu had diverted to VSF manufacturing and enabling value added exports and anti-dumping duty would again make manufacturers to switch over to imports that would have serious impact on the MSME spinning mills, Ravi Sam said. The majority of the MSME spinning mills could blend VSF with the cotton to the tune of 10 to 15 per cent and sustain their competitiveness which would be eroded with the recommended anti-dumping levy, he said. Homegrown VSF manufacturers are not in a position to meet the growing demands of the VSF value chain, rationing their supply and affecting the potential growth of the industry, he further said. Indian manufacturers have been supplying the fibre only to less than 300 spinning mills, while the country has around 4,000 spinning mills, he said adding that any spinning mill in the country could buy any quantity of polyester staple fibre at an internationally competitive rate. With the imposition of anti-dumping duty, this raw material availability would again become scarce resulting in industrial unrest and against this background, SIMA is appealing to reject the abnormal duty rate recommended by the DGTR, he said.
Source: economic times
The government is keeping a watch on inflation which is due to “purely extraneous" factors such as fuel and fertilizer prices, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday, defending the government’s record on economic growth and pandemic management. The minister was responding to a debate in the Rajya Sabha on supplementary demand for grants of ₹4.36 trillion for FY23. “I would like to assure the House that we are keeping a good eye on inflation-like considerations which are purely extraneous nowadays because of fuel, fertilizer prices," Sitharaman said. In response to questions on inflation, she said the wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation was at a 21-month low of 5.85% in November, while wholesale food inflation was at 2.17%. Retail inflation based on the consumer price index which had remained above the Reserve Bank of India’s upper tolerance level of 6% since January this year also declined to 5.88% in November. She further noted that macroeconomic fundamentals were better compared to 2013 when India was classed by some analysts as one of the Fragile Five economies. She stated the IMF and the World Bank had described India as the brightest spot in the global economy on several occasions. “Real GDP growth and doubling of it is certainly a good indicator for which any government should work, but the way in which we have handled during covid has kept us away from recession," she said. Sitharaman added that buoyancy in tax revenues will help the government meet the additional expenditure that was sought through the supplementary demand for grants, which was needed for growth and recovery of the Indian economy, more critically for food security and fertilizers for farmers. “This is a demand which keeps the necessary support to those who need it," she said. The minister added that gross additional expenditure worth around ₹4.36 trillion, including a net cash outgo of ₹3.2 trillion, will not entail any change in the government’s borrowing plan. The proportion of gross non-performing assets of banks had declined to a six-year low of 5.9% in March 2022. She noted that the corporate sector had been deleveraging its balance sheets, reflected in the decline in core debt of the private non-financial sector. Sitharaman said the government had drawn on its own resources to provide resources to states for spending. She said that for FY22, the amount utilized in several cesses was more than what was collected, pointing to the road and infrastructure cess collection of ₹1.95 trillion versus ₹2.51 trillion already utilized by states. She highlighted similar cases in the GST compensation cess and the health and education cess. She said that private investment capex was taking place due to favourable policies such as the production linked incentive scheme (PLI). The Centre has introduced PLI schemes with an outlay of ₹2 trillion for around 14 sectors, including automobiles and auto components, white goods, pharma, textiles, food products, high-efficiency solar PV modules, advance chemistry cells, and specialty steel. After Sitharaman’s reply, the Rajya Sabha returned the supplementary demands for grants to the Lok Sabha, which will now allow the government to proceed with the additional expenditure. Parliament has thus approved additional spending of ₹4.36 trillion for FY23, including over ₹1 trillion for fertilizer subsidies due to the war in Europe driving up prices of soil nutrients and feedstocks.
Source: live mint
Bilateral Trade between India and the GCC grew from US$ 87.35 billion in FY 2020-21 to US$ 154.66 billion in FY 2021-22, registering an increase of 77.06% on a year-on-year basis. During the current FY 2022-23, for the period April-October 2022, bilateral trade between India and the GCC stood at US$ 111.71 billion, up from US$ 79.49 billion during the same period in FY 2021-22. This is an increase of 40.53% on a year-on-year basis. During the period FY 2017-18 to FY 2021-22, bilateral trade between India and the GCC has grown by 10.57% on a compounded annual growth rate basis. This information has been provided by Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Smt. Anupriya Patel said in reply to a parliamentary question today.
Source: PIB
The Union Minister of State for Textiles, Smt. Darshana Jardosh in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today shared that, as per Economic Survey 2021-22, the employment in unorganized sector in 2019-20 was 43.99 Crore.
The Government has taken following steps to modernize the textile industry, enhance export and to promote FDI in textile sector on pan-India basis:
Following MoUs have been signed with other countries to boost textile industry in the country:
Government is implementing various schemes such as PM-MITRA, PLI, NTTM etc. for undertaking numerous technology centric approaches for increasing production in the textile sector all over the country.
Source: PIB
The Union Minister of State for Textiles, Smt. Darshana Jardosh in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today shared that Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India is implementing Concessional Credit/Weaver MUDRA Scheme for welfare and development of handloom sector across the country. The objectives and salient features of the scheme are as follows:
1,17,678 number of MUDRA loans have been sanctioned to handloom sector across the country including Chhattisgarh during the last five years. Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of Indiais implementing Raw Material Supply Scheme (RMSS) to make available yarn to handloom weavers/workers throughout the country including Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Assam States. Under the scheme, freight charges are reimbursed for all types of yarn; and component of 15% price subsidy is there for cotton hank yarn, domestic silk, wool and linen yarn and blended yarn of natural fibres, with quantity caps. Presently, there is no scheme in existence for Powerloom Industry. However, the baseline survey is under process for sustainable growth of the Powerloom sector across the country.
Source: PIB
The Indian economy is likely to grow at over 7 per cent in the current fiscal year, former Niti Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya said on Wednesday, while observing that the growth rate should sustain next year too provided the forthcoming Budget does not have any negative surprises. Panagariya further said recessionary fears have been around for a while but so far neither the US nor the EU has gone into recession. "From the viewpoint of India, in terms of headwinds originating abroad, the worst is probably behind us," he told PTI. Earlier this month, the RBI revised down its growth estimate for FY23 to 6.8 per cent from the earlier 7 per cent, while the World Bank revised upwards its GDP growth forecast to 6.9 per cent, saying the economy was showing higher resilience to global shocks. "Overall, I still expect us to end the current fiscal year with a growth rate exceeding 7 per cent. Next year, the 7 per cent growth rate should sustain assuming the forthcoming Budget does not have any negative surprises," the eminent economist said. Panagariya said capital outflows induced by the hikes in policy rates by the US Fed Reserve had placed the rupee under considerable pressure. "Those flows have reversed with positive net portfolio inflows in November," he said, adding that inflation in the US is also coming down, suggesting the worst may be over in that country as well. But in the meantime, according to Panagariya, the rupee has appreciated against currencies such as the Euro and Yen which may contribute to weakness in exports in the coming year. Even prior to this episode, the rupee had been overvalued, he added. "So, I would lean in favour of further depreciation of the rupee against the dollar," Panagariya, currently a professor of economics at the Columbia University, said. Replying to a question on unemployment, Panagariya said going by the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), which is the most reliable household survey available, he does not see that the unemployment rate is high. "Higher unemployment among the youth is not a new phenomenon. This rate has always been higher than the overall rate because youth do not take the first job they are offered. Instead, they wait in the hope of getting a better offer," he argued. Panagariya also pointed out that in recent years, due to rising urban incomes, parents are able to support their children for longer. "As a result, the waiting period has become longer, which has resulted in an upward shift in this rate," he said, but pointed out that as per PLFS, the unemployment rate among those aged 15 to 29 years has fallen from 20.6 per cent in 2017-18 to 18.5 per cent in 2020-21. To buttress his argument, Panagariya said that based on usual status measure, unemployment rate stood at 4.2 per cent in 2020-21 compared to 6.1 per cent in 2017-18. Noting that EPFO data also show a robust rising trend in net additions to its rolls, suggesting formalisation of the workforce at an accelerated pace, he said, "Compared with less than 8 million additions in each of the three preceding years, net additions in 2021-22 were 12 million." In the first half of 2022-23, net additions have already reached 8.7 million, he added.
Source: business-standard
The hybrid Khadi Denim textile developed by textiles business Arvind Limited with input from the Khadi and Village Industries Commission is slowly adding fuel to the Khadi revival, supuured on by womenswear brand The Summer House’s use of the handloom textile in an exclusive collection. “I find Khadi denim fascinating because unlike most fabrics that developed from handloom to power loom, denim is going from factories to handloom,” The Summer House’s creative director Shivangini Parihar told Vogue India. “People don’t associate khadi with luxury which is sad because what is luxury if not handloom? How can something that has been diligently done thread after thread, weave after weave not be luxurious? High-end designers can bring a luxury tag. But a very small percent of the population shops from designers.” The Summer House’s Khadi denim collection is not dyed and showcases the natural white hue of the textile. The brand’s jeans have a relaxed fit and are designed to be dressed up or down, The Summer House announced on Facebook. “The young, hip image of denim has been crafted over many years so we have to take double the effort to market Khadi denim,” said Parihar. “It's a lot of work but once people buy and wear it, they get the appeal.” Retailing from its dedicated e-commerce store, the Khadi denim line is part of The Summer House’s wider push towards sustainable production. The movement is also in line with the Union Government’s Make in India campaign to boost domestic production in textiles and other industries and its push to boost sustainability in the fashion industry.
Source: fashion network
INTERNATIONAL
Changing Markets Foundation’s Synthetics Anonymous 2.0 report suggests “a near-complete lack of progress” by the fashion industry in kicking its addiction to synthetic materials. The report analysed 55 fashion brands on their policies in terms of synthetic materials, recycling, climate targets and their position on the key elements of the EU Textile Strategy. Of the 55 brands, just one is committed to phasing out virgin synthetics by 2030 and reducing all synthetics (virgin and recycled) to less than 1% of total sourcing by 2025. The report comes a year after Changing Markets Foundation’s Synthetics Anonymous: fashion brands’ addiction to fossil fuels, with the organisation claiming brands continue to mask their addiction to synthetic fibres under the guise of commitments to increase the proportion of ‘sustainable’ materials, including recycled synthetics, mostly polyester and some nylon; however, green claims on polyester made from recycled PET bottles have been facing increasing scrutiny over the past year from regulators and consumers concerned about misleading environmental claims. Changing Markets Foundation adds it has become increasingly evident that fashion brands’ reliance on PET bottles as their main sustainability strategy for polyester is undermining closed-loop recycling and mandatory recycled content targets for the beverage industry. While 45 of the 55 brands (81%) have set targets to increase their recycled synthetic content, only a handful of brands are investing in real solutions, such as fibre-to-fibre recycling technology. The majority of the industry is dragging its feet and failing to recognise that synthetics are a significant issue and a key culprit behind growing microfibre pollution, the report claims. 22 out of 55 companies (40%) landed in the Red Zone category, with little to no transparency about their strategy on synthetic fibre use, while 25 (45%) had no evident microfibre policies. On a positive note, the report reveals fashion brands show significant levels of support for several of the policies that were proposed in the EU Textile Strategy, with 81% in favour of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), 87% in favour of matters related to eco-design, and 94% supportive of legislation to reduce the risk of false green claims. In addition, 83% were in favour of a mandatory increase in supply chain transparency – something that was not proposed in the EU’s strategy. The latter indicates a significant intention-versus-action gap, given that only four companies shared their synthetic supplier lists in response to the questionnaire. However, even brands are signalling that it’s time to go beyond voluntary measures and the sector needs regulation. Changing Markets Foundation is calling for sustained regulatory pressure to rehabilitate fashion’s synthetic fibre addiction and put the fashion industry on the right track. “We are disappointed about the deepening reliance of fashion brands on dirty fossil fuels in the midst of a climate emergency. Fashion needs to clean up its act and cut its addiction to synthetics fibres, as their negative impacts are now widely documented: from microplastic pollution leaching into our rivers and oceans to piles of clothes dumped in the landfills of countries in the Global South. The report findings highlight an alarming disconnect between fashion industry’s sustainability claims and targets and the lack of real measurable progress on the ground,” Urska Trunk, campaign manager, Changing Markets Foundation, says. Emily Macintosh, senior policy officer for textiles, European Environmental Bureau, adds: “With the recently proposed EU strategy, the era of companies marking their own homework is over. Brands are showing strong support for legislation, and the Commission must now ensure that brands take responsibility for wasteful fast fashion and stop the free-for-all on marketing claims that convince us products are ‘green’. But it also needs to go much further to shed light on shady supply chain practices and set strong rules to tackle overproduction.”
Source: just-style
The Omicron variant of the Covid virus is making its way across several big cities in China after President Xi Jinping made a U-turn on his former zero-Covid policy of containment earlier this month. The spread of infections, which has hit China’s capital city Beijing the most, is threatening widespread business disruption to the world’s second-largest economy and largest apparel exporter. According to figures from the Financial Times, more than half the 22m population is infected. The increase in infection rates means industry across China is facing disruption such as staffing shortages, which is leaving businesses vulnerable to closures, while sickness in the logistics sector is causing supply chain chaos. Dr Sheng Lu, associate professor of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware, tells Just Style: “The latest Covid outbreak in China has started affecting the global textile and apparel supply chain and deserves a close watch. One imminent challenge is a nationwide labour shortage, production delays, and even factory closures as Covid cases surge. When Covid-19 first broke out in China in early 2020, garment-exporting countries in Asia struggled to get enough raw textile materials as China was their top supplier. The same situation could repeat this time.” Lu says another big concern is new uncertainties. “How soon would China’s Covid situation stabilise? Shall we worry about a severe economic recession in China? Will China’s Covid outbreak result in new variants that complicate the world’s pandemic situation? Will the Chinese government have another U-turn in its Covid policy? “Given these mounting uncertainties, fashion brands and retailers are likely to accelerate their “China exit” strategy and prioritise mitigating supply chain risks in their sourcing decisions.” Indeed, Bob Antoshak, partner at Gherzi Textil Organization, recently told Just Style that the uncertainty that exists within China has contributed to sourcing strategies closer to consuming markets, as witnessed in a revival of sourcing in the Western Hemisphere and in support of the US retail market. According to the FT, companies have now been left with no direction on how to handle the sudden surge in cases, after previously operating under strict guidelines handed down by local governments. Some factory bosses have dropped restrictions such as PCR testing and fencing off workers from the wider population. Experts have said factories could face worker shortages until February, after the lunar new year. The Omicron outbreak has brought forward the annual movement of more than 290m migrant workers from the coastal provinces back to poorer regions in the west, which occurs ahead of the festive period.
Source: just-style
UK-based Coats Digital, leading technology solutions provider for the apparel industry, has announced that global fashion manufacturer Handa Industries has selected its FastReactPlan to digitally transform its production processes, enabling it to respond agilely to more complex order requests, streamline production processes, and improve its on-time delivery targets. FastReactPlan will become the cornerstone solution of Handa Industries’ digital transformation programme and will be used to integrate and connect other data sources into a single platform to ensure optimum visibility for all production teams, according to a joint press release by Coats Digital and Handa Industries. Founded in 1995, Handa Industries is an integrated fashion supply chain pioneer, producing fashion garments in a myriad of categories, from high-end sports apparel to fast fashion. The company is headquartered in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, and has a number of subsidiaries and production bases across China, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Handa looks after more than 8,000 employees at home and abroad and produces over 50 million pieces a year. Investing significantly in research and development and advanced production equipment, Handa Industries specialises in quality design and the weaving, dyeing, and finishing of weft knitted fabrics. The company is a valued member of the National Functional Knitted Fabric Development Base and has secured many accolades including the China National Textile Industry Council Product Development Contribution Award. It was recently named a National Functional Knitted Fabric Fashion Trend Research Centre by the National Textile Product Development Centre and is an active member of the Textile Supply Chain Green Manufacturing Industry Innovation Alliance and the 30·60 Chinese Fashion Brands Climate Innovation Action Carbon Neutrality Accelerator programme. “We have met many challenges trying to ensure that planned orders are effectively distributed across our factories. We established a new information centre in 2020 and have used a variety of software solutions to get this up and running. What we were lacking, however, was a robust, overarching digital solution to integrate and connect all the important new data analyses that we had acquired into a single data source that could be easily accessible to all relevant production teams. Without FastReactPlan, our personnel would have to work from a variety of complex manual and digital systems to get the information they needed, which has proved time-consuming and led to inaccuracies in our planning reports. Digital transformation is undoubtedly critical for the future of the entire Chinese market. Traditional Chinese fashion enterprises are only now beginning to catch up, and we are delighted to be partnering with Coats Digital to ensure we remain ahead of the curve and retain our competitive advantage now and in the future,” said Qiao, president of Handa Industries. As a core part of Coats Digital’s Manufacturing Solution Suite, FastReactPlan is a dynamic, highly visual production planning and control tool that optimises delivery, efficiency, and lead times. It is designed and developed specifically for the fashion manufacturing industry, and helps enterprises integrate capacity, critical path, and materials into an integrated planning system that has been adopted by hundreds of companies around the world, added the release. “We expect that our partnership with Coats Digital and the implementation of FastReactPlan will significantly elevate our operation and management processes so that we can achieve optimum production scheduling that will maximise efficiencies, balance production lines realistically, and help reduce waste by accurately assessing the right quantity of materials required at all times. FastReactPlan will enable us to plan much more accurately so that we can coordinate stable production processes by matching complete production with the fastest time, whilst realising lower production costs, greater customer loyalty, and sustainable best practices, at the same time,” said Heng, senior vice president of Handa Industries. “We are delighted that FastReactPlan will play such a pivotal role in Handa Industries’ digital journey. Digital transformation is not about manually copying what you’re doing now and simply putting this into digital formats or software. It’s about successfully transforming processes and people to complement digital applications that will maximise real benefits from digitisation. Rather than simply buying a piece of software, Handa has consequently acquired a technology partner that will guide it through all stages of its digital journey to ensure it remains a beacon of industry best practices within China,” said Tan Demir, global head of customer service, Coats Digital.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
The Spanish textile giant will invest more than €10 million in this partnership: in 2022 it will allocate €4.2 million, while in the following two years it will contribute a minimum of €3 million. This equity comes, in part, from the funds raised from charging customers for paper bags and envelopes, an initiative implemented by the group in 2021. The collaboration between Inditex and WWF consists of nine projects across North Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Projects for forest restoration and conservation will focus on the protection of biodiversity and the promotion of sustainable management in Castilla-La Mancha, but will also include projects in Turkey and Italy. Regarding watershed restorations, emphasis will be placed on the Sebu River (Morocco), the Ghar el Melah wetlands and the Guerbes-Sanhadja plains in Tunisia and Algeria, as well as the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. As for the conservation of endangered species and their ecosystems, the agreement includes initiatives aimed at the recovery and conservation of the Gran Chaco tropical forest and the Pantanal wetlands, in collaboration with local communities in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, as well as projects in Mexico and China. "Our sustainability strategy seeks to increase the positive impact of our work on people, communities and natural resources (...) We believe that WWF, with its proven track record and global reach, is the best long-term partner for powering up our environmental commitments through transformational work targeted at our entire industry," said Inditex CEO Óscar García Maceiras at the signing of the agreement in Geneva.
Working together towards transforming the textile industry
The agreement between Inditex and WWF also includes "joint work to transform the textile industry," according to a statement from both entities. This ambitious objective takes the form of an analysis focused on the protection of water and diversity that will be developed during the first year of collaboration. It will include a map of impacts on the Spanish group's value chain and a review of its actions, impacts and progress. In addition, both parties will sign a second agreement with its own budget "to make progress in the transformation of the industry," according to Inditex and WWF. The textile giant has also detailed that the rest of the funds raised from selling its paper bags and envelopes will go to projects run by various environmental organisations, such as Water.org and its initiative to improve sanitation networks in several Southeast Asian countries, and the collaboration between Action Social Advancement (ASA), Laudes Foundation, IDH The Sustainable Trade Initiative and WWF India to promote regenerative farming practices in India.
Source: fashionnetwork
FORT COLLINS, Colorado — Textile waste, like discarded fabric, is a growing problem for our environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported the U.S. throws away more than 11 million tons of clothing every year. That is why some small business clothing shops spotting the problematic trend are beginning to recycle in ways they haven’t before. “Anything we can do to repurpose and not throw away fabrics is really important to us,” said Maggie Hendricks, the owner of Create Good Company. Create Good Company is a clothing company dedicated to sustainable clothing to prevent textile waste and repurposing older clothing into updated fashionable items. "If you can revamp what you find, why wouldn't you do that instead of buying new things?” Hendricks asked. "It's a big issue to not create new waste. I would say we are 90% recycled materials." Textile waste is something that has piled up tremendously in the last 10 years. According to the EPA, the average consumer throws away 81.5 pounds of clothes every year.
Source: 10news
The Readymade Garment and Textile Chamber of the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) recently signed a cooperation protocol with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to develop value chains in the technical and specialised textile industry in Egypt. IFC will help the chamber attract foreign direct investment to Egypt worth $50 million by 2026. It will assist the chamber rehabilitate factories and provide them with the technology, technical expertise and training to master the sector. Vocational training will be offered to raise skills of workers in these specialised fields, head of the chamber Mohamed Abdel-Salam said. Oumar Sylla, IFC's regional director for North Africa and the Horn of Africa said Egypt will be a station for manufacturing raw materials in the Arab region and surrounding areas thorough IFC assistance.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
The eurozone downturn extended into its sixth successive month in December, according to flash purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data, though the rate of decline of business activity moderated for a second month running amid a reduced rate of loss of orders, improving supply conditions, lower price pressures and an uplift in business confidence, S&P Global said. Firms' costs notably rose at the slowest rate for over one-and-a-half years, reflecting the combination of weakened demand and improved supply, the latter signalled by the first quickening of supplier delivery times since the pandemic began, it noted. However, the overall level of business sentiment remains subdued by historical standards, reflecting the challenging environment caused by the high cost of living, rising interest rates, concerns over energy supply and the Ukraine war, the consulting firm said in a release. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global eurozone PMI composite output index rose for a second successive month in December, increasing from 47.8 in November to a four-month high of 48.8, according to the preliminary 'flash' reading. Although remaining below the neutral 50 level to indicate a sixth successive fall in business activity, the PMI has now signalled an easing in the rate of contraction for two months in a row. The subdued level of the PMI nevertheless means that the fourth quarter as a whole has seen a worse performance than the third quarter, with the average PMI for the three months to December indicative of the sharpest economic contraction since 2013 if pandemic lockdown months are excluded, S&P Global said. However, while the further fall in business activity in December signals a strong possibility of recession, the survey also hints that any downturn will be milder than thought likely a few months ago. While manufacturing continued to lead the downturn, with factory output dropping for a seventh straight month, the rate of production decline eased to indicate a further marked cooling in the pace of contraction compared to October's steep fall. The manufacturing output index rose to 47.9, a six-month high, against 46.0 in November. Within the euro area, the fall in output was also broad-based by region but only France saw a deepening downturn. Germany, meanwhile, saw rates of decline moderate across manufacturing.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Netherlands’ Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals Foundation (ZDHC), a collaboration of leading brands and associate contributors committed to advancing towards zero discharge of hazardous chemicals, has announced new appointments to its board of directors following the board election and appointment process of 2022. The new appointments in the 2022 election have enabled ZDHC to achieve its aim of transitioning the board of directors to a more diverse and multi-stakeholder representation. ZDHC’s aim was to set up a board that was based on a composition of 7 brand category seats, 2 chemical suppliers category seats, and 2 manufacturer category seats with a final seat for a candidate from academia. Renee Hackenmiller-Paradis has been appointed as the treasurer/brand category seat, while Abhishek Bansal has been elected for the second term to serve as a secretary/manufacturer seat. Dr Mark Sumner, who is a lecturer in sustainable fashion, School of Design, University of Leeds, has been given the academia seat. Mia Gunawan has also been given a brand category seat. Along with seating new board members, there has been a change in the role of ZDHC’s board chair as well. Manuel Baigorri, who had been a valued member of ZDHC’s board since 2017, has resigned due to a change in his employment. In light of Manuel's departure, Francesco Pianca has been elected as the interim board chair until the new seating of the board committee chairs are seated in the coming year following commences after the next board election. “I´m very pleased to announce that we have completed our transition to a multistakeholder board one year ahead of schedule. We are thrilled to welcome Mark and Mia to the board, whose diverse backgrounds and expertise will be very valuable as we continue to implement our plans for the future. We also congratulate Abhishek on his re-election to the board. With the addition of Mark, Mia, and Abhishek, along with the continued service of our current board members, our board is now well-balanced with a mix of business acumen, industry knowledge, and academic perspectives to support us as we move forward,” said There will be four brand category seats up for election in the 2023 ZDHC board election process, which is expected to start in the second quarter (Q2) of 2023.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
