INTERNATIONAL
NATIONAL
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has notified amended rules for implementing all PRC (Policy Relaxation Committee) decisions regarding the levy of Composition Fee. DGFT is extending the benefit of reduced Composition Fee for cases where it has allowed an extension in EOP (Export Obligation Period) and/or regularization of exports already made. This was notified vide Public Notice No. 59/2015-20 on February 28, 2023 by amending Para 4.42 of Handbook of Procedures (2015-20). The rationalization of Composition Fee calculations aids in automation and accelerated delivery of services by attempting to make the procedure simpler and more understandable. The revised Composition Fee model, which is based on a specific rate for different levels of the 'CIF value of Authorisation,' is less complicated and simpler to calculate. This will assist in streamlining the compliance process with minimal human intervention, reducing the risk of discrepancies and confusions. Automating the process will result in faster service delivery by reducing the need for manual calculations and paperwork. This initiative aims to integrate a uniform and transparent system for implementing all PRC decisions, including past decisions related to levying Composition Fee in the case of extending Export Obligation Period (EOP) and/or regularization of exports made under the Advance Authorization Scheme. The goal is to make doing business easier and reduce transaction costs. Calculation simplification also contributes to the "Ease of Doing Business" mission by reducing complexity and making the procedures relatively easy for exporters. DGFT is working towards this goal by making the Composition Fee calculation procedure smoother and easier to understand for exporters. This initiate started with Public Notice No. 52 dated 18.01.2023 and continues with this PN issued today. These initiatives will eventually result in stronger trade facilitation and ease of doing business.
Source: PIB
The manufacturing sector grew at the slowest pace in four months in February but remained relatively strong due to buoyant domestic demand. This was despite higher inflationary pressures and weaker international sales. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) eased just a tad to 55.3 in February from 55.4 in the previous month, signalling a strong improvement in the health of the sector. The headline figure was also above its long-run average of 53.7. An index reading of 50 or above suggests expansion and below it points to contraction. With this, the index has remained in the expansionary zone for the 20th straight month. “The growth momentum in India’s manufacturing industry was maintained in February, with new orders and output increasing at similar rates to January. Companies were confident in the resiliency of demand and continued to add to their inventories by purchasing additional inputs,” Pollyanna De Lima, economics associate director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said. “After slipping to a 26-month low last November, input cost inflation surged in every month since. The latest rise was historically subdued, however, and among the weakest in around two years. The survey showed some reluctance among manufacturers to pass on cost increases to clients, with output charge inflation easing since January,” De Lima added. India’s manufacturing industry sustained robust growth of output and new orders halfway through the fourth quarter of FY23. S&P Global PMI data implied that the domestic market was the main source of new business growth in February, as new orders from abroad increased only fractionally. The rate of international sales expansion touched an 11-month low in the month. Job creation failed to gain meaningful traction, however, as firms reportedly had sufficient staff to cope with current requirements. The government data released on Tuesday showed that the manufacturing sector continued to disappoint with a 1.1% contraction in the third quarter, though the contraction was milder than the 3.6% recorded in the second quarter.
Source: Financial express
The Punjab State Council for Science & Technology and Guru Nanak Dev University organised TECH4TEX, a technical textile conclave. The conclave was organised in collaboration with Technology Enabling Centre, Panjab University; the Department of Apparel and Textile Technology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar; Punjab Chapter of CII; the Amritsar Group of Colleges & various textile associations in Amritsar. Dr Dapinder Kaur Bakshi, Joint Director, PSCST, emphasised the ‘Technical Textiles’ as a sunrise sector. She shared that the government of Punjab is keen on supporting the textile industries to graduate towards technical textiles through supporting research and technological interventions. About 120 delegates participated in the event.
Source: Tribune India
British businesses to access the fast-growing Indian economy with the new trade agreement. She also pointed to the ongoing negotiations for the UK’s accession into the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) as reflective of a wider strategic shift towards the Indo-Pacific region. “It’s [CPTPP] not just about exporting goods or even services. The Trans-Pacific Partnership is also about the geostrategic shift to the Indo-Pacific as set out in the government’s Integrated Review and this really matters for our long-term security,” Badenoch said in an address to the Legatum Institute think tank in London on Tuesday. “It also matters for our long-term growth – this is where the global middle class of the future will come from and we need to be a player. That’s also why we’re pursuing a great trade deal with India. A deal to cut tariffs and open opportunities for UK services, making it easier for British businesses to sell to an economy set to be the world’s third-largest by 2050,” she said vehicles to drive on them – with vehicles representing exports and investments. “That’s what trade is really, and that’s my main focus. So, we are not just the department for getting deals, taking pictures, and signing bits of paper. And that will become even more key as I flesh out our role as the Department for Business and International Trade,” added Badenoch. India and the UK have concluded seven rounds of negotiations towards a free trade agreement (FTA), with the eighth round scheduled in New Delhi later this month UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, who is in India this week for the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting, will also reaffirm the country’s commitment to conclude the FTA. According to official UK government statistics, the bilateral trading relationship was worth GBP 34 billion in 2022 – growing by GBP 10 billion in one year. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the country’s leading industry body, estimates an India-UK FTA could boost trade with India by GBP 28 billion a year by 2035 and increase wages across the UK by GBP 3 billion.
Source: Financial express
India on Wednesday said it is concerned about the European Union's announcement of imposing carbon tax, saying such measures require New Delhi to recalibrate its approach towards a free trade agreement. In January last year, India and the EU resumed negotiations for a free trade agreement, investment protection and GeographicalIndications (GI). "Apart from the sustainability and all other issues, we are also a bit, I would not say perturbed but we are feeling little challenged with the announcement of CBAM recently and it is going to cover 5-6 sectors which are key to Indian industry and supply chains," Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce Nidhi Mani Tripathi said. The EU is introducing the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) from October 1 this year. CBAM will translate into a 20-35 per cent tax on select imports into the EU starting January 1, 2026. Speaking at an event organised by industry body CII, she said there is also another regulation which is to come up -- Green Deal -- where the EU is talking about deforestation related measures on couple of sectors. Such measures that keep coming up, "also require us to recalibrate our FTA (Free Trade Agreement) approach," Tripathi said. She is India's chief negotiator for trade agreement with the EU and the UK. "A number of studies are conducted when you start a FTA negotiation... but all your assessment go haywire when you keep getting such new regulations with such new difficult measures," she said. According to her, both sides need to negotiate the agreement with a pragmatic approach and "we should not let the moment go and this is the right moment for both the sides to tap this opportunity". India is going to provide a huge market to the EU businesses, she said. "I have been saying all along that the approach that the EU has followed in all its previous FTAs may not exactly be the same with India and India comes with an unique opportunity. "India comes to the table with sincerity and commitment to a trade deal which is fair and reciprocal in its nature," she said.
Source: Economic Times
The textile and apparel sectors have traditionally been one of the most employment-intensive sectors in India. As per the data from the ministry of textiles, the sector is the largest employer after agriculture and employs 45 million people directly and 60 million people in allied sectors. More importantly, these two sectors offer tremendous opportunities for job creation, especially for women. Women constitute nearly 33% of the total formal workforce in these two sectors whereas the corresponding number for the rest of the manufacturing is a meagre 15%. Despite the promise that these sectors hold, their performance has stagnated in recent years. Since 2011, the real output of the textile sector has barely grown whereas that of the apparel sector has witnessed a significant slowdown. The situation on the external front is even more concerning. Our global market share post-2014 has declined from 5.9% to 4.6% in 2020 in the textile sector, and from 3.9% to 2.9 % in the apparel sector. Bangladesh and Vietnam have already overtaken us in apparel exports. In textile exports, Vietnam is rapidly catching up to India. What explains this turn of events in India? Of course, there are some long-standing structural bottlenecks – weak linkages to global value chains, fragmented value chains, complex labour laws; high logistical costs; land market frictions; high power costs – that adversely hamper the productivity of the sector. However, these issues, though important, have existed for decades now and cannot fully explain the declining performance in recent years. Crisis in the polyester manufacturing sector In our new research, we find that the key reason for the setback India has faced is the declining production of polyester fibre. The decline stems from the stalled progress in the domestic production of key chemical intermediaries, Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA), required for the production of polyester yarn and fiber. Growth in domestic production of PTA declined sharply since 2010 and has witnessed virtually no growth since 2014. As the domestic PTA production stagnated, polyester manufacturers responded by importing the same as evident from the sharp increase in PTA imports by more than 140% between 2008 and 2013. However, since then the trend reversed, and imports contracted by more than 50%. The answer to the questions lies in two policy interventions that the government introduced. First, the government imposed anti-dumping duties in 2013 on PTA imports from major source countries, making the import prices prohibitive. Second, in 2018, the government hiked the import tariff on PTA from 7.5% to 10% which further increased import costs. At a time when the import of PTA was at an all-time high, the anti-dumping duty was imposed based on a petition filed by the two largest PTA producers: Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation India Ltd. and Reliance Industries Ltd. with the Director General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) in October 2013 for unfair trade practices by major PTA exporters to India. The government finally imposed anti-dumping duty on PTA, in the range of $24 to $117 a tonne, on imports from China, South Korea, Thailand and the European Union. Later in 2016, anti-dumping duties ranging from $84-$168 per ton were imposed on PTA imports from Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Iran. As these countries accounted for nearly 90% of India’s total PTA imports, the anti-dumping measures, followed by a tariff hike in 2018, resulted in India’s PTA imports contracting by almost 35% between 2014 and 2019. The contraction in domestic production followed by the contraction in imports, making domestic PTA prices relatively more expensive than that of our competitors. The price rise adversely affected polyester producers who purchased PTA from the open market. In contrast, the integrated PTA and Polyester producers like Reliance Industries benefitted from the duty as they could employ PTA in their polyester production at a significantly more competitive price. Moreover, the duty increased concentration in an already highly concentrated sector. Faced with higher input prices relative to global competitors, the polyester fibre and filament yarn produced by producers procuring PTA from the open market became relatively uncompetitive compared to those firms that produced their own PTA. This resulted in a deterioration of capacity utilisation of polyester production. Consequently, the firms had to pass on the higher production costs to the final output. All this ultimately led to a productivity decline in the downstream sectors, even as their global competitors were gaining productivity In fact, per-worker output in the man-made textile sector in India has fallen below that of Bangladesh and Vietnam. With the rising cost of production, declining productivity, and rising output prices, the man-made textile sector lost out on the external front. India’s global share in man-made textile exports has declined by almost 1.5 percentage points, more than half of which has been captured by Vietnam. Crisis hits apparel industry As man-made textile is the most important input that goes into the manufacturing of manmade fabric (MMF) apparel, it is natural to expect that the sluggish performance of the former should feed into the latter. The labour productivity in the MMF-based apparel sector declined by more than 23% between 2016-2019. The worrying trend is that the decline in labour productivity of MMF apparel manufacturing firms is entirely driven by the most productive firms. The per-worker output of the top 10 percentile of firms ranked by their productivity in MMF apparel manufacturing declined by nearly 10% between 2012-13 and 2018-19. During the same period, the rest of the firms saw their productivity rise by 16%. With the loss of productivity and a decline in investments, especially in the most productive units, our MMF apparel producers have become relatively less competitive in the external markets. Our share in world MMF apparel exports declined to 2.8% in 2021. During the same period, our global competitors have done exceedingly well and have significantly increased their market share. Bangladesh’s export share overtook that of India in 2018, and it stood at 4.1% in 2021. Vietnam, on the other hand, further consolidated its market and accounted for nearly 9% of global exports in 2021. In 2020, the government finally rolled back the anti-dumping duties on PTA. However, the Given the high concentration of production upstream of the polyester value chain, particularly by producers who have the capacities and means to compete with the external competition, it is imperative to keep trade barriers low on the import of polyester fiber intermediates as well as of polyester stable fiber and filament yarn. This will encourage value addition and employment generation in the downstream industries. A key recent development has been the drastic reduction of customs duties on polyester fiber intermediates, filament yarn and staple fiber in May 2022. While the move is in the right direction, it remains to be seen whether this will be adequate to reverse the regression on the domestic and external front.
Source: The wire.in
Recent import cargo norms for plastic packaging are causing port congestion, with industry body FIEO and customs authorities attempting to clear the resulting logjam, which has also increased port dwell times. Following amendments to the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, last year, anyone who imports plastic packaging products, carry bags, multi-layered packaging, or plastic sheets must register on the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) portal. The initiative aims to reduce the use of single-use plastic. However, these guidelines apply not only to those who import plastic packaging products as end products, but also to those who import primary products such as machinery, textiles, or any article packaged in plastic. Industry body Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) has written to the CPCB on the issue noting that as per a February 8, 2023 order of Jawaharlal Nehru Customs House (JNCH), exporters importing raw materials or machines packed or wrapped in plastic bags and sheets have to apply under Extended Producer Responsibilities (EPR), even though these are non-plastic. “On a perusal of FAQs issued by CPCB, it is found that export-oriented units are exempt from fulfilling EPR obligations. However, the Standing Order of Customs is silent on this,” FIEO said. It has requested a clarification seeking that all non-plastic exporters, who are importing raw materials, machines packed or wrapped in plastic bags and sheets of more than 50 microns, are exempted from formalities related to EPR. Ajay Sahai, director general and CEO, FIEO, noted that the current norms will increase transaction time and costs of exporters. “We have requested that the norms should not be applied to those who just have plastic packaging around their goods or are importing plastic packaging to EOUs and SEZ for export purpose or even others who are importing for export purposes,” Sahai said. According to official sources, the registration is taking up to three to four months noting that this is a new requirement. “Clearance of imported consignments cannot be held up for that long as it would disrupt supply chains and also lead to inflated dwell times in customs clearance,” a source said. Further customs authorities are trying to take measures for faster clearance of the Bills of Entry filed for the import of goods other than plastic packagings, such as primary products, chemicals, textiles and articles that are wrapped or packed in plastic packaging, he added.
Source: Financial Express
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU) is expected to be a ‘game changer’ and within a ‘short planned timeline’ India is looking forward to a mutually advantageous conclusion to the negotiation process for the pact. He was addressing an event at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). He also added that the strategic autonomy of both regions can be strengthened by reducing dependencies, cooperating on critical technologies, and ensuring supply-chain restructuring. “We expect the India-EU FTA will be a game-changer for the India-EU relationship. We look forward to a mutually beneficial, mutually advantageous conclusion to the negotiation process within a reasonably short planned timeline,” he said. India and the EU restarted negotiations for the long-pending trade and investment agreement in June last year after a gap of over eight years. Launched in June 2007, the negotiations for the proposed agreement have witnessed many hurdles as both sides had major differences on crucial issues. “India’s new approach to trade agreements addresses issues of non-tariff and behind-the-border barriers, quality standards, and related benchmarks,” Jaishankar said. Behind-the-border barriers are non-tariff discriminatory trade barriers within a country. He further added that FTAs with Australia and the UAE were concluded in record time and that a fast-track change in FTA negotiation processes was seen with like-minded partners. He also said that the India-EU FTA was a very important goal and that both regions can strengthen each other’s strategic autonomies. He noted that the the structure and strategic guidance to the partnership between the two sides will be provided by the recently unveiled Trade and Technology Council (TTC). He concluded by saying that relations between India and Europe are stronger and deeper than ever before and that the business community of both regions have a large stake in the largest democratic and free market space globally.
Source: Apparel Resources
The Ministry of Textile in Collaboration with the Australian High Commission, New Delhi is hosting a textile art exhibition at the National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy from 01st to 17th March, 2023, in the spirit of India bringing nations together for G20 2023 and bringing the G20 closer to the public. The exhibition ‘Jarracharra: Dry Season Wind’ showcases a robust collection of Aboriginal women’s textile art from the Bábbarra Women’s Centre (BWC), one of the most remote art centres in the world, found in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. This exhibition features women depicting ancient narratives using contemporary mediums, and walking through the exhibition, you feel like you are travelling across the ancient country of Northern Australia. The title, Jarracharra, represents a metaphor for how the Bábbarra Women’s Centre brings different Aboriginal cultures and stories together, just as Jarracharra winds have brought Aboriginal people together for ceremony, dance, and ritual for tens of thousands of years. Dr. Sudha Dhingra & Prof. Ruby Kashyap Sood from NIFT, New Delhi has curated this Exhibition. Ms. Sunanda Dawar & Ms. Nargis Zaidi has assisted in displaying the artifacts.
Source: PIB
Shri Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles said that developed and developing countries must have different goals and timelines while being sensitive to each other's needs, potential goals and roadmap towards sustainability. He was addressing the gathering at Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) Special Plenary Session of India Europe Business and Sustainability Conclave in New Delhi today. Shri Goyal highlighted that India has been one of the top 5 performers when it comes to benchmarking our work and meeting the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). ‘Technology, finance and sustainable lifestyles are going to play an important role in ensuring sustainable growth’, he opined. Shri Goyal urged world leaders to recognize that everyone must contribute their fair share in improving energy efficiency, in reducing waste, in boosting the circular economy and in achieving green goals by transitioning and helping other nations transition to green growth to make the world a better place to live in. India's partnership with the UK and the EU is significant in the global effort to make the planet safer and greener, he said. He reiterated India's commitment to ensuring that sustainability and inclusive growth defined India's growth story. The Minister urged all business leaders to focus on sustainability and ensure that all actions respect nature. Shri Goyal said that today’s businesses understood the value of sustainability and the complementarity of sustainability with business. He stressed that the long-term value proposition for any business came out of sustainability as it would make businesses safer for the stakeholders and prepares us for a better future. Speaking of Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of trusteeship, the Minister said that we must recognize the importance of inter-generational equity and added that we don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors but borrow it from our children. He also pointed out that to India, sustainability and respect for nature came traditionally and naturally The Minister said that to a large extent the climate crisis was created by high levels of consumption and waste generation. He said that only a collective effort would help combat the climate crisis and achieve sustainable growth. He noted that the government would only be able to play the role of an enabler and that it would be business and people at large who would have to adopt practices that lead to sustainable development. ‘If we accept this as a global responsibility, a shared commitment for a better world, we can do wonders. We need speed and we need to scale up our efforts for a sustainable world’, he observed. The Minister referred to the jacket that was gifted to the Prime Minister during the Energy Week, that was made out of recycled plastic and said that the PM had worn it to the Parliament and it was a sign and an inspiration that we all needed to contribute to the Green Movement. He emphasized the importance of sustainability and inclusive growth in India's growth journey. He cited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Zero Defect & Zero Effect Manufacturing, in which quality and sustainability are two crucial elements of India's growth journey. The Minister said that inclusive growth had been another vision of the Prime Minister, who aimed at bringing prosperity to every single citizen of the country. He noted that the government had succeeded in meeting the basic requirements of life of the masses, thereby raising aspiration levels, especially of the youth, and empowering them to drive economic growth. Shri Goyal highlighted India's large consumer base of 1.4 billion recognizing sustainability as an important element of future growth. The Special Plenary Session of India Europe Business and Sustainability Conclave saw participation from European Union (EU), The Netherlands, Malta and United Kingdom (UK).
Source: PIB
The United States will continue to partner with India to tackle shared challenges, build resilient supply chains, and promote a transparent and rules-based trading system for market economies and democracies, the Biden Administration said Wednesday. The United States and India share a dynamic and important trade and investment relationship, the US Trade Representative said in its President’s 2023 Trade Policy Agenda. In 2021, the two countries relaunched the Trade Policy Forum (TPF), which had not met since 2017, it said, adding that India and the US convened the 13th meeting of the TPF in Washington in January last year. “Our governments discussed the tremendous potential for growth between our economies and how we can work together to bring a positive impact to working people in both countries,” it said. “The United States will continue to partner with India to tackle shared challenges, build resilient supply chains, and promote a transparent, rules-based trading system for market economies and democracies,” the USTR said in its India section of the report. According to the USTR, throughout 2022, the US engaged with India on an ongoing basis in response to specific concerns affecting the full range of the bilateral trade relationship. Following the November 2021 re-launch of the TPF, the principal bilateral forum for discussing trade and investment issues affecting the two countries, 2022 was characterized by regular engagement through the TPF’s four technical-level workings groups — on agricultural goods, non-agricultural goods, services and investment, and IP, it said. These TPF working groups, which include participation by senior-level officials from key U.S. agencies, provide an opportunity to achieve meaningful results and to address the general trend of increasingly trade-restrictive policies in India that continue to inhibit the potential of the trade relationship, the report said. “A TPF Ministerial meeting was held on January 11, 2023. In addition to utilizing the TPF as a mechanism for resolving specific trade concerns, USTR continues to stress its interest in engaging with the Government of India on issues in the areas of labor, environment, digital trade, trade facilitation, and good regulatory practices, among others,” the USTR said. It said the United States is leading on the world stage with a positive economic vision, and it is collaborating with partners that share their goals – growing the middle class, redressing inequality, and incentivizing climate and environmental action. “The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity and the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity are top priorities for the Administration in 2023 to implement this vision, as well as our initiatives with Kenya and Taiwan,” it said
Source: Financial express
INTERNATIONAL
Clothing is a crucial part of our lives, and it's a portal to valuable information and clues about the lives of those who came before us. There's a lot of curiosity about what people wore when — just look at the crowds at the Met's Costume Institute exhibitions year after year. And it's thanks to the work of textile conservationists that we're able to learn more about the clothes of our forebears (and in Kim Kardashian's case, maybe even wear them). Textile conservation is a unique field at the intersection of fashion, science, history and art. In addition to preserving the physical object, it's also about protecting the memory and social context that the object was worn or made within. "We're only the temporary custodians of cultural heritage," says Sarah Scaturro, chief conservator at the Cleveland Museum of Art. "We aim to sustainably use our resources today so that future generations might have their chance at experiencing them." Beyond extending an object's life expectancy for museum exhibitions, conservation is also important for the longevity of the fashion industry: Heritage houses might have a revolving door of designers at the helm, but each new creative director looks to the work of their predecessors to inform new collections. "Getting to study the archives ensures that a new designer can carry forward the house's codes and DNA while synthesizing them with his or her own vision for the house," says Julie Ann Clauss, founder of The Wardrobe, a fashion archival service based in Los Angeles. It's important to understand that, as a practice, conservation is intrinsically antithetical to the passage of time: Every work of art will eventually degrade — paint loses its pigments, celluloid in old photographs cracks, metal sculptures corrode, sunlight bleaches tapestries. "We do have to accept this [reality]," Glenn Petersen, a conservator at the Met's Costume Institute, says. "However, our job is to slow down the deterioration process, for which there's often something that can be done. Even when an object seems like it might be a lost cause, knowledge and technology are always evolving, so there's the hope that objects we're not able to bring to a useable condition presently may be possible to treat in the future." The Met's conservation lab, a state-of-the-art textile facility, is tucked below street level at the museum. There, Petersen and his team will use a variety of preservation techniques, such as stitching garments with a support fabric on the reverse or with a facing or overlay fabric. When it comes to materials like leather that can't easily be stitched, they may be treated with an adhesive. To clean pieces, conservators rely on a range of practices, from using a bulb blower, which uses air to gently remove debris, to full immersion wet cleaning, which is more intensive. The Wardrobe — which preserves garments for designers, entertainers, costume designers and private collectors — follows a similar set of rigorous, scientific protocols. The entire facility is outfitted with full climate control to regulate temperature and humidity, plus hospital-grade air filtration. The team will also do regular cleaning and pest control. Sometimes, conservators are not only working against time or the elements, but also against the objects themselves. Take, for instance, an Iris van Herpen dress from the Fall 2014 collection, currently stored at the Met: It has silicon feather and moldings of bird heads on it, but, Petersen explains, it's actually made from polyurethane, a "malignant" plastic that produces harmful degradation products that can damage other materials in its vicinity. For this reason, the dress must be kept in a separate, oxygen-free storage room. In addition to the materials and how an item's stored, conservators also think a lot about light. As The Museum at FIT's Ann Coppinger explains, "Light exposure is very damaging to an object. It can speed up degradation processes, fade dyes and dehydrate fibers, among other things." However, light is necessary — not just to view the pieces you're working to preserve, but also to share them with the rest of the world. So, conservators will work hard to limit the exposure, as well as light level and type of light, to prolong the life of the object. With all precious materials, there's a limit to what can be done, and there can come a point when conservators have to stop treating an object. Coppinger adheres to the conservator's code that "better is the enemy of good": Repairs are carefully delegated, but never be pushed too far. In fact, conservators have to provide research-backed rationale for each treatment. "We're adding to the story of the object, but always with the wish to respect the original creator's intention," Coppinger says. "We strive to use methods and materials that are reversible." Petersen echoes this sentiment: "We approach objects from a conservation standpoint (preserving what is there) rather than restoration (making it like new). When all the conditions are properly met, conservators will assess whether the garment is ready for display. "We like to limit exhibition times to three-to-six months," says Coppinger. They'll also think about how it's displayed — like ensuring that "the mannequin is the correct size and shape of the garment," so that it supports it without placing stress or strain on the fabric and so that it reflects an appropriate silhouette for the time period from which it was worn. So, how does one even get into conservation? According to Petersen, a conservator at the Met's Costume Institute, textile conservation requires a breadth of skills, including the right academic degree, manual dexterity, cultural awareness and aesthetic sensitivity. Most institutions are looking for professionals who have completed a graduate degree in conservation, which already mandates certain prerequisites, like courses in studio and knowledge in some field of science. One of the first hurdles, though, is knowing that the field exists at all: Many who have interests in museums, art, craft, history or science don't realize that textile conservation is a potential path for them. After completing a conservation degree, many aspiring conservators go on to pursue fellowships before transitioning into full-time roles. That's what Scaturro did: A lifelong seamstress, she studied history and Italian — with some chemistry classes — in college, then found her way into conservation by taking continued-education courses in tailoring and pattern-making at the Fashion Institute of Technology and later enrolling full-time in its MA program in Textile Studies, with a focus in History, Theory and Museum Practice. Because of the painstaking work of conservators, fashion lovers are able to appreciate the beauty of textiles, tapestries, carpets and embroideries for generations to come.
Source: The fashionista.com
Rapidly increasing EU exports of textile waste — some of which is reused and some of which ends up in landfills — show that Europe faces a challenge in how to handle its own used textiles, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing published this week. The amount of used textiles exported from the European Union (EU) has tripled over the past two decades, and the amounts may increase further, according to the EEA briefing ‘EU exports of used textiles in Europe’s circular economy’. The briefing is based on a more detailed analysis by the EEA’s European Topic Centre of Circular Economy and Resource Use. Europe faces major challenges in the management of used textiles, which are to be collected separately in the EU by 2025, the report states. As reuse and recycling capacities in Europe are limited, a large share of discarded and donated clothing and other textile products are exported to Africa and Asia. Common public perceptions that used clothing donations are always of use in those regions do not reflect the reality. Once exported, the fate of used textiles is often uncertain, according to the EEA briefing which looks at the patterns of and trends in EU exports of used textiles from 2000 to 2019. According to analysed data from the United Nations, EU exports of textiles have increased and shifted from mainly African destinations to both Africa and Asia. The briefing also shows how some challenges related to these exports are being addressed in current and proposed EU policies. In the EU strategy on sustainable and circular textiles, published in March 2022, the need for addressing the challenges from exports is specifically mentioned.
Key findings: The amount of used textiles exported from the EU has tripled over the past two decades from slightly over 550,000 tonnes in 2000 to almost 1.7 million tonnes in 2019. The amount of used textiles exported in 2019 was on average 3.8 kilogrammes per person, or 25% of the approximately 15 kg of textiles consumed each year in the EU. In 2019, 46% of used textiles exported from the EU ended up in Africa. The textiles primarily go to local reuse as there is a demand for cheap, used clothes from Europe. What is not fit for reuse mostly ends up in open landfills and informal waste streams. In 2019, 41% of used textiles exported from the EU ended up in Asia. Most of these textiles are directed to dedicated economic zones where they are sorted and processed. The used textiles are then mostly downcycled into industrial rags or filling, or re-exported for recycling in other Asian countries or for reuse in Africa. Textiles that cannot be recycled or re-exported likely end up in landfills. Bio-based fibres that are used in clothing and other textile products are often regarded as more sustainable alternatives, but a new technical report by the EEA’s European Topic Centre of Circular Economy and Resource Use demonstrates that this picture requires some caution. While bio-based fibres offer potential to steer away from synthetic textiles made from plastics (mainly derived from oil and gas), they cause other environmental pressures, including water and land use related to agricultural activities, deforestation and fibre processing. Moreover, the report highlights that their bio-based origin does not free them from environmental concerns related to microfibres, waste and recyclability. It follows the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles (published in March 2022), presenting a vision and related European policy objectives for a green and digital transition of the European textile ecosystem. The strategy focuses on key textile sustainability aspects, such as eco-design, waste and pollution prevention, safe and bio-based materials, circular material flows and responsible supply chains and new business models.
Source: The just-style.com
Full supply chain mapping and traceability are now requirements for doing business in the wake of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). This eBook explains what can happen to your shipment under the UFLPA – detention, release, or exclusion and seizure, how to minimize the risk of detention, and the challenges with existing approaches. As of June 21, 2022, the UFLPA prohibits US businesses from importing goods made, wholly or in part, using materials sourced from the Xinjiang (XUAR) region of China if it was produced using forced labor. Importers and manufacturers seeking to enter the US market must have a clear, transparent, and traceable view of their entire supply chain in order to protect their business from the threat of audits, detentions, and seizures, and if they don’t – this is where many global companies could face costly business disruptions associated with the UFLPA. CBP has outlined that imports will go through a process to ensure that no goods using forced labor make their way into the United States, but CBP officials have reiterated that procedures and actions taken by the agency may differ on a case-by-case basis – and it’s the responsibility of the importer to provide evidence that the items in question did not utilize forced labor throughout their supply chain. The best strategy for preventing detention is to focus on UFLPA compliance. This means closely examining your supply chain and knowing who is producing what, and how and where it’s produced. This will help you identify and mitigate risks before you face expensive consequences, and to successfully challenge a detention if one occurs. This eBook will help you understand the UFLPA and how you can avoid detention.
Source: Supply Chainbrain
California’s new Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2023 would require producers to establish a stewardship programme for the collection and recycling of “covered products,” which include any apparel, textile, or textile article that is unsuitable for reuse by a consumer in its current state or condition. The Act is aimed at facilitating the repair and reuse of clothing and the recycling of textile fibres and will be enacted under Bill SB 707. Senator Newman explained that the average US consumer discards more than 81 pounds of clothing each year – an amount that has increased 55% since the year 2000 on a per capita basis. Adding, that textiles are now the fastest-growing component of California’s landfills, comprising 3% of total landfilled waste, and the fifth-most common material overall. He said: “If properly sorted and processed, the fibres within most clothing items and textiles are highly suitable for recycling and repurposing into new products. Once passed, SB 707 will establish an extended producer responsibility (EPR) programme for recycling textiles in California under the auspices of CalRecycle and an ensuing advisory body to be created under the statute.” Under the provisions of the bill, textile producers and other stakeholders will develop a framework for the implementation and management of an end-to-end system to optimise the repair or recycling of all covered products and thereby minimise the importation of their products into our landfills. The products to be covered by this legislation are textiles commonly used in households and businesses, including, but not limited to: apparel, accessories, handbags, backpacks, draperies, shower curtains, furnishings, upholstery, bedding, towels, napkins, and tablecloths. Newman believes one of the many benefits of the proposed Act will encourage Californians to “bring their unwanted clothing and household textiles to thrift stores, charities, and other collection sites for donation”. However, these collection sites will now also be part of a system for sorting and ultimately recycling used textiles that cannot be used or sold again. “This bill is a step towards sustainable, market-aligned, circular economy,” Newman added.
Source: The Just-style.com
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has received approval by the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) for the project, which will see textiles and apparel become the latest addition to GRI’s Sector Standards. “Widespread concerns exist about the impacts of this sector, particularly when it comes to human rights issues within industry supply chains, as well as those related to waste and recycling,” the GRI said. “While there are a number of existing corporate or civil society led initiatives to encourage sustainable practices, coherent and consistent disclosure is lacking. The development of a new GRI Textiles and Apparel Standard will enhance sustainability reporting by clothing, footwear, fabrics and other textile manufacturers and retailers, on a global scale. The GSSB, the independent body responsible for setting the GRI Standards, has announced a global call for applicants to join the Textiles and Apparel Working Group, which will include representatives from business enterprise, investors, labour bodies, mediating institutions, and civil society Production of textiles and apparel has numerous impacts, including on working conditions, health and safety, water consumption and pollution, waste, greenhouse gas emissions and the use of hazardous materials,” explained Mia d’Adhemar, head of sector program. “Globally dispersed value chains, with enterprises often operating across several countries with varying commercial, legal and ethical standards, is a key challenge to addressing these issues. Significant progress is needed to improve how textiles and apparel companies identify, manage and disclose their impacts on the economy, environment and people. I encourage experts from throughout the sector and associated stakeholder groups to apply to join our Working Group and support the development of this critical Standard.” The Textiles and Apparel Sector Standard will be intended to apply to any organisation with a primary focus in textile and apparel production, including manufacturing activities, brands, retailers and wholesalers. The GRI Standard will aim to promote full and enhanced transparency to allow comparability of sustainability information, by setting a global disclosure framework for the sector. Recruitment for the working group is open until 21 March 2023.
Source: The just-style.com
The first 25 weeks of the Covid pandemic destroyed 25 years of progress in global health and three years later, most countries’ health systems are still not completely back on track, said Bill Gates on Wednesday, adding that the pandemic “catalysed” a wave of health innovation in India. With its record of vaccine development and digital public infrastructure platform, India has the potential to develop into a hub of “innovation and ingenuity”, to herald a “new era of global partnership” which can overcome the world’s greatest challenges, Gates said, delivering the Fifth Ramnath Goenka Memorial Lecture here. Underlining the power of innovation to bridge divides and the role of India in the “big, global innovation boom”, Gates said: “When I was at Microsoft, we chose to put a development centre here in 1998. And we did that because we knew India was going to play a major role in the global innovation ecosystem — not just as a beneficiary of new breakthroughs, but as an innovator of them. In addition as a scaler of breakthroughs. India can develop high-quality yet cost-effective innovations and drive their rapid adoption. Vaccines are a prime example.” When it comes to overcoming the world’s greatest challenges like climate change or healthcare, India has a significant role to play, Gates said, flagging the country’s low-cost innovations like the rotavirus vaccine that saved lives globally, and affordable solutions like making biofuels and fertilisers from waste to address climate change. The author, philanthropist, investor, technology founder, and co-chair and trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation began his lecture by talking about a front-page article in The New York Times that talked about 3 million children dying of diarrhoea every year, 90% of whom were from developing countries. He said he had a list of concerns for his newborn daughter but diarrhoea was not among them. He spoke of India’s journey from there to a point where 83% of one-year-olds in the country receive the rotavirus vaccine, saving 200,000 lives each year. Gates said that although childhood immunisation levels were bouncing back to the pre-pandemic levels in India, for many other countries it might take another three years to get back on track. He spoke about innovations during Covid-19 and India’s ability to develop cheaper kits and scale up testing. Later, in a conversation with Anant Goenka, Executive Director, The Indian Express, on being asked about the balance between incentivising innovation and sharing of technology, Gates said that a “kind of ideal” solution does exist in the field. He said the return of investments for companies comes primarily from sales in rich countries, somewhat from middle income countries, and for the lower income countries, the price should be just what it costs to make the medicine. As for climate technologies, market competition and political processes “will kick in.” He said that big pharma has done incredible innovations, bringing out new class of obesity drugs and continuing research for Alzheimer’s drug, and so “I wouldn’t want to get rid of profit motive in medical innovation.” Speaking on the climate crisis, Gates said: “Most of the emissions come from the rich countries and yet most of the damage will be in middle income and lower income countries that are near the Equator. It’s an incredible injustice. And, even though it creeps up on you, we need act now, we need to act in a very big way.” One of the challenges though with climate change, Gates said, is the “green premium” that comes with products made without emitting greenhouse gases. He said: “If you try to buy jet fuel that’s green, it’s twice as expensive. If you want to buy cement without emission, it’s twice as expensive. Now someone could say that climate is important so let’s get somebody to write a cheque for that extra cost. But sadly that will be trillions of dollars a year. And, there just is no fund… even in the rich countries,” he said, adding that climate crisis is an innovation challenge that shrinks the green premium. Earlier, in his welcome address, Raj Kamal Jha, Chief Editor, The Indian Express, said that Gates brought “science and hope” to the enduring questions of the day. Quoting his remark that “Innovation is a hammer and I use it on every nail I see,” Jha said that the nails Gates saw – from education to public health — were “pegs for social change and expanded the common good.” This was the first Ramnath Goenka lecture after the pandemic. The lecture, named after the founder of The Indian Express, has been delivered by then RBI governor Raghuram Rajan; former President Pranab Mukherjee; former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi; and external affairs minister S Jaishankar. On climate change, Gates said the challenge was innovation on a “massive scale,” to ensure that the world gets to net-zero emissions “without the penalty of higher prices for going green.” “It is an injustice that the people who have done the least to cause climate change are the ones suffering the most from it,” he said. “In my lifetime I’ve never been so optimistic about the potential for new technologies to improve the world,” he added.
Source: Financial express
