With cotton from India being more expensive than from other producers, textile makers in Gujarat are unable to compete against their counterparts in China, Vietnam and Bangladesh. Rahul Shah, co-chairman of the GCCI textiles taskforce, said, “Our industry has lost competitiveness globally in the last year. Indian cotton used to be at least 5 per cent cheaper than international rates.” Although the cotton prices have recently cooled down to Rs 61,000 a candy (356kg), in recently from about 45 per cent down from their peak of Rs 1.1 lakh, there is no silver lining for the textile industry, according to a report in the TOI. Shah pointed out that with the reduced cotton output, prices firmed up significantly. Despite the recent softening, effective rates remain higher than in the international market. “Low cotton yield is a growing concern. Spinning mills were compelled to stop operations in the unprecedented situation that unfolded last year,” he said. Recently, the union government has approved for setting up a Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (MITRA) Park at Navsari to help the textile industry grow.
Source: KNN India
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal announced that India’s overall exports, that includes services and merchandise exports, have crossed US$ 750 Billion today. This is an all time high and this achievement of 750 billion comes in the 75th year of independence as we celebrate the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. In his address, Shri Goyal highlighted how the exports have risen from US$ 500 Billion in 2020-2021 to this figure in extremely challenging times. In his keynote address at the ASSOCHAM Annual Session 2023: Strengthening India's Competitiveness in New Delhi today, the Minister stated that there has been healthy growth in both merchandise and service sectors. He said that given the fact that the whole world is in recession, inflation is at an all time high for most developed countries, interest rates are shooting up and there’s a sense of doom and gloom in the rest of the world, India’s performance fills us with pride. The Minister recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day that we should get rid of the colonial mindset and recognise our roots and our strengths. He noted that the 5 Prans articulated by the PM will lead to a developed Bharat@100 in 2047 when we celebrate the centenary of our Independence and said that we all need to work with a sense of duty in the spirit of these 5 Prans. The Minister said that the theme of the event “Bharat@100: Paving the way for inclusive and sustainable global growth” converged with the aspirations of the country’s youth and an emerging young Bharat. He also said that the people desire to see India as an economic superpower leading the world in meeting global challenges. He observed that the world also sees India as a leader on multiple fronts. He observed that ASSOCHAM should lead from the front in the journey of Bharat@100. He also noted that the focus of the Government is in ensuring that the basic needs of more and more families are being met and that as we move ahead, growth will not only be measured in terms of economic progress but also in terms of social progress & human development indicators along with other factors. He observed that with more than 80 Crore people in the country using the internet in this interconnected world, we have a whole new aspirational Bharat and the youth of our country today is demanding more and we need to work together to meet the aspirations of the citizens of the New Bharat. The Minister stated that the domestic market has been growing steadily and over the last 9 years the focus has been on building the foundation blocks which are necessary for an economy to have many years of uninterrupted and sustainable growth. He noted that the first decade in the journey of a developing country becoming a developed country focussed on creation of strong fundamentals, economic framework and stable regulatory practices to attract domestic & international capital. The Minister stated that India is undergoing such a journey and India is lucky to bank upon its large domestic market and also access the whole wide world. The Minister stressed upon the fact that the effort of the Government to make India selfreliant is about not closing doors but further opening them wider with the objective of letting competitive and comparative advantages determine international trade. He expressed hope that each country finds its niche in global trade and the entire world progresses in a sustainable manner. The Minister opined that policymakers need to look at the entire value chain to find out the industries or sectors in which India is most cost competitive, has an edge over others, has niche and some differentiating factor and push for the growth of such industries or sectors. He illustrated this point by stating that the Renewable Energy sector is one such area where India can become the global leader by exploiting the huge export potential and also promote the production of goods & services with least carbon impact. He noted the various initiatives undertaken by the Government for the development of infrastructure like National Infrastructure Pipeline, PM Gati Shakti, Unified Logistics Interface Platform, etc. built upon technology as the backbone of such initiatives. He further appreciated how UPI has democratized the financial payment infrastructure and Open Network for Digital Commerce will promote e-commerce. The Minister said that India’s strong macroeconomy, robust foreign exchange reserves, relatively low inflation and entrepreneurial spirit under the leadership of Prime Minister have brought together the domestic ecosystem to not only to replace items from the import basket but achieve economies of scale and compete in the international market. He expressed that India’s ability to innovate, R&D, spirit of enquiry and out of the box thinking is being witnessed by the world today and all this is reflective of the new spirit of Bharat. The Minister said that the Free Trade Agreements (FTA) signed by India with Australia and UAE have been welcomed by industry across the three countries and there has been positive feedback across media platforms. The speed, quality and extensive stakeholder consultations resulting in finding the right equitable balance has been appreciated by all sections, said the Minister. He also stated that a series of FTAs are under different stages of discussion to further expand the trade of India and will further open up game changing opportunities for the economy. The Minister said that this is India's moment in the Sun and lauded the vision of the Prime Minister who had said that this is the time, this is the right time. He further said that the G20 presidency has given a unique opportunity to position India globally and this must be leveraged by the industry and businesspersons to showcase India’s business across the world
Source: PIB
Synopsis The panel would work on making a road map for an updated MDB ecosystem for the 21st century, touching upon all aspects of MDB evolution, and mechanisms for coordination among such banks to address and finance global development and other challenges more effectively. Under the aegis of India's G20 Presidency, a 11-member expert group has been set up to suggest measures to strengthen multilateral development banks (MDBs). The finance ministry in a statement said Professor Lawrence Summers ( President Emeritus, Harvard University) and N K Singh (Former Chairperson, 15th Finance Commission of India) are co-convenors of the G20 Expert Group on strengthening MDBs. The panel would work on making a road map for an updated MDB ecosystem for the 21st century, touching upon all aspects of MDB evolution, and mechanisms for coordination among such banks to address and finance global development and other challenges more effectively. The panel would also evaluate various estimates regarding the scale of funding required by and from MDBs for addressing their and member countries' increased financing needs for SDG and transboundary challenges. The expert group will submit its report to the Indian Presidency of G20 before June 30, 2023, the ministry said.
Source: Economic Times
Around eighteen commodities related to the textile industry are now eligible for export incentives under the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) plan, according to the Union Government. The newly included textile items, which include several traditional goods like saree and lungi, would aid in boosting exports from the nation’s traditional centres. According to a notification from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), RoDTEP will be applied to exports beginning in March of this year. Under RoDTEP, exporters will receive refunds for a variety of central and state tariffs, taxes, and levies levied on input products, among other things. “Eighteen tariff lines are being added under RoDTEP for exports made from March 28, 2023. The products will be eligible for benefits at the rate of 4.3 per cent of free on board (FOB) value,” Indian media reports quoted the notification as saying. Lungis (Code 52085110), sarees (Code 52085120), shirting fabrics (Code 52085130), casement (Code 52085140), cambrics (Code 52085150), mull (Code 52085160 and 70), and voils (Code 52085180) are among the 18 tariff lines that fall under the plain weave of Code 520851 and have a weight of no more than 100 g/m2. Plain weave goods with a similar weave pattern and a weight greater than 100 g/m2 are also included. The benefits will also apply to additional items with the codes 52084921, 52084929, and 52084990.
Source: Apparel Resource
An international conference on cooperation on trade finance among the G20 member countries was organised by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry on March 28, 2023 at Taj Lands’ End, Bandra (West), Mumbai. The event was hosted by the Department of Commerce and organised by ECGC Limited and India EXIM Bank on the side lines of the 1st G20 Trade and Investment Working Group (TIWG) Meeting in Mumbai. Delegates from the member countries, industry and academic experts from across the world were present at the conference to engage in constructive dialogue and exchange of ideas in the domain of trade finance. Commerce Secretary, Shri Sunil Barthwal, in his key note address, set the agenda for the meeting. He highlighted that it is the right time to discuss the issues facing trade finance and possible solutions. Two panel discussions were organised as part of the event comprising of international experts. The first panel discussed the role of banks, financial institutions, development finance institutions, and Export Credit Agencies to identify the gaps and address the challenges in the trade finance arena amidst the uncertain global trade landscape. The second panel discussion focused on accelerating digitalisation and fintech solutions for improving access to trade finance.The session also delved on the current and emerging fintech solutions for making more customized lending decisions and enhancing trade finance supply for MSMEs. The universal message from all the speakers in the conference highlighted the necessity of trade for ensuring prosperity for all and that inclusive trade finance is key to achieve this target. Digitalisation of international trade is possibly an effective solution towards achieving cost reduction in trade and trade finance. The challenges to be addressed in digitalising trade were identified as international cooperation in harmonising definitions, standards and data sharing across the borders digitally. While estimates suggest that traditional trade finance gap is currently around USD 2 trillion, bridging the gap needs more players, including multilateral development banks, Export Credit Agencies (ECAs), etc to increase their participation. Evolution of fintechs and account aggregators in the ecosystem enables transaction risk evaluation based on real time data. This will enable cost effective appraisal by trade finance providers. The panellists recommended that all nations should endeavour to adopt enabling legislation in the next few years to achieve paperless international trade.
Source: PIB
These parks managed only 30% of targeted employment generation & half of projected investments. Major reasons for poor show were delays in statutory clearances, & land allotment issues. Of the 98 integrated textile parks sanctioned by the government since 2005, only 26 have been completed, with 30 parks still under construction and 42 having been cancelled, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has found. A CAG report tabled in Parliament Monday, disclosed that the government released grants totalling Rs 1,593 crore for these 98 parks. It pointed out that the parks — envisaged to be attractive destinations for investment and job creation — have fallen well short of all of their targets. “Out of the 98 sanctioned parks, only 26 parks (26.53 per cent) had been considered as ‘completed’ as of February 2022,” it said. “Of the remaining 72, 30 parks (30.61 per cent) were ongoing while 42 parks (42.86 per cent) had been cancelled.” Of the Rs 1,593 crore released, Rs 688.03 crore were released for parks that still haven’t been completed or that were outright cancelled. “During the 10th Plan period (2005-07), it was envisaged to complete 25 parks in around 18 months,” the report said. “The scheduled time for completion for parks sanctioned during the 11th Plan period (2007-12) was kept as 24 months from the first release of grants by the Government of India. Further, during the 12th Plan period (2012-17), the completion period for the parks was estimated to be three years.” Of the 30 parks where work is ongoing, five were commissioned between 2005 and 2007, which means they are at least 25 years past their deadlines. Ten of the currently-ongoing projects were sanctioned during the 11th Plan, putting them about nine years past their deadlines. By this calculation, the 15 ongoing projects sanctioned in the 12th Plan are at least three years overdue. The CAG said that the major reasons for delay in completion of parks were delays in obtaining statutory clearances, issues related to land allotment for the parks and the weak financial strength of the Special Purpose Vehicles created for the parks. As a result of the delays and the cancellations of projects, the various targets set for the projects in terms of employment generation, investments and the setting up of textile units all remained unmet by a substantial degree. “There was a huge shortfall in achievement of targets by the parks sanctioned under the Scheme,” the CAG said. “Even after a lapse of 16 years from the inception of the Scheme, the actual achievement of the 56 completed/ongoing parks (audited by the CAG) was 30 per cent in terms of employment generation, 50 per cent in terms of investments and 37 per cent in terms of setting-up of textile units, as against the targets set in the detailed project reports of the parks,” it pointed out.
Source: Economic Times
The money was transferred and distributed to banks late evening, completing the resolution of the sick company on Tuesday, two people familiar with the development said. Mukesh Ambani promoted Reliance Industries Ltd has completed its Rs 3,567 crore acquisition of textile company Sintex Industries, exactly after a year banks had approved the acquisition and a month after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the transaction. The money was transferred and distributed to banks late evening, completing the resolution of the sick company on Tuesday, two people familiar with the development said. "Both operational creditors and financial creditors including banks have received the money on Tuesday. For public sector banks this is a big relief just before the end of the financial year as this account was fully provided for and will result in a full write back which will directly enhance bottomline," said one of the persons cited above. Lead lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) received Rs 700 crore from the transaction, followed by Bank of Baroda (BoB) Rs 533 crore. Exim Bank of India which was the third largest creditor stands to gain Rs 389 crore from this resolution. A RIL spokesperson did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment. RIL had jointly bid for Sintex along with Assets Care & Reconstruction Enterprise (ACRE). It had receieved approval to acquire the debt-ridden textiles firm from the Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Sintex on March 20 after more than 97% of the lenders had voted in favour of the plan. However, litigations around the transaction, issues linked to claims of related parties and some government refunds delayed the case. The NCLT finally approved the plan in February this year rejecting unsecured creditor Axis Bank's appeal for an equitable distribution. Lenders had agreed to settle Sintex’s total debt of Rs 7,719 crore at a haircut of 54% from among four resolution plans submitted to creditors. This is RIL's third acquisition through the bankruptcy process. In 2020, it had completed the acquisition of another distressed textile company, Alok Industries in association with JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Co Most recently, in December 2022, its telecom arm Reliance Jio completed a Rs 3720 crore transaction to acquire RCom’s tower and fibre assets, Reliance Infratel Ltd.
Source: Economic Times
The rupee appreciated by 4 paise to 82.33 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, tracking positive sentiments in the domestic equity market and relatively weaker dollar against major currencies. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened stronger at 82.32 against the US dollar and then gained ground to 82.30. Later, it slipped to 82.33 against the greenback, registering a rise of 4 paise against its previous close. On Tuesday, the rupee settled at 82.37 against the US dollar. Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said there could be slippage to 82 level. "It would require consistent trades above 82.36 to rekindle positivity again." Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was 0.10 per cent lower at 103.49. Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 1.21 per cent to USD 78.39 per barrel. The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 403.21 points or 0.70 per cent higher at 58,303.40 points while the broader NSE Nifty was up 130.40 points or 0.77 per cent to 17,173.70 points.
Source: Business Standard
The February data of Turkish textile exports were released following the earthquakes in the area where about one-third of textile production is realised. The exports of Turkish textile and raw materials were over US $ 891 million in February 2023, down 9.9 per cent from January 2023 and down 21.2 per cent from February 2022, according to a report released by the Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (ITHIB). The sector’s exports made up 6.6 per cent of Turkey’s total exports during this time, while the country’s overall exports fell by 6.4 per cent to US $ 18.6 billion and its exports of industrial goods fell by 9.5 per cent to US $ 13.5 billion. The average capacity utilisation rate for the manufacturing sector over the past 12 months was 75.2 per cent, according to the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey’s capacity utilisation report. When compared to February of the previous year, the capacity utilisation rate for the production of textile items fell from 70.1 per cent to 70.1 per cent in February 2023. European Union countries received the biggest exports of textiles and raw materials in the January–February 2023 period, valued at US $ 790 million, a fall of 26.3 per cent from the same period in 2022. Africa was the second-largest group of nations to which Turkey supplied textiles and raw materials during the same time period. During this time, exports to African nations fell by 19.3 per cent and totaled US $ 191 million. Quantitatively, shipments fell by 9.7 per cent to 398 thousand tonnes in the January-February 2023 period. The quantity of shipments to EU nations fell by 19.7 per cent within the same time frame to 157 thousand tonnes. With a share of 10.7 per cent and 42.6 thousand tonnes, the Middle Eastern countries were the second-highest exporting country group during this time. The most significant export market for raw materials and textiles from Turkey in the months of January and February of 2023 was Italy. Exports of textiles and raw materials to Italy during this time period fell by 34.5 per cent to about US $ 155 million. When the exports of Turkey’s textile and raw material sector were examined on the basis of product categories over the same time, the woven fabric product group had the highest share of 21.2 per cent. The second-most exported product category, technical textiles, saw a 3.6 per cent decline in exports for the same time period, bringing the total to US $ 364 million. The third-largest product category in terms of textile and raw material exports from Turkey, yarn, saw a fall of 24.2 per cent to US $ 334 million during this time.
Source: Apparel Resource
The Board of Directors of Latin America-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LABCCI) met Brazil Ambassador to Bangladesh Paulo Fernando Dias Feres at his office in Dhaka on Tuesday. Anwar Shawkat Afser, president of LABCCI, announced that a trade delegation led by BIDA Executive Chairman Lokman Hossain Miah will visit Brazil from July 14-19 July 2023. B2B and networking seminars will be held on the sectors like agriculture, food processing, textile, processing plant for soya beans, sunflower, iron ores, petroleum oils, Fertilizer, RMG, wood log, export of jute, leather and pharmaceuticals among others. The objectives of the delegation’s Brazil visit include attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) which may be a great opportunity for the businessmen of Latin America to invest in the potential sectors in Bangladesh and exploring promoting Bangladeshi products and services to Latin America region also to promote business from the Latin America to the emerging Bangladesh market. Ambassador Fernando Dias Feres assured all necessary cooperation to the delegation. He also expressed that Brazil is the friend of Bangladesh and they will ease the business environment for Bangladeshis. LABCCI Senior Vice President Md Shahid Alam, its Joint Secretary Md Sayem Faroky, Directors Md Shakawat Hossain Mamun, Jobayer Ahmed, Engineer Razeeb Haider, Nizamuddin Mahmood Hossain, Noafel Bin Reza, Md Zahirul Kayum and Meherun Nessa Islam were present in the event.
Source: UNB
• UK imported $24.394 billion worth of apparel from the world in 2022, with the AsiaPacific region accounting for 72.56 per cent of the total trade. • The UK's apparel imports from Asia-Pacific increased by 49.2 per cent compared to the previous year. • In 2021, the Asia-Pacific region accounted for 56.79 per cent of the UK's total apparel imports. Apparel imports of the United Kingdom from the world were recorded at $24.394 billion during 2022. Asia-Pacific had the lion's share of 72.56 per cent in the total trade, with imports valued at $17.7 billion in the same period. Interestingly, imports from AsiaPacific soared 49.2 per cent compared to the previous year. The world's textile industry is concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region, comprising major exporting countries. The imports from the region were recorded at $13.340 billion in 2019, which eased 1.21 per cent to $13.179 billion in 2020. It further decreased by 9.98 per cent to $11.863 billion during 2021, according to Fibre2Fashion's market insight tool TexPro. In 2021, the UK's apparel imports from Asia-Pacific accounted for 56.79 per cent of its total apparel imports of $20.889 billion. The data indicated a steep rise in the share of the Asia-Pacific region in 2022 compared to 2021. The share rose to 72.56 per cent last year from 56.79 per cent in 2021. The UK imported 32.25 per cent of its apparel from Europe, 8.44 per cent from the Middle East, 1.59 per cent from Africa, and 0.61 per cent from Central & South America during 2021. In 2022, the market share of these regions declined significantly because the share of Asia-Pacific region jumped to 72.56 per cent. It was noted that Europe accounted for 13.38 per cent, the Middle East for 9.63 per cent, Africa for 3.16 per cent, North America for 0.76 per cent and Central and South America for 0.51 per cent, as per TexPro. The UK's total apparel imports from the world increased to $24.391 billion in 2022 from $20.891 billion in 2021. It was recorded at $22.943 billion in 2020, $25.809 billion in 2019, and $26.502 billion in 2018. The increase in imports during 2022 compared to 2021 might cause higher prices of apparel due to a rise in the prices of raw materials.
Source: Fibre2fashion
THESE FIVE BRANDS ARE MAKING A BETTER, SAFER WORLD THROUGH CLOTHING. Black-owned brands are what keep us most excited about the fashion landscape. The smaller, more emerging brands often don’t get as much recognition, but small businesses are what keep any economy going and, more importantly, local communities and ecosystems going. The sustainability conversation has been happening more and more recently. Within fashion, mass consumption/waste is one of the leading causes of pollution, unfortunately. We wanted to take a look at a few fashion brands/designers that are doing their best to create the lowest carbon emissions possible by looking inwardly at their practices. There are sustainable brands, and then there are brands that greenwash. Greenwashing is an ethically corrupt and misleading attempt to say that there are sustainable practices within a brand when there are obviously still morally wrong practices being used. The brands below are a testament to “practice what you preach.” Grant BLVD Philly-based brand Grant BLVD was founded in 2017 by Kimberly McGlonn. The brand gets its name from the street she grew up on. McGlonn has always been about actions when it came to wanting to help others, and Grant BLVD was one of those actions. They have a textile strategy as well as use donations to give to Book Through Bars, which gives free books to those incarcerated throughout the mid-Atlantic states. McGlonn uses Grant BLVD as a response to oppression and reimagines the world with the one she’s created with her brand. Hope For Flowers Launched in 2019, founder Tracey Reese has an eye for color. She is a designer that knows exactly who she is designing for, and she’s definitely the chic woman who isn’t afraid to think outside of the box. The brand stands firm in the ethos “when you know better, do better” by sourcing fabrics ethically and practicing slow fashion within the production of the clothing designs.
Source: Essence
Malaysia's apparel imports from China increased by 53.11 per cent to $640.603 million in 2022, but they did not reach the peak level of 2018. Malaysia's fabric imports from China decreased in the past years, almost halving in the last six years to $247.179 million in 2022. China's share in Malaysia's total apparel imports was 31.23 per cent in 2022 amounting to $640.603 million, with Malaysia importing apparel worth $2.051 billion in total. Malaysia's apparel imports from the country were $418.710 million in 2021, slightly better than the inbound shipment of $406.833 million of 2020. Imports from China peaked at $749.303 million in 2018 but decreased to $544.825 million in 2019, according to Fibre2Fashion's market insight tool TexPro. Malaysia's exports of apparel to China remained negligible in the previous years, with only $23.575 million recorded in 2022. Malaysia's fabric imports in 2022 totalled $445.270 million, with China's share in total imports at 55.51 per cent, valued at $247.179 million. The inbound shipment of fabric from China was $248.648 million in 2021, $297.285 million in 2020, $343.807 million in 2019, $394.460 million in 2018, and $412.727 million in 2017. Therefore, fabric imports from china decreased by 40 per cent in the last six years, as per TexPro.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
In a bid to protect its domestic textile sector, Indonesia on Tuesday (Mar 28) destroyed over 7,300 bales of imported used clothing that were bound for the domestic secondhand market. "What is being done today is part of the government's efforts to protect the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) producers in the clothing sector, including domestic clothing and footwear sellers,” said Small and Medium Enterprise Minister Teten Masduki. "Fashion MSME producers in the domestic market have long been eroded by illegal and legal imported products." Mr Teten was speaking to reporters at an industrial area in Cikarang, Bekasi, where the authorities - including those from the police and Indonesian customs - had gathered to destroy the illegally imported used clothes. He added that illegally imported used clothing now have a share of 31 per cent of the apparel industry, and are dominating the market. This, he said, is causing the government to suffer huge losses in revenue as these contraband goods are not taxed. Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan said the value of the used clothing destroyed was about 80 billion rupiah (US$5.3 million), the highest amount recorded thus far. Prior to this, he said that the destruction of illegal used clothing had previously been carried out in Pekanbaru and East Java. Local media reported that the Indonesian government destroyed more than 800 sacks of used clothing worth 10 billion rupiah in East Java on Mar 20. Action was taken to destroy the clothes, Mr Zulkifli said on Tuesday, because they were illegally smuggled into the country. "The import of used goods is prohibited under the law. Such as the import of used air conditioners, used refrigerators, used TVs as well as used clothing. "There are imports of used goods that are allowed, for example for defense, such as F-16 aircraft. Because buying new ones is expensive, so we buy used ones," said Mr Zulkifli. Mr Zulkifli added that the government is now hoping to eradicate the illegal imports of clothes from the upstream by targeting the suppliers. "We eradicate it from the upstream. If the upstream stops, the retailers will stop too," said Mr Zulkifli, adding that the government has yet to take firm action against retailers of illegally imported secondhand clothing. He told the media that the goods entered from abroad through many small ports in Indonesia, namely in Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan. Mr Askolani, the Director General of Customs and Excise said that the illegally imported clothing that was destroyed was discovered thanks to cooperation between the police and intelligence agencies. "It comes in from Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, or Thailand," said Mr Askolani, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, adding that surveillance against such activities will be tightened in the future. Earlier this month, Indonesian President Joko Widodo had ordered stern measures to be taken against the import of used clothing, saying that it is causing serious damage to the country’s domestic textile industry. According to the Jakarta Globe, Mr Jokowi, as the president is popularly known, had given orders for the crackdown against the used clothing industry. “Used clothing import really caused disruption (to the domestic textile industry),” Mr Jokowi reportedly said then. Indonesia in 2015 banned the import of secondhand clothing and footwear over concerns about hygiene, as well as to protect the local textile industry. But the regulations issued by the trade industry did not stipulate any penalties for its violation, rendering it ineffective. According to the National Statistics Agency, the value of secondhand clothing that were legally imported into the country in 2022 was US$272,146, up 518.5 per cent the previous year.
Source: Channel News Asia
Textile tester and quality control specialist Uster Technologies is to include the processing of recycled fibres in its latest report on benchmarking. This eco-centric approach is seen as an industry first and was announced at a press event organised by Swiss Textile Machinery in Bern. ‘Spinning yarn blends of virgin and recycled fibres is a much bigger challenge than any other commonly used blend but the results can still be acceptable with comprehensive quality testing, know-how and experience,’ says Uster’s business development specialist Sivakumar Narayanan. ‘Assessing textile quality was once a matter of opinion. Today it’s a matter of fact.’ A crucial milestone in the quality control of yarn was the launch of the Uster Tester in the early 1940s. It helped spinners measure textile slivers, rovings and yarns and the prototype is on display at the company’s headquarters. Later versions extended measurement capabilities with specially developed sensors and advanced software and it has become one of the most key instruments in the textiles sector. Connectivity with other Uster systems during processing has created a quality management platform for the entire mill. Detailed data regarding spinning best practice is listed in the Uster Statistics publications, which now include a chapter on textiles recycling. ‘Spinners today have the power to analyse every element of their processes and select the best options for their own profitability and their customers’ complete satisfaction,’ the company notes. Uster believes its 75th anniversary as a good moment to foster more innovation and sustainable growth across the textiles sector.
Source: Recycling International
