The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council

MARKET WATCH 21 MAR, 2017

NATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL

Textile sector majorly contributes to total Indian exports

Textile and apparel exports from India contributed majorly to its total exports in the last three years. The share of textile and apparel exports in total Indian exports in 2015 was $40 billion, that is, 15.3 per cent of the total exports of amounting to $262.3 billion. The contribution of the sector in 2014 and 2013 was 13.1 per cent and 12.8 per cent of the total exports, respectively. "In order to give boost to the textile industry, Government has introduced special packages for apparel and made-ups sector in June 2016 and December 2016, respectively," said Ajay Tamta, minister of state, textiles, in a written reply to a Rajya Sabha question. "The government is also implementing schemes like Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS), Pradhan Mantri Paridhan Rojgar Protsahan Yojna (PMPRPY), Scheme of Rebate of State Levies (RoSL) on export of garments, Schemes for Technical textiles, Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP), Integrated Skill Development Scheme etc. to modernize textile industry, increase production and global competitiveness," he added. He also said that the government has taken a number of initiatives to augment textile exports, which include merchandise export from India Scheme (MEIS) under new Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20, restoring interest rate subvention for pre and post shipment credit for the textile sector, expanding the scope of MEIS since 2015 to 110 new tariff lines and increase rates or country coverage or both for 2,228 existing tariff lines, increased duty drawback rates for some textile articles and more. The exports of textile items during 2016-17 (Apr-Dec) were $26 billion as compared to $27.2 billion during 2015-16 (Apr-Dec), said the minister as a reply to another question.                                          

Source: Fibre2Fashion

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To celebrate Mumbai’s textile mill legacy, BMC to develop textile museum

More than eight years after it was proposed, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is going ahead with planning of a textile museum at Kalachowkie. BMC has appointed JJ School of Arts to prepare a vision document for the museum. The plan includes a live, functioning mini-textile mill, a representation of the past chawl life and a museum celebrating the city’s mill legacy. "My note to the planning committee is to make the museum interactive for public, accessible which is enjoyed by all the citizens of the city,"said Ajoy Mehta, municipal commissioner. State government just before the civic election approved the BMCs plan to retain the land under the heritage structures for the textile museum as part of the recreation ground of the civic body. The museum will come up in India United Mills that is spread over an area of 10 acres. India United Mills 2 and 3 have the tag of a heritage precinct, the area has three ring and spinning structures, a chimney, a semi-automatic loom and a pond. All the individual structures in the compound have varying heritage status. “All the heritage structures will be restored to its past glory. I have asked the committee to restore the mills, the water body in the compound,” added Mehta. Restoration work of some of the structures in the mill has already begun. The museum will also have a dedicated space for new graduate students to showcase their arts at nominal rate. “The space will allocated to new graduates, from painters to sculptors, who will be rent the space for six months to one year, showcase their art and also sell it. After a year their place will be taken by new graduates. The space will not be given to boutique stores,” said Mehta. A separate exhibition area will be also carved out. The plot has been mired into controversy for past eight years, from funding of the museum to the non-approval of the plan by Maharashtra Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC).

Source: The Hindustan Times

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Union Minister of Textiles, Smriti Z Irani inaugurates Welspun Advanced Textiles plant in Anjar-Gujarat

Anjar : Welspun India Ltd., one of the world’s leading home textiles manufacturer, has forayed into new technologies in its Technical Textile Business with its state-of-the-art Needle Entangled Advance Textile Plant in Anjar. The plant was inaugurated by Minister of Textiles, Smriti Irani on March 18. The INR 150 crore facility, will have unique capabilities of Spun Lace and Needle Punch lines which can manufacture multilayer composites for various applications. This advanced and innovative technology will provide non-woven solutions for high-end industrial applications such as Filtration, Acoustics, Automotive, Fire Safety, Thermal insulation, Vibration control, Noise control, Aero-Space, Defence and Mass Transportation. The initial capacity of the manufacturing unit will be 2,400 MT per annum. With this facility, Welspun has also invested in a wide range of finishing technologies which include Coating, Laminating, Dyeing, and Printing to provide innovative solutions; all under one roof. Further, Welspun has invested INR 100 crore to set up a fresh state- of- the-art fully automatedcut and sew unit in the made-ups segment with a capacity of 10 mn units per annum. The new initiativesare atestimony of Welspun’s commitment in enhancing employment opportunities in the region,particularly for the women workforce. Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. BK Goenka, Chairman, Welspun Group said “We are entering into an exciting phase of business through these new offerings in Technical Textiles.The new facility will enhance our product offerings and provide cutting-edge solutions in high-growth areas such as industrial and defence applications.The new facilities strengthenWelspun’sposition as a global manufacturerand underline our commitment to the ‘Make in India’ initiative as well as the economic development of the region and the country at large.”

Source : India Education Diary

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BizVibe: Growing Textile and Apparel Industry in India Set to Outpace Big Competitors

The textile and apparel market in India is on a roll in terms of growth and success, with significant increases in exports, jobs, and supporting initiatives set to continue to the market forward in the immediate future. Details on how this thriving, successful industry are some of this week’s featured stories on BizVibe. BizVibe is the world’s smartest B2B marketplace and allows users to discover high quality leads, contact prospects, and source quotes. Register today to connect with over seven million companies around the globe. India’s textile industry is creating millions of jobs India’s textile and apparel industry currently employs 105 million people and is set to create an additional 50 million jobs in the country by 2025. These figures include both direct and indirect employment in the industry. The booming success of the textile industry is the main driver behind this job creation. The Indian textile and apparel market is expected to grow at a rate of 8.7% to reach USD 226 billion by 2023.

Government support boosting Indian textile industry

Government initiatives and support policies are expected to grow the Indian textile industry quite substantially over the coming years. The most substantial of these initiatives is an USD 894 million government package supporting labour reforms in relevant sectors such as yarns, made-ups, and fabrics. Thanks to this and other initiatives, the Indian textile and apparel industry is expected to outpace the textile markets in Bangladesh and Vietnam in terms of exports. Government support will also play a significant role in job creation and strengthening India’s global position in the global textile and apparel market. India’s cotton industry ready to grow. The cotton industry in India is beginning to recover, and is set to grow as cotton acreage increases across the country. Cotton acreage is expected to increase at a rate of 10%-15%, reaching approximately 120 million hectares in FY18. The US leaving the Trans-Pacific Partnership will also potentially benefit India’s cotton industry, as it will likely redirect investments and trade from Vietnam to India. India’s strong trade agreements with the US and Europe will also help the industry’s recovery and growth. BizVibe is home to 50,000+ apparel and textile companies across 200+ countries, covering all sectors. The BizVibe platform allows you to discover the highest quality leads and make meaningful connections in real time. Claim your company profile for free and let the business come to you.

About BizVibe

BizVibe is home to over seven million company profiles across 700+ industries. The single minded focus of BizVibe’s platform is to make networking easier. Over the years, we've searched far and wide to figure out how businesses connect and enable trade. That first interaction is usually fraught with the uncertainty of finding a potential partner vs. a potential nightmare. With this in mind, we've designed a robust set of tools to help companies generate leads, shortlist prospects, network with businesses from around the world and trade seamlessly.

Source:  Yahoo Finance

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CCI rejects complaint against Gujarat-based yarn manufacturers

Fair trade regulator CCI has dismissed allegations of anti-competitive practices made against two Gujarat-based yarn manufacturers. The complaint was filed by South Gujarat Warp Knitters Association against Prafful Overseas (OP-1) and Welspun Syntex (OP-2) alleging that they indulged in unfair business practices with respect to certain yarn variants. To assess the complaint, Competition Commission of India (CCI) considered "market for Nylon FDY 240/12 Bright variant and Mono Yarn variant in India" as the relevant one. While Prafful Overseas manufactures both semi-dull and bright variants, Welspun Syntex makes semi-dull variant. In a recent order, CCI rejected the complaint after finding there is no prima-facie evidence of competition norms violations. Data on international prices relied upon for comparison by the complainant is from Vietnam, but no export of Nylon FDY 240/12 semi-dull variant to India from Vietnam has been reported during the alleged period, as per the order. Such comparison does not give any clear indication of cartel especially when there is anti-dumping duty on Nylon FDY 240/12 semi-dull variant, the regulator said.

Source: PTI, DNA

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GST relief for exporters, some refunds to continue

NEW DELHI: Exporters will continue to get certain duty refunds as incentives after the Goods and Services Tax is implemented. The GST Council has framed the draft laws to ensure that the export sector doesn’t suffer when the new regime is rolled out, likely from July 1.  The GST legislation approved by the cabinet and the GST Council has a provision enabling duty drawback in relation to goods manufactured in the country and exported. It’s been defined as rebate of duty or tax chargeable on imported and domestic inputs or input services used in the manufacture of these goods.  This would be an optional window that would aid sectors such as handicrafts, where artisans are not registered with the tax department. It will especially help exporters who have paid tax on inputs to make products that have no tax against which these duties could have been adjusted. The drawbacks are offered as incentives to ensure Indian goods do not become uncompetitive in foreign markets.  Exporters had been worried about the transition to the GST regime, which allows minimal upfront exemptions. The commerce department had represented to the Council as well as the Union finance ministry that the benefits enjoyed by exporters should be continued.  “This is a very positive move and benefits all those that do not claim input tax credit,” said Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations in New Delhi.  Many exporters in the small and medium enterprise sector will benefit.  “Drawback is one of the most popular export incentive schemes wherein the exporters typically get a percentage of exports as refund from the government, without too much of paperwork,” said Pratik Jain, indirect tax leader at PwC India.  “Under GST, drawback for basic customs duty was expected to continue in any case but now it seems that it might include GST as well. If it does, as an optional scheme of refund, industry will welcome it.”  India’s merchandise exports registered double-digit growth in February 2017 for the first time since the Narendra Modi government took office in May 2014. The surge was led by a 47% rise in engineering goods on the back of improved global demand.

Source: Economic Times

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GST Council meet: No e-wallets for exporters, but tax refunds in 7 days

The council had earlier said 90% of the tax credits (refunds) will be paid in 30 days after shipment and the balance 10% (which are scrutinised) in 180 days. Instead of an e-wallet facility — a virtual payment system — for manufacture-exporters to get tax refunds in the upcoming Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, the GST Council has agreed to process the refunds much quicker than earlier promised.  “They (the GST Council) have not agreed to the idea of an e-wallet for exporters but have assured us that tax refunds would be arranged in a maximum of seven days after the shipments instead of about 12-18 months now,” an official source said. The council had earlier said 90% of the tax credits (refunds) will be paid in 30 days after shipment and the balance 10% (which are scrutinised) in 180 days. Exporters have been sceptical of this, given that VAT refunds currently take much longer in practice. There were concerns that exporters’ working capital would get blocked due to delayed refunds. In the GST regime, a pay-first-and-get-refund system is preferred over tax exemption because an uninterrupted chain of value addition with tax at each stage is integral to the proposed tax on consumption.The DGFT had raised concerns that the provision for no-exemption-and-only-refund would lead to a blockage of about R1,85,000 crore annually for manufactured goods exporters. For manufacturing a product, a firm buys locally or imports raw material and machinery. The current export schemes allow firms to buy these without payment of applicable duties through ab-initio exemption or subsequent refund of duties. The GST system mandates that all duties must be paid at the time of a transaction while refund for these can be obtained after exports. The GST Council which comprises of the central and state governments is committed to the principle that exports should be tax-free. It reckons that exporters should be made to pay taxes at the time of a transaction so that the GST chain is intact. “One of the state finance ministers was of the opinion that even if the money is blocked, it would be for just one year. After that the process would be smooth,” the official said. On Thursday, the council approved the remaining two of the five Bills related to the tax regime. GST, likely to be rolled out by July 1, will replace nearly a dozen central and state levies into a single national sales tax.

Source: Financial Express

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PMO nudges Statistics Ministry to start quarterly survey of labour force

NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has prodded the statistics ministry to begin a periodic survey of the country’s labour force which has been pending for a while now.  The survey will provide the government better information on he country’s labour force, helping it plan policies better. One of the promises of the Narendra Modi government is more job creation.  The statistics ministry planned to conduct the quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and the country’s first survey using tablet computers last year, but the process got delayed due to lack of resources.  “There is a general communication from the PMO to begin the survey soon and fast track the process. We hope to begin the survey next month,” said an official privy to the development. The technology-driven survey will be conducted by researchers using tablets and guided by what’s known as computerassisted personal interviewing (CAPI) technique.  Apart from saving time, tablets will help in data validation as they would come loaded with a schedule of questions and software to estimate critical indicators such as unemployment rate and workforce participation.  Moreover, assessing officers will be able to edit data collected while conducting interviews and any anomalies — for instance, expenditure exceeding income will be highlighted immediately.  The National Statistics Commission first called for a periodic labour force survey in 2009 and a pilot survey was undertaken in FY2013.  “We are organising a training programme for manpower,” the official said.  At present, employment data is only available through NSSO surveys done every five years. Not only is it limited to a few sectors, but also based on the Annual Survey of Industries which only captures the employees of the registered factories.  It is supported by the quick quarterly employment surveys the Labour Bureau has been doing since the global economic crisis of 2008.  However, these cover only select sectors of the economy at the enterprise level to assess the impact of economic slowdown on employment in India.  These numbers are insufficient to assess the state of the economy. Developed countries such as the US come out with monthly employment data.

Source: Economic Times

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Global Crude oil price of Indian Basket was US$ 50.39 per bbl on 20.03.2017

The international crude oil price of Indian Basket as computed/published today by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was US$ 50.39 per barrel (bbl) on 20.03.2017. This was lower than the price of US$ 50.44 per bbl on previous publishing day of 17.03.2017. In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket decreased to Rs. 3294.95 per bbl on 20.03.2017 as compared to Rs. 3305.67 per bbl on 17.03.2017. Rupee closed stronger at Rs. 65.38 per US$ on 20.03.2017 as compared to Rs. 65.54 per US$ on 17.03.2017. The table below gives details in this regard:

 Particulars    

Unit

Price on March 20, 2017 (Previous trading day i.e. 17.03.2017)                                                                  

Pricing Fortnight for 16.03.2017

(Feb 25, 2017 to March 13, 2017)

Crude Oil (Indian Basket)

($/bbl)

                  50.39             (50.44)       

53.70

(Rs/bbl

                 3294.95        (3305.67)       

3583.94

Exchange Rate

  (Rs/$)

                  65.38             (65.54)

66.74

Source : PIB

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Measured moves keep this dress-maker’s finances in shape

Close to break-even women’s clothier eShakti has not burnt investor funds At a time when most e-commerce companies are bleeding after having raised huge sums from investors, the Chennai-based eShakti.com Pvt Ltd has built a global brand in custom-made women’s clothing, selling to the US and Australia, without too much of investor money, has now broken even and is on the path to profitability. eShakti has raised just $13 million (₹70 crore) from investors, when other online retailers have raised much more. It will end this financial year with a turnover of about ₹100 crore and is close to being profitable. After establishing itself in the US, one of the most competitive markets, over the last four years, it started selling in Australia in October 2016 and will shortly enter the UK and Germany. Ask BG Krishnan, Founder and CEO, eShakti.com, about it, and he tells you in measured tones how it was a conscious decision to be viable as a business and how it had built strong competitive barriers. What were these, you ask him. “We had a value proposition that was unique and there was a strong felt need in the market that we were meeting. It was not simply saying instead of buying offline, buy online. We are not just moving the business from offline to online. Nobody is offering this service – customised clothing, made to your size, made to your style, made to your height. We are doing that internationally,” he explains. Secret behind the success More importantly, every dollar that eShakti spends on advertising more than earns its return within a short period. Its customers are its best advertisers, especially on Facebook, responding to questions from potential buyers and even endorsing the products, says Krishnan. eShakti’s strength, according to him, is that its customers are its drumbeaters; they bring in new customers. Normally, he says, an advertisement creates an awareness, but in this case even comprehension happens thanks to his customers and he is not even paying for it. Due to this, the company’s advertising efficiencies are extremely high and “we are almost recovering the entire advertising cost in the first order itself.” Even when it launched its range in Australia, eShakti realised huge efficiencies for its advertising dollar. “Our repeat customers are covering our overheads. Our new customers’ costs are being covered by the margins we make. That is how we are on the verge of profitability,” he explains. All this must be music to the ears of investors, especially since eShakti is looking to raise $20-25 million (₹130-160 crore). The fund raise will serve three purposes – new products, which means new designers and new fabric; new customers, which will be in the US first; and, then entering new markets. He points out that the building blocks of his business – clothes styled to suit individual sizes and fit, custom-made and contemporary design – have not changed in the US since eShakti launched its range there. In the last four years, it has shipped about a million garments to the US, making it the largest custom-clothing company online. It ships about 2,000 garments a month to Australia and is already profitable there, according to Krishnan. Initially, Krishnan admits, he was hesitant to go and open up a new market without having the customer service in place. But, the courier company that eShakti deals with, agreed to provide that service in Australia, especially in case any customer wanted to return a garment. Previously, says Krishnan, if a company were to create a brand in a new market, it would have to set apart quite a substantial sum of money. Now, thanks to Facebook, eShakti was able to do this at $100-200 a day and it comes at a cost per click. It was able to watch the response to its advertising and respond accordingly. Zero-inventory model Unlike other garment retailers, eShakti does not hold any inventory of stock and hence it is not burdened with holding cost. Since it makes customised-clothes, it has zero inventory. It promises delivery within 14 days of an order being placed, but most often is able to fulfil the order within 10 days. Its designs and styles are contemporary as the company regularly attends the major fashion shows. However, unlike other exporters, eShakti does not have to get the stocks well in advance for the oncoming season. “I make the first garment, shoot it, show it. It is a zero-inventory company, so my working capital utilisation and the operating cycle are extremely efficient. That is one of the reasons I am able to manage with less capital,” he says. eShakti has its operations split between Chennai, where it is headquartered, and Gurgaon, where it outsources stitching of its clothes, and New York, where its design team sits. Krishnan says he is looking at whether he can crowd-source designers, thanks to the internet that allows for disintermediation. He has one designer in San Francisco and if the clothes she designs sell, she gets paid. This is what he is looking to do with designers elsewhere. According to him, he would like to use the fresh funds for a research and development department. “I would like to see what kind of developments are there in Artificial Intelligence and robotics,” he says.

Source:  Business Line

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Who's the boss? India's women farmers are

For Hira Kanjarya, a 17-hour day is the norm as she gets up before dawn to cook for her five children, do the washing, milk her two buffalos, and also run the family's cotton farm. Kanjarya, 36, is one of a growing number of women being trained to take charge of some of the millions of small holder farms across India where about 70 per cent of agricultural work is done by women but with little recognition of their input. Gender roles in tradition-bound rural India are slowly changing with women having to take control as large numbers of working-age men migrate to cities for jobs and amid a wave of suicides by male farmers battling to provide for their families. Acknowledging the growing role women play in India's key agricultural sector, state governments, farming groups, and private industry are starting to train women to run farms, teaching them about crops, irrigation, and finance. Repeated studies show that when women control the family's finances, they invest more in their children, businesses and communities, which can be a step out of poverty. "This is the way forward, women taking over the farms and investing in children's education," Kanjarya told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in her family's spotless four-room home in Mayapur in the western state Gujarat. "From age five I had to work on my family's farm but I want to work now so my children get an education, better jobs and better husbands. Maybe one day my son will buy a big car and drive me around," she said, laughing. Women like Kanjarya taking the lead on farms is a major cultural shift in India where old superstitions often blame women for poor harvests, drought and disease - with some punished as witches accused for causing such disasters. Kanjarya is one of 1,250 female farmers being trained to grow sustainable cotton and run her farm as a business in a project by social enterprise CottonConnect and India's Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) funded by British retailer Primark. At a training session for about 20 women in Mayapur, a village 160 km from state capital Ahmedabad where buffalos and cows wander the dusty streets, the women joke about knowing more than their husbands about farming and banking. Aruna Kanjarya, 32, who has two children aged 10 and 13, said she had doubled her cotton yields while lowering her costs in three years - and the extra income changed their lives. "Our children are in school and I've helped pay to educate my husband who is now a computer operator for the state government," said Kanjarya who, like most women in Mayapur, had an arranged marriage and first met her husband at their wedding. A report by the charity Oxfam released in January, titled An Economy for the 99 per cent, said more than 40 per cent of 400 million women living in rural India - a third of India's 1.2 billion population - work in agriculture. "However, as women are not recognised as farmers and do not own land, they have limited access to government schemes and credit, restricting their agricultural productivity," it said. According to official data, women make up more than a third of India's agriculture workforce, yet only about 13 per cent of farmland is owned by women. United Nations studies have indicated closing the gender gap in agriculture could lift an estimated 100 to 150 million people from 800 million globally out of the clutches of hunger. Campaigners hope a set of United Nations global goals agreed in 2015 and aiming for gender equality by 2030 could help elevate women's role in rural India with a commitment to give women equal access to decent work, education, and healthcare. Reema Nanavaty, executive director of India's Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) - the world's largest organisation of informal workers with more than two million members - said women's critical role in farming needed to be officially acknowledged. Farming accounts for about 16 per cent of India's economy and 10 per cent of export earnings. "Women have just not been recognised as farmers," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "They farm to feed their families but we want them to turn the farm into an enterprise. If you can train women to do that then you can also talk to them about health, education and nutrition and it benefits everyone." The women in Mayapur said their husbands were won over to them taking the lead on the farms when they saw the boost in income that resulted from better farming practises such as less water and chemical usage and better timing of crops. Kanjarya's husband Ishwar, 38, said the training his wife received had boosted profits from the cotton farm held by his family for generations and helped them buy a television, mobile phone and a motorbike. "When we married we were partners but since joining this program she is the boss. If I don't work she bosses me about," he said with a laugh. "There was no access to education and no money for education when we were children but now we have money and even savings in our pocket. We feel very lucky."

Source: Reuters

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Cotton, chilli farmers adopt plasticulture to cut costs, increase profits

VADODARA : Farmers in parts of Gujarat have increasingly started turning towards plasticulture - a technique to use plastics in the agricultural application - thereby saving crucial natural resource, i.e. water and reducing the use of pesticides. The use of plasticulture in the form of pond lining, drip irrigation, sprinkler irrigation, mulching, greenhouses among others has brought down the use of water by 40 per cent, fertilizers by 30-40 per cent and the electricity consumption at the farms. Resultantly, farmers taking crops such as spices, vegetables and other cash crops like banana, cotton, groundnut and castor have witnessed their overall incomes rising by 2-3 times. "Use of drip irrigation is helping us reduce the use of water. Also, plastic mulching helps reduce the weeds and pest attack in crops such as cotton. The weed management methods helped reduce use of insecticides by half and increase in the yield. Our costs have gone down and profits have increased," said Hitesh Patel, cotton grower at Wadhwan in Surendranagar district. Farmers growing other cash crops such as banana, watermelon have stared using fruit cover, PP non-woven fabric to keep the fruit from insects and weather extremities. Joining the lot is a chili farmer from Kheda district, Bharat Patel used a mix of drip irrigation and plastic mulching for his crop on 3 acre land. "Drip irrigation led to bumper crop despite of the limited water availability. The plant grows faster and healthier. Last year my net profit was around Rs. 4.5 lakh, but this year on a conservative estimate we expect to touch Rs. 12 lakh with same area and crop," said Patel, who has taken capsicum and other varieties of chili. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL)'s Plasticulture Development Centre (PDC) near Vadodara provides training and demonstration to the farmers from across the state to adopt best practices by using plasticulture. According to scientists at the PDC, India has very negligible plasticulture usage. As against the global average of 32 kg per capita consumption per annum, plastic consumption in agriculture in India hardly reaches around 1 kg, while that of the United States is about 100 kg. In order to encourage farmers to take up modern techniques in the farming and conserve natural resources, PDC teams up with states and central government agencies to help farmers avail subsidies in the offing and make the most of them. Every year, PDC and the Reliance Foundation Information Services (RFIS) trains around 15,000 farmers across the country to adopt plasticulture applications such as greenhouses, low tunnel, nursery bags, plant protection nets and many more for optimum use of water, fertilizer, electricity, labor etc, and increase productivity for better value addition.

Source: Business Line

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Woolmark unveils recent innovations, development

Amritsar: The Woolmark Company today unveiled its most recent innovations and developments in wool at an information and fashion-forward presentation here today. For the first time, partners and manufacturers had an exclusive opportunity to experience and interact with The Wool Lab Sport, a part of the spring/summer 2018 edition. The Wool Lab Sport is the foundation for cutting-edge active wear and showcases latest innovative, commercially available Merino wool fabrics, a perfect mix for performance and at leisure apparel. In the past decade, wool’s penetration in outdoor and sports apparel market has been remarkable and continues to grow. Riding the wave of increasing trend, at leisure blurs the line between fashion and active wear, with the latter being used in a non-active, casual way with a modern, stylish look. The Woolmark Company country manager (India), Arti Gudal said, “As we move into the coming year, our strategy has a strong focus on the sportswear and at leisure segment. The company is currently working on new innovations that truly showcase how versatile Merino wool is in the sportswear category with its very specific requirements.” “Merino wool’s natural benefits teamed with technical innovations are driving the demand for the fibre in the active wear market,” he added. The presentation showcased designs in menswear and women wear from the two designers, Nachiket Barve, and Bounipun. The duo spoke about their experience of designing with Merino wool. Bounipun also shared details of their journey and how they had seamlessly incorporated wool in their collection that they presented at the International Woolmark Prize 2017. He also described going forward and how they would infuse wool in their future collections as the preferred fibre of choice.

Source: The Tribune

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Made in Mattanchery

KOCHI: In 2015, Olwen Bourkes, a UK-based fashion designer chanced upon an embroidery store in Jew Town, Mattanchery. Intrigued by the intricately-designed handkerchiefs that were put on display, she stepped in to ask the owner, Thomas, about the people who designed the laces. Thomas took Olwen to the homes of the women, who created the work. “The women were doing a style called ‘shadow’ embroidery, where the stitches are made on one side of a sheer fabric, so the colours can show through on the other side. It’s very beautiful and delicate and unlike anything I’ve seen elsewhere, which is why I decided to make use of their expertise to create a new design for my wedding gowns,” says Olwen, who was in Kochi recently. According to her, colour-decked gowns are a rarity in countries, like the UK, where white gowns remains the No. 1 choice for weddings. “I am specialising in bespoke gowns, which are custom-made for brides. Each gown has to be unique by itself, which is why I decided to use the expertise of these women from Mattanchery. It will help in bringing a lot of colour to the gowns,” says Olwen. The women are all wives of fishermen and have a wealth of experience in emboidery, thanks to lessons given to them by nuns who lived in the Eda Kochi convents. “The embroidered dresses, designed, with the help of the women, will be sold in boutiques in the UK and Ireland. The work is currently in progress. It will take them some time to complete my designs, as they are quite intricate and all the work has to be done by hand. Once they have embroidered the silk, I will make the dresses at my studio in London, and launch the range,” says Olwen. Olwen is quick to add that this will add a desi touch to her gowns. “This is a lovely way of using the skills of the local Indian community and deliver it to the British and Irish markets. The fact that the work is done by women from their homes adds a personal touch. It will make the dresses more special than a machine or factory-produced garment,” she added. Olwen studied fashion design at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, and then moved to London where she worked as a couture dance dress designer for a TV show ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, after which she worked on ballet costumes for the Royal Opera House. She set up her own fashion label in 2012, specialising in bespoke gowns.

Source: The New Indian Express

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Global Textile Raw Material Price 2017-03-20

 

Item

Price

Unit

Fluctuation

Date

PSF

1137.94

USD/Ton

-0.32%

3/20/2017

VSF

2507.81

USD/Ton

-0.29%

3/20/2017

ASF

2217.89

USD/Ton

0%

3/20/2017

Polyester POY

1155.33

USD/Ton

0%

3/20/2017

Nylon FDY

3406.56

USD/Ton

-0.42%

3/20/2017

40D Spandex

5291.04

USD/Ton

0%

3/20/2017

Polyester DTY

5812.90

USD/Ton

0%

3/20/2017

Nylon POY

1406.11

USD/Ton

0%

3/20/2017

Acrylic Top 3D

3232.61

USD/Ton

-0.89%

3/20/2017

Polyester FDY

2391.84

USD/Ton

0%

3/20/2017

Nylon DTY

1406.11

USD/Ton

0%

3/20/2017

Viscose Long Filament

3696.48

USD/Ton

0%

3/20/2017

30S Spun Rayon Yarn

3058.66

USD/Ton

0%

3/20/2017

32S Polyester Yarn

1739.52

USD/Ton

-0.41%

3/20/2017

45S T/C Yarn

2696.26

USD/Ton

0%

3/20/2017

40S Rayon Yarn

2261.38

USD/Ton

0%

3/20/2017

T/R Yarn 65/35 32S

3232.61

USD/Ton

0%

3/20/2017

45S Polyester Yarn

2319.36

USD/Ton

0%

3/20/2017

T/C Yarn 65/35 32S

1913.47

USD/Ton

-0.75%

3/20/2017

10S Denim Fabric

1.35

USD/Meter

0.11%

3/20/2017

32S Twill Fabric

0.85

USD/Meter

0%

3/20/2017

40S Combed Poplin

1.17

USD/Meter

0.12%

3/20/2017

30S Rayon Fabric

0.67

USD/Meter

-0.22%

3/20/2017

45S T/C Fabric

0.67

USD/Meter

0%

3/20/2017

Source: Global Textiles

Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14496 USD dtd. 20/3/2017)

The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com.  SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.

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Singapore: Crude oil prices drop on rising US drilling activity

Oil prices fell on Monday on rising US drilling activity and steady supplies from OPEC countries despite touted production cuts pressured already-bloated markets. Prices for benchmark Brent crude futures were 29 cents, or 0.56 per cent, below their last settlement at 0223 GMT, at $51.47 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 38 cents, or 0.78 per cent, at $48.40 a barrel. Traders said that prices came under pressure from rising US drilling and ongoing high supplies by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) despite its pledge to cut output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) together with some other producers like Russia. “There is good, strong momentum to the downside,” futures brokerage CMC Markets said in a note on Monday.

US drillers

US drillers added 14 oil rigs in the week to March 17, bringing the total count up to 631, the most since September 2015, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc had said on Friday, extending a recovery that is expected to boost shale production by the most in six-months in April. As a result, US oil output has risen to over 9.1 million bpd from below 8.5 million bpd in June last year.

Futures & options

Reacting to the ongoing glut in markets, financial oil traders cut their net long US crude futures and options positions in the week to March 14, the third consecutive cut, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had said on Friday. “This unwinding of position is both a cause and reflection of the big fall in crude oil prices when the cracks in the OPEC/non-OPEC deal emerged and when it seems like it became evident shale oil is back and the new swing player,” said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at brokerage AxiTrader.Defying rising sentiment that oil markets remain oversupplied, some analysts say markets will tighten soon, arguing that the OPEC-led cuts will only start to bite from April, just as demand picks up as refineries return from current maintenance outages. “The cuts in OPEC production from the start of 2017 should start to show up between mid-March (now) and mid-April. Over the coming weeks we expect a sharp reduction in imports and increase in refining runs which should lead to impressive crude inventory draws,” analysts at AB Bernstein said on Monday in a note to clients. “The combination of falling imports and stronger crude runs should lead to substantial inventory cuts over the coming months,” they said.

Source: The Hindu

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Bangladesh: Cabinet okays draft textile act

The cabinet yesterday approved the draft Textile Act-2017 to bring the apparel sector under a legal framework as industries operate as per government's executive orders. All industries related to the textiles sector, such as garment production and marketing, must be registered with the Directorate of Textiles, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam told reporters after a cabinet meeting at the secretariat. The directorate will look after, supervise and monitor the textiles industries, he added. As per the draft act, entrepreneurs will have to obtain a licence from the directorate to set up any textile or apparel unit. Besides, authorised officers will have the power to collect samples from the market and verify the standard of any imported textile raw material, such as colour or chemicals. The cabinet also gave consent to the draft Expatriate Welfare Board Act-2017. The act has been formulated in line with international laws and conventions on the protection of migrants and their family members. The proposed law will enable migrant workers to seek assistance and cooperation when they face troubles such as illness and death. The concerned authorities will have to extend legal or other assistance to the expatriates to help them realise compensation for any kind of loss, according to the cabinet secretary. The cabinet also gave a nod to Pesticides Act-2017 and approved the draft of an agreement to be signed between Bangladesh and India over orbit frequency coordination of the proposed South Asia Satellite. The meeting approved the proposal for signing joint interpretative notes as the supplementary part of the agreement between Bangladesh and India on bilateral capital investment development and protection.

Source: The Daily Star

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Pakistan to temporarily stop duty-free cotton import

Pakistan will temporarily stop permitting duty-free cotton imports until its locally produced crop is completely sold, said Sikander Hayat Khan Bosan, the national food security and research minister. He also said that cotton crop and its research institutes should come under his ministry to achieve the annual target of producing 20 million bales of cotton. The government of the country is working towards safeguarding the interests of the farmers who are facing problems and growing cotton in a small area, Bosan said at a meeting of the Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI). He made it clear that the government is not banning duty-free cotton imports, but stopping it temporarily until the local stock is disposed off. Cotton growers in Pakistan have been suffering losses since last year. However, cotton farmers have profited from cotton sales in the current season and the area under cultivation for cotton is likely to increase in the coming season, according to Bosan.

 

Source: Fibre2fashion

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Vietnam - Garment Exports Still Enjoy Good Growth Without TPP

While the sector is forecasted to benefit greatly from the TPP, it has so far thrived without TPP with Vietnam holding the second-biggest market share in the US and Japan. These two countries are also the two main export markets of Vietnam’s garment and textile. -- Vietnam's garment and textile sector is still enjoying good growth in exports to the US market even without the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported Le Tien Truong, Director General of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment group (Vinatex), as saying. Enterprises in the sector have continuously made investment in machines and technology to improve their productivity, reduce cost, thus increasing their competitiveness in the two markets. Truong said TPP only provides one more favourable condition for exports. Truong Van Cam, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) highlighted potential for Vietnam’s garment and textile export in other markets, including the US. Apart from TPP, Vietnam has signed and will sign a dozen free trade agreements (FTAs), Cam said, adding that therefore, the US’s withdrawal from the TPP will not affect the sector. He dismissed opinions that foreign investors are pouring into Vietnam’s garment-textile sector in anticipation of the TPP, saying that the agreement is only one of the reasons behind the investment. According to Cam, Vietnam also attracts investors with an open economy, a favourable business climate and tax incentives from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and FTAs with EU, Japan, and South Korea. Echoing Cam’s view on the role of the US in TPP, Nguyen Xuan Duong, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hung Yen Garment Joint Stock Company, said Vietnam’s exports of garment and textile to the US will not change much without TPP. -- BERNAMA

Source: malaysiandigest.com

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Germany, Japan push trade agreement

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for a concerted effort to defend free trade, expanding the list of economic powers joining together to counter the US shift toward protectionism. Barely 48 hours after Merkel and President Donald Trump clashed on economic policy at their first White House meeting, the German leader called for swift conclusion of a trade accord between Japan and the European Union. That followed a renewed German-Chinese commitment to open markets on the eve of her trip to Washington and Merkel’s backing for a free-trade accord between the EU and Mercosur, the South American economic bloc. “Of course we want fair markets, but we don’t want to put up barriers,” Merkel said on Sunday evening in a speech in Hanover, Germany, pushing back against Trump’s pledge to enact “America First” policies. “At a time when we have to quarrel with many about free trade, open borders and democratic values, it’s a good sign that Germany and Japan aren’t quarrelling about that.” Abe said Japan, the EU’s second-biggest Asian trading partner after China, “wants to be the champion of upholding open systems alongside Germany.” The prime minister, who met Trump in February, said “it will be necessary to have rules that are fair and can stand up to democratic appraisal.” Abe and Merkel are due to give a press briefing later on Monday at the Hanover trade fair, where Japan is this year’s partner country.

Battle lines

The display of German-Japanese unity underscores a rift elsewhere among the world’s biggest economic powers after US insistence on “fair” trade triggered conflict at a weekend meeting of Group of 20 finance chiefs in Germany. Another potential clash looms when Trump, Abe, Merkel and the leaders of Canada, France, Italy and the UK meet at a Group of Seven summit in Sicily in May. A commitment to free trade and defense spending are emerging as the first key dividing lines with the Trump administration, with Germany in the firing line on both counts. The US and Germany traded barbs over the weekend over Trump’s assertion on Twitter that “Germany owes vast sums of money” to NATO and the US for defense. The clashing views of trade were exposed when Trump told Merkel at a White House news conference on Friday that the US had been treated “very, very unfairly” and said “negotiators for Germany” had bested their American counterparts.

Merkel explains

Merkel replied with an explanation of how the EU conducts trade talks, saying it’s the Brussels-based European Commission that negotiates on behalf of all 28 EU countries. The US stance is pushing China and Germany, the world’s No. 1 and No. 3 exporters, closer, with Merkel and President Xi Jinping renewing their support for open markets in a phone call on Thursday, hours before she travelled to Washington.

Source: Business Standard

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These 21 Retailers Are Closing 3,591 Stores -- Who Is Next?

Many U.S. retailers have come to realize they have too many stores in these turbulent times. Omnichannel retailing has shifted sales to the Internet, profitability of apparel departments has eroded, and customer traffic in stores is sparse. Today’s shoppers are not frequenting traditional retailers’ stores or websites, preferring to shop with e-commerce retailers such as Amazon and others that are recognized as trusted leaders in price, value, and quality. As consumers shift shopping habits, for many retailers their very survival is at stake. Below I pulled together a list of announced store closures for the current year. When I added it up it was a much larger number than I had anticipated. As I write I doubt the list is complete since news of more closings may be announced. I estimate that at least 50,000 people will lose their job because of the announced closings. However, some stores are looking for new ways to attract shoppers, as I discuss below. In addition, there is published speculation that J. Crew, Gymboree, and Claire’s will also close units. In New York City, one has only to wander down Madison Avenue or Broadway, or stroll through Soho, to be aware of many empty stores. The lower tenancy is also obvious in malls I have visited. One must worry about the future of less important malls. Peter E. Drucker * , in his excellent book Managing in Turbulent Times (Harper & Row 1980), pointed out that the fundamentals for survival and success in an existing business are liquidity, productivity, and the cost of the future. Drucker felt that in turbulent times the balance sheet becomes more important than the profit and loss statement. He said that management must put financial strength before earnings. In turbulent times, it is essential to knows the minimum liquidity to stay in business. Four resources must be managed consistently, systematically, and conscientiously for productivity. They are – according to Drucker – capital, crucial physical assets, time, and knowledge. Executives are, of course, aware that they must manage productivity. But most of them believe this means finding the “trade off” between a less productive and a more productive resource. Yet Drucker felt that there was little evidence that this “trade-off” really works to increase overall productivity. We have now come to the point in the retail cycle where unproductive stores can no longer be carried on the books of good operating companies. The environment has finally forced managements to come to grips with reality. I still believe that even more stores must be closed. It is the super-regional mall, with many stores continuing to blossom in these centrally located shopping centers, that will survive. Management of these malls must monitor the success of the individual operators and like some malls, move adjacencies, coordinate affinities, and eliminate weak operators. I am encouraged that retailers are still working on ideas to bring consumers into their stores. For example, J.C.Penney has begun to revamp its stores to reflect what customers want. It will have 100 appliance showrooms, add smart home technology, and emphasize Nike and Adidas in special shops. Macy’s emphasis on shoes is equally exciting. While Nordstrom has placed much attention on fashion at its off-price concept The Rack. The difficult times are forcing retailers to renew themselves. New leaders, like Macy’s Jeff Gennette, will lead companies on new roads to success. The retail cycle does not end – it evolves. I am looking forward to the new initiatives that will become more important as stores close and consumers drive change.

Source: Forbes

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Cambodia : Mass fainting hits workers at garment factory

Garment workers being helped into a clinic after fainting at work. Supplied Almost 60 garment workers at a factory in Phnom Penh’s Por Senchey district fainted yesterday in the third such incident since last week. The 58 employees of Tien Sung Garment Company were said to have collapsed due to poor air quality in the factory. A number of workers also lost consciousness on Friday and Saturday last week. Pon Vanthach, the vice-president of the Labor Ministry’s occupational safety and health department, said the factory had failed to improve the environment for workers despite government intervention after the first fainting reports last week. He said: “After the incident, we took legal action to check technical problems at the factory. We asked the company to address five technical points, but they have only modified two points so far, and are allowing staff to continue their work. “We have now taken action to make the company comply with our directive urgently.” Mr. Vanthach said the directive requires the company to modify a generator installed as part of a dehumidification system, check a foul-smelling drainage system, clean pools of dirty water, provide medical checks for staff that fainted and educate employees about health at work. So far the company has carried out work on the generator and spoken to staff about their well-being in the workplace. He said the ministry has warned the factory to address the other issues as a matter of urgency. Staff who fainted have been signed off sick until Thursday and had all overtime suspended until they recover. Tien Sung representatives could not be reached for comment. Cheav Bunrith, a spokesman for the Labor Ministry’s National Social Security Fund, said officials from the fund had visited the factory to check on the situation and cooperated with management to send the victims to the hospital.

Source: Khmer Times

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Japan : Fukushima farmers grow traditional brown cotton

Unlike western cotton and as its name suggests, it produces a brown material. In 2011 the Fukushima region of Japan was devastated by an earthquake and nuclear disaster. Six years on, the residents have begun to rebuild their lives and are producing Japanese cotton. This traditional cotton has not only helped to regenerate land and livelihoods in Fukushima, but has helped to improve the quality of cotton production in Japan. The Great East Japan earthquake and its aftermath made agricultural land in Fukushima difficult to farm. The effects of the tsunami and nuclear disaster left soil with a high concentration of salt, which made it hard to grow traditional food crops. However, cotton is resistant to this type of pollution and grows healthily in salt-rich terrains. Recognising this, business union Otento Sun made it their mission to begin harvesting cotton on abandoned farmland and to give farmers back the ability to grow crops and produce an income. The Bicchu Brown cotton the Fukushima farmers grow is native to Japan. The safety of the cotton is unquestionable. Every crop harvested in Fukushima has to go through radiation tests, and only crops below the standard radiation level can be distributed. This year marks the fifth harvest of the bespoke cotton. But the cotton grown by the farmers in Fukushima is about more than the disaster. The farmers and union members believe in keeping the age-old tradition of Japanese Bicchu Brown Cotton alive, as well as reducing the widespread use of pesticide in cotton production. Director of Otento SUN Emiko Yoshida said: "Cotton is one of the most environmentally unfriendly crops on this planet. At the same time, it is one of the crops we use most in our everyday lives." Although you may not realise it, cotton is everywhere - whether it's in the clothes we wear, the sheets we sleep on, or the bags we use to carry our goods. But, although we come into contact with cotton every day, most people know very little about the way it is produced. Cotton is considered one of the dirtiest crops in the world because of the amount of pesticide that is used in its production. As well as growing their cotton on Fukushima land, Otento Sun prove cotton farming does not have to involve heavy use of pesticides by using organic, non-GMO native seeds to create high-quality, safe cotton. The Bicchu-brown cotton grown by Otento Sun has been used in Japan since the Heian Era (794-1185). Unlike western cotton and as its name suggests, it produces a brown material. The short length of Japanese cotton fibres means weaving it is more labour intensive than white cottons. It is more difficult to spin, and it requires artisanal skills to shape it into strong, resilient threads and fabrics. Otento Sun mixes brown Japanese cotton and white Western cotton to create beautiful, soft, cream-coloured threads. This traditional cotton has not only helped to regenerate land and livelihoods in Fukushima, but has helped to improve the quality of cotton production in Japan. What's more, the venture has encourage communities to work together and create relationships and connections with each other. Regeneration is still ongoing in the area, but projects like Otento Sun make it possible for people to create a secure and happy future for themselves and their families. Emiko says: "We hope our organic cotton will be used across the world. Our aspiration is for the reconstruction and regeneration of Fukushima. "This may be a small first step, but we believe that it can be realised by us all making a small change in our daily lives. It can start from this furoshiki." Following the accident at the Fukushima power station and under EU Regulation no 351/2011, all food imported from Japan to the EU needs to meet criteria surrounding radionuclide levels. This same approach is being taken with this cotton, and samples have been tested in the UK, where no radiation was detected at the laboratory's Limit of Detection (LOD). This article is part of a new content-sharing arrangement with the LUSH - the ethical cosmetics company that also works to support sustainable farming practices across the

Source: Ecologist

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Dyed without waste - developing a process to save water in the textile industry

This edition of Futuris visited a factory in Belgium which specialises in dyeing fabrics. Every year around 12,000 kilometres of textile materials are dyed. And for that, millions of litres of water are needed. After use, the water is full of colorants, chemicals and salts. How to recycle this polluted water in an efficient and affordable way, so it can be re-used in the whole dyeing process? European researchers think they’ve found an answer to this question. Fabrics are weaved, tested, rolled, shaved, whitened, dyed, dried and stabilised in the factory and water is present in many of these different processes. The factory says it consumes an average of some 350 million litres of water every year. “We use some 80 litres of water per kilo of fabric. This water is used to whiten the fabric, then to colour it and then to fix the colours onto the textile materials, so they don’t wipe out. ‘At the end, we get a water full of colorants of course, and it is very acidic. So we first neutralize this acidity and then we discharge our waste water to the municipal waste water treatment plant,” explained Jan Morel, Maintenance Manager, Utexbel. Treatment of this coloured water at municipal facilities is extremely costly. Aware of these economical and environmental challenges, the factory has teamed up with scientists from a European research project. Their aim is to find solutions to recycle water from textile dyeing in efficient, affordable ways. Scientists have designed a test recycling unit. Two different processes are used to clean up the water. A first process, called electro-coagulation, eliminates colorants. A second, called reverse osmosis, contributes to the elimination of salts. “First we go to the auto-filtration membranes, where we take out all the small particles and all the other things. Then we go to the second process, called reverse osmosis, that will take even salts and all the rest of the stuff. ‘At the end of the day you get this nice colour-free water, totally clean, nothing in it not even salts. And if you look at the beginning, we started with the dirty water with all the colorants in it. So our end product is where we started,” said Eric van Sonsbeek, Chemical Engineer, EColoRO. Strict control analysis at each step is used to confirm the efficiency of the different processes. “We can say that all chemical pollutants and colorants are removed, let’s say that around 93-96% percent of them are removed. Colour is nearly 100% percent removed in this process,” enthused Mert Can, Process Engineer, EColoRO. Researchers now plan to upscale the existing test unit to a bigger one to be used at the factory, with an eye to creating a closed loop where water is constantly recycled and reused. “If you have a technology in place that enables you to reduce water intake by 75% or more, already there is a very big cost reductions. Also, you will not discharge to the municipal waste water plant any more, so you will not have any issues with balancing your waste water with that coming from other streams into the municipal waste water treatment plants. So you are freeing up capacity there in the municipal setting,” Andreas Tenn Cate, Chemical Engineer, ISPT/ECWRITI Project Coordinator said. Scientists say they hope this technology could also improve the competitiveness of the textile and clothes manufacturing sector in the European Union, that employs some 1.6 million people.

Source: Euronews

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