India's exports rose at the fastest pace in three months to reach $27.84 billion in August on account of healthy growth in petroleum products, engineering, pharma, and gems and jewellery shipments. Imports too grew by 25.41 per cent in August to $45.24 billion due to costlier crude oil shipments. In August, the growth rate in overseas shipments touched a three-month high of 19.21 per cent. Earlier in May, exports had recorded a growth of 20.18 per cent. Trade deficit during the month narrowed to $17.4 billion as against $12.72 billion in the same month last year, according to the data released by the commerce ministry Friday. In July, the trade deficit soared to a near five-year high of $18.02 billion. Exports of petroleum products, engineering, pharma and gems and jewellery in August rose by 43.25 per cent, 31.81 per cent, 28.52 per cent and 34.76 per cent respectively. Oil imports in August grew by 51.62 per cent to $11.83 billion and non-oil imports were up by 18.17 per cent to $33.41 billion. Gold imports in August jumped by 92.62 per cent to $3.64 billion. The continuous fall in the value of domestic currency appears to be helping exports. During April-August this fiscal, the exports recorded a growth of 16.13 per cent to $136.09 billion, while imports during the first five months of this fiscal grew by 17.34 per cent to $216.43 billion. Trade deficit during the period widened to $80.35 billion as against $67.27 billion in the same period last year. Oil imports during April-August this fiscal grew by 53.35 per cent to $58.81 billion and non-oil imports were up by 7.84 per cent to $157.62 billion. The high trade deficit is one of the factors that dragged the rupee to below 70 levels. The rupee touched an all-time low of 72.91 on September 12. Today it closed at 71.84 against the dollar.
Source : Business Today
A sharp depreciation in the rupee and the spike in crude oil price has led to rise in CAD resulting in capital outflows. To contain the widening current account deficit (CAD) and check the fall of the rupee, the government on Friday announced specific steps to attract dollars and said that more measures are being planned to smoothen volatility in the financial markets. After a meeting this evening where Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the economic situation with top Finance Ministry and Reserve Bank of India officials, the government eased overseas borrowing norms for manufacturing companies; removed restrictions on foreign portfolio investors (FPI) investment in corporate bonds and provided tax benefits on Masala bonds. Masala bonds are rupee-denominated debt securities issued outside India by Indian companies. The review meeting by the Prime Minister will continue Saturday as well. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government will also take steps to cut imports of non-essential items and to boost exports. All these steps, as well as measures to be taken in the coming days, are to address the broader issue of CAD, he said. India’s CAD jumped to 2.4 per cent of Gross Domestic Product in the first quarter of 2018-19, from 1.9 per cent in March 2018. A sharp depreciation in the rupee and the spike in crude oil price has led to rise in CAD resulting in capital outflows. Sources said five steps taken by the government (see box) can potentially attract capital flows of around $10 billion but these will mostly be in the debt segment. “The government will take necessary steps to cut down non-essential imports and also increase exports. Non-essential imports will be decided by consulting the respective ministries in the next few days,” Jaitley said after the meeting. He did not disclose the list of non-essential items which would be subject to import restrictions. “In this meeting, the Reserve Bank Governor (Urjit Patel) gave a detailed presentation on the state of the world economy and the external factors that can impact the Indian economy…in comparison to other countries, our growth rate is much higher, our inflation is within a moderate range. From the Finance Ministry side, we said we believe that maintaining fiscal deficit is of prime importance and our effort is towards the same and we have the confidence that we will maintain it,” Jaitley said. These external factors, Jaitley said, include policy decisions taken in the United States because of which there is a continuing inflow of dollars to the US in comparison to other economies. He said that global crude oil prices and trade wars can impact countries such as India despite the strength of their domestic fundamentals. Ahead of the meeting taken by Prime Minister Modi after market hours, both the currency and the stock markets witnessed a relief rally on Friday drawing comfort from the fact that the government is looking to address these. While the rupee had closed at an all-time low of 72.64 earlier this week on Tuesday, it rose over 1 per cent or 80 paise over the last two trading sessions to close at 71.85 on Friday. Similarly, the benchmark Sensex rose 677 points or 1.8 per cent over the last two trading sessions to close at 38,080 on Friday. Latest RBI data showed that the forex reserves fell below the $400 billion mark for the first time over the last one year. It stood at $399.2 billion for the week ended September 7, 2018. Data shows India’s foreign exchange reserves have been falling steadily over the past five months since it hit an all-time high of $426.08 billion in the week ended April 13, 2018. Economic Affairs Secretary S C Garg said these five measures would have a meaningful impact. “It is difficult to give a specific number. I think it should have an impact of USD 8-10 billion,” he said.
Source: The Indian Express
NEW DELHI: After witnessing three currency crises in a decade, India is watching the rupee’s zigzag show, wondering if it is headed for a fourth. India last witnessed currency crises in 2013, 2011, 2008 and 1997. Former Reserve Bank governor Raghuram Rajan hopes the rupee does not go in for a free fall, and RBI would do what it takes to tame inflation. Economists feel the apex bank has enough armour in its war chest to restrict further fall in the local unit. After a steady drop, the rupee saw a rebound on Wednesday. On Friday, it opened 49 paise higher to trade at 71.70 to the dollar. For the year, it is down 11 per cent against the greenback. It lost 1 per cent in the first 10 days of September. By nature, the rupee is not fragile. If anything, it is vulnerable to external shocks. That’s the finding of a study on 30 emerging market currencies, based on the noise-to-signal approach. In Nomura’s Damocles index, an early warning gauge, India stood at 25, signalling relative stability compared with its peers. The Damocles index is based on eight key indicators which help strike a balance between false signals (noise) and real crisis signals and it assesses the risk of an exchange rate crisis up to 12 months in advance. These indicators include import cover ratio, the ratio of forex reserves to short-term external debt, current account balance, short-term external debt real, short term interest rate and M2/FX reserves. A Damocles reading above 100 is interpreted as a warning signal that a country is vulnerable to an exchange rate crisis. A reading above 150 signals that a crisis can erupt any time, which is currently the case with Sri Lanka. China’s Damocles score stood at 37 and Malaysia’s 62. “India’s most recent currency crisis occurred in 2013 and was due to weak domestic macro fundamentals and worsening external funding conditions. Since then, CPI inflation has moderated (to 4.5 per cent in 2018 from 9.7 per cent in 2012), as has current account deficit (2.5 per cent of GDP versus 5 per cent). Real rates are positive (2 percentage points versus minus 2 percentage points) and the central bank has a sufficient FX reserve buffer (9.3 months of import cover versus 6.4),” it said. Analysts noted that since the 2008 global financial crisis, emerging markets received 50 per cent of capital flow compared with 20 per cent in the pre-crisis period. India has been a key beneficiary of the global liquidity boom, receiving around $170 billion flows from foreign portfolio investors (FPI) between 2009 and 2017. “India’s twin deficits continue to be its Achilles’ heel, and to that extent the rupee depreciation has been in line with comparable EMs. However, India’s macro fundamentals are stronger than what they were during the taper tantrum in 2013. Our forex market financial conditions index has deteriorated, but it is yet to hit crisis levels of August 2013 and 2008. Several EMs have embarked on interest rate defence of their respective currencies. We are not ruling out a rate hike by RBI in the near term,” said Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities. Central banks of several twin-deficit countries – Argentina, Mexico, Turkey, Indonesia and the Philippines – have raised interest rates in defend their currencies. RBI, too, has hiked repo rate in last two policy reviews.
Source: The Economic Times
The rupee, on Friday. surged by another 34 paise to close at a one-week high of 71.84 against the US dollar on positive macro data and hopes of policy intervention by the government to defend the volatile currency. Extending gains for a second session, the domestic unit hit a session high of 71.53 in early trade. Sustained dollar selling by exporters and banks along with the greenback's weakness against other major Asian and emerging market currencies, in turn keeping the buoyant tone intact. Rupee also benefitted from the massive dollar re-pricing in the aftermath of the weak US inflation report, discounting the chances of Fed hiking rates four times this year. A combination of positive macro-related developments after the country's industrial production grew at 6.6 percent in July and retail inflation cooled to a 10-month low of 3.69 percent in August, strengthened the rupee sentiment. Earlier today, official data showed WPI-based inflation eased to a four-month low of 4.53 percent in August. India's benchmark ten-year sovereign yield softened to 8.12 percent. The rupee got a shot in the arm after the government said all steps will be taken to ensure the domestic currency does not depreciate to "unreasonable levels", amid reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take stock of the economic situation over the weekend. The rupee had rebounded from an all-time low of 72.92 to end up a strong 51 paise to end at 72.18 to the dollar in the previous session Wednesday. The domestic currency has been sliding against the US dollar since August, depreciating over 6 per cent since then as oil prices rebounded and trade tensions revved up. The 'feel good' factor in the economy and the relative political stability alongside government's continued commitments towards strong governance amid relatively low inflation rates largely shielded Indian currency from any big drag, a forex dealer commented. Emerging market currencies also showed some sign of stability as investors sighed with relief after Turkey's central bank hiked its policy rate to 24 per cent to restore confidence in the lira. Meanwhile, crude prices clawed back some of its losses after suffering the largest daily drop in a month as concerns about oil supply are countering worries that emerging market crises and trade disputes could dent demand. Benchmark Brent crude is trading at USD 78.25 a barrel in early Asian trade. Extending its recovery momentum, the rupee opened with a strong 48 paise gain at 71.70 at the inter-bank foreign exchange (forex) market. It powered ahead to hit a high of 71.53 in mid-morning deals but erased strong gains towards the fag-end trade amid sudden dollar demand coming from large corporates. It finally closed the day with gains of 34 paise or 0.47 percent at 71.84, the highest level since 7 September when it closed at 71.73. The local unit has recovered 85 paise in the last two days. The Financial Benchmarks India private limited (FBIL), meanwhile, fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 71.8129 and for the euro at 83.977. In the cross-currency trade, the rupee also hardened against the Japanese yen to close at 64.22 per 100 yen from 64.74. However, it fell back against the British Pound to end at 94.26 per pound as compared to 93.76 and also drifted against the euro to settle at 84.02 from 83.58 earlier. In the forward market, the premium for dollar edged lower due to sustained receiving from exporters. The benchmark six-month forward premium payable in January 2019 eased to 120.50-122.50 paise from 122.75-124.75 paise and the far-forward July contract softened to 278-280 paise from 279.75-281.75 paise. On the global front, the greenback took a hit overnight on weaker-than-expected US inflation data amid signs of reduced trade tensions between the US and China. Against a basket of other currencies, the dollar index is higher at 94.64. Elsewhere, the British pound was trading up near six-week high against the greenback while the euro climbed to hit a two-week high.
Source: Financial Express
Imports of finished electronics, certain textiles, automobiles and high-end consumer products like watches could be the set of items that could feel the heat from the government’s idea to curb non-essential imports and push exports in a bid to reduce the current account deficit and support the rupee. While gold figures in the list of top most imports, economists are uncertain of it being included as historical experience shows smuggled gold entering the country whenever it is subject to restrictions. “Restricting imports will achieve short term gains, if any, while there will be revenue loss on account of customs duty foregone, apart from creating distortion in the market,” said an indirect tax expert. In FY18, India imported $21 billion worth of telcom equipment including mobile phones. The government has been taking measures to increase domestic manufacture, but in the short term may curb imports to reduce the trade deficit. India’s gold imports were pegged at $33.7 billion in FY18 and have been one of the main reasons for high gap between exports and imports. The government has tried to reduce demand through gold bonds and gold deposit schemes. Items like high end televisions and cameras may also face the heat. The closest attention is likely to be in items imported from China with which India had a trade deficit of over $63 billion.
Source: The Economic Times
It added that July 31 accounted for the highest 2.177 million e-way bills generated in a single day. Around 225 million e-way bills have been generated across India till September 13 since the new electronic billing system was introduced on April 1, the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) said on Friday. It added that July 31 accounted for the highest 2.177 million e-way bills generated in a single day. The e-way bill system kicked off as part of the new GST regime for transporting goods worth more than Rs 50,000. "Between April 1 and September 13, a total of 224.8 million e-way bills have been generated. Of these, inter-state transport of goods accounted for 108.9 million bills while intra-state transport contributed another 115.8 million," the GSTN said in a statement. "The share of intra- and inter-state transport is gradually attaining parity and is expected to reach 50:50 ratio in coming months," it said. The GSTN added that over 2.4 million taxpayers and 30,000 transporters had registered with the e-way billing system so far. "While the average daily generation of bills was roughly 13 lakh in the early months of implementation, now around 1.579 million bills are being generated seamlessly every day," GSTN CEO Prakash Kumar was quoted as saying. At 31.3 million, Maharashtra generated the highest number of bills, followed by Gujarat (2.45 crore), Haryana (2.05 crore), Karnataka (19.8 million) and Uttar Pradesh (19.0 million).
Source: Business Standard
India’s annual rate of inflation, based on monthly wholesale price index (WPI), stood at 4.53 per cent for the month of August 2018 over same month of last year. The index for apparel increased by 0.7 per cent to 139.1 in August, according to the provisional data released by the Office of the Economic Adviser, ministry of commerce and industry. The official WPI for all commodities (Base: 2011-12 = 100) for the month of August 2018 rose by 0.3 per cent to 120.0 from the previous month’s level of 119.7, the data showed. The index for manufactured products (weight 64.23 per cent) for August 2018 rose by 0.3 per cent to 117.8 from 117.4 for the previous month. The index for ‘Manufacture of Wearing Apparel’ sub-group rose by 0.7 per cent to 139.1 from 138.2 for the previous month due to higher price of knitted and crocheted apparel (1 per cent). The index for ‘Manufacture of Textiles’ sub-group also rose by 0.4 per cent to 117.6 from 117.1 for the previous month due to higher price of made-up textile articles, except apparel (2 per cent); and synthetic yarn, texturised & twisted yarn, manufacture of knitted & crocheted fabrics and cotton yarn (1 per cent each). However, the price of manufacture of other textiles (1 per cent) declined. The index for primary articles (weight 22.62 per cent) rose by 0.1 per cent to 135.1 from 134.9 for the previous month. The index for fuel and power (weight 13.15 per cent) also rose by 0.5 per cent to 104.9 from 104.4 for the previous month due to higher price of LPG, petroleum coke, kerosene, ATF, naphtha and bitumen. Meanwhile, the all-India consumer price index (CPI) on base 2012=100 stood at 3.69 (provisional) in August 2018 compared to 4.17 (final) in July, 2018 and 3.28 in August, 2017, according to the Central Statistics Office, ministry of statistics and programme implementation. (RKS)
Source: Fibre2Fashion
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1667.01 |
USD/Ton |
-0.17% |
9/13/2018 |
|
VSF |
2198.41 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/13/2018 |
|
ASF |
3028.27 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/13/2018 |
|
Polyester POY |
1768.92 |
USD/Ton |
-0.41% |
9/13/2018 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3479.60 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/13/2018 |
|
40D Spandex |
4979.18 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/13/2018 |
|
Nylon POY |
5500.39 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/13/2018 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1972.74 |
USD/Ton |
-0.37% |
9/13/2018 |
|
Polyester FDY |
3195.70 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/13/2018 |
|
Nylon DTY |
3202.98 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/13/2018 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1980.02 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/13/2018 |
|
Polyester DTY |
3625.19 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/13/2018 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2911.80 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/13/2018 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
2358.56 |
USD/Ton |
-1.52% |
9/13/2018 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
3028.27 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/13/2018 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2562.38 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/13/2018 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2576.94 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/13/2018 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
3057.39 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/13/2018 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2722.53 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/13/2018 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.36 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
9/13/2018 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.84 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
9/13/2018 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.17 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
9/13/2018 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.67 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
9/13/2018 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.70 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
9/13/2018 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14559 USD dtd. 13/9/2018). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Pakistan had approached Afghanistan earlier this year and indicated its willingness to discuss resumption of trade between Afghanistan and India via Pakistan through the land route, United States ambassador to Afghanistan John Bass told ET in an interview. The revelation is significant, given that for years Pakistan has not allowed Indian goods to be transported to Afghanistan through its territory. Bass said the Pakistani government had approached Afghanistan after looking at two developments. “We have seen an increase in exports from Afghanistan to India (through air cargo)… it is obviously one part of the export strategy but it is an important part… and I think part of the reason why, in addition to the economic relationship between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, a couple of months ago for the first time the Pakistani government expressed a willingness to start talking with its Afghan counterparts for parameters to enabling trade between India and Afghanistan through Pakistan,” he said. The US ambassador to Afghanistan spoke to ET on the sidelines of the India-Afghanistan Trade and Investment show being held in Mumbai. He said that Indian firms had been investing in Afghanistan’s growth and that last year’s trade show in Delhi had led to $27 million of investments at the event itself, and another $200 million of “prospective” investments from Indian companies, much of which had materialised. Bass said a political settlement in Afghanistan was in “Pakistan’s long-term interest”. “Increased trade in both directions, increased connectivity through central and south Asia through Afghanistan – those are all missed opportunities if Pakistan has its sole focus on perpetuating the status quo,” he said. The envoy acknowledged that the Indian government had brought up the issue of US sanctions on Iran and how it would impact Chabahar port in Iran when US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and defence secretary Jim Mattis were in India last week. He said that the Indian government in the discussions with the two US officials conveyed India’s perspectives “on the importance of Chabahar as a means to expand bilateral trade and help improve Afghanistan’s connectivity with South Asia”.
Source: The Economic Times
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Abuja expressed optimism that new investment commitments coming into Nigeria’s textile sector, of which Aba is a major beneficiary, will be actualized within the shortest possible time. He gave the assurance while receiving traditional rulers from Abia State led by His Royal Majesty, Dr. Isaac Ikonne, Enyi 1 of Aba. The President also assured the monarchs that the issue of unstable electricity and other basic infrastructure in Ariaria market, a major trading hub in West and Central Africa, would soon be a thing of the past. In a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina, the President also reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to rapidly industrialize the country through projects that promote import substitution. The President said the investments in the textile industry would create thousands of jobs for youths in Aba. He said ‘‘Just last week, I was in China to attend the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation. During that visit, I personally met with executives of one of the largest cotton and garment companies in the world who will soon establish operations in Aba. ‘‘This is following a joint effort of attracting this investor by both the Federal and Abia State Government. ‘‘The proposed investment will create thousands of jobs for the vibrant and creative youths in Aba. ‘‘I am very excited about this project. I have directed the Hon. Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment to ensure this investment is actualised within the shortest possible time,’’ the President told the visiting royal majesty and his entourage. On Ariaria market, the President recounted that during his visit to Aba in 2015 as a presidential candidate, he was warmly received and walked through parts of the market where he observed the lack of electricity and other basic infrastructure for its over 40,000 shops. ‘‘As a government, we issued a presidential mandate to the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing and the Rural Electrification Agency to energise the market. ‘‘In June 2018, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission granted an electricity generation licence as well as a distribution licence for the market. This will enable the generation and distribution of 9.5 Megawatts of electricity within the market. ‘‘The project is moving smoothly and I have been assured the market will be fully electrified soon. We are working closely with the State Government, Local Government, Traditional Rulers, Market Associations and the community on this project to ensure this goal is actualised by the end of the year,’’ he said. On security, the President reiterated that the APC-led government would continue to do its best to maintain the sovereign integrity of Nigeria while protecting the livelihoods of its hardworking and honest citizens. He also underscored the need for elder statesmen, leaders, parents and patriots to continue to guide youths on the path of peace and prosperity while eschewing hateful and divisionary rhetoric. ‘‘We must not shy away from this responsibility. We only have one Nigeria. And we must ensure we hand over a better Nigeria to the next generation,’’ he said. Eze Ikonne lauded the President for successes recorded so far since he assumed office in 2015, particularly in the fight against corruption, agricultural revolution, infrastructure development and security. On infrastructure development in the South East, His Majesty said: ‘‘ Mr President, I thank you for the massive federal roads rehabilitation going on in the South- East; like the Enugu-Aba-Port Harcourt expressway, Port Harcourt-Elele-Owerri road, Enugu-Onitsha expressway. ‘‘These roads were death traps for 16 years before you came into office, but today they are wearing new solid looks, though not completed but relief is already there with the level of work done so far.’’ Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Mac Wabara, a former Managing Director of the defunct Hallmark Bank, who was among the delegation, described President Buhari as a courageous and a decisive man who is committed to the growth and development of this nation. He said, “For six decades our people have been working in line with our founding fathers. In that respects our successes have been limited by lack of political will, lack of political stability and unity among the various constituencies making up Nigeria. “In the life of great nation, challenging times like this produce men of courage, men of capacity, men who are committed to nation building and in Mr. President we have a man like that. He is courageous, decisive and he is committed to the growth and development of this nation. “We are glad to note that following his trip to China, the biggest cotton producing company is going to establish in Aba, Abia State. These are the works of Mr. President and I believe we can take that to the bank. So, we are happy that Mr. President has his eyes not only on Abia but on the whole of Nigeria.”
Source: Abuja, The Nation
When a piece of clothing wears out or goes out of fashion, it often gets tossed in the trash; clothes made up 9 percent of all municipal solid waste produced in the U.S. in 2014, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. And the impact of what we wear goes well beyond clogged landfills. The European Commission (pdf) has also linked modern clothing industry practices—often described as “fast fashion,” due to the speed and volume at which garments are produced and marketed—to high energy and water use, significant greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution. Now a small but growing group of innovators is turning to the genius of nature in an attempt to put wastefulness and pollution in the apparel industry out of fashion, right at the source: They are using live organisms to grow pieces of biodegradable textiles, creating environmentally friendly materials in the laboratory—and are even producing some near-complete items without the need for factory assembly. Many of today’s garments are woven from plastic-based acrylic, nylon or polyester threads, and cut and sewn in factories. All such materials are chemically produced and nonbiodegradable. But these researchers think some of tomorrow’s apparel could potentially be bioengineered—that is, made from living bacteria, algae, yeast, animal cells or fungi—which would break down into nontoxic substances when eventually thrown away. Such methods could reduce waste and pollution, says Theanne Schiros, assistant professor in the math and science department at Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.) in New York City. Besides being biodegradable, another major benefit, she says, is that many of the organisms involved can be grown to fit molds—producing the precise amount of textile needed to create an article of clothing without generating excess material to discard. “In materials science we are now finding more inspiration in nature,” she says. “You look to nature for rapidly generating organisms that are abundant.”
Drying organic silk dyed with bacteria. Credit: Laura Luchtman & Ilfa Siebenhaar
Schiros’s organism of choice is algae. With it, she and a team of F.I.T. students and faculty have created a yarnlike fiber that can be dyed with nonchemical pigments such as crushed insect shells and knitted into apparel. There are three steps in making alga-based yarn, Schiros says: First, a sugar called alginate is derived from kelp—a multicellular algal seaweed—and powdered. Next the alginate powder is turned into a water-based gel, to which plant-based color (such as carrot juice) is added. Finally, the gel is extruded into long strands of fiber that can be woven into a fabric. Schiros says her experiments show alga-based fabric holds considerable promise as a marketable bioengineered clothing material because it is strong and flexible, two properties essential for mass-market apparel. Materials scientists in China have noted that alga-based fibers are naturally fire-resistant, potentially reducing the need for adding toxic flame retardants to clothing. Also, alga biodegrades faster than cotton—the most common natural clothing fiber—and growing it does not require pesticides or large areas of land. Schiros has used her fiber to knit items including a tank top she wore while delivering a TED Talk on sustainable fashion this year. After winning the 2016 BioDesign Challenge for her work with alga-based textiles with her F.I.T. colleague Asta Skocir, Schiros co-founded a company called Algiknit, which aims to one day produce alga-based apparel on a commercial scale. Schiros has also explored using bacteria to grow clothing materials; in 2017 some of her students grew a baby-size pair of moccasins from a liquid bacteria culture, fungi and compostable waste. The bacteria grew into a fibrous mat of “bio-leather” that eventually filled a shoe-shaped mold to form a complete piece of footwear, which the students stitched together with fibers pulled from discarded pineapple tops obtained from a smoothie shop down the street. Later they made dyes from avocado seeds and indigo leaves to color the shoes, and embedded carrot seeds in them before drying them. According to Schiros, “This method eliminates waste right at the production phase.” It also reduces textile scraps, she notes, adding that because the shoes are biodegradable and contain seeds “you can plant them right in the ground when your baby outgrows them to start cultivating their next pair of shoes.” Her students (who called themselves “Team#GROWAPAIR”) debuted their creation at last year’s Biodesign Challenge Summit, a bioengineering competition for college students held at MoMA—The Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Silk textile exposed to S. Coelicolor bacteria for 34 days. Credit: IMMATTERS Studio Another fast fashion environmental problem that bioengineering could address is dyes, Schiros says. Commercial textile dying uses approximately 3,500 human-made chemicals, including lead- and petroleum-based substances, according to the Swedish Chemicals Agency (pdf). Of these, the agency was able to detect 2,400 in finished clothing products. Five percent of the chemicals found are potentially hazardous to the environment and 10 percent of the 2,400 chemicals found in finished clothes may harm human health, the agency says. Making these coloring agents adhere to fabric also often involves using poisonous solvents, fixing agents, salts and large quantities of water. Lab animals exposed to some of these dyes exhibit adverse health effects, including allergic reactions as well as reproductive and growth problems (pdf). The EPA has declared one commonly used clothing dye ingredient, benzidine, and its derivatives to be “reasonably anticipated to be human carcinogens.” Dyes that contain it, along with other so-called “azo” dyes, are banned from import by the European Union. Such chemicals may leach from clothing into skin and are also found in textile dye factories’ wastewater—which is often dumped directly into the environment without treatment. Some researchers think bacteria might also help mitigate the dye problem. Innovators including Cecilia Raspanti, co-founder of TextileLab Amsterdam; Laura Luchtman, owner of textile and design studio Kukka; and Natsai Audrey Chieza, founder of biodesign lab and creative research agency Faber Futures are using naturally pigmented bacteria to dye natural and bioengineered textiles. Luchtman says her process involves autoclaving a textile to prevent contamination, then pouring a liquid medium filled with bacterial nutrients over the textile in a container. Next she exposes the soaked textile to bacteria and leaves it in a climate-controlled chamber for three days. Finally she sterilizes the textile again, rinses it with a gentle laundry detergent to wash out the smell of the bacterial medium, then lets it dry. Bacterial dyes can be applied in a variety of colors and patterns, are nontoxic and require at least 20 percent less water, Chieza says. But significant challenges remain in using such techniques to replace both textiles woven with nonbiodgradable human-made fibers and dyes made from problematic chemicals. Producing bioengineered materials durable enough to stand up to normal wear and tear is a major hurdle, Schiros says. She has tried to overcome this by treating some of her textiles with indigenous preserving techniques—such as tanning with smoke instead of chemicals—which she says lend her bio-leather strength and water resistance. These ecologically benign textiles are so far limited mostly to the realms of the laboratory, science competitions and high-fashion runways. But researchers who promote them say it is just a matter of time before such innovations are rolled out in some form for consumer markets. What needs to be tackled first, Chieza says, is making bioengineered apparel comparable in cost to conventional clothing. For example, Luchtman sells bacterial-dyed silk scarves for $139 whereas a similar silk scarf dyed conventionally can be purchased for as little as $10. “Similar to the debate around renewable energy, cost-competiveness will not only rely on solid science and a technology that works—it will need to be enabled through government subsidies and a mental switch towards investing in R&D,” Chieza says. Melik Demirel, director of the Center for Research on Advanced Fiber Technologies (CRAFT) and a professor of engineering at The Pennsylvania State University, agrees that getting biodesigned clothing into consumer markets may take some time. But if the production processes can be scaled, he says, the benefits would outweigh the challenges. “Protein- or sugar-based fibers are naturally biodegradable, and nature knows how to recycle them,” he notes. Also, textiles could be reused before being sent to a composting facility to biodegrade, designers who advocate this research say. Repairing or repurposing textiles and dyes over and over again, to delay making them into waste, is a primary principle guiding production of bio-based textiles and the nonchemical dyes used to color them. Suzanne Lee—who founded the annual biodesign summit Biofabricate as well as a London-based bio-design consultancy firm called Biocouture—emphasizes the importance of this kind of cyclical thinking as a path toward scalability and success for these new materials. “If fast fashion is to persist, the materials that are used must begin to be able to be cycled back into the raw material textile streams that feed that segment of fashion,” Lee says. “They shouldn't be destined to a landfill during the design process; it’s on all of us, especially designers, to strive for this change.”
Source: Scientific American
In the world of fashion Hong Kong played, for the most part, a role centered on the production and sourcing of garments. Yet as manufacturing continues to shift south, the city hopes to nurture local design talent by backing fashion fairs like Centrestage that took place from September 5 to 8. Walking into the fairgrounds of the third edition of Centrestage, fluorescent tubes and black and yellow stripes on the ground boosted a futuristic theme. "Tomorrow Lab" was the theme of the fair organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Its location in a hall at the Convention and Exhibition Center gave 8,700 visiting buyers the chance to view the city’s emblematic skyscrapers and harbour through the glass walls while showcasing 230 brands and presenting over 20 fashion shows. “We don’t only want to promote local brands and designers, but rather Asia and all of the world to come to Hong Kong to demonstrate new brands and design talents,” said Lawrence Leung, chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) Garment Advisory Committee and managing director at textile manufacturer Sun Hing Knitting Factory Ltd, in an interview at the fair. “In Hong Kong, we’re at the center of Asia and easily accessible for many parts of the world.” The garment manufacturing industry in Hong Kong took off after investors from Shanghai with a background in textiles arrived after World War II, according to Leung. Hong Kong turned into a global sourcing hub in the past decade, where buyers from international brands place their orders, as basic garment production shifted to countries like Cambodia, Bangladesh and Myanmar, leaving only more sophisticated production in Hong Kong. The number of apparel manufacturers shrank from 1,081 in 2008 to 603 in 2018, according to the Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong. Likewise, clothing exports fell 5 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2018 after sliding 7 percent in 2017. To support the local fashion sector, the government earmarked 500 million Hong Kong dollars (63,7 million US dollars) in its 2016-17 budget to promote local labels and Centerstage offers a platform for these budding designers.
Asian fashion event
Centrestage has two goals: to establish itself as an international fashion event and promote local designers. The fair, previously titled “World Boutique, Hong Kong” was shifted from January to September to better fit into the global trade fair calendar. The aim of the fair isn’t to emulate existing trade shows but to become a flagship fashion event in Asia, said Byron Lee, senior exhibitions manager at Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The brands that show their collections at Centerstage have been picked by a panel of buyers, fashion editors and other fashion professionals, he explains. Divided into three thematic zones Metro, Iconic and Allure, avant-garde designer labels or those focused on craftsmanship dominated the fair. Casual urban brands made up a fifth of the total collections. Korean labels like Navy Studio with stimulating details and cuts at attractive price points are mixed in with quirky Hong Kong designer labels like Loom Loop and artisanal indigo dyed hats and scarves by Yoshiharu Wada, which preserved techniques from the Japanese Edo period. “It’s actually our first show outside of Europe”, said Nada Lahjomri, sales manager at AFA Agency, representing Austrian, German and Swiss designers at the DACH showroom booth during the fair. The main idea behind coming to Hong Kong is to explore the market in China for its designers and establish contacts, she said. Lahjomri expressed appreciation for how Centrestage organizers helped brands meet buyers through a matching service. So far, she met eight buyers and received one order.
Buyers from China
The number of buyers rose 2.4 percent to 8,700 from the last edition, as visitors from Canada, France, Germany, India, Korea, Russia, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates increased significantly. “Hong Kong buyers make up around 50 percent of the visitors at Centerstage, that’s why we have rather high expectations for the local market in Hong Kong”, Lim Donghwan, team manager at Korean showroom Gyeonggi Fashion Creative Studio, said through a translator. Donghwan brought with him 13 brands that he believes have the potential to compete not only in Asia but internationally. The second biggest group of buyers comes from mainland China, including department and multi-brand stores from Shanghai to Chengdu, according to Lee. “There are a lot of new Chinese or Hong Kong designers. For us we will send a menswear or womenswear buyer to have a look at Centerstage to see what’s happening in Hong Kong or China”, said Michael Mok, General Merchandise Manager of Joyce. The Hong Kong multi-brand store which carries designers from JW Anderson to Marni also operates two stores in mainland China. International buyers can stop at Centrestage on a trip to visit other fashion weeks in Shanghai, Bangkok or Korea to get a picture of what’s happening in Asia or to spot new talent from Hong Kong or China, he said in an interview. Long perceived as a garment manufacturer carrying out the production for Western brands, China is set to surpass the United States and the European Union by 2025 with a clothing market estimated at 400 billion US dollars, according to a report by the Institut Français de la Mode on women’s fashion in China. Although many Chinese women still prefer Western brands, local labels are becoming more inspiring and consumers are also growing more “fashion conscious”, the study said. The streets of Shanghai already show how the influence of Western fashion is waning. “Thanks to social media and different trends picked up so quickly by bloggers and influencers, I honestly feel that the gap between East and West is shrinking“, Anupreet Bhuui, senior editor for global street style at trend forecasting company WGSN, said during her seminar on the fairground in Hong Kong. “Shanghai has really put itself on the global map, the kind of street style coming out of Shanghai is so interesting, it’s not influenced by the West or the East, Shanghai has it’s very individualistic take. It’s very modern, urban, contemporary."
Supporting local design talent
Local designers such as Redemptive, House of V and Loom Loop radiated an energy on the fairground and in shows that can only be found in an upcoming fashion scene. Centerstage also supported emerging talents with several contests: The Hong Kong young designers award on its last day, the Hong Kong Knitwear Designers’ Contest and the Redress Design Award, which claims to be the world’s largest sustainable fashion design competition. To reinforce its aspirations to be an Asian fashion event, Centrestage also invited three rising designer labels from China, Japan and Hong Kong to present their spring-summer 2019 collections at the opening gala show on the first day of the fair. Ms Min from China took inspiration from the golden twenties in Shanghai combining subtle traditional Chinese elements with contemporary shapes of global appeal. Facetasm from Japan, defied gender and age boundaries, to include the “missing part” in the fashion world in his latest collection. Hong Kong-based Idism created garments appealing to the senses in a fast moving fashion world. Leggings and sleeves also contain elements of the old Hong Kong, like neon lights that are disappearing in the city, and which Julio Ng, part of the designer duo, likes to capture with his camera. “When you look at how small Hong Kong is and how far we have come until now, it’s a story worth telling”, Julio Ng, said about one of his favourite views on the city from Victoria Peak. “We don’t have so many people, but we’ve been through so much. As the fashion world moves ever faster and its sector in mainland China gains more influence with its own vibrant designers and rising consumer power, the role Hong Kong will play remains to be seen. Lawrence Leung believes that commercial fashion activities will remain as the British law that’s practiced in Hong Kong helps buyers feel more protected when signing a contract. “In Hong Kong we speak English well, have good commercial sense and know what I call a good ‘textile language’. So Hong Kong still has a big commercial role to play,” said Leung, who is also a director at the Federation of Hong Kong Garment Manufacturers. Although, he adds: “In Hong Kong, we keep reminding ourselves that we cannot fall back.”
Source: FashionUnited
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Governments of Indonesia and Sri Lanka are committed to following up the agreement on the trade sector, including the clothing export to the European Union. “The joint effort of apparel export to the European Commission will open access to the European Union market. We must continue our intensive approach so that the proposal can be accepted by the European Union,” President Joko Widodo said on Thursday, September 13. Based on the Industry Ministry's "Making Indonesia 4.0" program, textile industry and products (TPT) is one of the five manufacturing sectors whose the development is being prioritized as pioneers in the roadmap for the application of the fourth industrial revolution. This is because the national textile industry has high competitiveness since its manufacturing structure has been integrated from upstream to downstream and its products are also known to have good quality in the international market. The ministry noted that 30 percent of ready-to-wear garments from the national textile industry is to meet the needs of the domestic market, while 70 percent is for export. The export value reached US$12,58 billion in 2017; a 6 percent increase compared to the previous year. This sector also contributes to Rp150,43 trillion GDP in 2017. Besides garment export, the Indonesian government also offers cooperation in building railroad facilities and infrastructure in Sri Lanka. “It is not only to sell wagons, but also to offer the making of signaling systems, rails, depots and even stations,” said Minister of Industry Airlangga Hartarto.
Source: Tempo.Co
