The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council

MARKET WATCH 14 JAN, 2019

NATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL

GST exemption to boost MMF sector: SRTEPC

SURAT: Synthetic and Rayon Textile Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) has stated that raising of GST exemption and composition scheme limits at the 32nd GST Council meeting on Thursday will boost small and medium units in the man-made fibre (MMF) sector and help increase exports. SRTEPC sources said the 32nd GST Council meeting has taken encouraging decision by relaxing tax exemption limit from Rs20 lakh to Rs40 lakh on annual turnover and increasing from Rs1 crore to Rs1.5 crore composition scheme limits. SRTEPC chairman Narain Aggarwal said, “The step of raising exemption threshold and increasing the composition scheme limits will help small and medium enterprises, especially the power loom weavers and textile traders. Small traders having annual turnover below Rs40 lakh will not have to take GST registration. The traders and entrepreneurs registered under composition scheme of GST will have to pay tax quarterly, but file returns annually. This will boost the confidence of the traders and entrepreneurs in the MMF sector.” Federation of Surat Textile Traders’ Association (FOSTTA) president Manoj Agarwal said, “Majority of small traders in the markets are having turnover below Rs40 lakh per annum. These traders have got exemption from GST registration and tax filing. Also, traders under composition scheme will get benefit of filing returns annually.”

Source: Times of India

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Textile park with 50 units, 5,000 jobs to come up

BAREILLY: Promising 5,000 jobs to locals, the Uttar Pradesh government is gearing up to set up state’s first textile park at Rehpura Jagir village under Meerganj subdivision, 30 km from here. Announcing the government’s decision, director and commissioner of UP handloom and textile department Rama Raman said the proposed park would be spread over 39 acres in Rehpura Jagir village. “The project is expected to come up in two to three months at an estimated cost of Rs 84 crore. As many as 50 industries will be set up at the park, which will generate 5,000 jobs for the locals.” “The 50 industries comprising 36 textile and 14 other unites to provide raw material will be set up at the park very soon,” said Raman. Speaking to TOI, district magistrate VK Singh said, “During the UP Investors’ Summit 2018 in Lucknow, local businessmen had expressed their interest in setting up of a textile park in Bareilly. The land has already been processed by the Bareilly Development Authority (BDA).” A city-based industrialist, Sandeep Tandon, who is heading the special purpose vehicle (SPV), a committee that coordinates between the government and the business community for the setting up of the park in the district, said, “BDA had published an advertisement last month, seeking objections from the public over change in the land use at the proposed site of the park “On January 16, the issuance of advertisement will complete one month, and if BDA receives an objection, it will be resolved. Thereafter, the administration will start developing infrastructure at the site,” Tandon added. The textile park will be developed under the public-private partnership model, wherein the Centre and the state government will jointly invest Rs 84 crore on the infrastructure. Notably, during the recent investors’ summit, the government signed agreements with as many as 38 companies, the owners of which had expressed their interest in setting up of industries at the proposed textile park here. Raman added, “We have appointed a nodal officer to assist representatives of these companies in getting approvals from various government departments for the setting up of their units.”

Source: Times of India

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Govt. committed to comprehensive development of region, says CM

Addressing the JD(S) workers at a meeting in the city, Mr. Kumaraswamy said that the government had decided to provide concessions to industrialists to invest in Chamarajanagar district which would help create jobs for the local youth. “We are working out some concessions for potential investors who want to establish garment units and textile mills in the region,” said the Chief Minister. Similarly, the government will resolve the issues plaguing the Falcon Factory in Mysuru and revive it to benefit nearly 2,500 families who have been left in the lurch, he added. A meeting has been convened on January 22 to thrash out a solution, the CM said. District in-charge Minister G.T. Deve Gowda and Tourism Minister S.R. Mahesh were directed to create a registry of roadside vendors in Mysuru to extend to financial assistance to them. “We have introduced a scheme to benefit the landless poor in the urban areas including roadside vendors who can avail interest-free loan upto ₹10,000. Not less than 15,000 families in Mysuru city alonewill benefit from the Badavara Bandhu programme,” he said. He said women self help groups were being provided ₹10 lakh loans of which ₹5 lakh was interest-free and a nominal interest of 4% was being levied on the remaining amount. This had helped shore up the SHGs whose merchandise and products were being marketed by the government.

Source: The Hindu

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Govt working on bilateral trade pacts to push exports: Prabhu

Mumbai : Given the rising challenge to the free trade, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said Sunday that while the aim is to open up more for free trade and make WTO more efficient, the government is also keen to work on bilateral trade with more nations. "One of the big challenges before the world is protectionism. We as a country are supporting open trade with all the countries....but we also want to develop bilateral trade agreements with many countries. For each of the geographies we are keen to have free trade agreements with the countries in Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia," he said, adding that New Delhi already has trade pacts with ASEAN and some other countries. Addressing a CII event, he also said there has been an ongoing discussion with Sri Lanka for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). For countries in Africa like Angola, he said such association can be in the form of technical assistance, financial assistance and a trade agreement which will not initially have any ambitious targets but will be a win-win for both the parties. Prabhu, who is also the Civil Aviation Minister, said the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have decided to use India as a base for their food security. "This is happening at an interesting time because we just had made a policy for agriculture exports which has identified food items that can be exported," he said. He informed that this year the country would be producing 290 million tonnes of farm produce as per advance estimates, and 305-310 million tonnes of horticultural items. "In the export policy, we have decided to remove all restrictions on organic products and processed products. Both the UAE and Saudi want to invest in both organic as well as food processing industries. This will be a win-win situation for the UAE, Saudi, and other GCC countries but also for us, particularly for our farmers, who want better prices to their produce," he said. Saudi Arabia has said it can make investment in logistics, food parks and make sector-specific investment in food processing, Prabhu said. The farm export policy will go a long way in reducing wastage, the minister said. On the Udan policy, he said the government will announce its phase III in the next few days, which will also focus on air cargo. On January 15, the government will be announcing the first air cargo policy, Prabhu added. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are keen to invest in all these infrastructure initiatives, he said.

Source: Business Line

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GST will improve our competitiveness

The economy will benefit as the tax is ushering in higher transparency, lowering transaction costs and improving complianceOnce again, the GST Council has made important modifications to the GST regime that will reinforce its growth potency. By raising thresholds, lowering frequency of returns and including services under the composition scheme, the Council has boosted ‘ease of doing business’ for small enterprises. India’s reform journey took a huge leap forward with introduction of the GST. Bringing together Central and State governments and integrating numerous indirect taxes, GST is a far-reaching tax system and, as such, it is only to be expected that its full rollout would require an adjustment period.

Undeniable gains

GST has finally transformed India into one unified marketplace. For the first time, manufactured goods and services are on the same tax platform and all products and services are subject to the same tax rates throughout the country. GST dismantled inter-State tax barriers for seamless transportation. Artificial distortions in the supply chain, as for example, creating depots in all States to avoid central sales tax, are behind us now. India successfully managed to get two GSTs to flow together in a unique structure which has not been seen in other countries. Average monthly revenues have been on the uptrend over the last 18 months. The number of returns filed has gone up from 3.76 million for August 2017 to 7.2 million in December 2018. This reflects a rising culture of compliance. Manufacturers and traders who had remained out of the tax net now find it advantageous to be part of the formal supply chain under GST. Today, about 11.7 million enterprises are registered, with over five million of these being new registrations. Under the composition scheme where smaller enterprises pay as per fixed tax rates, another 1.8 million have signed up. The recent decisions of the GST Council are likely to cut the number of enterprises covered under GST from April however, this is outweighed by the relief provided to these small units. The rising coverage is despite the fact that adhering to GST means large-scale change in processes, formats of invoices, tax accounting and coordination up and down the supply chain. Encouragingly, many operational issues have been addressed on a real-time basis by the GST Council of State finance ministers chaired by the Union Finance Minister. Over 32 meetings, they have considered detailed inputs from industry and provided workable solutions. These have greatly raised confidence in the system. Input tax credit refunds are generally quick and regular, streamlining the whole supply chain. Initial technical issues on the GST Network are also largely resolved. Deferment of GSTR 2 and introduction of the simplified new return filing model have brought in efficiency. Special drives have addressed delays in refund of IGST on exports and accumulated input tax credits due to inverted tax structure. For consumers, the overall benefits have been significant. Tax rates have been continuously reduced on key items, leaving only about 30 items in the highest bracket and most mass consumption goods in the lower categories. Elimination of cascading taxation and lower logistics costs have stabilised prices. Further, consumer protection through anti-profiteering provisions has ensured that the benefits of input tax credit or reduction in tax rates are passed on to the consumers. As the entire ecosystem becomes accustomed to this regime, an efficient business environment will emerge with higher transparency, lower transaction costs and better compliance.

Some tweaks needed

Going forward, some provisions of the GST laws need to be simplified and inconsistencies should be removed. Petroleum products, alcohol, electricity and real estate may be brought under GST ambit for providing seamless input tax credit across sectors. The number of rates too can be reduced to just three slabs, standard rates on items of mass consumption, demerit goods in the highest tax category, and certain items at a lower slab. The government is already working on these issues and in time to come, GST would not only benefit businesses and consumers but also strengthen India’s competitiveness in the global marketplace. On the whole, GST is moving towards a stable compliance environment, buoyancy in tax revenues, expansion of tax base and formalisation of the economy, achieving its vision as a transformative tax.

Source: Business Line

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FinMin considers steps to prevent composition dealers from charging GST from buyers

New Delhi: In a consumer-friendly measure, the revenue department is planning to make it mandatory for composition dealers and service providers to declare their GST registration status in invoices to ensure that they do not charge any tax from buyers. The measure, once implemented, would check the widespread practice of composition dealers of charging GST from purchasers and not depositing it with the exchequer, an official said. The revenue department is also planning to launch a campaign to educate consumers that the dealers opting for composition scheme are not required to charge the goods and services tax (GST) from purchasers, the official said. Under the GST composition scheme, traders and manufacturers are required to pay only 1% GST on goods which otherwise attract a higher levy of either 5, 12 or 18%. Such dealers are also not permitted to charge GST from the purchaser. Of the 1.17 crore businesses registered under GST, about 20 lakh have opted for composition scheme. “It has come to the notice of the government that a large number of composition dealers are levying GST at higher rates and not depositing it with the government,” the official told PTI. According to the proposal being considered by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), businesses will have to mandatorily mention in the invoice generated by them that they are composition dealers and, hence, are not required to charge GST. “Simultaneously, we will educate consumers that they should not pay GST while buying goods from composition scheme dealers,” the official said. To ease compliance burden for small businesses, the GST law provides for composition scheme under which traders and manufacturers with an annual turnover of up to Rs 1 crore can pay 1 per cent GST. This threshold will increase to Rs 1.5 crore from April 1. Also the GST Council, headed by Arun Jaitley and comprising state ministers, in its meeting on January 10 permitted service provider and those dealing in both goods and services with a turnover of Rs 50 lakh to opt for composition scheme.

Source : Live Mint

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‘Renewable industry needs policy push’

While India remains one of the most attractive markets when it comes to renewable energy, the industry needs a better regulatory environment and clarity on policies, industry players argued at the CII partnership summit in Mumbai on Sunday.“I think renewables is one industry in India where you have tariff capping coupled with reverse auction,” said Sindoor Mittal, Vice-Chairperson, Avaada Group. She said it is time the government goes back to closed auctions of renewable energy projects as the space is competitive enough to get best tariffs. Industry players also said the confusion around GST slabs for solar, which was clarified by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council only in the end of last year, had impacted the industry. The safeguard duty is another issue that developers should not be facing in India if the country wants the renewable sector to grow, Ramesh Subramanyan, CFO of Tata Power, said. Pradeep Kheruka, Chairman of Gujarat Borosil Ltd, said that while Indian manufacturers are not just as competitive as Chinese but have even better technology and manufacturing efficiency, factors like cost of electricity and land, among other things, make their costs higher.

Capital subsidy

The industry players argued that having capital subsidy for solar-related manufacturing has been discussed for years but has never seen the light of day as a separate policy. This could give a boost to solar manufacturing as many players would be ready to take it up. Financing of the sector is another issue slowing down the growth of the renewable industry. Both bank and NBFC financing has dried up, Subramanyan pointed out, as a result of NPA burden and overexposure to power sector in general, especially in the case of public banks. Mittal suggested that India’s pensions funds and insurance companies could take the example of global peers that are actively investing in the renewable sector, which provides them low yield but guaranteed return. Having long-term investors like pension fund and insurance companies could open up new financing avenues for the sector, she added.

Source : Business Line

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Govt may provide RoSL benefits to certain sectors under incentive package for exporters

New Delhi : The government may extend the Remission of State Levies (RoSL) to sectors including chemical and engineering as part of the proposed incentive package for exporters to boost the country's outbound shipments, an official said. Currently, RoSL, which is to offset indirect taxes levied by states such as stamp duty, petroleum tax, electricity duty and mandi tax that were embedded in exports, is provided to textiles exporters. The commerce ministry is working on an incentive package for labour-intensive sectors to promote shipments and address issues of exporters. It is holding meetings with the finance ministry on the matter. As part of the package, the ministry is proposing several steps such as funds for rebate of state levies, creating system for online refund of GST (goods and services tax) and expansion of Niryat Bandhu Scheme, the official said. Under this Scheme, mentoring is provided to the first-generation entrepreneurs. Recently, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said the ministry would provide support to exporters are they are facing several challenges. "We are preparing a package which will ensure that exporters' woes are addressed properly. There have been challenges for the export sector over a period of time and one big challenge is credit," he said. He also said the package would focus on labour-intensive sectors as it would help in creating jobs. The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Ganesh Kumar Gupta said incentives would help promote exports, which is expected to touch USD 350 billion in 2018-19. "Steps like online ITC (input tax credit) refund, one-time amnesty for fulfilling export obligation under Advance Authorisation and EPCG (Export Promotion Capital Goods) Scheme, and Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) benefit for fabrics and yarn would boost exports," he said. The Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) has demanded a rebate on state levies to increase shipments. During April-November this fiscal, exports rose 11.58 per cent to USD 217.52 billion. Since 2011-12, the country's exports have been hovering at around USD 300 billion. During 2017-18, the shipments grew by about 10 per cent to USD 303 billion. Promoting exports helps a country create jobs, boost manufacturing and earn more foreign exchange.

Source: Business Standard

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Cargo traffic at major ports up 3.77% to 519 MT during Apr-Dec 2018

New Delhi :  The country's 12 major ports recorded a 3.77 per cent growth in cargo traffic during April-December 2018 at 518.64 million tonnes (MT), according to apex ports body IPA. The growth was recorded on account of higher handling of cargos such as coal, containers and finished fertilisers. The top-12 major ports under the control of the Centre had recorded 499.77 MT of cargo during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, the Indian Ports Association (IPA) said. Nine major ports -- Kamrajar Port, Kolkata (including Haldia), Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Cochin, New Mangalore, JNPT and Kandla -- registered positive growth in traffic during the period. The three ports recording negative growth were Marmugao, Mumbai and VO Chidambaranar. The highest growth was registered by Kamrajar Port, earlier known as Ennore Port (18.38 per cent), followed by Cochin Port (8.92 per cent), Kolkata Port (8.74 per cent), Paradip Port (8.11 per cent) and JNPT (7.39 per cent). The 12 major ports in 2017-18 had handled 679.37 MT of cargo. According to the shipping ministry, more than 50 projects with an investment of over Rs 10,000 crore and involving capacity addition of 90 million tonne per annum (MTPA) are targeted for award during 2018-19. This is as against the 27 projects awarded during 2017-18, involving an investment of Rs 4,146.73 crore through which an additional capacity of 21.93 MTPA was created. The government last month said that while increasing the capacity of major ports, the ministry has been striving to improve their operational efficiencies through policy interventions, procedural changes and mechanisation. The 12 major ports handle about 61 per cent of the country's total cargo traffic. NAM HRS

Source : Times of India

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GTTES 2019 expo ready to herald a new successful business year

 MUMBAI GTTES 2019 Expo ready to herald a new successful business year with new optimism new opportunities & new prospects for the textile industry with 400+ Exhibitors & 48+ Countries in its much anticipated 2nd Edition in Mumbai from 18th to 20th January 2019. GTTES has grown in size and numbers and have achieved 26% growth rate attracting about 168 companies as first time participants who have never participated in any ITME events. This is a remarkable response to the 2nd edition GTTES indicating that this event has achieved its place as a reliable international business platform for both domestic and overseas companies. It is very attractive for start-ups and small medium companies from non-metro cities due to its low cost participation charges and focused exhibit chapters. First time participation from Sri Lanka & Slovenia and countries like Belgium China France Germany Italy Japan Spain Turkey UK USA Taiwan Algeria Djibouti Kuwait Azerbaijan Kyrgyzstan Senegal etc. is a testimony to global reach of GTTES as a trusted opportunity for business & gateway to India. Apart from this GTTES 2019 shall facilitate interaction with all Export Promotion Councils which again shall help industry to know more about export opportunities various Government subsidies market initiative schemes available for Indian manufacturers & help to gain information and develop new opportunities for exports from India The Road shows are very important part of visibility and one-to-one connect with textile hubs in various parts of the countries as well as globally. Every major hub in our country has been tapped by the Society. A total of 18 promotional activities has been conducted over the last 6 months in India and Overseas. Visitor registration is much higher than the 1st edition GTTES and the number of countries sending the business delegates to attend the event is also increased. Apart from the regular business delegates from Bangladesh Egypt Sudan Ghana Nepal Tanzania Uganda Rwanda Egypt Brazil Morocco etc. there shall be first time delegates from Chile Abu Dhabi & Palestine. Ministerial delegation from Ethiopia shall be available for one to one discussion for Investment & Incentives offered by Ethiopian Govt. As a trend setting exhibition organiser India ITME Society takes care to address trending topics as well as the topics which needs attention. Conference Sessions by Indian Technical Textiles Association Society on ‘International Conference on Nonwoven Technical Textiles’ & by Society of Dyers & Colourists International India Pvt. Ltd on ‘Educating the Technology Innovations in Textile Colouration’ on 19th & 20th January 2019 respectively at GTTES 2019 shall empower Industry on these subjects. Apart from the above two conferences there shall be industry interactive session on 18th January 2019 to facilitate Govt / Industry Interaction. Ms. Surina Rajan IAS Director General Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) shall be available for open interaction with Industry members. This shall help the Industry in direct representation towards formulation of policy for standardization Continued from Page 1 Col 6 promoting exports / imports & control proliferation. The main points of discussion will include Overview of Standardization work done by BIS in the field of Textile Machinery and Accessories. Issues related to Noise emissions and Safety aspects of textile machinery and adoption of related ISO standards & Inputs required for identified new subjects such as Embroidery Machines and Baby diaper making machines. All the industry members are welcome to register at http:// gttes.india-itme.com/visitors/registration_form to fix their B2B meetings BIS Interaction & Ethiopia Investment Seminar. GTTES 2019 is the apt platform to connect the exhibitors with many new markets which has never looked at India as sourcing opportunity. Both for Indian manufactures and foreign exhibitors these new and developing markets shall bring future opportunity for business and expand their customer networking in an unprecedented way.

Source:  Tecoya Trend

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Global Textile Raw Material Price 2019-01-13

Item

Price

Unit

Fluctuation

Date

PSF

1291.73

USD/Ton

0.75%

1/13/2019

VSF

1949.06

USD/Ton

0%

1/13/2019

ASF

2382.35

USD/Ton

0%

1/13/2019

Polyester POY

1196.35

USD/Ton

0.19%

1/13/2019

Nylon FDY

2706.20

USD/Ton

0.55%

1/13/2019

40D Spandex

4806.10

USD/Ton

0%

1/13/2019

Nylon POY

5575.08

USD/Ton

0%

1/13/2019

Acrylic Top 3D

1486.19

USD/Ton

0%

1/13/2019

Polyester FDY

2513.96

USD/Ton

0%

1/13/2019

Nylon DTY

2528.75

USD/Ton

0%

1/13/2019

Viscose Long Filament

1419.65

USD/Ton

0%

1/13/2019

Polyester DTY

2972.39

USD/Ton

0%

1/13/2019

30S Spun Rayon Yarn

2698.81

USD/Ton

0%

1/13/2019

32S Polyester Yarn

1988.99

USD/Ton

0%

1/13/2019

45S T/C Yarn

2883.66

USD/Ton

0%

1/13/2019

40S Rayon Yarn

2144.26

USD/Ton

0%

1/13/2019

T/R Yarn 65/35 32S

2528.75

USD/Ton

0%

1/13/2019

45S Polyester Yarn

3001.96

USD/Ton

0%

1/13/2019

T/C Yarn 65/35 32S

2513.96

USD/Ton

0%

1/13/2019

10S Denim Fabric

1.36

USD/Meter

0%

1/13/2019

32S Twill Fabric

0.83

USD/Meter

0%

1/13/2019

40S Combed Poplin

1.11

USD/Meter

0%

1/13/2019

30S Rayon Fabric

0.65

USD/Meter

0%

1/13/2019

45S T/C Fabric

0.70

USD/Meter

0%

1/13/2019

Source: Global Textiles

Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14788 USD dtd. 13/01/2019). 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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Ghana : Government exempts textile manufacturers from VAT

The Coalition of Textile Workers reckons they can now compete fairly in the market given government’s decision to exclude local textile manufacturers from paying certain taxes and VAT. John Ackon of the coalition says the burdensome payment of Value Added Tax (VAT) was further pounding the textile companies into an inevitable death. He stated the tax component meant the cost was passed done to the depots, wholesalers, retailers and ultimately the customers who complained of the high cost the locally made fabrics. With the easing of the taxes, Mr. Ackon sees no reason why cost of local cloth should not reduce. He was also delighted about government’s plan to roll out the tax stamp on fabrics. “In terms of design, colours and creativity, the local fabrics are superior but pirating our designs and selling it cheaply affected our operations,” he submitted. The tax stamp roll out will have a vetting committee and a task force to arrest those selling pirated materials. The Coalition of Textile Workers, comprises employees of the Akosombo Textiles Limited (ATL), Ghana Textile Printing Limited (GTP), Printex and Volta Star with many having gone on protest marches beseeching President Akufo-Addo to intervene as a sector which had a 30,000 workforce barley had 3,000 now. The tax stamp will also help government to generate revenue while checking counterfeiting. The Union and the government have on numerous occasions embarked on exercises to clamp down on fake textiles on the market hopefully the new regime can stop the producers of cloth with pirated designs from competing with local textile companies.

Source: Ghana Web

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Texprocess to show new technology for textile processing

Texprocess 2019 will display latest technology for textile processing. The international trade fair presenting machinery and methods for the processing of textile and flexible materials will be held from May 14-17, 2019, at Messe Frankfurt, Germany. Visitors from the fashion and clothing industry, upholstered- furniture manufacturers will visit the show. With exhibitors currently from some 29 countries, Texprocess will be showing the whole range of textile-processing technologies – from design, to layout, to cutting, making, trimming, digital textile printing, conditioning, finishing, textile logistics and textile recycling. Among the exhibitors registered will be all international market leaders, including Amann, Brother, Dürkopp Adler, Human Solutions, Juki Central Europe, Morgan Tecnica, Pfaff, Tajima, Veit and Vetron. Following a temporary absence, Sunstar will be one of those represented at Texprocess again, according to a press release on the show. Among those which have registered for the first time are Browzwear Solutions, Lasembor, INL International Technology, Siruba Latin America, and Summa NV. China, Japan, and Taiwan have registered for national pavilions. Micro-factories – an approach to textile processing which is fully networked and allows individualised products, while working rapidly, flexibly and locally – will be the focal subject at the coming Texprocess. Texprocess currently features four micro-factories. The Digital Textile Micro-Factory at Texprocess and Techtextil, in collaboration with the Denkendorf Institutes for Textile and Fibre Research (DITF) and partners from industry, will be presenting three production lines in hall 4.1 alone – one each for the manufacture of clothing, a 3D knitted shoe and for processing technical textiles, for example, the automotive or furniture industry. RWTH Aachen University, jointly with various partners from industry and research, will be producing a smart cushion in its Smart Textiles Micro-Factory in the passage between halls 4.1 and 5.1, thus demonstrating the industrially compatible production of a smart textile, from design to finished product, to serve as an example of the process. Six firms working in several fields – visualisation, CAD cutting systems, automated body-mass calculation, layout, and process automation – have also come together under the umbrella concept ‘World of Digital Fashion’. In hall 4.0, they will be jointly showing the ways in which their products can be integrated and combined in various different workflows within the value-added chain, making the digital process chain into a live experience. The focus will be on the customisation of clothing and fashion. Additionally, Efka, a manufacturer of industrial sewing-machine drive systems, and CAD specialist Gemini will be showing how to produce individually designed football shirts. The micro-factory presents an easy solution that most companies can implement using existing resources and structures. Sustainability is one of the central themes of the upcoming Techtextil and Texprocess. For the first time, the two fairs will be showcasing their exhibitors’ efforts towards sustainability. The Techtextil and Texprocess Innovation Awards give prizes for sustainable textile innovations and processing approaches. In addition, the Texprocess Forum will offer a thematic block exclusively around the theme of sustainability in the textile and fashion industry, with an offshoot of Fashionsustain, Messe Frankfurt’s conference about sustainable textile innovations. For the first time Techtextil and concurrent Texprocess will be sharing an exhibition hall in 2019. In hall 4.1, Texprocess will be showing its Digital Textile Micro-Factory, with one production line each for clothing, shoes and the processing of technical textiles. In addition exhibitors will be featuring product preparation, finishing, textile logistics, internal materials flow and textile conditioning, plus suppliers of sewing solutions. The Texprocess Special Treatment Area will also be located there, with exhibitors from the effect-finishing segment. Also in hall 4.1, Techtextil will be showcasing some of the suppliers of woven, laid web, braided and knitted fabrics, coated textiles, and nonwovens, as well as selected suppliers of textile machines. The Texprocess Forum in hall 4.1 on every day of the fair will be featuring talks by experts on current topics in the industry. Once again the Forum will be organised in collaboration with the Textile-Clothing Dialogue (Dialog Textil-Bekleidung (DTB)), the International Apparel Federation (IAF) and the World Textile Information Network (WTiN). Visitors will also find new IT solutions for the clothing industry at IT@Texprocess. Among the presentations to be shown by exhibitors will be software for customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), product life-cycle management (PLM) and supply chain management. (GK)

Source : Fibre2fashion

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Sustainability takes centre stage at the London Textile Fair

Buyers demanded sustainability at the latest edition of the London Textile Fair. Demand for sustainable fabrics proved one of the biggest trends at the spring 20 edition of the London Textile Fair on 9-10 January. More than 500 exhibitors, up from 472 last season, descended on the Business Design Centre in London’s Islington for the show. Most came from Europe – among them were textile manufacturers from Turkey, Italy, Portugal and the UK. Buyers from several big-name brands and retailers, including River Island, Karen Millen, Oasis, Ted Baker, Jaeger, John Lewis, Boden, Mr Porter and Gieves & Hawkes, were spotted browsing the aisles. The show felt busier than in previous seasons, and many stands were crowded, especially towards the front of the exhibition area. Exhibitors were broadly pleased with both the footfall and the quality of buyers in attendance. The hot topic over the course of the show was unquestionably sustainability. Almost all of the exhibitors Drapers spoke to said buyers had been asking about production processes, and that interest in sustainable alternatives was at an all-time high. “The show has been steady for us and we’ve seen a good mix of big brands and smaller names,” said Zack Whitehead, sales executive at Yorkshire-based weaving specialist Marton Mills. “It’s a good show to catch up with customers. Teal has been a trend for this season, and we’ve definitely noticed a surge in interest for recycled fabrics. It is good, because it shows change is in the air, but the problem is still that retailers don’t want to pay more for sustainable fabrics. I don’t think we’ll see much change unless the government steps in and starts subsidising sustainable production.” Another exhibitor, who did not wish to be named, agreed that balancing sustainability and price is still a challenge for retailers, particularly on the high street: “We can do sustainable fabrics, but there have been occasions where we’ve spent ages working out alternatives for big retailers and then we tell them how much it will cost they lose interest – their customers just won’t pay for the higher cost.” Paul Sharp, head of sales at waxed cotton specialist British Millerain, told Drapers the show had hit its stride this season and that sustainable cotton was a key talking point: “It feels like the show has got bigger and better this season. Sometimes you have to wait a while before footfall really gets going, but this season we had people on the stand from 9am on the first day. People are definitely asking about sustainability and, for us, they have been particularly interested in BCI [Better Cotton Initiative] cotton.” Dorothy Abbott, who works in marketing and design at Scottish waxed cotton specialist Halley Stevensons, added: “Sustainability has been a trend. Buyers have been asking about production processes and how sustainable they are. The way we manufacture is sustainable, but it’s never really been something we’ve shouted about before – mainly because the interest and demand hasn’t been there.”

Source: Drapers Online

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