Between Apr and Jul, the goods imports have fallen by 46.7% to $88.9 bn. In comparison, goods exports during the same period have fallen at a much slower pace of 30.3% to $74.9 bn. Why have exports fallen at a much slower pace than imports? Mint takes a look. Between April and July, the goods imports have fallen by 46.7% to $88.9 billion. In comparison, goods exports during the same period have fallen at a much slower pace of 30.3% to $74.9 billion.
Why have exports fallen at a much slower pace than imports?
Mint takes a look. Why have imports crashed by 46.7%? A major reason for the overall decline in imports is the drop in oil and oil products imports, which have plunged by a whopping 55.9% to $19.6 billion. There are two reasons for the same. First is the fall in oil prices between last year and now. The price of Indian basket of crude oil between April and July 2019, averaged at around $66.8 per barrel. The average price this year has been around half of the 2019 figure at $33.6 per barrel. The lack of mobility due to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic has led to the consumption of petroleum products coming down by 22.50% between April and July.
What else is behind the crash in imports? Due to the spread of covid-19, incomes have been substantially hit, causing consumption to fall. And this general lack of demand has shown up in imports crashing. The non-oil, non-gold, non-silver imports, —an excellent indicator of consumer demand—have fallen by 38.6% to. $66 billion. Along similar lines, a demand crash in other countries dealing with covid, has led to a decline in demand for goods from India. This has led the exports to crash by 30.3% to $74.9 billion. But exports have crashed at a softer pace than imports. In fact, if we look at non-oil and non-oil products exports, the fall is even lower at 25.8% to $68.4 billion. Why have imports fallen at a faster pace than exports? India’s exports have declined at a slower pace simply because some of India’s trading partners faced the covid pandemic earlier than India did, and their economies are gradually getting back on track. As the rating agency Crisil pointed out in a recent research note, there has been a “rise in exports to economies which have been able to control the pandemic".
Which countries does India trade more with? There are many countries India actively trades with. Take the case of China. Exports to the country during the June went up by 77.8% to $2.1 billion. Along similar lines, the exports to Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, during the month, went up by 34.6%, 74.7% and 42.7%, respectively. The reason is that these countries have managed to flatten the covid-19 curve. In contrast, exports to countries like the US and Brazil, which continue to see a rise in their covid caseload, are lower than where they were last year.
What’s the learning from this trend? As Crisil points out: “Export prospects for this fiscal will pivot on the trajectory of the pandemic across countries. It will rise for countries that have controlled their caseload and restarted activity. China is a case in point. China entered and controlled the pandemic much earlier than other economies. Its cases peaked in February, post which activities resumed." This is precisely how things will play out with other nations when it comes to exports.
Source: Live Mint
The GST debate carried on for ten years till former finance minister Arun Jaitley assured the states that centre envisages a 14% growth yoy and for any deficit, government of India will fulfill the deficit fund for 5 years. However with Covid pandemic things have gone bad. Swaminathan Aiyar of The Economic Times suggest that centre needs to take the responsibility and support the states. Home Press Note on Global Multidimensional Poverty Index and India (Source: Press Information Bureau, September 07, 2020) NITI Aayog as the nodal agency has been assigned the responsibility of leveraging the monitoring mechanism of the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) to drive reforms. Global MPI is part of Government of India’s decision to monitor the performance of the country in 29 select Global Indices. The objective of the “Global Indices to Drive Reforms and Growth (GIRG)” exercise is to fulfil the need to measure and monitor India’s performance on various important social and economic parameters and enable the utilisation of these Indices as tools for self-improvement, bring about reforms in policies, while improving last-mile implementation of government schemes. The Cabinet Secretary had earlier in July organised a workshop with all the nodal agencies where he also emphasized the need for regular engagement with Publishing Agencies.
2. Global MPI is an international measure of multidimensional poverty covering 107 developing countries and was first developed in 2010 by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for UNDP’s Human Development Reports. The Global MPI is released at the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development of the United Nations in July, every year.
3. Global MPI is computed by scoring each surveyed household on 10 parameters based on -nutrition, child mortality, years of schooling, school attendance, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing and household assets. It utilises the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) which is conducted under the aegis of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS). According to Global MPI 2020, India is 62nd among 107 countries with an MPI score of 0.123 and 27.91% headcount ratio, based on the NFHS 4 (2015/16) data. Neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka (25th), Bhutan (68th), Nepal (65th), Bangladesh (58th), China (30th), Myanmar (69th) and Pakistan (73rd) are also ranked in this index (we can pick and choose the countries). The latest NFHS 5 (2019/20) is set to see remarkable national improvement brought about by focused schemes and interventions in these parameters since NFHS 4, especially in sanitation, cooking fuel, housing, drinking water and electricity. The survey has been paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
4. As the Nodal agency for the MPI, NITI Aayog has constituted a Multidimensional Poverty Index Coordination Committee (MPICC). The MPICC, chaired by Ms Sanyukta Samaddar, Adviser (SDG) has members from relevant Line Ministries and Departments, namely Ministry/ Department of Power, WCD, Telecommunication, MoSPI, Rural Devleopment, Petroleum & Natural Gas, Food & Public Distribution, Drinking Water & Sanitation, Education, Housing & Urban Affairs, Health & Family Welfare, and Financial Services. These Ministries/ Departments have been mapped to the ten parameters of the index. Experts from OPHI and UNDP, as the publishing agency, have also been onboarded for their technical expertise. The inaugural meeting of the MPICC was held on 2 September 2020. Preparation of a MPI Parameter Dashboard to rank States and UTs, and a State Reform Action Plan (SRAP) are at an advanced stage of development. The MPICC will next be organising a workshop with representatives of States and UTs for taking the SRAP forward.
Source: Economic Times
The India-China border conflict has failed to dent bilateral trade so far, with New Delhi having witnessed an impressive 23.7% year-on-year surge in exports to the neighbour to $1.74 billion in July. The deadly clash at Galwan was on June 15. In contrast, India’s overall merchandise exports declined by 9.9% in July, reflecting the damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.According to the latest data sourced from the directorate general of commercial intelligence, imports from the world’s second-largest economy dropped by only 9.8% year on year in July to $5.58 billion, compared with a much steeper 29.6% contraction in India’s total goods imports during the month. Similarly, between April and July, India’s shipments to China surged by 30.7% year on year, even though its overall exports contracted by as much as 30%. India’s imports of the Chinese goods in the first four months of the fiscal shrank by 29.2%, while its overall merchandise imports contracted by a massive 47.9%. In fact, barring April, India’s exports to China grew every month this fiscal. Although any spike in conflicts could ultimately spill over to trade, the relatively unhindered flow of goods so far reflects the intricate interdependence in trade that both the sides are finding it difficult to shake off easily than in some other areas. Already, to exert a cost on Beijing for its border misadventure, New Delhi has banned well over 200 Chinese apps, including TikTok and WeChat. It will likely shut the doors on Huawei and ZTE Corp for 5G networks and slaps curbs on Chinese companies for participating in its public procurement programmes. Chinese companies may also find it tougher to grab some critical infrastructure projects in India, especially in the road and power sectors. Trade sources say exports to the neighbour rose because of the fact that it is least affected by the Covid-19 pandemic among major nations and have a good appetite for commodities. Also, China doesn’t seem to have applied its usual trick of resorting to various non-tariff barriers to discourage supplies from India in times of frosty political ties. Still, the momentum in bilateral trade faces significant risks from any further escalation in border conflicts, they fear. Already, India’s top two export markets – the EU and the US — have reeled under the pandemic and demand from these destinations remains subdued. Interestingly, iron and steel remained the biggest segment of exports to China. Such exports jumped to $1,535 million in the April-July period from just $138 million a year before. Iron ore exports climbed by almost 82%, year on year, to $1,344 million in the first four months of FY21, while supplies of plastics grew 93% to $577 million and copper by 789% to $245 million. These are usually the products that India imports in large volumes from China. However, organic chemicals supplies to the neighbour dropped over 9% to $965 million between April and July.
Source: Financial Express
More than half of the companies surveyed were micro and small units while 15% were medium and large companies. Around 57% companies were from the manufacturing sector, 25% from the services sector and the rest were involved in both manufacturing and services Industries in and around Pune are gradually returning to pre-Covid production levels. Around 55% of the industries are likely to take another three to nine months to get back to pre-Covid January 2020 production levels. Pharma and food processing companies have already touched the pre-Covid production levels. A survey done by the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (MCCIA) in August, covering more than 100 companies in Pune district, including micro, small, medium and large scale units, shows that 5% of the respondents have already achieved the pre-Covid levels of production, which were mostly pharma and food processing companies. Around 15% of the respondents expect their production levels to go back to the January 2020 levels in less than three months. Another 15% say this could take more than nine months, the survey said. Almost 70% of the respondents now have visibility of their revival over next three to twelve months. “As the economy opens up fully post lockdown, chances of recovery are good. The demand has started to pick up especially in sectors like retail, pharmaceutical, agriculture and we expect credit growth to improve substantially from Q3 onwards, said AS Rajeev, MD & CEO, Bank of Maharashtra. More than half of the companies surveyed were micro and small units while 15% were medium and large companies. Around 57% companies were from the manufacturing sector, 25% from the services sector and the rest were involved in both manufacturing and services. The average production levels reached by these companies by August 2020 was at 50%. The number of employees working in the surveyed companies has gone up from 47% in July to 56% in August 2020.
Source: Financial Express
Severe stress cases would require comprehensive restructuring. Exceptions to thresholds were made for five sectors -- auto manufacturing, aviation, real estate, roads and trading -- wholesale. Any default by the borrower with any of the signatories to the ICA during the monitoring period shall trigger a review period of 30 days. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday released guidelines for banks to follow while restructuring Covid-stressed loan exposures, across 26 sectors. The circular, based on the recommendations given by the KV Kamath Committee, said five financial metrics need to be taken into account while deciding on a recast plan: total outstanding liabilities/ adjusted tangible net worth, total debt/Ebitda, current ratio, debt service coverage ratio, and average debt service coverage ratio. For each of these parameters, RBI has prescribed either a floor or a ceiling. Experts observed that some of the ratios were strict. For instance, RBI has said the current ratio and DSCR (debt service coverage ratio) in all cases shall be 1.0 and above, and adjusted SCR shall be 1.2 and above. Lenders are expected to ensure that the ratio of the total outside liabilities to the adjusted tangible networth (TOL/ATNW) is complied with when the recast is implemented. Moreover, this ratio needs to be maintained, in all cases, as per the plan, by March,31 2022, and on an ongoing basis thereafter. However, wherever there is equity infusion, the ratio may be suitably phased-in over the period. All other key ratios shall have to be maintained as per the resolution plan by March 31, 2022 and on an ongoing basis thereafter, RBI said. The committee sets 180 days to implement the plan and makes an inter creditor agreement (ICA) mandatory. The tenure of a loan may be extended by a maximum of two years, with or without a moratorium, the panel has said. The resolution process shall be treated as invoked once lenders representing 75% by value and 60% by number agree to invoke the same. The central bank said the resolution plans “shall take into account the pre-Covid-19 operating and financial performance of the borrower and impact of Covid-19 on its operating and financial performance’ to assess cash flows for FY21/FY22 and subsequent years, suggesting some degree of flexibility. “In these financial projections, the threshold TOL/adjusted TNW and debt/Ebitda ratios should be met by FY23. The other three threshold ratios should be met for each year of the projections starting from FY22,” the report said, adding that the base case financial projections need to be prepared as part of the plan. The sector-specific parameters may be considered as guidance for preparation of resolution plan. Also, lenders may adopt a graded approach classifying the impact on borrowers as mild, moderate and severe. “Considering the large volume and the fact that only standard assets are eligible under the proposed scheme, a segmented approach of bucketing these accounts under mild, moderate and severe stress, may ensure quick turnaround,” the report said. Severe stress cases would require comprehensive restructuring. Exceptions to thresholds were made for five sectors — auto manufacturing, aviation, real estate, roads and trading — wholesale. Any default by the borrower with any of the signatories to the ICA during the monitoring period shall trigger a review period of 30 days. If the borrower is in default with any of the signatories to the ICA at the end of the review period, the asset classification of the borrower with all lending institutions, including those who did not sign the ICA, shall be downgraded to non-performing asset (NPA) from the date of implementation of the plan or the date from which the borrower had been classified as NPA before implementation of the plan, whichever is earlier.
Source: Financial Express
The growth numbers should alarm everyone, Raghuram Rajan wrote in a post on LinkedIn on Monday, suggesting that India is even worse off compared to two of the most Covid-hit advanced countries that have also suffered a contraction - the US and Italy. The government and its bureaucrats need to be frightened out of their complacency and a stimulus is critical to prevent an "atrophied" economy, former RBI chief Raghuram Rajan has said in a post reacting to what he calls India's alarming -23.9 per cent quarterly GDP. Without relief measures, the growth potential of the economy would be "seriously damaged", he said, commenting that the government seemed to have retreated into a shell. The growth numbers should alarm everyone, Raghuram Rajan wrote in a post on LinkedIn on Monday, suggesting that India is even worse off compared to two of the most Covid-hit advanced countries that have also suffered a contraction -the US and Italy. "The pandemic is still raging in India, so discretionary spending, especially on high-contact services like restaurants, and the associated employment, will stay low until the virus is contained. Government-provided relief becomes all the more important," he said. "India needs strong growth, not just to satisfy the aspirations of our youth but to keep our unfriendly neighbors at bay," Mr Rajan, currently a professor at the University of Chicago, advised. "No doubt, the government and its bureaucrats are working hard as always, but they need to be frightened out of their complacency and into meaningful activity. If there is a silver lining in the awful GDP numbers, hopefully it is that." The government's reluctance to do more today seemed partly because it wants to conserve resources for a possible future stimulus, the renowned economist noted, calling the strategy self-defeating. "If you think of the economy as a patient, relief is the sustenance the patient needs while on the sickbed and fighting the disease. Without relief, households skip meals, pull their children out of school and send them to work or beg, pledge their gold to borrow, let EMIs and rent arrears pile up...Similarly, without relief, small and medium firms - think of a small restaurant -- stop paying workers, let debt pile up, or close permanently. Essentially, the patient atrophies, so by the time the disease is contained, the patient has become a shell of herself," said Mr Rajan. Economic stimulus, he said, was like a tonic, but "if the patient has atrophied, stimulus will have little effect". The recent pick-up in sectors like autos was not evidence of a V-shaped recovery but reflects pent-up demand that will fade "as we go down to the true level of demand in the damaged, partially-functioning, economy" "...government officials who hold out the possibility of a stimulus when India finally contains the virus are underestimating the damage from a more shrunken and scarred economy at that point," Mr Rajan said, appearing to refer to Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian's comments. "Instead of claiming there is a V-shaped recovery round the corner, they should wonder why the United States, despite spending over 20 percent of GDP in fiscal and credit relief measures, is still worried the economy will not return to pre-pandemic GDP levels by the end of 2021," he said. Mr Rajan said the government needed to expand the resource envelope in every way possible, spend as cleverly as possible and take every action without additional spending. "All this requires a more thoughtful and active government. Unfortunately, after an initial burst of activity, it seems to have retreated into a shell," he remarked.
Source: NDTV
Bharat Craft portal planned by the MSME ministry to help small biz, rural and tribal communities still not ready More than a year after being announced, the government’s proposal to create an online emarketplace similar to Amazon, which would be open to all consumers, is yet to take off due to lack of a business plan, the unavailability of a technology partner, and shortage of funds. In August 2019, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Minister Nitin Gadkari had named the portal Bharat Craft, which was given the go ahead by the Prime Minister’s Office. Officially set to be the government’s first foray into the private sector, initial estimates had eyed Rs 10 trillion ...
Source: Business Standard
New Delhi, 8 September 2020: The BRICS Chamber of Commerce Industry congratulated Brazil on the joyous occasion of its 197th Independence Day. Brazil claimed its independence from the hands of the Portuguese on 7th September 1822. India and Brazil are undoubtedly respected regional leaders and share the ambition of becoming global actors on a stage that already has established powers. These are not just military powers but powers in the sense that they have structured international institutions. In this multilateral world, India and Brazil have the objective to contribute substantially to ensure that all voices are heard. Mr. Paulo Chiarelli Head of Public Diplomacy Section of The Brazilian Embassy said “India and Brazil had remained unexplored by each other. The main items of export from India to Brazil are diesel, organic chemicals, pharmaceutical products, man-made filaments, nuclear reactors, machinery, mechanical appliances and textile products. While India and Brazil are both making progress at the multilateral level, their bilateral relations have a lot of potential that is yet to be explored”. Dr. BBL Madhukar, Director General, BRICS CCI, congratulated Brazil on its Independence Day and said “The relationship between India and Brazil has been productive since 1947. Both countries have played a pivotal role as the leaders of the Global market” Mr. Sameep Shastri, Vice Chairman, BRICS CCI in his inaugural speech said, “There are deep-rooted historical ties between India and Brazil. And there is an enormous Brazilian interest in Indian culture, religion, performing arts, trade and philosophy”.
Source: Indian Express
Strengthening cooperation with India is important for the Vietnamese textile and garment industry to improve its competitiveness and increase its exports. To that end, a webinar, entitle ‘Promoting Vietnam-India Business Relations in Textile and Healthcare (PPEs, Medical devices, Pharma)’ is going to organize by the Embassy of The Socialist Republic of Viet Nam on Thursday, September 10, 2020 at 1230 hrs to 1500hrs from New Delhi. The programme will be chaired by H.E. (Mr.) Pham Sanh Chau, Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to India. Mr. Akram Hoque, Founder Editor of the Policy Times will moderate the show. The programme is divided with three sessions including inaugural session and two sectoral sessions. The Ambassador will give a keynote address and welcome all the speakers from both India and Vietnam industries. The remarks will be given by Ms. Hoang Ngoc Anh, Acting General Secretary of Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association, Mr. Rajiv Nath, Founder & Forum Coordinator – Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AIMED), Mr.Ashok Juneja, National President, The Textile Association (India). The special address will be given by the representatives from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Top-notch speakers from healthcare industry (PPEs, Medical Devices, Pharma) will participate including Mr. P. K. Gupta, President, BelcoPharma& Chairman, Confederation of Indian Pharmaceutical Industry (CIPI), Representative from Sunstar JSC, Mrs. DANG THI HONG NGOC, Director, Wakamono International INC, Dr. Sanjiiiv Relhan, Chairman, the Preventive Wear Manufacturer Association of India (PWMAI). The second session will be on Textile sectors, eminent speakers from Vietnam including Ms. Pham Minh Huong, South East Asia Regional Manager CTC Group& former MD of Viet Nam National Textile and Garment Group, Representative from Song Hong Garment Joint Stock Company, and from India, Mr. Krupesh Thakkar, Chief Operating Officer, Arvind Limited will join. At the end of the each show there will be question & answer round for the audience. Dr. Thanh Hai Do, PhD, Deputy Chief of Mission, The Embassy of the S.R of Vietnam to India will conclude the programme with the vote of thanks.
Source: Policy Times
The Surat Mercantile Association, a body of textile traders, on Tuesday requested municipal commissioner B N Pani to issue business permit for three to four days to traders visiting the district from other states. According to the trader’s body wholesalers from other states like UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Delhi, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh usually visit Surat to purchase saris and dress materials. But due to the mandatory 14-day quarantine rule, they are avoiding Surat which is affecting the industry in Surat. If these traders are given a business permit for three to four days, they can come here to purchase items. The traders’ body also requested Pani to extend the time window for textile trading shops to remain open by an hour. There are over 65,000 textile trading shops in 165 markets in Surat. The Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown have badly affected the textile industry. Surat Mercantile Association president Narendra Saboo said, “We have got a positive response from the municipal commissioner. He has assured us that he will come up with a set of permits for traders from other states.” Textile trader Kailash Hakim said, “My customers are in UP, Bihar, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, but due to the mandatory 14-day quarantine rule, they are unwilling to come here. Permits will help a lot in our business, especially because Diwali and marriage season is round the corner.” Federation of Surat Textile Traders’ Association president Manoj Agrawal said, “At present markets are experiencing only 20 per cent business. Traders keep their shops open throughout the day, but hardly any customer visits them. They are struggling a lot. Such permits will finally help the traders do some good business.” Surat Municipal Commissioner B N Pani said, “We will work on the proposal, but we have also told them to ensure that Covid-19 rules are strictly followed.”
Source: The Indian Express
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
811.19 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
09-09-2020 |
|
VSF |
1271.59 |
USD/Ton |
0.58% |
09-09-2020 |
|
ASF |
1726.15 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
09-09-2020 |
|
Polyester POY |
746.88 |
USD/Ton |
0.20% |
09-09-2020 |
|
Nylon FDY |
1973.16 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
09-09-2020 |
|
40D Spandex |
4107.10 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
09-09-2020 |
|
Nylon POY |
1900.08 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
09-09-2020 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
913.50 |
USD/Ton |
-1.57% |
09-09-2020 |
|
Polyester FDY |
2236.25 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
09-09-2020 |
|
Nylon DTY |
5261.76 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
09-09-2020 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
950.04 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
09-09-2020 |
|
Polyester DTY |
1863.54 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
09-09-2020 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
1746.61 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
09-09-2020 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1388.52 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
09-09-2020 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2207.02 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
09-09-2020 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
1914.70 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
09-09-2020 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
1702.76 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
09-09-2020 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
1549.30 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
09-09-2020 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2075.47 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
09-09-2020 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.15 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
09-09-2020 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.64 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
09-09-2020 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
0.94 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
09-09-2020 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.48 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
09-09-2020 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.66 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
09-09-2020 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14616USD dtd. 09/09/2020). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
The textile and garment industry continues to be hurt by the Covid-19 pandemic with only weekly orders coming in due to uncertain demand. Shipments of textile and garment, Vietnam’s third-largest export earner, fell 11.6 percent year-on-year in the first eight months to $19.6 billion because of the pandemic, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a recent report. Producers receive orders by the month or even week because of the plunging global demand due to Covid-19, whereas in previous years by this time they would have received orders for the first half of the following year, the report said. Some producers have seen September orders drop by 40-50 percent, while orders have not been confirmed for the rest of the year and 2021, it added. Global demand for textile and garment products in the third quarter has not shown signs of reviving, as consumer confidence remains low in the U.S., the E.U. and Japan, three of Vietnam’s largest buyers. This has affected producers like Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex). Cao Huu Hieu, its deputy CEO, said the company forecasts a 20 percent fall in revenues this year. “We have barely received orders for the last quarter, which is a major challenge for our production plans. Prices of masks have dropped to just enough to cover costs.” Companies are doing all they can to survive. Garment 10 Corporation Jsc (Garco10) is working to get long-term orders to ensure cash flows and retain jobs, while Vinatex seeks to boost domestic sales. Truong Van Cam, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), said the domestic market is promising amid the pandemic though revenues from it would not be high since consumers are also trying to cut down spending. Companies want the government to delay loan repayments to banks. There are around 6,800 textile and garment businesses in the country. Last year their exports were worth $32.85 billion, increasing 7.8 percent year-on-year.
Source: Retail News Asia
TikTok, WeChat and Huawei Technologies Co. are just the beginning. What comes next has the potential to reshape the global economy for decades to come. President Donald Trump’s moves to prevent some of China’s biggest companies from accessing the private data of Americans -- restrictions set to take effect this month -- are part of a broader effort to create “clean networks” the Communist Party can’t touch. That initiative, involving everything from 5G networks to cloud services to undersea cables, is already impacting corporate deal-making and geopolitics, with both countries and companies pressured to pick sides. While the actions are intensifying in the middle of an election campaign, the question of what U.S. data can be accessed by Chinese companies -- if any -- cuts across partisan lines. Trump and his rival, Democrat Joe Biden, are both trying to appeal to voters frustrated by the Covid-19 pandemic as the “tough on China” candidate. The markets are waking up to the long-term risk. A report that China is planning to overhaul its domestic computer chip industry helped trigger a stock rout last week that shaved about $100 billion off a key semiconductor index. Under discussion now in the U.S. is whether to restrict Chinese access to data on everything from smart refrigerators to exercise monitors, moves that business leaders from Silicon Valley to Shenzhen worry could lead to a decoupling of the entire global economy. “All of this is fundamentally an attack on the internet itself,” said Andrew Sullivan, president of the Internet Society, which advocates for open networks across the world. “This is an attempt to destroy the entire economy that has grown up around networked applications.” Chinese tech billionaire Jack Ma has called data more important than oil in driving the 21st century economy. And the battle for control over it threatens to split the world into competing camps, particularly as artificial intelligence and the “Internet of Things” means products from toasters to yoga pants are transmitting data. U.S. officials say they have thought through the broad consequences of how big an impact a real “clean networks” policy would have. And while their approach was initially scoffed at, it has won converts. The U.K., Australia and Japan have already followed the U.S. in banning Huawei from 5G networks. India has prohibited more than 100 Chinese apps including the video-sharing platform TikTok, and also joined an initiative with Japan and Australia to cooperate on supply chains -- a move seen as reducing economic reliance on Beijing. The internet is now “a new field for geopolitical competition,” said Geoffrey Gertz, a fellow at the Brookings Institution policy group in Washington. “I don’t see these tensions dissipating. This is something we have to live with and manage for a long time.” The US-led “Clean Network” already lists nearly 30 companies from more than a dozen countries. So far it applies strictly to U.S. diplomatic facilities, which are required to have “an end-to-end communication path that does not use any transmission, control, computing, or storage equipment from untrusted IT vendors” like those from China. Whether feasible or not, Trump also has floated the idea of “decoupling” the U.S. economy from China while shutting out companies including Huawei from accessing U.S. technologies and equipment. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., China’s top chipmaker, saw its shares plunge 23% on Monday after a report the Trump administration may blacklist the company over ties to the military -- connections it denied. “We’re going to end our reliance on China,” Trump said on Monday. While China could withstand breaking off economic ties with the U.S. alone, it would take a much bigger hit if American allies also cut off Beijing. That scenario could bring down China’s potential growth to 1.6%, Bloomberg Economics said in a report this month, noting that China has more to lose given its need for modern technology.
China’s Potential Growth Scenarios
To be sure, decoupling is still far off. The “phase-one” trade deal is still holding up, American multinationals increased investment in China last year and U.S. capital continues to pour into China’s stocks and bonds. Approximately 230 Chinese companies with a market capitalization of around $1.8 trillion were listed on the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange, according to a July tally by the Peterson Institute for International Economics. But the U.S. moves threaten both data on apps and the hard infrastructure that moves it around the world. Bytedance Inc. is involved in talks to sell the U.S. operations of TikTok, while Google and Facebook Inc. dropped plans for an undersea cable between the U.S. and Hong Kong last month. Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. is a key force in the global distribution of games, and its WeChat app is frequently used by American companies such as Walmart Inc. and Starbucks Corp. to market goods and services in the world’s No. 2 economy.
‘Out-China China’
“We’re trying to stay out of geopolitics the best we can,” Michael Beckerman, head of U.S. policy for TikTok, said in an interview Tuesday on Bloomberg TV. “But certainly the macroeconomic and macro-political climate is a challenging one at the moment.” In many ways, Trump is drawing on President Xi Jinping’s play book. He was an early proponent of cyber-sovereignty, although China’s view has changed as its tech champions emerged as strong global contenders. Trump is “trying to out-China China,” said Fiona Alexander, who worked as a U.S. official on internet policy across four presidential administrations, and is currently a distinguished policy strategist at American University in Washington.Within the Trump administration, there’s debate about how far it should push the “Clean Network” idea. It’s unclear how widely the rules will apply to joint ventures. Tencent, for instance, has stakes in U.S. companies from Tesla Inc. to Reddit Inc. The U.S. moves are less about protecting privacy than addressing perceived security risks. There’s a consensus in the Trump administration that China has taken advantage of the open internet while walling its citizens off from Western media and social networks, and the U.S. must prepare for the potential “weaponization” of data. “There’s an economic versus security balance here that we all have to deal with,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Stilwell. “We know what they do with information. They target individuals with it, it’s the greatest state security apparatus anybody has ever seen.” eijing rejects those charges, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin saying last month the U.S. is attacking Chinese companies in order to “maintain its high-tech monopoly.” He brought up U.S. mass surveillance programs at home and abroad that were exposed by Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor now wanted in the U.S. On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi appeared to counter U.S. accusations on TikTok and WeChat by proposing global rules on data security that would prohibit governments from accessing data acquired by companies’ overseas operations. He called the U.S. moves “blatant acts of bullying.”China has plenty of countries that will continue to do business with it, particularly those that access cheap loans to build digital infrastructure. Huawei offers governments a cheaper way to bring faster downloading speeds to the masses, and smaller economies must take precautions against spying from both China and the U.S. “Even if you keep whacking on the kneecaps of China, killing Huawei today, killing Tencent tomorrow, killing TikTok, it will not change the overall trend of China’s steady economic development,” said Gao Zhikai, a former Chinese diplomat and translator for late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. One big problem in revolving tensions is trust: Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said last month the U.S. must “challenge everything that they say,” and China itself has done little to alleviate those fears. Its national security law on Hong Kong targeted pro-democracy advocates and prompted Facebook, Google and Twitter Inc. to suspend processing data requests from the government, which could eventually see them booted from the financial hub. “There’s a shift from the weaponization of supply chains toward the weaponization of data and platforms,” said Alex Capri, a research fellow at the Hinrich Foundation who has written extensively on U.S.-China tech relations. “There hasn’t been much medium-to-long-term thinking about it yet -- but that’s starting to happen.”
Source: Business Standard
MELBOURNE/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Tuesday amid concerns that a possible rise in COVID-19 cases following the U.S. Labor Day long weekend, which also marks the end of the peak U.S. driving season, could squeeze demand for fuel. Coronavirus cases rose in 22 of the 50 U.S. states, a Reuters analysis showed, on the holiday weekend traditionally filled with gatherings to mark the end of summer. At the same time cases are flaring up in India and Britain. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 76 cents, or 1.9%, to $39.01 per barrel at 0433 GMT, playing catch-up with a drop in Brent prices overnight. Brent crude futures eased 8 cents, or nearly 0.2%, to $41.93 a barrel, after falling 1.5% on Monday. Brent dropped on Monday after Saudi Arabia's Aramco, the world's top oil exporter, cut the October official selling prices for its Arab light crude, seen as a sign demand growth may be stuttering as COVID-19 cases flare up around the world. "The combination of coming out of summer peak driving season in the U.S., which is a seasonal factor, has refocused the market's attention on whether the demand recovery is strong enough - and clearly there are some doubts, as Aramco's price move has demonstrated," said Lachlan Shaw, National Australia Bank's head of commodity research. Also weighing on the market is the upcoming maintenance seasons for U.S. refineries, which could cut crude demand by 1.5 million to 2 million barrels per day, he said. WTI and Brent have dropped out of the ranges they were in throughout August, with WTI now below $40 after having traded around $42 for most of the month. Brent has dropped from around $45. The market had been helped by a weaker U.S. dollar, which has since rebounded slightly. "This follows on from worrying signs of a resurgence in COVID-19 cases in other parts of the world. This has raised concerns that the recent recovery in demand may be halted as the general public remains cautious about extended travel," ANZ Research said.
Source : Business Standard
This story is part of an ongoing series on US-China relations, jointly produced by the South China Morning Post and POLITICO, with reporting from Asia and the United States. US apparel groups are expecting a Trump administration decision as early as this week blocking imports of Chinese-made textile and apparel products on the grounds that they are the products of forced labour in the Xinjiang region of China, according to textiles industry sources and a former Trump White House trade official. Such an order, which would come from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), has the potential to affect tens of billions of dollars of US textile and clothing imports that contain cotton, yarn or fabric produced in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR). It also could boomerang back on US cotton producers if Beijing is provoked into retaliation. The mandate, known as a Withhold Release Order (WRO), would not be an actual import ban. But goods subject to a WRO have to be re-exported or destroyed if CBP determines they were made with forced labour. Barring the use of any Xinjiang cotton in clothing shipped to the United States would be an escalation of US actions expressing disapproval of forced labour and other human rights abuses in the region. The US Commerce Department already has placed close to 50 Chinese operations on its Entity List for involvement in those practices, effectively banning US companies from doing business with them without a special license. US-China relations have deteriorated dramatically in the past year over a number of issues, including Beijing’s handling of the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, its crackdown on political dissent in Hong Kong and its treatment of the Uygurs, an ethnic Muslim minority. The US State Department, in its most recent annual report on human trafficking, has accused the Chinese government of engaging in “widespread forced labour,” partly through the arbitrary detention of more than one million Uygurs, ethnic Kazakhs, ethnic Kyrgyz, and other Muslims in the XUAR. POLITICO reported last month that the Trump administration has been mulling whether to formally label China’s brutal repression of the Uygurs a “genocide.” About 85 per cent of China’s cotton is grown in Xinjiang, according to the US Agriculture Department. And a coalition of union and activist groups, who have called on clothing brands and retailers to stop sourcing from the Uygur region within 12 months, estimate about one fifth of all cotton garments sold in the world contain Xinjiang cotton or yarn. The United States imported between US$40 billion and US$50 billion worth of textiles from China last year, and Uygur cotton, yarn and fabric is used by other countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to make clothing. The activist groups charge that nearly the whole apparel industry – including brands such as Adidas, H&M, Lacoste, Nike, Ralph Lauren and Zara – is linked to specific cases of forced labour in the region. They back up their claim with reports from governmental agencies, news outlets, think tanks and associations. Earlier this year, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in both the House and the Senate introduced legislation that would require corporations to prove with “clear and convincing evidence” that any products sourced from the XUAR are not made with forced labour before they are allowed entry in the United States. Although neither chamber has voted on the measure, the introduction of the legislation has put pressure on President Donald Trump to take action. In addition, the American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organisations (AFL-CIO) and several Uygur rights and anti-slavery groups in late August formally asked CBP to issue a regional WRO on cotton and cotton-containing goods from Xinjiang. Most WROs are company-specific. But in their petition, the AFL-CIO and the other groups argued a regional WRO would have the greatest impact and require China to choose “between continuing the persecution of the Uygur people or face the exodus of billions of dollars in business contracts and investments from US companies and others.” John Foote, a trade lawyer at Baker McKenzie who has been tracking the issue, said it’s still not clear how aggressive any CBP action would be. “The short answer is this WRO threatens to have a massive impact, but a lot will be determined by how CBP chooses to administer it,” Foote said. Policing tens of billions of dollars in imports would be a massive undertaking for the CBP, and would entail tracing the supply chain of goods that arrive in the US. Tom Cliff, a professor in Chinese Studies at the Australian National University and author of a 2018 book on Xinjiang, compared the chances of tracing cotton from Xinjiang through the Chinese and Asian supply chains to “throwing a bucket of water into the river – how do you ever hope to find it again?” China has ample ammunition to retaliate for a potential ban because is a large importer of American cotton. Trade data from the US International Trade Commission shows that cotton-related exports to China rose 62 per cent over the first seven months of the year, and 206 per cent in July alone. “I think people sometimes forget that China is the biggest importer of cotton in the world,” said David Birnbaum, a consultant in the Asian garment industry. “If the US put a full ban in [on Chinese textiles products], China would certainly retaliate straight away and probably stop buying US cotton, which would be a horrendous result.” Many American and international firms are already likely to be caught up in the Treasury Department’s recent sanctioning of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), an organisation that runs entire cities in the region, and which dominates the cotton industry. US firms that do business with XPCC, also known by its Chinese name Bingtuan, include John Deere, which has shipped hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of cotton harvesting machinery to the region, often through XPCC-linked dealerships, the South China Morning Post reported in August. Companies have until September 30 to extricate themselves from dealings with XPCC, unless they are granted approval to keep trading by the Department of Treasury. Doug Palmer reports for Politico from Washington, Finbarr Bermingham reports for the South China Morning Post from Hong Kong.
Source: SCMP
Trade bodies say they believe a domestic supply chain for reusable gowns will not be established A UK government initiative to make reusable gowns for health workers in Britain and reduce reliance on a fiercely competitive global market dominated by China has not produced a single approved garment after almost six months. Trade bodies involved in the state-sponsored project say they no longer believe a domestic supply chain for reusable gowns will be established, although the Department of Health and Social Care says the scheme is on track. The government initiative aims to prepare a stockpile of reusable gowns ahead of a possible rise in Covid-19 cases this winter. However, the bodies involved in the talks with the government, which began in March, said the lack of progress meant that many NHS trusts had instead bought personal protective equipment overseas. The DHSC said an unnamed NHS trust in London was trialling a UK-made gown and orders would be placed once tests were completed — although it declined to say when this would be. The department added that it would reveal who made the gowns “in due course”. However, Adam Mansell, chief executive of the UK Fashion and Textile Association, which represents most textile manufacturers, said the government had ignored businesses with a record of gown production. Mr Mansell said he sent the government a comprehensive plan for making reusable gowns in Britain in mid-July, but it had “done nothing with it at all”. “They don’t understand the industry,” he added. He believes the high price of the gowns, which cost about £15 each but can be washed up to 70 times, is the reason why the project has slowed. “Their interest has stopped,” he said of the government. He added that making reusable gowns in the UK could help provide the country with “resilience” and avoid dependence on middlemen to buy PPE — which was sometimes faulty — from overseas. “This was going to be an opportunity to build back better,” he said. Problems with the government initiative were first reported by Made Here Now, a website promoting manufacturing. David Stevens, chief executive of the Textile Services Association, which represents laundries, was involved in discussions of the scheme with the government. He said that washing gowns would safeguard thousands of jobs in an industry hit by the closure of hotels and conference venues. He confirmed that talks with the government had been going on since March. “Meanwhile, we are buying gowns from overseas that are poor quality. NHS trusts are doing their own thing,” he said, adding that he hoped the state project would succeed in the end. Other UK companies involved in the initiative include Asos, the online clothing retailer, which had agreed to manage the supply chain of mostly small companies that would make the reusable gowns in the UK. It declined to comment. Toray, a textile manufacturer, had offered to produce material for the gowns at its plant in Mansfield. Its sales manager, Paul Daynes, said it could have supplied enough fluidrepellent polyester fabric to manufacture 50,000 to 100,000 gowns each week, with its Japanese parent company prepared to invest and take on more staff. Toray already sends the material to medical garment makers in the EU and the US. “We know we’ve got a sustainable and commercially based fabric, so if other countries can make it work, we don’t know why we can’t make it work in the UK,” said Mr Daynes. The DHSC said the government has ordered more than 5m disposable gowns from seven UK manufacturers since the pandemic started. It added that it was on course to meet its target of buying 20 per cent of PPE from UK manufacturers by the end of the year. It said: “Reusable gowns are already being piloted in the NHS and we are committed to putting in place a UK supply chain. “Positive discussions are under way so that orders can be confirmed as soon as trials have successfully concluded.”
Source: Financial Times
Trade bodies say they believe a domestic supply chain for reusable gowns will not be established A UK government initiative to make reusable gowns for health workers in Britain and reduce reliance on a fiercely competitive global market dominated by China has not produced a single approved garment after almost six months. Trade bodies involved in the state-sponsored project say they no longer believe a domestic supply chain for reusable gowns will be established, although the Department of Health and Social Care says the scheme is on track. The government initiative aims to prepare a stockpile of reusable gowns ahead of a possible rise in Covid-19 cases this winter. However, the bodies involved in the talks with the government, which began in March, said the lack of progress meant that many NHS trusts had instead bought personal protective equipment overseas. The DHSC said an unnamed NHS trust in London was trialling a UK-made gown and orders would be placed once tests were completed — although it declined to say when this would be. The department added that it would reveal who made the gowns “in due course”. However, Adam Mansell, chief executive of the UK Fashion and Textile Association, which represents most textile manufacturers, said the government had ignored businesses with a record of gown production. Mr Mansell said he sent the government a comprehensive plan for making reusable gowns in Britain in mid-July, but it had “done nothing with it at all”. “They don’t understand the industry,” he added. He believes the high price of the gowns, which cost about £15 each but can be washed up to 70 times, is the reason why the project has slowed. “Their interest has stopped,” he said of the government. He added that making reusable gowns in the UK could help provide the country with “resilience” and avoid dependence on middlemen to buy PPE — which was sometimes faulty — from overseas. “This was going to be an opportunity to build back better,” he said. Problems with the government initiative were first reported by Made Here Now, a website promoting manufacturing. David Stevens, chief executive of the Textile Services Association, which represents laundries, was involved in discussions of the scheme with the government. He said that washing gowns would safeguard thousands of jobs in an industry hit by the closure of hotels and conference venues. He confirmed that talks with the government had been going on since March. “Meanwhile, we are buying gowns from overseas that are poor quality. NHS trusts are doing their own thing,” he said, adding that he hoped the state project would succeed in the end. Other UK companies involved in the initiative include Asos, the online clothing retailer, which had agreed to manage the supply chain of mostly small companies that would make the reusable gowns in the UK. It declined to comment. Toray, a textile manufacturer, had offered to produce material for the gowns at its plant in Mansfield. Its sales manager, Paul Daynes, said it could have supplied enough fluidrepellent polyester fabric to manufacture 50,000 to 100,000 gowns each week, with its Japanese parent company prepared to invest and take on more staff. Toray already sends the material to medical garment makers in the EU and the US. “We know we’ve got a sustainable and commercially based fabric, so if other countries can make it work, we don’t know why we can’t make it work in the UK,” said Mr Daynes. The DHSC said the government has ordered more than 5m disposable gowns from seven UK manufacturers since the pandemic started. It added that it was on course to meet its target of buying 20 per cent of PPE from UK manufacturers by the end of the year. It said: “Reusable gowns are already being piloted in the NHS and we are committed to putting in place a UK supply chain. “Positive discussions are under way so that orders can be confirmed as soon as trials have successfully concluded.”
Source: Financial Times
Covid-19 has changed a lot of what society has considered to be the norm. Although lockdown regulations are being eased and “normality” seems to be making its way back again, the way we consume and buy fashion could be altered forever. With the implementation of the lockdown, consumers’ need and opportunity to shop for new clothing dropped. As pointed out by a Business Insider article published in early July, “Clothing retailers across the world have had a torrid time. Discretionary spending on clothing has tanked amid large-scale layoffs, and consumers – stuck in sweatpants and pyjamas during lockdown – are also not in the market for big-ticket wardrobe items”. But the pandemic isn’t the only reason we have come to question the way we consume fashion; following the horrific collapse in 2013 of the Rana Plaza garment factory, different movements sparked around the world demanding more transparency and accountability across the industry; amongst them, Fashion Revolution, which also calls for “an end to human and environmental exploitation in the global fashion industry; safe, dignified working conditions and living wages for all people in the supply chain; a bigger and stronger labour movement in the global fashion industry; a global fashion industry that works to conserve precious resources and regenerate ecosystems”. In addition, a 2009 study by Muhammad Ayaz Shaikh, Assistant Professor of the College of Textile Engineering at the National Textile University Faisalabad in Karachi, Pakistan, pointed out that, “the textile industry is in no way different than other chemical industries, which causes pollution of one or the other type”. He adds that, “the textile industry consumes large amounts of water in its varied processing operations”. Back in May 2013 The Cut published an article written by Kat Stoefel, which exposed how people in the United States only wear about 20% of the clothes in their wardrobe. More recently, Rachel Coning-Beale noted that as a result of Covid-19, thrifting as a means of sustainable shopping is growing noticeably this year. “Online second-hand is set to grow 27% in 2020, while the broader retail sector is projected to shrink 23%.” In the same article, thredUP CEO James Reinhart says that: “With the pandemic closing down much of the economy, the consumer felt like their wallets might get squeezed and moved to the value… The same thing happened with the financial crisis of 2008-2009. And some consumers are shopping second-hand for the first time during Covid.” Although most of the trends studied are addressing American shifts, back home, young South Africans are also embracing the change to a more ethical and sustainable shopping experience, through, for example, thrifting; shopping second-hand can slow down the pace of wasteful manufacturing efforts and encourage more ethical consumption of clothing. Thrifting has a lot of environmental benefits like reducing water footprint and using less chemicals. In South Africa, there are a lot of ways to go thrifting, be it in the inner city, on Bertha Mkhize street (Victoria Street) or the “dunusa markets” in Downtown Johannesburg, or at weekly markets. Cities like Johannesburg have Neighbourgoods Market in Braamfontein, Market on Main in Maboneng and Fourways Farmers Market; in Cape Town, the Neighbourgoods Market at the Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock, Milnerton Flea Market and Thrift Fest in Wynberg offer plenty opportunities to thrift. Meanwhile, in Durban, the Shongweni Farmers Market, The Litchi Orchard, as well as the Stables Lifestyle Market are among many options to go second-hand shopping. In addition, social media platforms like Instagram have given thrifters a platform to sell garments and second-hand items through pages on the app. Maverick Life spoke to Ben Dedekind, a thrift page owner with a modest following but who manages to source garments from popular brands like Carhatt, Tommy Hillfiger and The North Face. He believes it’s important for thrift-page owners to educate their followers on sustainability, adding that, “it’s an opportunity to raise awareness, constantly”. Dedekind also mentions other ways in which he practices sustainability in his small business. “Leftover stock that hasn’t been sold is donated to charity instead of being disposed of, leftover denim items are distributed to a smaller company, which repurposes them. Packaging is all biodegradable and easily recyclable. Items of clothing are ethically sourced too,” he notes. Dedekind also believes that trying to sell and trade in a sustainable way should be the main selling point of thrift pages on Instagram. “I’m sad to say that ‘sustainability’ seems to have become a secondary selling point, instead of a direct focus. It’s so easy to put in your instagram bio ‘sustainable fashion’ but whether that’s actually true or not, is unknown, people can’t be sure if you source your garments ethically, or if you even care about the environment. They just have to take your word for it,” he adds. Embracing sustainable fashion is more than about shopping ethically and being minimalist with your wardrobe, it’s about embracing sustainability as a healthy lifestyle choice that could see us living on a healthier and long-lasting planet. Durban-based thrift-page owner, Rorke Stainton, who runs BeforeUs clothing, also believes that thrift pages on Instagram shouldn’t be regarded as a mere trend. “Trends usually last for a season or two and then it dies out, but I feel like the game (thrifting) has picked up so much and there’s a lot of online content that provides people with so much information about sustainable fashion – instead of the idea of vintage being a trend for a particular season. It’s clear that sustainability in fashion is making a positive impact.” Stainton also recognises the growth of the industry online, noting that “the more pages that start popping up on Instagram, the bigger the marketplace gets and more start to realise how fast fashion has impacted the environment”. He wants to emphasise that his business is more than about profit. “We want our followers to be influenced by the importance of sustainable fashion and we are looking into initiatives where we can work with organisations or companies that combat pollution in fast fashion and that are using ocean plastic and recycled items as a means to create garments.” Although the word sustainability has been widely used in fashion and can be interpreted in different ways, for Durban-based fashion designer Minenhle Memela, the co-owner of streetwear brand Refuse Clothing – who styled musician Riky Rick and worked with stylist Lethabo Maboi – sustainability is directly attached to the fabric used in the creation of garments. “Sustainability is a priority… As a small business we sometimes struggle to fully depend on natural fibres because of the availability and the costs of the treatment that have to be done to achieve some colours and feels on the fabric. “We are taught (at design school) why it is important to use natural fibres and we are encouraged to do so, but to some of the students it’s not practical because they do not know where to look. That is why I believe it’s a choice. We take it upon ourselves to find sustainable fabrics,” he says. To buy sustainable fabrics like hemp, sustainable satin and organic cotton could easily set a designer back more than R400 a metre. Sustainable brands like People Tree price most of their garments (jeans, skirts and coats) at over $100 (above R1,700). In South Africa, sustainable brands like Earthling & Moon, Hemp Love and Fundudzi offer a reasonably wide variety of sustainable pieces, including masks, at decent prices. Then, there are high-end brands like Eilen Fisher, DOÊN and Rag & Bone, which ethos is rooted in sustainability, and luxury brand Stella McCartney, which recently collaborated with sportswear brand, Adidas; the Autumn/Winter ‘20 campaign was directed and partly modelled by environmental activist, Lourdes Leon, and wished to support “a rising generation who are pushing forward consciously – together,” said the brand. Embracing sustainable fashion is more than about shopping ethically and being minimalist with your wardrobe, it’s about embracing sustainability as a healthy lifestyle choice that could see us living on a healthier and long-lasting planet. Twyg Magazine editor Jackie May believes people can look further than fashion to maintain a life of sustainable living. “Without taking care of our environment and of each other, we’re on the road to an unpredictable, hot and horrible future. I like to approach sustainability from an intersectional perspective: we can’t have sustainability without social justice: I’m imagining a kinder, fairer and greener world,” she says. Within the local fashion industry, May does acknowledge that sustainability isn’t far from designers’ minds, but accessibility is an issue: “Sustainability is the word on all designers’ lips and it has become mainstream at the fashion weeks. Both Africa Fashion International (AFI) and SA Fashion Week (SAFW) have incorporated sustainability into their programmes. “At the moment, we’re seeing more and more independent designers using waste and refashioning garments (See SuperElla’s recent denim collection). But commercially, this is expensive, and will remain a small and exclusive trend. It needs to become financially viable – much like recycling plastic. While it remains cheap to produce virgin plastic, recycling plastic or anything else for that matter, doesn’t make commercial sense,” she adds. Sustainability in fashion has a lot of layers to it; from shopping more sustainably by thrifting online or at markets, to buying from brands that make their garments out of sustainable fabrics like hemp and other recyclable fabrics. Will it be enough to shift consumers away from fast-fashion and finally propel the global fashion industry to conserve and protect environmental resources? Probably not, but it is a move in the right direction.
Source: Daily maverick
