Fibre2Fashion

When research is narrowed down to specifics, they often narrate an interesting story. So it was with a recent study that looked at the current status of denim imports into the European Union (EU). The findings are clear: it is Bangladesh that emerges as the front-runner, though it does not yet have a stranglehold over the European market; and India is nowhere to be seen among the top exporters. And China, like everywhere else, has been on a steady decline. The findings of the said study 'Les...

In a few weeks from now, possibly during the Budget session of Parliament, the new National Textiles Policy may be announced by the Union ministry of textiles. The textiles and apparel industry has been waiting eagerly for the new policy document, which will replace the existing one of 2000, and hopefully provide industry with a much-needed boost. The 2000 policy is hopelessly outdated, given three major international developments: the phase-out of the Multi Fibre Agreement, the emergence of...

The problem with simplistic arguments is that they invariably either remain speculative at best, or fail to make a point altogether. A classic example of this was the speculation that was fuelled last summer in the backdrop of the Chinese currency being devalued and stocks tumbling the world over. Considerable debates and discussions at that time featured in the Indian media, almost all of them drawing the conclusion that India would make the best of China's declining state of affairs, and forge...

In September this year, German testing and certification giant TÜV SÜD announced its entry into the advisory domain for textile manufacturing in India to, as the organisation claimed, drive product innovation, process and production management across the textile value chain from fibre to garment. Sooner or later, the global industry leader had to enter the Indian market. The reasons were put in succinctly by the Senior Vice-President (Consumer Product Services) of TÜV SÜD South Asia, Suresh...

The drop in oil prices and the overall demand downturn has been taking a toll for a while now, and the numbers that were announced by the ministry of commerce in September were discouraging: India's overall exports declined 20.7 per cent to $21.3 billion in August compared to the corresponding month last year. Textiles exports too shrank by about 7.3 per cent to $1.28 billion in August. The textiles industry, like 22 other sectors which have declined, has reasons to worry. During September...

What essentially began as a game of one-upmanship between two nations, has now spread so far and wide that every sector in any country which is even slightly reflective of the global economy is feeling either the pangs of it or reaping in the associated benefits. We are talking crude oil here, and the game in question is the one that is still ongoing between Saudi Arabia and the United States. As this edition goes to the press, many speculators across the world feel oil prices would fall to $45...

Economic growth and development are not just about new products or product mixes and trading partners. What matters is not only about how much you export, but what you export as well. This has formed the backbone of the argument that the textiles and apparel sector can indeed lead from the front in order to ensure that the Make in India campaign of the Indian government succeeds. If there is anything after information technology (IT) that can propel India into global limelight, it is the...

Hectic parleys are currently on to end the impasse over the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill that is hanging fire in the Rajya Sabha. The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Second Amendment) Bill, 2014 that was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 19, 2014 by Union Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley, has already been passed by the Lower House of Parliament, and is currently being deliberated by a Select Committee of the Upper House. Exact dates are still uncertain, and it is still early to...

It's getting better; maybe marginally, but better nonetheless. The global apparel industry is expected to grow at 3.5 per cent. The rate of growth will be the same as that last year, marking a leisurely but steady recovery process. In 2013, the industry had grown at 3 per cent, and 2.5 per cent the previous year. The period between 2008 and 2011, during the peak of the global downturn, had seen the growth rate of the industry dwindling to a paltry 1 per cent. The worst, on the face of it, is...

F2F: In what way can the textile-apparel industry benefit from maintaining fairtrade ethics? Abhishek Jani: Until now Fairtrade's primary focus has been on the cotton farmers, who are often the hidden link in the textile-apparel supply chain despite the need for companies to address sustainability issues at the level of cotton production and ensure farmers get a fair deal. Nearly 70% of farmer suicides in India take place in the cotton producing regions. Over the past couple of years, we have...