Indian scheme for skill development of textile workers

Indian textile ministry has planned to improve the skills of 2.56 lakh workers at a cost of Rs.272 crore in the balance two years of the current XI Plan (2010-11 and 2011-12), to meet the target of skill upgradation for a total of 30 lakh workers by 2015 and the target of training for 100 lakh textile workers by 2022

Cotton Grading System

Please access cotton grading system at the following link:

http://cottongrading.webs.com

"Buy American" policy of America

As a "buy Americn" policy, America's Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, the Secret Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services may purchase domestically produced uniforms, rather than importing these from other countries.

Pakistan's Nishat Mills Profits

Nishat Mills Ltd (NML), Pakistan's largest composite mill increased its first-half (2008-2009) net profit by 128% to PKR1197m (US$15m), compared to the same period last year. The company's sales rose by PKR4.2bn to PKR12bn, while the cost of sales was upby PKR2bn to PKR9bn during the period under review.

Its profit after tax in the year ended June 2008 jumped by 267% to PKR6.13bn (US$87m), compared to PKR1.67bn a year earlier.

Source: just-style

China's new strategies for textile and apparel survival

1. Production relocation to places where labour is cheap

2. Shifting focus from export market to domestic market and from exports to US and EU to new markets in nebouring Asian countries and south American markets

3. Shifting focus from 'making' to 'creating'

4. Shifting focus from labour intensive to technology and capital intensive production

5. Improving quality

6. Taking joint initiatives such as joint effluent treatment plants

How China may be loosing its competitive edge in textile and apparel?

China may be loosing is competitiveness in textile and apparel due to following factors:

1. Rising labour cost

2. The strenghthening of Chinese Yuan against Euro

3. Rising cost of raw material

4. Inceasing tax rates

5. Shortage of workers

6. Stricter pollution regulations

7. Tight credit policy of banks

Government of Pakistan grants textile finance package

The government of Pakistan has announced relief package for the country's textile exporters worth PKR11.8bn (USD150m). The package is designed to offset the impact of interest rate hikes and improve liquidity in the industry. Under the package, export oriented textile units have been given relief in repayment of their outstanding long-term loans for one year as of 31 December 2008.

Source: just-style.com

Unifi Introduces Repreve® 100-Percent Recycled Polyester

Visit the manufacturer website for more info:

http://unifi.com/index.aspx

New Oeko-Tex® Criteria Come into Force

See the press release at the following link:

http://www.oeko-tex.com/OekoTex100_PUBLIC/content3.asp?area=nebenmenue&site=presseinformationen&cls=02&id=692

See new limit values at the following link:

http://www.oeko-tex.com/OekoTex100_PUBLIC/content1.asp?area=hauptmenue&site=grenzwerte&cls=02

Lingerie Market

• Total lingerie market size is estimated at US$33bn per annum
• Size of the American Market is US$11.03bn
• Size of the Western European Market is US$11.56bn
• US and EU together account for 68.4% of the total market
• Asia represents 19.6% of the market
• Western market is slowing down
• Russia, China and India are among the emerging markets
• Global lingerie market has grown in recent years at the rate of 3% per annum
• Asian lingerie market has grown in recent years at the rate of 8% per annum
• Main competitors in the global intimate apparel industry include Aerie by American Eagle, Cupid Foundations, Fruit of the Loom, Hanesbrands, Jockey International, The Lane Bryant division of Charming Shoppes, The Soma division of Chico’s, Spanx, Triumph International, The Victoria’s Secret division of Limited Brands, Wacoal Corp and The Warnaco Group
• Italian brands - Idea, Stella, and La Perla;
• French brands - Lady De Paris, Christian Lacroix;
• German brand - Nina Von, Felina;
• Spanish brands - Othaik, Princesa;
• American brands -Playtex, Wonderbra

Source: just-style

Bangladeshi Textile & Clothing Industry

-Total woven and knitwear exports for July 2007 to June 2008 are valued at US$10.69bn

- Ready-made garment export target for June 2008 to July 2009 is projected at growing 15.5% to US$16.298bn, with a target of US$6.5bn for knitwear and US$5.68bn in woven goods

- Export targets are US$25bn a year by 2013.

-Major international buyers of Bangladeshi clothing include: H&M, Tesco, Zara, Marks & Spencer, Carrefour, Gap, Wal-Mart and JC Penney

- Number of Bangladeshi garment factories were 4,700 in 2007-2008

- Local brands include Artisti, Seal, Westex and Cat's Eye

- The cost of one dozen polo shirts produced in 2007 was 2007 it was US$37.95. By comparison, in Cambodia the same would cost US$48.69, or in India US$53.96

Major Challenges

- 25% shortage of skilled workers and middle management

- worker unrest and strikes over poor pay and conditions

- Energy shortage

- Poor infrastructure

Source: just-style

Indian Textile Industry - Key Facts

-India's second-largest employers after agriculture
-Employed 35 million workers last year
-Contributed 4% of India's gross domestic product
-Accounted for 13.5% of Indian exports, bringing in $17.6 billion.


Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122990332938125097.html

Technical Textiles

Please see my presentation on this topic at the following link:

http://docs.google.com/Presentation?docid=dghpg2vr_2gxpsknf3&hl=en

More Secrets of ZARA's success

Spain's Inditex, whose Zara chain pioneered cheap chic, is a $13.8 billion company, which is closing in on Gap (GPS) for the title of world's biggest clothing retailer, has nearly quadrupled sales, profits, and locations since 2000. This year, Inditex plans to expand by up to 640 stores.
Inditex's secret? Cheap fashion clothes; the company maintains an iron grip on every link in its supply chain which enables it to move designs from sketch pad to store rack in as little as two weeks.
Inditex has spent more than three decades perfecting its strategy. Along the way it has broken almost every rule in retailing. At most clothing companies, the supply chain starts with designers, who plan collections as much as a year in advance. At Inditex, Zara store managers monitor what's selling daily—and with up to 70% of their salaries coming from commission, there's a lot of incentive to get it right. They track everything from current sales trends to merchandise customers want but can't find in stores, then shoot orders to Inditex's 300 designers, who fashion what's needed instantly.


Typically, apparel chains outsource the bulk of production to low-cost countries in Asia. Inditex produces half of its merchandise in factories in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, keeping the manufacturing of the most fashionable items in-house while buying basics such as T-shirts from shops in Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia. Wages are higher at Inditex—its factory workers in Spain make an average of $1,650 a month, vs. $206 in China's Guandong Province. But the company saves time and money on shipping. Also, Inditex's plants use just-in-time systems developed in cooperation with logistics experts from Toyota Motor (TM), which gives the company a level of control that would be impossible if it were entirely dependent on outsiders.

In addition, Inditex supplies every market from warehouses in Spain. Even so, it manages to get new merchandise to European stores within 24 hours, and, by flying goods via commercial airliners, to stores in the Americas and Asia in 48 hours or less.

Air shipments cost more than transporting bulk packages on ocean freighters. But Inditex can afford them. The company produces smaller batches of clothing, adding an air of exclusivity that encourages customers to shop often. As a result, the chain doesn't have to slash prices by 50%, as rivals often do, to move mass quantities of out-of-season stock. Since the chain is more attuned to the most current looks, it also can get away with charging more than, say, Gap. "If you produce what the street is already wearing, you minimize fashion risk," notes José Luis Nueno, a marketing professor at IESE Business School in Barcelona.

For rivals hoping to mimic Inditex's results, analyst Luca Solca of Sanford C. Bernstein has a bit of advice: Don't follow the Zara pattern halfheartedly. "The Inditex way is an all-or-nothing proposition that has to be fully embraced to yield results."

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_42/b4104066866245.htm

Common problems in singeing & their countermeasures

Please view my article on this topic at the following link:

http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/6/522/common-problems-in-singeing-their-countermeasures1.asp

Important considerations in dyeing with vat dyes

Please view my article on this topic at the following link:

http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/5/444/important-considerations-in-dyeing1.asp

State of Cotton Production in Pakistan

Please view my article on this topic at the following link:

http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/15/1495/state-of-cotton-production-in-pakistan1.asp

Using cause & effect diagram for identifying causes of shade variation in textile dyeing

Please view my article on this topic at the following link:

http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/12/1169/using-cause-effect-diagram-for-identifying-causes-of-shade-variation-in-textile-dyeing1.asp

Identification of Type of Size in Woven Fabrics

Please view my article on this topic at the following link:

http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/15/1455/identification-of-type-of-size-in-woven-fabrics1.asp