From the Sector

JIAM 2022 OSAKA, organised by the Japan Sewing Machinery Manufacturers Association (JASMA), will soon be held at INTEX OSAKA from 30 November – 3 December 2022. Under the theme of “It all connects at JIAM – the forefront of technology and master craftsmanship”, the 12th edition brings together leading sewing machine suppliers and apparel manufacturers, making it a must-attend event for textile professionals. In this era of change, an international platform to facilitate business and information exchange is essential. The 2022 edition will showcase apparel manufacturing solutions catered to each and every need, combining high-level skillsets and time-tested knowledge with the latest modern-day technology.

As of October, 144 exhibitors from 10 countries and regions (China, Greece, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand) have signed up for JIAM 2022 OSAKA to showcase their latest products and services. Of these, 39 companies (21 domestic, 18 overseas) will be joining the fair for the first time. In addition, two pavilions from Germany (VDMA; Mechanical Engineering Industry Association) and Taiwan (TSMA; Taiwan Sewing Machinery Association) will bring even more product diversity to the show floor. The previous edition of JIAM OSAKA in 2016 welcomed 258 exhibitors from 15 countries and regions as well as 15,257 visitors from 72 countries and regions, mainly from Bangladesh, China, India, Korea, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.

A wide variety of special seminars
11 special organiser seminars will not only provide relevant industry knowledge, but also offer practical skills for daily work:

• Manufacturing industry and digital technology
  Mr Atsushi Yasuda, Manager of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Manufacturing Industries Bureau,Industrial Machinery Division
• Skills training seminar
  1. Twist Jacket (Lapel) pattern and matching sewing (front and shoulder seams)
  2. Shoulder keeper (prevent shoulder collapse) cherish a piece of clothing
  Mr Susumu Inarida, Emeritus Professor of Bunka Fashion Graduate University (BFGU) / Specially Appointed Committee Member of Japan Modelist Associate / Contemporary Master Craftsman Certified by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare
• "Mottainai!" sustainable initiatives from Osaka!
  Common points between Senshu Towl and OSAKA KABAN and the future
  Mr Eiji Shinoda, President of Shinoda cCorp
  Mr Kenji Fukuroya, Representative Employee of Fukuroya Joint Company etc.
• About the sustainable fashion community “NewMake”- Upcycling initiatives in collaboration with brands
  Mr Tac Hosokawa, CEO of Story & Co.
• Win - win strategy on underwear sewing, viewpoint of BISEI SANGYO Co., LTD
  Mr Toru Miyawaki, Managing Executive Officer of BISEI SANGYO Co.,LTD / Chairman of Hikoneseni Cooperative

Home Sewing Machine Zone
Catering to the B2C market, the Home Sewing Machine Zone, will feature major domestic household sewing machine suppliers. To promote the joy of sewing, a special workshop will be organised by Brother Industries Ltd, Janome Corp, JUKI Corp and JASMA covering topics such as the use of upcycled materials. As part of JIAM 2022 OSAKA’s sustainable development goals, visitors will be taught to sew “cup sleeves” using discarded items and materials from the DIY brand WHTATNOT. Attendees will also learn about upcycling, the process of upgrading unwanted items into new products that are useful. Another highlight will be the awards for JASMA’s “42th Home Sewing Competition for Elementary, Middle, and High School Students”.

The launch of the third edition of the Imagining Sustainable Fashion Award started on October 27, 2022. The Imagining Sustainable Fashion Award (ISFA) is the international competition born out of the collaboration between Connecting Cultures, the foundation that guides the Out of Fashion platform, and C.L.A.S.S., an international eco-hub that since 2007 has been advocating for a new generation of fashion in which the union of design, innovation, communication, and responsibility shapes a conscious and competitive business, capable of playing both an economic and social role.

The Imagining Sustainable Fashion Award invites stylists, photographers, designers, illustrators and artists to create visual imagery, a project that highlights awareness, respect for people and the planet that define the values of sustainable fashion in the fashion system.

Award submissions will be examined by an international jury composed of:

• Anna Detheridge, Founder and President, Connecting Cultures
• Giusy Bettoni, CEO and Founder, C.L.A.S.S.
• Rita Airaghi, Steering Advisor, Gianfranco Ferré Research Center
• Paola Arosio, Head of New Brands & Sustainability Projects, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana
• Jeanine Ballone Managing Director, Fashion 4 Development
• Evie Evangelou, Founder and President, Fashion 4 Development
• Sara Kozlowski, Vice President of Program Strategies, Education, and Sustainability Initiatives, Council of Fashion Designers of America
• Dio Kurazawa, Founding Partner, The Bear Scouts
• Renata Molho, journalist, former editor-in-chief of L'Uomo Vogue and former editor-at-large of L'Uomo Vogue, Vogue Italia, Casa Vogue
• Stefania Ricci, Director, Museo Salvatore Ferragamo
• Jovana Vukoje, Senior New Brands Specialist, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana

The winning projects of past editions were Take a Walk on the Green Side by Emma Scalcon (2021 - Italy) and Fashion Affair by Vishal Tolambia (2022 - India), two very different works that highlighted how challenging sustainability issues are in the contemporary communication landscape.

The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, January 25, 2023.
The winner will be announced in March 2023 and will receive a cash prize of €3,000.00.

The GoodTextiles Foundation, initiated by Dibella, has implemented a new support project in India: Each family of a small village community of organic farmers received a cow from the donations received. The herd of fifty animals helps with farming, gives milk, produces sufficient natural fertilizer and should soon provide higher crop yields and a better income.

In 2016, Dibella established the GoodTextiles Foundation with the aim of making textile value chains more sustainable. It raises funds and implements its own support projects to benefit people at all stages of the textile economy. The most recent project, "One cow for every family," has now taken the first, important intermediate step: Fifty cows arrived in the small village of Aliguda Village (Utnoor Division, Adilabad, Telangana, India) at the beginning of June 2022.

"Some of our organic cotton is grown on the farms of the village community managed by the smallholder organization Chetna Organic. During the filming of the German documentary "plan b", the farmers told us that they need more natural fertilizer to cultivate their fields ecologically and economically. The biggest wish of each family is therefore a cow. However, they cannot afford this because of the high price of the equivalent of 300 euros. That's how the idea for our next sponsorship project was born," reports Ralf Hellmann, managing director of Dibella and member of the foundation's board of directors.

In addition to the most important reason for purchase - the production of fertilizer - the cows also serve as livestock. They are harnessed in front of the plow and make the strenuous work of tilling the soil easier for the farmers. As draft animals they serve to transport heavier loads, and as milk suppliers they contribute to a family's food supply. Surplus milk that is not needed in the household also provides families with an important additional income through sale.

The Discover Natural Fibres Initiative DNFI published their statistical World Natural Fibre Update this month. The world production of natural fibres is estimated at 33.7 million tonnes in 2022, a slight increase compared with a preliminary 33.3 million tonnes in 2021 and 31.6 million in 2020.

The DNFI Natural Fibre Composite Price dropped 2% in July 2022 to US 219 cents/kg, compared with US 223 cents the previous month. The DNFI Composite is an average of prices in major markets for cotton, wool, jute, silk, coir fibre, and sisal, converted to US$ per kilogram and weighted by shares of world production.

• The DNFI Composite was pulled downward primarily by a 9% decline in the Eastern Market Indicator of wool prices in Australia, which fell from US$ 10.27 per kilogram in June to US$9.38 in July.
• October cotton ICE futures (the nearby contract) finished July marginally lower, closing at 228 US cents per kilogram, compared with 229 at the end of June.
• Prices of jute fibre in India quoted by the Jute Balers Association (JBA) at the end of July were unchanged from a month earlier, but with depreciation of the Rupee versus the dollar, calculated prices fell from 84 cents to 82 cents per kilogram.
• Prices of silk in China equalled US$29.5 per kilogram in July 2022, coconut coir fibre in India held at US cents 21 per kilogram, and sisal in Brazil finished July at US cents 41 per kilogram.

Cotton prices were the highest in a decade during 2021/22, and world cotton production is estimated by the International Cotton Advisory Committee at 25.8 million tonnes during the 2022/23 season which began August 1, up from 25.4 million in the season just completed. Extreme drought in Texas, the largest producing state in the United States, is limiting the rise in world production that would otherwise be occurring.

World production of jute and allied fibres is estimated unchanged at 3.2 million tonnes in 2022 compared with 2021. High market prices in 2021 motivated farmers to expand planted area in both Bangladesh and India, but dry weather in jute-growing areas during June and July has undermined earlier optimistic hopes for yields. Rainfall was approximately half of normal in the city of Kolkata from early June to mid-July.

Production of coir fibre rose by an average of 18,000 tonnes per year during the past decade, and production was record high at 1.12 million tonnes in 2021. Production is expected to remain high in 2022.

Flax has also been trending upward, rising by an average of 27,000 tonnes per year, and production in 2022 is estimated to remain above one million tonnes.
World wool production is forecast up by 5% in 2022 to 1.09 million tonnes (clean), the highest since 2018. Wetter weather in the Southern Hemisphere, following eight years of drought, is allowing farmers to rebuild herds.

Hologenix’s CELLIANT® infrared technology, an ingredient in textiles across many categories including bedding, is now offered in a new line of sustainable dog beds. The first performance fabric product from AVANTI, RESPOND is a wellness collection that promotes good health not only for pets but also for the planet. It is made from 100% recycled PET and uses patented CELLIANT technology for unmatched performance.

CELLIANT transforms the body’s heat into full-spectrum infrared energy. This energy is reflected back to the body, making it possible for the tissue and muscle to absorb it, promoting local circulation and tissue oxygenation. This technology helps keep the body dry and at the appropriate temperature. CELLIANT has been demonstrated to enhance energy, endurance, strength, stamina and comfort as well as promote faster recovery and more restful sleep. The RESPOND beds’ orthopedic memory foam filler adds an extra layer of comfort and wellness.

Introduced at Interzoo in Germany in May, RESPOND dog bedding was the result of determination by AVANTI leaders Raghav and Devika Modi to become champions of pet wellness and performance products while also aligning with the New Delhi, India-based company’s focus on sustainability.  

Ideal for ailing and senior pets, RESPOND beds are made from GRS-certified 100% recycled polyester CELLIANT yarns and orthopedic memory foam and have natural latex-coated bases for extra skid-resistance. AVANTI pet bed covers are removable and washable.

RESPOND dog beds are offered in nine SKUs, three different shapes and three colorways of each shape: grey, blue/grey and green/grey in shades that are associated with wellness.

SUPPLY, DEMAND, & TRADE
The latest USDA report featured reductions to figures for both world production and mill-use for both the 2021/22 and 2022/23 crop years.  For 2021/22, the global production estimate was lowered -0.7 million bales (to 116.2 million) and global consumption was lowered -1.9 million bales (to 119.8 million).  For 2022/23, the global production forecast was lowered -1.2 million bales (to 120.7 million) and global consumption was lowered -1.6 million bales (to 119.9 million).

With the decreases in use exceeding the declines in production, figures for global ending stocks increased.  For 2021/22, the projection rose +1.1 million bales (to 84.0 million).  For 2022/23, the forecast increased +1.6 million bales (to 84.3 million).

At the country-level, the largest changes to 2021/22 production were for Brazil (-400,000 bales to 12.3 million) and Uzbekistan (-100,00 bales to 2.7 million).  The largest changes for the 2022/23 harvest were for the U.S. (-1.0 million bales to 15.5 million) and Brazil (-200,000 bales to 13.0 million).

It may be notable that there were no upward country-level revisions for mill-use in either 2021/22 or 2022/23.  The largest revisions for 2021/22 included those for China (-1.0 million to 37.0 million), Vietnam (-400,000 bales to 6.9 million), Bangladesh (-300,000 to 8.0 million), Pakistan (-100,000 bales to 10.9 million), and Uzbekistan (-100,000 bales to 2.7 million).  For 2022/23, consumption estimates were lowered for China (-500,000 bales to 37.5 million), India (-500,000 bales to 25.0 million), Bangladesh (-300,000 bales to 8.6 million), and Vietnam (-300,000 bales to 7.1 million).
The global trade forecast for 2022/23 was lowered -1.1 million bales (to 46.4 million).  The most significant changes on the import side included those for China (-500,000 bales to 10.0 million), Bangladesh (-300,000 bales to 8.5 million), and Vietnam (-300,000 bales to 7.2 million).  On the export side, the largest updates included those for the U.S. (-500,000 bales to 14.0 million) and Australia (+300,000 bales to 6.0 million).
 
PRICE OUTLOOK
Recent volatility was not limited to the cotton market.  A wide range of commodities lost significant value in June.  Between June 9th and July 5th (dates chosen unsystematically to describe the magnitude of declines), cotton fell -25% (NY/ICE December futures), corn fell -19% (Chicago Board of Trade, December contract), soybeans fell -17% (Chicago Board of Trade, November contract), wheat fell -25% (Chicago Board of Trade, December contract), copper fell -20% (London Metal Exchange, nearby), and Brent crude oil fell -12% (ICE, nearby).

The breadth of losses throughout the commodity sector suggests a sea change in investor sentiment for the entire category.  The effects of inflation, the withdrawal of stimulus, rising interest rates, and concerns about a possible recession could all be reasons explaining a reversal of speculative bets, and all could be contributors to the losses.  While the macroeconomic environment can be expected to continue to weigh on prices, there are also supportive forces for the market that are specific to cotton.

The current USDA forecast for U.S. cotton production is 15.5 million bales, and it may get smaller over time because of the severe drought in West Texas.  The current harvest figure is two million bales lower than the 2021/22 number and is equal to the five-year average for U.S. cotton exports (2017/18-2021/22).  On top of exports, the U.S. will need to supply domestic mills with 2.5 million bales.  The last time the U.S. had a severely drought-impacted crop (2020/21), the harvest was only 14.6 million bales.  In that crop year, the U.S. was able to export more than it grew because it had accumulated stocks in the previous year.  The U.S. is coming into the 2022/23 crop year with low stocks.  This suggests U.S. shipments may have been rationed.  Since the U.S. is the world’s largest exporter, this may lend some support to prices internationally.

• Continued focus on sizeable investments in innovation and sustainability.
• Underway in India, the acquisition of the Engineering Plastics business of Ester Industries Ltd. with the objective of keeping up the Group’s global growth trend

With total sales of EUR 1.508 million generated by over 30 production and sales units in Europe, Asia and America, RadiciGroup closed its 2021 financial year with positive results, despite the difficulties due to the lingering effects of the pandemic and the steep increase in the cost of raw materials and energy, especially during the latter part of the year.

The Group – led by brothers Angelo, Maurizio and Paolo Radici – continued to pursue its strategy of focusing on the core businesses considered to be strategic and synergistic, such as nylon chemicals, engineering polymers and advanced textile solutions, while, at the same time,  introducing new products, such as a line of personal protective equipment for medical and industrial use.

EBITDA reached EUR 268 million, and net income for the year was EUR 150 million.

Despite this situation, RadiciGroup considers it essential to continue making investments.

“In 2021, the Group invested EUR 53 million financed from cash flow,” Alessandro Manzoni, CFO of RadiciGroup, emphasized. “There was no impact on net financial position, which registered an improvement over 2020, as did all our balance sheet ratios."

Furthermore, in spite of the complexity of the period, in 2022 the Group shareholders have kept on with their significant investment plan aimed at strengthening RadiciGroup’s presence in global markets and improving its competitiveness.

Indeed, the Group has moved forward, according to plan, with the acquisition of the Engineering Plastics business of Ester Industries Ltd., an India-based company engaged for decades in the production of engineering polymers and listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. RadiciGroup’s EUR 35 million investment in this transaction furthers the internationalization strategy of its High Performance Polymers business area.

Through the collaboration Payal Pratap and Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei show a new way of making fashion, based on merging craft & tech, cutting-edge materials and deeply rooted optimism in troubled times.

With a strong focus on prints, the designer, Payal Pratap, has worked on hand-painted artworks which have then been digitized. The designs capture detailed elements and a three-dimensional depth and texture from the age-old crafts of Batik, plus powerful imagery and minute detailing from the ancient craft of Chintz printing. Batik was named after the Javanese words “Amba” which means to write and “Titik”, which translates to a dot or a point, while Chintz comes from the Hindi word “Cheent”, meaning spotted or speckled.  Both these techniques and crafts have been used in a contemporary context while creating the art works.

The prints encompass flora and fauna, bringing nature from the outside to the inside through the use of extensive flower, leaf, tree, vine and bird motifs, as an ode to sustainability. Placement prints have been engineered to make tailored jackets and structured pieces. A timeless collection comprising experimental pieces that blend the far east with India. A collection signaling holiday with a burst of colour. Bemberg™ in various avatars ranging from satins, muslins, mulmul, and silk blends have been used to create a collection with fluid drapes as well as structure.

The fabric takes printing and colour beautifully and has a slight sheen and glazed feel which resonates with chintz. The colour palette ranges from indigos, browns, rust, to burgundy brick and gold. Furthermore, Bemberg™ is an inherently sustainable ingredient, since it is made with cotton linters, pre-consumer materials derived from the cotton oil industry, and converted through a traceable and transparent closed loop process. Coming from nature and going back towards nature, the Bemberg™ fiber is also biodegradable and compostable.

• Innovation begins with creativity
• A pioneer of the manmade fiber industry

When the manmade fiber age began a century ago, a German company was responsible for the pioneering work involved. Barmag, established in 1922, was one of the world’s first companies to construct machines for the large-scale production of synthetic staple fibers. To this day, the leading manufacturer of manmade fiber spinning systems and texturing machines in Remscheid – a brand under the aegis of the Swiss Oerlikon Group since 2007 – has shaped technological progress in this sector; in future, with ever more innovations focusing on sustainability and digitalization.

Barmer Maschinenfabrik Aktiengesellschaft (Barmag) is founded in Barmen, located in the Bergische Land region, on March 27, 1922. The German and Dutch founders enter unchartered technological territory, one created as the result of a groundbreaking invention: in 1884, French chemist Count Hilaire Bernigaud de Chardonnet used nitrocellulose to produce the first so-called artificial silk, later known as rayon. The following decades see rapid development focusing on the search for synthetic textile fibers and their manufacturing technologies. As one of the first machine factories, Barmag battles its way through the eventful early years of the manmade fiber industry, the ‘Roaring Twenties’ and the Great Depression – and suffers the extensive destruction of its factories at the end of World War Two. Rebuilding is successful. With the unstoppable success story of purely synthetic plastic fibers such as polyamide, the company flourishes from the 1950s through to the 1970s, establishing sites in all international, for the textile industry at the time important, industrial regions and garnering prestige across the globe in the process. In the ups and downs of expansion, global competition and crises, Barmag reaches the very pinnacle of the market and becomes the preferred technological development partner for the manmade fiber industries in China, India and Turkey. The company has been a high-impact brand under the umbrella of the Oerlikon Group since 2007.

On the wings of innovation
Today, Oerlikon Barmag is a leading supplier of manmade fiber filament spinning systems and part of the Manmade Fibers Solutions business unit of the Oerlikon Polymer Processing Solutions Division. And our aspirations have not diminished: “The striving towards innovation and technological leadership has been, is and will always be part of our DNA”, emphasizes Georg Stausberg, CEO of Oerlikon Polymer Processing Solutions. In the past, this has been observable in such trailblazing innovations as the revolutionary WINGS generation of winders for POY in 2007 and WINGS for FDY in 2012. Currently, the focus of new and further developments is very much on digitalization and sustainability. Here, Oerlikon Barmag has – as one of the world’s first systems manufacturers – been implementing fully-networked smart factories for globally-leading polyester manufacturers since the end of the last decade. Within this context, digital solutions and automation are also helping to provide greater climate and environmental compatibility. This sustainability commitment is not only evidenced by the e-save label introduced for all products back in 2004: Oerlikon is endeavoring to also make all its sites carbon-neutral by 2030 and to acquire its energy exclusively from renewable sources. An ambitious target, whose achievement could be helped by the Oerlikon Barmag anniversary, states Georg Stausberg: “Innovation begins with creativity. And remembering the past provides plenty of motivation and inspiration for the future.”

Statement

On the occasion of the EU-Africa Business Summit, EURATEX is re-iterating the ambition of the European textile industry to grow its role on global markets, including the African continent.

The textile ecosystem is considered the 2^nd most globalised sector of the European economy ; it is built on globalised supply chains and fierce competition with China, US, Bangladesh, Turkey and many others. Imports are now peaking at €115 billion (ca. 60% garments and 40% textiles), with a dramatic increase of imported medical textiles (face masks) in 2020. Every year, 22 billion pieces of textile and garment products are brought into the EU Single market.

Europe’s answer to this competitive pressure must be to invest even more on quality and innovative products, made in a sustainable manner. As emerging markets evolve, the appetite for better quality, comfort and design will grow. The ability and willingness to purchase technical textiles, which offer solutions to durability and improved performance, will increase. That is where Europe can be successful. To illustrate: the EU’s exports to China have increased by 33% in 2021 (first 11 months).

In its vision paper on the future of European textiles and apparel, EURATEX has confirmed its ambition to increase the global market share of the European textile industry. Strengthening relations with nearby Turkey and North African countries is important in this regard, offering opportunities for nearshoring. The African continent at large offers trade and investment opportunities, provided the business climate is stable and transparent.

Relations with the UK and Switzerland need to be optimised; especially Brexit has caused serious damage to bilateral trade flows (-33% export to the UK during Jan-Nov 2021). The Mercosur FTA offers interesting opportunities for the European textile industry; it should be ratified as soon as possible. We need to work with the US on mutual recognition of standards and setting global environmental and social rules. We call upon India to make an honest proposal for the upcoming free trade negotiations, which will ensure full and fair access to the Indian market.

European textile and apparel companies (mostly SMEs) need to be accompanied to exploit these market opportunities. At the same time, they need to be protected from unfair competition, e.g. products who do not comply with stringent EU standards and procedures. This requires more effective market surveillance.