Overcapacity could spark new rates war among liners, warns Evergreen Chief Evergreen Chairman Chang Yen-i has warned that, with the large number of newbuild mega-box ship deliveries beginning this year,  liner operators could see a return of pre-pandemic rates wars, if consumption fails to keep up with the capacity growth. Evergreen itself has 49 vessels of 463,442 TEU under construction, but market leader MSC has the largest orderbook, with 133 ships for over 1.8m TEU being built, followed by Cosco (884,272 TEU), CMA CGM (816,476 TEU). Chang told Taiwan’s de facto shipowners’ association ..read more

What’s new in the pipeline in terms of new products, sustainability, R&D? Colossal quantum of resources consumed by the textile processing industry itself has created a huge opportunity for innovation and research to conserve those resources. With series of repetitive natural disasters in various parts of the world, we have observed a paradigm shift from sustainability becoming a necessity from merely a buzz word a decade ago.  Taking a cue from this global phenomena, Comet is about to inaugurate one of the biggest facility of research in India, COMET TECHNICAL AND INNOVATION DEVELOPM ..read more

Danish fashion brand Ganni has teamed up with Spanish material research company Pyratex to create a grey clothing collection made from a banana-waste biomaterial. The three-piece capsule collection, which is designed to be a more sustainable alternative to traditional polyester tracksuits, comprises a pair of jogging bottoms, a square-necked crop top with a zip-up back and a cropped hoodie. Each item has been made with Element 2, a fabric created by Pyratex that combines waste from the banana food industry – including leaves, trunks and branches – with organic cotton. The material forms part o ..read more

When the going is good, the industry (globally) adds capacities (almost mindlessly). Then we have the scenario of the US and European retailers – they are burdened with unsold inventories, new clothes are dumped, burned. And all this when the entire chain not only has access to, but claims to be using the most advanced analytics systems. What would really happen if world over, we produced slightly less textiles and clothing? And there were just a tad bit fewer garments on the shelves? Asian textile and apparel exporters need to seriously consider this aspect of business given that near shoring ..read more

The USDA reports cotton export sales during the week ending February 2nd were marketing year highs. Cotton topped a quarter million bales with China and Turkey leading the way, both key cotton milling and textile production markets. Upland cotton was pegged at 262,800 bales, a jump of 54% on the week and 58% from the four-week average. China picked up 87,700 bales and Turkey purchased 72,600 bales. 2022/23 upland cotton exports are 9,716,000 bales, compared to 12,176,000 in 2021/22. Sales of 4,800 bales for 2023/24 delivery were primarily to Thailand (3,300 bales). The post US Cotton Exports S ..read more

What’s new in the pipeline in terms of new products, sustainability, R&D? We are working on products that that allow lower temperature processing of fabric, which will reduce consumption of steam and other utilities. Miracol BSND, our soaping agent, provides extremely high performance at 70 instead of 95 degrees Celsius, which is the convention. Our line of wetting agents provide surface wetting at low temperature and we’re planning to launch eco-friendly chelates in the future as well India and the global economy is on the verge of another recession. Your views? The next decade belon ..read more

Six award nominees will present promising sustainable solutions for the industry in the field of cellulose fibres value chains. The full innovation potential of the cellulose fibre industry will be displayed to a wide audience in Cologne (Germany), and online. For the third time, nova-Institute awards the “Cellulose Fibre Innovation of the Year” award in the frame of the “Cellulose Fibres Conference 2023” (8-9 March 2023). The conference advisory board nominated six remarkable products, including cellulose fibres from textile waste, banana production waste and bacterial pulp, a novel technolog ..read more

The perils of a perpetual war: Russia-Ukraine conflict & its global implications As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine enters its second year, its reverberations continue to ripple through global commodity and energy markets, driving energy prices to unprecedented heights. With Russia rumored to be planning a major springtime invasion and NATO poised to respond with the deployment of advanced tanks from Germany, the United States, Poland, and Finland, the stage is set for a possible escalation of this already tense situation. This is a crisis that demands our attention, as the outcome ..read more

As we came out of the pandemic, apparel and clothing retail witnessed unprecedented growth in demand across all consumer hubs. Most brands and retailers had piled up inventory to meet such sudden demand. This was more of less on the expected lines but what followed is severe inflation! All major economies have provided financial aid to their citizens and impetus to industry that led to record level of inflation in almost every country. Then, we have a war where most developed economies of America and Europe got involved indirectly and added fuel to raising inflation. Now, as countries are taki ..read more

According to you how can shows like DyeChem World benefit the Ludhiana industry? This is the first time that an exclusive show for textile dyes and chemicals is taking place in Ludhiana. There are some expectations that the industry has from this show. Firstly, we want to see products that can help us achieve lower pollution levels, meet environmental norms. We want to see dyes and chemicals that are environment friendly, biobased products, natural dyes, etc. This is the main expectation from the show. How big is the Ludhiana market for textile dyes and chemicals? It’s a huge market. There are ..read more