Global textile suppliers can face supply chain disruptions that can affect shipments to major textile markets; past chaos and delays at ports on the U.S. West Coast are a stern reminder that such a challenge can never be ruled out.
This fear was also voiced in conversations with Asian exhibitors at the recent four-day Heimtextil trade fair in Frankfurt, the world’s biggest show for home textiles and contract textiles.
Many textile suppliers, particularly in China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines, went through trepidations last year following disruptions in shipments to the U.S. West Coast.
Like all businesses, the textile industry also relies on a network of suppliers and distributors to get its products manufactured and shipped across the world. The global textile industry was estimated to be worth US$993.6 billion in 2021. With a projected – conservative – annual growth rate of 4%, the industry is already believed to have crossed the US$1 trillion mark in 2022.
Managing supply chains and logistics in the textile and apparel industry is undergoing changes, including the advancement of cloud computing for transparency and real-time monitoring.
One new development in the textile industry is the trend toward “elastic logistics”. Big shipping transporters such as FedEx and DHL are now willing to provide tailor-made solutions, with the transport companies working with partners such as post offices and online platform organizations operating a warehousing network, and moving merchandise from port to port and then to the consumer.
This enables shipping companies to adjust their operations without losing resources in the event of a business slowdown.
Drone deliveries are also making their debut in this business; this delivery mode is spreading, particularly, among those dealing in high-value time-sensitive fashion products. Drone delivery also finds a place in the transport programmes of big retailers such as Walmart and Amazon. Drone delivery, pundits predict, will be part of the supply chain process, along with the increasing deployment of artificial intelligence.
“Technology and shared resource strategy are changing the landscape of supply chain and logistics,” Deepak Agnihotri, the managing director of a textile export house near Mumbai, said at the Heimtextil show.
But supply chain disruptions, exacerbated by rising costs and other factors, are also driving some fashion brands to shift their mass-textile production from China to other venues as a way to reduce supply chain risks and avoid “putting all the eggs in China’s basket”.
Marc O’Polo, the Swedish-German fashion brand, has been shifting to suppliers in Turkey and Portugal.
Other brands have reduced or hinted at shifting their production out of China or Southeast Asia. Another factor discouraging manufacturing in China is the introduction in the U.S. and Europe of stricter laws against labour abuses in China’s cotton-supplying Xinjiang province.
“I just want to have alternative sources of supply and not rely on one supplier alone,” a California-based importer told Asia Cargo News on the sidelines of the Frankfurt trade fair. He was also affected by the supply disruptions on the west coast, which receives the bulk of shipments from China.
Turkey, which has positioned itself as an alternative supplier of all kinds of textile products to Western markets, and is part of the EU customs union, is also increasingly used by big names, including Hugo Boss, Adidas, Zara, etc.
To save the planet’s shrinking resources, greater emphasis will be put on recycling. Innovative material developments from natural raw materials such as mushrooms, plant fibres or recycled waste products provide impulses for the future of home textiles. Caroline Till, co-founder of the London-based Franklin Till studio, explained at Heimtextil that sustainability and, with it, the circular economy had become imperatives for the industry.
Turkish companies, reeling from business losses following the Ukraine crisis – both Russia and Ukraine were major markets for Turkey before the outbreak of the war – made a strong attempt to woo other international customers at the show. Turkish home-textile products such as curtains and curtain fabrics, blankets, rugs and bed covers, upholstery, furnishings and decorative materials, etc. were well-received at the show.
Omur Isiki, a representative of the Istanbul-based Turkish Home-Textile Association (TETSIAD), maintained that Turkish companies were aware of the growing importance of recycling. “Some companies are trying to acquire recycling technology. Recycling will play an important role in the global textile industry,” he said. Turkey is Europe’s largest home-textile exporter.
Haluk Hocaoglu, the sales director of Flokser Textil San of Arnavutkoy/Istanbul, which supplies artificial leather used for upholstery, interiors of vehicles, garments, bags, etc., said in an interview with Asia Cargo News that he was, initially, unsure of the response his company would get at the show because of Covid and the Ukrainian crisis.
He had come with “realistic expectations”, anticipating very few Russian and Ukrainian buyers, but “then our expectations were exceeded when we received some very promising business enquiries from buyers from other countries. In short, we can’t complain,” he said.
Flokser’s annual exports amount to US$15 million out of a total turnover of US$75 million.
Another Turkish exhibitor, Ipeker Tekstil of Bursa, which showcased its weaving, dyeing and printing services as well as its products such as fashion fabrics and bedding, presented its “unique fiber” cupro.
“Our product is recycled but it is strictly vegan in character. Our fibre is known as cupro – it is also known as vegan-silk cupro – and is used for women’s and children’s clothing but also for men’s shirts,” Recep Eller, a company representative said.
Ipeker received “good business enquiries” from potential buyers from the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Europe. “Indeed, we received an order right at the show from a Portuguese buyer,” he said.
Pakistan’s textile industry, the mainstay of the country’s exports, put up a brave front at the show despite the pessimism in the industry following political and economic turmoil, and the devastating floods that destroyed a large part of Pakistan’s infrastructure and cotton crop.
Aftab Gauhar, the director of Gohar Textiles, a leading textile mill in Faisalabad, said that many producers had sustained heavy losses in production because of the floods. Pakistan’s cotton production is about 9 million bales, of which 2.5 million bales were lost as a result of the floods. The country which traditionally requires about 15 million bales of cotton; it also imports cotton to meet the shortfall in production. His company received a “good response in Frankfurt, completely exceeding our expectations,” Gauhar said.
Olaf Schmidt, the vice president of Messe Frankfurt, the show organizer, said in an interview that after two difficult years, organizers and exhibitors alike were happy the show was back. “It is the first show in 2023 at our trade fair ground. The numbers have been promising for us. We have had 2,400 exhibitors while the number of trade visitors exceeded 44,000 from 130 countries. The international attendance touched 82% of visitors at the show, reinforcing Heimtextil’s status as a really global platform. We are confident that the next show in 2024 will be even better and head towards the record level of 2,900 exhibitors in 2020,” Schmidt said.
China had the largest contingent of 429 exhibitors in Frankfurt, followed by India (382), Turkey (321) and Pakistan (269).
Asked about the growing trend among foreign companies to move out of China to other production sites such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, etc., Schmidt said that Vietnam was strong in shoe production though it was now also growing in the garment sector.
“Vietnam is gaining importance. Global changes are affecting supply chains, but China will still remain the largest textile producer in the future,” he predicted.
Schmidt was confident that the company’s Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics Spring Show at the end of March would attract a strong presence of both exhibitors and buyers.
By Manik Mehta
International Correspondent | Frankfurt
