Growing usage of nanotechnology in fabrics and a rising demand for wearable technology are the two key drivers for the smart textiles market worldwide, says a study, which found high production cost and incompatibility with the electronics industry as two major barriers to this market’s growth. Excessive cost has not scattered the market as well, it said. The study report, titled ‘Global Smart Textile Market Outlook, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017–2023’, was released recently by Albany-hea

China and Pakistan agreed to a material transfer pact between the two countries in the next two years and transfer of Chinese genetic engineering and functional genomics technologies to fight cotton pests to the latter at the first Sino-Pak international conference on ‘Innovations in cotton, breeding and biotechnology’ in Multan recently. The three-day conference was hosted by the Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture in Multan, according to Pakistani media reports. The conference

There is a lot of potentials for cooperation between Vietnam and India in the textile and garment sector, a Vietnam-India business meeting heard in Ho Chi Minh City last week. K Srikar Reddy, Indian Consul General in the city, said Vietnam is among the top five textile and clothing exporting countries along with India. But it has to import a lot of the raw materials, while “India’s textile industry has developed a complete product supply chain and India is also one of the suppliers of high

China will cut import tariffs on 187 items, including food, pharmaceuticals, garments and recreational products, from December 1 to lower costs and stimulate domestic consumer spending. After the cut, tariffs on the products, which include cashmere clothing, will average 7.7 per cent, down from the current 17.3 per cent, according to the finance ministry. High taxes on imports have raised prices of foreign brands in China pushing consumers to spend more overseas. As people’s consumption

Hismer Bio-Tech Co. Ltd. in China's Shandong province is making biomass fibre from shrimp and crab shells, a pioneering effort to produce synthetic fibres from products not derived from crude oil. Qingdao-based BMSG, a bio seaweed substance processing firm, has been turning seaweed into biomass fibre that can be safely used for surgical dressings. Hismer turns shrimp and crab shells from food waste to chitosan fibre, indistinguishable from other synthetic fibres. The fabric is used for makin

Indian companies are looking to cement ties with Vietnamese counterparts in the textile and garment sector. A business to business meeting between Vietnamese and Indian companies took place recently in Ho Chi Minh City. Shailesh Martis—director of Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council of India— said that Vietnam has emerged as a leading global exporter of garments and is constantly on the look-out for high-quality cotton textiles, including cotton yarn and fabrics. The Vietnamese textil

Hit by a sharp decline in textile exports in the current fiscal year, India's commerce and industry ministry has announced doubling an incentive under the Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS) for garment exporters with immediate effect. Now exporters of garments will get back 4 percent of their exports' value, an increase of 2 percentage points, in the form of duty exemption scrips, which can be used to pay duties on inputs, including customs. A ministry statement on Friday said the en

This season’s focus at functional fabric fair Performance Days in Munich was on thermal technologies and covered a diverse range of fabrics and materials, which can increase warmth or store and release body heat, as well as fabrics and systems, which can generate additional heat. Exhibitors showcased natural, renewable and synthetic fabrics and insulation materials suitable for a broad range of products including baselayers, midlayers, outerwear such as insulated and shell jackets, and access

The Uster Group, a leading high-technology instrument developer of products for quality measurement and certification for the textile industry, has launched the new Uster Jossi Vision Shield fibre cleaning system. The cleaning system will help nonwoven manufacturers highest quality of textile products for medical, personal care, and hygiene applications. Typically, fabrics for these sensitive applications are made by the spunlacing process, which starts with the fibre raw material in loose s

Tanzania is set to get competitive in cotton farming, with Geita Region making its debut of the crop for the 2017/18 that was opened under 196, 373 acres. The land is set to be cultivated in contract farming, an effective methodology for the crop. With this launch, Tanzania will get more competitive in the agricultural sector. It is a smart move by the government to expand its territories in the agricultural sector, venturing into varieties of export commodities to better the economy and stre