Growth Tips for Indian Textile and Apparel Industry

Abstract

Indian merchandise has long been considered to be of poorquality abroad and if we are to survive in global market this perception has tochange. Thus to achieve growth in textile and apparel industry and to increasethe exports quality goods production and on-time deliveries is a must.And for quality goods production online monitoring of production process is amust and for on-time deliveries to fulfill the commitments.

Introduction

In order to increase the exports it is a must to producequality Garments. The quality of the garments depends upon its style, designand appeal, and also upon the fabric from which it is made and ultimately theyarn used. In garment manufacturing the immediate raw material is the fabrichence the garment manufacturer should be most careful in selecting the righttype of fabric, its GSM (Gms per square metre), construction, count of warp andweft, crimp, cover or even drape.

Growth Tips for Textiles and apparel industry

1)Prevention is better than Cure

During the course of processing of fibre to yarn and yarn tofabric various dyes, chemicals auxiliaries are being used .Wherever it may bemay be on the shop floor, in the dyehouse or even in lab one must remember thatPrevention is Better than Cure.

When you perceive certain problems to occur immediately takeaction. For this one has to be very fast. Selection of fabrics, quantity ofdyes, chemicals etc should be very perfect to avoid all the errors during andafter dyeing and printing. Also one should ensure that the fabric used forprocessing should be thoroughly checked before it is processed. This means thatthe fabric at the spinning, weaving stage should be well manufactured so thatthe errors which could take place in the later stages during garment manufacturingand processing could be well avoided.

Many International buyers especially from Europe have imposedquality parameters for the merchandise that they are purchasing from India. Stringent quality and inspection standards are implemented at the exporters end. Inorder to supply final products to buyers the processors have to be updated withlatest techniques, machineries and chemicals.

Ecological parameters have been introduced for exports offabrics and garments to Europe and Germany. Also awareness of the harmfuleffects of the chemicals used in processing and finishing led to restrictionsof use of chemicals as PCP( Para Chloro Phenol),banned amines, heavy metals, formaldehyde,nickel, allergenic dyes, etc. This has led to a whole new set of control pointsand checks in the processing of fabrics and accessories.

2) Quality Control and Testing

The Textile Industry in India, although more and more unitshave recognized the importance of quality control there are still others wherethere is unfortunately not as much analytical quality control as one woulddesire to have. More things are achieved by the rule of the thumb.

A single incidence of poor quality overly influencescustomers so much that they tell at least ten other prospective buyers to stayaway from them. Achieving perception of quality is usually impossible unlessquality claim has substance. Generating high quality requires an understandingof what quality means to customers segments as well as supportive culture and aquality improvement process that will enable the organization to deliverquality products and services consistently.

It is seen that 90% Defects found in textiles are due toinadequate preparation of fabric during processing i.e. before dyeing and arenoticed after dyeing cycle is over or printing process is over. Production ofgood quality fabric requires efficient and continuous online monitoring ofproduction process.

Off-shade dyeing often results in delayed deliveries andcomplaints. The buyers demand today is acceptance of colour variations betterthan Delta E 0.5 under various illuminants. The use of on-line monitors andautomatic dye and chemical dispensers are now being used to get shadeconsistency.

Various types of labels on the garment have been introducedwhich are issued by associations, federations, groups, certificationorganizations to give protection to human health and environment.

3) Following points to be implemented in Textile and Garment Units in India

a) Training of work force

Train them about modern machinery and how to operate.

b) Fulfillment of commitments

One must ensure that deadlines given by clients are satisfied.

c) No delays in deliveries

It should be seen that all deliveries are meeting the deadlines so that cost of returned goods is minimized.

d) Consciousness about quality

To produce the best quality fabric and garment based on best usage of chemicals and dyes. The fabric quality should meet the GOTS requirements and various other specified certifications.

e) Discipline

Timely deliveries, punctuality in the Organization are factors to be considered here.

f) Guidance

To give proper guidance and instructions to the assistants, subordinates, workers, supervisors, etc.

g) No neglecting maintenance

To carry out maintenance of m/cs at least once in a month. To ensure that all the outgoing effluent is treated well so that environmental pollution is reduced.

4) Training through Institutions

If some institutions take up imparting of training the work force and exporters realize the necessity and compel the work force to take training the overseas orders will increase. Instead of imparting training only to executives and supervisors it should be extended to the primary workforce also. Training on job should be gone equally to the lowest and highest level of management. Then only organization can progress.

5) Awareness about latest technologies

There is a lack of awareness of latest technologies in textile industry. Only a few big players are having state-of-art-technology machinery and the rest of others are working with conventional methods. This leads to production of qualities not matching International standards and hence fewer exports of garments and fabrics .To provide consistency products newer technologies have to be adopted. New technologies not only help in environment friendliness but are also cost-effective.

In arena of fabric dyeing there are tremendous improvements technologies like E-control for dyeing cotton without salt, then Air flow for dyeing with liquor ratios 1:3.These technologies provide Right First Time dyeing along with minimal chemical load to the environment.

ETP (Effluent Treatment Plant) Zero discharge means Recycling water from the effluent treatment and using it back into processing without a single drop purged out to the environment. Since ETP requires high maintenance, substantial capital investment and high operating costs this would be of great advantage.

India has to rapidly modernize. Various kinds of modern machines for printing the garment, embroidery machines etc have been innovated and can be used for manufacturing cost-effective garments.

The industry must work on economies of scale which directly affects the price-value realization. Also adequate infrastructure and adequate utilities (power and water)must be available for wet processing of fabric. Indian industries are still concerned with regard to availability of good quality water and scarcity of power. With the advent of new technologies coming into India in the processing sector (Like Ecocontrol, moist cross linking based resin finishes and so on.) there will be a good exposure of these technologies at the operating level, which has lot of scope for improvement in the textile and apparel industry.

6) Concentrate on Strengths

India has to concentrate on its strengths and capitalize on it to improve its share in global textile and clothing and garment business .We might have the best of technologies and experts in our own country but we must ensure that we also have adequate resources and other utilities to use these technologies and expertise to our advantage.

Indian exports are becoming incompetitive due to competition from neighbouring Asian countries. International market is highly sensitive and competitive and if shipments do not reach within stipulated time, there will be a lot of cancellation of orders and substantial loss to the exporters from overseas market. There should be speedy movement of export cargo to avoid huge backlogs at the cargo complex.

To provide right quality in all aspects of an organization function with correct process being done right at the beginning so as to reduce loss in wasteful practices.

The total organizational workforce right from the lowest to the highest order equally shares responsibility and commitment for quality improvement. With growing competitiveness and increasing challenges from Chinese and other S. East Asian countries, our apparel export industry needs scientific solution.

In Textile units management must be quick and prompt in attending the valid and genuine problems of the supervisors. We need more matured leadership rather than unplanned supervision to meet the quality needs of the buyer.

7) Job Security

The fear of losing job should be eliminated and job security should be guranteed.The Human Resource Department should be efficient enough to provide the requisite workforce on time and retain skilled ones for longer periods of time. Daily targets without concrete plans to achieve them only leads to more of defective products. The actual goal to not just to meet the target but to achieve the desired productivity with definite quality. A target driven production system fails to achieve productivity and quality if commitments are not fulfilled. We need to emphasize more on result-oriented system and not just on the target. One must involve all the workers, supervisors, managers alike in the qualitative improvement programmes of the organization.

Employee involvement and empowerment leads to productivity and quality improvement.Once an industry achieves control over their business and profitability then it can go for modernization with latest technology machines like continuous processing etc.India is rich in designs, creativity, prints, and has diversified cultures hence there will be no dearth of orders.

8) Promoting people to wear more clothes

Since we are in textile industry we must see that more and more people spend on buying clothes. We ourselves must spend lavishly on clothes and be a leader so that people follow us. Properly presenting oneself with a good set of outfits also enhances the appearance of the wearer. The way people dress up in offices, corporate functions, festivals, weddings, cultural occasions reflects their personality and the whole attitude towards their work. It requires a lot of planning as well as innovation to project oneself in the right perspective. Lot of experimentation should be done in terms of colours, fashion, accessories, designing, at the same time there should be wearing comfort, feeling a sense of happiness, softness when a dress is worn by a person.

After-all what you are is what you wear.

Conclusion

Thus we see that for growth of Indian Textile industry and Apparel industry and to maintain ones position in todays competitive world market one must strictly adhere to standard norms. To earn fairly reasonable export earnings, and meet the buyers demands quality goods production and on-time deliveries are a key to success. And to achieve quality goods production efficient online monitoring of production processes is important. And to deliver on-time its necessary to fulfill commitments. Once an industry achieves control over their business and profitability then it can go for modernization with latest technology machines.

We might have the best of technologies and experts in our own country but we must ensure that we also have adequate resources and other utilities to use these technologies and expertise to our advantage. And once our people understand and implement the above tips our Textile and Apparel industry will grow and flourish and prosper. This will also bring additional jobs to a vast number of people.

After-all what you are is what you wear.

About the Author

The Author Is Textile and Chemical technologist Consultant from Mumbai