http://www.AdsaleATA.com/Publicity/lang-eng/MainPage.aspxCTA Textile - What's HotDSM Dyneema has announced that it has successfully concluded its patent infringement dispute with Miclin Ltd and J&D Wilkie Ltd in Kirriemuir, the UK, trading under the Jack Ellis brand. Details of the settlement were not made public.According to DSM Dyneema's statement, the DSM Dyneema patent dispute with the Jack Ellis parent company, Miclin Ltd, until the company was acquired by J&D Wilkie Ltd, centered on an alleged infringement of a DSM Dyneema patent on polyethylene (PE) based pressed products, patent number EP 0833742B2. Polyethylene based pressed products are used in several applications such as panels for vehicle armoring and protective inserts for vests, as used by military and law enforcement officers to stop high-energy rifle rounds.The case was brought before the Patents Court of the High Court in London."We are very pleased with the outcome of this action," commented DSM Dyneema President Gerard de Reuver, saying that the dispute has been settled to DSM Dyneema's satisfaction. "DSM Dyneema as innovator protects its inventions through intellectual property rights. We cannot accept misuse of these rights. We therefore are highly vigilant in identifying activities that could threaten DSM Dyneema's drive to innovate and to deliver value to our business partners who benefit from these innovations."He added: "The UK market is of importance to DSM Dyneema. UK based companies have worked for many years with Dyneema solutions, both for the local market and export into Europe and beyond."The DSM Dyneema patent portfolio consists of more than 100 inventions protected by over 500 filed patents and patent applications worldwide and is continuously expanding, according to the company.http://www.adsaleata.com/Publicity/MarketNews/lang-eng/article-120508/Article.aspxTextile dyes and chemicals supplier DyStar recently announced in a press release that it has joined the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), a collaborative venture established in 2011 by leading apparel retailers, suppliers and manufacturers with participation of academics and NGOs.The main objective of the SAC is to develop an Apparel Index which takes a full life-cycle view of an apparel product and identifies all major social and environmental impacts along the production chain, and dyes and chemicals are a key area of interest of the organization.Dystar emphasized that it has a long history of action to reduce the environmental impact of the supply chain, and recently issued its first corporate Sustainability Report prepared according to GRI principles. It also works closely with many of the brand and retailer members of the SAC in creating seasonal color palettes through its Color Solutions International business headquartered in North Carolina, the US, and in ensuring compliance of its products with Restricted Substance List requirements through its econfidence program."Our membership of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition signifies our commitment to working together with our partners in the industry to deliver systemic change in the way that textiles are manufactured globally," said Harry Dobrowolski, President of the DyStar Group.Jason Kibbey, newly appointed CEO of the SAC, remarked: "We're thrilled to have DyStar join the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. We look forward to their participation in building and implementing the Coalition's sustainability index to measure and improve sustainability initiatives throughout the entire industry."DyStar is also a founding member of the Ecological and Toxicological Association of Dyes and Organic Pigment Manufacturers (ETAD), a System Partner of bluesign and a member of the Textile Exchange.http://www.adsaleata.com/Publicity/MarketNews/lang-eng/article-120475/Article.aspxFor almost half a decade since 1962, Myanmar was under military rule and its economy is one of the least developed in the world. Following the country's November 2010 general election held in accordance with Myanmar's new constitution, the military junta was dissolved and a civilian government led by new President Thein Sein took power in 2011. Since then, a series of political, economic and administrative reforms have been initiated in the country, including laws regarding anti-corruption, currency exchange, foreign investment and taxation."It is a beginning of a new era in Myanmar with the firm political commitment of the government for economic and social development. The government will try to improve the living conditions for all nationals by building more roads, railways and bridges; to upgrade the education and health standards; to lay economic foundations to improve the socio-economic status of national races," said Wai Lwin Than, Consul General of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar in Hong Kong and Macau SARs, at a Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) seminar themed "Current Investment Environment in Myanmar".According to him, Myanmar's government is striving to develop proper market economy designed to reduce the economic gap between the rich and the poor, and development gap between urban and rural areas, and is also determined to improve the living conditions of farmers and workers by updating the laws safeguarding their rights.Speaking at the HKPC seminar on Myanmar's latest development are (from left) Arthur Leung, Director of Poscelin; Wai Lwin Than, Consul General of Myanmar in Hong Kong and Macau SARs; and Lewis Leung, President of PERM"The new government has opened doors for opportunities, made reforms and invited investments so that the country will enjoy better socio-economic status. The president has also given mandate on the overall strategy that they will exercise the market economy in which the government takes less control over the market," he stressed.Moreover, according to Mr Wai, for the enhancement of foreign direct investment in Myanmar, two more laws namely Special Economic Zone Law and Dawei Special Economic Zone Law have been enacted by which investors can enjoy special privileges and rights to boost their business through a promised investment environment. A textile maker's experienceFrom a manufacturer's point of view on investing in Myanmar, Arthur Leung, Director of Poscelin Co Ltd, a Hong Kong-headquartered outerwear garment manufacturer which has operated garment factories in the country for 14 years, says, "For the advantages of producing in Myanmar, I could summarize that it has abundance of human resources, hardworking, loyal and conscientious workers as well as a safe working environment. This is why we still decided to rebuild our production facility in the country, after the tornado damaged our plant in 2006."Now Poscelin has more than 2,000 workers in Myanmar, compared to some 1,000 before the tornado.Arthur Leung also finds that Myanmar is one of the top five safest countries in the world, but unstable electricity supply remains a problem. "Electricity supply is still not sufficient, and that's why it is necessary to have our own electricity generators. The country's unstable electricity voltage also accelerates depreciation of equipment and machinery, which have direct impact on our production efficiency," Arthur Leung explained.He added that the communication and network system in the country is also a problem, although it saw apparent improvement last year. "But I am confident that within one to two years, it can live up to our standard," said Arthur Leung.Good potential forecast for Myanmar's textile and garment industryAt the seminar, Lewis Leung, President of Prince Edward Road Management Co Ltd (PERM), a global consulting firm focusing on apparel industry, stressed at the seminar that the competitive advantages of Myanmar's textile and apparel industry lie in its long history, government backup, vertical integration from yarn to garment, ample supply of labors and skilled technicians, duty-free status to the ASEAN countries, South Korea and Japan, GSP status to Europe, and technical assistance from Japan. Compared with the textile and garment industries in Cambodia and Vietnam, which shared similar history and background as that in Myanmar, Lewis Leung believes that "the country has the potentials to increase in significance in the global textile and garment industry."He reported that Cambodia's textile and apparel exports reached US$4 billion in 2011, while Vietnam's textile and garment exports grew by 38% to US$15.6 billion in 2011. But according to Myanmar's local news media, in the fiscal year 2010-11 ended March 2011, Myanmar's garment exports amounted to only US$243 million, despite a 30% increase from over US$187 million in 2009-10.It is also reported that Japan accounted for 34% of Myanmar's garment export, making it Myanmar's largest garment export market, followed by Germany, Spain and South Korea.http://www.adsaleata.com/Publicity/Focus/lang-eng/article-4337/Article.aspxGlobal market situationsThe hosiery market can be broken down into well-defined product segments including socks (60% of the overall market), pantyhose, sheers, opaques, stockings, tights, leggings and several others. Women's hosiery dominates, with over 80% of the total and today's market demands center largely on shaping and structure enhancement for women. Competitive pricing in this respect plays a very important role in establishing the market positioning of a brand or company.China - which in 2010 produced up to 15 billion pairs of tights alone - now accounts for 80% of the world's hosiery production and its own domestic market for its products is growing significantly (at a rate of 25% and higher for the past five years). China will have 2,795 hosiery retailers by the end of this year, it is estimated. Domestic sales of Chinese hosiery were worth €3 billion in 2010.Italy, of course, remains the pioneer in value-added hosiery, while Europe is the undisputed hosiery market consumption leader, with the largest market share both in terms of value and volume sales. There has been a decline, however, in the North American hosiery market in recent years. The recession and the consequent slowdown in the market led to tighter budgets and reduced purchasing power for consumers, but the fall in sales can also in part be attributed to both the increased durability of hosiery products, as well as the growing popularity of trousers over skirts. Happily, this situation is now reversing, with North American growth up by 7.3% overall in the 12-month period to July 2011, with a value of over US$7 billion.Europe and North America together account for more than 65% of the global hosiery market, but perhaps inevitably, Asia-Pacificis poised to race ahead as the fastest growing hosiery market worldwide in the next few years.The key influence on the sourcing of hosiery, like all apparel, over the past 10 years, has been the virtual abolition of protective measures by the key markets of Europe, the US and Japan.If anything, there is likely to be further liberalization in the next five years.Japan, for instance, has agreed to implement Free Trade Agreements with Southeast Asian countries and India as well as implementing liberalized Rules of Origin for Least Developed Countries, most notably Bangladesh. Most low-income Asian countries, with the exceptions of India, China and Pakistan, can now import their goods into Japan duty-free.The EU for its own part is planning to implement liberalized Rules of Origin for Euromed countries as well as a Free Trade Agreement with Korea, and perhaps another with India.The US, on the other hand, just signed new Free Trade Agreements with Colombia, Korea and Panama, and may be extending fabric duty concessions to the AGOA (sub-Saharan Africa) countries.Older consumers and plus-size usersThe highly competitive and volatile hosiery market is dominated by a number of large players doing battle for market share, the most prominent including CSP International, Donna Karan, Golden Lady, Gold Toe-Moretz, GrupoSynkro, Hanesbrands, HCI Direct, Kayser-Roth, LVMH, Tefron, Triumph Apparel Corporation and Wolford. There is also a strong private label segment.Older group and plus-size group are two hoisery markets whose needs are still unmetMarketers and companies vie to provide the best bargains and greater promotional discounts to customers. For effective brand acceptance and market penetration, manufacturers are now offering value-added "multipack" products at very low prices. Yet the industry still, to a large extent, focuses on the 15-29-year-old market, which is just 35% of the overall market in Europe today.What is significant, however, is that this market is falling, while the over 30s market will continue to grow to represent 75% of the total, everywhere, before too long. What this market particularly needs is a wider sizing spectrum, to meet new needs in respect of comfort, movement and easy care, but there are also other considerations. For elderly people, for example, retirement living brings challenges. There may well be health issues and changes in energy levels, and reactions to medication can often make it difficult to dress and perform personal care activities. Older people often find it harder to stay warm and so look for warmer clothes, while arthritis, muscle weakness or medical issues can make it complicated to get dressed. Clothes easy to get on and off from a seated position may also be required. With the rise of this market and a diminishment of youth-centric apparel targeting, all of these factors will come into play - along with different spending priorities - but a sizing system catering directly to it is a first essential.Difficulty in sizingSizing for under garments, stockings and tights is particularly difficult for a number of reasons. Firstly, the addition of 10-20% elastane creates significant size variability in sizing charts. There are also different sizing methods but no standard, and people generally have different perspectives of size, which can be further confused by the many different product categories.To establish a standard for beauty hosiery and seamless garments, Lycra has recently analyzed approximately 250 commercial shaping garments, and in-depth garment engineering experiments have been conducted to correlate the "fabric" characteristics with the garments' performance according to two critical dimensions - shaping and dynamic comfort. Globally, the "plus-size" sector is expected to grow yearly at a rate of 5% until 2014, and such consumers are having a hard time finding hosiery garments. Lycra's new Xceptionelle hosiery is a first step in seeking to correct this. It is based on a patent-pending construction that accommodates the differing body shapes of larger women, offering greater overall garment comfort by helping to prevent dig-in at the waist or thigh. Greater market diversity is neededThe older age group and the plus-size market are just two areas in which greater diversity is called for - examination of the vastly differing needs in different geographical markets is equally telling - as a direct comparison between France and India illustrates.India accounts for 17% of the global population and Indians spend an average US$27 per year on clothes, of which 0.9% is hosiery. France, by contrast, accounts for just 1% of the world population, but spends an average of US$547 per head on clothes each year, and 6.3% of this is hosiery.These are both considerable markets but it's clear that their needs are very different. In developing countries, the hosiery market continues to be restrained by 'the 3Cs': continuing preference for traditional dress, climate, and cultural norms about exposing flesh.Where population growth is fastest, and the percentage of young people is highest, the growth of the hosiery market is weakest. And this suggests new marketing approaches are necessary. http://www.adsaleata.com/Publicity/ePub/lang-eng/article-7926/Article.aspxFrance-based Lectra has been supplying advanced cutting equipment and leading software systems to various industries such as textiles, leather, industrial fabrics and automotibles. As a world leader in integrated technology solutions, Lectra is directing its product R&D with global mentality, and meanwhile, it has formed a team well aware of China's fashion industry. Recently, Daniel Harari, Lectra's CEO, and Andreas A. Kim, Lectra's President in China and Japan areas, spoke to ATA on the company's latest developments. According to Mr Harari, influenced by the rising costs as well as the industry's trend of upgrading and synchronization, the fashion market in the next 10 years will grow in a model very different from the one a decade ago, and intelligent solutions can help fashion companies better cope with the changes.ATA: Lectra introduced the first PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) solution for the fashion industry in 2007. How is PLM going in the apparel industry? Has PLM been better received by Chinese companies?Mr Harari: At present, product lifecycle management solutions have been widely applied in the manufacturing industry. PLM for the fashion industry not only reduces product costs and development time, but also helps companies enhance their competitiveness. In the apparel industry, Mango is Lectra's first customer for PLM. In addition to the retail brands, customers from multiple market segments including traditional garment manufacturers, are also adopting PLM solutions, such as the Hermès and sportswear manufacturers from Italy. Therefore PLM is a product not only suited for companies of certain types.In the Asia market, we have cooperated with Les Enphants from Taiwan, and Wacoal from Japan, to name a few. The PLM’s application in China is still in the early stage compared with the US, unlike the cutting room which has been widely used by Chinese companies. Nevertheless, many apparel companies have shown great interest in the product, and are now enquiring about and evaluating the product.ATA: In terms of sales revenue, what is the percentage of the Asia-Pacific market in Lectra's global business? How was Lectra's sales performance in China last year?Mr Kim: At present, about 51% of our sales revenue is from Europe, while the Asia-Pacific region accounts for about 21%. China is our fastest growing market. In 2010, our business in China rose by nearly 120% compared with 2009. Therefore, we are very optimistic about the China market. Our business in China can hardly exceed that in Europe, but no doubt it will grow rapidly in future.ATA: Could you tell us Lectra's development strategy for the China market?Mr Kim: We have formulated specific strategies for the Chinese market, and one of the most important things is to choose the right target market, then cooperate with enterprises who can accept Lectra's value. Next, we hope to provide customers with complete solutions - on top of the hardware and the software, we also integrate our expertise and the best solution in the apparel industry into customers' production management. For instance, for the application of PLM and Modaris V7, a comprehensive assessment for the existing production process is required, and the management at the customer's company have to have the determination to change. It is only in this way that the new solutions can be genuinely implemented.ATA: To our knowledge, Lectra has also been working with many universities in China. Could you tell us more about this, as well as your company's future plan?Mr Kim: So far Lectra has been cooperating with 44 educational institutions in China, providing them advanced equipment and software free of charge. There are more than 9,000 Chinese students benefiting from this project. Last year, Lectra held a global education seminar in China. It shows how much we value China. Lectra participated in this project not for profit or sales promotion. Instead, we aim to grow with the Chinese fashion industry, upgrade its overall efficiency and competitiveness, and help the country to establish companies that are able to compete with international brands and suppliers.http://www.adsaleata.com/Publicity/Interview/lang-eng/article-467/Article.aspx