DEC 2009 / JAN 2010 CONTENTS VOL. 20 NO.6 ■ ISSN 1015-8138 Feature Story 20 Identifying new trends for next economic upswing Chinese consumers, online selling and eco-friendly apparel are expected to characterize the global retail market in future Market Focus 24 Reading health risks for baby boomers Machinery Technology 28 Hidden intelligence for visible results 36 New Hong Kong-developed wet finishing system Material Technology 38 Materials that cater for individual tastes Asia's textile and apparel industry has intensified material research to meet increasingly personalized style of consumers Chemical & Auxiliaries 40 Pretreatment made more efficient Recent pretreatment developments that allow users to attain desirable pre-treatment effects more easily and avoid possible dyeing problems in subsequent processes are covered Environmental Watch 16 Being part of a greener supply chain Nonwovens / Technical Textiles 42 Soft-coating: how it helps save resources Soft-coating has been revived in modern systems to help reduce the use of resources in the production of technical textiles China Focus 44 Tapping China market safely Meeting the mandatory requirements on general safety of textile products sold in China is crucial as the country has become an important consumer market for both local and global retailers 46 Market forces spur growths of Jinjiang Retail Scene 48 Bold and natural shades sparkle fancy for coming fall seasons Corporate Profile 60 Keen to innovate Sri Lanka-based MAS Holdings became a major intimate apparel manufacturer in South Asia through successful product development projects Regular columns 6 Editor's note 8 Industry news 56 Show watcher 62 Company bulletin 64 New product guide 67 Coming events calendar 68 Advertisers' index Cover Advertisement Enquiry code: 101 KARL MAYER is the specialist in warp knitting machines and warp preparation technology. This company operates in the key areas of lace and curtains, warp-knitted products, seamless, technical textiles, special applications and warp preparation for weaving. KARL MAYER – we care about your future. KARL MAYER Textilmaschinenfabrik GmbH Brühlstr. 25, D-63179 Obertshausen, Germany Phone: +49 6104 402-0 Fax: +49 6104 402-600 Email: info@karlmayer.de Website: www.karlmayer.de

DEC 2009 / JAN 2010 Editor's Note Due to the influence of the economic downturn, most retailers stocked modestly for the Christmas holiday this year (2009). According to the National Retail Federation of the US, a 1% decrease of holiday retail compared with the Christmas holiday in 2008 was projected. “Affordability” is the main concern of retailers, as gift shoppers are likely to budget more carefully for their spending. In Asia, signs of economic recovery were observed in the textile and apparel sectors, partly due to the supports given by the local governments. “Feature Story” in this edition discusses some industry trends identified by some industry players, even though the markets have yet to fully recover. Among others, the trends of online selling and green fashion are in the spotlight, while improving the production process and cost control must not be overlooked. “Material Technology” gives an update on yarn and fabric trends, based on exhibits seen in the Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics 2009 held recently in Shanghai, a hot regional center for the trading of textiles and fashionable garments. Moreover, “Market Focus” looks at the potentially huge market of functional garment, which helps monitor the well-being and safety of the wearers, whether they are baby boomers born after the Second World War or people working under extreme conditions, such as firefighters. Geographically, China is a growth market for numerous consumer products like apparel, electronics and automobiles, and there are special regulations and laws to ensure the safety standards of the products. “China Focus” explains one of these regulations, GB 18401, which directs the technical requirements that apply to various textile products to be marketed in China. On textile machinery, a special supplement on weaving preparation and weaving machinery is presented in the “Machinery Technology” column, while “Nonwovens / Technical Textiles” talks about soft coating in modern finishing systems, which allows saving of resources in a textile manufacturing plant. ATA JOURNAL for Asia on Textile & Apparel is published by Adsale Publishing Limited (a member of the Adsale Group) Address: 6th Floor, 321 Java Road, North Point, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2811 8897 Fax: (852) 2516 5119 Email: cta.ata@adsale.com.hk Web-site(Adsale Group): www.adsale.com.hk Adsale Industry Portal: AdsaleATA.com General Manager: Annie Chu Senior Executive Editor: Naomi Lee Associate Editor: Michelle Phong China Editor: Joany Hao Assistant Editor (China): Amy Xiao Editorial Emails cta.ata.edit@adsale.com.hk cta.ata@sz.adsale.com.hk Contributors Adrian Wilson (Europe) Ajay Sinha (India, Pakistan & Sri Lanka) Asep Setiaharja (S E Asia) Baari Inggi (S E Asia) Gail Taylor (Hong Kong) Ian Holme (Europe) Lucia Carpio (Europe) Manik Mehta (US & Europe) Ngo Tuan (Vietnam) Sanjay Gupta (India) Marketing and Advertising Janet Tong Advertising Sales Offices See page 68 Production Sonia Lai Circulation Circulation Department Publication Frequency 6 times in 2009 Distribution ATA JOURNAL is distributed free to individuals who meet the publisher's registered terms of control. Fill in the reader's form to apply for qualified readership. Subscription Rates (annual incl postage) Hong Kong: HK$455 Asia (surface mail): US$75 All Other Regions (surface mail): US$85 Cover Price: HK$76 / US$13 / US$15 Copyright © 2009 All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form without the written permission of the publisher is prohibited. The publisher is not responsible for statements or opinions expressed herein nor do such statements necessarily express the views of the publisher unless stated as such. Printing Elite Printing (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd.

Industry News East Asia China Jiangsu textile and apparel exports decline In the first nine months of 2009, textile and apparel exports from the Chinese province of Jiangsu valued at US$19.8 billion, down 10.7% from the same period of the previous year, according to Jiangsu's Department of Commerce. Of which, exports of textiles accounted for US$7.61 billion, representing a drop of 16.8%; those of apparel were US$12.2 billion, down 6.3%. Market-wise, the United States was the biggest buyer for Jiangsu textile and apparel exports between January and September 2009, purchasing US$4.43 billion, down 0.8% from the previous year. The European Union and Japan were the second and third biggest buyers of these goods with an import value of US$41.6 billion (-12.4%) and US$40.1 billion (-1.5%) respectively. Textile and apparel exports to the ASEAN and Hong Kong also declined by 16.1% and 18.9% respectively in the period under review. Chinese textile firm turns to Egypt for production Cheap labour, investment incentives and unrestricted exports have attracted a Chinese textile company to manufacture ready-made garments in Egypt. The Chinese-owned Nile Textile Group was set up in the Port Said free zone by November 2009, employing 600 workers; 80% of the workers were Egyptians. Wage of local workers ranges between 700 and 800 Egyptian pounds (or US$130-150) a month. Garments made at the Egyptian factory are mainly export-oriented to the US markets with no restriction, and the firm is able to import 60% of its basic materials tax-free. Around 950 Chinese companies have set up operations in Egyptian free zones. Direct Chinese investment in Africa rose from US$491 million in 2003 to US$7.8 billion in 2008. South East Asia Vietnam Apparel exports to US continue expanding Vietnam exported US$7.5 billion in apparel and textiles to mainly the United States and Europe between January and October 2009, according to the Vietnamese General Statistics Office. The Vietnamese government estimated the apparel export market to reach US$9.3 billion in 2009, up 3% from the previous year. Vietnam's apparel exports to the US increased quickly as the US government in early 2009 stopped monitoring Vietnamese apparel coming into the country. After the monitoring ended, more US apparel companies felt comfortable about sourcing in Vietnam. Vietnam is the second largest supplier of apparel to the United States, following China. The US imported US$5.4 billion in apparel and textiles from Vietnam during the one-year period ending August 31, 2009, up 3.7% over the same period of the previous year. China shipped apparel valued at US$32 billion to the United States for the 12 months ending August 2009. South Asia India Signs of rebound observed India's US$10-billion textile and apparel industry (as estimated by India's Apparel Export Promotion Council, AEPC) registered a growth in August 2009 after nine months of decline. Indian textile and apparel industry were tied to traditional markets like the US and Europe, where 70% of the textile and apparel products are exported. However, they began to enter the China market more recently, according to Rakesh Vaid, AEPC's Chairman. “We have been entering new markets over the last two years.” He continued: “After nine months of consecutive losses and slowdown (since December 2008), the industry logged growth in August (2009). Exports to Europe have gathered pace, retail chains there are buffering up inventories for spring-summer (2010). I am just back from Europe. I expect the market to pick up early next year (2010).” Exports to the US rose 1.39% in August 2009 over that in July, however, when compared to that in the corresponding month in the previous year, exports to America still dropped 6.09%. With reference to figures of AEPC, apparel exports fell 15.4% in the first quarter this fiscal year (i.e. April-June 2009), prompting the Indian government to announce a subsidy of Rs 2,546 crore (US$535 million) for the crisis-hit sector . In the US$373-billion global clothing industry, India's share fell from 3.3% in 2005 to the current 2.6%, or US$9.69 billion, AEPC estimated. To maintain the current share of 2.6%, India will need to export US$18 billion worth of apparel by 2015, requiring 2.7 million additional manpower and investments of US$30 billion, based on the projection of AEPC. The sector employs over 33 million people, and contributes about 4% to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and 14% to its industrial production. Foreign investors welcomed India planned to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) to boost the country's textile and apparel sector. India's Union Minister for Textiles, Dayanidhi Maran, said in October 2009 that the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) would take up the task of attracting FDI. AEPC's General Secretary, Vimal Kirti Singh, said that a more investment-friendly business environment is advantageous to foreign investors in the manufacturing sector. The potentially large domestic consumer market is a highlight as well.

Industry News The ministry also organized a first-phase delegation headed by Mr Maran to Switzerland, Italy and Turkey in October 2009. Countries like France, Germany and the US would be planned in the second phase. Considering that India's share in the world apparel exports in the post-quota regime dipped to 2.6%, Mr Singh from APEC commented that the country requires more investments to remain viable in the export markets. It also needs to increase the capacity along the entire textile and apparel chain, from spinning, weaving, processing to garment-making. Additionally, the Knitwear Technology Mission set up by APEC in Tirupur helps source advanced technology and related product development of the manmade fiber production. In this way, manufacturers in the Indian textile city can diversify their products in addition to cotton apparel, according to A Sakthivel, President, Tirupur Exporters' Association. Hoping to import machinery at lower costs The Indian textile industry asked the commerce ministry not to exclude textile units that had allowed using funds for modernizing their units under the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) from benefiting from the new scheme for importing capital goods duty-free. The zero-duty Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme, announced in 2009 foreign trade policy, allows exporters in a number of identified sectors including textiles to import capital goods at zero duty. In a report submitted to the commerce ministry in September 2009, the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) pointed out that the exclusion clause in the foreign trade policy that barred manufacturers subsidized under TUFS from enjoying the zero-duty EPCG scheme, should be removed. The textile industry's argument is that small- and mid-size manufacturers had suffered the most from the global economic slowdown, and most of them had been benefitted under TUFS, the exclusion clause will prevent them from attaining help offered by the government, said R K Dalmia, Chairman of CITI. The report also opposed the exclusion of TUFS beneficiaries from benefiting from the additional duty-free scrips (1% of the export value) allowed for status holders under the announced foreign trade policy. The scrips are certificates that can be used for importing goods duty free and are transferable. Under TUFS, textile manufacturers in India can obtain a 5% rebate on the interest payable on loans for modernisation and technological upgradation. The CITI stated that even after TUFS benefits, interest rates for the textile and clothing industry of India is higher than most of its competing countries in Asia. Customs duty on import of machines or duty-free scrips for status holders have nothing to do with interest rates on capital, the CITI concluded. Pakistan Pakistan, EU strengthen economic ties The European Union (EU) decided to develop direct links with Pakistan's textile manufacturers to discuss the possibility of extending the “Generalised System of Preferences” (GSP) plus other incentives. First direct meeting between the Trade and Commercial Counsellors of the EU countries and All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) was held in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, in October 2009. This came after the June 2009 EU-Pakistan Summit held in Brussels, Belgium, when the EU agreed to enhance the bilateral trade relationship in order to support Pakistan's economic development. APTMA gave a detailed presentation on problems faced by the industry in the EU countries. The Pakistani association requested the EU to declare Pakistan an Adversely Impacted Economy (AIE) due to the negative impact of war on terror on Pakistan's economy. Chairman of APTMA committee on WTO would also call for “GSP plus” market access, which has been denied because of technical reasons. Pakistan's GSP textile exports to the EU exceeded the limit of 1% of EU GSP imports by 0.48%, disqualifying Pakistan. APTMA hoped the limit of 1% would be raised to 3% for AIE economies. APTMA also stressed on increased communication between EU trade officials and APTMA, whose members account for 65% of the country's textile output. Increased interaction can help APTMA in its work on compliance issues, better management practices in cotton production, energy conservation and trade remedial measures, the organization said. Moreover, Pakistan and the EU held talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) after the June 2009 Summit. Looking into cotton price hikes The Ministry of Textile Industry expressed concerns over the rising cotton and cotton yarn prices and convened an emergency meeting of textile stakeholders in October 2009 to discuss possible remedies. Textile ministry invited various associations and stakeholders to develop a long-term policy for stable prices of cotton and cotton yarn. They included representatives from the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), the Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association (PHMA), the Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA), the All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association (APTPMA), and more organizations representing segments of denim exporters, bedwear exporters, and cotton fashion apparel exporters. Prices of raw cotton increased by 8% in two months to Rs 3,700 per maund in September 2009. Rising prices of yarn had a serious effect on exports of the textile sector and led to decline in exports of the value-added apparels, making it difficult to achieve the country's export target, according to Pakistani apparel sector exporters.

Industry News Bangladesh Stimulus package given to apparel industry Commerce Minister Faruk Khan said in October 2009 that the government of Bangladesh would finalise the stimulus package for the apparel sector. Mr Khan made the remark at the opening ceremony of the Centre for Export and Product Development (CEPD). The government set aside Tk 50 billion (5,000 crore) in its national budget for the current fiscal to stave off the effect of the global economic meltdown. Earlier, the government had announced such packages for the jute, leather and frozen food sectors, as their export growth had been remaining in the red under the current global economic downturn. The announcement created resentment among the garment manufacturers as they were left out. During the second meeting of the National Task Force, which was formed to identify the industries affected by the global financial gloom, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said that the government decided to provide economic stimulus package for the ready-made garment sector after examining the sector's export position. However, Mr Khan considered that Bangladesh would need to diversify its products to tap the full export potential. Building more effluent treatment facilities A slow progress of setting up effluent treatment plants (ETPs) in the textile and apparel industry was complained by some international apparel buyers, industry insiders said in October 2009. International apparel buyers commented that apparel factories in Bangladesh had followed social compliance issues like avoiding child labour, but not many of them have set up ETPs. The progress in setting up ETPs at the Bangladeshi factories is slow; however, end consumers have been more environment conscious than years ago. Bangladesh's government already made it mandatory to set up ETPs in industrial enterprises such as textile and dyeing factories, which involves wet processing. Many local factories, nonetheless, have not yet set up ETPs before the required date of June 30, 2009. The Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) recently informed the parliamentary standing committee on environment and forest ministry in a letter that a total of 205 out of 1,300 members of the BTMA need to set up ETPs. BTMA also informed the standing committee that 64 factories already set up ETPs, 24 are constructing the plants, three are importing machinery, six are making infrastructure and five have opened letters of credit for importing machinery. The association in the letter recommended the government to set up (Continued on p14)

Industry News Country Focus: Indonesian textile businesses find ways to weather economic downturn by Asep Setiaharja and Staff Reporters The textile and apparel industry is the largest export earner among non-oil/gas industries in Indonesia. It is also an important manufacturing industry due to its labour-intensive nature, providing jobs for approximately 1.8 million people in the nation. Being the fourth most populous country in the world after only China, India, the US, and ahead of Brazil, Indonesia has an estimated total population of 232 million, according to BPS-Statistics Indonesia, a non-departmental government institution. The population growth rate is about 1.3% a year. With a large population, the country has also a potentially large domestic market, which has partially helped it weather the global economic downturn in face of weaker exports markets since late 2008. Domestic apparel market stood at 1.24 million tons in 2008, or US$7.18 billion in value, according to the Indonesian Textile Association (API) data. The association estimated the domestic market to grow about 10% amounted to 1.362 million tons at US$7.56 billion in 2009. Apart from the domestic purchasing power, the Indonesian textile and apparel industry also looked upon foreign markets for further development. Closer economic ties with Japan Japan is one of major trade partner for Indonesia. On one hand, investment from Japan since the early 1970s have boosted development of the domestic textile industry in Indonesia and continue playing a significant role for the Asian nation's economic growth to-date. Japan has also kept friendly relations with Indonesia in the oil trade. On the other hand, Japan is an important export destination country for Indonesia's textile and apparel industry. The European Union combining 27 member countries in a single common market was ranked second biggest importer of Indonesia's textile and apparel goods in 2008, accounting for about 20% of the total. In the same year, Indonesian exports of textiles and apparel to Japan reached US$547 million or 5% of total textile and apparel export from Indonesia. From an individual country perspective, Japan was the second largest single-country buyer of Indonesia's textile and apparel goods after the US (see chart). Rest of World (162 countries) 27% USA 37% EU 20% Japan 5% UAE 4% ASEAN 7% Caption: Main destination countries of Indonesian T & C Export Economic ties between Indonesia and Japan grew stronger under the Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (IJEPA) effective from July 1, 2008. The agreement covered 11 fields including trade in goods, rules of origin (RoO), customs procedures, investment, and energy and mineral resources. The Minister of Trade of Indonesia after the signing of the agreement in 2008 expressed optimism that the agreement would improve production efficiency, investment, and brought benefits to Indonesian entrepreneurs and consumers as well. In the field of manufacturing industry, Indonesia and Japan have developed a joint cooperation in Manufacturing Industry Development Center (MIDEC). The center is a capacity-building program for Indonesian manufacturing industries - including textiles, through joint studies, technical assistance, information exchange, and other activities. Nonetheless, total trade value of textiles and apparel between Indonesia and Japan declined since the second half of 2008 through June 2009. The decline was mainly due to a drop of Indonesia's textiles and apparel exports to Japan since late 2008, following the global economic downturn, officials from Ministry of Trade said. Moreover, unit prices of textiles and apparel exports also dropped. These exports slipped 7.18% in the July-December period of 2008, compared to the previous six months (or first half of 2008), and went further down by 16.71% in the first half of 2009 compared to the previous six months. Million Yen 16,000.00 14,000.00 12,000.00 10,000.00 8,000.00 6,000.00 4,000.00 2,000.00 -2,000.00 -4,000.00 Implementation of UEPA started Export Import Total Trade Balance Jan - Jun 2008 Jul - Dec 2009 Jan - Jun 2009 Caption: Value of Indonesia-Japan trade on textile and apparel goods from 2008 to first half of 2009 (in Japanese yen, JPY) (1 million JPY = US$11,000) An Indonesian yarn exporter to Japan told ATA Journal that yarn exports of his company increased 10% after the implementation of the IJEPA. In addition, a garment exporter reported a 15% increase in export volume of his company shipping to Japan, although the price slid 10%. Despite the relatively weak export environment at the moment, they were optimistic that the agreement will bring benefits to Indonesian manufacturers in the filed, such as the work of MIDEC has brought technical assistance to the country, which in turn help improve product quality achieved by Indonesian players.

Industry News Areas for improvement Overall, the manufacturing sector of Indonesia was adversely impacted by the global economic downturn. Despite signs of recovery shown in some areas and/or segments, the economic climate has not yet reached the pre-crisis level, the Indonesian authorities observed. Indonesia's Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced in November 2009 that large- and medium-scale manufacturing industries in the country grew only 0.02% in the first nine months of 2009 compared to the same period of the previous year. The Indonesian government pledged to revitalize the manufacturing sector starting 2010. At a recent national summit sponsored by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) in late October 2009, more than 1,200 participants from the national and regional government bodies, business sectors, and academia joined together. The government received numerous inputs on key and strategic development issues for the economic policies between 2010 and 2014. Industry Minister MS Hidayat, also the chairman of the Kadin, commented that to resurrect the manufacturing industry, areas of improvement would include infrastructure, such as gas and electricity. The decisions by state power utility PT PLN to shut off electricity in some areas undermined and delayed industrial output, the country’s business sector reported. More challenges, particularly in the private sector of Indonesia, were mentioned in a June 2009 report from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, entitling “The contribution made by German development policy to Indonesia's Private Sector Development”. Improved access to finance and qualified labour force were regarded as crucial factors for Indonesia's investment climate and international competitiveness. The World Bank's Doing Business 2007 Report ranked Indonesia 135th out of 175 economies on ease of doing business. In 2007, the investment ratio to GDP of Indonesia had reached the level of 25%, but was still below the ratio it had achieved before the Asian financial crisis (29.6%) in 1997-98, stated the report of German authorities. With vast natural resources, Indonesia was found to rely heavily on exports of primary commodities and simple resource-based manufactures, more than value-added manufacturing activities. Economic growth of the country has been driven mainly by consumption rather than investment. “Indonesia can play a crucial role in the economic and political integration of ASEAN member states. It has the potential to become the leading economy in the ASEAN region if it manages to catch up with the dynamic Asian economies,” mentioned the report. It added that prudent macroeconomic management and sound sector policies could exploit Indonesia's comparative advantage, especially in labour-intensive manufacturing and agricultural products. ■

Industry News (Continued from p11) four central ETPs in four areas, namely Dhaka, Narsingdi, Savar and Joydevpur for the industry. BTMA also suggested the government allowing duty-free imports of chemicals used in effluent treatment plants to reduce production costs. Additionally, Bangladesh's central bank in August 2009 ordered all commercial banks to provide loans up to Tk 1 crore (or roughly US$145,000) at a 9% interest rate for setting up an ETP. Facing insufficient power supply Over 20 large textile, spinning and denim factories faced production setback due to insufficient gas in Bangladesh. These factories are mainly situated in the areas of Gazipur, Tongi, Savar, Narayanganj and Manikganj of Bangladesh. The gas pressure they received was about a half, forcing many of them to cut production, as gas is a source of power supply. Factories reported that they faced insufficient gas since March 2009, incurring substantial financial losses. In Narayanganj, a number of factories faced low gas pressure for six to seven months, according to the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) data. The data showed that factories in Gazipur were the worst affected by low gas pressures. Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company admitted that there were low pressures of gas, and the pressure might improve in the winter season when the gas consumption became low. In April 2008, Titas suggested to ration gas supply following production shortfalls, which was opposed by the textile sector. Sri Lanka Preparing for possible GSP+ withdrawal Sri Lanka prepared to face risks of not attaining Generalised System of Preferences plus (GSP+), according to Sri Lanka's Central Bank. At an official briefing on “ GSP+ Scheme and Sri Lanka from a risk management perspective” at the Central Bank in October 2009, Governor of Sri Lanka's Central Bank, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, said that it is certainly good if the GSP+ is continued, but like the abolition of the Multi Fibre Arrangement (MFA), the country is prepared to move ahead even without GSP+. The country has to undertake risk management when dealing with the GSP+, Mr Cabraal said. Moreover, there is ample reason to believe that the present risk (of GSP+ withdrawal) could be dealt with and there is enough evidence to indicate that it could be met successfully, he added. He said that Sri Lankan exporters' competitiveness to European Union increased sharply between November 2008 and January 2009, due to the Sri Lankan rupee depreciation. Therefore, the potential loss of the preferential duty margin by around 7% if the GSP+ facility is withdrawn will be within the rupee depreciation range, and hence will not be a blow to the country's exports, he said. The inflation also declined from 14.4% at the end of 2008 (with reference to Sri Lanka's Department of Census and Statistics) to below 1% by the end of September 2009 and is expected to be around an average of 3.5% for the year 2009. It is expected to remain low in 2010 as well. As a result, there has been a significant reduction of pressure on input costs, Mr Cabraal explained. The interest cost on borrowings also dropped in all market segments and the State banks' new interest reduction measures introduced in October 2009 will lead to further reductions of interest. In addition, Sri Lanka's improved rating outlook to stable by the Standard & Poor (S&P). Hence, the Central Bank Governor believed that this will also facilitate external borrowing at a lower cost. With the dramatic improvement of the reserve position of the country, industries can also borrow from offshore banking units at lower foreign currency interest rates, he said. Gross official international reserves of Sri Lanka exceeded US$4.8 billion in November 2009, according to the country's central bank. Improved investor confidence with the dawn of peace has reduced uncertainty and exchange rates have stabilized, he concluded. To qualify for the GSP+, Sri Lanka has to ratify 27 international conventions on human rights, labour rights and environmental standards. Europe Euratex helps promote e-business across Europe Over 120 participants from 20 countries gathered at the eBIZ-TCF conference in October 2009 in Brussels, Belgium, presenting the results of the first truly European initiative for e-business harmonisation in the fashion industry. The 30 speakers discussed their experience with eBusiness adoption in the textile, clothing and footwear companies or retail operations and IT providers shared challenges and best practices from e-business implementations with customers. Some exemplary representatives of the 150 pilot companies from across Europe, which have tested the eBIZ solution as part of the project work, expressed satisfaction with the results achieved and their intention to extend the eBIZ adoption towards their supply chain partners. Luca Sangiovanni from Gruppo Ermenegildo Zegna remarked satisfaction about the pilot results, which are planned to be extended towards other suppliers. Based on the just-concluded eBIZ testing phase (i.e. eBIZ Pilots), the project team provided early exemplary figures on the potential economic benefit for companies. From January 2008, the two-year eBIZ project collected comprehensive data on the results achieved by the companies involved; develop a hand-on guide for e-business adoption in the fashion industry and set up a permanent interest group to support the eBIZ adoption in the coming years. Information events are also planned in a number of European countries such as Bulgaria, Italy and more. For daily news of the textile industry, please visit AdsaleATA.com

Industry News Association News Associations serve as a bridge among stakeholders in Indonesia There are three major textile industry associations in Indonesia, namely the Indonesian Textile Association (API), the Indonesian Synthetics Fibers Manufacturer Association (APSyFI) and the Indonesian Spinners Association (Sekbertal), Asep Setiaharja reports Established in 1974, the Asosiasi Pertekstilan Indonesia (API), or the Indonesian Textile Association, is the biggest industry association on textiles in Indonesia. The current chairman is Benny Soetrisno. Its members come from the entire textile and apparel supply chain from up-stream up to down-stream, i.e. from synthetics fiber manufacturers, spinners, weavers, knitters to garment makers and made-up articles manufacturers. The API has a total of 840 company members, mainly situated in the regions of Java and Bali. Aside of its headquarters in Jakarta, the association has offices across six provinces in Greater Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java and Bali. Vice Chairman of API, Ade Sudrajat explained that the API serves as a facilitator between the government and the industry. Positioning itself as a spokesperson for its members, API believes industry-friendly policies are crucial to the long-term development of Indonesia's textile and apparel industry. Hence, the API involves in broad subjects of policies and regulations, such as those in relation to investment, energy regulation, human resources, financing, infrastructure, upgraded technology, Mr Sudrajat said. Caption: API's Ade Sudrajat Regarding the current global economic downturn, Mr Sudrajat said that similar to other industrial sectors, the textile industry in Indonesia was in a hard condition. The API has kept its optimism with members. “Sooner or later, the (global economic) crisis will be over, and the economic condition will return to the normal situation. The Indonesian textile industry has to equip itself to be ready for the future competition,” Mr Sudrajat said. Domestically, textile and apparel imports from China at a cheaper price level have dominated Indonesia's market, and the country was not allowed to ban made-in-China products under a fair trade notion. The only solution of this problem is to improve the competitiveness of the Indonesian textile and apparel industry, he said. Integration of the textile industry among ASEAN countries is also a hot issue in the association at the moment. Mr Sudrajat concluded that the API fully supports the idea of integration and will strive for a closer economic cooperation with players in the ASEAN community. Indonesia is not a cotton-grower country and relies on imported cotton, so Sekbertal gathered spinning enterprises in Indonesia to establish Indonesia's Spinners Association or Sekretariat Bersama Pemintalan (Sekbertal) in 1986 to protect the interests of stakeholders in the spinning sector of Indonesia. Hussein Aminuddin became chairman of the association. Lily Tamin, Vice Chairman of Sekbertal, explained that Sekbertal is concerned with quality of cotton traded, including foreign matter contamination and honey dew. The association has developed cooperation with international cotton organizations such as Cotton Incorporated (USA), Cotton Council International (USA) and International Cotton Association (UK). As a oil-producing nation, Indonesia has developed its manmade fiber sector since 1970s, partly with foreign investment. In 1975, Indonesian Synthetice Fiber Manufacturer Association or Asosiasi Pengusaha Synthetic Fiber Indonesia (APSyFI) was set up to accommodate common interest of synthetics fiber manufacturers in Indonesia. Secretary General of APSyFI, Kustarjono Prodjolalito, told ATA Journal in an interview in Jakarta that the APSyFI has members of synthetics fiber spinners, as well as manufacturers of PTA and MEG (polyester intermediates). APSyFI is a source of industry information for its members with regard to labor law, electricity, taxation and more. A number of Japanese companies have been members of APSyFI since the 1970s, including PT Indonesia Toray and PT Teijin Indonesia Fiber Tbk. Some of the large synthetic fiber manufacturers are also members of APSyFI, including Polyfin Canggih and PT Sulindafin. Caption: Kustarjono Prodjolalito of APSyFI Association Chairman Segments represented Number of members Year of establishment Website Sekbertal Hendra O. Husodo Cotton Spinner 45 1986 www.sekbertal.org APSyFI Bacelius Ruru Synthetic Fiber Manufacturer 13 1975 www.fiber-indonesia.com API Benny Soetrisno All textile sectors (fiber making, spinning, weaving, knitting garment producing) 840 1974 www.indonesiatextile.com ■

Environmental Watch Being part of a greener supply chain Climate change has aroused concerns over the world and retailers have placed greater emphasis on a greener supply chain. One of the well-prepared textile firms which saw the trend earlier is Crystal Group, an apparel maker in Hong Kong by Michelle Phong With more than 40,000 employees in 13 factories, Crystal Group is a solution provider in the areas of fashion apparel from design, manufacturing, to logistics and distribution. It currently produces 200 million pieces of apparel a year. Rising awareness of green products among consumers across the United States, Europe and Japan led retailers to initiate programs to protect their corporate reputation. Marks and Spencer's Plan A is an example. “Retailers are concerned about in lower energy consumption, minimal wastes, more sustainable products and product design and so on, which have a profound impact on the supply chain. We were early to see the opportunities in this aspect,” said Kenneth Lo, Chairman of Crystal Group, at a seminar organized by the Hong Kong Productivity Council in September 2009 in Hong Kong. Caption: Kenneth Lo In order to be part of a greener textile and apparel supply chain, the company rolled out a “five-year green plan” in June 2007. Environmental targets were to save 20% of energy cost, reduce 30% material wastage and 65% air freight, and to plant about one million trees in five years. About 300,000 trees were planted in China, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, and two large ecological forests occupying totally 600 acres of land have been developed in China. Mr Lo believed that such short-term investment brings long-term production cost reduction. A top-down approach is essential to influence staffers to rethink their daily tasks in four directions: avoid, reduce, recycle and dispose, he said. This makes Crystal Group more socially accountable, and helps it to achieve better environmental efficiency and cost effectiveness, which have resulted in a better brand image of the company. He also stressed the importance of enhancing eco-efficiency at the factory. One of his factories situated in South China pioneered Factory facilities Cool roof Water curtain air cooler Solar energy panels and energy-saving lighting tubes Motion sensor lighting controls at the corridor Installation of steam traps in boilers Production Using eco-softener for denim washing to saving water and time Right-first-time processing Better logistic arrangement and loading planning Materials Polybags made from recycled materials Reuse carton boxes Use natural gas at the Jiangsu factory Water Reduce water flow of tap water Effective wastewater treatment Recycling of wastewater Wastes Return used sewing thread cones to suppliers Separate recyclable items Staff Reduce business travel with net meetings Caption: More than 100 activities were carried out across Crystal Group's factories to reduce consuming natural resources

Environmental Watch United efforts being sought to combat global warming The discussion at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 2009 is believed to have a long-term impact on the textile and apparel manufacturing sector. The two-week conference from December 7, 2009, discussed a possible successor to the Kyoto protocol to continue coordinating international action against climate change. Advocators of environmental protection hoped that agreements can be reached in Copenhagen, considering that the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. Global emissions must peak in 2015 the latest, said Dr R K Pachauri, Chairman of the UN-established Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC). The changed climate would lead to frequent floods and draughts. UN scientists said that this was an urgent and important matter for the world and called for commitments to combat global warming. China, the United States and the European Union account for 21.5%, 20.2% and 13.8% respectively of the world's CO2 emissions in 2006, according to data of the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) in the US. It was estimated that developing nations would need 100 billion euros (US$150 billion) per year until 2020 to help them cope with the consequences of global warming. UN climate chief, or Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Yvo de Boer said in November that both developed and developing countries would need to state what their greenhouse gas emissions cuts will be by 2020. The issue of finance to support mitigation and adaptation in the developing world would also be addressed at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, held on December 7-18. The EU proposed to cut GHG emissions up to 95% by 2050 and to deepen cuts from 20-30% by 2020 if other countries promise for similar action. Japan has promised a 25% reduction from 1990 levels. In 2001, the Bush Administration withdrew the United States from the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change. Now, US President Obama has pledged to reduce its greenhouse emissions in the range of 17% below 2005 levels by 2020 and 83% by 2050. This can possibly come true if the proposals are ultimately approved by the US legislation. China's Premier Wen Jiabao announced that the country would target to cut carbon intensity, i.e. carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product, by 40-45% by 2020, compared with 2005 levels. The Chinese global warming emissions are likely to increase in years to come, but hopefully at a slower pace than its economic growth. Leaders in the EU, and Kim Carstensen, Leader of WWF Global Climate Initiative, welcomed China's announcement. Given the size of China's economy, the decoupling of China's economic growth from growth in emissions is one of the most important factors that will determine whether the world can get on course to keep temperature rise below two degrees Celsius, he said. GHGs Saudi Arabia Ukraine Pakistan GDP Canada S. Korea Australia S. Africa Spain Poland Argentina Taiwan Netherlands U.S. China U.K. EU-25 Italy Russia France India Mexico Japan Indonesia Germany Iran Brazil Turkey Thailand Population Egypt Nigeria Vietnam Philippines Banglandesh Ethiopia D.R. Congo WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE Caption: World top 25 GHG emitters by population and GDP (i.e. developed and developing countries) (Source: World Resources Institute) in joining the Low Carbon Manufacturing Programme (LCMP) of the WWF in 2008. The factory was able to achieve a reduction of 1,500 tons of carbon emission, or 17% in 2008 compared with 2007. The use of electricity and boiler (for steam and hot water) also dropped 17% and 22% respectively in the same year. Overall, with more than 100 activities carried out across its factories and being ISO 14000 certified, Crystal Group's efforts have been recognized by China's local governments. It was awarded as the Clean Production Enterprise of Guangdong Province and being ranked as a “Green Enterprise” by the Jintan City Environmental Protection bureau in Jiangsu province. In addition, Crystal Group is a participant of the Cleaner Production Partnership Programme of the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC). The denim production unit of Crystal Group also joined the clean water programs of two well-established brands in the US so as to monitor waste water treatment in denim laundries. All these efforts have helped Crystal Group to differentiate itself in the market, but they could just be the basic requirements in the future textile and apparel manufacturing sector, as people heighten control over greenhouse gases emissions. ■

Environmental Watch New sustainable workwear made from 100% organic cotton Melchior Textil, a German company specialising in high-quality workwear fabrics, presented its first line of environmentally-friendly fabrics, which is a new “Organic Cotton” line in November 2009. The trend towards eco-friendly workwear originated in Scandinavia, but recently the awareness of sustainability issues in the production of workwear has spread all over Europe. With its “Organic Cotton” range of fabrics, Melchior Textil has developed a line of products that comply with the rigid international Global Organic Textile Standard G.O.T.S. and are certified organic, the company explains. Consisting of 100% certified organic cotton and processed by G.O.T.S-approved procedures, the “Organic Cotton” line was developed specifically for the manufacturing of trousers and jackets for workplace. The twill-weave fabrics weigh 195 grams per square metre and are available in different colors. Caption: Workwear fabrics of Melchior Textil China has the most Oeko-Tex certificates China leads the number of Oeko-Tex certificates per country this year, the Oeko-Tex Organization said. According to Oeko-Tex general secretary Raimar Freitag, the number of Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certificates continue to grow across the globe. Almost 10,000 certificates for textile products at all processing stages were issued in 2008 - the highest annual figure to date, and an increase of 11% as compared to the previous year. Strong increases were registered in Asian countries, whereby particularly Chinese companies are increasingly certifying their products in accordance with the Oeko-Tex Standard 100. While Asia already displaced Europe as the region with the most Oeko-Tex certificates in 2008, China currently also leads the number of certificates per country, ahead of Germany. Moreover, the Oeko-Tex Association obliged to conduct the product inspections, operational audits and interlaboratory tests by Oeko-Tex member institutes in order to uniform the testing criteria and standards, to protect the label “Confidence in Textiles” as a registered trademark. Meeting of Oeko-Tex testing institute's managers was held in Beijing in October 2009. The choice of meeting location reflected the fact that strong growths in Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certificates for textile and clothing manufacturers were seen in China, as well as the entire Asian region. Caption: Oeko-Tex testing institute's managers met in Beijing in late 2009 Teijin introduces polyester recycling program to China The Teijin Group announced in September 2009 the first-ever closed-loop polyester-recycling program in China for collecting and recycling used garments, in collaboration with Li Ning Company Limited, a sports apparel company in China. As part of the program, Li Ning has designed tennis and training wear using Teijin Fibers' chemically recycled Eco Circle Fibers, which are woven into textiles and dyed by Nantong Teijin Co Limited, a Teijin group company in China. The inaugural 2009-10 winter lineup were sold at 11 stores managed by Li Ning beginning October 2009. Under the program, the Li Ning stores accept these garments after they are worn out, from where they are sent via Nantong Teijin to Teijin Fibers' Matsuyama plant in Japan. After chemical decomposition, they are converted into polyester raw material offering purity comparable to that derived from petroleum. The raw material is then turned into high-quality Eco Circle Fibers, which will be used to manufacture new recyclable products. Li Ning aims to expand its lineup of clothing made with environmentally friendly Eco Circle Fibers, as well as increase its sales locations to more than 100 within three years. Launched with the participation of uniform manufacturers in 1999, the Eco Circle program is participated by more than 120 companies. The annual sales of polyester fiber regenerated by chemical recycling for the financial year 2008 was 4,500 tons, an amount equivalent to about 11% of the Matsuyama (Japan) factory's capacity of polyester fiber production, according to the Teijin Group. Recyclable products Design for easy recycling for the whole life cycle of each product is required PARTNER Users MEMBER Manufacturers, retailers, etc. TEIJIN MEMBER Manufacturers, retailers, etc. ECOCIRCLE Recovery boxes Used products collected and transported to Teijin plants Regenerated into new polyester fiber Caption:Teijin recycles polyester with Eco Circle Progress in ECO-CIRCLE High Low Sensory and functional demands Uniforms Companies and local governments Outdoor sports Patagonia, Inc. and others Fashion items, miscellaneous goods Interiors School physical education uniforms Event Earth Day Tokyo ECO-CIRCLE event Music ap bank fes. Augusta Camp Industrial materials Tents, train seats, etc. Companies Consumers Caption: Apparel made of Eco Circle has penetrated into different market segments as consumers, private firms, schools and local governments participate with Teijin Eco Circle close-loop recycling program ■

Feature Story Identifying new trends for next economic upswing As signs of economic recovery were witnessed and confidence cautiously returned in recent months, issues like new market potential, product development and production optimization have become hot topics to discuss in the manufacturing sector. According to some industry veterans, Chinese consumers, online selling and eco-friendly apparel are expected to characterize the new era of the textile and apparel industry, Michelle Phong reports Asia offers opportunities Asia, is the world's largest and most populous continent with approximately 4 billion people or 60% of the world's human population. It is believed to be a strong market in coming years. Wealth is created in the Asian region as globalisation intensifies, said Vincent Fang at the Interstoff Asia Essential exhibition held in Hong Kong in October 2009. Mr Fang is a legislative councillor representing the wholesale and retail functional constituency of Hong Kong; he is chief executive of Toppy Company (Hong Kong) Limited. This part of the world is less impacted by the global financial crisis following the credit crunch, Mr Fang said. Moreover, some governments in Asia have further bolstered domestic consumption with various economic measures to reduce adverse impacts brought by the crisis. In fact, a new global economic landscape is taking shape. Replacing the so-called G7 trade bloc, the Group of Twenty (G-20) is an informal forum involving developed and developing economies to discuss issues related to the global economy. Caption: Vincent Fang (far left) observed that Asia is less impacted by the global financial crisis China is now the third largest economy in the world with a gross domestic product (GDP) of RMB 30.067 trillion in 2008 (or US$4.4216 trillion), after only the United States and Japan, according to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). “The strong economic strength will sustain consumption in China, and the country's apparel imports are on the rise at an annual growth rate of some 30% from US$30 billion in 2006 to US$42.8 billion the following year, and US$35.4 billion in the first eight months of 2008. Renminbi has appreciated about 15% in the last three years,” said Mr Fang. The latest economic figures announced by the NBS of China in October 2009 appeared to support the optimists. The expansion in China's economy in the third quarter of 2009 was 8.9%, faster than the 7.9% growth rate in Q2, and the authorities were quite confident in achieving its target of a yearly GDP growth at 8%. The relatively loose economic policy remained in force. Mr Fang believes that China potentially will be the biggest buyer of apparel in future, meaning that business opportunities are there for textile and apparel manufacturers. A lack of apparel variety in the country presents business chances, e.g. in the segment of female executives. New comers of the apparel retail market can work on service quality to impress consumers who welcome fashion updates and advice on building up personal image. Possible challenges for entering China's retail market include: inconsistency in regulations across provinces and bureaucracy; the lack of intellectual property rights remains common; service industry in the nation is in its infancy, making it challenging to constantly provide quality service; high commission rentals set by department stores and lengthy procedures to open own stores. In the meantime, the vast geographical size of the market is both a blessing and a challenge. “The first step is to focus on just one market segment,” said Mr Fang. Product positioning is crucial, so is quality of service and investment on unlimited designs, which might be “better than spending on legal fees against counterfeiting.” Considering that Chinese consumers are generally not used to dry cleaning and ironing, desired products are those easy to take care of, he added. Online selling Online selling is possibly a big thing in China soon, for its relatively easy handling of the payment, as well as cost-effective access to target customers. Some overseas brands are targeting millions of online surfers in China, including Uniqlo and Jack & Jones.

Feature Story Under a recent partnership, a virtual flagship store of Uniqlo is available on Taobao's online marketplace (taobao.com) that has almost 100 million registered users by the end of 2008. Uniqlo is a casual wear retail brand under Japan's Fast Retailing, while Taobao is a Chinese consumer e-commerce company under Alibaba Group. Bestseller Fashion Group, member of the Danish Bestseller Group and one of the biggest clothing companies in China, has also launched its online store, featuring Bestseller's Jack & Jones brand. Green fashion While apparel retailers are trying to gain a share in the China apparel market, western consumers appear to be more conscious about the fact that they are global citizens and increasingly demand retailers to be socially responsible in their ways of doing business. Such a wave of awareness has met with like-minded designers and businessmen, who established the Ethical Fashion Forum (EFF) in the United Kingdom. Ethical fashion is defined by Tamsin Lejeune, Founder of EFF, as fashion made with minimal adverse impact on the environment and people, while maximising benefits for people. In other words, ethical fashion refers to apparel that are manufactured sustainably (in terms of environment) and ethically (in terms of workers' welfare). Caption: Tamsin Lejeune The global market of ethical fashion quadrupled to approximately £175 million over the last four to five years, Ms Lejeune said, although such fashion holds less than 1% of the entire fashion market on the globe. About 80% of fashion is produced in developing countries, and EFF hopes both consumers and workers can enjoy their lives. With the networking of EFF, 38 leading UK fashion businesses have expressed interest to ethically source from Africa to help improve the livelihood of African people. According to EFF, buyers of ethical fashion in the UK are mainly women aged between 30 and 50, many of them are professionals at the workplace and loyal consumers of ethical apparel. In recent years, however, Ms Lejeune noticed an emerging group of ethical fashion consumers aged from 20 years old, who are relatively fashion-focused. Noting the trends, more apparel retailers have captured the opportunity and integrated ethical issues into their business strategies. Marks & Spencer, for instance, sold 1.1 million pieces of organic cotton apparel in 2008, which was fivefold from 2007, according to Clare Lissaman, Consultant of ethical trade and an active EEF member. She said: “Sustainability sells, and it holds true for high-street retailers.” Ms Lissaman cited popular smaller brands as examples. Asher Clark, head designer of Terra Plana and an EFF founder member, introduced ecologically inspired, fashion footwear to the UK and US markets. For each pair of shoes, Terra Plana gives a score of Eco Matrix to examine its products' environmental impact throughout their lifecycle: from raw material procurement, through processing, manufacture, use and finally disposal. The score measures five aspects: efficiency (energy / number of components), sole (minimal toxins / durability / lightness), upper (eco-friendly materials / simplicity), comfort (functionality / sensual feeling), and looks (beauty). Caption: A pair of suede high-heels has 16 scores in Eco Matrix, and the lightweight, glueless Barack shoes (left) is Terra Plana's best sustainable shoes to date, scoring 25 Another example is Kuyichi from the Netherlands. During the development of fair trade coffee and fruit, Dutch Non-governmental organization (NGO) Solidaridad discovered cotton to be harmful for people and the environment, especially with the use of pesticides. In the year 2000, Solidaridad started developing organic cotton in Peru. When big jeans brands did not show interest, Solidaridad launched its own style-conscious jeans brand, Kuyichi, in 2001 to bring organic cotton jeans into the fashion industry. About 80% of Kuyichi jeans consist of organic cotton and are produced in “fair working conditions”. Other relatively green fibers used include linen, hemp, vegetable tanned leather, recycled PET and lenpur (from wood pulp). Additionally, Kuyichi has collaborated with Made-by since 2004 to advocate the offerings of fashion that respects people and the planet, and help retailers to speed up changes and identify opportunities in the supply chain. Made-by, an initiative of Solidaridad, is an independent consumer label with the mission to make wearing ecological fashion popular. To do so, Made-by and Organic Exchange jointly offer a series of seminars throughout Europe in 2009 and 2010. Eco-friendly fashion is also stressed in the United States, as mentioned by Jody Turner, CEO of Culture of Future. She identified three kinds of green fashion. First, “invisible green” products refer to beautiful design that one cannot tell if it is “green” Caption: More brands and labels are selling eco-friendly and ethical fashion in the western markets (Photo: Kuyichi)

Feature Story by looking at it; an example is Jordan23 luxury basketball shoes of Nike. Second, by visually emphasizing eco-friendliness, a product is made “clearly green”, generating a personal statement about commitment to responsible consumerism when it is purchased. Third, “inventive green” explores new realms of material and fabric design and use. A good example is innovative dyeing without water. Recently used by designer label Costello Tagliapietra at the New York Fashion Week in September 2009, AirDye is a process of dyeing synthetic materials that deposits color inside, as opposed to on, it. Proprietary dyes are transferred from recycled paper onto fabric using heat, used dyes and toners are recycled into tar and asphalt. The concept of combining fair trade and care for nature with fashionable apparel will continue to be tested by market forces. Statistics from EEF show that the awareness of ethical fashion has significantly improved in Britain and one third of the British consumers who are positive to ethical fashion, or 23% of total respondents, are willing and able to pay more for ethical fashion. Self-report figures give confidence to positivists of ethical fashion, which may or may not show up in reality, and time will tell us if it is really the next big thing in the western fashion industry when the economy rebounds. Apart from market development in Asia and China geographically, and eco-fashion product-wise, Asian manufacturers need to turn themselves into truly sustained business (as well as sustainable) by improving the production process. Caption: Jody Turner Four directions to get stronger in crisis Also at the Interstoff fair in Hong Kong, Felix Chung, Chairman of Hong Kong Apparel Society (HKAS), suggested four directions for manufacturers to come out stronger from the crisis. Mr Chung, Director of Chungweiming Knitting Factory, said four areas: cost control, new product, new industry and new market were areas to look into. In addition to overhead reduction, better management, fewer wastage and quality, Asian manufacturers are encouraged to look closer at optimising the production process, which can bring about substantial savings of up to 20% to 30% a year, Mr Chung said. Caption: Felix Chung Current trends in the textile and apparel industry Market 1. More wealth is created in the Asian region, which is less affected by the global financial crisis 2. China could be the biggest buyer of apparel in future Characteristics of the China market: • Vast geographical size — focusing on one segment could be a beginning step • Lack of apparel variety at the moment • Consumers need fashion updates and advice on personal image • Online selling is expected to become more popular in China 3. Western markets increasingly value ethical / ecological fashion • Retailers integrate ethical issues into their business strategies • An emerging group of ethical fashion consumers aged 20 years upwards, who are relatively fashion-conscious Production 1. Cost control through optimised production processes 2. Product development and exploring new market 3. Creativity is crucial to the industry in the long run Optimising production process It is possible to improve the production process of apparel makers with a one-piece flow model. Workers under this model work on apparel pieces from-beginning-to-end usually along a U-shaped production line. Further explanation is on page 23. New Product To further strengthen market competitiveness, Asian manufacturers need to create new products. Design capabilities and product development are increasingly demanded in the market. Research centers can be good collaborators for manufacturers in research and development Merger and acquisition, Mr Chung added, can be another way to make a corporation bigger other than its own organic growth. New markets With the availability of good products, market is the next critical area for attention. Apart from traditional markets in the US, the European Union and Japan, non-traditional markets are important, such as China, Russia, the Middle East and other parts of Asia. Importers from these emerging markets often come to manufacturers asking directly for finished apparel products (with labels or brand names), which are ready to be marketed at retail stores. New industry Mr Chung believes that it is essential for apparel manufacturing to move towards a creative industry, where original design (ODM) and original brand (OBM) are crucial value in addition to manufacturing. In Hong Kong, the Fashion World Talent Awards (FWTA) is being organized by the HKAS to discover creative talent in the city and in mainland China. The newly launched competition recognizes creative efforts in three areas: fashion designers, image stylists and fashion photographers. ■

Feature Story One-piece flow of manufacturing helps enhance efficiency One-piece flow manufacturing model has been used to achieve lean production in recent years. When the model is applied in the textile and apparel industry, workers complete apparel pieces from-beginning-to-end usually along a U-shaped production line, as explained by the Clothing Industry Training Authority (CITA) of Hong Kong. Workers traditionally sit in groups. Each group finishes a single part of a lot size of apparel products; this is large-lot production. The large-lot production has been used for decades, which is meant to be efficient since workers keep working on the same process and usually can work faster. At the same time, in-process inventory, or work-in-progress (WIP), are piled up because these inventory do not move on to the next process until the entire lot of WIP are gathered. The larger the lot of WIP, the longer they sit and wait between processes. Large-lot production, as a consequence, lengthens the lead time between customer orders and delivery of products. Labour, energy and space are needed to store and transport products. With the one-piece model, however, customers can receive a flow of products with less delay. When done correctly, the model allows a continuous flow of activity between workers and manufactured products. In-process inventory is largely reduced and floor space freed up. It also allows a more efficient use of workers. According to CITA, the first piece of knitted T-shirt can be completed in two hours under a one-piece flow model. Conversely, it takes about three days to finish the first lot size of T-shirts in the traditional approach. Paul Chan, managing director of Hanin Garment Manufactory Ltd, said: “By adopting a one-piece flow model at our facilities, we have been able to improve efficiency by 15-20% in two years. It is beneficial to the company's long-term development, as well as advantageous to weather the current weak market environment. Mr Chan is a Vice-Chairman of Hong Kong Apparel Society (HKAS). IN A Operation 1 Operation 2 B Operation 3 C Operation 4 D Operation 5 E Operation 6 F Operation 7 G Operation 8 H Operation 9 Operation 10 OUT Remark: A Workers Work in progress Caption:One-piece manufacturing model

Market Focus Reading health risks for baby boomers The lives of the “never had it so good” generation are about to get even better with the aid of the latest smart garments. Further development of smart garments is likely to be useful to fire-fighters as well, Adrian Wilson reports Wearable garments that remotely monitor the body's condition will have a tremendous role to play in healthcare in the coming years – and their widespread acceptance as an alternative to hospital or care home residency becomes closer to reality every day. Freedom brought by smart wear These garments will play a tremendous role in allowing people – especially the globally growing number of over 60s, the so-called 'Baby Boomer' generation – to experience a freedom that has never before been possible. At the same time, they are likely to provide tremendous relief to over-burdened care institutions. After the World War II, between 1946 and 1964, certain regions of the world, such as Australia, Canada, the USA and the UK, experienced an unusual increase in the number of babies born. This phenomenon came to be known as the “baby boom”, and all the people born during the period are known as “baby boomers”. In the USA alone, baby boomers comprise nearly 20% of the population, equal to 76.1 million people, many of whom will soon turn 65. But they are generally fitter and expected to live longer than previous generations, and as a result, it is feared that they will put an increased burden on the medical industries of their countries. In Australia, for example, the cost of a hospital bed has recently been estimated to cost A$1,117 (or about US$1,079) a day. At the same time, traditional families are breaking down in these countries, and extended family systems vanishing. Hence, many baby boomers have a fear of becoming ill with no one to care for them and more and more are devoting a major part of their incomes to products and services that keep them healthy, make them look or feel better, slow down the effects of aging and prevent diseases. An increased demand for preventive care products and diagnostics proves that the trend of self-care is definitely on the rise. Baby boomers are growing increasingly concerned about their diet and exercise, and already turning to the self-monitoring of indicators such as cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar. This generation is optimistic about the implementation of home-based products and services that will help them manage even chronic disease states from the comfort of their homes, through advanced communication tools, self-diagnostic devices and home-monitoring appliances. With the recent advances in healthcare technologies and improvements in communications infrastructure at home, home healthcare is expected to evolve from a sporadic practice today to a mainstream care delivery model within the next five to 10 years. The ability to monitor such essential parameters as heart rate, skin temperature and respiration was collected by adding sensors to a substrate garment in the general vicinity of where the bio-electrical signal could be best collected, said Mark Pedley, CEO of UK company, SmartLife Technology. “Without core patents in these sectors, the electronics – most of which improve the quality of the outputs from the collecting sensors – are of minimal intrinsic value, since much of the hardware and electronics, as well as some of the software derivations, are off-the-shelf technology. The ‘application twist’ is the way these technologies are applied to the garments and the interpretation and potential value of the data outcomes,” he added. As a company, SmartLife secured its core technology from the University of Manchester in the UK, aiming to lead the field in the research, development and commercialisation of flexible fabric sensor systems for the improvement of lifestyles. “Our model creates a new freedom for those people who suffer from a range of personal conditions,” he said. There are 23 recognised ECG (electrocardiogram)-related conditions and the diagnosis of a number of them could be enhanced through consistent monitoring over a long period of time. The knowledge from such monitoring is likely to have a significant impact on the future understanding and treatment of many Caption: Baby boomers in their 60s continue enjoying the lives with modern technologies (Picture courtesy of Ratpack Entertainment, Australia)

Market Focus conditions, particularly when the monitoring covers the “normal” lifestyle of the wearer. “SmartLife recognises the importance of being able to tailor the system to the application, and furthermore, tailor the system to the individual, ensuring that in medical situations, wearers are monitored against their own personal bio-rhythms and not against a generic group,” said Mr Pedley. “The paradigm shift therefore, is for clinicians and medics, who work with this group of people, to move from snapshot, expensive, time-consuming and restrictive monitoring, to inexpensive, unrestricted and home-based monitoring, on a round the clock basis if required. The results become personalised to the patient in comparison with his or her norms, and even personalised in terms of how the information is both presented and analysed, should that be required.” Crucial attributes for market acceptance Of equal importance is the necessity to manufacture and produce garments on equipment for commercial use throughout the world. “The crucial point, is that the successful deployment of these and similar products and medical devices depends absolutely on the acceptability of the product or device in practical use,” said Mr Pedley. “In other words, the user must find it easy to use, comfortable and unintrusive.” The obvious solution is to make the device an integral part of something that the patient routinely and habitually employs anyway – replacing a standard piece of clothing with a special version. “Providing that the use of the monitoring garment presents little more challenge than the normal one, the patient has no excuse not to use the monitoring version,” said Mr Pedley. “In addition, the wearer can subject that garment to normal garment care procedures and maintain its performance without recourse to professional or expert help.” Mobile server Repository and Data archive (partner) Alerts (partner) Diagnosis and treatment Integration of Electronic Patient Records (partner) Mobile server Data synchronisation Appl. Provisioning Device m' ment Life Cycle M'ment (partner) Local display, processing, early alerts and data transfer (partner) Builds on OEM technologies, personalised with multi-access points for data Caption: The Smartlife network Normal garments come in sizes to suit body shapes and a monitoring garment must also accommodate a wide range of body shapes and sizes. In the SmartLife case, the size scaling is simple – along the lines of Small, Medium, Large – with few additional variants. Another leading company in this field is California-based VivoMetrics, which has recently completed a prototype of its next generation LifeShirt, also for the remote monitoring of patients by healthcare professionals. It is said to incorporate significant advantages over current monitoring technologies and dramatically simplify the way vital signs data is collected and transmitted to remote care providers. The new LifeShirt incorporates the latest sensor technology and wireless data transmission into a lightweight and comfortable “smart garment” that eliminates the need for patients to operate multiple, discrete monitoring devices at specific times or to manually transmit vital sign data to those remotely managing their care. The system, like that proposed by Smartlife Technology, passively and continuously collects ECG, respiratory and temperature data in context with posture and activity levels and automatically transmit that data via cellular networks or Bluetooth to healthcare providers. Caption: Remote patient monitoring with smart garments will bring enormous savings to the US society, VivoMetrics says The new LifeShirt is said to almost completely eliminate patient involvement in their monitoring, requiring the user to simply wear the garment. A number of studies confirm the potential of remote patient monitoring (RPM) to improve outcomes for patients with chronic diseases and reduce the net cost of their care. It is estimated that savings resulting from RPM will reach US$200 billion over the next 25 years in the United States alone. However, an April 2009 report by Datamonitor notes that available technology will need to improve in terms of reliability and ease-of-use in order for adoption to increase. “VivoMetrics has been a true innovator in remote monitoring technologies,” said Kent Tonkin of St. Francis University’s Centre of Excellence for Remote and Medically Under-served Areas (CERMUSA), a US federally funded programme that began a partnership with VivoMetrics and is dedicated to improving access to healthcare. “Solutions like LifeShirt can help us reach our goals of providing better lives and lower healthcare costs for our neighbours.” “The challenge for us is quite clear,” added Howard R. Baker, VivoMetrics President and CEO. “If patients and providers aren't completely comfortable with monitoring technology, they won't use it. He continued:“The key to strong adoption and sustainability in the RPM space will be highly dependent on both patient and provider compliance It's exciting for us to be able to draw upon over 10 years of experience acquiring quality data in a vast array of ambulatory environments. We're creating solutions that address the enormous cost of caring for a population that is growing older and experiencing increasing rates of chronic illness.” The first integrated prototypes of the new LifeShirt have been assembled and tested, and VivoMetrics expects to begin collecting clinical data before the end of 2009.

Market Focus Real comfort without direct skin contact Meanwhile, scientists at the Textile Research Institute Thuringia-Vogtland (TITV Greitz) in Germany are investigating the employment of electronic textiles that can take physiological readings without direct skin contact. Speaking at the recent 2009 Narrow Fabrics conference taken place in Frick, Switzerland, Christian Rotsch and Dr Uwe Möhring of TITV Greitz observed that fabrics incorporating special functions in combination with electronics offer an interesting alternative to the systems traditionally used in medicine, thanks to their flexibility and a large range of applications. While work is currently being done to integrate classical foil and textile sensors into fabrics with a view to recording vital parameters such as ECG via direct contact with the skin, an alternative is to record these vital parameters without any direct skin contact, through capacitative coupling. This technology is of particular interest for long-term applications because it minimises or eliminates the discomfort of wearing such recording tools. TITV Greiz is collaborating with five partners to find a method for the contactless recording of EMG signals by using several textile-based and capacitative textile sensors, which not only supply values the muscular potential, but also use analytical algorithms to provide data on the individual's physical and mental stress. In its smart textiles field, TITV Greiz is focusing on the use of textile electrodes for actuatory applications such as electromyostimulation. Here, the main challenge is to achieve long-term stability of the contact impedance between electrode and skin, since purely metallic or metal-coated filaments require an electrolyte (e.g. sweat or a coupling gel). An alternative would be the use of polymer electrolytes to optimise the contact impedance. Electrically conducting fabrics can be used to integrate the sensory or actuatory electrodes and electronic components into pieces of clothing such as bandages or body-clinging clothes. Monitoring vital signs of firemen in real time Health monitoring will be a key market for the emerging electronic textiles market, but the usefulness of smart textiles in other fields should not be overlooked. A new product from New Zealand-headquartered Zephyr Technology, for example, is helping to protect firefighters and professionals in the line of duty by monitoring their vital signs in real-time. Zephyr's BioHarness First Responder System (FRS 1000) is said to offer “unprecedented visibility of the physiological status of teams operating in challenging environments”. Deployed over existing digital radio equipment, the FRS 1000's remote real-time monitoring offers vital information which can be acted on immediately to improve health and safety, and optimise work performance at the site of a fire, incident scene or in training. Caption: Firefighters will also greatly benefit from smart garments Despite important advances in equipment and procedures, more than 100 US firefighters die in the line of duty every year, and many more suffer serious injury. Up until now, incident commanders have had no reliable means of assessing the status of firefighters when they are downrange or in training situations. Brian Russell, Zephyr's CEO said: “The FRS 1000 provides critical real-time insights into the crews' physical status. These insights can assist incident commanders and firefighters in making decisions, better managing fire scenes, improving safety, and potentially saving lives.” “Zephyr Technology has been a pioneer in the use of Personal Physical Status Monitoring (PPSM) in training and high stress operational environments,” added the company's Chief Technology Officer Jonathan Woodward. “The company's work with local fire departments, the NASA Ames Human Systems Integration Research Group and multiple US Special Forces contracts has been invaluable in the development and validation of our technology, and its application in the most extreme operating environments” Founded in 2003, Zephyr Technology strategic customers now include Stanford University, NASA Ames Research Centre, US Special Operations and Motorola. ■ In The Next Issue ATA Journal will have a review and outlook on performances and trends of the textile industry; report on automotive textiles; and the latest developments of knitting machinery

Machinery Technology WEAVING PREPARATION AND WEAVING TECHNOLOGIES SUPPLEMENT Hidden intelligence for visible results Electronics hidden inside the advanced systems have largely been the key to innovative developments in weaving machines, writes Adrian Wilson Historic UK carpet manufacturer Brintons has recently broken new ground in weaving technology by reproducing a photo-realistic 3D image in an Axminster carpet. The privately-owned company, which opened its first mill in 1783, has a strong reputation for its design and technical leadership. It was commissioned this year to weave a piece of original art specifically produced by local artists for the floor of the “Band on the Wall”– a renovated live music venue in the city of Manchester. The single giant image that was woven in Axminster is based on the specialist plugs, sockets, connectors and other equipment that are commonly used in the music industry. The design also features coloured audio leads that guide club-goers to different areas within the venue. The image was used across two floors, in a significant break from the traditional use of repeat patterns in carpet. Caption: The Brintons installation at the Band on the Wall in Manchester, UK To reproduce the image in carpet and to fully capture its photo-realistic quality, Brintons needed to call on all of its technical expertise during the weaving process. All of the time and effort was justified because the new carpet has ensured Brintons a place in the history books for breaking radical new ground in weaving technology by achieving a quality of image definition that has never been seen before. Caption: The image was used across two floors in a significant break from the traditional use of repeat patterns in carpet “To achieve a truly three dimensional, photo-realistic image in carpet was a complex project because we were using more colours than we've ever used in the past,” said the company's commercial director, Phil Harris. “It's fair to say that the carpet is unlike anything that has ever been produced before. The reproduction of the image is crystal clear and I think we've set a new technical standard for what can be achieved when weaving a carpet. It makes a stunning impact that will grab the attention of everyone who walks through the door at the venue.” Electronics enhances performance While this achievement by Brintons is strikingly apparent in the end product, it must be said that looking at the latest weaving machines, it is no longer generally possible to see many of the new developments, which have been introduced. The emphasis at Toyota, for example, as a global manufacturer of weaving machines – especially with the best-selling JAT710 airjet – has been increasingly on the use of electronic servo drives to improve quality and reproducibility, while at the same time reducing maintenance. “It's about adding intelligence wherever possible,” says Robert Bieri, COO of Toyota Textile Machinery Europe (TTME). “A lot of mechanical functions are now being replaced by electronics, and as a consequence, much of the innovation is in the software. This is making the machines both simpler and longer lasting.” The latest Toyota WAS (Weave Assist System), for example, can be considered an “expert system” that runs completely in the background. By analysing the required fabric data, it can instruct the loom – with only a limited number of exceptions – exactly what mechanical, in addition to electrical, adjustments need to be made to weave the style. “Making the machine easier in every respect is one of Toyota's priorities,” said Mr Bieri. “WAS simply tells the machine what it's going to weave, calculates the settings and what has to be changed and then makes those changes wherever possible. “Behind WAS is a database of thousands of styles and their Caption: Robert Bieri of Toyota Textile Machinery Europe

Machinery Technology WEAVING PREPARATION AND WEAVING TECHNOLOGIES SUPPLEMENT corresponding machine settings, which is being updated and expanded all the time.” Changing markets The tool was a logical step for Toyota's developers in respect of adapting the machine to changing market requirements, Mr Bieri added. “The first dramatic changes in the textile weaving markets were in the middle of the 1990s when growing cost pressure in the West forced producers to reduce their work forces, with the consequence that more duties and responsibilities were put on the shoulders of a smaller number of people. As a result, each member of an operation had to take over new and different assignments and the impact of this – in respect of more down time for machine settings – started to affect productivity and efficiency. At the same time, companies suffered from a rapid drain of skilled labour. “Markets in Asia and the Far East changed in a different way. Many newly emerged companies are staffed by young people who, while having solid basic educations and an eagerness to learn more, had no operational experience or textile technological know-how. Both markets had a common problem– lack of know-how.” says Toyota Caption: Toyota JAT710 benefits greatly from its Weave Assist System (WAS) Today, every operator of a Toyota air-jet machine can retrieve most of this lost know-how in an intelligent database of the machine control. The WAS expert system will look at the database and calculate suitable machine settings on input of the most important fabric style data. Whatever the machine control can do automatically is carried out instantly and displayed as actual settings in the touch screen of the machine controls. In addition, all settings, which need to be done manually are displayed in the same overview. After the operator has carried out the manual settings, it is necessary to either confirm the recommended setting value or input an intentionally changed setting value. As a result, the database also learns and builds a personal dictionary for the expert system to consider in respect of optimised settings in the future. WAS is easy to use without first reading an instruction manual. A simple interactive user interface guides the operator, providing immediate benefits in fabric quality, style flexibility and productivity, and allowing faster style changes without setting mistakes. Advanced motor programs speed Advanced electronics also characterise the Sumo motor, which is now fitted as standard on all Picanol weaving machines. The Sumo motor drives the machine directly, without belt transmission or a clutch and brake. Its speed is variable and is electronically set and controlled. Automatic pickfinding and slow motion are also driven by the same motor. So successful has this technology been since it was introduced in the year 2000, that the company has recently shipped its 50,000th weaving machine based on it. The Switched Reluctance Motor has wound field coils for the stator windings, as in a DC motor. The rotor, however, has no magnets or coils attached. The rotor of the motor aligns itself as soon as the opposite poles of the stator become energized. When the windings are energized in the correct sequence, full rotation of the rotor is achieved. This sequence can also be reversed to achieve motion in the opposite direction. Sumo direct drive technology swept away many difficulties and costs related to older technology it replaced, with its asynchronous motor and clutch combination. The result is a greatly simplified drive train, reducing the number of gears, bearings and sealing rings by a factor of 40% and resulting in 25% lower energy consumption. It also eliminated all wearing parts in the drive train, reducing maintenance costs by 20-40% and eliminating V belts, timing belts, chains, friction brakes, clutches, frequency converters, cooling fans and auxiliary motors for slow motion – a typical clutch-brake combination costs more than 1,000 euros to overhaul every five years. Crossing timings are set from the display and no more pulleys need to be changed in order to switch to another machine speed, with the Sumo the intermediate gear between the motor shaft and harness drive can be disconnected as the Sumo motor slowly turns a couple of degrees forward, changing the crossing timing when engaging again. It takes just 14 seconds, compared with about 20 minutes or so with the old technology. The same applies to speed changes, which are carried out from the display immediately, whereas changing speed pulleys takes more than 15 minutes at best. In addition, with the Sumo it is possible to program the speed according to the weave pattern, opening up a wide range of possibilities to improve weaving efficiency and productivity. The weaving machine can also determine its own optimum speed, depending on insertion parameters, increasing production by at least 5% on average, and it can be stopped always at the same preset position, regardless of pattern, because the Sumo actively increases or decreases power during stopping. As a heavyweight development, the Sumo bucks the trend somewhat, in a machinery sector where progress is largely now being achieved via microprocessors alone. Caption: The Sumo motor – fitted on 50,000 Picanol weaving machines since 2000

Machinery Technology WEAVING PREPARATION AND WEAVING TECHNOLOGIES SUPPLEMENT Suppliers of weaving preparation and weaving machines Comez highlights electronic needle looms Comez, a supplier in the area of narrow fabrics production technology offering both electronic and electronic-jacquard weaving needle looms. Comez CLX/EL is an innovative, highly efficient electronic needle loom of Comez for weaving rigid and elastic ribbons. Derived from an exclusive Comez design and international patent-protected, the Comez CLX/EL system offers: • application of innovative electronics, with all-new hardware and software • robust and compact structure that is easy to use and simplifies maintenance operations • smooth operation with noise reduced to a minimum and complete absence of vibrations • high productivity and reliability. The machine is designed of the manufacturing of various narrow fabrics, both rigid and elastic laces, ribbons, articles for corsetry, plain and tubular ribbons for technical applications and etc. It also features with a new Smart Matrix Controller, governing the latest generation of actuators. These new actuators feature good dynamic performance and positioning precision. The controller manages all machine functions and allows programming of numerous electronically controlled devices and monitoring of the production data. Two versions of Comez CLX/EL needle loom are available: CLX/EL 500 (with two to eight weaving heads) and CLX/EL 700 (with two to 12 weaving heads). They can be fitted with dobby unit with up to 20 heald frames, and allow easy and precise heald frame adjustment as well as interchangeable weaving heads to facilitate width adjustments and variation of the number of ribbons produced. Besides a variety of binding systems, numerous optional devices are provided including creels, feeders for weft and warp threads and ribbon take-up systems. Caption: Tubular ribbons made on Comez CLX/EL machine (above) Enhanced Dornier systems suit upholstery production The further development of the Dornier EasyLeno technology combined with Jacquarette called MultiPattern is of high interest to upholstery and automotive textiles weavers, the company says. With MultiPattern, the advantages of leno technology – open mesh, slip resistant weaving with double-face optic and low material consumption – are combined with Jacquard weaving, which is essential in upholstery production. The newly introduced control system of the Dornier A1 and P1 weaving machines have an integrated 15-inch touch screen and is easy to handle. By only touching a few icons, different settings can be made intuitively, reproducibly and reliably, the company explains. The new electronic system with Fast Ethernet Technology, equipped with the latest safety features, enables real-time data transfer to all electronically controlled components (such as the magnet valves for main and relay nozzles, the axis control and the sensors) during the weaving process. Caption: New Dornier P1 rapier weaving machine Fadis ensures dyeing quality with Sincro M Preparatory systems in the field are provided by Fadis, such as its major technological innovation, the FAPP (FAdis Precision Package) low density package. The Sincro M is a new concept of winding machine with precision crossing and electronic yarn guide which can reach speeds up to 2000 m/min (mechanical speed up to 2500 m/min). With the Sincro M machine, it is possible to produce FAPP low density packages with wide retraction margins of the yarn during the dyeing phase, thus keeping a high residual elasticity percentage of the elasticized yarn. Therefore, it is possible to unwind the FAPP with the Sincro RFM SW rewinding machine with its on-the-line tension control, so as to obtain qualitative results quite similar to hank dyeing but with the same simplicity and economy typical of yarn package dyeing. The fundamental innovation of these machines is the use of the

Machinery Technology WEAVING PREPARATION AND WEAVING TECHNOLOGIES SUPPLEMENT precision crossing with electronic yarn guide and positively driven swift instead of a positively driven bobbin. This new machine is able to process not only stretch polyamide yarns, but also various elasticized yarns which main prerogative is to maintain a high degree of residual elasticity after dyeing, such as Corespun, elasticized viscose, nylon PBT and polyester T400. Caption: Sincro M of Fadis Leno fabrics made smoothly with Grob's PosiLeno As outlined during recent textile trade exhibitions and symposia, leno weaving is getting attractive and cost-effective with PosiLeno, a new leno binding system of Grob by Groz-Beckert, which improves the manufacture of leno fabrics, the company states. Neither time-intensive adaptions of machines, nor leno yokes and springs are needed, according to the compamy. The positively controlled leno device for riderless heald frames enables faster production speeds. In other words, leno fabrics can be produced on advanced weaving machines without “artificial” reduction of the speed. Furthermore, PosiLeno allows various patterning possibilities with leno binding over a wide range of different warp yarns. Due to the positively controlled doup frames, the binding is reliable. Article changes are simple, fast and cost-effective. Shed formation movements are optimized, assuring high fabric quality and minimizing stresses on warp yarns, heald frames and leno healds. PosiLeno is a gateway to get into leno weaving by keeping the versatility of previous leno-systems while combining more production possibilities available with new modern weaving machines. Caption: PosiLeno Leno System of Grob by Groz-Beckert ITEMA Weaving offers extensive weaving machine range ITEMA Weaving combines the strength of Italian inventiveness and Swiss precision, with its machines made in Italy, Switzerland and China under the brands of Sulzer Textil, Somet, Vamatex and Fimtextile for varied applications. To suit today's and future market needs in the manufacture of technical fabrics, Sulzer Textil P7300HP projectile weaving machine features low energy consumption, versatility and good adaptability. Sulzer Textil also offers the Customized Weaving Technology (CWT) and Sulzer Textil G6500 rapier weaving machine for industrial textile production. Caption: Sulzer Textil P7300HP projectile weaving machine The high-performance CWT weaving technology covers weaving machines for agrotextiles and geotextiles, conveyor belts, sail cloth, cinema and theatre screens, filter fabrics, tarpaulins and so forth. It aims to supply users with weaving machines tailor-made for their products. On the other hand, the G6500 is a high-end rapier weaving machine equipped with the “Rotocut” rotary or “Pneumocut” pneumatic weft cutter system, to produce aramid fibers, ultrafine filter fabrics, airbags, coating fabrics, geo-synthetics, glass and composite materials. High productivity is possible with Sulzer Textil L5500 air-jet weaving machine, while ensuring good fabric quality and low air consumption. Due to the new Active Weft Control system (AWC), comprising of NTC (New Time Controller) and RTC (Real Time Controller), the compressed air consumption is drastically reduced, the company explains. This machine suits for light-weight denim and sheeting applications. Rapier weaving machines of Somet and Vamatex are characterized with convenience for style changes. Somet Alpha PGA rapier weaving machine is a flexible machine with regard to inserting different weft materials and yarn counts into the same fabric (e.g. upholstery), and working at a high production level. Meanwhile, Vamatex Silver HS rapier weaving machine is a fast machine and suitable for making high quality shirting and denim. Additionally, ITEMA Weaving provides terry weaving technologies with Sulzer Textil Rapier G6500F terry weaving

Machinery Technology WEAVING PREPARATION AND WEAVING TECHNOLOGIES SUPPLEMENT machine at high speeds, as well as Vamatex Silver DynaTerry rapier weaving machine for high-quality terry products. For Asian users, the company supplies in particular ITEMA K88 rapier weaving machine and ITEMA L88 air-jet weaving machine, which are assembled at ITEMA Weaving Machinery (China). Evolved from the original design of the Vamatex rapier weaving machine, the ITEMA K88 has a good price-performance ratio. More than 5000 machines of ITEMA K88 were installed in the Chinese or other markets. In the meantime, the ITEMA L88 is equipped with an advanced technology of cam driven sley movement, direct drive main motor and more up-to-date technologies for the manufacture of cotton and polyester fabrics. ITEMA Weaving also provides a variety of dobbies, cam motions and accessories, machine upgrades and modifications, as well as technical support with its Active Textile Services. Caption: Vamatex Silver HS rapier weaving machine Karl Mayer develops custom solutions for denim sector The Karl Mayer group presents a new generation of economical, eco-friendly warp preparation machinery under the Karl Mayer Warp Preparation business unit, which integrates the former textile machinery groups of Moenus-Sucker, the weaving preparatory operations of Benninger AG, and Ira L. Griffin Sons Inc. The machines in the Indig-o-matic denim processing range are complemented by the company's new rope-dyeing technology. The innovative, client-oriented Indig-o-matic dyeing and sizing machine is designed and engineered for economically and ecologically production of uniformly dyed and sized weaving warps. Karl Mayer's Indig-o-matic is able to carry out both slasher dyeing process involving semi-continuous, full-width dyeing/sizing, as well as rope dyeing process involving discontinuous hank/rope dyeing with subsequent sizing. The machine also offers advantages for use in specific applications to cater for the wide range of different quality requirements demanded by the market. Karl Mayer also supplies parallel, swivel-frame, magazine and‘V’creels for producing extremely fine menswear, womenswear and fashion garments. All the systems are customised, and can be supplied with ancillary equipment, such as balloon breakers, tension-equalising rods and knotting and cutting devices. The creel can be individually configured for carrying packages having diameters of up to 320 mm and for fewer than 1,000 packages.

Machinery Technology WEAVING PREPARATION AND WEAVING TECHNOLOGIES SUPPLEMENT The brake can be selected specifically to suit the article being processed, so that the yarn delivery equipment feeds the yarn under a controlled and regulated yarn tension. Other machines and accessories provided by Karl Mayer include Ben Direct, a direct beaming machine; BW-T60 ball warper; LCB long chain beamer; RN beam creel with tension controller; Vario Single and Vario Ddouble application systems; Quickoxidation, a quick oxidation zone; WT-3 and WT-4 wash troughs and more, the company adds. In addition, the company's Kamcos control technology enable users to determine where and how faults and weak areas in the processing chain can be eliminated most economically. Oerlikon Schlafhorst provides enhanced winding precision Oerlikon Schlafhorst launched a new generation of Autoconer 5 S rewinding machine for processing of packages. With a new software-controlled yarn laying system called PreciFX, the Autoconer 5 S offers enhanced winding of precleared yarn from package to package. Eliminating additional yarn clearing and automation presents no losses whatsoever for the rewinding process, since the new machine is able to rewind pre-cleared yarn onto process-optimised packages. The Autoconer 5 S allows users to produce the desired quality package and repetitively, the company says. PreciFX includes the three winding technologies – precision, step-precision and pattern-free random winding, and it provides sound textile-technological expertise on the optimum package build for efficient downstream processing. As a result, operators can concentrate on fulfilling the requirements of downstream processors: intelligent package engineering at the touch of a button. PreciFX winds packages for dyeing, warping and weaving, knitting, twisting and doubling applications. The company adds that PreciFX also ensures increased package quality by its pattern-free package build and a uniform package structure. The Autoconer 5 S can be further integrated with yarn tension control system Autotense FX, the precision length measuring system Eco-pack FX and other devices to ensure a desired package winding process at the factory floor, Oerlikon Schlafhorst concludes. Caption: The new Autoconer 5 S Caption: The new PreciFX Electronic jacquard and advanced technologies from Stäubli Stäubli's textile division is a supplier of shedding systems for weaving machines, dobbies and jacquard machines, and provides suitable machinery for the manufacturing of all kinds of fabrics. The company has also a unit of weaving preparation systems, which product offerings range from automatic warp drawing-in systems, warp tying machines, multilayer leasing machines to handling equipment for quick style change on looms. Electronic jacquard machine types CX for labelling on fabrics and Safir drawing-in machine are two examples of highly advanced machinery developed and manufactured by Stäubli. The family of type CX electronic jacquard machine is designed for weaving-in custom labels in selvedges and fabrics. Weaving-in brand marks enhances the value of the fabric and helps counterfeiting. It can thus provide even more value to high-quality fabric, the company states. Caption: Electronic jacquard machine types CX from Stäubli The CX family can be configured with up to 192 hooks and is adaptable on any type of loom of any performance. Normally a weaving machine will be equipped with two name selvedge units, one on each side of the fabric driven by the user-friendly JC6N controller. This highly flexible operating and control device with colour touch screen make possible various design options, for example, different names on the left and right hand side of a suiting cloth are possible. Caption: Stäubli Safir drawing-in machine In addition to the CX systems, Safir drawing-in machine offers a higher level of flexibility. Newly developed Safir continues the tradition of Stäubli automatic drawing-in machines and simultaneously opens new opportunities regarding flexibility in use. The company explains that users benefit from high quality of automatically drawn in warps and from the fact that these warps are available exactly at the desired time and in the amounts necessary for production. Safir can be configured to draw in of one or two warp beams with up to eight thread layers each. A camera system checks the yarn to be drawn in during each cycle, and ensures the accuracy in the process. ■

Machinery Technology New Hong Kong-developed wet finishing system by Dr. K.C. Ho In face of challenges with the use of traditional laundry machines, Hong Kong knitwear industry gathered experts to design a new machine that avoid challenges in the aspects of pilling, excessive milling and shrinkage so as to meet buyers' requirements. Three types of wet finishing equipment are generally used by knitwear production facilities of Hong Kong. 1. Side loaded rotary drum washer is popular among Asian knitters. This laundry machine, however, has little function to control rotation speed and water flow. Pilling and shrinkage is often found. 2. Side paddle machinery works gently and relies on paddle for circulation, making it suitable for processing worsted and cashmere knitwear. However, it requires a high liquor ratio of 25:1, resulting in a high level of water and energy consumption. Knitwear processed is often stretched or deformed. 3. Fully automatic washer / extractor machinery is an advanced garment finishing machine, usually incorporating a built-in hydro-extractor that is programmable with automatic chemical dispensing device. Human error is thus minimized. A high capital investment is needed for such a machine, which may not be affordable for small and mid-size enterprises. With a HK$1.45 million (US$187,000) of funding provided by the Innovation and Technology Fund under the Hong Kong S.A.R. government, The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) in collaboration with the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) in a research team to jointly develop an innovative wet finishing machine. HKRITA provides services in product development, technical transfer and commercialization to improve the competitiveness of the textiles and apparel industry in Hong Kong. A number of parameters influence dyeing and finishing effects of knitwear. Liquor ratio and liquor level Liquor ratio and liquor level influence the mechanical severity of a washing action. Liquor acts as a “cushion” in the apparel finishing processing while the machine rotates. Therefore, the liquor level of a traditional wet finishing machine is often up to half height of the machine resulting in a high liquor ratio. Rotation speed Many traditional wet finishing machines do not have a control on the rotate-per-minute speed, causing a greater chance of excessive friction, stretching or pilling on knitwear. Temperature Traditional wet finishing machines usually do not have proper temperature control while finishing temperature should be kept stable and constant from batch to batch. Liquor circulation Independent bath circulation of liquor is needed to ensure a uniform level of dyeing and finishing with knitwear. More factors will have an impact on the dyeing and finishing effects: • Processing time • Type and quantity of chemicals • Water hardness • PH value of liquor • Fiber types • Color and depth of shade of knitwear • Performance requirement • Types of finishing required • Fibre and fabric construction Taking into account the above considerations, the research team identified some desired features of a wet finishing system that suits the needs of Hong Kong knitters. • Adequate supply and control of water and steam • Adjustable rotating speed settings • Temperature controller to provide adjustments on temperature and how fast the temperature is changed • Effective circulation to permit optimum liquor exchange between the knitwear and the bath • Automatic chemical dispensing device A prototype of wet finishing machine was thus designed by a research team to suit the above needs from the experience of Caption: Prototype of the new wet finishing system

Machinery Technology industry players in Hong Kong. About 20 local technicians attended the evaluation to rate the sample treated by the two systems. In the evaluation, five points were considered as most satisfactory. First, a better overall result achieved by the new prototype was found in the evaluation. • Material: 20'S/2 all-cotton yarn with 7GG plain structure in bleach white • Trial condition: Liquor ratio: 1:28, detergent: 3%, and silicone softener: 3% Hand feel Shade Traditional 45 45 New system 55 55 Caption:Under the same conditions, the prototype outperforms a traditional wet-processing machine in hand feel and color difference The research team also conducted the following evaluation to highlight the following wet-processing effect: 1. Evaluation of shrink-resistant treatment on wool • Wet-Finishing • Material: 9GG 2/16 Nm 100% lambswool • Liquor ratio: 1:20 • Dylanize salt: 5% • Polymer TEC: 5% • Test result: oxidation time is reduced to 25 minutes • Felting shrinkage test result: Passed according to Woolmark TM31 (1 x 7A, 2 x 5A) 2. Evaluation of anti-bacterial treatment • Anti-microbial finish • Material: Cotton/nylon/elastic stockings • Material weight: 15.4lb • Liquor ratio: 1:20 • Liquor volume: 120L • AEM (anti-microbial agent): 5% • Passerelle (moisture management): 2% Materials Antibacterial treatment analysis Chemical analysis Cotton/nylon/elastic One hour after treatment % Bromophenol Blue extracted Treated Reducing bacteria 95.8% 71.8% Caption:In the above tests, the prototype was found to have deliver good anti-bacterial treatment 3. Evaluation of shrink-resistant treatment on cashmere knitwear • Liquor ratio: 1:20 • Shorter oxidating time: 30 minutes • Shorter total processing time: 116 minutes • Test result: The prototype was able to perform an average shrinkage of -0.1% on cashmere knitwear. Based on the test standard of a major UK chain retailer, shrinkage ranges from -3 % to -13 %. 4. Knitwear dyeing test • Material: 7-needle single-side knitted knitwear of 20'S/2 all-cotton yarn • Liquor ratio: 1:15 • Dyestuff: Levafix CA – 0.6% w.o.m. • Test result: Uniform dyeing effect As shown through the above tests, this garment and accessory wet-processing system developed by Hong Kong R&D professionals can achieve desirable effect in multiple functions such as water level, chemicals, shrinkproof, antibacterial and dyeing. Also, it can meet demanding environmental requirements in the modern world. Under current production environment that imposes high requirements on creative design and quality elements, this represents an innovative R&D achievement for local garment enterprises. Dr. K.C. Ho is Director, Research & Development, Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel ■

Material Technology Materials that cater for individual tastes Asia's textile and apparel industry have intensified material research to attract potential buyers who try to meet increasingly personalized styles of end consumers, Pony Liu reports At the Intertextile exhibition held in Shanghai in October 2009, international and Chinese exhibitors were cautiously positive about the future trends. “The worst moment for the textile industry has left behind us, however, no one can tell when the industry will really pick up,” said Zhuang Jiaren, General Manager of Fujian Zhonghe. Fujian Zhonghe is a fabric developer and producer based in Fujian province of China. A key indicator for market pickup is retail market sentiment, according to Mr Zhuang. “The situation in the Chinese retail market is not so bad, compared with the quite miserable market environment in the US and Europe. New products there were sold at discounted prices immediately after being put onto the shelf. Quick-responding retailers like Zara continue placing their orders regularly. Other players appeared to place orders prudently as they preferred to keep down the inventory,” said Mr Zhuang. International players like Cotton Incorporated from the US also appeared cautious. “Consumer confidence remains mild in the US,” said Wang Jiarong, chief representative of the US Cotton Incorporated in China. Mr Wang explained that, despite signs of recovery in recent months, the US consumers have tightened their spending after the severe financial crisis they experienced. Moreover, the saving rate of the US population is rising. Figures from the US Commerce Department showed that personal savings as a percentage of disposable personal income was 3.3% in September 2009. The saving rate was around zero during the housing boom as Americans tapped home equity loans and other ways of credit in previous years. Now, US consumers are building a buffer against the threat of job losses and more economic hardships they may face. As a consequence, it will take a relatively long time for the global consumer market to recover, and it is a challenge for the Chinese textile industry, he added. This also generally holds true for export-oriented textile and apparel manufacturers in Asia. Small batches accommodate varied designs Whether the external environment is favourable or not, business has to go on. More fabric and apparel producers in China, for instance, are innovating in material use and design. Personalized style is a buzzword at the Shanghai Intertextile fair. In order to produce apparel that are unique and personalized, small batches of production are progressively expected in the market. Caption: Exhibitors at the recent Shanghai Intertextile fair agreed the worst time had past for the industry Zhang Yintang, deputy general manager and chief engineer of Jining Ruyi Knitting said: “The high-volume production of some thousands or ten thousands pieces of apparel in a single color is now not that popular. The industry is heading to a high diversity in color variations, for example. Enterprises have to adapt to the manufacture of smaller batches. To cope with the market changes, the company has planned to establish a small area at the facility to produce small quantities of textile and apparel products.” Mr Zhang mentioned that the Shandong province-based company had the experience of manufacturing custom textile and apparel to European clients. Besides supplying small batches, Jining Ruyi Knitting is exploring engineered fabrics targeting medium- to high-end knitwear segments. By integrating such new fibers as XLA into its own products, the company is able to enhance the fiber performance and product value, according to Mr Zhang. Mr Zhuang at Fujian Zhonghe also observed the need of small-batch production. At the September 2009 Première Vision (PV) exhibition in France, the company launched a service of supplying fabrics in batches at a minimum of 100 meters in a single color. The company has been known in the western textile world lately as it

Material Technology was one of the three exhibitors from China at the PV fair, presenting numerous products including premium blended and woven fabrics made of cotton, cashmere, wool, silk and Tencel. Mr Zhuang believed that the company's fabrics are of international quality, and it works with international fashion trendsetters like the Armani Group. Caption: Fujian Zhonghe showcased China-made fabrics at the September 2009 Première Vision in France Famous in China, Fujian Zhonghe operates a provincial research center in Fujian, which development efforts on cotton fabrics for leisure wear was recognized nationally in 2007 by the China Textiles Development Center (CTDC). CTDC is a government-supported national organization to promote research and development in the Chinese textile and apparel industry. Another market trend lies in the segment of leisure wear, which is increasingly popular especially in emerging markets like China. To tap the opportunities, Jiangsu Sunshine Group launched a range of wool/cotton blended apparel for leisure occasions. The new range is taken to the market considering that all-wool products, being relatively expensive, are less attractive amid the economic downturn. Jiangsu Sunshine Group is a leading wool manufacturer in China, and exhibited for the first time also at the Première Vision exhibition in September 2009, showcasing its latest development of woollen fabrics. Furthermore, improved material technology is required to achieve special hand feel and appearance, for instance, a crinkled effect can be made with fabric blends, according to Han Yewen, Marketing Manager for Europeans markets at Jiangsu Sunshine Group. “Our newly developed wool blends are presented at this (Intertextile) exhibition. You can find similar use of these wool blends on suits of international brands,” said Mr Han. Greener products and practices inevitable in future Greener textile and apparel products are becoming a major product category in the market, and other critical successful factors for manufacturers are comfort, fashion and functionality, said Mr Wang at the China office of US Cotton Incorporated. Greener textile and apparel products are inevitably a trend of the future product development, and “it is nice to see that Asian manufacturers are now more aware of this fact,” Mr Wang mentioned. Cotton being a natural fiber is often considered as a green product by general consumers. At the Intertextile fair, Dean B. Turner, Senior Vice President, Global Account Management at the division of Global Product Supply Chain for Cotton Incorporated, presented “Storm Denim” technology, which provides water repellency, protection from moderate snow and humid weather, while maintaining the breathable and comfortable properties entailed with cotton denim. Besides, developers of manmade fibers embrace regenerated resources, while chemical providers look into eco-friendlier ways of textile and apparel processing. Caption: Dean B. Turner of Cotton Incorporated Using 97% of recycled resources of plastic bottles, Invista's Coolmax EcoMade gives classic Coolmax fabric performance for absorbency, wicking, durability and abrasion resistance, as well as demonstrates good results when tested for whiteness. Greener processes are equally important to the development of green fibers, and Dow Corning introduced GP 8000 Eco Softener into the Asian market. The softener is a ready-to-use textile enhancer that can be used in different stages of garment or fabric wet finish processing to provide a natural, soft hand. It has good compatibility with enzymes used in garment or fabric finishing and is temperature- and shear-stable, explained Hermia Min, Asia Commercial Manager, Textile & Performance Chemical Industries at Dow Corning. Dow Corning GP 8000 Eco Solution saves up to 50 liters of water on every pair of jeans and provides faster processing time, using less energy to finish jeans, the company says. Caption: Peter Wu (left), Dow Corning's Asia Technical Manager for Textiles, and Hermia Min Dow Corning also launched a new set of silicone rubbers to better serve the China and Asian regions through its Xiameter web-enabled business, Ms Min added. The Xiameter business is a no-frills model offering cost-effective products, including textile softeners and more through streamlined services and a web-enabled order platform. ■

Chemicals & Auxiliaries Pretreatment made more efficient Ian Holme discusses recent pretreatment developments that allow users to attain desirable pretreatment effects more easily and avoid possible dyeing problems in subsequent processes Modern fabric pretreatment systems are designed to perform and to yield fabric that is of uniform whiteness, absorbency and wettability. The level of pretreatment given to a fabric is often dependent upon the subsequent processing sequence to be carried out. With many cotton fabrics a thorough scour may be all that is required for subsequently dyeing to a dark colour, and there are now many combined scour / dye systems that can be used to save processing time, water and energy. However for high whites and pastel colours a high standard of pretreatment is essential. Fabric pretreatment is more critical for fabrics scheduled for open width pad dyeing methods because dyeing uniformity and levelness must be achieved within a very short time, whereas in exhaust dyeing methods the longer dyeing process is more tolerant of fabric pretreatment variations. The current trend towards pad-batch dyeing of cellulosic knitted fabrics to achieve a higher quality dyed and finished fabric will therefore require that fabric pretreatment be optimised to the high quality levels demanded for pad-dyeing. Pretreatment chemicals / auxiliaries are chemically formulated to provide maximum removal and suspension of fabric impurities as well as maximising bleaching performance with minimum fibre damage. Thus fabric pretreatment recipes may contain surfactants / detergents / wetting agents, chelating or sequestering agents for heavy metal ions, bleach stabilisers and accelerators, and fluorescent brightening agents for high whites. Sarex, India has recently introduced a new cost-effective and economical low foaming wetting and detergent agent termed Celldet R. This product has been designed for application in the bleaching of cellulosic yarns or fabrics. Celldet R is APEO (alkyl phenol ethylene oxide)-free and NPEO-free (nonyl phenol ethylene oxide-free). Celldet R offers excellent wetting of cellulosic fibres enabling high levels of whiteness and absorbency to be achieved. Of particular importance are the good fabric rewetting characteristics after bleaching, which ensures rapid wetting out in subsequent pad-dyeing and exhaust dyeing processes. Friendly to the Earth with biodegradable chemicals Biodegradability of surfactants is an important factor for many textile wet processing plants. Dow Chemical has recently introduced a range of three new biodegradable surfactants, namely, Ecosurf EH3, Ecosurf EH6 and Ecosurf EH9. All three products are readily biodegradable and have low aquatic toxicity. The Ecosurf range of surfactants has been accepted and listed on the CleanGredients Database as meeting the Design for Environment (DfE) screening criteria of the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). The CleanGredients Database enables producers to identify cleaning product ingredients with optimal performance / environmental characteristics and has been established through the DfE program in partnership with the GreenBlue Institute. The market potential for biodegradable surfactants and auxiliaries is increasing globally because of the greater restrictions imposed through tighter regulations in many countries on effluent quality standards. Greener pretreatment agents are on demand as Asian producers are under a mounting pressure to minimize their environmental footprint in their manufacturing activities. Responding to the market needs, Tanatex has introduced an improved version of their well-established Tannex Rena Liquid. This improved formulation is termed Tannex Rena Liquid 01 and is now a transparent formulation that is phosphorus-free and more environmentally friendly. An advantage of this pretreatment agent is that the amount of caustic soda used can be much lower with Tannex Rena Liquid 01 than with other classical organic stabilisers. As a result, less acid and water are required in the subsequent neutralisation treatment with clear cost savings in chemicals, water consumption and effluent treatment. A novel multi-purpose pretreatment agent is Tannex Noveco, which has been designed by Tanatex Caption: Tanatex responds to market needs with greener pre-treatment agents

Chemicals & Auxiliaries for all kinds of discontinuous operations. Readily soluble in cold water Tannex Noveco can be dosed automatically and possesses low foaming properties. This new pretreatment agent provides an excellent stabilising action in full-white bleaching and in preparing white fabric for dyeing as well as in other treatments, e.g. scouring of elastane bands, stripping fluorocarbons and more. Tannex Noveco is claimed to be harmless to the aquatic environment and meets all modern environmental guidelines / ecological standards, e.g. Oeko-Tex 100, EKO label and GOTS. Tannex Noveco provides fabrics with excellent rewetting characteristics, good DP (degree of polymerisation) values, and the pretreatment agent also offers good lubrication properties thereby helping to eliminate formation of fabric crease marks. Whiter than white with new bleach Sera Fil SBS of DyStar is a new high performance multifunctional auxiliary for the bleaching of cotton and cotton blends. It is effective on blends containing elastane because Sera Fil SBS contains specific natural minerals with a large surface area enabling the absorption of oily substances like the silicone oils used on elastane. These are often very difficult to remove efficiently and can give rise to problems in subsequent dyeing, printing and finishing operations. Similarly, coning, twisting and needle oils are also effectively removed. Sera Fil SBS softens hard water and sequesters iron impurities out of the fabric as well as providing stabilisation of hydrogen peroxide bleach liquors thereby increasing the efficiency of bleaching. It also provides a crease-preventing action and imparts excellent fabric absorbency. An additional advantage is that the heavy metal / alkaline earth contents of the fabric are reduced to a minimum, thereby giving rise to a higher whiteness and avoiding dyeing problems due to the presence of metallic impurities. Good full whites can be achieved on regenerated cellulosic fibres using the Gentle Power Bleach system introduced by Huntsman Textile Effects and Genencor. It is a new bleaching technology based upon “first-to-market” enzyme innovation from Genencor. Compared with traditional peroxide bleaching under highly alkaline conditions the novel Gentle Power Bleach system offers low temperature bleaching at 65°C and in a neutral pH range. This reduction in the bleaching and in the rinsing temperature can lead to savings in water and energy consumption of up to 40%. With this product, extremely soft, bulky natural handle effects are delivered on cotton fabrics. Of special importance is that high levels of fabric whiteness are achieved with less fabric weight loss and Gentle Power Bleach delivers brighter and more brilliant colours after dyeing together with an enhanced colour yield. There is clearly considerable market potential in Asia for enzyme bleaching systems that operate under neutral pH conditions. Another approach to attain full white is the use of fluorescent brightener. Clariant's Leucophor BMBB liq is a fluorescent brightener that imparts a brilliant bluish white to cellulosic fibres and their blends with synthetic fibres. ■

Nonwovens/Textiles Soft-coating: how it helps save resources Soft-coating is revived in modern systems to contribute to relieving the environment, and to reduce the use of resources in the manufacture of technical textiles by Kurt van Wersch Coating is a widespread application in the finishing of technical and functional textiles. But not “everything” always has to be coated. Many finishing processes with products in aqueous liquors can be applied more easily and better using other methods. Examples can be found in the soft-coating process. Soft-coating is a “revival” of an existing technique. It is an application of selective quantities of liquor and can be performed: • On one side with one formulation • On two sides with one formulation • On two sides with two different formulations The “minimum liquor application” is understood as the quantity that permits energy-efficient drying with maximum fabric effects. Two liquor vats with two coating rolls controlled independently of one another by two Pleva AF 120 microwave measuring units form the heart of the range. Pleva 1 AF 120 pneumatic Pleva 2 AF 120 Coating roll 2 Vat 2 Coating roll 1 Vat 1 Caption: Principle of the soft-coating range It allows dry-in-wet and wet-in-wet processes to be carried out exactly to order. Adjustable guide rolls help to influence wetting, application time and penetration depth. Soft-coating enables drying costs to be cut, production speeds to be increased, processes to be changed, functionalities to be created and two-sided effects to be achieved. For which processes are soft-coating applicable? The application of the soft-coating range can be explained with four examples from practice. Example 1: Hydrophobing of a glass fibre fabric before coating The purpose of hydrophobing is to reduce the penetration depth of the coating compound. Originally the glass fibre fabric was padded with 50% liquor absorption and then dried. The padding process has been replaced by soft-coating with single-sided application of 15% liquor (fluorocarbon). Caption: Original range • Case I is the padding process with 50% liquor absorption

Nonwovens/Textiles • Case II is the soft-coating process with 15% liquor absorption, but drying conditions as for Case I. The result is an increase in production speed from 32 m/min to 107 m/min. • Case III involves reduced temperatures, reduced fan speeds and increased chamber climate, i.e. reduction in the exhaust air. Case III shows that with the same production speed and desired fabric effect (hydrophobing of one fabric side), a saving of 65% in heat energy and a saving of 85% in electrical energy can be achieved for this drying process. The condensing of the products occurred during the coating step. Example 2: Fluorocarbon finishing (hydrophobing) with UV protection for 100% PES fabric (single-sided finishing) Originally the PES fabric was padded with 70% liquor absorption. This process has been replaced by soft-coating with 25% liquor absorption. Here we can see that by reducing the liquor absorption from 70% to 25% (Case II), an increase in the production speed to approximately 224 m/min. would be theoretically possible. It is better, however, to accept only a slight increase in production speed accompanied by 49% less heat energy and 82% less electrical energy, as shown in Case III. For single-sided liquor application, Monforts offers a further alternative. On many of the Monforts Montex stenters, an application head can be integrated into the stenter infeed section, as illustrated on the bottom right. It is possible to apply a liquor using the soft-coating method, to coat, or both can also be carried out at the same time. Example 3: Two-sided application with one liquor The capillaries of cotton are saturated with about 40% liquor absorption. After a liquor application on the padder, the squeeze effects are approximately 70%, that means 30% liquor is still contained in the yarn and between the stitches and has to be “unnecessarily” dried out. The soft-coating process allows the liquor quantities to be applied selectively to both sides, e.g. 2 x 20%, i.e. with 40% liquor absorption (with stronger formulation) 30% less has to be dried compared with the 70% liquor absorption. Less initial moisture means less heat energy and less electrical energy with the same production speed, as already shown in the examples 1 and 2. Example 4: Two-sided application with two different liquors The aims of the soft-coating process are not only to achieve savings Example 1: Hydrophobing to reduce the penetration depth Material: 100% glass fibre, 550 g/m², width = 1.80 m Dryer: Montex 7F stenter, nominal width = 220 cm Case I Initial moisture Residual moisture Temperature Fan speed Steam content of drying air inside the drier 50% (padder) 1% 130/150° C 1450 rpm 14% v/v Heat energy with HR Electrical energy 835 kW 115 kW 32 m/min Case II Initial moisture Residual moisture Temperature Fan speed Steam content of drying air inside the drier 15% (single side) 1% 130/150° C 1450 rpm 14% v/v Heat energy with HR Electrical energy 967 kW 120 kW 107 m/min (possible) Case III Initial moisture Residual moisture Temperature Fan speed Steam content of drying air inside the drier 15% (single side) 1% 110/100° C 600 rpm 30% v/v Heat energy with HR Electrical energy 295 kW 17 kW 32 m/min Caption:At constant production speed, 65% less heat energy and 85% less electrical energy Example 2: Hydrophobing and UV protection Material: 100% PES, 185 g/m², width = 1.60 m 1. Drying: Montex 7F stenter, nominal width = 220 cm 2. Condensing: Thermex hotflue Case I Initial moisture Residual moisture Temperature Fan speed 70% (padder) 2% 130/150° C 1450 rpm Heat energy with HR Electrical energy 843 kW 122 kW 80 m/min Case II Initial moisture Residual moisture Temperature Fan speed 25% (soft-coating, single side) 2% 130/150° C 1450 rpm Heat energy with HR Electrical energy 943 kW 132 kW 224 m/min (theoretically possible) Case III Initial moisture Residual moisture Temperature Fan speed 25% (soft-coating, single side) 2% 110/100° C 600 rpm Heat energy with HR Electrical energy 428 kW 22 kW 97 m/min Caption: With reduced range setting higher production speed of 97 m/min and thereby 49% less heat energy and 82% less electrical energy Caption: An application head can be integrated into the stenter infeed section on stenters (Continued on p54)

China Focus Tapping China market safely 中國成衣產品安全法解讀 by Elise Hon Garment markets in China have become a growth area for both Chinese and overseas apparel manufacturers and retailers. In the 2008 imported apparel product inspection, about 22% of imported apparel samples failed to meet requirements of GB 18401, according to the Shanghai Administration of Industry and Commerce. Meeting the mandatory requirements on general safety of textile products sold in China is thus essential for apparel traders to reduce risk of financial loss and to protect their corporate reputation. GB 18401 National General Safety Technical Code for Textile Products is a required standard in China, specifying safety requirements, testing methods, inspection rules, and instructions for implementation and supervision across the country. Issued in 2003 and executed since 2005 with some updates last year, The regulations are enforced by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China, aiming to protect health and safety of human being and to protect the environment, according to Ding Youchao, Engineer in Textile Inspection, Jiangsu Entry-Exit Inspection & Quarantine Bureau of China. GB 18401 applies to textile products cover those produced, distributed and used for garment and decorative textiles in China, involving manufacturers, buyers and retailers. Export-oriented textile and apparel goods can be bound by contract agreements between the seller and the buyer. Category Descriptions Class A: Products for infants aged under 24 months • Product can be distinguished for baby use by judging from its characteristics, type and specification • Product is expressed clearly for use of babies in user guide, advertisement and sales description Class B: Products with direct contact to skin • Product can distinguished as underwear by judging from its characteristics, type and usage • Product has direct contact to skin on a large area when in use Class C: Products without direct contact to skin • Product can distinguished as outer wear by judging from its characteristics, type and usage • Product has little contact or small area to skin when in use Caption:Textile products are categorized into three groups based on the end use This rule does not include textile goods for industrial uses or other applications in medical and toy fields etc. As GB 18401 mainly takes care of textile products for wearing or use, the requirements specified are relevant to areas that can have great impact on the product quality and human health. GB 18401 can also include mandatory requirements of foreign laws and regulations. Test Item Class A Class B Class C Formaldehyde (mg/kg), ≤ 20 75 300 pH value 4.0~7.5 4.0~7.5 4.0~9.0 Colour fastness (grade), ≥ • to water (colour change & staining) 3-4 3 3 • to acid perspiration (colour change & staining) 3-4 3 3 • to acid perspiration (colour change & staining) 3-4 3 3 • to dry friction/rub 4 3 3 • to saliva (colour change & staining) 4 - - Odour none Decomposable aromatic amines dye undetected Caption:Main technical requirements of GB 18401 Areas for attention Dyes of decomposable aromatic amines Studies demonstrated that certain azo dyes could release certain carcinogenic and toxic aromatic amines, which would do harm to human health, leading to a general distaste of azo dyes containing decomposable aromatic amines. Decomposable aromatic amines are thus strictly restricted to less than 20mg/kg in China, Mr Ding said. This rule can be more stringent than that in the European Union, which does not allow an amount more than 30mg/kg. In addition, 23 kinds aromatic amines are on the ban list of GB 18401. Most of them are also prohibited in the EU (banning 22 kinds of aromatic amines under EU Directive 2002/61/EC). Formaldehyde Formaldehyde is prohibited as it is found possible to cause aspiratory inflammation and dermatitis. Formaldehyde can

China Focus gradually be released from textile causing impair to human health. The substance has been banned since 2001 in China, and it is now seldom found in the market. pH value The acceptable range of pH value of textiles lies between 4.0-7.5 for products used by babies (Class A) and products with direct contact of human skin (Class B), and 4.0-9.0 for products without direct contact of human skin (Class C). For semi-finished products prior to wet processing, the pH value range can be extended to 4.0-10.5 under GB 18401-2003. The pH value of apparel is under restriction because excessive acid or alkali textile goods can cause stimulus reaction to human skin that is slightly acidic by nature to fend off virus and bacteria. “The pH value is an area often overlooked by overseas exporters as it seems to be a relatively minor issue,” said Mr Ding, and they are advised to ensure an appropriate pH value is achieve through washing or other approaches. Colour fastness Textile products with poor colour fastness is more vulnerable when they are in contact of perspiration and saliva, leading to bio-degradation of dyes on the textiles. For this reason, high colour fastness is preferred to minimize the risk of such chemical reaction. Odour Odour includes smell originated from volatile organic compounds (VOC), which could pose risks to human beings. The restricted odour includes smell from mould, high boiling fraction of petrol, fish and aromatic hydrocarbons. It should be noted that GB 18401-2003 standard only specifies the general safety requirements. Other relevant requirements and standards are according to other relevant standards, adds Mr Ding. A number of chemical and physical testing methods are drawn upon in accordance to GB 18401-2003, including GB/T 2912.1 on formaldehyde (equivalent to ISO 14184-1); GB/T 7573 on pH value (equivalent to ISO 3071); GB/T 17592 on azo dyes; GB 18401 on odour; GB/T 5713 on color fastness to water (equivalent to ISO 105 E01); GB/T 3922 on color fastness to alkali perspiration (equivalent to ISO 105 E04); and GB/T 18886 on color fastness to saliva. In addition, GB 18401-2003 only mentions regulatory instructions on general safety, other requirements on textile products should be observed under the relevant standards. Labeling is an area that many have ignored. With reference to GB 5296.4 (Care Labeling & Fiber Labeling), apparel goods should be adhered with suitable labeling indicating information of the manufacturer, product name, product model, original materials, washing instructions, advice on how to use and store the product, and more. Some imported apparel failed to pass the labeling requirement as discrepancy was found in terms of fiber contents between test results and what the label stated, Mr Ding added. Textile products with fillings distributed and sold in China are also subject to the requirements specified in GB 18383-2007. Both Chinese and imported textiles goods sold in China can be inspected by random to examine their compliance with the law in China, so businesses interested to the Chinese domestic markets might need to study further the relevant standards. Caption: Apparel samples can be randomly gathered at retailers by the authorities for product safety assessment Overseas recalls of Chinese exports increase In markets abroad, more Chinese apparel exports to the United States and the European Union were recalled in the first three quarters of 2009. The China Textile Industry Statistics Center, a Chinese government-supported statistics organization for textile industry, announced that there were totally 734 cases under the EU Rapid Alert System for non-food consumer products (Rapex) in the first nine months of 2009, up 30.37% from 2008. About 20% of all the alert cases or 153 cases were related to Chinese apparel exports, compared to 3.73% in 2008. In the US, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled 163 of Chinese exports, representing 53.09% of all recalls. Of which, 21 cases were related to Chinese apparel exports, up 0.53% from last year. Japan, another major importer of Chinese apparel exports, announced that it would restrict and monitor chemicals use in products starting 2010 by the means of law. Related industries will be required to submit yearly documents outlining their uses of chemicals in quantity, imported volume, purposes and etc. The Chinese statistics center commented that the recalled apparel from the US and the EU were mainly childrenswear, sports wear and specialty garment products. In face of more product recalls, textile entrepreneurs have to pay more attention to product safety compliance in the United States and the European Union. Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), Proposition 65 (California) and REACH are some new or reinforced regulations, according to Andre Leroy, Marketing Director of Modern Testing Services (Global) Ltd. The CPSIA of the US has a focus on childrenswear for apparel and flammability and phtalates for sleepwear under the age of 12. A certificate of compliance for every shipment, based on testing on finished goods by a third party lab, is required. Restricted substance lists (RSL) in the Proposition 65 of the US and Europe's REACH are getting longer as well. Risk management is called for, Mr Leroy said, which demands lab/testing expertise and production expertise, so as to identify and eliminate bad chemicals from the supply chain and substitute with good chemicals. ■

China Focus Market forces spur junjiang growth 市場力量促進晉江成長 Located along the southeast coast of Fujian province (福建) in China, Jinjiang city (晉江) was urbanized with development of the textile and garment industry and other industrial sectors, Amy Xiao reports Nowadays, a comprehensive textile and apparel supply chain has been established in the city with chemical-fiber manufacturing, activities of weaving, dyeing and printing, as well as garment-making. In addition to being a key production area of textile and apparel goods, Jinjiang is also a distribution center in the nation. The textile supply chain in the Jinjiang city is comprised of several towns, which have developed their own specialization to serve the neighborhood. Outlined by director of the Jinjiang Textile & Garment Association (JTGA) (晉江市紡織服裝協會), Chen Weijin (陳偉進), Longhu Town (龍湖鎮) mainly specializes in the manufacture of chemical fibers, whereas woven fabrics are often sourced from the towns of Longhu (龍湖鎮) and Yinglin (英林鎮). Dyeing and finishing processes are done at Shenhu town-based (深滬鎮) factories, whilst garment are sewn in southern towns of Jinjiang. With some 3,000 textile and apparel enterprises and a workforce exceeding 200,000 people, the city of Jinjiang was named as a textile industrial base in the country by the China National Textile & Apparel Council (CNTAC) (中國紡織工業協會) in 2004. Bettering management with public offerings As business operations have got more sophisticated, textile and apparel manufacturers in Jinjiang have found new ways to improve their competitiveness. Some made use of public offerings on the stock exchange to raise capital as well as improve corporate governance, said Hong Yuquan (洪于權), Executive Vice-mayor of Jinjiang municipal government. About 17 textile and apparel firms in Jinjiang are now listed on mainland China or Hong Kong, according to Mr Chen at JTGA. “Public listing raises funds for the company development, and also helps improve enterprises’ prestige and management quality,” he said. Anta (安踏) sportswear firm, for instance, was listed in Hong Kong in 2007. Ding Zhizhong (丁志忠), Chairman and major shareholder of the family-run company, said: “The public listing has effectively separated factors of the family from business operations. The firm is operated in a more systematic and transparent way.” In face of the global financial crisis, the Jinjiang authorities have offered support to the industry in areas like corporate financing, land use, entering international markets, industrial optimization and improvements in public infrastructure, said Mr Hong, who was satisfied with positive effects brought by these favorable policies. Based on the data of the Chinese authorities, the Jinjiang textile and apparel industry achieved an output value of RMB20 billion for the first half of 2009, accounting for a quarter of the entire city's total industrial output value. Meanwhile, the textile and apparel export of the city amounted to US$2.54 billion, up 2.8% from that of 2008 despite the credit crunch in the West. It represented 26.4% of the city's total export value. Learning in Asian financial crisis The growth of the Jinjiang textile and apparel industry had not been smooth all the time. The city rapidly developed original equipment manufacturing (OEM) activities throughout the 1990s until the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Jinjiang's textile entrepreneurs, taking a hard blow, learned to invest in proprietary product research and brand building. In 1998, the municipal government of Jinjiang initiated a strategy of creating local brands. International technology, know-how and machines were imported to improve product quality. The Jinjiang textile and apparel industry now operates more than 10,000 imported shuttleless looms; 7,000 circular knitting machines; 200 advanced warp knitting machines from German suppliers; 150 sizing machines and cutting-edge dyeing and finishing equipment. Producers in the city have also extensively used technologies of computer-aided design (CAD). Currently, menswear is a major apparel product of the city, and leading suppliers include Anta (安踏) (sportswear) and Lilanz (利郎) (men's suits and leisure wear). Both of them are listed in Hong Kong. Caption: Local celebrities promote Chinese apparel brands. (Pictured is Chen Daoming for Lilanz menswear) Celebrities from the Chinese entertainment sector are employed as image ambassadors of these newly created apparel brands. Chen Daoming (陳道明), one of the best known male actors on mainland China, has represented formal suits of Lilanz since 2002. Targeting consumer groups aged between 24 and 45, the company sees enormous opportunities across county-level cities and rural areas of China, said its president and executive director, Wang Liangxing (王良星) . Background information was provided by Jinjiang Textile and Apparel Industry Association. ■

Retail Scene Bold and natural shades sparkle fancy for coming fall seasons JFW Japan Creation presented trends of premium fabrics for Autumn/Winter 2010-2011 in Tokyo, highlighting originality and subdued beauty Scents of privacy Urban dwellers demonstrate their own personal tones and scents with their apparel choices and style. A streak of pleasant, lucid fragrance, transient scents colored in various tints from day to night are used in this theme as a personal statement. A color palette featuring an array of pale grays are used to tell a private story with personal affection. Scientific aspirations Scientific progress has enable people to create almost anything in the world. Taking on this inspiration of constant innovation, fabric designers have developed a group of multiple colors with a sense of strong positivism. Electric, high-powered tones are used to remind us the imagination of scientists.

Retail Scene Layered beauty meeting the West with the East Both the Occident and the Orient have shared glorious past eras. A unique “multi-layered” beauty combined the present and past elements in both worlds capture the heart of fashion-conscious people. A range of sophisticated kitsch hues evokes an interesting mix of the West and the East, creating a stimulating amusement with various tones. Melodious unevenness Diverse tones interplay in this theme to compose uneven rhythms, yet discreetly, like the sounds of the nature. Unusual browns are allied to natural tones to give a touch of subdued and refined chic. Source: JFW Japan Creation ■

Retail Scene Italian yarn makers promote in Japan A new promotional initiative from the “Biella The Art of Excellence” Foundation was held in Tokyo, Japan, in November 2009. The aim is to set up strategic agreements with important representatives from the world of Japanese retail leading to profitable cooperation with a view to increasing trade of products made in Italy, particularly Biella. “We decided to consolidate our promotional strategy in the Far East by shifting to Japan. This choice goes against the trend followed by several top brands, because we believe that Japanese consumers are entering a new phase: in the generalised consumer crisis that exists for some years now on the market, today they are looking for quality and design at reasonable prices. This is an evolution that offers new opportunities for those districts, like Biella, where there is a recognisable brand and strong cultural identity,” said Luciano Donatelli, president of the “Biella The Art of Excellence.” Foundation. Over 200 apparel retailers and players in Japan participated a workshop on creativity of Biella and fabric products made in Italy in November, organised in collaboration with the Italian Trade Commission (ICE) office in Tokyo. The Biella district is known as an important Italian textile manufacturing district for menswear and its knitwear yarns made in Italy. Anti-wrinkle bra sets foot in Europe Invented in the Netherlands, a newly anti-wrinkle night bra were introduced to other European countries like Belgium, the UK, France, Spain and Germany, the producer La Decollette says. Caption: Newly developed anti-wrinkle night bra enters markets of Europe This new kind of bra helps women who suffer from vertical wrinkles at their cleavage, according to the inventor and founder of La Decollette, Rachel de Boer. Many women who sleep on their sides discover wrinkles in their cleavage when they wake up. These wrinkles can intensify in combination with sun damage. “The vertical wrinkles appear because the breasts are pressed against each other while sleeping. The older you get, the longer it takes before they disappear again. Sometimes they won't disappear at all. If you put some kind of support between the breasts you prevent the cleavage from wrinkling,” Ms de Boer says. Her Decollette makes simple use of the natural regenerating ability of the skin. She claims that after wearing this new bra for five to seven nights, women will be able to find their cleavages smooth again. Li & Fung buys US leading licensed brand company Hong Kong-based global consumer goods exporter Li & Fung Limited announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, LF USA had acquired substantially all of the assets of Wear Me Apparel, doing business as Kids Headquarters, a leading designer, marketer and seller of young men's and children's apparel in the US. Kids Headquarters manages a prominent portfolio of licensed national brands, proprietary brands, private labels and character licenses. These include Calvin Klein, Ecko, Timberland, Hurley, Rocawear, US Polo Association, Disney, Marvel, Nickelodeon, Warner Brothers and Hasbro. The acquisition was expected to complete by November 2009. Net sales for Wear Me Apparel were approximately US$700 million for 2008. After the transaction, New York-based Kids Headquarters became the sixth operating division of LF USA and will focus on building its strong portfolio of brands. The Company's brands are distributed through traditional and midtier department stores and mass merchants including Macy's, Kohl's and Wal-Mart. Nordstrom launches online international shopping US-based Nordstrom Inc introduced international shopping online to better serve customers globally. Customers outside and inside the US can browse and buy merchandise from nordstrom.com, payable in different currencies. Goods purchased can be shipped to 30 countries. Except Singapore in Asia and Canada in North America, the 30 countries are chiefly located in Europe. Available currencies for international shopping include Canadian dollar, Euro, US dollar, Swedish krona and currencies used by Eastern European countries. “We've made it a lot easier for our customers abroad to shop from nordstrom.com. Sending great fashion merchandise from Nordstrom to friends and family overseas is also more convenient than ever for our domestic customers. We will continue looking for ways to improve the shopping experience for customers, no matter where they live,” said Jamie Nordstrom, president of Nordstrom Direct. Nordstrom partnered with FiftyOne Global Ecommerce to offer international shopping. Nordstrom Inc is one of the nation's leading fashion specialty retailers, with 182 stores located in 28 states of the US. Caption: Nordstrom in the US seeks to tap international apparel market through the Internet

Retail Scene Shima Seiki introduces tailor-made apparel for mass consumers by Michelle Phong Made-to-order WholeGarment apparel was available in Japan in October and November 2009, and for the first time in Shanghai department stores in December, as the company is developing a new business model, Ordermade. Seamless, fashionable garments made on Shima Seiki WholeGarment systems were provided for Shanghainese consumers. Each buying consumer was able to possess a piece of seamless, well-designed garment at his/her own size. “The fashion business faces four hurdles in the areas of design, production and technology, cost, and consumer preference. To cope with these hurdles, our answer is the Ordermade model that balances the four considerations,” said Mitsuhiro Shima, Managing Director of the Shima Seiki group, adding that the company can now manufacture a piece of unique knitwear for a particular consumer fitting his/her individual demands. At the heart of the made-to-order concept is the Shima Seiki's SDS-One (RD2) and SDS-One Apex apparel design software systems. The software features an extensive database of patterns and designs as well as pre-programmed templates for size-grading, including irregular body sizes and shapes. It also provides super-realistic knit simulations and 3D virtual sampling functions, allowing accurate visual confirmation of the customer’s selection. This enormously saves the cost and time of sampling by having simulations to examine the effects of a given design. It is also an eco-friendly apparel design process, Mr Shima explained. The advanced design solutions are now available in the new showroom of Shima Seiki Win Win in Hong Kong, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Shima Seiki group. With the establishment of the new showroom, Shima Seiki gets closer to the clients and directly reach them to offer the most suitable and advanced machinery for their production, said Ikuto Umeda, Chief Executive Officer of Shima Seiki Win Win. The WholeGarment machines developed by Shima Seiki are demonstrated at this new showroom, as well as an extensive range of stylish and fashionable seamless apparel made on them. The WholeGarment machines are expected to further penetrate into the China market as more WholeGarment apparel is taken into the market. “The flat knitting machinery industry developed swiftly in 2007-08 until the outbreak of the global financial crunch, and the industry was affected as major export markets of the US, the EU and Japan turned less dynamic after the crunch. China will be a key region in future,” he added. Catpion: Ikuto Umeda and Mitsuhiro Shima (right) Addressing the Chinese knitting industry, Mr Umeda observed challenges like currency appreciation of renminbi, rising labour costs, and the introduction of the Labour Law. The use of high-end machinery in the textile manufacturing is hence more attractive for textile manufacturers to upgrade themselves and improve competitiveness, he believed. Another new showroom was also opened in October 2009 in Dongguan, Guangdong province to provide training to the machinery users. The latest MACH2 machines are exhibited where users can directly explore its new functions and features, and their feedback can be reverted to the Shima Seiki headquarters. Caption: New showroom of Shima Seiki Win Win in Hong Kong US apparel retailer maintains profits American Apparel Inc reported net sales for the third quarter of 2009 of US$150.3 million, a 2.9% decrease from the same period of the previous year. The company is a vertically integrated manufacturer, distributor, and retailer of branded fashion basic apparel based in the USA. Total retail sales increased 3.7% to US$101 million for 2009 Q3, whereas total wholesale sales dropped 14.5% to US$40.2 million. Online consumer sales also slid (-12.5%). Net income during the period under review was US$4.2 million. The company had 276 stores, with 50 net new stores during the last 12 months until September 2009. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dov Charney, was optimistic. “While it is still very early, we are encouraged by some indications pointing to the beginning of momentum in our sales. We believe that for the long term, our business remains on track as we continue to expand our brand's presence both in the US and internationally,” he said.

Retail Scene US teens continue spending on apparel Teen consumers (aged 13 to 18) in the United States were found more willing to purchase fashionable apparel, compared to adult consumers, although their spending money declined under the economic downturn. Teen spending on apparel declined from an average of US$98 a month in the third quarter of 2008 to an average of US$68 a month in the first quarter of 2009. However, it has increased throughout 2009, reaching an average of US$83 in the third quarter, and there are signs that teen apparel spending will continue to rise, according to a Cotton Incorporated's Lifestyle Monitor survey released this November. Teens have fewer financial obligations than adult consumers, and can spend more of their disposable income on apparel. They were more likely than any other consumers to say they would spend it on apparel (23% vs 6% for adults). However, declines in teens' spending money under the economic recession caused them to scale back clothing purchases, buy more on sale, and shop at lower-cost stores. Notably, denim jeans were one of the most popular back-to-school purchases among teens in the US. In the third quarter of 2009, denim jeans accounted for 15% of teen apparel purchases, up from 12% in the third quarter of 2008. Among teens shopping for their next pair of denim jeans, fit and style are the top purchase drivers. This year, teens are looking for relaxed-fit jeans (28%), skinny jeans (24%), and boot-cut jeans (17%). Teens are likely to be acquiring more denim jeans in the last quarter of 2009. The percentage of teens who expected to buy several pairs of denim jeans in the coming months bottomed out at 31% in the first quarter of 2009 but has bounced back to 46% in the third quarter of 2009. In contrast, the percentage of older consumers who expected to buy several pairs of jeans declined slightly over the same period, from 24% to 23%. Although the largest share of denim jeans are sold in the US$20-30 price range, jeans offered at retail for teens are priced higher on average than those offered for adults, according to Cotton Incorporated's Retail Monitor survey. Caption: With less financial burden, teenagers in the US were found more likely to buy apparel (Photo: Trussardi Jeans) On the premium side of the teen denim market, jeans priced at US$70 to over US$100 account for 21% of jeans offered at retail, significantly more than the percentage of jeans offerings for adults in this price range (6%). In order to tap the opportunity, teen retailers are upgrading fit, finishes, and fabrics, while offering denim jeans at a wider range of price points. ■ (Continued from“Nonwovens/Technical Textiles” p43) in electrical and heat energy, but also to obtain two-sided effects and new finishing possibilities in a single pass. Coating each side of the fabric differently meant until now two passes of the fabric, 2x drying and 2x treating. Possibilities of two-sided liquor application with one liquor in a single pass Softener Softener Hydrophobing Hydrophobing Hydrophilising Hydrophilising Stain protection Stain protection Brushing finish Brushing finish Stiffening finish Stiffening finish etc. etc. Caption: A small selection of the potential applications of applying a liquor to two sides while avoiding unnecessary liquor quantities and achieving maximum fabric effects With soft-coating it is possible to apply two different liquors at the same time and to dry the fabric with minimum energy utilisation. There are practically no limits to the user's needs and requirements. Possibilities of two-sided liquor application with two different liquors in one pass Hydrophobing Hydrophilising Stiffening finish Brushing finish Stain protection Softener Hydrophilising Cosmetics Finishing Dyeing etc. etc. Caption: A small selection of the potential applications of applying two different liquors simultaneously to a textile fabric web Source: A.Monforts ■

Show Watcher First Première Vision awards announced The first edition of the Première Vision Awards recognised and rewarded four innovators in the industry in September 2009. Italian weaver Ratti was given the Grand Jury Prize 2009 with its double jacquard blows that appears between silk and wool. The Handle Prize went to a 100% wool indigo fabric by the Japanese weaver Showa. The Innovation Prize was attributed to a product by the Japanese exhibitor, Iwanaka, with 3D weave technique that captures air between its two fine layers of voile for a strangely puffy and springy handle. Jakob Schlaepfer from Switzerland was awarded the Imagination Prize to create an alloy of spongy volume with foam cubes and gilt imitation leather. The autumn version of Première Vision Pluriel registered 55,758 visits from fashion professionals, an increase of 13.2% over the February 2009 show, and there were some 1,600 exhibitors. Dornbirn-MFC seeks stronger ties with Chinese organisation The topics of climate change and environmental protection were represented in lectures held at the 48th Dornbirn Man-made Fibers Congress (Dornbirn-MFC) in Austria in September 2009. Presentations covered new developments in fibers, fibers for medical and hygienic textiles, fibers for composites, transportation and professional wear, fibers and textiles in connection with the climate change, EU research projects. The number of participants was satisfactory despite the global financial crisis, the organizer said. In addition to the traditional long-term cooperation with CIRFS, Dornbirn-MFC also networked with CCFA (China Chemical Fibers Association) and welcomed in Dornbirn a high-ranking delegation of politicians and leading companies led by Zheng Zhiyi, CCFA's president. China accounts for currently more than 60% of the world's man-made fibers production capacities. Additionally, after negotiations with the Austrian Association of the Textile-Industry, Dornbirn-MFC will be held concurrently with the Annual Meeting of the Austrian Association of the Textile-Industry from 2011 onwards. Bulgaria holds apparel fair At the Balkan Gate Apparel and Textile exhibition, BGate, organised annually by the Bulgarian Association of Apparel and Textile Producers and Exporters (BAATPE) in September 2009, Hohenstein Institute presented its activities and services for garment and textile manufacturers in East Europe. In total, 49 exhibitors from Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Austria and Turkey took part in the trade show in order to make new contacts and exchange ideas about the current market. Some 140,000 people are currently employed in the textile and garment industry in Bulgaria. The lion's share of production is destined for export: 92% goes to EU-member countries and 1.5% to the US. An additional 1.5% is produced for the domestic market. A large number of visitors were interested in the information about testing for harmful substances in accordance with Oeko-Tex Standard 100, according to Rayna Dobrinova, Head of Hohenstein Institute's Bulgarian information office in Sofia, Bulgaria. QITMF 2009 attracts 4,000 visitors to Qingdao Despite the relatively global economy, the 10th China (Qingdao) International Fair on Textile Machinery, Dyes, Auxiliaries and Textile Chemicals (QITMF 2009) recorded a visitor flow of 4,000 buyers and professionals from the industry. As known as the 10th China (Qingdao) International Textile Machinery and held in Qingdao city of Shandong province in China, the three-day exhibition housed 112 exhibitors from Japan, China and Taiwan and more, occupying an exhibition area of 5,000 square meters. Exhibitors, such as Nan Sing Machinery Limited and Jakob Mueller Machinery (China), confirmed to seal deals at the fairground, according to one of the organizers, Adsale Exhibition Services Limited. Fabric technologies showcased in Germany and Hong Kong At the A+A international exhibition for safety, security and health at work in Düsseldorf (Germany) in November 2009, Lenzing was the only fiber manufacturer presenting fibers of the renewable raw material wood for professional and protective clothing, the company said. Lenzing highlighted two specialty fibers of wood for professional clothing: Lenzing FR, a fiber with an integrated fire resistance agent and Tencel, a functional fiber with an optimum moisture management. Lenzing FR as a skin-friendly protective fiber is used in many professional applications as an optimum protection against different sources of heat. Due to the naturalness of Lenzing FR, the fiber has a good moisture transportation, which reduces the risk from life-threatening heat strokes. Caption: Lenzing exhibits fabrics for producing protective wear at the A+A exhibition in late 2009 Earlier in Hong Kong, the company marketed Tencel fiber as the perfect fiber for children at the Interstoff Asia Essential fair in October 2009. The Tencel portfolio includes the specialty fiber Tencel LF for classical children's wear, said Peter Bartsch, Head of Marketing Apparel, Textile Fibers at Lenzing. The fiber can be easily blended with cotton and is well suited to knitwear. Children's wear made of Tencel is resistant and easy to take care of. Textiles can be washed at high temperatures and they remain supple on the skin after repeated washing, he added.

Show Watcher Techtextil and Heimtextil welcome 6,000 visitors in India Textile Days India, the combination of Heimtextil India and Techtextil India, saw totally 6,339 visitors from 79 countries in October 2009. There were 110 exhibitors from Techtextil India and 53 exhibitors from Heimtextil India. The Techtextil India Symposium was attended more than 250 trade visitors, and Heimtextil India exhibitors were satisfied with new business contacts, according to Shammi Nagpal, Managing Director of Messe Frankfurt India. Exhibiting at the Techtextil India fair, ITEMA Weaving highlighted its market know-how, innovative solutions and the right weaving technology on offer under its brands including Sulzer Textil. The Sulzer Textil G6500 rapier weaving machine was presented for the manufacture of industrial textiles such as aramid fibres. The machines is suitable for weaving 0-twist multifilament yarn since the rapier tapes are unguided thus freely flying through the shed. Ultra-heavy fabric constructions are woven cost-effectively with exceptionally rugged and high-precision weaving machines, such as Sulzer Textil’s projectile and rapier weaving machines, the company explained. Moreover, Technical Absorbents Ltd (TAL), a UK-based manufacturer of Super Absorbent Fibre (SAF), met a large number of visitors from South Asia. “India offers an exciting market potential for TAL,” explains the company's Business Development Manager, Dave Hill. “The country has a high skill-set in terms of scientific and technical manpower and huge levels of expertise within the textile market. This means that the understanding of what SAF technology can offer and the ease of its application for NPD is made easier,” he said. Coatema coating symposium shows new developments Over 80 visitors learned details of the latest coating and printing operations presented by Coatema Coating Machinery at the 10th Coatema Coating Symposium in Dormagen, Germany. Coatema application experts explained Coatema's new pilotcoater and semi production system, Click&Coat, and the new multifunctional coil coating unit with nitrogen floatation dryer at the Coatema R&D center. Equipped with 11 laboratories and pilot coaters, including a production line on 2,000mm, it is one of the biggest coating and printing centre worldwide. A number of talks were also held to cover large area printed electronics, silicone coatings, high-tech lamination, prepregs and quality management systems. Caption: Visitors check out latest technologies of Coatema Coating Machinery Italian textile machinery workshop held in US A technical workshop dedicated to Italian technology for the nonwovens and technical textile industries took place in Raleigh in November 2009 at North Carolina State University, the US. Organized by the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers (ACIMIT) and the Italian Trade Commission (ICE), in partnership with the Nonwovens Institute of North Carolina State University, the meeting presented updated technologies from Italy. Views and ideas on technology were exchanged with major US companies in these sectors. ACIMIT estimates that about 100 of its member companies are involved in the production of machinery for technical textiles or nonwovens. This sector is observing a steadily growing turnover, accounting for 10% of the total turnover of the Italian textile machinery industry. Technical textile exhibition to return to Turkey in 2010 The Hightex 2010, or the 3rd Istanbul Technical Textiles & Nonwoven and Weaving Technologies Trade Fair, will showcase raw materials, intermediate product and finished products of technical textiles in Turkey. Held on May 15-18, 2010, at Tuyap Fair, Convention and Congress Center in Istanbul, the fair is the largest meeting point of the technical textiles and weaving technologies of Middle East and Eastern Europe, according to the organizer, Teknik Limited. Technologies such as airlade, crosslapper, dryland, meltblown, needlepunch, spunbond, spunlace, stitchbond, thermobond, weblaiding, waterlaid and wilding will be displayed at the exhibition, as well as weaving technologies, which remained active as seen in ITM 2009, Teknik Limited said. IMB Forum to be held next November The IMB Forum will be moved from May to November 2010, in response to the requests of suppliers and buyers from the sector. The new dates are November 10-11, 2010, the organizer Koelnmesse said. The IMB Forum covers a wide spectrum of interfaces with the trade by offering a wide range of IT products and services for the textile processing industry. Exhibitors will present practice-oriented solutions along the entire textile value chain. Although the products on offer from IT and systems suppliers are becoming more and more industry-specific, the growing ramifications of the supply chain and the requirement to flexibly integrate new and additional processes will continue to create problems, as these are inherent in the system. The IMB Forum provides a business platform for direct dialogue between users and suppliers of IT solutions for clothing production and the processing of textiles and flexible materials. ■

Corporat Profile Keen to innovate Featured company: MAS Holdings by Elise Hon Sri Lanka-based MAS Holdings is a major intimate apparel manufacturer in South Asia, supplying to known retailers such as Victoria's Secret, Marks & Spencer (M&S), Nike, Speedo and Triumph, with an annual turnover of US$800 million in 2008 Founded by three brothers, Mahesh, Ajay and Sharad Amalean, MAS Holdings started off in 1987 in Sri Lanka being a small operation with 26 sewing machines and 60 employees. After two decades, the firm has established its presence in nine countries, and the size of its workforce is more than 44,000 employees. According to senior executives in the company, a combination of crucial factors, “innovation, lean manufacturing and good IT solutions”, has significantly contributed to MAS' energetic development. Being an innovator “Our innovation offerings for our customers are numerous,” said Dian Gomes, Managing Director of MAS Intimates and main board member of MAS Holdings. To name a few, the Nike Revolutionary Support bra was jointly developed with Nike. There is also the Victoria's Secret Bare Ultimate range, which is produced with silicone flocking as filling and bonding tapes. MAS' research and innovation unit comprises experts in the fields of fashion technology, design, science, engineering and chemistry to work on both product and process improvements. It also has its own apparel designers based in New York, Hong Kong and the UK for original designs. MAS started to invest in nanotechnology since 2008, and is working with the Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology on innovative apparel applications. Caption: A design center of MAS Holdings On the production front, MAS has partnered up with global entities to manufacture a wide range of items, including lace with Noyon Dentelles in France, warp knits fabrics with Dogi International and fabric printing with Textprint in Spain, as well as elastics with Stretchline Global and accessories with Prym Intimates in the UK. Through a venture vehicle with Speedo International (UK) and Brandot International (USA), namely MAS Linear Aqua, MAS was involved in the production of the Speedo Fastskin swimsuits worn by athletes at the Athens Olympics 2004. It also manufactured special seamless jerseys for the Welsh Rugby team at the Rugby World Cup in 2007. Earlier this year, Bondelast fabrics, a patented technology of Stretchline, which is a joint venture between MAS Holdings and Stretchline Global, were used to manufacture the Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit worn by athletes at the Beijing Olympics, including Michael Phelps. Caption: Dian Gomes Lean practices The innovative spirit can be seen in many aspects of the company's daily operation, in particular lean manufacturing. Mr Gomes pointed out that efficient manufacturing was vital for profitability. MAS Operating System (MOS) is a manufacturing methodology developed by MAS based on the Toyota lean manufacturing system, which is a pioneer in the aspect of lean production. “For the textile and apparel industry, the MOS emphasizes minimization of resources used, with an objective of being responsive to customer demand at the lowest cost and shortest lead-time. Our systematic approach has empowered employees and led to a culture of continuous improvement, building quality across the business of MAS Holdings,” he said. A strong focus was given to “transactional (administrative) lean” eliminating waste in all non-production processes such as merchandising, finance, human resources, administration & IT deriving significant cost and time benefits for the company. By focusing on providing value to the customer from beginning to end, unnecessary transportation of information and paper as well as meetings and business travels were removed. “One cannot extract the full extent of the benefits of lean manufacturing if the front-end and support services are not lean and totally aligned, as one effective system. Our journey is towards a true lean enterprise,” said Mr Gomes.

Corporat Profile In practice, effective enterprise resource planning (ERP) is an integral part of lean production in the apparel making industry. From 1998, MAS Holdings implemented in phrases an ERP system developed by SAP, a Germany-based business software solution provider, to improve business operations with more accurate information and transparency throughout the value chain. “In hindsight, this was a very important decision of MAS. Today, we are a US$800 million business, with a fully integrated system that gives us total visibility across our internal value chain, a majority of our performance indicators, and excellent control over our operations.” Jay Keller, Chief Information Officer responsible for the application of information technology in the company, said that business decisions previously based on experience and incomplete data were now based on hard facts. “Our productivity has increased 10% on average, with the extent of improvement varying from plant to plant. The higher productivity has helped reduce our cost, per standard hour, by 10-12%, and inventory levels are reduced by about 20-30%,” said Mr Gomes, adding that the company has been able to reduce overall lead time by 20-30%. This in turn allowed the customers to react faster to the market. Caption: Jay Keller Socially responsible Mr Gomes also pointed out that MAS Holdings' commitment to sustainability and ethical manufacturing has given the company an edge. MAS Intimates Thurulie is the world's first eco-manufacturing factory for lingerie. This facility aims to be carbon neutral and produces bras for British retail giant Marks & Spencer. MAS plans to expand the scale of MAS Intimates Thurulie within 2010, with an enlarged workforce of 1,300 people, more than double of the present number. Located in the 165-acre MAS Fabric Park in Thulhiriya, 65 km northeast of the capital city, Colombo, this eco-manufacturing facility is equipped with the biggest installation project of solar panels to-date in Sri Lanka, providing around 10% of the total electricity required for the facility, with the rest being supplied under a hydro-electric scheme. By using extensive daylight, energy efficient lighting and LED-based task lights, low energy cooling systems (instead of air conditioning) and eco bricks that maintain a cool interior, the factory is able to save around 40% on electricity consumption compared with factories of similar scale. Water consumption was also cut by half following the installation of modern wastewater management systems and low-flow fixtures. Equally important is that the MAS factories comply with a local industry standard called “Garments Without Guilt (GWG)” of the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) of Sri Lanka. Over 20 MAS factories were certified as GWG facilities. “Moreover, our programs - Women Go Beyond, which aimed at empowering women in the workplace, and Eco Go Beyond, focusing on educating the new generation about sustainability, have been endorsed by the UN Global Compact, World Bank and UNESCO as benchmark initiatives,” said Mr Gomes. The “Women Go Beyond” program was implemented at MAS apparel plants in Sri Lanka, India and Vietnam from 2003 to provide career development, health and lifestyle education, and local community development programs for MAS workers. On industry development Sri Lanka's apparel industry appears to be resilient to the global economic downturn. According to the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) of Sri Lanka, the county's exports of knitted fabrics, woven fabrics and made-up textile articles amounted at US$2.088 billion during the first eight months of 2009, a drop of merely 3.5% from the same period last year, whereas many of its Asian rivals registered double-digit declines in the same period of time. Caption: Intimate wear is a major product of MAS Holdings “Growth may be modest at least for 2009, much depending on the state of the global economy,” said Mr Gomes, commenting on the apparel industry of Sri Lanka. “Its recovery will stabilize the industry, with good prospects for growth. The future is foggy, but one factor is certain: the Sri Lankan apparel industry will survive (in times of crisis), as we have always done,” he concluded. Profile of MAS Holdings Annual turnover US$800 million in 2008 Major clients Victoria's Secret, Nike, Speedo, Marks & Spencer and Triumph International Employment Over 44,000 people Scale of operations Investment over US$200 million in 28 world-class facilities across five countries, as well as design centers Capacity Over 250 million pieces of apparel a year, including 40 million bras and 150 million briefs. MAS alone accounts for one fifth of Sri Lanka's apparel exports Some joint-venture partners Limited Brands, US Triumph International, Germany Speedo International, UK Stretchline Global, UK Prym Intimates PLC, UK Brandot International, US Noyon Dentelles, France DOGI International, Spain Textprint S.A, Spain ■

Company Bulletin Ahlstrom sees positive trends Ahlstrom Corporation, an international supplier of nonwovens and specialty papers, registered net sales of 400.6 million euros and earnings (EBIT) amounted to 13.1 million euros in the first nine months of 2009. Net sales in the third quarter was down 11.2% from the same period of 2008, but remained unchanged compared to April-June 2009. Jan Lang, President & CEO, commented: “Despite the challenging market environment, we reached a positive EBIT for July-September, particularly owing to streamlining efforts, cost control and lower raw material prices.” The company also announced a new strategic direction based on value-added business and the operational excellence business, with a focus on profitable growth. Ahlstrom described the market conditions “very challenging”, but noticed that the demand for some products began to pick up. The positive trend continued during July-September of 2009, but demand did not increase to the level of the corresponding period in 2008. Karl Mayer meets upturn in China In the first anniversary of the new factory plant of Karl Mayer (China) Limited in Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, Karl Mayer reported that more than 400 warp knitting and warp preparation machines were produced this year in the Chinese factory. This positive result was preceded by a fall in orders during the second half of 2008 as a result of the global crisis. However, since the end of 2008, the order situation has been improving steadily. The number of orders received in the first half of 2009 is particularly encouraging, and machine orders are now increasing month on month. Unlike the international warp knitting market, demand in China is divided relatively equally between high-end products on the one hand and mass-produced goods on the other hand, the company explains. Warp knitting companies in the China either produce high-quality goods for well-known international labels, or else they produce ready-to-wear items. Karl Mayer (China) Limited supplies the machines and spare parts and carries out the service operations for both these sectors of the market. The reason for this market recovery is the various economic and political measures that have been taken to stimulate the market, including measures relating to wages and value-added tax, the company says. Caption: Karl Mayer (China) Ltd supplies machines and spare parts to local customers Lectra and Eastman settle legal dispute Lectra and Eastman announced in October 2009 that they had settled the pending patent infringement action brought by Lectra against Eastman and its distributor, Sewn Products, in 2008 in the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The claims and counterclaims in the action were dismissed with prejudice. In the settlement, Eastman acknowledged the validity of Lectra's involved patent, US Patent No. 5,867,392, and, while not admitting infringement of the patent, Eastman agreed not to use Lectra's “Eclipse” feature in Eastman's future conveyorized cutting systems. The parties agreed not to disclose the other terms of the settlement. Oerlikon Neumag center expanded The Oerlikon Neumag Spunlaid Solution Center has expanded recently with the commissioning of a meltblown pilot line. The meltblown stand-alone line is dedicated to supporting the development of all standard meltblown applications like fine fiber barrier fabrics or filtration composite media. With this installation, a small, compact line design with a working width of 0.6 meter was developed, which can also be applied for industrial production lines with working widths up to 0.8 meter and which is especially suitable for the production of niche products, the company states. The existing spunlaid pilot plant was already expanded in 2008 by a further spunlaid beam and a meltblown beam to altogether three beams, Oerlikon Neumag says. Both plants are used not only for internal further development, but also trials requested by customers. The meltblown line can also be extended by other web forming technologies like spunlaid and carding, realizing multi-compound nonwoven webs with optimized product qualities and characteristics. PGI acquires Spanish firm Polymer Group Inc (PGI) signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Barcelona, Spain-based Tesalca-Texnovo nonwovens businesses from Grupo Corinpa, S.L. in a two-phase process. The purchase was expected to close by the end of November 2009. The deal mentioned that businesses would be operated as a new wholly owned subsidiary (PGI Spain) and would have in excess of 50,000 metric tonnes of combined capacity. The acquisition furthers PGI’s strategy of strengthening its position as the global leader in the hygiene market by increasing its presence in Europe, the world’s largest volume market, and bringing it into new markets in Western Europe and Northern Africa where Tesalca-Texnovo has a strong customer base. After the consummation of the transaction, PGI’s global spunlaid capacity would be in excess of 285,000 metric tonnes. Founded in 1989 and with about 280 employees, Texnovo had an annual sales of about US$87 million in 2008. It is the only organization that manufactures spunbond polypropylene nonwoven materials in Spain and has a leading position in the European market, according to PGI.

Company Bulletin Schoeller awarded for coldblack The coldblack technology, the result of a close cooperation between Schoeller and Clariant International, was awarded at the tenth biannual Design Prize Switzerland in November 2009 for its creativity and practicability. From over 300 entries and 36 nominated projects, the eight-member international jury selected six winners in different categories. The competition with a total prize money of CHF 195,000 attracted domestic and foreign designers with a relation to Switzerland. “Coldblack represents a practically invisible but enormously useful design achievement,” said juror Daniel Zehntner. “The twofold protective function of this innovative high-tech textile treatment is a technical masterstroke with extensive practical relevance in the fields of design and preventive health care”. Hans-Jürgen Hübner, CEO of Schoeller Group, and Hans U. Kohn, COO of Schoeller Technologies were delighted to receive the prize, which was remunerated with 50,000 Swiss Francs. Market responses to the product are also positive, the company said. Besides, Schoeller Technologies AG was awarded with the Textile Design Award 2009 by Swiss Textiles & Zumsteg Foundation for the textile finishing technology “coldblack: Sun Reflector - UV Protector”. Wacker opens new technical center Wacker Chemie AG inaugurated its new technical center in Allentown (Pennsylvania, USA) in October 2009 to develop and test polymer products chiefly for applications in the construction, adhesive, engineered fabrics and architectural coating industries. Through its new addition, the Munich-based chemical company is promoting international quality standards and the exchange of expertise with regional customers and partners. Wacker Polymers is a producer of state-of-the-art binders and polymer additives in the form of dispersible powders and dispersions, polyvinyl acetates, surface coating resins and polyvinyl alcohol solutions. These products are found in the construction chemicals, binders, printing inks, surface coatings, paper and automotive sectors. In 2008, Wacker Polymers generated sales of 868 million euros, accounting for 20% of Wacker Group sales. Brückner's energy saving systems sold to Americas Brückner sold the first heat recovery systems in Central and South Americas to the Texpasa group in Guatemala, which is an established manufacturer of knit fabrics in tubular or open-width form in the region. Texpasa has a production capacity of about 350,000 pounds per week, producing such fabrics as two- and three-end fleece, various piques, lacostes, etc, and recently synthetic performance fabrics. In order to extend their production in Guatemala, the Texpasa group looked for energy saving systems to avoid a jump in energy costs with an increasing output. The line comprises two Power-Pad padders for squeezing and impregnating, one eight-zone Power-Frame stenter with patented split-flow air circulation system and one integrated Eco-Heat back-pack heat recovery unit. With Brückner's Eco-Heat system, the Texpasa group is able to save up to 33% of energy, depending on the process with clearly higher production capacity and improved fabric quality. For Texpasa, the line pays back within less than 1.5 years, according to Brückner. People BASF to change management team in Asia Pacific Dr Albert Heuser, currently President of the Petrochemicals division, will become President, Regional Division Market and Business Development Asia Pacific, based in Hong Kong, as of March 1, 2010. Dr Heuser replaces Dr Wolfgang Hapke, who will become President of BASF's Performance Polymers division, based in Ludwigshafen, as of March 1, 2010. Dr Albert Heuser has been President of the Petrochemicals divisions since 2006. He studied metallurgy and materials science at the Technical University in Aachen and earned a Ph.D. in materials science. He joined BASF in 1987 and became Chairman of the board of management of BASF Schwarzheide in 2000. From 2002 until 2006 he was President, Ludwigshafen Verbund Site Management. Dr Wolfgang Hapkehas been President, Market & Business Development, Asia Pacific, based in Hong Kong, since 2004. Caption: Dr Albert Heuser Hohenstein Institute has new head for textile research The Hohenstein Institute combined two existing company units of Clothing Physiology and Textile Services & Innovations into a new department by the name of “Function and Care” in October 2009. The department is currently managed by Dr Andreas Schmidt, succeeding Prof Dr Karl-Heinz Umbach, who had worked at the Institute for 33 years. Before his retirement, Dr Umbach was Director of the Clothing Physiology department. However, he continues to assist the Hohenstein Institute in an advisory capacity. Dr Jan Beringer took up the role of scientific manager at the new “Function and Care” department starting October 2009, and is responsible for the largest research area at Hohenstein. Caption: Dr Andreas Schmidt ■

New Products Guide Hip-Mitsu provides machines to laminate small batches Hip-Mitsu from Italy offers a range of compact machines to process different substrates like tissue, nonwovens, paper, films and even stretchable materials and hot melt adhesives. These machines allow rapidly change different lamination parameters such as coating pattern, coating width, type of processed adhesives, polymers and substrates, the company says. The Hip-Mitsu technology is based on an open platform, making it possible to upgrade the system in future to increase capacity and/or flexibility at any time after the first installation. The machines are developed to meet the medical market needs for laminated materials. Considering that in case of small batches the first factor cannot increase beyond a certain level, the influence of the time required to change the process parameters becomes more and more important. Hip-Mitsu has thus developed a new family of machines with high flexibility to allow the production of small batches easily and quickly, the company concludes. First large-scale WINGS system used in India The first large-scale POY (polyester partially oriented yarn) direct spinning plant with WINGS technology from Oerlikon Barmag started yarn production in India in 2009. The plant, which was installed at a well-known Indian yarn manufacturer, has 288 positions – in part equipped with EvoQuench quenching systems – and covers a broad production window. The portfolio ranges from micro-filaments (75 den F144) to high-titer POY yarns (400 den F96). Microfibers are currently on trend, Oerlikon Barmag says. The challenging process, which also places huge demands on the quenching system, is securing yarn manufacturers interesting margins. Even directly following commissioning, the plant was said to have achieved outstanding yarn results, whose benefits were also proven in the downstream texturing process. As a result of the plug-and-play units, spinning systems equipped with WINGS technology can be assembled and commissioned considerably faster than conventional systems, according to Oerlikon Barmag. SDL Atlas launches cost-saving PnuBurst tester SDL Atlas introduced a new tabletop PnuBurst unit, which is convenient to use with a preprogrammed unit for basic burst testing. The PnuBurst design features a pneumatically operated diaphragm, a color touch-screen controller preprogrammed for major test protocols and automatic bell size and clamp ring detection, with reference to SDL Atlas. The PnuBurst offers convenient out-of-the-box operation, enabling laboratories to conduct burst tests up to 1500kPa (15bar, 217psi.) Its USB port, data cable and onboard software allow users to save and analyze test data as they see fit – or streamline their tasks by simply viewing and recording results brightly displayed on the PnuBurst's colorful instrument control screen. For users requiring an extended test range, the SDL Atlas AutoBurst offers labs a fully automatic but traditional hydraulic technique with up to 6000kPa (60bar, 870psi) operation. The AutoBurst can be used to test apparel fabrics, technical textiles and other materials where reliable burst strength measurements are critical. Caption: The lattest PnuBurst tester of SDL Atlas Shima Seiki offers mini-size product tags Shima Seiki introduced new WholeGarment Mini Tags, which are in direct response to feedback obtained from customers who produce items such as gloves, socks, scarves, hats and other WholeGarment accessories knit on SWG041N, 061N and 091N compact machines. Their products are small in size and appear out of balance with the larger standard-size tags. Caption: Shima Seiki WholeGarment tags are now available in two sizes WholeGarment product tags are provided exclusively to customers utilizing WholeGarment knitting machines, in addition to apparel planners, designers and merchandisers associated with creating and promoting WholeGarment products. Since their introduction, over five million WholeGarment product tags have been sold. SSM unveils new precision winding machine SSM Schärer Schweiter Mettler AG introduced the new PS6plus-W, the high-performance precision winding machine for the preparation of dye packages and the rewinding after dyeing. The new machine offers better performance and higher speeds but still maintains the same yarn quality. In order to increase the speed, SSM developed the new tensiso, a special balloon optimising system for supply packages. The

New Products Guide fully automated tensiso requires no specific manipulation by the operator and offers better yarn unwinding efficiency: • Higher winding speeds than usual (+20%; mechanical up to 1600m/min) • Reduction of maximum unwinding yarn tension by 30% • Reduction of unwinding yarn beaks by 40% • Decreased yarn stress and so reduced hairiness Catpion: The new PS6plus-W system of SSM The PS6plus-W utilizes a proven thread guiding system with counter-rotating blades, allowing wear- and tear-free rotary movement of the blades. It also allows the choice of a precision or Digicone winding, which thanks to the possibility of higher dye package densities permits considerable energy and cost saving in the dye process, the company says. New TenCate protective fabrics offer enhanced freedom TenCate Protective Fabrics introduced new durable fabrics and unique multi-layer systems for fire fighting apparel and electric arc protection. One of these innovations is TenCate Tecasafe, XL 9300, for industrial safety. The company also extends its collection to include the unique fabric TenCate Tecasafe, XL 9300 (300 g/m2). A special cellulose fibre has been incorporated in the blend. This natural fibre makes the fabric cool and breathable and ensures a great measure of comfort. New TenCate Tecasystem - Millenia 450 is the lightest multi-layer system on the international market (450 g/m2) to meet the European standard for fire fighting clothing EN 469: 2005, level 2, the company states. VeriVide and ChromaShare join hands VeriVide, a specialist lighting and digital color assessment products, and color software specialist, ChromaShare announced a collaboration whereby VeriVide is responsible for the world-wide sales, marketing and support of ChromaShare's revolutionary color management solution which utilises, an internet-based technology. Targeting the fashion retail sector and their supply chains, ChromaShare's “Smart Client” software provides an integrated and flexible platform that integrates the whole range of color functionality into one application with three modules, namely CS PaletteShare, CS Workflow and CS ImageShare. The software was written from the ground up in response to Retailers' and manufacturers' specific requests and workflows, and uses the Microsoft .NET framework. The solution's capability is further enhanced by comprehensive reporting and remote instrument monitoring functionality. New machine combines textile pallet assembly and packing Welker designed an exclusive textile solution, a new Palletmaster to amalgamate an assembly table with a wrapping machine that moves the platform adjusted to bobbin sizes. This new machine can help users in case of dispatching textile goods with pallets, which the assembly with bobbins is difficult because the pallets with 13 or 14 rows are too high to be assembled on the floor, and secondly, their structure without a wrapping film is quite unstable. The Autostep device adjusts the platform height safely step by step, the company adds. Palletmaster can be equipped with integrated weighing and ticketing systems, so that the pallet leaves the place completely assembled, identified and weighed. Mayer & Cie promotes knitted fabric for mattresses Mayer & Cie offers a range of circular knitting systems for varied segments of the mattress market. Knitted fabric has good point elasticity and is soft and washable. It also eliminates the need to use cost-intensive special yarns to achieve sufficient elasticity. Circular knit goods are less susceptible to warping and bulging, permit better further processing due to their volume, can be produced in tubular form and eliminate the need for quilting as an additional work step, according to Mayer & Cie. The top-tier segment of mattresses currently ranges between 1,400 and 1,700. euros, and the Mayer & Cie OVJA 1.6 EE and the OVJA 1.1 TTRB are designed for this segment. Mayer & Cie also offers optimum machine equipment to supply the medium segment accounting for about a quarter of the total market with its OVJA 1.6 E model and most recently the OVJA 1.6 EM. These two systems allow extensive patterning versatility and simple resetting, as well as efficient knitting of even small production runs, the company says. In addition, the company offers OVJA 2.4 E with 92 feeders and higher output for the manufacture of mass-priced mattresses, which are marketed at a price level between 50-300 euros. Caption: Premium knitted mattress can be made on Mayer & Cie machines ■

Coming Events Calendar Date Event Location Organizer Tel/ Fax/ Email/ Website 2010 Jan 18-21 Hong Kong Fashion Week for Fall/Winter 2009 Hong Kong / China Hong Kong Trade Development Council (852) 2240 4323 / (852) 2824 0026 exhibitions@hktdc.org / www.hkfashionweekfw.com Feb 2-5 The 7th Dhaka Textile & Garment 2010 Dhaka / Bangladesh Chan Chao Int'l Co Ltd (886) 2 2659 6000 (ext 173) / (886) 2 2659 7000 overseas@chanchao.com.tw / www.bangla-expo.com Mar 4-6 Megatech Pakistan 2010 Karachi / Pakistan Pegasus Consultancy (Pvt) Ltd (92) 21 1117 34266 / (92) 21 2410 723 info@megatechpakistan.com / www.megatechpakistan.com 4-6 Textech Sri Lanka Colombo / Sri Lanka CEMS - Global (880) 2 8812 713 / (880) 2 9894 573 ssarwar@cemsonline.com / www.cemsonline.com 17-19 Interstoff Asia Essential - Spring Hong Kong / China Messe Frankfurt (852) 2238 9917 / (852) 2598 8771 cindy.chee@hongkong.messefrankfurt.com / www.messefrankfurt.com.hk 22-28 Japan Fashion Week Tokyo / Japan Japan Fashion Week Organization (81) 03 3242 8551 info@jfw.jp / www.jfw.jp 23-25 Première Vision Tokyo/JITAC Tokyo / Japan Première Vision (81) 06 6228 6229 / (81) 06 6228 6209 jitac@mac.com, mc.annequin@premierevision.fr / www.premierevision-jitac.jp Mar 29-Apr 1 The 11th China (Dongguan) Int'l Textile & Clothing Industry Fair Dongguan / China Paper Communication Exhibition Services (852) 2950 1910 / (852) 2341 0379 connie@paper-com.com.hk / www.paper-com.com.hk 30-31 Prime Source Forum Hong Kong / China APLF Ltd (852) 2827 6211 / (852) 2827 7831 info@primesourceforum.com / www.primesourceforum.com Apr 10-13 Textile Asia 2010: The 7th International Textile & Garment Machinery Exhibition Karachi / Pakistan Ecommerce Gateway Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd (92) 21 111 222 444 / (92) 21 453 6330 info@ecgateway.net / www.ecgateway.net 14-17 Vietnam Saigon Garment & Accessories Machinery Expo Ho Chi Minh City / Vietnam CP Exhibition (852) 2511 7427 / (852) 2511 9692 jason@cpexhibition.com / www.cpexhibition.com 22-25 The 9th Bandung Int'l Textile & Garment Accessories Exhibition Jakarta / Indonesia P.T. Pergaga Nusantara Jaya Sakti (62) 21 649 3717 / (62) 21 639 0062 info@peragaexpo.com / www.peragaexpo.com May 15-18 Hightex 2010 Istanbul / Turkey Teknik Limited (90) 212 592 5992 / (90) 212 599 3882 info@hightex2010.com / www.hightex2010.com Jun 22-26 ITMA Asia + CITME 2010 Shanghai / China CEMATEX, BJITME, CTMA and etc (86) 10 8522 9422 / (86) 10 8522 9026 www.itmaasia.com, www.citme.com.cn Jul 28-31 Textech Bangladesh 2010 Dhaka / Bangladesh CEMS - Global (880) 2 8812 713 / (880) 2 9894 573 ssarwar@cemsonline.com / www.cemsonline.com * ATA Journal will be distributed at booth / media stand * These events are accurate to the best of our knowledge and are subject to change without prior notice. Event organizers are welcome to email information of their coming events to The Editor, ATA Journal cta.ata.edit@adsale.com.hk