Agility is the Way Forward for the Global Textile Industry
May 25, 2021 Being nimble and adopting new technology are timely needs for the global textile industry.
That’s the message from textile industry stakeholders celebrating the 33rd anniversary of the North India Section of The Textile Institute (UK) during a Zoom conference on May 24.
Mr. T. Rajkumar, Chairman of the Confederation of the Indian Textile Industry, provided a detailed account of the Indian industry and outlined plans for growth. Value addition and skill development across the value chain are needed.
Technical textiles is a sunrise sector, and he emphasized the need for some mandatory usage of products such as airbags, quality enhancements and standardization. He highlighted how the Indian textile sector geared up during the COVID-19 pandemic to make India self-reliant on PPE, noting that the sector showed about 13% growth.
India’s technical textiles sector offers opportunities for growth in double digits. This scribe predicted the growth of this sector based on empirical modeling using GDP numbers in 2008. The report – “India Rising: Opportunities in Nonwovens and Technical Textiles” – estimated the growth till the year 2050, with an annual growth around 13%. Mr. Rajkumar’s statement proves the growth numbers predicted in the 2008 report.
The Government of India must be greatly acknowledged for seeing the potential of this field through investments such as the National Mission on Technical Textiles and the establishment of Centers of Excellence in different fields of the technical textiles sector all over the country. The government is currently investing about $211.7 million (U.S.) over four years (until 2024) for this important mission.
Mr. Shirshir Jaipuria, Chairman and Managing Director of Ginni Filaments, emphasized the need for agility, speed and technology in the textile industry. He highlighted four trends, which will impact the Indian sector:
- Technology
- Development of sustainable products
- Marketing strategy
- Understanding of consumers.
The industry should be data driven, he added, and should focus on open and better exchange of ideas. Noting the agility of the IT sector in coming up with new products, Mr. Jaipuria encouraged the textile industry to be nimble and adapt to the requirements.
Professor Vijay Kothari emphasized the need for better coordination among academia, research organizations and industry. The practice of working in silos needs to be overcome, and an integrated approach is needed, he said.
In my view, two things are needed – cost-effective new products which consumers need and a focus on products that cater to health care, the environment, and industrial applications. Having said that, efficiencies must be achieved in the commodity fiber-to-fashion supply chain, as this sector is an important bread winner.
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