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MARCH 2022 Smart Textiles
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Smart Textiles – Next Gen Fashion State-
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Table
of
CONTENT
COVER STORY
REVIEW PAPER : ECO FRIENDLY DYEING
INTERVIEW
EVENTS
TEXTILE MACHINERY
CORPORATE NEWS
SPECIAL FEATURES
SWISS TECHNOLOGY
INDUSTRY UPDATE
ADVERTISER INDEX
37
59
54 BSE Hosts Special Meet By Cotton Guru
28 Technology for Textile Dyeing Using
Supercritical Fluid
24 How to Boost Exports of Textile Spare
Parts & Accessories
66 Oerlikon Barmag celebrates its 100th
anniversary
65 BRÜCKNER presents many products for
nonwovens at IDEA 2022
62 Saurer:
Strides in Digitalisation
61 Fascination of Narrow Fabrics: Jakob
Muller’s Digital World
51 Face Mask in the New Normal:
Material, Manufacturing & Testing
72 SPGPrints/Stovec launches “DART” to
start-ups in digital textile printing
77 Textile fibre dearer in February due to
cost push
76 Textile export volume still down in
January
73 Full Automation from Roll to Finished
Product
70 Basant Fibertek Doubles Capacity
68
Uster’s Quality Management Platform
Makes a Huge Difference to Shopfloor
Personnel
17 Smart Textiles – Next Gen Fashion State-
ment or Technology Integration
20 Textile Machinery, Parts & Accessories
Rise of the Phoenix!
59 Resource-saving in Textile Processing: A
Successful Webinar
57 Shujaul Rehman, CEO of GTFL,
appointed VC of CII Pune
44 We are creating our own brands: Ronak
B. Chiripal
41 Itema Weaves Huge Hopes in India
37 Each Fabric is Assembled with utmost
precision
33 Second-Hand Clothing as a
Sustainable & Fashionable Lifestyle
12 Smart Textiles – an Overview
74 SHOW CALENDAR
10. 10 TVC | MARCH 2022
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marketing and advertising enquiry
A few years back, an entrepreneur from the textile in-
dustry watched with fascination at an exhibition shelf
containing PET bottles and yarns and clothes kept be-
side them. He was impressed by the transformation of
PET into clothing, and he vowed to bring the technology
tohisplantinIndia.Today,hehasaprofitableproduction
unit that turns PET into yarns. Some years ago, I listened
to a presentation by a German industrialist about pollu-
tion by textile industries. From his cabin he saw billow-
ing smoke from his factory chimney, and he visualised
his own future generation getting choked by it. Within
a couple of years, he changed the process to the least
harmfulonetohumansdespiteoppositionfromotherdi-
rectors. He also demonstrated the profitability of benev-
olent processes in the production. Today, most of the in-
dustries are shouting hoarse about sustainability. Textile
is one of the most polluting industries, and sustainability
is not just using sustainable materials and efficient pro-
cesses alone. The textile industry must follow diligently
the track of sustainability at every step of its production.
The textile chain gobbles up a huge amount of water
and energy, along with the use of various chemicals and
harmful substances. Most of the textile industries dis-
charge a huge amount of harmful waste, posing a threat
to the very survival of living organisms. Sustainability
has to embrace many factors and a holistic view is vital.
The textile industry is the second largest sector of
global trade market with the figure estimated to reach
US$1,230 billion by 2024, from US$920 billion in 2018.
“Green consumer” is a reality now. We see a lot of sec-
ond-hand clothing in the market, even from well-known
brands. Consumers must be educated well about envi-
ronmental degradation and also the need to buy such
clothing to alleviate the burden of landfills and waste
pile-up. In 2015, United Nations members adopted the
2030 agenda for Sustainable Development, which con-
sisted of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for
various industries. The textile industry adapted 5 out of
these 17, which we’re related to – Climate Action, Gen-
der Equality, Responsible production & consumption,
Clean Water & Sanitation, and decent work & econom-
ic growth. Textile companies worldwide are actively
contributing to pollution-reduction practices and set-
ting up emission targets for controlling climate change.
Companies should implement manufacturing practices
which cuts carbon footprint, invest in R&D to use sus-
tainable raw materials and turn out environ-friendly fin-
ished products. The fast fashion must give way to a ‘slow
fashion’ challenging growth fashion’s obsession with
mass-production and paving the way to diversity. Sus-
tainability should become an important tenet of corpo-
rate mission of each & every textile company, the aim of
whichistoturntoday’swaveintoabigtideoftomorrow!
Path to Sustainability
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Cover story
Dr. G. Nagarajan, Sr. Technologist
Texcoms Textile Solutions, Singapore
Ms. Anusuya A, Associate Consultant
Texcoms Textile Solutions, Singapore
Smart Textiles – an Overview
1.0. Introduction
The concept of Smart textiles was proposed from Uni-
versity of Virginia United States to Japanese scholar in
the year 1989. He integrated information science into
the material and developed smart materials. The term
smart textiles mean intelligent materials. Smart textiles
mean the textiles that are able to sense stimuli from
the environment, to react to them and adapt to them
by integration of functionalities in the textile structure.
The stimulus as well as the response can have an elec-
trical, thermal, chemical, magnetic or other origin. The
first applications of smart textiles can be found in cloth-
ing. Smart clothing is defined as a new garment feature
which can provide interactive reactions by sensing sig-
nals, processing information, and actuating the respons-
es. They are capable of showing significant change in
Abstract
In the twenty first century, product and machinery developments have taken place in all the fields of engineering
and technology. Similarly, textile is also not lagging behind the pace of development when compared to other en-
gineering discipline. Many researches both in domestic and at international level has been done on the advanced
textile applications like smart fibres and smart textiles in the recent years. This article disseminates the informa-
tions related to smart fibres and textiles, their application areas like medical care, protective clothing, shape mem-
ory textiles, sports textiles etc. No doubt that smart textiles have wide application and prospects in the near future
similar to the smart phones.
Keywords: Smart fibres, smart textiles, shape memory textiles
their mechanical properties such as shape, colour and
stiffness, or their thermal or electromagnetic proper-
ties,
Typical examples of smart textiles are fabric and dyes
that will change their colour where the clothes are
made out of conductive polymers which give light when
they get electromagnetic signals. They also regulate fab-
rics the surface temperature of the garments in order
to achieve physiological comfort. The first smart textile
material was silk thread which has a shape memory.
2.0. Smart fibres
a. Shape memory fibre
Shape memory fibres are referred to a fibre which pos-
sesses shape memory effect. It means that when a de-
formed fibre is given some external stimulus by means
13. 13 TVC | MARCH 2022
of pressure and temperature, the deformed fibre would
return to its original shape. Shape memory fibres in-
clude shape memory alloys, shape memory hydrogels
and shape memory polymers. However, shape memory
polymers have more advantages than shape memory
alloys in terms of their characteristics like high recovery
from strain, easy processing, low cost and low density.
b. Photo- chromic fibre
They are photo sensitive colour changing substances
which has organic compounds containing isomers. Such
photo- chromic fibres undergo reversible configuration
under the action of light. The discolouration is under
the action of irradiating ultra violet light or visible light
spectrum which causes certain compounds to undergo
changes in their molecular structure or electronic ener-
gy levels to form new compounds with different absorp-
tion spectra.
c. Optical fibre
A kind of composite fibre which can enclose light energy
and transmit it in a wavelength mode. It is also called as
smart fibre and provide excellent transmission perfor-
mance. Optical fibre consists of two parts, a code and
a cladding. The core is 1 to 10 micrometre in diameter
for single mode silica glass fibre surrounded by 1.25
micrometre cladding whose refractive index is slightly
smaller than that of the core. The optical fibre is coat-
ed with a protective layer of an outside diameter of ap-
proximately 250 micrometre. When light rays incident
on the core-cladding boundary is at angles greater than
the critical angle, the light rays undergo total internal re-
flection and are guided through the core without any
refraction.
d. Temperature sensitive fibre
Temperature sensitive fibres are the fibres whose prop-
erties will change reversibly with temperature. The “
Ventcool” fibre developed by Mitsubishi Rayon Corpo-
ration stretches instantly when the humidity is high and
quickly crimp when the humidity is low according to
the environment conditions. It means that the fibre has
dynamic response to changes and is called as dynamic
fibre.
e. Conductive fibres
Conductive fibres possess excellent specific resistance
and electrical conductivity, absorb electromagnetic
waves, detect and transmit electrical signals. Conduc-
tive fibres can be rougly divided into electron conduc-
tive fibres, ion conductive fibres and inductive fibres.
f. Health smart fibre
Health smart fibres are developed for the enhancement
of people’s awareness against anti-bacterial, safety and
impact resistant fibre. Among them selective anti-bac-
terial fibre (smart fibre) will inhibit or kill the surface
bacteria by the addition of anti-bacterial agent. “Nyl-
star” a smart polyamide fibre developed by the US have
long anti-bacterial effect and safer too by incorporating
anti-bacterial agent into the fibre.
3.0. Applications
3.1. Shape memory textiles
Shape memory textile is a kind of material with shape
memory function introduced into textile through weav-
ing or finishing. The Italian company Corpo Nove de-
signed a “lazy shirt”. When the outside temperature is
high, the sleeves of the shirt will automatically roll from
the wrist to the elbow within a few seconds; converse-
ly, when the temperature drops, the sleeves can auto-
matically recover and can also be automatically ironed.
Shape memory fabrics can be developed into fashions,
protective clothing and accessories with different func-
tions. With the in-depth research on shape memory
materials and the further improvement of textile pro-
cessing technology, shape memory functional textiles
will be further developed.
3.2. Colour-changing textiles
Color-changing textiles refer to textiles that can display
different colors with changes in external environmen-
tal conditions, such as light, temperature, pressure,
etc. With its unique properties, color- changing textiles
are widely used in various fields. Civilian can be used
to make fashionable color- changing clothing and ev-
er-changing decorative fabrics, military camouflage can
be used in military, anti-counterfeiting field can be used
as anti-counterfeiting materials, widely used in bills, cer-
tificates and trademarks. Color-changing textiles can be
obtained by the following three methods: adding color-
changing fibers to the fabric; dyeing with color-chang-
ing dyes; printing with color-changing paint. The fabric
made out of color changing materials has good hand
feel, good washing resistance and long-lasting discolor-
ation effect.
3.3. Smart temperature control textiles
Smart temperature control textiles mainly include
three types of thermal insulation textiles, cool textiles
and automatic temperature control textiles. For ther-
mal insulation textiles, the thermal insulation materials
14. 14 TVC | MARCH 2022
developed are mainly solar thermal storage fibers and
far- infrared fibers. The solar thermal storage thermal
insulation fibers are used to achieve thermal insulation.
The principle is that the fibers absorb visible light and
infrared rays from sunlight, and then heat radiation to
the human body, and finally achieve the effect of heat
preservation. Compared with sunlight thermal storage
fiber, far infrared fiber has better thermal insulation per-
formance. The reason is that it absorbs the heat emitted
by the human body and radiates a certain wavelength of
far infrared rays to the human body to reduce the loss of
heat by promoting blood circulation, thereby achieving
the purpose of heat preservation. Cool fabrics generally
add metal oxides to polyester fabrics, and use metal ox-
ides to reduce the possibility of clothing fading due to ul-
traviolet rays and light, and to ensure that the interior of
the clothing is cool. Cool fabrics are especially useful for
people who work in extremely cold environments (such
as traffic police in winter) need clothes to warm them
and display safety signals at the same time, which is very
meaningful to them. Based on such requirements, there
is a great need to develop smart textiles that integrate
thermal regulation and light-emitting functions, and use
advanced coaxial electro spinning to realize light-emit-
ting temperature- regulated smart textiles.
3.4. Self-cleaning textiles
The trend of manufacturing self-cleaning coatings is
nowadays a growing need which can remove both in-
organic and organic pollutants through two different
mechanisms: rolling water droplets and by photo catal-
ysis. Rolling water droplets refer to the lotus-shaped or
cauliflower-shaped surface, coupled with low surface
energy, will form dirty particles on the surface of the
fabric, causing the water droplets to roll off and absorb
dust, soil, inorganic and organic pollutants. A contact
angle of greater than 150 degree is required in this
mechanism. Photo catalysis is the decomposition of or-
ganic dirt by light, which can be easily removed during
washing.
3.5. Wearable Technology and Health
Wearable technology wearable devices, smart electron-
ic devices that can be worn on the body as implants
or accessories. Such devices are activity trackers that
enable objects to exchange data through the internet
with humans or any other connected devices without
requiring human intervention. A typical example is the
smart watch. Apart from the consumer electronics, it is
being incorporated in to navigation systems and health
care also. Wearables can be used to collect data on a
user’s health such as
• Heart rate
• Blood pressure
• Walking steps
• Time spent on exercising
A recent development made on the smart fabrics is
more beneficial for the persons who do exercise in gym-
nasium. The smart T- shirt has hidden letters like Time to
stop” which will not be visible in the normal condition.
After exercising in the gym, the sweat produced on the
body is absorbed by the T-shirt and the hidden letters
begin to appear informing the wearer to stop. Currently,
other applications in health care are measuring blood
alcohol content, measuring the sickness, athlete’s per-
formance etc. Although smart textiles are in use, they
can only collect data from the user about his well-being
but for not making decisions about one’s health.
3.6. Sutures in medical applications
A suture is a length of fibre used to tie the blood vessels
or to sew tissues together. A typical example is polypro-
pylene fibre generally used as a suture material in eye
surgeries for patients when corneal grafting is needed.
Many types of sutures are intelligent and absorbable
materials as they hold the edges of the wounds to-
gether until the wound sufficiently heals. As the wound
progressively heals, the tensile properties of the suture
diminish and get absorbed into the body system. A few
types of sutures are made from collagen of sheep or cat-
tle intestine and are gradually degraded by enzymes in
the body. Polymers of polylactic acid, poly glycolic acid,
copolymers of polydiaxanone are synthetic polymers
used as absorbable sutures in medical applications.
3.7. Optical sensors in military applications
Fibre optic sensors are ideal components to be em-
bedded in textiles structural composites. Such sensors
can be used to sense various battlefield hazards like
chemical, biological and other toxic substances used in
warfare times thereof in real time. The polyurethane –
diacetylene copolymer can be used as a photochemical
polymer for chemical sensor applications. The passive
cladding of the optic fibre is replaced with these poly-
meric sensitive materials and the sensory system is inte-
grated into textile fabrics. Another development is the
pH sensitive sensor is also developed and woven into
fabric for soldiers clothing.
15. 15 TVC | MARCH 2022
Smart shirt developed by the Georgia Tech University is
quite useful for detecting bullet wounds during the war.
It functions like a computer with optical and conductive
fibres integrated into the garment. Plastic optical fibres
are woven in the seamless shirt is mainly responsible
for detecting the bullet wounds. These optical wires are
connected to a diode at one end and a laser at the other
end. Pulses of light received by the diode are analyzed
by a circuitry and if there is any interruption of light to
the diode helps to identify the exact location of the bul-
let in the body.
3.8. Smart fibres in fire fighting
High performance fibres generally lose strength after
exposed to high temperatures which undetected and in
the worst case, can tear more precisely when the lives
depend on them. Few examples are ropes used by fire-
fighting brigades, suspension ropes used in construction
sites. Researchers in Swiss have developed a special
coating which changes its colour when exposed to high
temperatures by friction or fire.
Coatings on the rope is made up of 3 layers that the fi-
bre actually changes colour when subjected to heat. The
first layer (base) is silver coated on polyester (PET) and
high tech Vectran fibres. This serves as a reflector. The
second layer is the intermediate layer, titanium-nitrogen
oxide which ensures that the silver layer is stable. There-
after follows the amorphous layer, a coating of Germani-
um antimony tellenium (GST) which is 20nm thick. This
layer initiates the colour change when is subjected to
elevated temperatures. At high temperatures, it crys-
tallizes and change the colour from blue to white. The
colour change is due to the physical phenomenon inter-
ference. Depending upon the chemical composition of
the temperature sensitive layer, this colour change can
be adjusted to a temperature range between 100 deg to
400 deg.
3.9. Market Overview and major players
The global market was worth more than $2.5 billion
in revenue in 2012 and is expected to cross $8 billion in
2018, growing at a healthy CAGR of 17.7% from 2013
to 2018. In terms of products, wrist-wear accounted for
the largest market revenue in 2012, with total revenue
of the most established wearable electronic products -
wrist-watches and wrist-bands combined, crossing $850
million. Smart textiles is now limited in the developed
countries. It will be the next generation’s textile. So,
there will be possibility of developing countries to earn
huge profit. But they need more research and funding
as well as technologies to implement this innovation.
Some of the major players dominating this industry
are E. I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company, Intelligent
Clothing Ltd., Interactive Wear AG, International Fashion
Machines Inc., Kimberly-Clark Health Care, Milliken &
Company, Noble Biomaterials Inc., Outlast Technologies
Inc, QinetiQ North America, Royal Philips.
4.0. Conclusion
Smart fibers /smart textiles and their applications are
research hotspots in today’s textile field, as well as fu-
ture development trends. Smart textile materials are
the backbone of high- tech functional textiles. The ap-
plication of smart fibers and smart textiles is becoming
more open and consumer acceptance is increasing.
The global market was worth more
than $2.5 billion in revenue in 2012
and is expected to cross $8 billion in
2018, growing at a healthy CAGR of
17.7% from 2013 to 2018.
At present, the main application fields of smart fibers
and smart textiles are: medical health care, military
protection, firefighting, entertainment and sports, and
clothing consumption. Moreover, it appears that this is
only possible by intense co-operation between people
from various backgrounds and disciplines such as micro-
electronics, computer science, material science, poly-
mer science, biotechnology, etc. More research work is
also emphasized on certain areas like high performance
fibres and their utility.
References
1. Huang M and Chu J 2018 J.Tianjin Textile Tech-
nology 6 43-6
2. Yang L 2017 J.China High-tech Zone 5 60-1
3. Melliand International, May 2021.
4. X. Zhang and X. Tao, Smart textiles: Passive
smart, Textile Asia, pp. 45-49, June 2001, Smart textiles:
Very Smart, Textile Asia, pp. 35-37, August 2001.
5. Textile institute, Smart Fibers, Fabrics and Cloth-
ing (Tao, X. Ed.), Florida: CRC Press, 2001.
16. 16 TVC | MARCH 2022
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Cover story
By Avinash Mayekar,
Managing Director, Suvin
Smart textiles are steadily becoming a part of our
day-to-day life, which will be growing exponentially
in coming days and they will set a new record of
demands due to their innovative concepts
Smart Textiles –
Next Gen Fashion Statement
or Technology Integration
S
martness is the key of success… One may coin this
phrase looking at the way things are happening
around us. We, human beings, are considered to be
one of the smartest species, and with the same smart-
ness we invented the technology that made human life
smarter and provided benefits larger than life. Today
this technology has become a part and parcel of our life
from Laptops/ Macbooks, smartphones to smartwatch-
es we are surrounded by all smart gadgets.
We are reaching new heights of merging devices as
lightweight wearables in the form of smart garments.
The merger of technology to the garments might be a
concept yet to completely sync in, but we have come
far ahead with small applications already accepted and
being used to a large extent, especially in healthcare
monitoring devices. Smart textiles have come a long
way from medical assist robotics systems to medicine/
chemical infusing systems, nano monitors & embedded
sensors, illuminating advanced functional textiles to
embedded electronic systems in automobiles & wear-
able electronics. The smart textiles market is expected
to grow exponentially at a CAGR of 23.2% from US$2.3
billion in 2021 to US$6.5 billion by 2026. (As reported in
Markets & Markets International Paper)
Figure 1: Source Markets & Markets International Pa-
per & Suvin Analysis
These smart textiles being such an innovative concept
have however found their usefulness primarily limited
either to high-performance and technical military gear
or in the glamorous side of the globe the high-end fash-
ion industry. Where dazzling & sparkling concepts have
reached new heights with the use of illuminating & re-
flective smart textiles. And as it happens, the followers
just copy such fashion and if it clicks, quantity just mul-
tiplies.
Smart textiles are however not that well-integrated and
considered to be one individual piece in actual practice.
It is a combination of electronic circuits being an exter-
nal component to the textiles in use. Need of the hour is
to have a single integrated feature coined as smart tex-
tiles. However, there are some ground-breaking inven-
tions in this sector, some of which are as follows:
Translating stitch commands with Topo Knit
One such recent development is embedded smart tex-
tiles that help in translating the stitch commands. A
team of researchers from Drexel University is translating
the loops and twists of knitting into a digital architec-
ture, for merging new technologies such as electronic
circuits into textiles. One of the greatest barriers to hav-
ing complete integration is the current software being
used for the industrial design and production of textiles
says Dr. David Breen, a professor at Drexel’s College of
Computing and Informatics. This software is lacking the
thread-level detailing essential in the digital sampling
and precision manufacturing of fabric devices.
18. 18 TVC | MARCH 2022
A large 46 inch woven display
A team of scientists led by the UK’s University of Cam-
bridge has developed one of a kind products that over-
comes the limitations of manufacturing truly integrated
smart textiles. They have produced a fully woven smart
textile display that integrates active electronic, sens-
ing, energy, and photonic functions. The functions are
embedded directly into the fibres and yarns, which are
manufactured using textile-based industrial processes
into the fabric of the 46-inch woven display. With the
success of this system, the researchers are amazed by
the endless applications that can be commercialized.
They claim it is possible to convert this woven fabric
into high-end curtains, TVs, energy-harvesting carpets,
and interactive, self-powered clothing and fabrics. This
is the first time that a scalable large-area complex sys-
tem has been integrated into textiles using an entirely
fiber-based manufacturing approach. The results are re-
ported in the journal Nature Communications.
Merging Technology with Fashion
Recently we have seen innovation in smart textiles that
are a combination of both the Fashion & tech need.
These innovations take care of fashion, comfort & envi-
ronmental care. We all know today’s gen is the one that
believes in having everything customized to their per-
sonality and their current mood and style. The need for
personalized merchandise & garments is the one that
has synced in the world across, what’s developing or
trending is having merchandise that can adapt & change
to reflect the current mood & secondly gives the feel of
something new every time.
Colour Changing Automotive
The recent development by BMW is in line with today’s
gen needs, it showed a merger of technology that brings
different colour pigments to the surface skin of a vehi-
cle. It showcased an extraordinary new technology at
CES 2022 in Las Vegas, during January 5-8. It specially
developed a digitally-activated body wrap for vehicles
that enables the driver to adapt the exterior shades of
a vehicle to different situations. This development apart
from aesthetic pleasure to the user comes from deliver-
ing the best temperature feel to the users. In summers
strong sunlight heats the vehicle motor and causes dis-
comfort to the passenger compartment making it diffi-
cult to maintain the temperature set inside the car. This
can be reduced by changing the exterior to a light col-
our. In cooler weather, the dark outer skin will help the
vehicle to absorb noticeably more warmth from the sun.
Advance Portable Exoskeleton
Though exoskeleton developments have come a long
way there are new developments taking place in this
space every day. All thanks to the ease and assistance
it provides to the user. Recently a Hong Kong start up in
Enhanced Robotics has proposed a model that weighs
just 2.5kg which is said to be 85% lighter than traditional
exoskeletons. It can provide walking assistance for 10.46
km on a single charge and is also equipped with an AI-
based algorithm that rapidly learns the wearer’s gait and
walking behaviour to adjust accordingly. Thus, prevent-
ing injuries and also amplifying the stamina of the wear-
er by manipulating the assistance force. The Sportsmate
5 is based on multiple high-strength composites. Using
quasi-soft robotic architecture, the waist belt adjusts to
any and as well as all body types via an electric inflatable
airbag that fills the gap between the exoskeleton and
the body to ensure comfort and stability.
Flexible Fibre Battery
MIT researchers have developed a rechargeable lith-
ium-ion battery in the form of an ultra-long fibre that
could be woven into fabrics. This battery could enable a
wide variety of wearable electronic devices to be made
without the monotonous shapes of the electronic de-
vices or as we all associate a cylindrical-shaped battery
hangingaround.Thelongfibremakesitpossibletomake
3D-printed batteries in virtually any shape. To demon-
strate the concept, MIT researchers have produced the
world’s longest flexible fibre battery – 140 meters long.
Conclusion:
So steadily smart textiles are becoming a part of our
day-to-day life. The new generation is very much at-
tracted to smart application. They like to wear clothing
with their moods nicely decorated on the apparels. The
concept of smart t-shirts, hoods as well as trousers por-
traits that ones can truly reflect the design as per their
custom needs and secondly gives them the freedom to
change the design as & when their mood change. So, a
t-shirt that will help them portray what their like is the
buzz that will catch up just the way Instagram filters and
effects are dominating & used widely by all ages across.
Moreover, latest developments in various other applica-
tions related to science, sports, automobiles and other
technical textiles are very much in demand and explor-
ing new heights. Smart textiles will be growing exponen-
tially in coming days and they will set a new record of
demands due to their innovative concepts
19. 19 TVC | MARCH 2022
www.uster.com/qbar2
Inspecting fabrics after weaving is old school. With USTER®
Q-BAR 2, smart weavers can pinpoint
defects during fabric formation. It’s the right way to reduce material losses and minimize manual
checks. When it comes to fabric quality issues, prevention is better than cure.
The whole fabric is automatically monitored – warp, weft, selvage and leno – and faults are
identified immediately. LEDs signal defect locations to the weaver, with information shown on
the control unit touchscreen. It’s automatic inspection, in-process and instant, so weavers can
react to prevent long-running or repeating faults.
USTER®
Q-BAR 2 sets the future standard, controlling the weaving process instead of the output.
USTER
®
Q-BAR 2
Weave it right: spot defects on the loom
20. 20 TVC | MARCH 2022
Textile Machinery
By Sachin Kumar
Executive Director
Textile Machinery Manufacturers’
Association (I)
The estimated production, export and import figures above
The estimated production, export and import figures above
signals a sharp rise in production by +52% (RS. 8056 crore),
signals a sharp rise in production by +52% (RS. 8056 crore),
in exports by +70% (RS. 5250 crore) by scaling up its peak
in exports by +70% (RS. 5250 crore) by scaling up its peak
figures in 2017-18 of RS. 6900 crore and in 2018-19 of RS. 3665
figures in 2017-18 of RS. 6900 crore and in 2018-19 of RS. 3665
crore respectively.
crore respectively.
Textile Machinery, Parts & Accessories
Rise of the Phoenix!
T
he global Covid-19 pandemic struck a complete
structural disruption around the world through-
out 2020-21. The current fiscal year too started
on a gloomy note when the second wave of the deadly
disease broke out across the globe causing fresh hav-
oc. It appeared that the renewed lockdown measures
to contain mass population, industry and the institution
from contracting the pandemic didn’t yield much result
as there were mixed reactions from different quarters of
the polity, community and decision makers globally on
the issues of sustaining lives versus economies. While
the developed countries including India were success-
ful in developing the Covid-19 vaccine and initiating the
mass vaccination programmes, the rate of inoculating
the populace proved insufficient.
However, just like the bouncing back of the Indian Tex-
tile Engineering Industry (TEI) in Q3, Q4 of the 2020-21,
the Indian TEI rose to the occasion again right after the
wash-out of business in Q1 2021-22. As reported earlier
by TMMA(I), the Indian TEI managed to reduce its annu-
al production losses in the year 2020-21 by -5% only to
Rs. 5093 crore from Rs. 5355 crore in 2019-20. Whereas,
the reported figures as on date have already surpassed
an estimated production figure of about Rs. 8000 crores.
The chart below substantiates the claim here.
The estimated production, export and import figures
above signals a sharp rise in production by +52% (RS.
8056 crore), in exports by +70% (RS. 5250 crore) by scal-
ing up its peak figures in 2017-18 of RS. 6900 crore and
in 2018-19 of RS. 3665 crore respectively. Whereas the
imports may also scale up its peak to RS. 11500 crore in
the current fiscal as against RS. 10834 crore in 2018-19.
Most interestingly, the exports by the Indian TEI have
risen from 37% of the domestic production in 2016-17
to 65% in 2021-22 (Est.), whereas the imports by the
Indian TEI have marginally come down from 152% of
the domestic production during the same time period
to 143%. The domestic demand met by the indigenous
production could be seen rising to 22% in 2021-22 (est.)
from 20% in 2020-21.
21. 21 TVC | MARCH 2022
Production figures of Textile Spares and Accessories:
While delving more into details on the value-wise overall
production data of different categories of the industry
during the last 6 years including the estimated figures
for 2021-22 as on date; the spares and the accessories
segment also has topped its consumption level. While
the 2020-21 reflected the lowest production of RS. 777
crore, the current year may witness it rising to RS. 1229
crore, a rise of +58%.
Category 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22
Est.
Spinning & Allied Machines (8444 &
8445)
3615 3815 3625 2545 2522 5000
Synthetic Filament Yarn Machines
(8445)
400 385 400 350 278 200
Weaving & Allied Machines (8446) 900 885 890 715 454 600
Processing Machines (8445, 8448 &
8451)
635 650 750 655 884 900
Misc. (Spinning, Weaving & Processing,
Jute) Machines (8448)
30 35 25 30 29 2
Textile Testing & Measuring Instruments
(9024)
100 130 165 165 100 75
Hosiery Machines/Hosiery Nee-
dles(8447, 8448)
65 80 85 80 52 50
TOTAL OF MACHINERY 5745 5980 5940 4540 4318 6827
SPARES & ACCESSORIES (8448) 905 920 925 815 777 1229
GRAND TOTAL 6650 6900 6865 5355 5095 8056
% INCREASE/DECREASE 1% 4% -1% -22% -5% 58%
Export figures of Textile Spares and Accessories:
It is estimated that the export of the spares and acces-
sories will rise by 55% to RS. 1600 crore in 2021-22 as
compared to RS. 1029 crore in 2020-21.
Import figures of Textile Spares and Accessories:
Similarly, it is estimated that the import of the spares
and accessories will rise by 33% to RS. 2500 crore in
2021-22 as compared to RS. 1881 crores in 2020-21.
22. 22 TVC | MARCH 2022
Conclusion:
The resilience shown by the industry could perhaps be
due to ‘the pent-up demand’ during the lockdown peri-
ods of 2020-21 and 2021-22 or the ‘fear of missing out
(FOMO)’ of the business opportunities thrown-in by the
liquidity pumped in the market by the federal govern-
ments across the world or ‘the revenge buying of the
end customer’ or else, the fact is the entire industry is
alive and kicking back robustly. The discussions among
the industry leaders (read spinning) have confirmed that
Description 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 Est.
8444 54.85 35.03 31.8 40.18 52.67 70
8445 1243.2 1645.4 2165.7 1293.2 1189.13 2200
8446 212.51 208.29 270.2 232.56 240.81 500
8447 29.73 19.68 17.06 31.8 31.85 50
8448 886.75 1008.2 1267.4 1060.6 1029.56 1600
8449 1.81 2.39 31.95 4.51 11.01 30
8451 352.97 477.77 593.64 463.89 542.2 800
Total Export 2781.8 3396.8 4377.7 3126.7 3097.23 5250
they are full with orders till entire 2023 and they have
stoppedtakingfreshorders.Thoughtheothersegments
such as weaving & processing have still not picked up in
proportion to the spinning segments, the percolation of
the business opportunities down the value chain seems
eventual. Therefore, if one is to coin a term for the state
of the Indian TEI in the current times, ‘Rise of the Phoe-
nix’ would be the most appropriate one.
Description 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 Est.
8444 154 884 807.52 305.05 210.75 500
8445 2467 2421 2446.9 1580.4 1117.8 2200
8446 2964 3501 3210 2651 1887.74 2600
8447 2740 2938 1830.7 1879.3 1385.65 2000
8448 2265 2505 2776.1 2446.1 1881.95 2500
8449 249 182 242.6 654.78 488.54 500
8451 1605 1490 1792.4 1430.5 1123.87 1200
Total Import 12444 13921 13106 10947 8096.3 11500
23. 23 TVC | MARCH 2022
Futuristic Twisting
Futuristic Twisting
Twisting Solutions
Twisting Solutions
Textiles
Textiles
FIBC Threads
Belting Fabrics
Dipped Cords
Geo Textiles
Bullet Proof Jackets
direct twisting +
precision winding
Tapes / Twines / Multifilament
Meera Industries USA, LLC
209, Swathmore Ave, High Point
NC, USA 27263
Meera Industries Limited
2126, Road No.2, GIDC, Sachin, Surat
394230 Gujarat, INDIA
+91 98795 97041 | sales@meeraind.com | www.meeraind.com
24. 24 TVC | MARCH 2022
B
asant Fib-
ertek started
its journey
into exports in
1998. While the
journey has been
long and challeng-
ing, it’s been high-
ly rewarding both
in terms of experience & learning as well as financially.
Currently, 50% of our sales comes from exports and we
export to all parts of the world and to over 40 countries.
India has many good suppliers of textile machinery
spares and accessories though most of them are in the
small-scale sector. While many of them are quite inno-
vative, not many have not been able to sell their wares
in the export market successfully. It is hazardous and
costly, to say the least, to venture into export markets
without first strengthening your base. Hence, before we
take a deep dive into the subject of boosting exports,
let’s first look into the shortcomings of many parts and
accessories manufacturers.
As mentioned earlier, most manufacturers are in the
small-scale sector. This means they have imitations in
terms of capital resources, managerial resources, in-
frastructure, systems and strategic focus. But usually,
what such companies lack in resources, they can make
up with their entrepreneurial resourcefulness, provided
they have the ambition to grow fast and globally.
The main issues or constraints associated with small
manufacturers in India are:
The rewards of building a strong export market are multifold – you build better systems
and competencies in terms of production, marketing, design, commercial handling,
affirms Kishore Khaitan, Managing Director of Basant Fibertek.
How to Boost Exports of Textile
Spare Parts & Accessories
TVC Editorial Team
1) Poor record in timely delivery – usually they fail to
deliver within committed time
2) Inconsistent quality – from batch to batch, they are
not able to maintain consistent quality
3) Inefficient process of manufacturing – their manufac-
turing processes usually involve a lot of manual labour
activity and little automation. Wastage and rejections
are also likely to be higher than desired.
4) Lack of strong brand image – small companies do not
invest enough resources in building their brand image
through their logo, packaging, promotion, website etc.
5) Poor after-sales service – many small companies do
not focus on after-sales service, especially in case of cus-
tomer complaints. Trying to pass on the blame on the
customer may save them from the cost of replacement
or rectification but it results in losing not only the cus-
tomer but also in creating a reputation.
6) Lack of in-depth knowledge about the application of
their product – many manufacturers are good at cop-
ying the original product and producing the imitations
cheaply. As a consequence, when their customer faces a
problem, they have no clue how to solve it.
7) Over commitment – during the sales process, small
producers tend to over-commit about the life and per-
formance of their product without having tested and
proven their claims. As a result, when they cannot live
up to their commitment, they tend to lose the trust of
their customer very fast.
8) Price based competition – small suppliers mostly try
to sell their products by offering an attractive discount
Textile Machinery
25. 25 TVC | MARCH 2022
on the established manufacturer’s prices. This forces to
always face cut-throat competition resulting in always
struggling to manage their finances and cannot afford
to spend on R&D or upgradation of their manufacturing
facilities.
There may be several other factors worth mentioning
regarding the constraints of small manufacturers but
the above-mentioned are the main reasons affecting
the growth of most of them. To become successful in
exports, the first step a local manufacturer needs to take
is to establish a good reputation in the home market. It
would be foolhardy to dream of exporting if one cannot
develop a set of regular and loyal clients in India who are
happy using their products and services and are willing
to refer other clients to them as well.
All factors influencing a company’s ability to export can
be divided into two broad categories: external and in-
ternal. In the internal category, the above-mentioned 8
constraints need to be overcome in order to enhance
the company’s capacity to serve export markets suc-
cessfully. Until and unless a company has the ability to
meet consistently the demanding requirements of the
export markets, it cannot achieve any meaningful suc-
cess in exports. In order to overcome the above-men-
tioned constraints, the company should embark on an
internal transformational program that focuses on the
following:
1) Build reliable systems – a systems driven approach
is necessary to define standards, standard operating
procedures, process control and final inspection pro-
cedure to ensure that nothing but the best quality is
consistently build and supplied. It is important to main-
tain proper records of all production activity and quality
control documentation to enable tracing backwards any
product under complaint to when it was produced, who
produced it, what materials and machines were used
and which batch of raw material was used. If you don’t
know what created the problem, you can never solve it.
2) Focus of continuous improvement – Whenever a
problem or mistake is identified, efforts of manage-
ment should be to institute a system or practice that
can ensure that the mistake will never be repeated. One
should always attempt to eliminate the root cause rath-
er than fixing only the current problem somehow. If the
management is committed, results will start coming and
steady improvement can be seen in both productivity
and business growth.
3) Reduction in cycle time and rejects – There are always
bottelenecks and constraints in any production system,
many of which may be non-production related eg. plan-
ning, sales coordination, logistics, inventory manage-
ment, etc. By setting goals for improvement in cycle
time and reduction of rejection levels, the management
can ensure that system constraints are constantly iden-
tified and removed, thus improving both cycle time as
well as reducing rejection. This helps in increasing pro-
duction capacity, reducing costs and improving quality
consistency.
4) Understanding user needs and process requirements
deeply – It is quite common to have a customer not able
to exactly define what improvement he would prefer
simply because he cannot visualise what is possible.
Famous examples are mobile phones, internet, robots,
courier service. Each of these have been massively dis-
ruptive and rooted out legacy businesses, yet people
couldn’t visualize their impact when the technologies
were first introduced. Hence, a supplier should endeav-
or to understand the user’s needs enough to identify
how he can add value by either solving their problem or
saving time & cost or improving quality and productivity
for their customers.
5) Under-commit and over-deliver – The best way to
build trust and reliability is to always deliver more than
what you have committed. Once you win over the trust
and confidence of the customer, you don’t need to un-
dercut the price to get orders. Try and meet the require-
ments of the most demanding customers as this serves
as a barometer of your competitiveness.
Once a company has built strong internal systems and
culture, it is ready to explore overseas markets. Let’s
now look at the external factors influencing exports:
1) Nature of the market – each country differs in terms
of character and scale of the market. Hence an aspir-
ing exporter must choose his entry market carefully. It
is best to choose a market in close geographical and cul-
tural proximity where the level of technology and ma-
chinery in common use is quite similar to the company’s
domestic customers. If some Indian expatriates work
there, it’s even better!
26. 26 TVC | MARCH 2022
T
he Neumünster-based systems builder Oerlikon
NonwovenpremiereditsnewhycuTEChydro-charg-
ing solution at this year’s FILTECH in Cologne. This
new technology for charging von nonwovens enables the
filter efficiency to be increased to more than 99.99%. As
a result, it offers meltblown producers considerable ma-
terial savings with simultaneously improved filtration.
The hycuTEC is the market’s first industrially-manufac-
tured hydro-charging solution that can also be seam-
lessly integrated into the production process. And the
innovative technology is also easily retrofitted to existing
systems as a plug & produce component – a first within
the market.
hycuTEC sets new standards in terms of
quality & efficiency
2) Nature of competition – it must be studied who are
the major competitors and their relative strengths and
weaknesses vis-à-vis your company. For instance, if an-
other Indian company is already active in the market or
there are several other non-OEM suppliers competing
against each other, changes of entry improve. If the pric-
es prevailing in the market are much higher than what
you offer, barrier to entry is lower. If your product per-
formance is superior to other suppliers, your chances of
success are brighter to that extent.
3) Market segment – one needs to choose which mar-
ket segment you wish to cater to. Would you be able to
make a strong pitch to big clients, small ones or middle
sized? Would you like to serve those with old machines
or latest models? Would you like to serve those who
need service support or those who only want to buy
parts?
4) Trust building – no customer abroad feels comfort-
able dealing with a new vendor from overseas. Hence,
it is crucial to maintain a regular presence in the initial
months. When the customer sees you are visiting reg-
ularly even without getting any business, he feels you
are committed to serve the market. If you get hold of
a reputed agent, it helps speed up this process of trust
building. However, export marketing is a long-term
game and one should have patience for 2-3 years before
seeing significant fruits from the efforts.
In conclusion, one must see exports development as a
new venture. Your domestic credentials don’t count as
much as your performance in that country. You have to
build your reputation there brick by brick with patience
and perseverance. The rewards of building a strong ex-
port market are multifold – you build better systems
and competencies in terms of production, marketing,
design, commercial handling.
You also build a growth oriented, progressive company
culture and a broader vision and strategy for the busi-
ness. Success in exports can be financially rewarding
and also builds resilience by reducing dependence in
the local market. Finally, the satisfaction of succeeding
in tough markets and seeing your reputation and stature
in the industry soar has its own personal and financial
rewards!
Filter media with a whole new level of quality
hycuTEC hydro-charging can reduce the pressure loss in
typical FFP2 filter media to less than a quarter. Even filtra-
tion efficiencies of more than 99.99% are easily achieved
in typical filter media of 35 g/m² at 35 Pa. Tests at pilot
customers manufacturing FFP2 face masks have con-
firmed quality increases due to the improved filtration
with a simultaneous reduction in material usage of 30%.
For end users, the consequence is noticeably improved
comfort resulting from significantly reduced breathing
resistance.
In addition to this, the hydro-charging unit also stands
out in terms of sustainability: “The hycuTEC process ex-
cels as a future-proof technology due to its considerably
lower water and energy consumption compared to other
hydro-charging concepts. This unit allows an additional
drying process to be dispensed with in many applications,
which has a huge impact on energy consumption”, com-
ments Dr. Ingo Mählmann, Head of Sales & Marketing at
Oerlikon Nonwoven. Incidentally, the hycuTEC unit can
be easily and quickly installed and is simple to operate,
set and service, while also being extremely user-friendly.
28. 28 TVC | MARCH 2022
T
raditionally, water has been a popular medium
used in dyeing, finishing, cleaning of textile ma-
terials. It makes the textile industry as one of the
largest consumers of water resources. On the other
hand, the cost of input water and waste water treat-
ment are ever increasing along with the pollution con-
trol norms becoming more stringent each year. Also
globally, usable water resources are becoming alarm-
ingly scarce. Recently in December 2020, water has
even started trading on Wall Street as a ‘Futures com-
modity’ to join the likes of Gold and Oil.
In these regards it has become very critical that textile
processes that use minimum or no water are developed
and adapted on commercial scale. In recent years, use
of supercritical fluids as a replacement for water as sol-
vent, in Dyeing process has attracted attention of the
Textile industry. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) has emerged as
the most preferred supercritical solvent. Major advan-
tages of Supercritical CO2 (SC CO2) based Textile Dyeing
process which also improve its ‘Economic Viability’ and
‘Consumer preference’ are as follows:
1. Zero discharge: Elimination of waste water streams,
Pollution.
2. Shorter process and dyeing times because:
i. SC CO2 penetrates in the polymer matrix and swells
it to help in faster diffusion of dye
ii. molecules within the polymer matrix.
iii. SC CO2 has negligible surface tension resulting in ef-
ficient wetting of polymer surface and faster pene-
Swapneshu Baser
Vikhroli (W), Mumbai - 400 079.
tration in voids of textile material.
iv. SC CO2 has low viscosity which helps in efficient and
easy circulation of the solution of SC CO2 and dye,
through the textile material.
v. SC CO2 has higher diffusivity which helps in faster
mass transfer.
3. Efficient process because of Lower dye consump-
tion, no wastage and dye can be reused.
4. Energy saving process due to minimum requirement
of expensive ‘heat energy’ and resource required for
post dyeing repeated water washing and drying of
dyed fibre or fabric.
5. SC CO2 is recyclable. inert, nonexplosive, Generally
Regarded as Safe (GRAS) solvent.
6. There is no damage of the fibre or fabric.
7. Many pre- and post-treatments of textile material
are simplified or eliminated.
8. 7) Many pre- and post-treatments of textile material
are simplified or eliminated.
Limitations of Prior Art Technology / Motivation for
Inovation:
The conventional / prior art supercritical dyeing pro-
cesses that were available in the world, had following
major limitations which have also resulted in limited
adoption of the said prior art supercritical fluid based
sustainable processes:
Technology for Textile Dyeing
Using Supercritical Fluid
Abstract: Deven Supercriticals, India (DSPL) has developed innovative Supercritical (SC) Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
based dyeing and finishing technology that is uniquely suitable for not only polyester but also for cotton and
blended textiles. Further, it uses conventional dyes (No special dyes required) and recipe as used in the conven-
tional process, to get the desired shade BUT without use of water in dyeing process. This innovative process
shows improved dye utilisation, makes scale-up easy and has less than half dyeing time vis-a-vis prior-art SC CO2
based dyeing processes. There is no need for reduction clearing for polyester, cotton with no salt added, dyes
blend in a single step, reduces overall auxiliary chemicals. Thus, substantially reducing the pollution, water and
energy load. This has truly made the SC CO2 technology viable, versatile and simple.
REVIEW PAPER : ECO FRIENDLY DYEING
29. 29 TVC | MARCH 2022
i. Dye needs to be first dissolved in SC CO2 and then
transported to the textile in placed in dyeing vessel.
ii. Dyes have Low solubility in SC CO2 resulting in low
dye concentration in dye solution.
iii. Low residence time of dissolved dye flowing through
the dyeing vessel, limits the contact, interaction of
textile material with dye molecules.
iv. Some part of dissolved dye which is flowing through
the ‘Dyeing vessel’ may not come in contact with
the textile surface. Also, Non-uniform flow / Chan-
nelling of SC CO2 solution through textile roll in dye-
ing vessel can lead to non-uniform contact and thus
non-uniform dyeing in large scale operation. Thus, it
may require special, complicated additional devices
to impart say rotational motion to the textile roll in
dyeing vessel, to improve the uniformity in dyeing.
v. Thus, only part of the available dissolved dye may
actually take part in SC CO2 dyeing to achieve de-
sired colour Intensity on textile material.
vi. The final shade of dyed cloth depends on the extent
of exposure as the shade keeps getting darker with
passage of contact time with fresh dye solution en-
tering the dyeing vessel, making it difficult to control
Batch to Batch variation.
vii.Mainly useful for applying dark shades with a single
colour at a time.
viii. All above limitations makes prior art SC CO2
dyeing process less versatile, slow and less efficient.
Hence, the objective of innovative work at DSPL was to
develop an improved dyeing process:
• To get uniform, reproducible interaction between
dye molecules and entire surface of textile material.
• To Improve rate of solubilisation of dye molecules in
Supercritical CO2 solvent to increase the rate and ef-
ficiency of SC CO2 dyeing process.
• To achieve easy scale-up to large scale dyeing while
maintaining desired uniform & reproducible colour
intensity on textile material.
• To get dyeing of the textile materials with a single
or multi-colours in various shades, patterns etc. in a
single step of dyeing operation.
Methods & Materials:
Details of Innovative SCF Dyeing Process from DSPL:
Our innovative process having Indian Patent no.
298213 [1] and United States of America Patent No. US
11015289 B2 [2], includes the following steps:
a. Making a dye solution: By mixing the dye material
and auxiliary chemicals with suitable solvent. We
preferably use water as a solvent for the convention-
al dyes along with the dispersing, levelling agents.
b. Pre-treatment: Pre-coating the surface of textile ma-
terial to be dyed with an optimum quantity of above
dye solution to obtain a dye coated textile material.
Any standard method of coating can be used such as
Roller coating, ink jet printing etc.
c. Supercritical CO2 process: Placing dye coated textile
material inside the supercritical ‘Dyeing vessel’ on a
supercritical fluid processing plant.
d. Adding the supercritical CO2 into the ‘Dyeing ves-
sel’. Exact operating conditions are optimized as per
the type of dye, auxiliary chemicals and textile used,
wherein the supercritical CO2 solubilizes the dye
molecules that were earlier coated on the surface
of the textile material and further diffuses the solu-
bilized dye molecules inside the surface, pores and
capillaries of the textile material;
e. Depressurizing the supercritical fluid dyeing vessel
to precipitate and entrap the dye material inside the
textile material.
f. Post-Treatment: Mild soap washing of the dyed &
finished textile with and stentering.
Innovative Elements of Patented Process from DSPL:
1. Novel / Inventive step: Pre-coating of textiles to
be dyed, with optimum quantity of dye & auxiliary
chemical molecules, per unit area of textiles to in-
crease surface area of solute and improve rate of sol-
ubilisation of dye & other molecules in supercritical
CO2. This also improves uniformity, reproducibility
of dyed shade, washing fastness and finishing effect.
2. Non-Obviousness: Use any pre-coating method such
as inkjet printing, Roller coating or similar process for
having a controlled pre-coating of optimum quantity
of dye molecules, auxiliary chemicals on the textile
material to achieve a single or multi-color / light or
dark shade dyeing of textiles with post processing
with SC CO2.
3. Industrial applicability: Patented improved technol-
ogy from DSPL eliminates major limitations of prior
art Supercritical dyeing processes available in the
market. Its innovative features make it very simple,
30. 30 TVC | MARCH 2022
easily scalable, most efficient and economically via-
ble, to truly achieve the sustainability goals of user
industry.
Results and Discussion:
Yellow Magenta Cyan Black
Fig. 1 Photos of ‘R-Elan GreenGold’ # polyester fabric
dyed with disperse dyes with SC CO2 based patented
process from DSPL
(# ‘R-Elan GreenGold’ is brand of Reliance Industries,
India, for a special Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
fabric from recycled PET bottles to address environ-
mental pollution)
Patented SC CO2
Dyeing from DSPL
Conventional Water
based Dyeing
Prior art SC CO2
Dyeing
Fig. 2 Photos of R-Elan GreenGold polyester fabric dyed
with Navy Blue (1.3 % Shade) using Coralene Navy Blue
3G H/C disperse dye from ColourTex using three differ-
ent dyeing processes
As is seen in Figure 2, Patented SC CO2 Process from
DSPL gives 18 to 24% darker colour shade on same
“GreenGold” fabric, as compared to samples obtained
from conventional water-based dyeing as well as prior
art supercritical dyeing (with same dye & same quantity
of dye being used).
Fig. 3 COLOUR FASTNESS Results as per ISO:105:E01,
for dyed GreenGold Fabrics as stated in Fig. 2
As seen in Figure-3 innovative, patented process from
DSPL is more efficient and gives better Colour, Washing
Fastness.
Navy Blue (2.1 % Shade) by
SC CO2 based Dyeing &
Finishing from DSPL
Navy Blue (3.0 % Shade) by
Conventional Water based
Dyeing & Finishing
Fig. 4 Photos of SORONA# Polyester fabric dyed using
disperse dye Dianix Navy XF2 from DyStar using two dif-
ferent dyeing processes
# “Sorona” is DuPont’s brand for an eco-efficient per-
formance Polyester produced by using one of the mon-
omer: 1,3-propanediol, which is obtained from renew-
able (Plant based) source.
As seen in Figure-4, improved SC CO2 Dyeing and Fin-
ishing Process from DSPL matches the required Navy
Blue shade with about 30 % less Dye as compared to
conventional Water based dyeing process, carried on
same Sorona fabric.
Dyeing of Micro-Denier Polyester Fabric with Patent-
ed Process from DSPL:
The micro-denier polyester fabrics have very high sur-
face area, which pose challenges in dyeing with the
conventional Water based dyeing process. It shows
problems like unlevelled dyeing, lower colour depths,
lower washing fastness etc. with regular types of dis-
perse dyes.
Above issues are sorted by improved, patented SC CO2
Dyeing technology from DSPL. As seen in right side
photo of micro-denier polyester fabric (Microsupersoft
(125/288), Plain Interlock) dyed with our technology
using regular disperse dye (0.75 % Shade of Golden Yel-
low GG 200%, from Spectrum). A very uniform, levelled
dyeing achieved with good colour depth and excellent
colour fastness to washing of 4-5.
Amber
(1.5 % Shade) on
100 % Cotton fabric
(130 GSM)
Yellow Brown
(1.5 % Shade) on
Polyester-Cotton
(67:33) Blend fabric
(125 GSM)
Blue
(1.5 % Shade) on
Polyester-Cotton
(67:33)
Blend fabric (125
GSM)
Improved Economic Viability due to Innovation:
Innovative Supercritical CO2 based dyeing process from
DSPL has improved economic viability due to following
important factors:
1. Process from DSPL is simpler, versatile & efficient
with less than half dyeing time vis a vis Prior-art pro-
cesses, increasing processing capacity & reducing
processing cost.
2. We can use conventional dyes traditionally used by
31. 31 TVC | MARCH 2022
industry. Thus, not necessary to use expensive spe-
cial dyes required by prior-art processes, improving
viability.
3. Here thin, controlled layer of dye is Pre-coated on
surface of textile to be dyed. This increases the ef-
fective surface area of solute (Dye) and thus increas-
es interaction and rate of solubilisation in solvent (SC
CO2).
4. With availability of optimum and uniform quantity
of dye molecules on the entire surface of textile ma-
terial (in form of pre-coating of very thin layer), the
supercritical fluid efficiently dissolves the dye mole-
cules and make it penetrate inside textile matrix to
achieve uniform and efficient dyeing all over.
5. Thus, in process from DSPL Dye molecules are not
required to be transported as a Dye solution in su-
percritical medium, from the ‘Dye-Mixing vessel’ to
the textile material kept in ‘Dyeing Vessel’. Also, con-
trary to prior-art process, it does not remain critical
for the said dye solution to flow and distribute uni-
formly, over each part of the roll of textile material
for achieving uniform, reproducible dyeing, even for
lighter shades.
6. Pre-coating of the Textile surface with optimum
quantity of dye also minimises wastage of dye in
overall dyeing operation. Thus, lower dye quantity is
required for achieving a specific shade as compared
to the conventional dyeing process.
7. This also enables efficient Dyeing with desired Uni-
form, Reproducible colour shade, on man-made,
natural or blended textile materials (fibres & fab-
rics), in a single step.
8. It also saves expensive ‘heat energy’ resource other-
wise required for post dyeing repeated water wash-
ing and drying of dyed Textiles.
9. This is ‘Zero Discharge’ process, minimises ETP costs.
SC CO2 solvent is recycled.
10. Any dye recovered in ‘Separator’ can be reused
as there is No hydrolysis or degradation of dye in SC
CO2.
11. This innovation also makes
scale up of Dyeing process eas-
ier as desired Dye molecules
are already made available on
entire surface of Textile ma-
terial kept in Dyeing vessel,
minimising the fluid and mass
transfer related issues.
12. Better premium and higher preference from
customers for Genuine ‘Eco Friendly’, ‘Green’ dyeing
processes: giving major economic and marketing ad-
vantage.
13. Innovation from DSPL allows dyeing & finishing
process with softeners, antimicrobials etc. in single
step. Thus Saves on process steps, chemicals, water,
time & energy.
Conclusion
Supercritical fluid-based dyeing and finishing technolo-
gy from Deven Supercriticals Pvt. Ltd., India is uniquely
suitable for not only man-made fabrics like polyester,
nylon but also for cotton and blended textiles. Also, it
allows use of conventional dyes with no requirement
for special expensive dyes. Same recipe of dyes as used
in the conventional water-based process can be used in
this innovative process, but without use of water in the
dyeing process. It further shows improved dye utilisa-
tion, makes scale-up easy and has less than half dyeing
time vis-a-vis prior-art SC CO2 based dyeing processes.
There is no need for reduction clearing for polyester, no
salt added for cotton dyeing, single step dyeing possi-
ble for blend textiles, reducing overall requirement for
auxiliary chemicals.
Thus, substantially reduces the pollution, water and
energy load. It has made the SC CO2 technology truly
viable, versatile and simple. Thus, at present and in the
future, the improved, efficient and patented supercrit-
ical fluid dyeing and finishing technology from DSPL,
which takes care of the limitations of the prior-art SC
CO2 based technologies, has great potential to truly ac-
complish environment friendly, green objectives of tex-
tile industries around the world for utilising sustainable
processes vis-a-vis the traditional processes which have
a negative impact on health and environment.
References:
1. “Process for dyeing of textile materials using super-
critical fluid”, Inventor: Dr. Swapneshu Baser, Indian
Patent No. 298213 granted in 2018.
2. “Process for dyeing of textile materials using super-
critical fluid”, Inventor: Dr. Swapneshu Baser, United
States of America Patent No. US 11015289 B2 grant-
ed in 2021.6) There is no damage of the fibre or fab-
ric.
32. 32 TVC | MARCH 2022
47 TVC | Jan 2022
47 TVC | Jan 2022
33. 33 TVC | MARCH 2022
REVIEW PAPER : RECYCLING
Second-Hand Clothing as a
Sustainable & Fashionable Lifestyle
Abstract:
To quote a very relevant saying, “Do I get a coffee? A
snack? Or something to wear?’ from the book Over-
dressed authored by Elizabeth L. Cline, one does get
an idea of the dangerous level of fast-fashion in the
retail segment has reached. This behaviour of consum-
ers has seen an intriguing connection and turn the en-
vironment has taken to date. Shopping for clothes is
awesome, but how does one slow down the process or
even in some cases reverse the process?
T
he retail sector in the fashion industry has thrived
on the notion of fast fashion, however, the trend
today is building on the concept of “saving natural
resources and lessening land-fills”. History has shown us
that the textile and fashion industries boost the econ-
omy of the nation, but in due course of time we have
set ourselves on the path of destruction because we
have not understood the concept of ‘giving (resources)’
against ‘receiving’. Time is now running out in terms of
the validity of living life recklessly and sustainable caus-
es have brain-washed consumers in general.
This constant dependency on fast fashion has led some
of us to let the notion of sustainable and slow fashion
creep into our system. When we read statistics which
tell us that a simple T-shirt which could be worn around
7-9 times, costs the Earth 2700 litres of water, it does
make the fashion fraternity stop to think about how and
where we are going wrong in our fashionable lifestyle.
Building a vibe of second-hand clothing is one of the
many constants we can adapt to work around the idea
of living sustainably. We do understand that human be-
haviour or urge to delve into fashion, is fuelled by the
desire for emotions and peer pressure. Observing the
fact that humans are closely connected to emotion,
there could be a possibility for fashion to regenerate it-
self through second-hand clothing, refurbished and re-
Prof. Dr. Patricia Sumod
Dr. Kundlata Mishra, Associate professor
Ms. Shweta Rangnekar, Assistant professor
styled. Thus, giving birth to hand-me-downs and sibling
love, this concept tugs on the human nature/emotion
and at the same time attempts to re-build nature or at
least sustain nature in a non-despicable manner. This
concept will conceptualise into advocating for ethical
issues and subjugate the hedonistic subconscious man-
ner of consumers to go on a buying-spree anytime they
choose to fancy. Now, that is the time. Second-hand
shopping is one of the most sustainable things you can
do as a consumer to lessen your negative impact, and
savvy buyers have caught on.
The conversation reiterates that second-hand shopping
is on the rise due to the coronavirus pandemic, which
seems to have been driven by the affordability of sec-
ond-hand goods. Thus, in the spirit of second-hand
goods, we liked to share how second-hand clothing can
be a sustainable and fashionable lifestyle.
Keywords: Positive-impact, Redefined-style, Purpose,
Nostalgia, Millennials
What Does Second-Hand Mean?
One of the basic principles of the recycling philosophy
is the second-hand economy. This practice makes the
consumers more aware and responsible for the textile
industry’s environmental effects. Certainly, this subject
raises the desire of consumers to purchase clothing from
eco-friendly brands that invite us to reflect on the reality
that the clothes you wear must never be disposable.
The increase in second-hand purchases is an inescapa-
ble consequence of the impact of the major trends in
the global fashion market, such as recycling and envi-
ronmental sustainability with zero impact. Further, con-
sumers of used garments increased by sixty-four per-
cent compared to 2016, and that percentage continues
to rise every day.
Because of the current economic crises, a little due to
34. 34 TVC | MARCH 2022
the pressure exerted by environmental associations,
and the media railing against hyper-consuming and
waste, second-hand clothing has become the answer to
the many evils afflicting the textile sector.
The Nostalgia in Buying Second-Hand Clothes
Part of the appeal of second-hand clothing has been the
opportunity to find one-of-a-kind pieces that stand out
from mainstream fashion. Today’s individuality-focused
Gen Z and Millennials is a major key factor in their buy-
ing behaviour.
The interest of millennials in nostalgia is a key driver,
with most young people searching paparazzi shots and
old fashion magazines for style inspiration. Even fashion
brands are trading off the interest in nostalgia, such as
the recent collections of Versace that have reworked ar-
chive silhouettes and prints. Fendi has also reissued the
90s era Baguette bag to excellent fanfare.
For the past few years, celebrities and style-leaders have
been bragging about their fashion experience by wear-
ing iconic classic pieces from Versace, Jean-Paul Gaulti-
er, Azzedine Alaia, and Thierry Mugler collections.
Fast Fashion No Longer Hold the Reigns of Style
Fast fashion has been the wrath for everybody to wear
the newest styles. However, the overproduction of such
garments is polluting the planet. Did you know it takes
2,700 litres of water to create a cotton shirt? That is
enough water for one individual to drink for 2.5 years.
You see, the fast-fashion business model is great for
clothing designers but not for the environment. After
a clothing factory in Bangladesh failed and killed more
than 1,000 factory employees, consumers—particularly
professional women—started wondering about the real
cost of the fast fashion industry. That caused a massive
shift towards sustainable fashion.
Further, fast fashion has contributed to the rise in what
experts refer to as a throwaway culture. It refers to
when consumers throw out foods, goods, and other
products—instead of donating or recycling—after they
are seen as useless or no longer need it.
International Labels Moving Towards Sustainability
The fashion industry is seeking to make trends, and now
it is working on its most crucial trend yet: sustainability.
Compared to a few questionable fashion decisions, it’s a
trend all consumers could get behind.
You may be already aware that Nordstrom is selling used
clothing. Everybody is beginning to wake up to the re-
ality that consumer preference has evolved and wants
more eco-friendly products.
Some of the top fashion brands leading the way in sus-
tainability are the following:
• Everlane
The brand combines sustainability with transparency by
sharing with its customers the breakdown of the cost of
every item and displaying the factories where garments
are produced. The company creates strong relationships
with factory owners to guarantee the employees and
production meet the brand’s high ethical standards.
• Levi’s
Denim is infamous for requiring big amounts of water
to make a single pair of jeans. However, the recent col-
lection of Levi’s Water<Less uses up to ninety-six per-
cent less water. For that and all its products, the brand
is dedicated to sustainability through the whole design
and manufacturing process. That also includes working
towards sustainability-sourced cotton and recycling old
jeans into home insulation.
• People Tree
Established in 1991, People Tree was one of the first sus-
tainable fashion brands in the world. It’s the only brand
acknowledged by the World Fair Trade Organization and
invests massively in eco-friendly and sustainable practic-
es, which involve organic farming.
The brand also supports good working conditions fair
wages and employs sustainable materials such as chem-
ical-free dyes, natural fibers, and organic cotton.
• H&M Conscious
H&M is shifting away from its fast-fashion roots along
with its Conscious collection. The clothes are made from
materials such as recycled polyester and organic cotton.
The brand hopes to lessen its environmental footprint
by using environmentally-friendly fabrics and more sus-
tainable production methods. On top of that, consum-
ers can recycle unnecessary garments at H&M stores
and receive a discount for their next purchase. Remem-
ber that H&M strives to only use sustainably sourced
materials by 2030.
Designers Re-Using Their Earlier Collections
In 2019, as the climate crisis weighed more on consum-
ers globally, designers thought more critically about
their impact on the environment and came up with cre-
ative answers for excess fabrics. It is not a new solution
35. 35 TVC | MARCH 2022
to the problem of excess fabrics post-production runs.
Alexander McQueen has been repurposing extra mate-
rial and scraps into runway collections for years. Many
indie brands have also been established on this concept.
There are many organisations committed to collecting
and recycling waste.
In the same year, Tanya Taylor dropped a limited edition
remixed and restitched sleep collection, which features
a pajama set and accessories made from fabrics leftover
from different 2019 collections, including pre-fall and
resort.
Hand-Me-Down Clothing
Bear in mind that sustainability in fashion is not all about
using earth-friendly materials. It goes far beyond that
and challenges the fashion sector that flourishes on
different looks at different times of the day, let alone
months, years, seasons.
Sharing clothes enables you to connect with other peo-
ple. It is a simple and practical way that we can provide
to support one another—something we need to do
more often. Whether you are sharing hand-me-downs
with a neighbour, friend, co-worker, or even a stranger,
you have the opportunity to visit for a few minutes and
experience some camaraderie.
Why You Should Participate in the Second-Hand Cloth-
ing Trend
To safeguard the environment and ensure there is
enough resources leftover for the next generation (your
kids), wearing sustainable second-hand clothing is a vi-
tal step you can make towards a better future.
• Lessen textile waste
Clothing and textile waste are a major concern at the
moment. Every year in the UK, 350,000 tons of used
clothing that are still wearable is delivered to the land-
fill. The quantity of wearable clothing that’s discarded
every year weighs nearly as much as the Empire State
Building. That figure is only an estimate from one na-
tion. Just visualize how much the global number is? Each
time you participate in sustainable clothing, you extend
the time until a piece of clothing becomes waste. Many
high-quality garments purchased second-hand still have
another decade or two of life left in them.
• Old trends return on fashion
It has been known that fashion works in cycles. Things
trend for a little while, then they vanish. Sometimes,
they will appear again in a new generation.
You have seen this numerous times. Remember when
bell-bottom jeans returned in the early 2000s, it was
a 70s motif. A more modern trend is high-waisted,
straight-leg jeans. That look has nearly been transposed
from the mid-90s.
Where is the ideal place to get these on-trend items of
garments? You guess it right, sustainable second-hand
clothing.
The Future of Second-Hand Fashion
Driven by nostalgic millennials, sustainable consump-
tion, and celebrity style, second-hand clothing looks
to substantially impact retail in the following years. It’s
worth mentioning that circular fashion is one of the
solutions to remove the impact of the fashion industry
on the environment. This problem is now at the fore-
front of Gen Zers and Millennials. The future will now
seek complementary and alternative solutions to the
first-hand fashion market.
Conclusion
For a long time, fast fashion has reigned the clothing
market, and with it, the environment and many work-
ers have paid a high price. Fortunately, with things such
as the sustainable fashion movement and the launch of
slow fashion, people are beginning to realise that we
need to become more proactive if we want this planet
of ours to stay beautiful. Young India is moving rapidly
towards taking climate change and responsible lifestyle
very seriously. Youngsters are creating their own mul-
ti-dimensional spaces to work on areas that hold sus-
tainability at the core. Namrata Iyer founder of The Lo-
cal Thrift concept speaks about the growing increase in
second-hand clothing and also stresses on emotive the
tag ‘pre-loved’ given to second-hand clothes.
There are many platforms like Instagram, Facebook, on-
line Garage sales which in increasingly popular among
the youth while creating a feeling of responsibility. The
growing social and environmental issues in India have
nudged the audience to take steps towards searching
for long-lasting and better solutions. The emotion which
connects to second-hand clothing is the various stories
each clothing item has. The persons who put up for sale,
their pre-loved clothing and accessories attach them
with love and a series of stories and events connects the
buyers to those emotions. These unique stories build at-
tachments and attractiveness which further paves the
path towards the popularity of second-hand clothing.
According to another young entrepreneur Asenla Jamir,
36. 36 TVC | MARCH 2022
founder and creative director of Otsü Clothing Co, the
pandemic has led to many a downfall of popular online
shopping brands, which has built the novelty and the ac-
ceptance of second-hand clothing among online shop-
pers today.
You will find many ways to be proactive and partaking
in the second-hand clothing market is beneficial to the
environment and extremely fun at the same time. So,
we encourage you to have a look for some second-hand
bargains, and you will not certainly regret it! History has
shown and taught us that culture and commodity are in-
tertwined which build our consumers and their values.
This is the century for revisiting that concept and evolv-
ing into a conscious segment of consumers, creating
platforms for forward-thinking practices and demand
that consumers must learn to be credible for their pur-
chases.
REFERENCES:
Cline, E. L. (n.d.). Overdressed: The shockingly High
Cost of Cheap Fashion.
Franscesco Morace, P. F. (n.d.). End of Old Luxury and
Rise of the New Paradigms of Fashion.
Linden, A. R. (n.d.). An Analyst of the Fast Fashion In-
dustry.
Nusrat Zahan. (n.d.). Sustainable fashion: A paradigm
shift or a pipedream.
Prasad, A. (n.d.). How hand-me-down fashion became
haute during the pandemic.
Twenty years after its inception, the world’s lead-
ing textile processing standard for organic fibres
records new all-time high figures: 18 GOTS Ap-
proved Certification Bodies report a total of 12,338
certified facilities (+19%) in 79 countries (+11%).
Among the countries with the largest increase in GOTS
certified facilities in 2021 are Turkey (+61% to 1,799),
Italy (+53% to 894), Germany (+19% to 817), Portugal
(+35% to 608), France (+22% to 122), Denmark (+14%
to 115), Switzerland (+15% to 61), Belgium (+55% to
59), Sweden (+34% to 51) and Vietnam (+264% to 51).
“What seemed utopian to many in 2002 has become a
reality in the past 20 years. We have created an organ-
ic textile standard, certified by approved certification
bodies, which is accepted in all major markets. GOTS is
a standard that gives consumers the power to choose
truly organic products sourced from sustainable sup-
ply chains.” says Claudia Kersten, Managing Director
at GOTS. “Despite ongoing difficulties and uncertain-
ty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, decision-makers
continue to pursue their sustainability goals and value
GOTS as a tool to accomplish them”.
The results of the annual GOTS Survey among certi-
fied entities underline this. Out of 1,114 respondents
(+39%), 63% indicated a permanent shift in their sus-
tainability strategy with a focus on the environment
and health of their workers and staff.
Growing interest from industry, the public, and the
media drove website visits up an impressive 48%. Me-
dia exposure grew by 64% and GOTS social media fol-
lowers across several platforms jumped by 57%.
“As much as we are pleased with the development so
far, we don’t intend to rest on our laurels” adds Ra-
hul Bhajekar, Managing Director at GOTS. “In March
2022 we begin revision for GOTS version 7 involving
all stakeholders including associations, organisations,
companies, and individuals to further advance the pro-
gressive, innovative, stringent yet practical standard of
GOTS”.
As informed by Mr.Ganesh Kasekar – Representative
of GOTS in South Asia region, GOTS continues to be
the preferred sustainability standard in the region.
The unique positioning of the region remains unfazed
since it covers all stakeholders and partners involves
in the textile supply chain. This includes the fibre to
final product manufacturing along with the supporting
industries of dyes-chemicals and accessories.
The industry in the South Asia region also welcomed
the concept of “Organic In Conversion” which will be
a boost and encouragement for more organic cotton
projects from Farm to Fashion. Positive signs were re-
ceived for the inclusion and use of other sustainable fi-
bres (Hemp, Silk, Pashmina and others) on a large scale
under GOTS. India and Pakistan will be the key focus
areas for the Organic In Conversion concept.
The changing consumer behaviour and urge to have a
complete sustainable product in their hands, not just
abroad but also in the domestic markets, is motivating
companies to revamp their product from conventional
to sustainable. This remains an area of significant im-
portance in the future.
12,338 (+19%) GOTS certified facilities in 79 countries in 2021
37. 37 TVC | MARCH 2022
Each Fabric is Assembled
with utmost precision
A N U P A M A R Y A
Founded in 2016 by Mr. Vijay Sharma, Mr. Anupam Deo Arya and Mr. Sandeep Sharma, Fabriclore, which literally
means ‘stories of fabrics’, is an online brand that aims to revive India’s use of both traditional and modern fabrics
by delivering premium curated fabrics.
India is among the world’s largest producers of textiles, and yet the textile industry is a largely unorganised sector
in the country. Other than the suiting and shirting segment, a large segment of the industry is still fragmented.
There is no easy accessibility or standardisation of what is being produced across India, in both native Indian
crafts and modern digital or embellished fabrics.
However, things are changing now, in this new era of digitisation, post the pandemic world. Joining the wagon is
Jaipur-based Fabriclore, an online brand that aims to revive India’s use of both traditional and modern fabrics by
delivering curated fabrics. Fabriclore is a blend of traditional and modern design materials, where each piece of
fabric is assembled with utmost mindfulness and precision. The fabrics are sourced from masters of traditional
craft and even traditional keepers, making them an ideal value for money for connoisseurs of design and fabrics.
The brand works in close collaboration with designers to co-create spectacular classical and fusion designs, in
both clothing and home furnishing.
A
nupam Deo Arya, VP Marketing and Communi-
cation, Fabriclore conveyed in an exclusive inter-
view to the Textile Value Chain about the birth
and growth of Fabriclore. Excerpts:
You have created a novel niche in fabric business. How
did this happen?
I never had an agenda to start a business in fabrics or
textiles as I was inexperienced, though somewhere in-
side, I always yearned to be a part of a consumer de-
sign-oriented project. So, it was a mere stroke of luck.
My partners and I realized the demand for fabrics in
the market was not being fulfilled. Hence, after plung-
ing into the segment deeper, we were surprised to be
acquainted with the variety of fabrics available! This is
how we hatched the idea of starting a business in the
same field.
What are the various segments covered under Fabri-
clore & marketing tactics?
INTERVIEW-FABRICLORE
38. 38 TVC | MARCH 2022
1. Boutique Circle- An all-integrated digital platform to
connect consumers with regional designers & bou-
tiques.
2. END-TO-END Fabric & Design Ecosystem
3. Project roots: An exclusive initiative to bring togeth-
er authentic crafts, sustainable processes, modern
design thought & academia.
4. Wholesale and Made to order
How’s the production and raw material requirements
taken care of?
Our production is managed by the network of artisans
and manufacturers spread across India in 14 states
which is further managed by our inhouse team of tex-
tile designers and merchandisers. Moreover, we use
our internal software to track and maintain the pro-
gress across India.
Moving on to raw materials, we do have a stock of
raw materials and our inhouse team experiments on
them with a lots of art. We make sure to do sampling
first and then distribute them to the artisans. We do
not engage on leaving the choice on the manufactur-
er rather we have grey fabric to experiment. Our great
deal of investment is in sampling part.
If in export, what are the various achievements in the
markets?
Our achievement in the international market is that we
have been able to work with lot of individual design-
ers and developed some really niche products with the
combination of printing, weaving and fabric. We have
been able to create the largest catalogue of fabrics ac-
cessible globally even in small yardages.
How far have your moved up in digitalisation?
We are a digital first platform and emphasise on ex-
ceptional visual experience, that is highly detailed,
transparent, diverse and design centric. Add to that is
our content marketing ecosystem. Anyone visiting us
digitally get access to a full spectrum of content, fab-
ric knowledge wiki, workshops, styling inspiration, and
FAQ videos across all major social media channels. We
also organise interactive sessions and quizzes, as a re-
sult of which, our company has a great following on
social media.
Our next step of digitisation is to bring designers and
boutiques under single platform covering the entire
loop of fabric to garment making.
What are the plans for the future? Any diversification?
One of the plans is to focus on the entire spectrum of
fabric buyer categories from consumer to the enter-
prise level apparel manufacturers.
Another plan is the vertical integration of boutiques/
designers within our system.
How does your competition fare?
Fabriclore’s competition is mainly from standalone
suppliers at the regional level and some modern retail-
ers focused on fabrics. Online horizontal marketplaces
like Amazon and vertical players like iTokri and Jaypore
also sell fabrics but are not fully into making a com-
prehensive ecosystem. International players like Joann
39. 39 TVC | MARCH 2022
Fabric and Mood Fabric are something we constantly
keep an eye on.
What is your wish-list for the Government & the tex-
tile industry to tackle future challenges?
Tax rationalisation across the value chain of garment
industry is the biggest need of the hour. The legacy
tax regimes have accumulated pile of GST input credit
which is absolutely useless for us. There must be mech-
anisms for us to use this input credit in any financial
instrument. As the industry is moving more towards
digital economy, use of digital products or software or
advertising platforms have been quintessential. How-
ever, they are heavily taxed. Government shall encour-
age use of such services/products by reducing tax.
41. 41 TVC | MARCH 2022
Itema Weaves Huge Hopes
in India
S A M E E R K U L K A R N I
I
tema is a leading global provider of advanced weav-
ing solutions, including best-in-class weaving ma-
chines, spare parts and integrated services. The
Company is the only manufacturer in the world to pro-
vide the top three weft insertion technologies: rapier,
airjet and projectile, with an ample product portfolio
and a commitment to continuous innovation and tech-
nological advancement of its weaving machines. Itema
is a trusted partner of many Indian weaving mills, from
large textile conglomerates to smaller textile manufac-
turers, providing the most advanced and user-friendly
weaving technology and real-time assistance, from the
initial negotiation stage and throughout the whole ma-
chine life cycle.
Itema showcased at SITEX a rapier R9500-2 weaving
machine, in weaving width 3800 mm and equipped
with a Stäubli LXM 5376 hooks Jacquard shedding ma-
chine. The machine on display in Stäubli booth wove a
fabric traditionally produced in the mills of the Region
and was configured to meet the local weavers produc-
tion needs.
SITEX was also the official launch of the partnership
between Itema and the leading Italian circular knitting
machines manufacturer Cesare Colosio for the market-
ing and distribution of the company highly innovative
machines in India. With this partnership Itema expands
its portfolio of textile products, thus creating a signif-
icant benefit for all the Indian textile companies that
need both the Itema and the Colosio machinery, that
share the same attention to innovation and excellence
INTERVIEW-Itema Weaving
that Itema guarantees to its customers.
Itema is present in India with a fully-operational branch
since 2002, counting more than 50 employees, with
sales and after-sales teams, technical support and ad-
vanced repair centres to ensure the highest possible
standard of weaving solutions, with a complete offer-
ing and range of services to its valuable Customers in
the Indian market.
Sameer Kulkarni - General Manager Sales, Itema Weav-
ing India Pvt Ltd spoke with the Textile Value Chain. Ex-
cerpts:
How was Sitex 2022 exhibition for your company?
Sitex turned out to be a great opportunity to meet our
customers and an impressive number of potential new
investors. The textile industry of the Surat region is ex-
periencing a real momentum, with weaving mills work-
ing at full capacity. We received many inquiries from
weavers that are planning to modernise their weaving
equipment, and Itema is the right partner to rely on
since we provide the latest weaving technology cou-
pled with real-time assistance and maximum customer
care.
Tell us about new innovations displayed at Sitex 2022
At Sitex we exhibited our absolute best-seller in the
region, the Itema rapier R9500-2. Displayed in Stäubli
booth, the weaving machine was configured to weave
saree fabric and to perfectly meet the local mills’ weav-
ing needs. In addition to the R9500-2, the Itema airjet
A9500-2 and the Itema rapier R9500-2denim aroused
42. 42 TVC | MARCH 2022
a lot of interest, also due to the main innovations
they are featuring such as the waste selvedge eraser
iSAVER® and the Itema proprietary technology heald-
frames SKYFRAME®. iSAVER® represents the first sus-
tainable innovation in the weaving process, enabling
the weaver to save money whilst reducing cotton and
water wastage. SKYFRAME®, on the airjet side, ensures
maximum performances even at the highest speed.
Another important news introduced by Itema at Sitex
is the commercial partnership with the leading Italian
circular knitting machines manufacturer Cesare Colos-
io for the marketing and distribution of the company’s
highly innovative machines in India.
At Sitex we exhibited our absolute best-seller in
the region, the Itema rapier R9500-2. Displayed in
Stäubli booth, the weaving machine was configured
to weave saree fabric and to perfectly meet the
local mills’ weaving needs. In addition to the R9500-
2, the Itema airjet A9500-2 and the Itema rapier
R9500-2denim aroused a lot of interest, also due to
the main innovations they are featuring such as the
waste selvedge eraser iSAVER® and the Itema propri-
etary technology heald-frames SKYFRAME®.
With this partnership we expand our portfolio of tex-
tile products, thus creating a significant benefit for all
the Indian textile companies that need both the Itema
and the Colosio machineries.
How was covid phase ie year 2020 and 2021 for you in
terms of managing employees, profits, operations etc
We had two clear priorities in our crisis response. Our
number one priority has been to ensure the health and
safety of our people and their families. The second pri-
ority has been to ensure business continuity: to deliver
our products and to provide service to our customers.
In all our health and safety measures, we follow the
guidelines of the World Health Organization and Indian
health authorities, and we followed the Itema Group
specific policy, named Stronger Together Against Cov-
id-19, to ensure our employees the maximum safety
when working in our premises and even when going
back home. Thanks to this, we have been capable to
safeguard our employee’s health and we have been
able to assist our customers in the usual effective way.
What is the future you see in your industry in terms of
growth in jacquard market and overall textile industry?
The textile industry in India is growing year on year.
Beside the fabric production for exports, we are expe-
riencing a significant growth of the internal demand.
Looking at the Jacquard market, it has grown signifi-
cantly in recent years due to continuous expansion of
domestic market, especially for Saree production, and
constant rise of both domestic and export demand of
home furnishing fabrics. As Itema we are leading the
Jacquard market due to the renowned textile mastery
of our rapier looms and the demand for our technolo-
gy is steadily increasing due to our looms capability to
weave even the most difficult styles and yarns, guar-
anteeing superior fabric’s quality. Particularly, what
weavers appreciate the most in our weaving technol-
ogy when producing Saree and furnishing fabrics is the
possibility to weave designs with weft densities varia-
tions and the ability to successfully handle fancy yarns,
from coarsest to finest.
We see a flourishing future for textiles in India over-
all, and we are proud to see Indian textile companies
evolving by choosing the latest textile technologies
and improving their supply chain.
What advise do you give to new entrepreneur, start up,
new generation who are joining textile industry?
The textile industry is fascinating and there is still much
room for growth. Particularly, investigating the market
to detect trends is of crucial importance. Investing in
the right market segment represents a key factor for
succeeding.
43. 43 TVC | MARCH 2022
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1800 - 889 - 6020
info@omaxcotspin.com
www.omaxcotspin.com
Sr. No. 842,843,845/1, Near. Petrol Pump, Village Rajsitapur , Ta. Dhrangadhra Dist. Surendranagar. Gujarat. (INDIA).
