Textiles

As the only intergovernmental commodity body representing cotton that is recognized by the United Nations, but until recent years, the majority of its focus was on cotton production, not consumption. But the textile industry was cited in the ICAC’s Strategic Plan as an area for emphasis, and the organisation has made great strides in the last two years.

The first step was hiring a Head of Textiles, Mr Kanwar Usman, formerly the Director General of the Textile Division in Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce. His vast experience — not only with textiles, but how textiles impact government policy — made him the perfect candidate to lead the ICAC’s continuing expansion into textiles.

What to Expect from the ICAC’s Textiles Division

The ICAC has been working to develop and implement a Global Textiles Value Chain Portal. The objective of the Portal would be to provide services to Member governments, private sector businesses and research organisations.

To fully utilise the potential of textiles in Member Countries, the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) has been initiating few measures which will be as follows:
The purposes of the Textiles Portal include:

Marketing and branding of countries, companies and research facilities
A B2B Portal: Creating a global textiles value chain by connecting textiles, allied industries, the service sector and research organisations across Member governments
A research network, including in-person meetings among universities, research organisations, research departments at machinery and chemical manufacturers, fashion designers, compliance organisations and textile engineers and technologists
Comprehensive profiles of countries, companies, universities and research organisations, all in a single location
The creation of textiles-specific sessions at ICAC Plenary Meetings
Textile exhibitions
Fashion shows
Delegations designed to facilitate new business opportunities

There will be four major areas of emphasis in the ICAC’s textiles strategy:

                                                                            
                                                Profiles of Member Governments                                            What to Expect from the ICAC’s Textiles DivisionThe objective is to showcase each country by providing all of the need-to-know information about its textiles industry. The first part of the portal would provide all necessary information about general economic indicators; policies governing textiles, commerce, investment, import tariffs; social and economic regulations; trade agreements and unilateral concessions; drawbacks, temporary importation schemes; and lastly, incentives to promote investment in textiles.

                                                B2B Textiles Portal                                            This is an online portal in which a company will input basic information, which is then electronically verified by the textile association or other appropriate governing body where that company is based. The objective is to provide a credible source for new buyers and suppliers; to generate more business; and to connect companies across the value chain. Companies will be provided with a dashboard that lists basic information including products manufactured and raw material sourced by HS Codes, allowing users to search the directory and find potential business partners. The fact that each company’s information is digitally verified by its national textiles association provides assurances to buyers that the companies — an advantage especially small and medium-sized manufacturing companies. The portal would provide information on:
The core textiles value chain including fibres, spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing/printing/finishing, stitching, technical textiles, and retailers and brands.
Allied sectors including machinery, spare parts, dyes and chemicals and accessories.
The service sector, including compliance organisations, fashion designers, insurance companies, warehousing, logistics, credit, testing and consultants.

                                                International Textiles Research Council                                            The soon-to-be-formed International Textiles Research Council (ITRC) is intended to connect universities with the research departments at textiles machinery manufacturers; the makers of dyes and chemicals; engineers working at textiles factories; and fashion designers. The document for establishment of the ITRC was presented at and approved during the 80th ICAC Plenary Meeting. The ICAC will be engaging in projects with the consortium of universities and research organisations as well as its Member governments and their research institutions. The meetings will be held both virtually and in-person.

Based on the information available in the above-mentioned B2B portal, the ICAC will use the ITRC to implement its own sustainability index and traceability portal.

                                                Textile-oriented Plenary Meetings                                            Every year, ICAC holds a Plenary Meeting, and this year, textiles is the focus of two sessions. Going forward, however, multiple sessions will focus on textiles in a track parallel to the cotton sessions. Furthermore, depending on which country is hosting the event, there will be and exhibition area that displays products; technical textiles; machinery; and dyes and chemicals. Finally, there will be a fashion show held to connect the beginning and end of the cotton/textiles value chain.
Textiles is one of the oldest industry in the world, a lot has already been done, however, what ICAC has planned has not been provided at such multilateral level. These services at one point would be un-precedented. Most of the services would be free for the ICAC member countries. Moreover, being an inter-governmental organization, all the services would be without any commercial interest.