EURATEX - Newsletter n° 17 - May 2001
Editorial
A VISION FOR 2005
Central to the activities of EURATEX and its members in the coming months is an assessment of the global environment which will face the European textile and clothing industry after 2005. It is self-evident that any such assessment has to be hedged with some caution. Nonetheless, it would appear reasonably safe to make a number of assumptions based upon known facts.
In the first instance the industry now knows which categories of imports will be quota free as of January 1st 2002, and which categories will remain subject to restraint until January 1st 2005. As a result, it can make a reasonable guess at those areas of production which may expect to be more severely impacted after 2004 by a growth in imports. At the same time it is as yet unable to determine where the opportunities for export-led growth might lie in the numerous closed markets. Here the market access initiative of the EU Commission with EURATEX support in terms of bilateral deals with supplier countries has borne its first fruits in consolidating Sri Lanka’s tariffs andensuring the absence of non-tariff barriers. But it is only later in 2001 and after further agreements that evidence will be available as to where growth in exports may genuinely be expected.
Internally too it is clear that the environment , the introduction of IPPC, waste management, and in certain cases a choice which will need to be made between health and safety on the one hand and the environment on the other will pose further challenges. Here, and in research and development in more general terms, industry and its representatives bodies will need to develop a clear strategy enabling the member companies more especially concerned to come to terms with the new investments they will need to make.
In terms of EU enlargement, some vision needs too to be developed to mutual advantage with the candidate countries linked to the concept of a Pan Euro Mediterranean zone being clearly defined, and submitted to the authorities concerned.
Among the imponderables are whether the Euro will strengthen on international financial markets, what technological breakthroughs may occur in the next decade, and last but not least the form, contents and timing of a New Round of multilateral trade talks.
Page 2 ( Info)
MARKET ACCESS Ö EURATEX’s FOUR CONDITIONS
The editorial in the current edition of EURATEX News makes passing reference to the possible future bilateral deals for which the Commission was given a mandate by the Council on November 9th 2000. The underlying logic in the Commission’s approach is to secure permanent market access to a number of virtually closed markets with which the EU has MFA related import restraints, in exchange for wider access to the EU market and in advance of the end of the existing quota regime on December 31st 2004.
In preparation for such bilateral arrangements EURATEX believes that four essential conditions need to be met :
The supplier countries concerned should reduce their tariffs and bind them in WTO at levels similar to those of the EU.
Those same supplier countries should remove all their non-tariff barriers, whether WTO Ö compliant or not, and undertake not to introduce others.
Reciprocal concessions should take place simultaneously and
A « snapback clause û should automatically be implemented to revert to the status quo ante in the event of the exporting country violating its undertakings.
These conditions appear essential to EURATEX if the market access sought for so long is to be genuine and to give confidence to EU exporters in their ongoing efforts to export around the world.
Page 2 or 3 (info)
TRADE DATA FOR 2000 Ö A MATTER OF INTERPRETATION
Data for the EU’s import/export trade shows that with imports now totalling over 67 billion, the Union’s textile and clothing trade balance worsened as compared to 1999 by 4.4 billion Euros or 18%, with the overall deficit now standing at 29.1 billion. Both textiles and clothing shared equally in this situation, recording import growth respectively of 18% and 17%.
Against this background it is encouraging to note that taken as a whole the industry’s exports grew by 16% to reach a figure of almost 38 billion Euros (37.934), again an increase shared equally by textiles and clothing. A second note of encouragement is that the trade surplus enjoyed by the textile sector per se increased to 4.2 billion Euros, an increase of 400 million over its 1999 surplus. Seen in a little more detail the export data for 2000 shows substantial % increases in a number of cases : Turkey, a partner in a customs union with the EU : + 25 % for textiles and + 43 for clothing ; increases too in both textile and clothing exports to candidate countries for accession : Hungary,Romania, Bulgaria, from modest levels. Exports to Russia grew by 68% (clothing) and 45% (textiles). Gains too were recorded to the NAFTA area in both textiles and clothing : USA (+23 and 23), Canada (+ 17 and +22) and Mexico (+24 and + 42) respectively. Although still at low levels, exports to Sri Lanka were on the increase (+ 21 textiles, + 61 clothing). Even India took 33% more in value of EU textiles in 2000 (+6% in clothing). Elsewhere in Asia strong % growth occured overall to the Thai, Singapore, South Korea (+ 84 clothing, + 51 textiles) and Japanese markets, coupled with significant progress in Taiwan.
These elements only serve to reinforce the industry’s contention that it is more than capable of substantially improved export performances, wherever access to potential markets is not denied.
Strategy for Future EU Chemical Policy
The strategy for future EU chemical policy is a 3-step approach composed of the Registration, Evalutation and Authorisation of CHemicals: the REACH System.
Registration requires manufacturers and importers in the EU to register chemicals whether they are produced, marketed or imported and the submission of all available information in accordance with the legislation in force. This will be obligatory for new and existing substances produced in volumes above 1000 tones.
Evaluation requires the CA to carefully examine the data and to decide on substances-tailored testing programmes. This will later be the base for the granting of the authorisation for substances of high concern to be used for a particular purpose, marketed as such or as a component of a product. Exemption will be granted for R & D and process orientied Research and Development.
Moreover, the REACH System will introduce the obligation for downstream users to perform additional tests on their products where uses and resulting exposure patterns differ from those originally envisaged by manufactuers or importers. With regard to substances in products, the Commission proposes to set up a working group, which would identify the product categories, the relevant exposure situation and the implications. Based on the findings, producers or importers should be requested to identify products containing such substances and provide all information. It is this later obligation, which is worthy of specific concern for the textiles and clothing industry.
News (pages 2 and 3)
THE EURATEX BOARD
has now been enlarged to a (maximum) of 24 elected members. Its current composition is:
Jean de Jaegher President (Italy)
Franz-Peter Falke Vice-President (Gesamttextil)
Koen Buyse Vice-President Treasurer (CRIET)
Carlo Burgi representing Eurocoton
Giancarlo Berti representing CIRFS,
John Corrin representing B.A.T.C.
Juan Casanovas representing C.I.E.
Luciano Donatelli representing Interlaine
Arnaud Dubly representing U.I.T.
Moritz Mantero representing S.M.I.
Paul Falke representing Mailleurop
Ottavio. Festa Bianchet representing S.M.I.
Jean-François Gribomont representing Febeltex
Güngör Kesci representing TCMA
Barbara Lebek representing B.B.I.
Claude Miserey representing UFIH
Lars Mauritzon representing Nordic Countries
Frans Schulte representing Fenecon
Umut Oran representing TCMA
Giorgio Pelizzati representing smaller branch organisations
Peter Pfneisl representing smaller national industries
Michele Tronconi representing ATI
The enlargement of the Euratex Board of Directors to 24 elected members (the Director General being an ex officio member) reflects the development of the organisation from that of a newly created body, where the need was to rapidly establish its credibility, to a mature institution which members fund in proportion to their importance as industries, and in which that financial contribution is reflected in terms of representation on the Board. This has resulted in Italy having four members on the Board, whilst the smaller countries and smaller branches now have one representative per group. Moreover, as a result of the decision to split contributions on a 75/25 basis as between national textile and/or clothing bodies on the one hand and textile branch organisations on the other, national bodies may nominate 18 members of the Board, and branch organisations six.
New members of the Board as from December 2000 are: MM.G. Berti, J. Corrin, L. Donatelli, J-F Gribomont, Cl. Miserey, U. Oran, G. Pelizzati, P. Pfneisl, and M. Tronconi, with 2 further seats still to be filled. At the November General Assembly, Euratex members had the opportunity to express their appreciation and gratitude to the outgoing Treasurer, Alistair MACDIAMID for his outstanding service as Vice-President Treasurer since the foundation of Euratex. The new Vice-President Treasurer, Mr Koen Buyse is from Belgium, and is also currently President of CRIET, the European Dyers and Finishers Association. Mr. Franz-Peter Falke of Gesamttextil (Germany) was elected as Vice-President, in succession to Mr. Moritz Mantero, who remains on the Board as a representative of SMI (Italy).
In its present form, the Board of Directors is composed of the widest possible national and sectorial spread, reflecting the diversity of today's rapidly evolving textiles and clothing industry, and united in the resolve to secure for that industry, its 120.000 companies and its 2.3 million employees, the best possible framework for its future well-being.
page 4 (Dossier)
E-Tailor
European clothing companies and technology providers join forces to meet the US challenge in on-line retailing of Made-to-Measure and Mass Customised Clothing
At almost weekly intervals news on commercial, as well as research and development (R&D) initiatives evolving around the concepts of Garment Mass Customisation and Made to Measure Manufacturing as well as home shopping of apparel via the Internet and the related sizing and fitting problems, are being announced, many of them of US-origin.
The offering of “problem freeÔ services in these fields now seems increasingly possible by the emergence of new technologies, such as 3D whole body scanners, 3D CAD systems enabling the customisation of existing styles, 3D Virtual-try-on techniques (body, fabric and garment drape simulation), new generation of smartcards, new Business-to-Consumer e-commerce models and technologies.
An impressive European consortium, consisting of major European garment manufacturing and retailing companies (C&A, Otto Versand, Induyco, Bernhardt, Vestra), technology providers (Lectra Systems, Investronica, Tecmath, Telmat, Lake Communications), acclaimed Textile-Clothing Institutes (Hohenstein Institutes, Institut Francais du Textile et d’ Habillement) and leading universities (Miralab - University of Geneva, Nottingham Trent University), co-ordinated by Euratex and Athens Technology Centre, launched an ambitious project in early 2000, which is currently dominating the European R&D scene in the above critical areas.
The project called E-Tailor is partially funded by the European Commission within the framework of the Information Society Technology programme (IST), Key Action II (New Methods of Work and Electronic Commerce). E-TAILOR is one of the landmark projects in the above Key Action and the largest running EC funded R&D project in the Textile-Clothing sector.
E-TAILOR is aimed at revolutionising home-shopping, as well as traditional services of mass produced and customised garments, tackling all related problems (lack of standard sizes across Europe, as well as across different brands and stores, garment fitting problems with respect to existing human body morphologies, high cost of production and distribution of customised clothing, lack of direct visualisation of fit for consumers buying clothes on the Internet, body data privacy, lack of interfaces).
E-TAILOR is currently developing:
The European Anthropometric Database (EAD), which will contain up-to-date size and morphology data of the European population obtained through standardised scanning measurement surveys across different European countries.
An advanced Customised Clothing Infrastructure, enabling order clustering for Mass Customisation and intelligent individual alterations of existing patterns for Made-to-Measure production of ladies fashion garments (the most challenging customisation area).
An innovative Virtual Shopping Infrastructure, enabling dynamic (animated) virtual try-on and ordering by Internet consumers using their genuine body measurement data stored on smart cards.
For more detailed information on the project please visit our website at:
www.atc.gr/e-tailor
or contact Lutz Walter per e-mail lutz.walter@euratex.org or fax +32-2-2306054
Editorial
A VISION FOR 2005
Central to the activities of EURATEX and its members in the coming months is an assessment of the global environment which will face the European textile and clothing industry after 2005. It is self-evident that any such assessment has to be hedged with some caution. Nonetheless, it would appear reasonably safe to make a number of assumptions based upon known facts.
In the first instance the industry now knows which categories of imports will be quota free as of January 1st 2002, and which categories will remain subject to restraint until January 1st 2005. As a result, it can make a reasonable guess at those areas of production which may expect to be more severely impacted after 2004 by a growth in imports. At the same time it is as yet unable to determine where the opportunities for export-led growth might lie in the numerous closed markets. Here the market access initiative of the EU Commission with EURATEX support in terms of bilateral deals with supplier countries has borne its first fruits in consolidating Sri Lanka’s tariffs andensuring the absence of non-tariff barriers. But it is only later in 2001 and after further agreements that evidence will be available as to where growth in exports may genuinely be expected.
Internally too it is clear that the environment , the introduction of IPPC, waste management, and in certain cases a choice which will need to be made between health and safety on the one hand and the environment on the other will pose further challenges. Here, and in research and development in more general terms, industry and its representatives bodies will need to develop a clear strategy enabling the member companies more especially concerned to come to terms with the new investments they will need to make.
In terms of EU enlargement, some vision needs too to be developed to mutual advantage with the candidate countries linked to the concept of a Pan Euro Mediterranean zone being clearly defined, and submitted to the authorities concerned.
Among the imponderables are whether the Euro will strengthen on international financial markets, what technological breakthroughs may occur in the next decade, and last but not least the form, contents and timing of a New Round of multilateral trade talks.
Page 2 ( Info)
MARKET ACCESS Ö EURATEX’s FOUR CONDITIONS
The editorial in the current edition of EURATEX News makes passing reference to the possible future bilateral deals for which the Commission was given a mandate by the Council on November 9th 2000. The underlying logic in the Commission’s approach is to secure permanent market access to a number of virtually closed markets with which the EU has MFA related import restraints, in exchange for wider access to the EU market and in advance of the end of the existing quota regime on December 31st 2004.
In preparation for such bilateral arrangements EURATEX believes that four essential conditions need to be met :
The supplier countries concerned should reduce their tariffs and bind them in WTO at levels similar to those of the EU.
Those same supplier countries should remove all their non-tariff barriers, whether WTO Ö compliant or not, and undertake not to introduce others.
Reciprocal concessions should take place simultaneously and
A « snapback clause û should automatically be implemented to revert to the status quo ante in the event of the exporting country violating its undertakings.
These conditions appear essential to EURATEX if the market access sought for so long is to be genuine and to give confidence to EU exporters in their ongoing efforts to export around the world.
Page 2 or 3 (info)
TRADE DATA FOR 2000 Ö A MATTER OF INTERPRETATION
Data for the EU’s import/export trade shows that with imports now totalling over 67 billion, the Union’s textile and clothing trade balance worsened as compared to 1999 by 4.4 billion Euros or 18%, with the overall deficit now standing at 29.1 billion. Both textiles and clothing shared equally in this situation, recording import growth respectively of 18% and 17%.
Against this background it is encouraging to note that taken as a whole the industry’s exports grew by 16% to reach a figure of almost 38 billion Euros (37.934), again an increase shared equally by textiles and clothing. A second note of encouragement is that the trade surplus enjoyed by the textile sector per se increased to 4.2 billion Euros, an increase of 400 million over its 1999 surplus. Seen in a little more detail the export data for 2000 shows substantial % increases in a number of cases : Turkey, a partner in a customs union with the EU : + 25 % for textiles and + 43 for clothing ; increases too in both textile and clothing exports to candidate countries for accession : Hungary,Romania, Bulgaria, from modest levels. Exports to Russia grew by 68% (clothing) and 45% (textiles). Gains too were recorded to the NAFTA area in both textiles and clothing : USA (+23 and 23), Canada (+ 17 and +22) and Mexico (+24 and + 42) respectively. Although still at low levels, exports to Sri Lanka were on the increase (+ 21 textiles, + 61 clothing). Even India took 33% more in value of EU textiles in 2000 (+6% in clothing). Elsewhere in Asia strong % growth occured overall to the Thai, Singapore, South Korea (+ 84 clothing, + 51 textiles) and Japanese markets, coupled with significant progress in Taiwan.
These elements only serve to reinforce the industry’s contention that it is more than capable of substantially improved export performances, wherever access to potential markets is not denied.
Strategy for Future EU Chemical Policy
The strategy for future EU chemical policy is a 3-step approach composed of the Registration, Evalutation and Authorisation of CHemicals: the REACH System.
Registration requires manufacturers and importers in the EU to register chemicals whether they are produced, marketed or imported and the submission of all available information in accordance with the legislation in force. This will be obligatory for new and existing substances produced in volumes above 1000 tones.
Evaluation requires the CA to carefully examine the data and to decide on substances-tailored testing programmes. This will later be the base for the granting of the authorisation for substances of high concern to be used for a particular purpose, marketed as such or as a component of a product. Exemption will be granted for R & D and process orientied Research and Development.
Moreover, the REACH System will introduce the obligation for downstream users to perform additional tests on their products where uses and resulting exposure patterns differ from those originally envisaged by manufactuers or importers. With regard to substances in products, the Commission proposes to set up a working group, which would identify the product categories, the relevant exposure situation and the implications. Based on the findings, producers or importers should be requested to identify products containing such substances and provide all information. It is this later obligation, which is worthy of specific concern for the textiles and clothing industry.
News (pages 2 and 3)
THE EURATEX BOARD
has now been enlarged to a (maximum) of 24 elected members. Its current composition is:
Jean de Jaegher President (Italy)
Franz-Peter Falke Vice-President (Gesamttextil)
Koen Buyse Vice-President Treasurer (CRIET)
Carlo Burgi representing Eurocoton
Giancarlo Berti representing CIRFS,
John Corrin representing B.A.T.C.
Juan Casanovas representing C.I.E.
Luciano Donatelli representing Interlaine
Arnaud Dubly representing U.I.T.
Moritz Mantero representing S.M.I.
Paul Falke representing Mailleurop
Ottavio. Festa Bianchet representing S.M.I.
Jean-François Gribomont representing Febeltex
Güngör Kesci representing TCMA
Barbara Lebek representing B.B.I.
Claude Miserey representing UFIH
Lars Mauritzon representing Nordic Countries
Frans Schulte representing Fenecon
Umut Oran representing TCMA
Giorgio Pelizzati representing smaller branch organisations
Peter Pfneisl representing smaller national industries
Michele Tronconi representing ATI
The enlargement of the Euratex Board of Directors to 24 elected members (the Director General being an ex officio member) reflects the development of the organisation from that of a newly created body, where the need was to rapidly establish its credibility, to a mature institution which members fund in proportion to their importance as industries, and in which that financial contribution is reflected in terms of representation on the Board. This has resulted in Italy having four members on the Board, whilst the smaller countries and smaller branches now have one representative per group. Moreover, as a result of the decision to split contributions on a 75/25 basis as between national textile and/or clothing bodies on the one hand and textile branch organisations on the other, national bodies may nominate 18 members of the Board, and branch organisations six.
New members of the Board as from December 2000 are: MM.G. Berti, J. Corrin, L. Donatelli, J-F Gribomont, Cl. Miserey, U. Oran, G. Pelizzati, P. Pfneisl, and M. Tronconi, with 2 further seats still to be filled. At the November General Assembly, Euratex members had the opportunity to express their appreciation and gratitude to the outgoing Treasurer, Alistair MACDIAMID for his outstanding service as Vice-President Treasurer since the foundation of Euratex. The new Vice-President Treasurer, Mr Koen Buyse is from Belgium, and is also currently President of CRIET, the European Dyers and Finishers Association. Mr. Franz-Peter Falke of Gesamttextil (Germany) was elected as Vice-President, in succession to Mr. Moritz Mantero, who remains on the Board as a representative of SMI (Italy).
In its present form, the Board of Directors is composed of the widest possible national and sectorial spread, reflecting the diversity of today's rapidly evolving textiles and clothing industry, and united in the resolve to secure for that industry, its 120.000 companies and its 2.3 million employees, the best possible framework for its future well-being.
page 4 (Dossier)
E-Tailor
European clothing companies and technology providers join forces to meet the US challenge in on-line retailing of Made-to-Measure and Mass Customised Clothing
At almost weekly intervals news on commercial, as well as research and development (R&D) initiatives evolving around the concepts of Garment Mass Customisation and Made to Measure Manufacturing as well as home shopping of apparel via the Internet and the related sizing and fitting problems, are being announced, many of them of US-origin.
The offering of “problem freeÔ services in these fields now seems increasingly possible by the emergence of new technologies, such as 3D whole body scanners, 3D CAD systems enabling the customisation of existing styles, 3D Virtual-try-on techniques (body, fabric and garment drape simulation), new generation of smartcards, new Business-to-Consumer e-commerce models and technologies.
An impressive European consortium, consisting of major European garment manufacturing and retailing companies (C&A, Otto Versand, Induyco, Bernhardt, Vestra), technology providers (Lectra Systems, Investronica, Tecmath, Telmat, Lake Communications), acclaimed Textile-Clothing Institutes (Hohenstein Institutes, Institut Francais du Textile et d’ Habillement) and leading universities (Miralab - University of Geneva, Nottingham Trent University), co-ordinated by Euratex and Athens Technology Centre, launched an ambitious project in early 2000, which is currently dominating the European R&D scene in the above critical areas.
The project called E-Tailor is partially funded by the European Commission within the framework of the Information Society Technology programme (IST), Key Action II (New Methods of Work and Electronic Commerce). E-TAILOR is one of the landmark projects in the above Key Action and the largest running EC funded R&D project in the Textile-Clothing sector.
E-TAILOR is aimed at revolutionising home-shopping, as well as traditional services of mass produced and customised garments, tackling all related problems (lack of standard sizes across Europe, as well as across different brands and stores, garment fitting problems with respect to existing human body morphologies, high cost of production and distribution of customised clothing, lack of direct visualisation of fit for consumers buying clothes on the Internet, body data privacy, lack of interfaces).
E-TAILOR is currently developing:
The European Anthropometric Database (EAD), which will contain up-to-date size and morphology data of the European population obtained through standardised scanning measurement surveys across different European countries.
An advanced Customised Clothing Infrastructure, enabling order clustering for Mass Customisation and intelligent individual alterations of existing patterns for Made-to-Measure production of ladies fashion garments (the most challenging customisation area).
An innovative Virtual Shopping Infrastructure, enabling dynamic (animated) virtual try-on and ordering by Internet consumers using their genuine body measurement data stored on smart cards.
For more detailed information on the project please visit our website at:
www.atc.gr/e-tailor
or contact Lutz Walter per e-mail lutz.walter@euratex.org or fax +32-2-2306054