Complacency Kills

It is said “the great menace to the life of an industry is industrial self-complacency”. Once, a country in Europe had a thriving button manufacturing industry, which is central to clothing and accessories market. Then it rested on its laurels, and failed to keep the pace with the accelerating progress in the textile industry. What happened? Today, Qiaotou in China, which is known as “button town” produces around 60 per cent of the world’s buttons.This is what happens when an industry sleeps over the past glories and fails to take initiative to move forward. Someone else can steal the dreams! Perhaps, a good lesson for the textile industry in India, which has already built a strong foundation in some textile products like yarns. Alertness pays. The present century is racing ahead with sustainability and newer products in fields like technical textiles. The speed of progress is getting faster day by day. Procrastination could be suicidal. India has plenty of raw materials, but in innovation we are sitting at the lowest ladder. Today’s textile industry is just not yarns and fabrics; it is much more than that! At a recent seminar in a small town on the west coast, someone who knows the textile industry well commented on the lack of research and involvement of young talents and researchers. The words sounded familiar and this is the umpteenth time such things are heard over again and again. According to a FICCI study, in the textile industry, the top 10 globally traded categories make up for 40 per cent of India’s exports. India has a significant share of 25 per cent in the global trade of “cotton yarn” and 11 per cent share in the trade of “blouses” and “carpets” each. However, amongst the top 6 traded categories, India’s share is less than even 7 per cent. This signifies that Indian textile and apparel industry has not been able to cater to the growing demand of these products. The main reason behind this is the low focus on value-added products and innovation. The textile industry suffers from use of low and outdated technologies. Though a few companies are spending considerable time and money on R&D, still we need more Indian companies to pursue innovation-driven path towards successful destinations.

The Indian Textile Journal October 2018 Vol. CXXIX No. 1

S Joseph
Editor & Associate Publisher

(Feedback welcome at mail id: Joseph@ASAPPinfoGLOBAL.com)