Indian cotton crop for the next season beginning in October will remain at the same level as the current year. Mumbai-based Cotton Association of India (CAI) released the first estimate for the next year’s cotton crop beginning on October 1.

India is targeting to increase its bilateral trade with the US to $500 billion from current levels of over $100 billion in the near term

Indo Count Retail Ventures P Ltd (ICRVL)?a subsidiary of Indo Count Industries Limited (ICIL)?has forayed its entry into Rs 13,000 crore domestic bed linen market with the launch of ?Boutique Living?, a range of bed linen products.

Shri Vallabh Pittie Industries (SVP), a leader in polyester and cotton blended yarn, inaugurated its Rs 450 crore new textile plant in Jhalawar in Rajasthan. The plant is fully automated with 1,00,000 spindles holding a manufacturing capacity of 22,000 tonnes per annum and is spread across 25 acres of area. After inaugurating the plant recently, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said, “We are committed towards forging partnerships that promote manufacturing and create employment opportunities in Rajasthan.”

The NIFT-TEA Knitwear Fashion Institute is collaborating with Synthetic and Arts Silk Mills Research (SASMIRA) to develop a machine for dyeing cotton fabrics without the use of water. The proposed machine will be similar to the one developed by SASMIRA for dyeing polyester fabrics, which uses liquefied carbon dioxide instead of water. The two organisations recently signed an MoU to pursue technological innovations as a part of the collaborative projects, undertake research activities and information exchange on new technologies, media reports said.

Welspun plans to launch a series of smart textiles with patented technology, the company said while formally announcing the patented HygroCotton technology by its premium brand Spaces Home & Beyond. ?We have filed for 26 patents globally and would launch smart textile products using this technology over the next three years,? said Subrata Pal, Business Head – Domestic and Supply Chain Global at Welspun Global Brands Ltd.

Sustainability today covers everything, especially in textiles, where the supply chain is quite complicated and long. There is a plethora of certifications, but these alone will not effect change. In 1988, the first Fairtrade label, Max Havelaar, was applied to packs of Mexican coffee sold in Dutch supermarkets. At the time, using a product label to say something about standards in a supply chain was revolutionary, but today it is routine. The Ecolabel Index currently lists 463 certifications in 199 countries, according to a ‘The Guardian’ Report.

Indo Count Retail Ventures P Ltd (ICRVL)-a subsidiary of Indo Count Industries (ICIL)-has forayed into Rs 13,000-crore domestic bed linen market with the launch of ?Boutique Living?, a range of bed linen products. The range of ?Boutique Living? products will be available across the country by the month-end.

Compressed air is the most inefficient utility available to the industries, wasting as much as 80 per cent of the compressor’s input energy in various forms of loss. A compressor’s energy costs exceed its capital cost just within a few months of operation and hence if the facility’s compressed air system is not monitored closely it can lead to substantial losses. True to the famous saying, “If you can’t measure, you can’t improve”, proper measurement of compressed air generation, distribution and end uses can open up a box of opportunities for improvements and energy savings.