Source: The Hindu
Garment manufacturers in Tirupur knitwear cluster will explore the possibilities of using wool more in knitwear production to sustain the business all through the year.
Presently, the manufacturers in the cluster are struggling to maintain the momentum round the year due to lack of adequate diversification into value-added winter garments.
Research
"Exporters here are now planning to collectively focus on research to develop knitwear with wool or wool-blended fibres reducing the over dependency on cotton. This move will help avoid slowdowns presently encountered by many factories in the cluster, due to lack of adequate orders for winter garments," said T. R. Vijayakumar, an apparel exporter and chairman of Research and Development wing in NIFT-TEA Knitwear Institute promoted by the Tirupur exporters.
According to him, only less than one per cent of the knitwear produced from the cluster use wool as raw material.
Around 85 per cent of the apparels made from the cluster still use cotton as the main raw material. M. Veluswamy, an apparel exporter, pointed out that use of wool would help retain heat better than cotton in the garments.
In the meantime, the NIFT-TEA Institute has plans to forge relationship with Woolmark, a global company and pioneer in investments in research activities, to encourage research activities with wool and wool-blended fibres in Tirupur cluster itself.
"Once self-sufficiency is obtained in making value-added winter garments, the Tirupur exporters will be able to challenge the dominance of Chinese garments in the winter apparels segment," said Mr. Vijayakumar.
Around 85 per cent of the apparels made from the cluster still use cotton as the main raw material