Link: http://www.thefrontierpost.com/article/19643/
Technology innovation & creativity in local textile industries
Posted on 2013-06-14 05:56:02
Faisal Saya
As textile manufacturing becoming very complex and multifaceted field day by day as per the different needs of a highly-diversified market segments, this sector needs an accelerating ratio of innovation and creativity, right from making a simple thread to spinning the finished fabric.
Indubitably, textile companies in Pakistan including garments manufacturers, fashion designers and fabric processors have introduced many new trends and styles in the world market, especially during the last decade. But despite offering innovation and creation, textile manufacturers have not yet introduced any new thing substantial that could place them apart from rest the textile manufacturing companies operating in most developed parts of the world.
This same is also true for a majority of the local fashion designers working in Pakistan, as their entire creations and designs reflect those of the designs and styles which are primarily created in the European and American countries and regions. We often don’t see any fashioning trends or manufacturing methods produced by the Pakistani fabric makers, being copied or applied by the global fashion markets. In a complete contrast, what we see in the current local textile manufacturing is a ‘me too’ approach, relying upon international textile and fashion gurus to produce out-of-the-box creations and innovations.
Textile industry in Pakistan urgently needs standardized ERP/supply chain software applications in an automated fashion, and the required standardization element will help boost the existing export ratio to a large extent. Many textile firms have implemented a small chunk of ERP into certain organizational functions, but none of them have fully implemented ERP solutions in effect. The major flaw pertains to managing supply chain operations through conventional ways, whereas modern industries largely utilize numerous software applications to running their entire logistics and supply chain functions. Local textile sector here in Pakistan calls for a sustainable supply chain capable of delivering the products via globally acclaimed and standardized system, which is matured enough to deliver quality products with sustainable profitability. Facilitated by technology and rapidly occurring innovations, the global buyers now demand sustainability, and visibility into those of the phases of production and manufacturing that used to be hidden in earlier period.
Textile sector in Pakistan needs to emerge as a totally environmentally-compliant sector, which is self-sufficient to meet its own energy and power needs. This is to make sure that our production operations get continued all along without losing out a single second and there must no concept of delay or interval whatsoever. Environment and eco-friendly organizations remain in line with globally-recognized sustainable business and industrial practices. In fact, these are the sustainability-oriented business guidelines and values of our organization which will enable us to succeed in the international business world. Sustainability, in the modern corporate world, stands for determining the principles of sustainable business practices mostly, giving no place to anything, which tends to be unsustainable or practically fugitive by any means. Long past are the days when human goodness was all belonged to the humans only, while machines and pieces of industrial equipment ruled the roost at the cost of irrecoverable environmental degradation and never-ending contamination. Yesterday, this was the natural environment that fell prey to the human greed, and today has given rise to those of the business practices and industrial operations that fully respect the natural surroundings, and modify rest of the commercial activities in accordance with social and environmental obligations. In the modern period, sustainability tends to be an essence of industrial goodness and business excellence, therefore environment and eco-friendly organizations get worldwide recognition due to their environmental and ecological considerations.
Another concern is related with the existing educational standards in Pakistan, as ere fashion institutes teach those of the syllabus and curriculum to our students, which is less relevant to the eastern style of fashion designing and fabric-making. Instead of making a framed skirt for the Scottish women, or coming with an extraordinary style of sleeveless shirts for a Danish flamboyant, local textile manufacturers and producers ought to produce textile products and fashion accessories that belong to our own people, suit our own culture, and get resemblance to the very lifestyle led by the general populace in a country like Pakistan. Local textile manufacturers should review the way they produce and finish their textile goods, and our fabric-makers and fashion designers must come forward and challenge the traditional old concepts of weaving the fabric and spinning the fiber, and the like. In a nutshell, there is dire need of introducing a major ‘manufacture shift’ in the world of textiles and fashion design.
In addition to that, usually we assume that problems such as environmental pollution and contamination are basically problems to be resolved by environmental scientists. Similarly, when it comes to make our environment and surroundings neat and clean, we look towards governmental authorities and sanitary departments to do the required job. Fashion designers are not supposed to tackle the issues of environmental pollution, but still they have to take their due part whatever best can be done through fashion designing and tailoring. Moreover, fashion designers and those of the market leaders who deal in manufacturing fashion and apparel accessories should think upon putting up something very new in both local and international markets. In my opinion, there must be a space in your outfits specially given to remind your social and environmental responsibilities, and it all depends on how smartly and innovatively our fashion and dress designers opt to make the most of this concept.
Aforementioned are a few of the examples of innovation urgently required, especially in the local market segments, and a lot more can be easily added into these with the sole purpose of offering highly-innovative fabrics and fashion items by our local textile and fashion industries operating in this country.
The writer is ‘Faisal Rahim Saya’, CEO of Al-Rahim Textiles Industries, and can be contacted at faisal@alrahimtextile.com
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