- Textile industries comprise of cotton, jute, woolen and silk. Natural as well as human factors play their role.
- Proximity to raw material areas– jute in east coast, cotton in central India.
- Availability of cheap labour as these industries are highly labour intensive. E.g. – Textiles in southern USA and Japan owe their origin to this factor.
- Market availability – most important factor. E.g.-High demand of wool in temperate areas facilitated woolen textile in Europe and USA.
- The industry is going rapidly at the rate of 12% CAGR.
ISSUES IN TEXTILE INDUSTRIES
- Stiff competition from international players like China, Bangladesh and Vietnam.
- Obsolete machinery and automation.
- Highly unorganized nature.
- Increase in cost of raw material. For e.g. – cotton price has rose by Rs2000 per quintal.
TECHNICAL TEXTILES
Technical textiles are engineered products with a definite functionality. They are manufactured using natural as well as man-made fibres such as Nomex, Kevlar, Spandex, Twaron that exhibit enhanced functional properties such as higher tenacity, excellent insulation, improved thermal resistance etc. Based on usage, there are 12 technical textile segments: Agrotech, Meditech, Buildtech, Mobiltech, Clothtech, Oekotech, Geotech, Packtech, Hometech, Protech, Indutech and Sportech.
GROWTH ENABLERS
- Growth of industrial sectors like automobiles, healthcare, infrastructure, space etc.
- Rising demand due to increase per capita income, aspirational class and acceptance of modern products.
- Government policies like technological mission on technical textiles and relaxed FDI.
REASONS FOR DECENTRALISED NATURE OF TEXTILE INDUSTRY
- Constant demand across the world as everyone needs clothes to wear.
- Raw materials like cotton, jute, wool is grown extensively across the world.
- Mechanisation has allowed textile mills to run without skilled labour. Thus, allowing developing economies having no background or industrial skills to develop textile industries.
- Fibers are easily transported, allowing the countries to establish industries even if they are not producing fiber on their own.
