Chemical Countermeasures
And Advanced Materials Laboratory
November, 2016
Nov. 14
Nov. 16
Nov. 29
Prescription for Technological Development
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, November 14, 2016)-Unstoppable technological growth will lead to improvements in lives.
Lord Matthew Ridley, a Conservative hereditary peer in the United Kingdom’s House of Lords visited Lubbock last week to lecture in Texas Tech’s Free Market Institute lecture series.
While talking about his book, “The Rational Optimist,” he provided many tips about innovation and technological growth.
Rising a question, why innovation comes from humans and not rabbits, Lord Ridley presented interesting facts about innovation and technological growth.
Although, there can be no one set model or prescription for technological development, some points are worth knowing, to aide innovation and growth.
Technology output is always a combination of many technologies such as computer technology involving hardware and software components. He cited PillCam Colon Capsule as a classical example of mingling of the minds of gastroenterologist, imaging and manufacturing technologists.
Innovation is “trial and error.”
Invention is simultaneously, as with the case of 23 inventors coming up with the light bulb concept such as Joseph Swan from the UK, but it was Thomas Edison from the United States, who commercialized the concept first before other inventors.
Technological growth is normally gradual, but progress in technology is unstoppable.
Supporting free market concept, in answering a question from this scribe on Brexit, he pointed that he favors Brexit as it will enable more global trade outside the EU framework.
According to Lord Ridley an important activity that happened during the years 1750 and 1850 was many countries became richer which has laid the foundation for technological growth.
Take home message from Lord Ridley’s lecture was market always leads in innovation and governments play the catch-up game.
China to be Key Player in Cotton Market in the Current Scenario
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, November 16, 2016)-China will be a key player in the cotton market in the current situation after the recent U.S. Presidential election.
It is no surprise that China’s economy has been slowing in the recent past. In addition to this factor, all eyes will be on the United States and China trade relations. United States’ new administration’s policy on China trade will significantly impact the U.S. agricultural export trade, according to Marci Rossell, former CNBC chief economist.
Dr. Rossell visited Lubbock yesterday to keynote at an economic luncheon hosted by Lubbock Economic Development Alliance. In speaking to a packed room at The Overton Hotel, Rossell presented four economic related scenarios with varying degrees of probabilities as a result of the recent election.
There is a 25% chance that U.S may likely impose 35% tariff on Chinese goods, resulting in varying consequences to the U.S. economy and in particular to the agricultural export sector, as 25% of U.S. soybean gets shipped to China.
As China is a valued customer of U.S. cotton, in a question from this scribe on the impact for the U.S. cotton industry, on the sidelines of her presentation, Rossell, pointed out that it depends on how the new trade relationship will proceed. If tariff scenario happens, then cotton may be in rough spot. However, Rossell pointed out that probabilities and estimates don’t mean anything these days after what has happened in the recent political elections in the United States.
Rossell also pointed out that the slow growth situation in China has already been factored into the current cotton market conditions.
Steve Verett, Executive Vice President of Lubbock-based Plains Cotton Growers, Inc., in reacting to Russell’s economic picture stated, “U.S. agriculture has long relied upon robust export marketing conditions, particularly in the cotton industry where a significant amount of our raw product is exported. Our markets continually evolve so we can remain viable and meet consumers’ demands. As consumer preferences and trends change from year to year, the agriculture and export market sector will continue to adapt in order to maintain a strong and viable market for our growers.”
Rossell urged the best way forward is to reach out to elected representatives and reason with them the importance of sound policies towards trade with Mexico and China.
A useful takeaway message from Dr. Rossell’s talk is that economic literacy is needed to move the industry and economy forward.
Wearable Cotton Sensors Developed
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, November 29, 2016)-Conductive cotton fabrics have been developed into flexible wearable strain sensors.
A team of scientists from the UK-based Cambridge University and Jiangnan University in China has used modified graphene to develop wearable cotton smart textiles.
Based on Cambridge Graphene Center’s Dr. Felice Torrisi’s graphene ink chemistry for wearable electronics, the international team deposited the modified graphene on to cotton fabrics, using vacuum filtration. This process enabled modified graphene inks to adhere strongly to cotton fibers. Heat-treating the coated cotton fabrics enhanced the conductivity and made it durable even after several washes.
According to Dr. Torrisi, using modified graphene inks make the process cheap and environmentally friendly and more importantly, the modified graphene is chemically compatible with cotton. Cotton strain sensors were able to detect up to 500 motion cycles even after ten wash cycles.
According to researchers, this research can create new high performance wear, sports textiles and fashionable wearable electronic textiles.
The research, which has appeared in a recent issue of journal Carbon, is being commercialized by Cambridge University’s commercialization unit.
October, 2016
October 14
October 19
October 24
October 25
October 27
October 31
Bioinspired Athletic Swim Suits
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, October 14 2016)- The development of next generation swim suits gets inspiration from beavers.
A team of researchers from Cambridge-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States and visiting scientists from France took inspiration from semiaquatic rodent beavers to derive a mathematical model which could be used to develop swim suits and functional coating processes.
Beavers keep themselves dry and warm with the help of furs arranged in two forms with guard hairs repelling water and preventing its penetration to the under layer and the skin. The team endeavored to get greater understanding of the engineering mechanism behind this natural process in beavers.
Not only, the team got the inspiration from nature, the research grew out of an interaction with an international wetsuit maker, Sheico Group. Professor Anette Hosoi of Mechanical Engineering at MIT lead a team of students to Taiwan and while interacting with Sheico Group was asked about using biomimetic approaches to find solutions to problems in developing future swim suits.
Graduate student Alice Nasto fabricated the beaver fur structure using polydimethysiloxane. These fabricated hair structures were plunged into silicone oil so that video images of trapped air can be obtained clearly. This experiment showed that spacing between hairs and speed of plunging played important roles in determining the amount of air trapped. This led to a mathematical model, which can predict the air layers around furs and hairs.
According to Professor Hosoi, this model will enable designers to know if the fur structure they are designing will trap air or not. Jose Bico of Paris states that understanding air trapping mechanism is also important in industrial coating applications, such as dip coating.
Biomimetic and wearable technologies have potential but their practical applicability and economics aspects need careful study to make commercially successful products.
Global Cotton Demand is on the Rise
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, October 19, 2016)-Cotton consumption this year will be highest in six years. Total global consumption will be about 112 million bales (480 lbs. each).
Dr. Gary Adams, President and CEO of Memphis-based National Cotton Council spoke yesterday to a room full of attentive audience at Bayer Museum of Agriculture in Lubbock, TX. The meeting was organized by Lubbock Chamber of Commerce to highlight the economic impact of cotton to Lubbock and High Plains region. In welcoming the gathering, Steve Verett, Executive Vice President of Plains Cotton Growers stated that the meeting is a way of celebrating agriculture, as harvest nears in High Plains.
Adams stated that although, cotton use is on the growth side, it will be 12 million bales lower than the peak consumption experience a decade ago. Among other factors, competition from synthetics with excess capacity of polyester is an important factor influencing the cotton market.
Citing the latest USDA report Adams pointed out, United States is expected to produce 16 million bales, which is three million more than the 2105 crop. Globally, production will see an increase of six million bales over last year. Even with this increase, the crop output is expected to lag consumption by nine million bales.
In talking about China, Adams stated, “world needs China’s consumption of cotton to maintain a growth path.”
In speaking about competition to cotton from synthetics, China alone has the capacity to produce manmade fibers equivalent to two and half times global cotton output in one single year, stated Adams.
The key to stay ahead is to innovate and adapt new technologies. Dr. Adams praised the U.S. cotton industry for making efforts in the past two decades to reduce environmental footprint and produce quality cotton, which is wanted by global textile mills.
Ending his speech with an optimistic note, Dr. Adams, stated that 20 million bales production is not a thing of the past in the United States and he expects the repetition soon.
Recycled Fiberboard and Pulp Could be Sources for Electricity
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, October 24, 2016)-Recycled cardboard fibers and pulp, when developed into triboelectric generators can produce electricity.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are advancing the field of “roadside energy harvesting” by getting help from recycled paper boards and pulp based cellulose nanofibers.
Integrated triboelectric fiberboards were developed using cellulose nanofibers triboelectric generator embedded in fiberboards developed using recycled paper boards, using cold press method. Triboelectric phenomenon is similar to the production of static charges on textiles. Cellulose nanofibers were produced using commercially available bleached eucalyptus pulp.
Dr. Xudong Wang of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison collaborated with USDA’s Forest Products Laboratory, Madison in developing the electricity generator. The research has shown that such triboelectric generators could produce electricity to charge light bulbs and batteries.
The team demonstrated that electric power necessary to charge up to 35 green LEDS, can be generated when a person stepped on to the fiberboard, as if walking. The mechanical energy is then converted into electrical energy.
The next phase of the research has to focus on increasing the conversion efficiency of mechanical energy to electrical energy. The research has been published in a recent issue of Nano Energy.
Indian Cotton Crop on the Rise Amidst Acreage Reduction
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, October 25, 2016)-India expected to produce 35.1 million bales (170 Kgs each) this season beginning in October.
Yesterday, India’s official body, Cotton Advisory Board met in Mumbai and decided on this year’s first estimate of cotton production. This meeting was the first official meeting of this new season that began, October 1st.
The new season’s production estimate is 1.3 million bales higher than the last year’s crop estimate of 33.8 million bales. Total cotton supply will be 41.1 million bales, with an opening stock of 4.3 million bales. The opening stock for last year beginning in October 2015 was 6.6 million bales. Mill consumption is expected to be about the same as last year.
Exports this year will decrease from that of last year and it is pegged at 5 million bales.
Total acreage will be about 10.5 million hectares this season, which is a reduction of about 1.4 million hectares from the last season ending in September 2016.
Amidst acreage downfall, the increase in output will be due to increase in yield. This trend is evident in all major cotton producing zones. All India average yield is estimated to be 568 kilograms per hectare. Northern zone comprising of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan will see a significant yield increase with an average yield of about 668 kilograms per hectare. This will be about 210 kilograms increase per hectare compared to the last season.
Indian Cotton Association Opposes Buffer Stockpiling Scheme
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, October 27, 2016)-Cotton Association of India opposes the creation of buffer cotton stock system.
Yesterday, Mumbai-based Cotton Association of India (CAI) made its position known on the buffer stock in India. It is against Cotton Corporation of India stockpiling 7 to 8 million bales (170 Kgs. each) by procuring during peak arrival season to sell to user mills during May to September time frame.
According to CAI, this scenario will need huge investment by the public sector Cotton Corporation of India and also it will incur losses due to price fluctuations. CAI in citing the China reserve policy, India should learn from China and should not venture into the reserve situation for cotton surplus country like India.
In speaking with this scribe, a source, active in cotton trade stated that with the new season showing good promise in terms of arrival now and production estimate, stockpiling is not necessary. Rather, textile mills should take advantage of the prevailing low prices and procure cotton and stockpile themselves. Textile mills should approach banking sectors for financial options.
In the recent past two months, prices have come down by about 20-25 percent as much as Rupees 12,000 per candy (356 Kgs.). Among other factors, no new commitment from Pakistan due to uncertainties there is aiding the price decline.
The cotton market source stated that the recent positive estimate by India’s Cotton Advisory Board for the new season should be taken into account. In this situation, creating buffer stock is unnecessary. However, when the prices decline further, to support farmers, Minimum Support Price scheme should be used, as India is currently doing for pulses.
CAI has urged the Indian government not create the buffer stock scheme for cotton. However, this may lead to a difference of opinion among textile mills.
Future Fibers Hub in Australia
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, October 31, 2016)-Australian government is supporting University-Industry collaborative hub to develop value-added future fibers.
Australian government’s research council has supported the creation of Aus$13.2 million hub with the support from Deakin University and industry partners. The center is part of the Institute of Frontier Materials at Deakin University in Geelong, Australia.
The hub will enable Australia to be a leader in fiber research and development and will also support Geelong to be a hub for future advanced fiber manufacturing.
Apart from Deakin, Swinburne University of Technology and leading industry partners are involved in this effort. The hub will be led by Professor Xungai Wang, Director of the Institute of Frontiers Materials at Deakin.
Within a span of less than 20 years, Deakin has emerged as an international player in high performance fibers research and development. This scribe has witnessed its growth from its nascent stage when Dr. Wang moved to Deakin from the University of New South Wales around the turn of this millennium. This scribe visited the then just commenced fibers research program at Deakin University in Geelong in 2001, while participating in the 81st World Conference of the UK-based Textile Institute, which was held in Melbourne.
The hub will focus on priority areas such as nanofibers and short polymer fibers, cheap and light carbon composites and high performance fibers for biomedical applications.
According to Deakin’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jane den Hollander, the hub’s fiber development effort will focus human tissue engineering, safer clothing for sport activities and lightweight carbon composites for automotive application.
September, 2016
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September 21
September 30
Stanford Scientists Develop Skin Line Fabric
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, September 2, 2016)-A team of multidisciplinary researchers at Stanford University has developed skin-like fabric material that cools the body more efficiently.
In today’s Science journal, the researchers from Stanford report that they used nanoporous polyethylene to develop a textile material which aides radiative cooling while maintaining breathability, wicking and necessary mechanical strength.
According to the report in Science, the researchers have also devised an instrument to simulate skin temperature. The use of nanoporous polyethylene fabric resulted in the lowering of skin temperature by about 2.7 degree centigrade when compared with another commonly used next-to-skin fabric.
According to Yi Cui, an associate professor of materials science at Stanford and the lead author of the study, the fabric effectively cools the person, which makes cooling the building unnecessary thereby saving energy.
Nanoporous plastic textile transports the body heat as infrared rays due to the nanostructured polyethylene. Researchers modified the polyethylene material that is commonly used in battery development which enables it to be opaque to visible light but transparent to infrared rays so that the heat can be dissipated.
According to Professor Shanhui Fan, professor of electrical engineering at Stanford, who co-authored the study, this research can lead to the development of new materials that can trap or let go infrared radiations.
The research is multidisciplinary one involving photonics, nanotechnology and chemistry. Indeed, it shows that new developments in advanced textiles can come from schools that are nontraditional textile strongholds, reflecting the nature of the next phase of textile research and development.
Fabric Harvests Energy from Sun and Motion
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, September 21, 2016)-Georgia Tech researchers report the development of micro-cable textile that harvests energy from sun and mechanical motion.
The team led by Professor Zhong Lin Wang, Regents Professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech, reports the development in a latest issue of the journal Nature Energy.
Solar cells made from polymeric fibers were woven into fabric with triboelectric fibrous nanogenerators using a common weaving method. According to the researchers, the tribogenerators use triboelectricity and electrostatic induction phenomena to generate energy from movements. For harvesting energy from sun, photoanodes that could be woven with fibers were used.
According to Professor Wang, the hybrid power textile could charge devices using the simple wind blowing on a sunny day. Also, the whole smart textile structure will be cost effective as the electrodes are made using low cost manufacturing process, said Wang.
With regard to applications, Professor Wang envisions that the fabric that is 320 micron thick with woolen yarns can be integrated with other structures such as wearable garments. These smart textiles can power electric watches and charge a cell phone.
With increasing number of research groups working on wearable textiles, it clear that this field offers enormous research potential. The next step should be to improve these technologies so that they can find practical usage. To make this happen, from textile applications point of view, attributes such as cost, wearability, comfort, washability, durability and appropriate practical applications have to be looked into, if wearable textiles are going to be commercially viable and adopted widely by consumers.
Indian Textile Industry Demands Support for Cotton Stability
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, September 30, 2016)- Indian textile industry has made a call to the government to provide support mechanism to counter high volatility in cotton prices.
A group of 26 textile associations representing spinners and exporters such as Tirupur Exporters’’ Association is insisting the government to support the industry by providing a safety net with the aim of maintaining price stability.
Yesterday, a 19 member delegation of the industry met with the Union Textile Minister, Mrs. Smriti Irani in New Delhi and requested government’s intervention to control the volatility and maintain supply stability.
According to Coimbatore based, The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA), the crisis occurs during the off season, from May to September. As the Indian cotton year begins on October 1st, 80% of the crop arrives during November to March, which puts strain on the spinning mills to procure cotton at high cost, as financial institutions offer only three month credit facility. Mr. Senthilkumar, Chairman of SIMA, has stated that the Indian textile industry is in a recession due to tariff barriers and weak demand for cotton yarn in domestic and foreign markets.
The industry has demanded that government direct the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), a state supported cotton marketing agency to procure 7 to 8 million bales, during the peak season as Indian cotton prices are lower than those of international markets, during this period. According to the plea by the textile associations, CCI should then sell the stock to actual end-users during the high volatile crisis period, from May to September. In addition to CCI procuring cotton during high arrival period and selling during volatile season, the industry has insisted the government to help maintain, 25% stock-to-use ratio. The industry claims, the current ratio in India is only 12 to 15% which is far less than the world’s ratio.
The cotton end-user industry insists that as 80% of textile manufacturing units are small to medium scale, a support mechanism is necessary. There is no parity between the increase of cotton price and yarn price and so the spinning mills incur losses due to price variations, according to SIMA.
There has been a counter argument prevailing for a while, as to why Government should stockpile and then sell at a later date. The textile industry has to come up with a workable solution on their won. The new Indian cotton season beginning tomorrow will be keenly watched as there are a lot of uncertainties both from production and marketing aspects.
August, 2016
August 30
Next Year’s Indian Cotton Crop to Remain at Current Level
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, August 30, 2016)- Indian cotton crop for the next season beginning in October will remain at the same level as the current year.
Yesterday, Mumbai-based Cotton Association of India (CAI) released the first estimate for the next year’s cotton crop beginning on October 1st. For the 2016-17 (October to September) new season, India is estimated to produce 33.6 million bales (170 Kgs each).
CAI has estimated current year’s crop production to be 33.8 million bales, which tallies with the recent estimate by Indian government’s cotton advisory board.
However, there will be acreage reduction of about 10% next year, which will be offset by increase in productivity, according to CAI.
Interestingly, next year’s domestic consumption is expected to remain at same level of about 30.8 million bales. CAI estimates, imports next year will rise slightly and the total import is estimated to be about 2 million bales as against 1.5 million bales, this year.
Although, not provided by CAI, an analysis of the cotton supply and demand situation pegs India’s current year cotton exports at 6.8 million bales. This will leave an opening balance of 4.4 million bales for the new season beginning, this October.
This morning’s interesting telephone conversation with an experienced cotton analyst from India revealed that India might import more than what is reported if China reverts back to improving its inventory during next season or if the weather situation is not favorable. With China starting to import, if India has to maintain its current export level or enhance it, certainly its stocks will be lowered. These situations may lead to a tight supply situation during the second half of the new cotton season, according to the analyst.
According to a media report, Nagpur based, India’s premier cotton research institute, CICR has estimated that next year’s crop will be only about 30 million bales due to fly infestation, monsoon pitfalls and production shifts to other crops such as pulses and oil seeds.
July, 2016
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July 13
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July 21
Computer Screens from Smart Fabrics
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, July 1, 2016)--- Scientists from UC Berkeley and Google have utilized fabrics made using color changing smart threads to develop computer screens.
According to researchers from the School of Information at the University of California, Berkeley, fabric based computer display technology called Ebb was developed in partnership with researchers from Google. The project was termed Ebb because the color changes patterned the ebb and flow of tides.
Ebb technology consists of conductive yarns with thermochromic paint coating. With the passage of electricity, due to heat generated, threads change their color.
The research team conducted focus sessions with a group of people that included fashion designers. The feel of the fabric and not being plastic appealed to the group, who were involved in providing feedback about the smart fabric computer display screens.
The research team was led by graduate student Laura Devendorf and involved researchers from UC Berkeley’s School of Information and Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects’ (ATAP) Project Jacquard. Project Jacquard focuses on developing wearable textiles with sensors and LEDS and at the same time giving them the comfortable tactile feeling.
Although it may be while to see Ebb based clothes as display screens on computers in stores, the project has shown light on what consumers feel on soft fabric based computer displays.
Project Jacquard is experimenting with number of techniques to create wearable technologies.
There is surely a growing interest in research and product development activities in wearable textiles. Developing fabric computer screens is an interesting advancement in the field of smart textiles.
India Aims at US$30 Billion Garment Export
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, July 5, 2016)--- Government of India recently announced a scheme targeting at its garment export to reach US$30 billion in three years.
Prime Minister Modi’s government recently unveiled a scheme with an annual outlay of about US$890 million (Rs.6000 crores) that will enable the country to reach US$30 billion in garment export in three years.
The scheme is labor friendly and empowers women and underpriviledged working in the garment and allied sectors. In three years, the initiative is expected to attract additional investments worth US$11 billion and will provide 10 million new jobs.
An important aspect is that the garment exporting units will enjoy 5% additional duty drawback which will boost the competitiveness of Indian exports in foreign markets. This initiative will cost the government about US$800 (Rs.5500 crores) annually. As a first of its kind, units will be able to obtain refund for state levies that were not included in the computation before.
Garment sectors are set to benefit tremendously with this scheme. According to the government, this scheme will result in social transformation by uplifting women in rural areas as 70% of the workforce in the garment sector are women.
Indian Textiles Sector Strengthened with Cabinet Level Minister
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, July 6, 2016)--- Ministry of Textiles in India has a new Cabinet Level Minister.
Indian Prime Minister Modi reshuffled his council of ministers and with this change, textile ministry benefitted with the arrival of a cabinet ranked textile minister. Additionally, the textile ministry also got a Minister of State, deputy to the cabinet minister.
India may be one of the few countries that has an independent textiles ministry. Historically, the ministry was always led by a cabinet ranked minister. The current reshuffle of yesterday has empowered the ministry by having a ministerial position that has a seat in the Indian cabinet. Prior to this situation, in the recent past few years, textiles ministry had only a Minister of State with independent Charge.
Prime Minister Modi has been emphasizing the importance of strengthening the manufacturing sector in India, with his “Make in India,” initiative. Textiles is an important sector in the manufacturing industry and the recent ministry change by the Prime Minister signals his support for the textiles sector in India. India’s textile sector is the second largest employment generator next only to agriculture.
Recently, Prime Minister Modi’s government unveiled a special assistance package to support employment in the textiles sector and boost garment exports, with aim of reaching US$30 billion in next three years.
Mrs. Smriti Zubin Irani, took charge as the cabinet level minister for textiles today, while Mr. Ajay Tamta took charge as the Minister of State. Until the recent cabinet change, Mrs. Irani was serving as Union Minister for Human Resources Development. After assuming the leadership role, Minister Irani expressed her interest to bring more youngsters into the textiles field and strengthen Prime Minister’s Make in India initiative by scaling-up textile manufacturing in India and enhance its exports.
Indian Cotton Crop Production to Decline
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, July 13, 2016)-Cotton Advisory Board of India in a meeting today has provided a revised estimate for this year’s cotton supply and demand situation in India.
The provisional estimate released today has put India’s crop production to be at its lowest production in five years since the crop year 2011-12.
This year, India is estimated to produce 33.8 million bales (170 Kgs each), which is significantly lower than what it produced in the past two seasons. During the 2013-14 year, India produced 39.8 million bales and during this last season, which ended in September 2015, India produced 38.6 million bales.
Today’s revised estimate is lower than the February estimate of 35.2 million by 1.4 million bales.
To meet the demand of 37.6 million bales, which will be slightly higher this year than last year, India will use its stock. As a result, its closing stock this year will be 4.3 million bales as against last year’s 6.6 million bales.
As production is showing a declining trend in the recent three years since 2013-14, export is project to be 6.8 million bales as against higher numbers during the three crop years 2011-12 to 2013-14.
Indian Spinning Association Endeavors to Calm the Stormy Cotton Situation
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, July 15, 2016)-The Southern India Mills’ Association based in Coimbatore has called for calmness among spinners in India in the wake of the downward cotton production estimate.
To offset the abnormal rise in price in domestic markets due to speculation, SIMA’s Chairman Mr. M. Senthilkumar has suggested larger mills to opt for imports to normalize price situation in India.
On July 13th, India’s Cotton Advisory Board revised this year’s production to be 33.8 million bales (170 Kg each). This estimate is 1.4 million bales less than the February estimate and substantially lower than the production in the past two seasons.
The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) in reacting to the downward estimate has requested mills not to panic and resort to rush purchase as the prices have risen abnormally high by about 44 percent since April.
According to Mr. Senthilkumar, price rise has been due to speculation that acreage would drop but the area under production will be good enough for a comfortable supply situation.
According to SIMA, drastic increase in price in the domestic market will negatively impact the Indian textile sector as the international cotton price is over 10 percentage lower than Indian price levels. The domestic cotton price is making the situation uncompetitive for the Indian spinning and textile sectors, and would negatively impact the export of textile goods.
Analyzing the cotton price situation from spinners point of view, Mr. Senthilkumar pointed out that while clean cotton price has increased over Rupees 40 per kilogram, yarn price for 40 Ne count has disproportionately risen only by Rupees 6 to Rupees 23 per kilogram, in the past three months.
In order to provide a stable price situation, SIMA has appealed to the Indian Government to consider “Cotton Price Stabilization Scheme.” It has also requested the government for additional support programs such as 5 percent interest subvention for cotton purchase during the peak season (October to April), increasing credit limit from three months to nine months and reducing the margin money requirement from 25 percent to 10 percent.
With the ICE December contract at 74 cents and significant reduction estimate of India’s production, all eyes are on what will be the actual production in the United States this fall.
Indian Government to Sell its Cotton Stock
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, July 16, 2016)-Government of India today directed the Cotton Corporation of India to sell its entire cotton balance stock to offset the abnormal price rise.
Indian mills are importing cotton predominantly from African countries to sort out the current crisis situation.
Government of India’s undertaking cotton marketing entity, the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has been directed to sell its stock to micro, small medium scale (MSME) spinning units. CCI will sell the cotton it procured through the minimum support price scheme to domestic MSME spinning units.
Leading spinning associations such as the Coimbatore based The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) have thanked the Ministry of Textiles, India for acceding to its request to support the spinning industry. Based on the current situation, SIMA hopes that the government in future will sell only to domestic end-users such as spinning units and not to international marketing companies.
In the present situation, spinning mills are facing crisis as they have excess capacity due to lack of yarn exports to China and abnormal price rise in the recent three months.
In a telephone conversation this morning with this scribe, a general manager of a leading cotton spinning mill in Aruppukottai, South India stated that China is not importing coarse count yarns. Adding to this problem, cotton price has shot up mostly due to stockpiling which has artificially inflated the price in the domestic market. Another source stated that the landed price of imported cotton is six rupees per kilogram less than the domestic price. Given that rainfall has been generally good in most parts of the country, price rise is not justifiable, according to the source.
Mr. M. Senthilkumar, Chairman of SIMA stated that in the next three months, cotton imports may well exceed 1.5 million bales (170 Kgs each), as mills have contracted with companies from Australia and African countries. This is a significant development given that India became a leading cotton producing country recently.
Nano Textiles to Analyze Sweat for Health Monitoring
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Bengaluru, India, July 21, 2016)-A collaborative research at University of Pennsylvania and Drexel endeavors to develop wearable textiles that monitor wearer’s health by analyzing sweat.
The project incorporates nano yarn structures that can be knitted to form comfortable fabrics. The nano yarns in the fabric, by chemically analyzing the sweat from the wearer changes its color as a way to monitor the wearer’s health condition.
According to the researchers, the nano yarns should resemble spiracles which are in the abdomen of insects or xylem in plants. These tiny pore structures modeled after biological beings will enable transport and make the fabrics comfortable. Nano structures are coated on their inside with chemistries which can change color based on sweat analysis.
The team envisions using fluorescent dyes and coloring changing liquid crystals to impart functionality.
The project involves the groups of Professors Shu Yang and Randall Kamien from University of Pennsylvania and Genevieve Dion from Drexel University. The Keck Future Initiative has supported the work, which has so far resulted in hand knitted braid involving function nano yarns to analyze sweat.
It is becoming apparent that wearable textiles is a multidisciplinary field and more and more such developments are coming from nontraditional textile R& D base.
June, 2016
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Scientists Develop Nanocellulose Filter to Remove Viruses from Water
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, June 3, 2016)- Scientists at Uppasala University, Sweden in collaboration with German virologists have developed cellulose nanofiber sheets to remove viruses from water.
Nanocellulose filter paper termed as “mille-feuille filter,” have layered structure resembling French pastry mille-feuille, will be able to remove even small sized viruses. This new structured nanocellulose sheets are affordable filters that not only can remove viruses but also can have long life, according to Uppasala University.
Earlier in 2014, the researchers presented filters that can capture large sized viruses such as influenza virus.
Compared to tea bag kind of cellulose filters, these French pastry structured filters have pore structures that can filter viruses that are normally resistant to physical and chemical countermeasure processes.
Uppasala team was led by Professor Albert Mihranyan and collaborated with virologists from Charles River Biopharmaceutical Services, Cologne, Germany.
According to Mihranyan, their goal is to develop filter paper that can remove viruses from water as easily as brewing coffee.
Four Decades of Random Walks in Sustainable Textile Processing
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, June 8, 2016)- Sustainable textile processing research has been undertaken way back in the 1980s and has led to significant cost savings in the textile industry.
Professor Fred L. Cook, who has recently retired from fulltime teaching at Atlanta, Georgia-based Georgia Institute of Technology after four decades of distinguished career there, highlighted some of his key research accomplishments in energy savings and materials conservation in the 2015 Olney Medal address at this year’s international conference of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) in Williamsburg, Virginia. There were over 250 people in attendance at the international event.
Olney Medal, awarded by AATCC was established in the year 1944 is the highest research award in the field for lifetime work in textiles and polymer chemistry. The medal for the year 2015 was awarded to Professor Fred Cook for his four decades of research in sustainable textile processing.
While sustainability has become a new paradigm in manufacturing these days, Fred Cook has looked into this aspect for enhancing the profitability of the textile industry way back in the early eighties. In 1982, Cook and his colleagues published their work on single step (desizing-scouring-bleaching) process for cotton blends. That work not only showed technical progress but also showcased Cook’s effort to translate the laboratory research from academia to practice.
Professor Cook’s research has been model for mission linked research and industry collaborations, which were pioneering efforts some thirty years ago. Collaborations with industries such as Southern Mills and Shaw Industries have led to projects such as waterless dyeing of nomex, efficient printing process for nomex fabrics, acid dyeing of nylon carpets, etc.
Apart from his efforts in engaging with industries, another hallmark of his research has been to utilize technologies in other fields for the benefit of the textile sector. He and research student Kishor Gupta used vacuum flash evaporation technique to recover and reuse PVA, a common sizing chemical used in the industry. This technique results in zero liquid discharge and is cost effective.
Professor Cook has not only contributed to the research and development in the textiles field, but has also helped many to spread their wings in the field, including this scribe, who had the opportunity to first meet Professor Cook on a boat ride in Switzerland some twenty year’s back during an international event sponsored by the leading spinning machinery company, Rieter Group.
Update on Indian Cotton Sector
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, June 14, 2016)---Indian government executed largest ever minimum support price (MSP) scheme through Cotton Corporation of India during the 2014-15 cotton season.
On June 10, Indian Union Textiles Minister, Honorable Santosh Kumar Gangwar stated that the above MSP program was carried out to safeguard the interest of Indian cotton growers. The scheme was implemented in 11 cotton growing states.
8.6 million bales (170 Kgs each) were procured through the MSP scheme during the 2014-15 season up to March 30, 2015.
MSP scheme is being executed during the current, 2015-16 season and up till now; about 900,000 bales (170 Kgs each) have been procured. Cotton Corporation of India operates over 340 procurement centers in 11 cotton producing states.
In the 2014-15 season, India became number one in cotton cultivation with 32.05 million acres under cotton cultivation. In the previous season (2013-14), India had 28.99 million acres under cotton cultivation.
Indian Association Wants Cotton Free Trade
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, June 23, 2016)---Mumbai based Cotton Association of India wants free trade in cotton.
The Cotton Association of India with over 400 members representing all walks of cotton trade such as merchants, brokers, spinning mills is opposed to all measures that negatively affect free trade in cotton.
On June 22nd, reacting to media reports from Pakistan about the opposition from All Pakistan Textile Mills’ Association (APTMA) to export cotton from Pakistan to India, Dhiren Sheth, President of CAI urged the Government of Pakistan not to support the call for export ban by APTMA.
In a statement from CAI, Dhiren Sheth expressed that if issue for APTMA was the elimination of import duty on cotton, it has to be addressed directly as a separate issue.
CIA has expressed strongly that it is opposed to measures hurting free trade such as import duty and has warned about the serious repercussions on the cotton trade and textile industry in Pakistan and India if APTMA’s push becomes a reality.
In speaking with this scribe, this morning from India, a source very familiar with this situation stated that although India is a leader in cotton production and is expected to export about 6 to 6.5 million bales (170 Kgs) this season, India needs to import little quantities of short staple from Pakistan and long staple from United States, Australia and Egypt to cater to the needs of its diverse spinning sector. In commenting on the end-uses of short staple cotton imported from Pakistan, the source said those cottons are spun into yarns that go to developing industrial application products such as coverall and wrapping bags.
According to CAI, Pakistan has imported over 2 million bales of cotton from India this season, as it needed due to the failure of its crop at that point of time.
In addition to the need based on specific end-uses for cotton from Pakistan, India wants to import cotton from Pakistan due to the current tight supply situation for its domestic mills.
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Wearable Cooling Vest Advancement
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, May 12, 2016)- Wearable nanoarray embedded personal cooling vests are on the horizon.
A team of researchers at the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) led by Qing Wang, professor of materials science and engineering has created nanowire material that could cool with electric field which is safe for humans. Such nanoarrays are lightweight and flexible enough to be embedded in firefighter gears, athlete dresses, etc.
The nanoarrays are made up of ferroelectric barium strontium titanate, which can cool to about 5.5 degree Fahrenheit using 36 volts. Ferroelectric polymers used earlier by others require electric field that are not within the safety limits for human beings.
The researchers state that just a 500 gram battery can power the nanoarrays for two hours, which is sufficient for people who do moderate exercise. An important advancement with this wearable technology is that it does not require regeneration of coolants and hence avoids ozone depletion.
The US National Science Foundation research at Penn State showcases further advancements in the field of wearable textiles. Wearable textiles field is getting considerable attention in the United States with the recent creation of US317 million public-private partnership consortium at Cambridge, MA-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Metal Detectable Nonwovens Developed
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, May 20, 2016)- Nonwoven substrates with impregnated particles that can be detected by metal detectors developed.
A team of three researchers at ITW Pro Brands, have developed technology to incorporate stainless steel particles into spunmelt nonwovens that can find applications in food packaging sector.
Regular spunbond wipes, caps and gowns that are used in food packaging lines have the possibility of getting mixed with the food packages and products, while used. However, having these wipes that can be detected by metal detectors that are already in place in food packaging machines will solve the problem and help with reducing health risks and legal issues, stated Karen Mertins .
Karen Mertins, a chemist with ITW Pro Brands presented the patent pending technology at the recent NET Inc event during the PaperCon conference, this week in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Bob Martin, Emily Aldridge and Karen Mertins are the three named inventors on the patent pending technology.
The technology displays collaborations with polymer technology companies and nonwoven roll goods manufacturer.
Initial trials were conducted at the Social Circle-GA based Standridge Color Corporation. To further develop the product, Karen Mertins’ team collaborated with Fitesa to develop the wipes. They used Fitesa’s 1 meter Reicofil spunmelt line in its plant in Peine, Germany.
In talking with the scribe at the event, Mertins advised that they have used 16 micron size stainless steel particles from Eriez Magnetics of Erie, PA to develop the spunmelt wipes.
The inventors are also looking into developing x-ray detectable textile materials.
This year’s NET Inc event of the TAPPI focused on innovations in nonwovens technology from fibers to processes and was held at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Tea Bacteria Modified to Produce Cellulose
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, May 31, 2016)- A team of scientists and students at Imperial College London have engineered bacteria found in green tea to produce cellulose that can find applications in filtration and textile industry.
The team at Imperial College London has developed DNA tools to engineer a specific strain of bacteria found in fermented green tea to produce modified bacterial cellulose. This technique also enables to incorporate proteins and other biomolecules to the bacteria.
Among many different potential applications, protein incorporated bacterial cellulose filter can be used to target contaminants in water supplies. An interesting application is developing sensors using cellulose material that can detect biotoxins, based on color change.
Undergraduate students specializing in synthetic biology led this research effort according to Imperial College. This study is one of the first to use synthetic biology to engineer the ways in which materials are produced.
Michael Florea, who led the project while carrying out undergraduate studies at Imperial College stated that the study shows bacterial cellulose production can be genetically engineered and proteins can be woven into the cellulose, which has not been possible before.
According to researchers, the next step is to collaborate with NASA scientists to manufacture new materials on Mars using these engineered microbes. Other applications are envisioned in fashion and textile industry.
The research work has been published in the recent issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA
April, 2016
United States Commits US$317 Million for Advanced Textiles Development
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, April 1, 2016)— A private-public collaboration will invest US $317 million towards developing next generation textile industry in the United States.
According to a just released statement from the U.S. Department of Defense, a consortium of 89 universities, industry and non-profits organized Cambridge, MA-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will form the “New Revolutionary Fibers and Textiles Manufacturing Innovation Hub.”
A non-profit vehicle Advanced Functional Fabrics of America Alliance that has the consortium members involving Universities like MIT, Cornell, University of Tennessee-Knoxville and leading industry partners will be leading the charge of the innovation work and will be managed by the U.S. Army.
U. S. Department of Defense will invest US$75 million and there will be huge contributions from non-federal entities that is about 3 times the size of U.S. government’s investment in the next generation fiber-textile chain research. The total effort is estimated to be worth about an investment of US$ 317 million.
Leading technology giants such as Bose, Intel and many textile innovative companies are involved in this effort.
The new revolutionary fiber institute is the sixth manufacturing innovation hub initiative by President Obama administered through the U.S. Department of Defense. These institutes are aimed at developing high-tech sectors in the U.S. to enable U.S. to be competitive, especially in the manufacturing sector.
Smart Textiles Devices will Double in Twelve Months
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, April 6, 2016)— Smart textiles that have devices embedded in them will double in every twelve months.
Cambridge, MA-based Massachusetts of technology (MIT), which led the effort to create a public-private partnership consortium Advanced Functional Fabrics of America Alliance (AFFOA) hosted the launching event on April 1, wherein Defense Secretary Ashton Carter made the announcement of the creation of AFFOA with US$317 million commitment to create a textile revolution in the United States.
Speaking at the event as the host, Dr. Rafael Reif, the 17th President of MIT stated that in an industry that is yet to be invented, the number of devices in fiber will double in every twelve months. He christened this growth curve as “AFFOA Law” modeled after Moore’s Law, which the semiconductor industry uses to gauge its growth. Although, it is indeed premature and quite early to predict how the smart textiles industry will evolve, at least it creates an optimistic mood in the textile sector that badly needs growth and increase in job numbers.
Professor Yoel Fink, who is the principal lead in the consortium effort at MIT, echoes President Reif’s sentiments that the functions in a fiber will grow in a similar fashion as was the case with computer chips.
Textile industry has activities to look forward to with the creation of AFFOA institute. One immediate need is to precisely define what exactly are smart fabrics? Although not precisely defined, textiles with functional characteristics such as phase change materials, textiles with electronics, etc., are all considered as smart textiles, these days. Other tasks will be to establish standards, solving problems such as cost and durability issues, etc.
By formally bringing, workforce solution groups and R & D people together, AFFOA has sent a signal that it will endeavor to create a new textile sector that will have advanced products and good job prospects.
AFFOA law may be an ambitious target during the initial phase of the new textile revolution, but certainly growth in the textile sector is expected to happen.
Importers Prefer US Cotton for its Quality
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, April 10, 2016)-Turkey prefers US cotton for its quality and will be the top importer this year.
On Friday, April 8, producers from the High Plains of Texas gathered in the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center for the 59th annual meeting of the Plains Cotton Growers, Inc.
David Wasserman of the non-partisan The Cook Political Report provided keynote on what is going on in the US Presidential election, particularly on the primary season. The highlight of the meeting was a presentation on the cotton industry situation by Reece Langley, Vice President-Washington Operations of the National Cotton Council.
Langley who has two degrees from Auburn University presented the shift that is happening in the US cotton export landscape with brief statistics on the global cotton industry.
In the current marketing year, China will no longer be the top importer of US cotton. Turkey will be the top importer, which will be followed by Mexico and Vietnam as other leading importers of US cotton. These three countries combined will constitute over 45% of US cotton exports.
The export situation has dramatically changed since 2010-12 timeframe, when China was the top importer with about 42% of US exports. Currently, only about 5% of US cotton export is expected in the China market. As is evident, economic slowdown in China and the huge cotton reserves it holds are major reasons for the shift. Langley stated China has over 50 million bales in stocks and within few weeks China will announce its decision on the stocks.
In the current season, US will be the leading exporter with 10.2 million bales (480 lbs. each) in the export sales expected, followed by India and Africa Free Zone each at 4.4 million bales. Australia is expected to export 2.5 million bales.
Traditional Nonwoven Materials are Better Tissue Scaffolds
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, April 12, 2016)- Nonwoven substrates made using spunmelt and carding processes are cost effective to develop tissue scaffolds.
A team of researchers from the University of Missouri-Columbia and University of North Carolina (UNC)/North Carolina State University (NCSU) have found that nonwoven substrates produced using the above traditional methods provided viable tissue scaffold medium compared to electrospun nanofiber webs.
Professor Elizabeth Loboa, who is currently the Dean of Engineering College at the University of Missouri undertook the study while associated with UNC/NCSU with Dr. Stephen Tuin and Professor Behnam Pourdeyhimi of The Nonwovens Institute at NCSU.
Electrospinning field has exploded since the early 1990s due the efforts of Dr. Jayesh Doshi, Founder of Chattanooga, TN-based eSpin Technologies and Professor Darrell Reneker of the University of Akron. Many industries around the world are working towards improving this method to make it scalable to produce cost effective nanowebs.
Loboa and her team used carding and spunmelt technologies to develop polylactic acid scaffolds to grow human stem cells. These scaffolds showed that stem cells grown on them were healthy after three weeks and could grow into fat and bone tissues. In addition to being effective media to grow stem cells, the cost of these media is relatively cheaper to electrospun nanowebs.
According to Loboa, small piece electrospun webs could cost between US$2 to US$5, whereas, the cost of traditional media ranges between US$0.30 to US$3.00
According to the team, the next step is to evaluate the performance of scaffolds developed using spunmelt and carding techniques in animals in vivo.
Semiconductor Superhydrophobic Fabrics Developed
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, April 19, 2016)-Australian researchers have developed semiconductor superhydrophobic functional fabrics.
A team of Australian researchers from Queensland University of Technology, RMIT University and two CSIRO units have developed functional fabrics that are semiconductors and could repel oil and water. The fabric separated crude oil, olive oil and dichloromethane from water.
The scientists used silver interwoven nylon fabric and coated copper on to it, to start with. This semiconductor fabric undergoes immediate chemical reaction when coated with a chemical solution of tetracyanoanthraquinodimethane referred to TCNAQ. This process creates charge transfer complex of copper and TCNAQ, which results in nano rough surfaces all through the fabric making it superhydrophobic.
According to the lead scientist of the study, Anthony O’Mullane, associate professor at the Queensland University of Technology, the fabrics are multifunctional, antibacterial and semiconductive. O’Mullane stated, “Because it is semi-conductor, it can interact with visible light to degrade organic pollutants.”
Researchers claim that a variety of applications are possible such as separating water from industrial sludge, decontaminating water and killing bugs.
According to the researchers, the next step is to test the scalability and mechanical robustness of the coated fabric.
Clothing for Children with Autism Developed
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, April 21, 2016)-April is the national autism awareness month in the United States. Texas Tech University researchers are contributing to the fight against autism.
A team of researchers at Texas Tech University (TTU) have developed special clothing to help children with autistic disorders.
According to latest statistics from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), based on data from 11 communities, 1 in 68 children aged 8 years, have autism spectrum disorder (ASD). CDC data shows that in the US, the economic cost per year for children with the autism disorder can be as high as US$ 60.9 billion. It is critical to develop medical and non-medical countermeasures to combat the disorder.
TTU’s project on sensory clothing is led by Su Shin, associate professor of design involves Kristi Gaines, professor of interior design and undergraduate researchers. The clothing incorporates air pumps to control pressure, patterned structures in pockets to calm children with ASD. Researchers designed clothing with hoods that can provide acoustic insulation to protect the ears of children from unwanted external noise.
According to the researchers, based on the feedback they have obtained, organic bamboo fabric was the most preferred and wool clothing was least liked by the children, who used the clothing.
Adding gadgets to provide functionality and enhance comfort is becoming a norm these days in the next-generation clothing. Hopefully, with the investment of US$317 million to create the revolutionary fabric institute in the United States, new wearable electronic textiles that have unimagined functions may be on the horizon.
Germany Establishes New Carbon Fiber Research Center
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, April 22, 2016)-Saxony region in Germany will have a new advanced center for carbon fiber research.
The Technical University of Dresden (TU Dresden) will establish this center to focus on carbon fiber R & D and develop a wide array of applications in functional materials.
TU Dresden will bring the resources and expertise of the Institute of Lightweight Structures and Polymer Technology and the Institute of Textile Machinery and High Performance Material Technology in establishing the new center called “Research Center for Carbon Fibers Saxony (RCCF).”
One particular emphasis of this new center will be on transferring research knowledge to the industry. Germany has for a long time now, emphasized the importance of applied research with funding support from partner industries with the establishment of a number of Fraunhofer Institutes that focus on a myriad of technical fields such as polymer research in Postdam-Golm, composites, wood research, etc.
An overarching goal of the center is to make Saxony a high tech cluster for lightweight carbon manufacturing. Towards this goal, initial step will be to commission a carbon fiber manufacturing plant, this June.
According to Professor Chokri Cherif, Director of the Institute of Textile Machinery, necessary machinery are already in place and the center will set new standards in both fundamental and applied research in carbon fibers.
India Not to Provide Export Subsidies for Cotton
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, April 27, 2016)-India is not user of export subsidies for cotton according to Government of India.
Today, Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India provided clarification with regard to export subsidies for cotton.
Since India did not have export subsidies during 1986 to 1988, which is the base period per the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture (AOA), India is not entitled to export subsidies. However, subsidies to reduce the cost of marketing, transportation costs, handling and processing costs are permitted without circumventing the export subsidy reduction commitments.
Developed nations have agreed to eliminate export subsidies based on the Nairobi Ministerial Decision on Cotton and Export Competition, which was adopted on December 19, 2015. This agreement will enable developing countries to eliminate export subsidies by January 1 of 2017.
Government of India opines that the Nairobi Decision on elimination of cotton export subsidies will be good for Indian cotton exports as it will provide a leveling platform since India is not entitled for the export subsidy provision.
India has pushed for the adaptation of Nairobi decision, which will prevent dumping of subsidized cotton in India, according to Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India.
Monsanto Technology Leader Talks about Future
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, April 28, 2016)-Communicating science and training next-generation STEM graduates are just as important as doing science stated Robert Fraley, Chief Technology Officer at the agriculture biotechnology giant Monsanto.
Yesterday, Texas Tech University, hosted a team of six Monsanto executives lead by Robert Fraley. Fraley, a much accomplished scientist with World Food Prize and US National Medal of Technology engaged the whole afternoon with researchers and students to talk about the importance of science, communicating science and training next generation workforce with science and technology education.
Quipping, he will be in his nineties in 2050 when the world will have 10 billion people, Fraley stated, farming has to be smarter, better and different.
Being a technology leader in an agriculture company, Fraley emphasized the need for not only geneticists, but also people who are trained in social sciences, statistics and data analytics, emphasizing the need for multidisciplinary knowledge in the future R & D industry.
Science is core for new technology, it is insufficient if people did not understand, stated Fraley.
Robert Fraley’s group was the first team in the world to put a gene into a plant that resulted in technologies such as Bollgard and Roundup Ready, which basically enhanced the yield of cotton in countries like India, which became the world number in cotton production last year.
Twenty five percent of Monsanto’s R&D budget is set aside for collaborations involving start-ups, academia and small businesses.
This March, Monsanto broke the ground for a $140 million cottonseed production facility in Lubbock to be operational in Summer 2017, will cater to the cotton seed requirement of the whole United States.
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Korean Team Develops Superbug Resistant Fabric from Bacterial Pigment
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, March 1, 2016)—An industry-academia team in South Korea has effectively used pigment from bacteria found in nature to develop superbug resistant fabrics.
A team of institute-industry partners affiliated with Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) involving Korean Institute of Ceramic Engineering and Technology, industrial partner, Yeejoo Company and UNIST has used bacterial pigment “Violacein,” to impart antimicrobial properties.
Violacein, an indole derivative is a violet pigment made by naturally occurring bacteria such as those belonging to genus such as Chromobacterium. Violacein has been reported to have antimicrobial and antiparasital properties in microbiology related literature.
The bacterial pigment was coated to the fabric and has been reported to have good efficacy to MRSA and multi drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The coated fabrics inhibited the growth of MRSA and other supebugs by 99.9 percentage, according to UNIST. The work could be first of its kind to effectively utilize bacterial pigment as a coating agent on fabrics to impart antimicrobial properties. The Korean team has developed prototype face masks and they are currently being put to use in a local hospital in Ulsan city, South Korea.
UNIST is a young national University in South Korea with emphasis on science and technology established in the year, 2007 in Ulsan city.
Marketing Tips from High Plains of Texas
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, March 3, 2016)—High Plains of Texas is known globally for its cotton industry. Efforts are underway here to grow new industries and develop entrepreneurs.
A group of likeminded people with interest in entrepreneurialism and developing businesses in Lubbock, Texas are organizing the weekly 1 Million Cups Lubbock program to kick start start-ups and businesses in the High Plains. 1 Million Cups is a US nationwide educational program for prospective and budding business people developed by Kansas City based Kauffman Foundation.
On March 2nd, Kelly Martin, a licensed professional counsellor briefed the audience about how she created The Playroom Lubbock, a play therapy based counselling service offered to needy children and adolescents. Apart from going over the business plan that has enabled her to have a business with 20 clients in 8 months or so, a valuable marketing tip Kelly Martin gave may be of immense help to budding business people.
A major hurdle that deters young people in venturing into being an entrepreneur is how to go about marketing the products and services. In a question by this scribe Ms. Martin provided her own example of how her company started promoting about the services The Playroom Lubbock will provide even before the company actually became fully operational with a brick and mortar structure.
Apart from flyers and advertisements, it is the face to face briefing and promotional efforts well in advance to prospective buyers before the products are out there to be sold are some sage advice in growing a business.
Planned and well thought out marketing even before a company begins its operation to provide goods and service to customers will be of help to budding entrepreneurs and small business sector.
Marriott Hotel Chain to Offer Customers Made in America Terry Products
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, March 21, 2016)— Marriott will become the first hospitality company to offer its customers, bath terry towels and mats that are made within the boundaries of the United States using home grown cotton.
United States has been long importing textiles and apparel goods from low cost wage countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam, as it shifted away from low-end manufacturing industries. However, the United States is focusing on high-end textile manufacturing sectors such as industrial textiles and nonwovens.
Marriott International with reported revenues of more than U.S. $ 14 billion last fiscal year, announced recently that it will use bath terry fabrics made from U. S. grown cotton and manufactured in the United States. Marriott has entered into a partnership with Standard Textiles to develop these goods to be used in its 3,000 U.S. hotels.
“We believe our guest will appreciate knowing that even simple items they use every day in our hotels represent progress for the U. S. economy,” said J. W. “Bill” Marriott, Jr., the Executive Chairman of Marriott.
Standard Textile will manufacture these goods in its Thomaston, Georgia and Union, South Carolina plants in the U.S. It is reported that this new program will create 150 new jobs at these locations.
The use of home grown cotton has brought cheers to U.S. cotton producers. Steve Verett, Executive Vice President of Lubbock, TX based Plains Cotton Growers, Inc., said, “From a cotton producer perspective, this is excellent news. Anything we can do to increase demand for our product certainly will benefit our producers. We appreciate Marriott International for recognizing the importance of supporting the U.S. cotton and textile industry. It is significant for a major hotel chain like Marriott to make this commitment, and we hope others will follow. ”
Product Differentiation a Key Strategy to Succeed in Business
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, March 23, 2016)— In a crowded market space with established key players, differentiating products and educating them to customers will be a successful business strategy.
On a windy day today, a group of entrepreneurs and people with business interest gathered for the weekly 1 Million Cups Program in Lubbock, coordinated by Texas Tech University and active volunteers of the Lubbock 1 million cups activity.
Josh Holder and his wife, Angie Holder, who are the co-owners of Victory Fitness Ranch, a wellness center made their presentation about their new fitness venture which they co-own along with another business partner on a 9 acre campus in the suburb of Lubbock on High Plains of Texas.
Although, fitness business has become crowded, their marketing strategy focused on differentiating their business from their competitors. They focus of key Kaizen principles such as taking small problems to solve and focusing on them. As a key product differentiation, Holders not only focus on fitness and diets as part of wellness program they offer, they cultivate good habits to think well, creating positive attitudes in their clients. Another product differentiator in their business is their resort type of setting for their fitness operation, giving feel good ambience to their clients.
It is clear from the business model of Holders that it is not necessary to have disruptive technology to have a successful business, which is good take home message for manufacturers like textiles and nonwoven fabrics.
As long as businesses can differentiate their products from their competitors and market them highlighting those attributes, it will be beneficial. For example, cotton industry can promote the benefits of cotton’s biodegradability as a key differentiator compared to synthetics in single-use textile products as a way of marketing to customers.
White House Announces an Ambitious Diaper Program
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, March 24, 2016)— President Obama recently announced a pilot program to enable low-income families to procure diapers more effectively.
President Obama has requested US$ 10 million to test ways to make diapers available to families in need, which has to be approved by the U.S. Congress.
According to the White House, lowest income families with babies pay 14 percent of their income on diapers. This can work out to about US $936 for diapers per child per year. The White House stated, one in three U.S. families struggle to provide diapers for their babies.
Citing his personal experience of buying case after case of diaper, while his daughters were babies, President Obama has initiated the ambitious program involving diaper manufacturers, retailers, government and non-profits.
The pilot program has evolved out of a research by Dr. Megan Smith, assistant professor of psychiatry at New Haven based Yale University. According to Smith, some families spend 50 cents per diaper if purchased in neighborhood stores and the lack of diapers is one of the leading causes for stress in young mothers.
The White Program is aimed at enhancing the health of babies and mothers by making diapers available easily, especially for low income U.S. families. The program aims to make diapers an absolute necessity and not an optional material.
Diaper manufacturers certainly have a major task ahead in providing cost effective diapers without comprising quality.
Resale Textile Business Offers New Scope
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, March 28, 2016)— Reselling fashion and branded textiles offers new opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
In the West, particularly, where garage and yard sales are common, extending this concept to re-sell high fashion and branded items may offer good scope for starting new business ventures.
Speaking at a recent 1 Million Cups Program in Lubbock, coordinated by Texas Tech University and volunteer members of the Lubbock 1 Million Cups Program, Shawn Anglin, owner of Lubbock based Culture Clothing made a presentation on his successful business venture that re-sells branded clothes and accessories.
Growing slowly but deliberately, watching cash flow to inventory levels and being consistent in details are important mantras for any business to succeed according to Shawn Anglin.
In a question from this scribe on what values his re-sale textile business can provide to the customers, Shawn answered, it is the cost of branded goods that matter the most. Re-sale branded items have discounted price, which is what the customers care. Additionally, having a wider basket of fashion and branded goods provides good shopping experience to customers.
Important tips to increase sales in re-sale business is being very mindful of inventory levels, not spreading too thin and having targeted marketing strategies. Good shopping experience in a good location and providing cost savings to customers can increase traffic flow and sales, said Anglin.
Not only re-sale textile business is an attractive business proposition, it is sound environmentally as textiles get recycled from one customer to the other without being thrown on to dump yards quickly.
Proactive Measures to Combat Likely White Fly Infestation in India
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, March 29, 2016)—Government of India is taking proactive measures to combat likely white fly infestation in cotton producing Northern States in India.
Last year, excessive damage occurred to cotton crop in the Northern States of Punjab and Haryana.
According to a latest estimate by Mumbai-based Cotton Association of India, the northern zone consisting of the states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan is expected to produce a total of 4 million bales (170 Kgs each) this season (October 2015-September 2016) which is less than the last season’s (2014-15) production of 5.4 million bales.
The Central Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ministry of India issued directives related to planting cotton in Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana, according to a statement from the government on March 28th.
Government of India has stipulated the sowing timeframe in the beginning of April in the three states where the likelihood of white fly infestation is high. Ministry of Agriculture has directed farmers to use only certain seeds and monitoring the movement of pests has been highly recommended. Timely use of pesticides to combat the infestation has been advised.
Particular emphasis this year is on the timely sowing of seeds in early April.
The research arm of the Ministry, Indian Council of Agricultural Research is helping farmers in selecting suitable seeds and a list of pests resistant seeds has been provided for the benefit of farmers.
Nonwoven Innovations to be Featured at the TAPPI Conference
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, March 30, 2016)— TAPPI will have its Nonwovens International Conference this May in Cincinnati, which is the home of the consumer goods giant, Procter and Gamble.
The conference will focus on innovations from fiber to nonwoven fabrics with key presentations from global business leaders. The nonwovens conference, which is organized as part of the PaperCon Mega Conference will kick-off with a high powered keynote speech on marketing by Ken Schmidt, former Communication Director of the legendary motorcycle company, Harley-Davidson.
Greg Bunker, Global Business Director for Adhesives and Functional Materials at Dow Chemicals will be keynoting on innovations for the growth of the nonwoven business. A particular focus of Greg’s talk will be on using innovation as a key tool to cope with the ever changing market place, which is particularly helpful for the nonwoven industry dominated by single-use consumer goods that has shorter life cycle.
This year, the conference will feature two tutorials that will focus on nonwoven processes and filtration. These tutorials are a good way of learning for new comers to the field of nonwovens.
Nonwoven Technologists and Engineers Division (NET) at TAPPI provides a platform for academics, industry personnel and students in the field to network for advancing the science and careers. And certainly this year’s conference has plenty to offer for people in the nonwovens and technical textiles field, said Maureen Nunn, Chairman of the NET Division at TAPPI.
Interesting and new topics such as sustainable fibers and processes like eco-friendly dyeing of cellulose nanofibers, novel antimicrobial finishing of cotton nonwovens, PLA co-polymer meltblown nonwovens, bi-component electrospun battery separator substrates, to name a few are on the agenda.
This year’s emphasis has been on novelty in terms of technology and products such as sustainable products for new applications. Topics will cover the developments in natural fibers, polymers, binder additives to benefit the nonwovens sector.
TAPPI nonwovens conference will take place from May 16-18 in in Cincinnati, OH. More details can be found at: http://www.papercon.org/program/netinc-nonwovens/
Marketing Consistency Important for Businesses to Succeed
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, March 30, 2016)— For business start-ups, it is important to settle on a marketing strategy and stick with it.
In a discussion today during the business networking, 1 Million Cups Program in Lubbock, TX, Brad Johnson, who has been in real estate business for 17 years stated, consistency in marketing is necessary for businesses to succeed.
Today, Ryan Hannsz, a brand new entrepreneur, who has started a pest control business, “Basic Pest Control” just last week spoke about his business interest and plans for future at the 1 Million Cups Program.
Learning from other businesses, Ryan plans not to “up-sell” his services. In other words, not over selling the business to customers is how Ryan plans to differentiate his service from his peers in the field. Ryan provided useful tips for business aspirants that include keeping a problem at hand simple, and solving that problem effectively. Customers should not be scared away by making their problem look complicated.
Making the problem look simple or basic and providing right solution at the right cost should be the basic nature of any business, particularly the service sector such as plumbing or pest control.
For small business owners and entrepreneurs, getting good help with book keeping and seeking help from agencies in their community such as Small Business Administration are just as important as their products and services emphasized, Jennifer Horn, Director of Entrepreneurialism at Texas Tech University.
Proactive measures such as regular touch base with customers, good people skills and not up-selling the product capabilities and services are some basic necessities for business to succeed.
India Develops First Indigenous Composites Sonar Dome
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, March 31, 2016)— Indian defense minister recently unveiled first indigenous sonar dome made using composites manufactured in India.
On March 29th, Indian Defense Minister Mr. Manohar Parrikar dedicated to the nation, first sonar dome that was manufactured by an Indian company, Kineco, Ltd., based in Goa. The unveiling of the new capability took place at the 2016 Defense Exposition in the holiday sea resort town, Goa in Western India.
According to India’s premier defense research organization, DRDO, sonar dome is a protective cover to protect high-end and sensitive equipment in surface war ships.
DRDO’s laboratory in Pune, India has developed the composite technology for sonar domes. Pune laboratory has come up with two processes to develop the composite domes: 1) Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding and 2) Resin Film Infusion technologies.
Vacuum assisted molding technique was used to develop large composite structure that was needed to develop sonar domes. DRDO-Pune laboratory has transferred the technology to Kineco, Ltd in Goa.
India now joins the select group of nations that have the capability to develop large composite structures with complex geometry and acoustic transparency, according to Government of India. India hopes to use the composite technology to develop ship hulls and multiple aerospace structures.
February, 2016
Feb. 29
India to Produce Less Cotton this Year Compared to Last Season
By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA
(Lubbock, USA, February 29, 2016)—India is expected to produce less cotton this season ending in September, 2016. This year, India will produce about 3 million bales less than last year.
Globally, commodity market is not doing well, with cotton being no exception. On Friday, New York Cotton Futures witnessed a steep slide resulting in lowest value since January. In the case of oil, more supply and weak demand is causing global concerns. The demand situation is similar for cotton with not much buying by China, the world’s leading importer. Additionally, cheap oil price impacts polyester raw material costs that have direct influence on the consumption of cotton by spinning mills.
On Saturday, Mumbai based Cotton Association of India presented its latest cotton production number for this season (October 2015-September 2016), that shows India will produce 35.3 million bales (170 Kgs each) this year. This estimate is 3 million bales less than last year’s production estimate of 38.3 million bales.
A striking point is that, this season India has an opening stock of 7.36 million bales as against 5.39 million bales in the last season that began in October of 2014. This year, as the mill consumption is expected to remain at the same level, less production this year will somewhat offset the excess opening stock.
According to a reliable cotton source in India, deficit rainfall in the Kharif season, which is the main cotton growing season stretching between June and September in India, has resulted in less cotton arrivals in the new season. While it is too early to predict, according to sources, cotton production in the next season (October 2016 to September 2017) may see an uptick and could reach about 38 million bales. The market will also see an uptick in the next season with price expected to be about Rupees 34,000 to 35,000 per candy of 356 kilograms.
Price of Sankar-6 cotton today ranges between Rupees 32,500 and Rupees 33,500 per candy of 356 kilograms.
The decrease in production in India might stabilize the Indian market along with uptick in buying from Asian countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam, stated the cotton source, optimistically.
2016
Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar, Ph.D. • Texas Tech University • Department of Environmental Toxicology
Box 41163 • Lubbock, TX 79409-1163 • 806.885.4567 • s.ramkumar@ttu.edu