Evolution of Garment/Textile Industry

The evolution of the textile as well as the garment industry in India, if nothing, has been quite dramatic. In fact the Indian textile industry is hugely diverse much like the nation itself.  As strong as this industry is, it derives this innate vigour from its wide range of fibres or yarns, right from the natural ones like cotton, wool, jute and silk, to the synthetic ones of the likes of polyester, nylon, acrylic and viscose. While the sector was no less than thriving under the British Rule, it was only after independence that the Indian textile industry shot up like never before. Thanks to the 5-years plans, the sector saw a steep rise, of the magnitude of 22 million in production in 1982, just double of what it was in 1951. It further registered an increase and went up to 26 million, by the end of the year 1989.

Furthermore, pertaining to the liberalisation of the trade and economic policies in 1990, the growth pattern of this industry has seen a tremendous ascent. Given that textile is a buyer-driven value chain sector, combined with the fact that India is a labour-intensive economy, the rise in this economy is only highly justified. Relatively, it was rather easy to set up clothing company in India, given the fact that it was, at that point in time a third-world country. Moreover, the lower cost of production, also made India a major exporter of textiles and garments, rather conveniently. While the retailers derived their share of margins from the buyer value chains, the manufacturers gained their fair share from producer driven chains, mainly in the export arena.

Another factor that contributed in a large way towards the steady growth of the Indian garment industry was Tirupur, a small town in Tamil Nadu, which has now grown up as an Industrial hub. What started off as a market for raw cotton back in the day, became a strong base for the setting up of cotton ginning factories. In due course, the local economy of this South-Indian town gave way to hosiery cluster and is today known as the country’s biggest knitwear cluster accounting to a whopping 90% of the nation’s total knitwear exports.

Apart for that their are other major textile hubs in India like Karur ( Home & Kitchen Linen), Coimbatore ( Yarn) , Erode & Salem ( Fabrics), Alleppy ( Coir & Rubber mats), Sholapur ( Terry Towels), Panipat ( Floor Coverings like Rugs & Bathmats), Ichhalkaranji ( Yarn), Ahemdabad ( Fabrics & Processing),Bhiwandi ( Fabrics), Surat ( fabrics), Badhoi ( Woolen Carpets & Rugs) etc which have contributed immensely to the progress of Textile industry in India. www.textilestock.in has vendors in all these places and owns warehouses in three locations from the above hubs of textiles ie Karur, Allappy and Panipat.

 

Today, India stands as the second largest producer of textiles and garments in world, next only to China. Not to forget that the country is the third largest producer of cotton after China and the United States. While India is also the second largest consumer of cotton, making the textile sector financially viable, it is the large scale exports of the yarn, both natural and synthetic that has helped the Indian textile industry reach the high pedestal that it is at!