• lack of professional marketing skills among local manufacturers.
• Lack of fashion forecasting and non-availability of hi-fashion fabrics in the decentralised sector.
• Use of poor quality raw material (yarn) by the decentralised powerloom sector for fabric manufacturing.
• Non-availability of speciality fabrics and fabrics with various coating and special finishes.
• Lack of organised effort towards creation of new designs.
• Non availability of good quality wider width fabrics in the decentralised sector.
• Poor quality of local fleece fabrics compared to that of imported ones.
• Lack of modernisation of machinery, with the decentralised powerloom sector not having sophisticated machines.
• More fabric shrinkage problems associated with indigenous fabrics.
• Non-availability of trained manpower in the weaving and wet processing industry.
• Longer delivery periods for local manufacturers due to their dependence on decentralised production units.
• Buyer's insistence.
  
  
  

Materials and methods

Garment industries using imported fabrics for manufacturing garments were approached and some of the fabric samples used by them were collected.

Information regarding various aspects of the fabrics used by them was collected, classified into different categories and various quality parameters analysed, in order to suggest ways to improve their quality to match the requirements of the garment industry.

Results and discussion

About 50 indigenous and imported fabric samples were collected from the garment units and they were tested for their physical and chemical properties.

Physical properties of fabric samples

• The presence of starch and PYA finishes influences the strength characteristics of the fabric like tensile, tear and bursting strength. Fabric drape and stiffness characteristics are also influenced by fabric finishes.
• The shrinkage values were found to be similar for both imported and indigenous samples and within tolerance limits in all cases. The pilling ratings of imported fabrics are better as compared to that of the indigenous fabrics.
• The Indian suiting fabrics are generally manufactured using 2 ply yarns for warp and weft, whereas in imported fabrics single yarns are used. This may be due to rich raw materials being used to spin yarn using latest machines by the manufacturers in the other countries.
• Indigenous fabric samples show better tensile strength, tearing strength and bursting strength. This may be due to the presence of starch, PYA and finishing agents in these fabrics.

Chemical properties of fabric samples

All indigenous P/C, 100% cotton fabrics are almost similar to that of the imported fabrics in terms of properties like colour fastness to washing, perspiration, rubbing, light, dye transfer to storage are concerned.

The indigenous fabrics are also found to perfectly satisfy the buyer's requirements. An aspect that fabric manufacturers need to take additional care is in maintaining consistent shades and better finishing.

All the imported samples used in this study are dyed with reactive dyes whereas some of the indigenous samples are dyed with the costlier vat dyes and the fabrics so dyed are found to have good colour fastness properties. The reactive dyed imported fabrics meet all the quality requirements equal to that of indigenous vat dyed fabrics.

Corduroy: Finish identification shows that starch, PYA and anionic finishes are present in the indigenous fabric, whereas no finish is present in the imported fabrics. Both the fabrics are dyed with reactive dyes.

100% cotton shirting fabrics: Finish identification shows the presence of starch, PYA and non-ionic finishes in both indigenous and imported fabrics. Reactive dyes are used in both the cases for dyeing.