General

Factors influencing costing of woven fabrics

Costing is a very complex procedure, with set patterns and guidelines followed by the industry, and it is difficult to
find out costs for every process as there are some inbuilt costs while costing, elaborate Saroj Bala and Tripti Gupta.

Woven fabrics are used worldwide for many applications like apparel, home furnishing, accessories, industrial and
medical textiles. It is estimated that the global production of woven fabrics will grow 35 million tones by 2010 and
most of this growth will be in Asia. It is also estimated that Asia will emerge as the biggest market for sourcing of
fabrics for the garment and apparel industry. Costing of woven fabrics for garment manufacturers is one of the most
important aspects of garment production. About 65 - 70% cost of the garment is the cost of the fabric and hence, it is
very crucial to get the right cost of the fabric from fabric manufacturers and suppliers.

A large variety of fabrics are used in the export/domestic market for different end-uses. Buyers send specifications and
the fabric has to be developed as per the design trend. Garment manufacturers source fabrics with specific construction
and characteristics in different quantities for different end-uses. Garment manufacturers struggle to get the best
possible cost of the fabric. It would be interesting to know the important points to consider for getting a comprehensive
understanding of costing. Costing seems to be a complex exercise as it depends on a number of variables. Costs are
calculated taking into consideration the complete production process and machinery involved. However, in this article,
the authors consider only the commercial costing keeping in mind the manufacturing cost and wet processing cost.

What are the costs to consider…?

i) Direct cost: Cost of raw material -- 66%. Cost of size and chemicals - 4%. Production cost comprising of running the
machine, maintenance, power fuel, humidification and other utilities -- 8 % and worker wages and salaries -- 8% losses
incurred due to shrinkage, wastage, grading, and also selling commissions.

ii) Indirect cost : Interest on investment, loan, working capital, depreciation, etc. Above 7%, overheads and
administrative expenses like travelling, telephone, couriers, legal issues, taxes comprising of 7%.

iii) Profit: 10 - 20% depending on the order size. In some companies, 70% of the fabric cost will comprise of direct
cost, but in corporate selling only 40% cost of the fabric is direct cost and 60% is overheads.

What are the factors which affect the cost …

Let's take a close look at the direct cost…

Type of raw material

Raw material cost includes cost of fibre or yarn. The cost of the fibre will depend largely on its generic type - cotton,
linen, wool, silk, rayon, nylon, polyester, polyester cotton blend etc, and also its quality. The Yarn cost will depend on
the count of the yarn -- finer the yarn, more expensive it will be. Carded or combed: Combed yarns are more expensive
than carded yarns as yarn realisation is only about 70% incase of combed yarns because short fibres are removed
where as in case of carded, the yarn realisation is about 88%. Combed yarns have more lustre and strength than carded
yarns. All finer counts above 40s are generally combed yarns. Method of spinning-open-end or ring spun. Open end
yarns are cheaper as the cost of manufacturing is less. It is used for coarser yarn count below 20s.

The cost of man-made spun yarns will depend on the fineness -- finer the yarn, more expensive it is. Number of fine
filaments used in making the yarn will also affect the cost. Bright or dull -- Bright yarns are more expensive than dull.
Textured yarns are more expensive than flat because of the additional process cost.

Amount of raw material or GSM of the fabric

Amount of raw material is reflected by the weight or GSM (grams/sq mt) of the fabric. GSM is directly dependent on
the EPI and PPI or construction of the fabric and is inversely proportional to the count of the yarn. Relation between
GSM and cost is a little complex. For the same variety of the fabric, as the GSM increases the cost increases (see bar
graph for poplin and sheeting).

But when the yarn becomes very fine and there is a variation in picks per inch in the fabric, then the cost of spinning
and weaving plays a more important role than the GSM and even when the GSM is similar, the cost of voile fabric
with finer yarns and more picks per inch is more!

Weight of the fabric is the weight of warp and weft which can be calculated by the formula below:

Weight of warp in grams/sq mt of fabric = EPI x 0.6 / Count of Warp = A

Weight of weft in grams/sq mt of fabric = PPI x 0.6 / Count of Weft

GSM = A+B

Sizing and Chemicals Cost

The sizing cost depends upon the count of the yarns. The count becomes finer the size and chemical cost increases as a
rich solution, better quality of size and chemicals is required for better strength.

One needs to add Rs 35/kg as additional cost which includes steam, power or wages. For two plied yarn no sizing is
required.

Production cost or cost of weaving process

It includes machine running cost, maintenance, labour cost, power & fuel, etc. The weaving cost is affected by the
beam size -- if the beam is small in length, the cost will be more as beam gaiting and knotting will add to the cost.
Mill-made or powerloom made:

The quality of mill-made fabrics is better than power loom made fabrics in terms of yarn quality; Therefore the cost of
fabric is higher. At times it can be as high as 25%.. eg, the cost of 40s Poplin 92 x 88 can vary between Rs 22/mt and
Rs 34/mt. It depends on the type of loom whether powerloom, rapier, air-jet, dobby or jacquard and the weave and
construction.

The weaving cost is expressed as paisa /pick/inch/sq mt. The cost of weaving is different for different weaves. The cost
of weaving for rapier loom for plain weave 40" width fabrics = 8 paisa/pick/inch/sq nmt which means that for a 120
inch width fabric the cost will be 24 paisa/pick/mt.

For twill weave, the cost = 12 paisa/pick/inch/sq mt.

For satin weave, the cost = 12 paisa/pick/inch/sq mt.

In case of P/V suiting, the cost ranges from 14 paisa/pick to 20 paisa/pick. For 1,000 m beam with dobby, the weaving
cost is 17 paisa/pick and for 1,000 m beam with jacquard is 20 paisa/pick.

For dobby, the cost = 12 paisa/pick/inch/sq mt.

For 2400 hook jacquard the cost = 40 paisa/pick/inch/sq mt.

For double beam fabrics like seer sucker, the cost is = 20 paisa/pick/inch/sq mt.

There is no standardisation in dobby and jacquard fabrics. These fabrics are produced in different textile centres like
Bhiwadi, Surat, Banaras, Meerut, Panipat and the quality varies a lot. For yarn dyed stripes and checks in handloom
the efficiency is affected by the number of colours in the weft but mill-made stripes and checks are made on Sulzer
loom in which the production is not affected by the number of colours in the warp or weft.

Wastage and shrinkage

Wastage of 2 - 3% in warping and weaving and shrinkage of 1 - 1.5% from loom to grey folding stage is included in
the weaving cost. About 92% of the fabric produced is sold as fresh. The value loss is about 7% while running cotton
material but is only 3% in using polyester yarn.

Dyeing costs

Cost of dyeing depends upon:

Length: A minimum of 2,000 mt of fabric is accepted, if the quantity of the fabric is more say 15,000 mt or 20,000 mt,
then the processing charges will be lowered by Rs 1 - 2/mt.

Width of the fabric: If the width of the fabric is doubled, the cost of the processing is not doubled. So it is beneficial
to go for wider width fabrics rather than fabrics with more length. This is because the overheads and cost of running
the material are dependent on the length and not the width. Eg, the cost of dyeing 40" width poplin is Rs 10, but the
cost of dyeing 120" width fabric is Rs 22.

Shade%: Lighter the shade lower the cost. The amount of dye required is less as well as time required for dyeing is
less. Eg, for dyeing pastel shades if it takes 24 hours, it takes 36 hours for dyeing black shades and burgundy colour.

Class of dye and quality: Some dyes are more expensive than the other. Eg, Vat dyes are more expensive than
reactive dyes and better expertise is required for dyeing, so for the same shade the cost of a fabric with vat dyes is
more than a fabric dyed in reactive dyes. The choice of dye depends on the buyer, the fastness properties and also on
the shade selected.

Colour: Within the same dye class some colours are more expensive than the other. For eg, turquoise and reds are
more expensive.

Metamerism: Some colours change their shade in different lights. If the shades are matched in two or three lights only
then the cost is less, but when the matching is required in all the six lights, natural daylight (D-65), Tube light (TL-83),
Horizon (yellow light as produced during sun set), Incandescent, (Inca-A), Fluorescent (CWF or cool white
Fluorescent), Ultraviolet light (UL-30 or ultra luma) or no metamerism is required, then better quality dyes are
required and the cost is more.

Weight of the fabric: Lighter the fabric quicker is the dye pick-up so dyeing time is saved. Capacity of the machine is
expressed in weight of the material for lighter weight fabrics, more length of the material can be processed at one time,
so dyeing cost is reduced.

All the above prices are for a minimum quantity of 1,500 - 2,000 mt and if the quantity is less the price will go up. This
principle applies for all yarn-dyed fabrics also. Pastel shades are dyed in procion cold dyes and medium and dark
shades are dyed in hot reactive dyes.

Finishing cost

Process Cost
Flame retardant finish 15Rs/mt
Antistatic finish 5 Rs/mt
Anti stain 10Rs/mt
Anti wrinkle 5Rs/mt

If softeners are added in the jigger after dyeing, then the cost is Rs 10/kg whereas if it is done on a separate machine
and later stentering is done then the cost is Rs 20/kg. The quality of fabric is better in second case as the cover is better
and there is no shrinkage later.

Shrinkage and wastage

It is important to note that wastage and shrinkage are integral part of costing. Generally a minimum shrinkage of 5 -
7% is acceptable.
Below is a Table showing shrinkage of different fabrics:

Below is a Table showing shrinkage of different fabrics:

Fabric Shrinkage%
Poplin, Sheeting 3%
Cotton Voile, cambric 5%
Polyyester/Viscose blend fiber-dyed4.5-5%
Polyester viscose piece-dyed 6%
100% grey polyester 20%

Cost of the fabric = Cost of grey fabric + dyeing charges + finishing charges + shrinkage + wastage.

Conclusion

Costing is a very complex procedure. There are set patterns and guidelines followed by the industry. It is difficult to
find out costs for every process as there are some inbuilt costs while costing. A larger picture has been taken into
account while quoting the cost. Costing depends a lot on quantity and order received. Indirect cost is about 15 - 20%.
On top of the cost a profit of 15 - 20% is added. It is not only the cost of the final product that matters, for exports the
cost is generally given as FAS, FOB, CIF and LDP.

FAS (Free along Side) means: It is the cost of finished goods plus it includes the delivery of the goods to port, dock,
etc. The price does not include loading into the ship, etc, or the shipping or any other charges incurred from that point
on.

FOB (Free on Board): It is the cost of finished goods, cost of delivery of the goods to port and loading onto the ship,
plane, etc. The cost does not include the shipping or any other costs incurred from that point on.

CIF (Cost Insurance and Freight): It includes the cost of finished goods plus it includes the delivery of the goods to the
port, loading on the ship, shipping charges, all applicable insurance fees along the way. The price does not include
going through customs or any duties or other costs incurred from that point.

LDP (Landed & Duty Paid): It is the cost of the finished goods, plus it includes the delivery of the goods to port,
loading on the ship, shipping charges and the goods brought through the customs with all applicable duties and taxes
paid.

Lead time plays an important part in the domestic and export market. Generally for production of greige fabric the lead
time is 30 days. Processing time for grey fabric is 15 - 20 days but when the buyer needs something urgently then the
above costing parameters sometimes are not significant; It depends on demand and supply. If you can deliver you can
ask for the price!

Ms Saroj Bala, Associate Professor, Pearl Academy of Fashion, New Delhi Mrs Tripti Gupta, Assistant
Professor, Pearl Academy of Fashion, New Delhi