Towels sub-sector second largest in production and exports

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To state that towels are an important product for everyday life would be to stress the obvious.
Towels and its allied products constitute an important sector of textile industry. In made ups, towels sub-sector is the second largest after bedlinen in terms of production and exports. Towels are manufactured in various sizes, shapes and qualities depending upon customers’ requirements.

A large chunk of towel production is done for export purpose as this is an export-oriented order based industry, hence contributing towards the earnings of foreign exchange for the country. The towels’ industry in the country mainly exists in Karachi, Faisalabad, Lahore, Gujranwala, Sialkot and Multan as majority of the manufactures have their production set-up based in these cities. Al Rahim Towels, Feroze 1888 Mills Limited, Indus Towels, Al Karam Towel, United Towel, Bari Towel, International Textile and Aferoze Textile Industries are some of the major players in the towel industry

The towel Industry in Pakistan was practically nonexistent prior to 1965. It started on a very small scale in 1965. After covering some stages, the Towel Manufacturing Group was formed locally at Karachi and got recognized by the Ministry of Commerce in May 1972. In the year 1976, the group was elevated to the status of an Association on All Pakistan basis and got affiliated with the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce & Industry. The Towel Manufacturers’ Association of Pakistan was recognized by the Government of Pakistan on 9th August 1976 as “B” class Association.

Today, the Pakistan towel industry produces a complete range of towels available in rich assortment of patterns and designs in eye-catching colors. The yarn used in the production of towels is 10/s, 16/s and 20/s cotton, polyester/cotton yarn is also used to increase the strength of the product.

The towel manufacturers in Pakistan also produce a large range of allied products of towels including, terry bar mops, terry bathrobes, terry face towels, terry wash cloths, shop towels, terry gloves, terry pillow covers, terry coverlets and all other terry made-ups as desired by the buyers. The major categories of kitchen towels according to their cloth-type are as follows:

Waffle Weave
Waffle weave generally refers to cotton fiber and this weave makes a kitchen towel that has the complete ability to absorb liquids. It is also known as honeycomb and basically used for drying large kitchen utensils like dishes and pots after washing them. It can also be used in the form of hand towels. It is relatively expensive and durable. It comes in varying sizes from small to large. Choose a kitchen towel of a size that you feel easy to handle.

Terry Cloth
Terry cloth is made from a cotton material having loops in it. This kitchen cloth is highly absorbent in nature and comes in good sizes too. It is generally used to dry hands, dishes, kitchen counters or bar mopping etc.

Jacquard
This weave is a 50/50 blend of cotton and linen. These semi-linen kitchen towels are by nature lint-free and thus are the ideal choice for drying delicate and precious glassware. They come in interesting and elegant colors as well as complex patterns to select from

Flour Sack
It is a multi-purpose kitchen cloth that is made up of cotton material. These towels are also lint free which are not just used for drying glassware but also employed for covering rising dough, lining bread baskets, drying dishes, polishing silverware and dusting. It is noteworthy to keep separate towels to be used in dusting and polishing from those to be used during food preparation and kitchen services etc.

Flat Weave
It is a 100 % complete cotton towel which is very absorbent in nature. It is generally used as a dish towel besides its use as a folded pad to handle hot cooking/baking pans and removing lids considering proper safety.

Paper Towels
These are the disposable towels that come in variety of weaves and absorbency. Paper towels are used for performing many useful tasks that were previously done by an ordinary kitchen cloth. They are a simple choice for kitchen attendants to use for wiping counter tops, lining bread baskets, cleaning up spills, drying and shining some surface etc. These can also be used to place fried items like French fries, nuggets, potato cutlets etc. over delicate plates to absorb extra oil from them.

But when it comes to cover rising dough or serving as some potholder, paper towels are not a good choice to accomplish the task. However, due to their disposable nature, you can simply put them in the dustbin after using
and don’t have to worry about washing them over and over to use them again.

Microfiber Towels
This synthetic towel is a blended production of two materials; polyamide and polyester, interlocked together. The polyamide fiber absorbs well and used for drying items quickly while polyester fiber is mainly used for cleaning and polishing items and surfaces. The distinct qualities of two fibers are united to develop a unique and effective microfiber material. It is a smooth, lint free and hypoallergenic cloth that would enable
you to wipe without using different chemicals.

It can be used to clean most of the materials like glass, silver, stainless steel, mirrors, ceramic and marble tiles, rubber, wood etc. It can also be used to wipe carpets, leather and different appliances. These lightweight microfiber towels have relatively longer life time than the traditional towels and mops which makes them an economic choice for use.

According to Textile World Asia (TWA), there were around 7,500 looms installed within the terry towel manufacturing industry of Pakistan, distributed among the organized and unorganized sectors. All the above explained types and categories of kitchen towels are manufactured in Pakistan and also exported over world-wide on a large scale due to the vastly export-oriented nature of this industry. Pakistan is a big world-wide exporter of kitchen towels. It provides a good range of kitchen towels with respect to color palette, embroidered and printed products, which comes in various shades, patterns and sizes in the international market. The biggest foreign market for Pakistan’s kitchen towels are the United States. Besides U.S., the other major markets include Canada, Europe, Australia and Middle East etc. International demand for the Pakistani kitchen towels has increased over the recent years due to the best quality products Pakistan manufactures and supplies world-wide.

Almost more than 75 % of the total produced towel items have been exported to the main consumer markets of different countries to constitute around 8 % of the world market share