Asia: Surge in fuel prices 'squeezing' polyester suppliers, garment & textile manufacturers as factories & looms reduce production
"Iran war hits Asia's polyester suppliers to global fast fashion", 24 April 2026
A surge in fossil fuel prices since the Iran war is squeezing polyester suppliers and garment makers across India and Bangladesh, threatening to raise costs for fast-fashion retailers like Zara and H&M.
Filatex...is paying nearly 30% more for the petroleum-derived feedstocks...that it needs to make yarn, as...
Avichal Arya, CEO of Bindal Silk Mills, which supplies dyed and printed polyester fabrics to retailers...said the energy crisis had "drastically" pushed up the cost of chemicals and dyes...
"We are not able to actually meet the demands of the global orders very fruitfully these days," he said...
...retailers are shielded from immediate pain by forward buying...
An industry source said H&M expects price increases from Bangladeshi suppliers in the coming weeks but plans to absorb them...H&M said it does not see major disruptions to production in Bangladesh and has not observed "any noticeable number of requests from suppliers to adjust orders in connection with energy costs."
...Inditex declined to comment on its polyester supply. Target, Walmart, and Ikea did not immediately respond to a request for comment...
In Surat, half of the 200 industrial looms at Radheshyam Textile that weave polyester have sat silent since the conflict started in late February. "Our daily production was 10,000 metres per day before the war started, but it has fallen to 3,500 to 4,000 metres per day," owner Kaushik Dudhat told Reuters. He has stopped buying new polyester yarn, saying the steep price increases would force him to raise his own prices by around 15%- a hike his customers, mainly clothing traders, would not accept.
Rising costs have caused textile dyeing and printing factories in Surat to shut for two days a week, up from one previously, said Kailash Hakim, president of the Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association. "If the situation persists, raw material shortages will start taking place and factories will need to shut down," he warned...
In Bangladesh...they face higher prices for the polyester sewing thread that feeds their sewing machines, and higher logistics costs from raised retail fuel prices...thread producer Coats Bangladesh...announced a 15.5% price increase effective April 15, citing the "rapid escalation in oil-derived feedstock costs" and higher transportation expenses.
"Buyers are becoming more cautious and carefully calculating risks before placing orders, which could affect order volumes," said Mohammad Hatem, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association. "If this goes on for one more month...we will have lower clothing production and what we call demand destruction, because retailers will have to raise their prices and consumers will cut their purchases," said Bruna Angel, principal analyst for fibres at Wood Mackenzie.
Petrochemical-derived materials such as ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) are also widely used in sneakers, and US retailers have raised the alarm...