FA C TO R S IN FLU EN C IN G

C O S TIN G O F FA B R IC S
Session 6
 C osts To C onsider
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
 Type O fRaw M aterial
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% in case 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.
 A m ount of raw m aterial or
G SM 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
 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 C hem icals C ost
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
P roduction cost or cost of
w eaving 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.
M ill-m ade or pow erloom
m ade:
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 mt 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.
W astage 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.
 D yeing 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 mentioned 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
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.
Process Cost
Flame retardant finish 15Rs/mt
Antistatic finish 5 Rs/mt
Anti stain 10Rs/mt
Anti wrinkle 5Rs/mt
Shrinkage and w astage
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:
Fabric Shrinkage%
Poplin, Sheeting 3%
Cotton Voile, cambric 5%
Polyester/Viscose blend fiber-dyed 4.5-5%
Polyester viscose piece-dyed 6%
100% grey polyester 20%
 Cost of the fabric = Cost of grey
fabric + dyeing charges + finishing
charges + shrinkage + wastage.
 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.
 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.