The readymade garment industry in Bangladesh is a major contributor to the country’s economy, accounting for more than 80 per cent of its total exports.

The industry has grown rapidly over the past few decades, driven by a combination of low labor costs, government support, and an abundance of skilled workers.In the early days of Bangladesh’s readymade garment industry, the country primarily exported low-end products such as T-shirts and basic pants.

However, over time, the industry has evolved to include higher-end products such as denim and technical textiles.The industry is heavily reliant on exports, with the United States and European Union being the largest markets for its products. Other major markets include Canada, Japan, and Australia.

The industry has faced some challenges in recent years, such as the rising costs of labor and the need to improve working conditions and safety. A number of policies have been implemented to support the garment industry, including tax holidays and duty-free imports of machinery.

Additionally, infrastructure development, such as building special economic zones,has attracted foreign investment.Despite the challenges, the industry is expected to continue growing in the future. The country’s low labor costs and abundance of skilled workers will likely remain key advantages.

Fashion for Good has launched a recycling project in the US.

The initiative is expected to provide a snapshot of textile waste composition generated in the United States.This effort is crucial to understanding and evaluating the business case for textile-to-textile recycling, ensuring that used textiles move to their best and highest end use.

The results of this 18-month project will inform decisions to unlock the necessary investments and actions to scale collection, sorting and recycling innovations. An extensive consumer survey will be conducted to map the journey a garment takes from closet to end of use including an analysis of post-consumer textiles using innovative, near-infrared spectroscopy to understand their composition.

Currently the demand for recycled fibers is growing, but access to the waste supply is limited. Key elements to supporting the growth of textile-to-textile recycling include understanding material composition, volume and location of used textiles as well as expanding access to textile recycling. With a scaled textile collection and sorting infrastructure, the industry could capture used textiles, sort them for the best and highest quality end use, and fulfill the increasing demand for both secondhand and recycled commodity feedstock.

Fashion for Good, a global platform for innovation, supports disruptive innovators on their journey to scale, providing hands-on project management, access to funding and expertise, and collaborations with brands and manufacturers to accelerate supply chain implementation.

“The government will focus on enhancing cotton crop productivity by adopting a cluster-based approach with a public-private partnership model and enhanced use of advanced technologies”, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget speech.

The emphasis to increase cotton crop productivity was positive for cotton textile stocks.

At the bourses, the textile stocks rallied up to three per cent in morning

Trade show Pure London (UK, February 12 to 14, 2023) will present alternative lifestyle brands which offer a fresh, innovative approach to fashion.

These proudly embrace difference in all its glory and will offer bold collections that make a statement and demand zero-judgement. Airwalk, a skateboarding and action sports lifestyle brand, will feature super-soft peached fabric and branded detailing, nineties-inspired classic skate graphics and vintage washes. Licensed distributor Heroes will present Super Heroes, the bespoke premium apparel range featuring Marvel, Disney, Star Wars, Pokémon, Stranger Things, DC Comics and Harry Potter across a wide range of different products.

Pure London is the UK’s leading trade fashion buying event. Twice a year the brightest minds in the fashion industry come together at Pure London to discover the season’s must-have collections, latest trends, and exclusive business insights. Priding itself on offering unmatched free content, from trend focused catwalks to incredible expert talks, not only is Pure London a fashion buying destination, but is a place to network and learn about key industry issues and topics.

Pure London has the largest women’s wear offering in the UK and the largest offering of international brands as well as exciting onsite trend partner and new sustainability initiatives.

Source Fashion will take place in the UK, February 12 to 14, 2023.

This is the only international fashion sourcing platform of its kind in the UK and renowned speakers, designers, industry professionals, experts and brands will discuss and explore trends, next-generation textiles and alternative fibers, recycling and the circular economy plus all the latest topics relevant to responsible and sustainable fashion sourcing.

A discussion will invite visitors to discover the biomaterial revolution.Sustainable innovation has been made possible with biofabricated materials and the market has grown significantly over the last few years seeing an increase in plant substitutes for leather and fabrics.Ethical supply chains will be explored.

The trend of developing a green supply chain is gaining immense popularity now, and businesses are focusing more on improving their supply chain visibility, efficiency, and costs. It’s a long-term commitment for a business but adopting a green supply chain strategy will prove vital to spearhead the growth of a business in the long run.A compelling line-up of over 150 audited, quality manufacturers and dedicated country pavilions from around the world will include Peru, India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Portugal, Sri Lanka, the UAE, Madagascar, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, the UK and many more.

Pakistan is turning to e-commerce platforms to increase textile exports. Major exports of Pakistan that are expected to play a role in e-commerce include textile, leather and sports goods, chemicals, carpets and rugs, hosiery, bedding and bath, apparel, sports and outdoors and kitchen and dining items.

The aim of using e-commerce platforms is to maximize Pakistan’s share in global textile exports and also build up brands in terms of sales, customer satisfaction, and overall performance. Sellers are being given hopes of achieving significant profit margin by pushing their products through e-commerce and are given tips on selling strategies.

Supply chain issues and logistic challenges are being identified while promoting e-commerce in the textile industry of Pakistan. China is the top global exporter in the world through e-commerce. Pakistan is ranked as the third topmost country with highest number of sellers on Amazon after the United States and China. The country meanwhile hopes to uplift total textile exports to $50 billion in the next five years. Garment and textile units are being planned which will have the potential to provide employment to around one million people and which will utilize surplus yarn and fabric in the production of garments and other value added textile products.

Fespa will be held in Germany, May 23 to 26, 2023. This digital and textile printing exhibition is for companies producing printing, signage equipment and materials.

More than 330 exhibitors will present visitors with the latest product innovation for large format digital printing, screen printing, textile printing, sublimation, signage, garment decoration, finishing equipment and 3D printing. They will use this exhibition as a platform to showcase their machinery, supplies and services and meet and network with customers from different sectors of the industry.

Visitors will be offered an experiential showcase of products and solutions for personalization. A conference will feature over 50 expert speakers, featuring individual content streams dedicated to personalized loyalty marketing, sportswear and fashion customization, bespoke interiors and personalized packaging.

Fespa is the global federation of specialized print, education and training. Every year the show continues to grow. Fespa is the leading European exhibition for textile printing, where vendors offer new textile printing solutions. Printers and sign makers attend. Visitors have access to a comprehensive line-up of suppliers of technology, materials for printing and sign-making, consumables and accessories.

The expo is a forum for meeting customers face-to-face, making concrete sales and developing business pipelines. Printers from all parts of the world attend but particularly from Europe and the Middle East.

ITMA will be held in Milano, Italy, June 8 to 14, 2023. This is a textile machinery trade show attracting leading textile and garment manufacturers from around the world.

Held every four years, ITMA has become a platform for emerging trends and innovative solutions, new knowledge and best practices, and establishing relationships with textile industry leaders.As the world’s most established showcase of its kind, ITMA is the platform for the industry to buy and sell, and to collaborate face-to-face.

The last show took place in 2019. The industry has been very supportive of the event and strong participation is expected. More than 1,570 exhibitors from 42 countries are expected. Italy, Germany and Spain form the top three countries based on the number of exhibiting companies and the top sectors are finishing, spinning, weaving, printing, knitting, winding and nonwovens. A number of exhibitors have taken up a larger stand surface. On an average, there has been a more than ten percent increase in the space booked by exhibitors.

Start-ups are being offered a useful platform to put their innovations in front of a global audience, to find investors and collaborators, and to leverage industry connections and professional networks.

ITMA connect is an online platform that connects visitors with exhibitors and industry partners to make appointments for in-person meetings during the show as well as enable discussions.

G2 Dynamic and Anubis enable the production of sustainable fabrics and achieve a perfect combination of fabric and finish. These are technologies developed by Jeanologia which guarantee more authentic and enhanced laser results, reducing water consumption by up to 95 per cent, chemical consumption by 100 per cent, and energy by 80 per cent and carbon footprint by up to 40 per cent.

They have been implemented by more than 40 industrial weavers around the world. Anubis is based on thermal shock. Using no water, and in a reduced timeframe, it provides maximum shrinkage control and permits fabric relaxation.In combination with the subsequent ozone treatment with G2 Dynamic, the cleaning effect is maximized. G2 Dynamic is an eco-friendly alternative to some of the most polluting and water-consuming fabric finishing processes.

This ozone technology for continuous treatment of fabrics achieves more authentic results more quickly, saving resources both during fabric production and during the subsequent stages of garment production.

For Jeanologia, sustainable textile production starts with the fabric, reducing its environmental impact in the manufacturing process and carrying out a precise selection to achieve more efficient processes from the fabric. Jeanologia’s mission is to eliminate 100 per cent of the waste generated in the manufacturing and finishing of jeans.

Textile mill owners and spinners in Bangladesh are finding difficulties in opening letters of credit to import raw materials and cotton.

This is because of the ongoing dollar shortage in the banking sector of the country. Banks are taking more time than usual, ten to 15 days more,to open the letters of credit. Businesses have expressed apprehensions this may affect the import of raw materials such as dyes, chemicals, viscose, staple fiber and cotton, which are considered vital for manufacturing garments that are exported.

When the currency began sliding against the dollar textile and readymade garment exporters in Bangladesh were supposed to gain from the development. But the reality turned out to be different for them as they saw lower profits or even losses.

Bangladesh’s currency depreciated by about 25 per cent against the dollar between February and September, driven by the Russia-Ukraine war.A currency depreciation, if orderly and gradual, usually improves a nation’s export competitiveness, but exporters in Bangladesh could not make the most of the depreciation since they had to buy dollars at a higher price while opening letters of credit to import raw materials needed to serve the global markets.

Most textile and apparel manufacturers in Bangladesh purchase raw materials from international markets and they have had to pay higher prices while opening letters of credit.