Pakistan’s textile exports fell 16 percent in October 2022. Resultantly, the growth rate of textile export has also declined, which had witnessed a 26 percent increase during last fiscal year.

With an uninterrupted supply of energy and gas, exports would have grown by more than 26 percent, as more than 40 allied industries of textiles had also excelled in growth and performance during last year.What’s needed now is regionally competitive energy tariffs for both power and gas, release of sales tax refunds within 72 hours and uninterrupted supply of power and gas. Unhindered imports of raw materials and accessories, machinery and spare parts are expected to help in a big way.

Another major factor forthe decline in textile export is discontinuation of DLTL. Continuation of DLTL and swift refunds of sales tax against exporters’ claims hold the key to enable exporters to achieve their export target without facing any liquidity problems and pressure.

As of now Pakistan’s value-added textile exports face further declines in the coming months. This is feared to ultimately have a negative impact on the economy, sustainability, and development of Pakistan. Exporters have appealed for immediate remedial measures to save the backbone of the nation’s economy.

India has cleared some strategic research projects.

These are in the areas of agrotextiles, specialty fiber, smart textiles, activewear textiles, strategic application, protective gear and apparel, sports textiles. Among the research projects, five are of specialty fibers, six of agro-textiles, two from smart textiles, two of protective gear and apparel, two from geotextiles, one of activewear apparel, one from strategic application area and one from sports textiles.

Various leading Indian institutes including the IITs, government organizations, research organizations, among others, participated in the session which cleared projects strategic for the development of the Indian economy and a step in the direction of Atmanirbhar Bharat, especially in the field of geotech, industrial and protective, agriculture and infrastructure.

Industry and academia linkages are seen as essential for the growth of research and development in the application areas of technical textiles in India. Convergence is being built with academicians, scientists and researchers. Despite the prominent usage of specialty fibers in India, indigenization of the technology has still been a major challenge which needs collaborative interventions from both industry and academia. There will be robust indigenization of machineries and equipment for the technical textile sector to establish a sustained and strong foothold in the global landscape.

Teejay Lanka’s six-month revenue has grown by 111 per cent. Net profit growth for the period has been 145 per cent.For the second quarter Teejay Lanka’s revenue growth was 95 per cent and profit after tax increased by 70 per cent. A doubling of synthetic fabric volumes, higher selling prices and the impacts of the depreciation of the currency have enabled strong growth for Sri Lanka’s first multinational textile producer. However second quarter price hikes in raw materials, freight and energy have also increased the cost of sales for Teejay by 96 per cent.

The group has just expanded capacity and is confident of being able to maintain its momentum by capitalising on newly emerging market segments and its synthetic fabric drive. Teejay Lanka has achieved growth by focusing on its athleisure lines, synthetic orders, new customer segments and Asian markets and will continue to explore opportunities for growth by discovering new business and is evaluating the potential for capturing new international markets, going forward.

Teejay Lanka was the first textile manufacturer in Sri Lanka to receive membership of the US Cotton Trust Protocol. The company is backed by Sri Lanka’s largest apparel exporter Brandix Lanka, which has a 32 per cent stake.

Playboy has launched its first line of lingerie. This will be followed by ten more collections set to be launched in new colours, fabrics and styles in the coming weeks which draw inspiration from the brand’s 70- year heritage.

The first line is called the Icon Collection and features Playboy’s signature rabbit head logo on a range of mesh pieces that are meant to evoke beauty, free will and confidence. This is Playboy’s first proprietary line of lingerie, built on its core value of freedom of expression. While the lingerie line is definitely the primary focus of this release, there are also plans by Playboy to roll out more categories throughout the year, including denim, flannel and sleepwear.

The Playboy brand appeals to younger consumers in the United States, who have grown significantly as a share of its customers over the last few years. The company believes this category expansion leans into its brand values and into its expertise in lingerie from its elevated luxury lingerie brand, Honey Birdette. The company looks forward to continued category expansion and will leverage these new product lines across the Playboy ecosystem, including through its robust creator network.Playboy has worked with brands in the past on co-designed collections to reach new customers but this time it’s their very first launch and the company is expected to have good conversions.

Nigeria is set to stop outsourcing garment making from the United Arab Emirates, Senegal, Mauritania, and Cote D’Ivoire.

Instead Nigeria will work with small and medium scale entrepreneurs to revive the collapsed ginneries, particularly of Gusau, Funtua, Zaria, and Sokoto. There will be skill development training and empowerment of 100 youths in modern methods of tailoring and fashion design.

Some young men and women of northern Nigeria were outsourcing tailoring and garment making from Senegal, Mauritania, Cote D’Ivoire and even in the United Arab Emirates due to non-utilization of appropriate new and emerging tools in the occupation in Nigeria.

Nigeria’s textile and apparel industry covers the entire clothing value chain, and has a strong potential for growth due to availability of cotton and the country’s large market-size represented by over 170 million inhabitants, who provide a natural market for textiles and apparels. Nigerian exporters have come together to form a fashion training facility. The center has over 150 sewing machines, pattern making and cutting tables. It has the primary objective of promoting garment making skills, creating job opportunities and upgrading technical skills to improve quality, productivity and efficiency levels in the garment industry. Nigeria is awash with creative talents in the fashion industry, whose designs can compete anywhere globally.

The India ITME Society has announced its awards for 2022.

Among the winners are Lakshmi Machine Works for spinning, Rabatex for weaving preparatory machines, Texfab Engineers for fabric finishing machines and fabric dyeing machines, ColorJet India for an innovative concept developed in India which is now gaining a lot of importance globally, Lakshmi Card Clothing Manufacturing Company for excellent service support product range, SA Pharmachem for pollution control technology, Deepa A Kumar, CEO of Yashram Lifestyle Brands, for products like period panties, leak-proof nursing bras for breastfeeding moms, maternity hygiene panties and more, Neha Jhunjhunwala, director, Sarla Performance Fibers, who upgrade the company from a successful family run company of three decades to an Indian MNC, Santoshi Kewat, who just cleared eighth standard but managed to become a certified master weaver.

The awards are India ITME Society’s attempt to recognize the exceptional contributions that have influenced positive change in the textile engineering sector. This is a search for talented leaders and innovators in their field of work. India ITME over the years has initiated several constructive programs to recognize innovative researchers.

The awards will be presented on December 10, 2022, at India Exposition Mart. The winners will be felicitated with a cash award, trophy and certificate in their categories.

The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) has stiffer regulations for transparent and traceable processing of organic textiles.

GOTS is introducing a compulsory farm-gin registry for all farms and farm groups whose certified raw material enters the GOTS system, including information on farm yields. The registry will be implemented progressively, starting in India.

The credibility of inspection agencies in India for organic cotton has come under doubt. Raw cotton is not allowed to travel more than 500 km from the farm to the certified gin. The shorter trade chain is meant to protect vulnerable points and optimizes the process for buyers.

GOTS will increase the number of unannounced audits at gins where there is a high perception of risk. GOTS also stipulates that the Farm TC number appears on the first GOTS TC at the ginning plant, which is the first step for cotton in the GOTS supply chain. The TC must state the origin for raw material, including region, state and province. This effectively traces material back to the field and adds another layer of accountability to GOTS-certified fiber.

GOTS is the world’s leading standard for processing of organic textiles. It mandates use of minimum 70 per cent organic fibres and includes both environmental and social criteria.

Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) and BBC are collaborating on a film series on social and environmental sustainability in the fashion industry.

The series will educate consumers as to the scale of the issue and the promise of solutions, while galvanising leaders in the sector to follow the blueprint of those that have been successful. The series will be hosted on a dedicated BBC.com microsite, providing an immersive experience for browsers and an opportunity for in-depth coverage spanning films, articles, infographics and animations. A multi-platform campaign will reach relevant audience groups from among BBC.com’s 144 million monthly browsers, as well as the global fashion sector through the GFA and its network.

Global Fashion Agenda is a non-profit organisation that fosters industry collaboration on sustainability in fashion to accelerate impact. With the vision of a net positive fashion industry, it drives action by mobilising, inspiring, influencing and educating all stakeholders. The organisation has been leading the movement since 2009 and is behind the renowned international forum on sustainability in fashion, Global Fashion Summit. Global Fashion Agenda spearheads the fashion industry’s journey to a more sustainable future. Through its work, Global Fashion Agenda reaches thousands of stakeholders including brands, innovators, NGOs, policy makers, manufacturers, investors and more.

Nico Reiner is the new chief financial officer of Lenzing. He has held several positions in his professional career to date. He has a degree in business administration. He is a proven financial expert with substantial international experience.

Lenzing is a provider of sustainably produced specialty fibers for the textile and nonwoven industries. Lenzing stands for ecologically responsible production of specialty fibers made from the renewable raw material wood. Lenzing is a partner of global textile and nonwoven manufacturers and drives many new technological developments. Lenzing’s fibers form the basis for a variety of textile applications ranging from elegant clothing to versatile denims and high-performance sports clothing. Due to their consistent high quality, biodegradability and compostability Lenzing fibers are also highly suitable for hygiene products and agricultural applications.

The business model of Lenzing goes far beyond that of a traditional fiber producer. Together with its customers and partners, Lenzing develops innovative products along the value chain, creating added value for consumers. Lenzing strives for the efficient utilization and processing of all raw materials and offers solutions to help redirect the textile sector towards a closed-loop economy.In order to reduce the speed of global warming, Lenzing has a clear vision: namely to make a zero-carbon future come true.

Pakistan will not find it easy to obtain GSP Plus benefits from the European Union.

While Pakistan is struggling to comply with existing 27 EU conventions of GSP Plus, the EU plans to introduce some more conventions. These relate mainly to environment and social standards.

The GSP Plus status holds significant importance for Pakistan’s economy as it has played a key role in the expansion of multilateral trade.EU-Pakistan relations have a strategic engagement that covers all areas including counter-terrorism, trade, climate change, GSP Plus status and various others. Continuity of GSP Plus is subject to ratification of more than five to six new conventions related to environment and social standards including the remaining 27.

The existing GSP plus scheme is confined to the textile sector. The EU is the biggest market for Pakistan’s goods and accounts for about one-third of all exports from the country.GSP Plus has increased EU-Pakistan trade, which increased by 78 per cent in 2021 as compared to the year earlier. So GSP Plus has been very beneficial for Pakistan’s economy. It provides duty-free access to the huge EU market for textile and apparel and also provides an incentive structure to undertake reforms in the industry and country.