"Fast Fashion is losing its sheen with brands not only stepping up their ethical standards of production but also implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies to transform their business processes. These initiatives are fructifying with brands witnessing bonus uplift in consumer loyalty."

Fast Fashion is losing its sheen with brands not only stepping up their ethical standards of production but also implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies to transform their business processes. These initiatives are fructifying with brands witnessing bonus uplift in consumer loyalty.

Facing labor and waste disposal issues In order to reduce their manufacturing costs and increase sales volumes, brands hire cheap labor to produce trendy garments made of inexpensive materials. These garments, designed to last only for a season or two, require brands to maintain a large global manufacturing network of low-paid workers. These workers are often forced to work long hours for meager pay, while enduring deplorable conditions. This is a particularly the case with brands that outsource their manufacturing to the developing world.

Fast Fashion brands also need to keep up with the retail trends, which require a huge amount of natural resources. However, this also creates substantial waste. The materials used in creating these designs increase pollution, be it the use of toxic chemical dyes to create brightly coloured swimwear, or the manufacture of polyester clothing.

Kirsten Brodde’s Greenpeace initiated the Detox My Fashion campaign in 2011 to tackle the use of hazardous chemicals in textile manufacturing. But while the Detox campaign tackles ecological issues during the production process, the environmental damage caused by disposal of unsold clothes is not dealt with.

Another issue that needs attention is the disposal of unsold goods. British brand Burberry burned over £28m (€32.2m) worth of clothes and perfumes, in July 2018. This results in waste of the time and resources taken to manufacture products, it also harmful chemicals in the environment.

Seeking sustainable solutions

As demonstrated by a number of leading European brands, the issues of labor and waste can be tackled with the introduction of a CSR programme. German retailer Armed Angels, for instance, not only uses organic Fairtrade cotton in its products, it also pays a fair wage to all of its farmers, and never employs anyone under the age of 18. Similarly, Swedish retailer H&M, one of the original proponents of CSR policy, collected 17,771 tons of textiles through its garment reuse and recycling initiative in 2017 – the equivalent of 89 million T-shirts.

Smaller start-up brands can build sustainability into all of their business processes and account for CSR spend in their profit margins right since their inception as they supervise their supply chains thoroughly. These brands are more likely to develop long-term, trusting relationships with their suppliers. However, regardless of its size, a brand that implements a robust CSR policy is expected to receive a positive reaction from its customers.

Changing attitude to tackle issues

The demand for sustainable clothing is negatively impacted by the consumer’s demand for fast fashion. The fast fashion industry, therefore, needs to change its trend-driven mindset. This change will boost individual sustainability policies besides tackling the issue of waste disposal. It will give rise to a new generation ethical brands who will proudly display their achievements to consumers; irrespective of the profits they earn.

This year, women’s footwear sales are slated for a steady year on year revenue growth of just under four per cent. Women’s footwear manufacturers will discover potential growth opportunities over coming years. Rubber owing to its high endurance and versatility remains a preferred material for women’s footwear over other material types such as leather, velvet, plastic, and textiles. Plastic is positioned as the second most favored base material for women’s footwear.

The future belongs to fast lifestyle retailers adapting to the online structure. Sustainable value chain including online operators will be the best asset for manufacturers. Eco-friendly material alternatives are emerging rapidly, though currently confined to a premium market segment. Sports shoes and casual shoes account for a more than 50 per cent share in the total market value. Startups in comfortable sneakers and athletic shoes will attract remarkable funds from venture investors. Customization is trending in the women’s footwear landscape. Therapeutic women’s footwear holds a promising outlook. Sports shoes dominate women’s footwear. Sneakers have huge sales potential in the casual shoes category.

North America remains the largest regional shareholder in the global revenue of women’s footwear landscape. Asia Pacific and western Europe are the next key markets for manufacturers and distributors of women’s footwear.

The US is preparing a list of European Union products on which it intends to impose retaliatory tariffs in response to the European subsidies given to Airbus. The preliminary list includes certain new aircraft and aircraft parts, seafood, yogurt, butter, cheese, citrus fruits, virgin olive oil, wine, printed books, threads, carpets and other textiles, men’s and women’s apparel, iron and steel articles, such as nails, and parts and accessories of bicycles.

This new round of planned tariffs stems from a World Trade Organization ruling last May, which found that Boeing rival Airbus had received illegal funding for several of its aircraft models. In the dispute, which began in 2004, the United States argued that the EU gave Airbus billions of dollars of launch aid that resulted in an unfair advantage for Airbus. Specifically, the United States asserted that the aid allowed Airbus to gain market share in Europe, Australia, China, South Korea, and elsewhere. In response, the European Union announced that it was also readying a list of tariffs to counter US subsidies to Boeing.

The proposed imposition of new tariffs comes amid tense trade relations between the United States and the EU. Continued threats from the United States to impose auto tariffs, along with the corresponding threats from the EU in retaliation, are further exacerbating the situation.

Japan is the largest investor in Vietnam. Around 65.3 per cent of the 723 Japanese companies in Vietnam recorded high profits in 2018. Competitive human resources, economic and market growth, and a dynamic society are factors that make Vietnam an attractive destination for Japanese firms to develop their business in future. The market scale and growth are the greatest advantages of Vietnam’s investment environment. Other positive factors include low labor cost and political stability. Given China’s goal of moving away from low-end manufacturing, and the rising labor costs in China, this will likely see much of Japanese direct investments shift to countries like Vietnam, which boasts a relatively cheap and educated labor force alongside a large and growing working class population. China still accounts for 11.6 per cent of Japan’s total outbound FDI as compared to just 2.1 per cent for Vietnam.

Japan’s initiative to move its investments to the Mekong region nations will likely see Vietnam receiving a significant part of the funds, particularly if these investments are in lower-end manufacturing. Japanese investment in Vietnam’s non-manufacturing industries, such as retail, wholesale, IT, professional support and education, may increase, fuelled by the rising growth of Vietnam’s consumption market.

Australia is a market with high purchasing power and stability. Vietnam and Australia are both members of CPTPP, which will help promote trade and expand the scale of investment and cooperation between the two sides in the future. Although each side has its own potential, strengths and a variety of commodities, the value of Vietnam’s exports to Australia is still modest. The main products shipped from Vietnam to Australia are footwear and cashew nuts. However Australia is one of the most fastidious importers in the world. The room for exporting Vietnamese products is still vast but not for all types of products.

Consumer numbers are also smaller than other traditional export markets. Vietnamese enterprises needed to study carefully to penetrate the market by focusing on agricultural products such as dragon fruit, mango and key export products such as textiles, computers, wooden furniture and telephones. There is strong competition in the import and retail areas in Australia. Vietnamese firms need to build long-term business strategies which focus on product introduction and branding, trust creation and relationships to approach Australia’s retail system.

Australia is one of the 20 largest economies in the world, with outstanding potential in science and technology, mineral exploitation, high-quality services and agricultural products.

Sustainable fashion is not just disrupting conventional notions about fashion but also drastically changing the way we live. Sustainable fashion started off with a few entrepreneurs globally looking at ways to reduce waste while designing apparel and then slowly took the form of an approach that designers or consumers, for that matter, decided to abide by. It is about being conscious of the environment and the resources at hand, and making clothes in an eco-friendly manner.

Recycling/upcycling of garments as opposed to purchasing newly produced clothes also forms part of making sustainable fashion choices. Environmentally-unfriendly behavior costs the global economy 160 billion dollars each year, which makes it all the more imperative for garment manufacturers and consumers to make conscious choices while styling.

Among the latest trends in sustainable fashion are cutting waste and saving animals to creating sustainable fashion fibers and vegan biodegradable leather. Peru-based Le Qara has come up with Lab Leather, which is formed using microorganisms derived from flowers and fruits grown in a biotech lab. The process makes it possible to ape any desired leather texture and is 100 per cent biodegradable. Another technology offers an ID which can be attached to the garments so that consumers know what they are buying and how they can best recycle the item once they no longer want to wear it.

The global sewing thread market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.6 per cent between 2019 and 2025. Apparel and footwear industries are driving the thread market. More and more consumers are buying garments at lower prices in both developed and developing economies, which is also propelling the global sewing thread industry. The significantly high production of affordable apparel globally is anticipated to further fuel the sewing thread market in future.

The global sewing thread market is segmented into natural and synthetic. The natural segment is sub-segmented into cotton, silk, wool etc. The synthetic segment includes rayon, polyester, nylon etc. In terms of revenue, the synthetic segment dominated the market in 2018 due to its advantages such as superior resistance to chemicals, tenacity, and higher abrasion resistance. In terms of application, the market is segmented into apparel, footwear, bedding and mattress, luggage and bags, and others. The apparel segment dominated the sewing thread market in 2018 in terms of revenue, due to the growing apparel and garment industry globally.

The European apparel industry is anticipated to show significant growth in future owing to constantly changing fashion trends and the popularity of sports and athletic footwear across the region.

Salvatore Ferragamo has opened a new flagship in China. Fully renovated with fresh, contemporary design elements, the flagship, roughly 780 sq. mt. carries the complete range of Salvatore Ferragamo men ’s and women’s collections: ready-to-wear, bags, shoes, small leather goods, silk accessories, jewelry, eyewear, perfumes, and timepieces.

The two-storey boutique features a bronze panel façade illuminated by vertical LED strips. The ground floor offers a selection of the women’s collections with the store entrance opening to a large, two-storey hall where the house’s handbag collections are displayed. In subsequent rooms, accessories and ready-to-wear are displayed with ample space dedicated to shoes including a key highlight focal wall devoted to the product category. The soft, rounded shapes of the walnut furnishings are polished to a high gloss, with brass and steel hardware details. Gold and pink silk velvet settees accentuate the soft, feminine environment and warmth of the women’s area.

An elevator leads to the men’s collections on the first floor, marked by signature masculine décor, wood and marble floors, walnut furnishings complemented by leather and light blue velvet sofas and yellow armchairs.

Salvatore Ferragamo, based in Italy, does shoes, leather goods, apparel, silk products and other accessories, along with women’s and men’s fragrances, eyewear and watches.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) may be finalized within this year. The RCEP which includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam is being negotiated since 2013. The negotiations on RCEP were last year extended into 2019 as the parties – the ten Asean states and their six partners, India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand – were unable to reach an agreement on key issues. India has reservations on joining RCEP, mainly because it will bring the country into a free trade relationship with China and worsen a trade deficit of more than $60 billion.

Despite India’s concerns about its trade deficits with Asean countries and China, it would be missing out on a key economic opportunity to establish a presence in the fast-growing Asean region if it did not join the RCEP. The Asean region, and the Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand sub region, in particular, is the geopolitical centre of Asia. The region connects east Asia with south Asia, a link between the two economic powers of China and India.

If negotiations succeed, RCEP will be the largest multilateral trade pact in history. It is important for India to not lose out on this opportunity to further integrate with the Asean region.

Garment and textile exports of Vietnam to the US and EU have grown robustly. This will make Vietnam an attractive destination for foreign garment and textile companies. Chinese garment and textile companies will be induced to shift investments to Vietnam in order to take advantage of the benefits that free trade agreements have brought to Vietnam. It is estimated that Vietnam will receive an investment wave of up to seven billion dollars from garment and textile companies in China, 2.1 billion dollars from South Korea, 1.6 billion dollars from Taiwan and 0.75 billion dollars from Japan.

Globally, the country has been showing a great impact on the garment and textile supply chain for being the world’s second largest textile and apparel exporter. The country’s garment and textile industry grew from 12 per cent in 2010 to 16 per cent in 2018. The garment and textile industry of Vietnam will advance further in the global market thanks to several existing advantages such as skilled laborers with sophisticated technique. Especially, with the recently-signed free trade agreements, import tariffs will be gradually removed for Vietnamese garment and textile products. There are 7000 enterprises in the industry, providing jobs for three million workers across the country.