To respond to Western criticism of forced labor in Xinjiang province, China has developed its own ‘sustainable’ cotton certification scheme. Through this move, China aims to offset the supremacy of Western countries and develop a self-sustaining, independent standard and certification system,

For this, the China Cotton Association (CCA) has launched a new body, the Cotton China Sustainable Development Program. The organization aims to combat the use of forced labor by imprisoned Uyghur Muslims in the region that supplies one-fifth of the world’s cotton. In recent months, China has seen a political and consumer reaction in response to publicly expressed concerns about the exploitation of forced labor by companies and the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI).

The Cotton China Sustainable Development Program seeks to encourage sustainable cotton production while decreasing reliance on Western standards. It would give China a considerable say in worldwide pricing and standard-setting.

On its part, the BCI aims to collaborate with the textile supply chain and brands to create a sustainable cotton industrial chain spanning production, textile and clothing manufacture, and brand sales.

Designers introduced their new formal wear range with an athleisure twist at the recently Milan Fashion Week for Men. A Women’s Wear Daily report says, designer Serdar Uzuntas launched a collection that modernized workwear-inspired, deconstructed suits with flap pockets and oversize cardigans. The designer also introduced a bold paw print that was splashed all across the crisp cotton pants, polo shirts and T-shirts in the collection.

Activewear specialist Spyder launched a coed collection that was full of saturated and bold colors. Spanning different sports disciplines, the lineup featured everything from cycling shorts paired with technical windbreakers in blocks of colors to basketball shorts and leotards. It also included everyday options such as a tracksuit bearing a print reminiscent of digital 3D animations and bomber jackets with a silky texture that looked as good for a springtime run outdoors as they did paired with more dressed-up looks.

The spring collection of brand Ten C focused on technicality and performance. The collection by designer Alessandro Pungetti was presented via video days before the event started. For the collection, the brand relied heavily on its signature Original Japanese Jersey, a performance-driven, nine-ounce fabric that was worked into crisp flight jackets, parkas and anoraks .Its parka was also rendered in an edgy, see-through nylon version with tapered details on the pockets and lapels creating an interesting contrast. The brand collaborated with Toronto-based artist Moya Garrison-Msingwana for a capsule collection of T-shirts.

New and existing players’ increasing focus on the segment has made the intimates and lingerie category a $250 billion global business. As per a Glossy report, the category has undergone radical transformation over the last decade. It now focuses on body positivity and size inclusively as against earlier when lingerie targeted specific body types.

While Victoria’s Secret continues to be popular, other brands such as Parade are finding favor with customers by focusing on real people rather than aspirational role models, says Andre Artacho, Managing Director, Two Nil a growth consultancy.

New and old brands venture into underwear

Adidas, which earlier sold men’s underwear only in the US, recently collaborated with Israeli textile manufacturer Delta Galil to sell both men’s and women’s underwear on a global scale. Henceforth, Delta Galil will manufacture and distribute all underwear products launched by Adidas. To compete with other players such as Aerie, Victoria’s Secret and Lively, the company will also manufacture bras and bottoms, says Victoria Vandagriff, President, Delta Galil-Brands Division.

Adidas will sell this collection under two labels: the Badge of Sport line, which uses athletic silhouettes and performance materials; and Adidas Originals, the brand’s more streetwear and fashion-focused line. Both ranges will be sold through the brand’s DTC channels and department stores. Adidas will also sell the Badge of Sport line at sporting goods stores like Champs and Dick’s Sporting Goods, while the Originals line will be distributed at select fashion retailers.

According to Vandagriff, underwear buyers primarily focus on garment comfort, as seen from the growth in sales of bralettes, wire-free bras and seamless garments in the last six months. As per latest data from retail analytics platform Edited, while sales of triangle bralettes grew by 120 per cent between December and February, sales of sports bras and stretch material underwear boomed 382 per cent within the same timeframe.

A lot of new brands have entered the underwear market in the last few years, says Vandagriff. Most notable amongst these is Aerie whose revenues grew 89 per cent to nearly $300 million in the first quarter. DTC brands including Parade and Lively have also grown in importance. While Parade’s revenues grew to $10 million in first year of operations, intimates manufacturer Gelmart sold its first incubated brand Lively for $85 million in 2019.

Consumer’s attitude towards underwear has changed over the years. From something they wore for others, it has become a piece of garment they wear for themselves, adds Vandagraff. Victoria’s Secret too has introduced a new rebranding strategy focusing on body inclusivity and gender neutrality. The brand aims to evolve with changing underwear market to regain past glory.

Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) has launched an online community Connect by IFAI. As per Textile World, the new initiative will facilitate valuable networking amongst industry peers and will allow for industry-wide conversations.

Connect by IFAI is equipped with a variety of features to help engage with industry peers, find answers and learn with fellow IFAI members. It also has badge and ribbon labels to showcase certifications, member organizations and industry accomplishments.

A discussion board in the online community provides the opportunity to post questions and find answers. The community also has a dedicated Resource Library to house documents for resource sharing. The library automatically archives attachments posted to discussions which enables members to add additional resources to share helpful information.

The Connect directory also provides a list of all suppliers and fabricators according to their name, location, company, business type, market served, etc. The library can be accessed by all IFAI members.

Japan’s apparel imports declined by both weight-wise and value-wise in the first four months of 2021, as per Apparel Resources

From January-April’21, Japan garment imports declined by 5.52 per cent to 853.70 billion yen as compared to 903.54 billion yen in the same period of 2020, noting 5.52 per cent yearly downfall.

In terms of weight, Japanese apparel import declined to 2,070.28 million kg in the mentioned period as against 2,076.55 million kg in the corresponding period of 2020 which is a 0.30 per cent yearly decline.

The fall has been witnessed due to lowering demand of woven clothing in Japanese apparel market, while knitted segment remained positive

The share of knitted garments in overall imports was 433.52 billion yen while woven garments constituted 420.17 billion yen. Low unit prices in 2021 have put exporters to Japan under immense pressure as per kg garments imported by Japan valued just 410 yen in 2021’s first four months as compared to 440 yena year earlier.

Particularly in April ’21, the country’s import revenues slumped by 7.25 per cent to 223.82 billion yen as compared to April ’20.

AATCC has launched a new virtual educational program from July 21 through September 15, 2021.

Known as the E-Textiles Exploratory Series, the program will feature industry experts discussing a variety of topics including safety, data privacy, design, methodology, standards, cyber security, commercialization, as well as e-textile fundamentals. The Consumer Product Safety Commission will host a free session on safety through risk assessment, and other presentations will be available for purchase as a series or individually, both live or on-demand.

Presenters at the program include Ashish Kapoor, Intel; Jacqueline Campbell, Consumer Product Safety Commission; Madison (Maddy) Maxey, Loomia; Chris Jorgensen, IPC; Diana Wyman, AATCC; Travis Norton, Bureau Veritas; Chris Crowley, Montance and Pratyush Rai, Nanowear

Founded as the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC), the Association continues to evolve to meet the needs of those in the ever-changing textile, apparel, and materials industries. AATCC has served textile professionals since 1921. Today, the Association provides test method development, quality control materials, education, and professional networking for a global audience.

The Lenzing Group has extended its revolutionary fiber identification technology to Tencel™ branded lyocell and modal fibers. Lenzing’s fiber identification technology provides physical identification of fiber origin at different stages of textile products such as the fabric and garment level. This makes the fiber fully traceable and protects it from counterfeiting. It also guarantees that the fibers are produced in state-of-the-art-production facilities that meet high standards for resource efficiency and environmental and social responsibility.

Lenzing plans to make fiber identification a vital part of its fabric certification process within Lenzing E-Branding Service. As of November 2021, the brand plans to test all fabrics for fiber identification, enhancing the security of Lenzing’s online services and testing facilities and increasing transparency and security between value chain partners. By the first half of 2022, it will integrate additional services into Lenzing E-branding Service for brands and retailers.

ASOS has become the only UK brand to be included in Kantar’s BrandZ Most Valuable Global Brands 2021 report. As per Fashion Network, the brand has been ranked on the basis of its performance across 51 markets. The rankings show, the value of some of Europe’s biggest brands increased during the year as they continued to increase their investments. The value of apparel category grew 53 per cent as it benefited from shoppers preference for loungewear and athleisure brands such as Lululemon, Nike, Puma and Adidas.

Nike emerged as the fastest growing brand with a 68 per cent increase in brand value followed by Adidas whose value increased by 51 per cent. The third position was bagged by Zara with its value increasing marginally to $21.38 billion. Most of this growth was driven by diversifying channels such as live-streaming content, gamification and subscription models, says Kantar.

The luxury apparel category grew 34 per cent with European brands dominating the luxury rankings. Louis Vuitton emerged as the growing luxury with a 46 per cent year-on-year rise in value. The brand followed by others such as Chanel, Hermes, Gucci and Rolex

Dhiraj Raichand Shah, Chairman, The Synthetic and Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC), has urged Prime Minister Narender Modi to announce a special growth package for MMF sector. Shah points out MMF exports declined 19 per cent during 2020-21. Export of fibers declined 28 per cent, yarn 15 per cent, fabrics 18 per cent and made-ups 23 per cent, according to the data released by DGCI&S.

He therefore, urged the Prime Minister to release all pending dues of exporters under Drawback, MEIS, IGST, ROSL, RoSCTL, TUFS on an urgent basis; grant moratorium for repayment of principal and interest for at least one year; allow banks to restructure loans for one year without any additional charges/ penal interest, etc; direct RBI to relax NPA norms for six months; provide at least 35 per cent of the workers’ salary payments for a period of 12 months to protect the MSMEs reeling under severe impact of COVID-19; extend ECGC support to address the cancelled and deferred orders; onclude entire MMF textile value chain viz., fibres, yarns, fabrics, made-ups, etc under RoDTEP Scheme & declare RoDTEP rates immediately with a minimum rate of 7 per cent; extend the EPCG Scheme for the next 5 years; introduce a uniform 5 per cent GST rate for entire value chain in the MMF textiles segment and continue the Interest Equalization Scheme (IES) benefit for exports and enhance the IES to 5 per cent.

Reduced demand from brands and cancelled orders have led to a rise in wage theft, reduced hours and violations of workers’ employment and pay rights, says a new study by the University of Sheffield and the Worker Rights Consortium.

Based on a survey of 1,140 workers from 302 factories in India, Honduras, Ethiopia and Myanmar the report reveals, almost 80 per cent workers had not received full severance pay while the pay and working conditions of over a third of workers had deteriorated. Around 68 per cent of workers had been employed without a formal contract, reports Business of Fashion. More than one third workers reported experiencing verbal abuse, threats or intimidation, while 22 per cent reported unfair reduction or withholding of wages. Around 39 per cent said they were forced to work without adequate COVID-safe measures such as PPE and social distancing.

The study further shows, number of workers with no personal savings have increased in all four countries compared to pre-pandemic levels, and their average household debt levels have increased by 16 per cent.