Jonathan Ram has been appointed new chief executive officer (CEO) by UK-based footwear retail brand Clarks. He will join the company in April 2022. Having an extensive experience in footwear and apparel industry, Ram was most recently group president, global activewear at HanesBrands, Inc. Here, he led the growth of global activewear business across multiple brands and businesses.

Ram was with New Balance for 16 years where he ran the LATAM, EMEA and North American businesses. He was instrumental in leading transformation, growth, and profitability in the EMEA business and then led the North America multi-channel business. In the last one year, Clarks has implemented focused turnaround strategy designed to protect the future of business and build a foundation for sustainable growth in the years ahead. This has resulted in an improved financial position for the brand, says Colin Li, Chairman.

The US is fast becoming world’s largest luxury fashion market with brands opening new stores and staging new events across the country. Recently, Zara’s parent company Inditex declared the US its largest fashion market and Kering credited North America for Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen’s strong sales last month. McQueen also launched its Autumn/Winter 2022 collection in New York, highlights a Business of Fashion report.

Despite it being the world’s largest consumer market, many fashion brands did not focus on the US during the last decade. Instead, China made up about one-third of their global sales, says Bain & Company report.

COVID shifts consumers away from China

However, China’s outlook changed in the last two years as the COVID-19 outbreak dampened prospects. The country’s 2022 GDP growth dipped to its lowest 5.5 per cent in over three decades and is expected to dip further with an unstable property market and strict COVID lockdown measures curbing consumption. China recently announced new lockdowns to curb COVID spread. It closed down Shanghai’s shopping districts though a few stores continue to remain operational.

Government aids boosts US’ prospects

This is attracting fashion brands back to America. Though the country faces rising inflation levels that have reached a four-decade high, its economy continues to grow at a faster than expected rate owing to the stimulus checks sent by the government.

Luxury brands like McQueen, Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Louis Vuitton have been staging high-profile events in the US since the last six months. What’s more, Louis Vuitton plans to host its cruise show in California this May. Also on the anvil are new stores outside the traditional American fashion hubs of New York and Los Angeles.

There has been an influx of wealthy tech workers in Miami and Austin over the last few months. Cities like Charleston, Nashville and Atlanta have also reported a surge in their median income levels. Many brands like Gucci, Hermes and Chanel have opened stores in these cities. In February, Francois-Henri Pinault announced plans to expand operations in these two cities. Prada also announced expansion plans for Austin city. These cities are likely to emerge as future shopping destinations for luxury consumers in the US.

High oil prices and limited spending may curb growth

However, the boom in the US luxury market may prove to be short-lived as luxury spending by lower-income Americans may not continue, as per the Bank of America. High gasoline prices may also prevent consumers from spending more in malls with February retail sales expected to remain low at 0.3 per cent. For the first time since 2018, the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates to counter rising inflation rates and slowing economic growth.

Second, China will continue to be a dominant force with luxury sales rising 36 per cent to 471 billion yuan ($73.59 billion) last year, says Bain and Company, though growth is expected to slow in 2022. The country will continue to witness a rise in travel retail sales as there would be massive growth in duty-free shops in Hainan.

The upheaval of the last two years has warned fashion brands against depending on a single sourcing destination. Many brands are diversifying their supply chains by focusing on multiple markets. This prevents their operations from being impacted from disruptions in one country. In future, more American cities will step up investments in fashion, believe brands.

Having reached its highest levels in 2021, the United States’ imports of cotton products are expected to support record cotton consumption in marketing year 2021-22. As per International Trade Administration’s Office of Textile and Apparels (OTEXA) report, cotton imports in 2022 are likely to surge as production is likely to decline by 300,000 bales.

In 2021, US’ cotton products import touched $49 billion. Imports got a boost mainly because of growing demand for cotton apparel and home textiles in the country. Most US consumers spent their discretionary incomes on products rather than services. They opted for comfortable and soft knitted cotton garments besides investing in home purchases and home textiles. Moreover, pent-up demand from the previous year and an increase in discretionary income also boosted imports after 2020

China remains largest cotton product supplier

For 19th consecutive year, China remained the largest cotton product supplier to the US in 2021. Even Section 301 tariffs implemented in 2019 amid the US-China trade dispute and the US Customs and Border Protection’s Withhold Release Order on all cotton-derived products from the Xinjiang autonomous region, failed to dive US’ imports of cotton products. On the other hand, cotton imports from countries like China India Pakistan Vietnam Bangladesh made significant strides since that period. Imports from India, Vietnam, and Bangladesh also reached record levels in 2021 especially in December.

Despite rising inflation global cotton consumption has been on the rise. The 2021-22 Outlook global cotton production was lower by 300,000 bales due to smaller crop in India. Use is up slightly, just over 100,000 bales, and ending stocks are down significantly for the third consecutive month with a decrease of over 1.7 million bales.

US’ cotton products imports decline

With global uncertainties lowering prices on the Intercontinental Exchanges, global macroeconomic concerns outweighed strong US export sales and shipments in 2021. In addition, lower prices also led to negative carry of roughly 2.5 cents in the middle of February.

Contrary to prices in the US and India, spot prices in China and Brazil declined slightly during the month as China returned from Lunar New Year and a higher Brazilian real. The A-Index reachroughly 30 cents lower than domestic prices in China compared with 20 cents last year, owing partly to a stronger yuan relative to the US dollar.

European Union’s forthcoming Textiles Strategy should be based on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), says as a new study by Eunomia for Changing Markets Foundation and the European Environmental Bureau, published in March. The latest report says, inclusion of EPR in the EU textiles strategy would enable the industry to operationalize the penalty paid by a polluter.

Covering products entire lifecycle costs

The report highlights, textile consumption in Europe had the fourth-highest impact on the environment and climate change in 2020 as 6.6 million tons of clothing, household textiles and footwear were consumed during the year. The study urges garment producers to bear the financial costs associated with end-of-life management of textiles they sell. It asserts, those who consume more textiles should pay more penalties. Over-consumption is ‘the root’ of challenges faced by the textile industry and only EPR can help tackle this, the report adds.

EPR can improve textiles design by varying EPR fee levels according to relevant criteria, says the report. The incentives can be based on the size of fees relative to the sales price of textile item. The industry should also ensure full coverage of end-of-life costs, adds the report. This would help increase the relative size of fees, and increase modulation’s influence on design choices, the report notes. However, a few textile items will continue to remain uninfluenced by such incentives.’

The industry needs to introduce several minimum eco-design requirements alongside EPR besides banning use of substances of very high concern (SVHCs) in textile products. This would help make EPR schemes more effective and address complex issues, says the Eunomia report.

Maximizing EPR potential

The Eunomia report recommends certain actions to help EU maximize EPR’s effectiveness and harmonize specific aspects and requirements for its performance. The actions recommended include: setting performance targets for the collection and management of used and waste textiles, including repair, collection, preparation for reuse, and recycling; establishment of an EU-level definition for obligated producers; establishment of an EU-level classification for when textiles become waste; establishment of EU-level classifications for granularity of fee structure and associated reporting obligations; and establishment of EU-level criteria for eco-modulation and associated reporting obligations.

The report further outlines measures including setting up a target for including recycled content in textiles, reduction in VAT on repair, curbing the release of microplastics in the air, and ensuring a smooth material flow by establishing a data reporting and verification throughout the value chain. These can change the textile circularity scenario in Europe, adds the report

Jürgen Müller, Head-Patterns, Mayer & Cie, says, warm functional underwear is a must for athletes, coaches and spectators These products are mostly knitted on circular knitting machines. High-tech sports and thermal underwear produced in Mayer & Cie. machines keep users warm and provide comfort at the same time.

Extra warm thermal underwear produced from single jersey, plush and fine rib all deliver warmth and comfort. Made of thicker yarns such as microfibres of between 150/1 and 167/1 dtex, all in E28 gauge, the inside of the single jersey fabric is napped for a fleece effect. Jürgen Müller recommends MV 4 3.2. II and the S4-3.2 circular knitting machines for this purpose. In addition, Relanit machines suitable for the manufacture of thermal underwear are stated as Relanit 3.2 S, Relanit 3.2 HS and Relanit 4.0.

Plush fabric with a 1.5 mm short loop also feels like fleece on the skin. The MPU 1.6 knits this fabric in gauges E22 to E28. Müller explains that yarn that shrinks a little is especially good for this purpose and says; “It can be functional microfibre yarn, which is always multifilament”. A 10 per cent admixture of elastomer yarn is also common.

The third alternative for circular machine-knitted thermal underwear is fine rib fabric napped inside. Elastic by definition does not require any elastomer content. Müller relays that underwear manufacturers often opt for a mixture of 75 per cent cotton and 25 per cent polyester, disclosing; “On an FV 2.0 or a D4 2.2 the double jersey fabric comes out fine in E22 to E24 gauge”.

Müller underlines that body mapping is another trend in sports underwear. Different perspiration areas of the human body are taken into account and patterns are made with double-sided plating. Body mapping requires larger plain segments in the back or stomach area as well as breathable jacquard areas underneath the armpits or on the sides, he adds.

The 'China Plus One' supply chain diversification strategy triggered by the global COVID-19 pandemic is creating opportunities for Indian players, says a report by India Ratings and Research.

Besides, the changing role of China's manufacturing sector in the global export value chain, is leading to the creation of growth opportunities for Indian companies.

Till recently, China was a world leader in several sectors such as home textiles and cotton apparel, but with the changing dynamics of the world supply chain, there is a considerable shift in its production strategy.

Unlike India or Pakistan, China does not have enough supply of cotton yarn, discouraging some of their local giants to invest further in this space. This scarcity however has led to Chinese manufacturers' increased interest in man-made fibres.

In India, this opportunity could lead to additional demand and consequently additional capex to the tune of Rs 120 billion over the next 10 years, adds the report.

Additionally, a new world of opportunities has opened up for India's footwear sector and few South Asian players as Chinese competitors have lost traction and started focusing elsewhere, driven by both low value addition and wage pressures.

India has a very fragmented footwear market; but given the increasing global footprint, this can change fairly quickly, and a few scaled-up players can gain market share.

In addition, the China, Plus One strategy is creating some order book growth for India's capital goods sector, the report adds.

Developer of fiber and technology solutions for the textile and apparel industry, The Lycra Company has announced a settlement for its ongoing global efforts to protect its intellectual property (IP), including patents and trademarks, from infringement worldwide.

In a lawsuit mediated by the Jiangsu Authority in China, Wilmington, Del.-based Lycra Company had accused four companies of infringing its dual core patents for denim. The company is actively looking across online marketplaces to find listings for fabrics and garments that attempt to capitalize on its brands’ positive reputations to drive sales.

Only fabrics and garments tested and certified by the Lycra Company can confirm they contain its fibers, and are eligible to use its trademarks. In October last year, the company removed 2,400 website listings and over 800 social media profiles and posts that infringed on its trademarks. Owner of brands such as Lycra, Lycra HyFit, Lycra T400, Coolmax, Thermolite, Elaspan, Supplex and Tactel, the company adds value to customers’ products by introducing innovations that meet their comfort and performance needs

Over 20 Uzbek entrepreneurs plan investments in Pakistan’s textile and other sectors. Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar recently visited Uzbekistan with a business delegation to review investments opportunities for the two countries. A delegation of Uzbek agronomists will soon visit Punjab, according a report.

As per Daily Times, Uzbekistan would technologically support Punjab in order to boost cotton output. It would also assist Pakistan to increase cotton output in Punjab. For local and foreign investors, Uzbekistan will establish new special economic zones. Shavkat Abdurazzakov, Governor, Namangan Province said, investors engaging in other industries in Punjab, including textiles, will work in the same manner as they do in their own nation.

One year after introducing Common Thread Fabric Certification Program, high-performance fiber brand Sorona has launched the Preferred Mill Network, a global catalogue of mills offering the full collection of sustainable Sorona® subbranded fabrics—Agile, Aura, Luxe, Profile, and Revive. The catalogue is available to apparel brands in need of samples and sourcing of fabrics scientifically tested to meet the performance and sustainability standards set by the Sorona® team.

As per Alexa Raabm Global Brand & Communications Leader, DuPont, “The Preferred Mill Network and Common Thread Fabric Certification Program furthers Sorona’s commitment to transparency and ease of access to sustainable fabrics throughout the value chain.” The program has helped Sorona® certify 350 fabric mills worldwide and shipped hangtags for more than 43.7 million garments. Among the certified fabrics, the most certified option is Sorona® Agile, the comfort stretch fabric used for spandex replacement in activewear and athleisure garments.

Made with 37 per cent plant-based materials, Sorona offers unparalleled softness, stretch recovery, crease recovery, and resistance to UV and chlorine damage. From harvesting to production, the process for making Sorona uses 30-40 per cent less energy and releases 56-63 per cent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than the production of nylon. Fabrics made from Sorona® polymer can also be dyed and heat-set at much lower temperatures compared to polyester furthering the energy efficiency down the value chain.

Portugal’s garment and textile exports increased 16.5 per cent to reach €.419 billion in 2021. As per a Textile Focus report, exports surged 3.9 percent year-over- year from the pre-pandemic levels. Exports of knitted garments increased 9 per cent to €2.336 billion, reveals Textile and Clothing Association of Portugal (ATP) stats, home textile exports increased 17 per cent to €763 million.

However, exports of woven clothing, declined 19 per cent to €796 million. The country saw the highest rise in exports to France in absolute terms among export destinations. Exports to the country increased 18 per cent to €119 million with the French textile and garment market now accounting for 15 per cent of total exports.

Amongst non-EU destinations, exports to the US recorded highest growth of €107 million. On the other hand, exports to Spain declined 14 per cent to -€220 million. The value of Spanish apparel market fell to 25 per cent in 2021, down from 31 per cent in 2019. The sector’s trade balance in 2021 was positive at €1.168 billion, indicating a 127 percent coverage rate, as per ATP