"Even though demand for ethical fashion is rising, there are several reports that throw light on the ongoing labor abuses both in India and across the world. One such report by Trasparentem uncovers multiple violations at five factories in Malaysia. These factories supply to well-known Western brands like Nike, Global Brands Group (which creates licensed products for the likes of Calvin Klein and Juicy Couture), Asics, Under Armour, Target, Fruit of the Loom , Primark and Brooks are among the brands directly implicated."

Even though demand for ethical fashion is rising, there are several reports that throw light on the ongoing labor abuses both in India and across the world. One such report by Trasparentem uncovers multiple violations at five factories in Malaysia. These factories supply to well-known Western brands like Nike, Global Brands Group (which creates licensed products for the likes of Calvin Klein and Juicy Couture), Asics, Under Armour, Target, Fruit of the Loom , Primark and Brooks are among the brands directly implicated.

Report highlights precarious conditions of Malaysian laborers

The kinds of issues uncovered during Transparentem's 18-month investigation include the charging for recruitment fees for laborers in Malaysia. These fees, ranging from $745 to $4, 356 are high enough to compel laborers to sell their homes, mortgage land or borrow money from the bank. These laborers, who are often migrants from nearby countries like Cambodia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, are also misled about the amount they'd actually be making once they started their new jobs — so much so that many came to regret taking the jobs in the first place.

The underpay and excessive recruitment fees are compounded by disciplinary fines that these workers have to pay if the machinery breaks down while they’re using it or if they don’t achieve their production targets or make mistake in their work. For some laborers these fees pile to such an extent that they end up owning more money to their employer than their wages.

Besides payment issues, other issues that plague these workers include the verbal and physical abuse that they have face from their managers. They are also forced to live in unhygienic and overcrowded spaces.

Brands rise against inhuman factory conditions

Though the conditions are bleak, some brands are taking responsibility to change these situations. Transparentem's approach always contacts the implicated brands before releasing its findings to the media. Its founder, Benjamin Skinner, a former investigative journalist believes when you name and shame specific factories, the brands that work with them are more likely to sever ties to avoid blame In the case of the Malaysian factory investigation, of the 23 brands implicated, 17 have already begun remediation efforts.

One such instance is of brand Brooks, which expressed its willingness to share the cost of recruitment fee reimbursement with one factory, even though it had technically never authorised the factory to produce its apparel. The brand also stopped sourcing from that partner since 2015. However, Nike refused to accept responsibility for the abuses by its subcontracting on the pretext it had never authorised the two implicated factories to make their products.

On the other hand, brands Primark and Target were praises by Transparentem for pushing improvements in factories they had stopped sourcing with. That the investigation is having a positive effect on other facilities can be seen from the fact that four unnamed buyers extended their remediation efforts to another Malaysian factory not even included in Transparentem's report. Though still a lot needs to be fixed in Malaysian fashion manufacturing, the increase in number of conscientious brands proves that companies are ready to take responsibility for the ethicality of their supply chains.

Through a partnership with IFC, Levi Strauss hopes to meet its corporate sustainability objectives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and water use in its supply chain. IFC is a member of the World Bank Group. As the largest global development institution, with deep sectoral and wide regional expertise, IFC is well placed to provide support to this important and necessary initiative. Levi Strauss is one of the world’s leading brand name apparel companies.

IFC will work with 42 designated Levi Strauss suppliers and mills in ten countries to identify and implement appropriate renewable energy and water-saving interventions that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lead to improved water efficiency and wider adoption of renewable energy supply options. The work, which will take place in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Mexico, Lesotho, Colombia, Turkey, Egypt, and Vietnam, will incorporate IFC’s Partnership for Cleaner Textiles approach for reducing resource consumption and wastewater pollution.

The global textile, apparel and footwear industry is a major driver of industrialization and economic growth in many countries, employing 60 million people, the majority of them women. But the industry also contributes as much as eight per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions and uses sizable amounts of water in cotton farming and textile production.

India’s power loom weavers and business owners want the current GST rate for power loom trading to be retained at five per cent. They say, any change would negatively affect their bussiness. Instead the power loom sector hopes for more assistance and a stable tax rate. Many power loom manufacturers are small-scale businesses. Weaving units have also asked for release of funds under the Technological Upgradation Fund Scheme and say delay in release of these funds could hamper their expansion plans, which are meant at generating thousands of jobs.

The Powerloom Development and Export Promotion Council (Pdexcil) acts as a bridge between the government and the power loom industry. It organizes buyer-seller meet-cum-exhibition events in India as well as in places like China, Dubai, Sri Lanka as well as Germany. The participation of power loom entrepreneurs in these international events supports them in their export activity. Under skill development programs intended to provide skilled workers to the textile industry, Pdexcil has almost completed its target by successfully completing training of 1,297 candidates in the main phase and another 90 under the additional allotment for SC/ST candidates. Pdexcil also enrolled 223 power loom workers under the group insurance scheme and also facilitated exposure visits covering 977 weavers.

Vietnam's textile and garment exports to the EU could rise tenfold once the free trade agreement takes effect. The FTA will be signed after nine years of negotiations, and immediately afterwards 70.3 per cent of Vietnamese products exported to the EU would be free of tariffs. Textiles and garments are currently subject to an average tariff of 9.6 per cent in the EU, but it would gradually reduce to zero over seven years.

The EU is the second largest importer of Vietnamese textiles after the US and its imports from Vietnam are growing by seven per cent to ten per cent a year. Major textile companies of Vietnam will see orders increase dramatically when the trade deal comes into force. Some plan to link up with domestic suppliers in the yarn-forward supply chain in order to comply with proof of origin rules and take advantage of the trade agreement. The high quality standards that are mandatory under the deal are expected to boost Vietnam’s pace of reform and international integration.

However, grasping the opportunities arising from the FTA would not be easy since the tariff breaks are only for goods that meet quality standards and rules of origin. Domestic value must account for at least 40 per cent of the final product.

Between 2006 and 2016 exports of clothing from the United States to Mexico increased by 32 per cent. Due to Mexico’s proximity, and ease of business, US companies have focused on their southern neighbor to carry out their clothing exports.

US companies have also seen business opportunities in Mexico and have ventured to expand their network of stores throughout the country. Gap for example, has 69 stores, Nike, with 19 establishments and Levi’s, with 47 points of sale. One of the main partners of foreign companies in Mexico is the distribution company Grupo Axo, which operates almost 750 stores in Mexico, with PVH Corp as one of its main customers, through Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger. Another of the companies managed by Grupo Axo in Mexico is Guess, with 53 stores open in the country. Abercrombie & Fitch, Victoria Secret and Coach are other brands of the group currently being managed in Mexico, as well as in Chile.

The dynamics in the rest of Latin America is totally different. While the business with Mexico has grown, exports of American clothing to the rest of the region have plummeted by 26.5 per cent between 2006 and 2016.

Saitex, the Vietnam-based denim manufacturer has become he only apparel factory headquartered in Asia with B Corporation Certification. As a B Corp company, Saitex will measure and manage the impact of its business on its workers, community and the environment and monitor its profits.

Companies receive the distinction of being a Certified B Corporation from B Lab, a non-profit organisation that measures best business practices, by meeting rigorous standards of social, environmental performance, transparency and legal accountability. Companies must meet B Lab’s 80-point bar for certification—a process that requires interviews, proof of documents and background checks. Certified B Corporations are also subject to random site reviews.

Saitex’s Ho Chi Minh City-based facilities achieved a score of 105.6. The LEED-certified and Fair Trade facilities produce an average of 18,000 pairs of jeans per day and with a $2 million recycling system on-site, the water consumption for each pair of jeans is greatly reduced from 80 liters to one. The entire facility is supported by renewable energy sources including wind and solar while minimising all waste products or reinventing them into building materials used to build orphanages in neighboring cities.

Reliance Chemotex’s domestic sales have grown by 37 per cent year on year and now account for 44 per cent of its revenue. This growth was driven by a greater focus on value-added products in the domestic market. The focus on exports continues to remain an integral part of the company’s marketing philosophy. In value terms, Reliance Chemotex’s exports have witnessed a five per cent growth.

In an effort to further improve its performance, the company is planning to modernize two of its units, which will increase the production capacity by 13 per cent per annum. As part of this modernisation exercise, the company will also reallocate some machinery for research and development purposes which will help offer new and more value-added products. The modernisation project will be completed in two phases, and post the completion the company expects significant savings in power consumption and repairs and maintenance costs, which will further enhance profitability.

Reliance Chemotex, established in 1977, manufactures synthetic, blended yarn. It currently operates 53,280 spindles and a high temperature / high pressure fiber-dyeing plant. The company has been exporting yarn since 1987 and has a loyal customer base around the world. Its competitive advantage lies in its versatile product range and commitment to quality.

Monforts is introducing a revolutionary new system for yarn dyeing based on the Econtrol dyeing system for fabrics. Econtrol is a pad-dry process employed in Monforts continuous dyeing in which the reactive dyestuff is fixed to the cellulose fibers during drying and the CYD multi-color yarn dyeing system introduces a number of new concepts based on it, including the unique Eco Bleach process. This is the first bleaching system for yarn treatment available in the market and will be of particular interest to denim manufacturers. The Eco Bleach system is combined with washing units and the fabric is then dyed immediately, resulting in considerable savings in wastewater and chemicals. This latest CYD denim processing technology integrates new functions and processes into the weaving preparatory processes – spinning, direct beaming, warping and assembly beaming, followed by sizing and dyeing – in order to increase quality, flexibility, economic viability and productivity.

In its raw state, cotton has a light brownish/yellow tinge and bleaching is necessary to ensure its pure whiteness prior to dyeing. On conventional systems, this involves a separate process step, but with the CYD multi-color yarn dyeing system, it is now integrated into the Econtrol process for full dyeing pre-treatment.

The two-day Cotton USA Sourcing Fair in Macau, which included 2,300 meetings, is expected to result in $115 million sales in future. More than 200 participants from 18 different countries participated in the Sourcing Fair, an invitation-only event organised by Cotton Council International (CCI) to bring together yarn and fabric mills, as well as garment manufacturers and brands and retailers, to promote U.S. cotton throughout the global apparel supply chain.

Forty-one brands and retailers attended the Cotton USA Sourcing Fair, of which 63 per cent were attending a Cotton USA Sourcing Fair for the first time. The total estimated value of their future expected purchases of U.S. cotton products after the fair is $5.9 million. Sixteen yarn suppliers, 59 fabric suppliers and 33 garment suppliers attended the fair. The total estimated value of their future expected purchases of U.S. cotton products totaled more than $110 million.

CCI also hosted a general session highlighting U.S. cotton’s sustainability and quality. After the fair, 91 per cent of the participants agreed that U.S. cotton quality is better than cotton from other regions. U.S. cotton’s superior quality led 92 per cent of participants to report they are ‘very likely’ or ‘likely’ to purchase more U.S. cotton and U.S. cotton in the future.

The demand for women’s hosiery garments will continue to remain lucrative in the coming years as well, with substantial share expected to come from Asia Pacific excluding Japan. However, apparel manufacturers are also shifting their attention toward men and children. More importantly, the men segment is expected to rise at the leading CAGR in market over the assessment period of 2017–2022.

However, the demand for hosiery for men is anticipated to rise at more attractive CAGR over 2017–2022. The products in the economic price range are anticipated to garner the most attractive CAGR during 2017–2022. By the end of 2022, the opportunities in the hosiery market for economic price range products is expected to reach $9,200 million. This will be followed by mid-range and super-premium range hosiery.