Seams with strategic partner the Reshoring Initiative, announced the winners of the inaugural Sewn Products National Reshoring Award competition during its Spring Networking Conference here in May. Awards were presented in three categories – Textiles, Cut & Sew Manufacturing and Brands & Vertical Retailers.

The Textile Award was presented to Contempora Fabrics, while Unionwear was presented with the Cut & Sew Manufacturers Award and Mara Hoffman Brand the Brands & Vertical Retailers Award. Each recipient was presented with a certificate and received accolades from Seams and the Reshoring Initiative.

Rossari Biotech recently elevated Puneet Arora as the CEO for its Global Textile Chemicals Business. He was earlier the country head of the textiles business. Arora has been employed with Rossari Biotech since its inception and has been instrumental in making the company the largest textile chemical manufacturer and exporter in India.

One of India’s leading manufacturers and exporters of textile chemical auxiliaries, enzymes, polymers and animal health care products, Rosari has stayed true to its philosophy of “Making you more competitive” by constantly trying to work collaboratively and ensure that its efforts lead to the betterment of every one of its stakeholders.

As per official estimates, Uzbekistan will engage in complete processing of cotton fiber by 2020. The country will also increase its global share of finished products from 40 per cent to atleast 60 per cent. As a result of the creation of new capacities and organisation of cluster activities in 2019, as many as 78 per cent of the harvested cotton fiber will be processed in the country, which is twice as much as in 2017.

According to the State Statistics Committee, in January-May 2019, total exports of textile products amounted to $653.7 million and increased by 21.9 percent compared to the same period of 2018, which is 10.2 percent of total exports. Russia is the main consumer of textile products from Uzbekistan. The country consumed over 38 percent of Uzbekistan’s textile exports during January-May 2019.

Over the past three years, Uzbek textiles exports to China more than doubled, from $90.9 million in January-May 2017 to $190.3 million in the same period of 2019. Turkey is also one of the largest consumers of textile products from Uzbekistan. From the beginning of the year, products worth $63.6 million were shipped to Turkey.

The main share in the structure of textile exports is taken by cotton yarn (58.6 percent), as well as finished knitwear and garments (22.4 percent). Since the beginning of the year, more than 336 types of these goods have been exported to 50 countries.

As per ‘Cotton and Wool Outlook’ report of June 2019 by US Department of Agriculture (USDA), global cotton production in 2019-20 is forecast to rise by 5 per cent over the previous year to 125.3 million bales. This would be the second largest crop on record after 127.2 million bales produced in 2011-12. Cotton yield shall remain similar to the average of the last 2 years.

A major part of this production will be led by the United States (+3.6 million bales) and India (+2.5 million bales). For 2019-20, India is forecast to return as the leading cotton-producing country, surpassing China.

For 2019-20, India’s cotton crop is projected at 28.5 million bales—10 per cent above the previous year—as both higher area and yield are expected. India is forecast to account for 23 per cent of the world’s cotton production in 2019-20. Production in China is projected to remain unchanged t 27.75 million bales, as slightly lower area is offset by a higher national yield of 1,751 kg/hectare (1,562 pounds per acre). Cotton production in Pakistan is forecast at 8.0 million bales in 2019-20, a 4 per cent increase from 2018-19, as a rebound in area and a nearly unchanged yield lift the crop above the 3-year average.

Meanwhile, cotton production in Brazil and Australia is expected to decrease in 2019-20 as lower area and yield are projected. For Brazil, production is forecast at 12.0 million bales, 6 per cent (800,000 bales) below the record 2018-19 crop currently being harvested.

Industry powerhouses – Cone Denim® and Westex by Milliken, the flame resistant (FR) textiles business of global manufacturer Milliken & Company – have extended their exclusive partnership to provide innovative flame-resistant denim apparel fabrics for the industrial workwear market through 2025. The partnership began in 2015 with a joint collaboration to merge fashion with protection and supply an unmet need for guaranteed FR denim to provide the same comfort and style of everyday denim clothing for industrial workers.

Under the extended agreement, Cone Denim is the sole supplier of indigo, dyed greige denim fabric for Westex by Milliken to engineer to be flame resistant. Westex Indigo® fabrics combine market-proven FR protection with upgrades in look, feel and comfort, and advancements in fabric design that offer better mobility and durability for premium performance, without compromising safety.

This partnership has been well received by the marketplace and has grown consistently every year since it began. It allows Westex to provide quality denim fabrics with guaranteed FR protection that make adopting everyday FR apparel easy.”

India, Bangladesh, Turkey and some other states are lobbying against Pakistan and pushing the EU to withdraw the GSP+ facility from Pakistan. Unfortunately, this time circumstances are not favourable for Pakistan. In 2013, Pakistan lobbied with support of the United Kingdom (UK) and this time the UK’s position is not the same in the EU. The EU has also shifted its focus towards the Central Asia and targeted on low- and middle-income countries for concessions.

It is currently negotiating agreements with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The EU in 2013 granted GSP+ status to Pakistan with 406 votes, giving Pakistani products a duty free access to the European market till 2017. Reports suggest, 406 members of the European Parliament expressed their support for Pakistan while 186 lawmakers had voted against it.

The GSP Plus status allows almost 20 per cent of Pakistani exports to enter the EU market at zero tariff and 70 per cent at preferential rates. According to Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, Pakistan has earned $15 billion due to the GSP Plus since 2013.

Kim Kardashian West has sparked an online debate after she named her new shapewear line Kimono Solutionwear. Supposed to be a play on her name; Kimono as a brand name, has nothing to do with the traditional Japanese garment. According to many people, this appropriates Japanese culture and Kimono’s rich history.

These people even took to Twitter to show their outrage and call out the reality star. They said that the naming of the product is quite baffling, since it has no resemblance to Kimono, and is outright culturally offensive, especially as it’s merely a word play on Kim’s name. Popular Instagram page, Diet Prada, known for calling out copies and bashing huge brands for cultural appropriation in the world of fashion, also took to Instagram to troll Kim.

Others were also annoyed that the Japanese traditional garment was reduced to and forced to share its name with an intimate wear brand. Though the line does boast of an inclusive size range and nine skin-tones, it was dragged for not using any plus-size models in the shoot. They called it problematic at best and tagged Kardashian as a culture vulture, by playing with the words #KimOhNo.

Cherokee Global Brands is changing its name to Apex Global Brands, effective June 27, 2019. The name change is meant to reflect the company's expanded brand portfolio, marketing and design services. The company recently added several new brands including Hi-Tec, Magnum, Interceptor and 50 Peaks. It is now positioned to deepen its relationships with licensees as we assist its partners to deliver more products and introduce new categories faster and more efficiently than ever before.

Earlier in April this year, the company announced its Q4 results which recorded a net loss of $0.6 million, marking a major improvement from the loss of $45.2 million it reported in the prior-year period, thanks to its successful restructuring efforts.

Garment manufacturers from Asean countries discussed the challenges facing the industry and strategies to promote region-wide cooperation at a recent two-day meeting in Phnom Penh. The ASEAN Federation of Textile Industries (AFTEX) meeting, organised by Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC), aimed to discuss problems such as how to lower production costs and add value to products.

One of the important subjects discussed was the common stance of AFTEX on the Rule of Origin (ROO) for garments for RCEP (regional comprehensive economic partnership), which is a mega Free Trade Agreement between Asean and China, India, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

AFTEX was set up in 1978 and the group been able to maintain the spirit of collaboration and unity through regular meetings organised in all countries on a rotation basis. Yuttana Silpsarnvitch, Chairman of National Federation of Thai Textile Industries at the meeting noted that while there are differences in each country, textile representatives are working to combine the supply chain among the Asean countries to help reduce costs. According to him Singapore wants to focus on branding, trading, and design, however Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia aim to promote productivity transform from CMP [cut-mark-pack] to FOB [free on board]

"According to Anarock's latest retail report TCCx: Redefining the Future of Retail Malls released at the CII North Retail Conclave today in Delhi, the retail sector is riding high on the phenomenal rise of consumerism and renewed interest by institutional investors."

According to Anarock's latest retail report TCCx: Redefining the Future of Retail Malls released at the CII North Retail Conclave today in Delhi, the retail sector is riding high on the phenomenal rise of consumerism and renewed interest by institutional investors.

Indian mall developers are planning to add over 65 mn sq. ft. of new mall supply by 2022-end across the country. Of this total new supply, the top 7 cities comprise 72 per cent share and the remaining 28 per cent (18.2 mn sq. ft.) will come up in Tier 2 & 3 cities MMR, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad and Bengaluru together lead with new supply aggregating to nearly 34 mn sq. ft. in these cities

Amidst this rising new mall supply, developers are gradually on-boarding various new-age technologies. The report further stresses on the need for mall developers to imbibe PropTech in the leasing of mall spaces for a potentially faster, more insightful transaction process.

The report also maintains that REITs can be a viable tool for mall developers to raise funds, but this fund-raising instrument still needs to mature sufficiently. Also, the retail REIT structure and performance may not be directly comparable with the commercial office sector.

The report also examines how PropTech has disrupted the retail sector in India - specifically in mall designing or creating avenues for enhancing customer experience. From basic AutoCAD drawings, architects and designers have moved to software such as 'Revit' and 'Archi Cad' to enhance overall mall designs to ensure a superior customer experience. Architects and designers use these tools to visualise and plan the placement of stores within the mall to increase visibility.