Two ACIMIT associated textile machinery manufacturers, Loptex and Tonello, were awarded the Italian Green Label Award at the press conference held by ACIMIT and the Italian Trade Agency at ITMA Barcelona,

The commitment of textile machinery manufacturers in researching and developing technology solutions capable of improving the energy consumption and/or environmental performance of their machinery is implemented through the Sustainable Technologies project. Promoted by ACIMIT since 2011, the project focuses on the Green Label, through which machinery manufacturers can communicate their engagement. The quantity of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions produced during the operation of the machinery (CFP) is the parameter chosen to give value to the environmental efficiency of the machinery subject to the special labelling.

Eight years after launching the Sustainable Technologies project in Barcelona at the 2011 edition of ITMA, ACIMIT has now instituted the Italian Green Label Award. The award rewards companies that have shown the most commitment in pursuing the project’s aims. LoptexS.r.l., a company based in Montano Lucino (CO),specialiing in quality control systems in textile fiber, both in the spinning and non-woven sectors,was awarded a prize as the company that achieved the best results, expressed in terms of percentage reduction in the value of CFP for its machinery. TonelloS.r.l., of Sarcedo (VI), which manufactures technologies for finishing garments, for its part received the award as the company that showed the most engagement in exploiting all the functionalities of the tool dedicated to generating the Green Label, producing numerous labels for a variety of different machinery and updating them over time, in an effort to communicate continuously up-to-date information on the path to sustainability undertaken.

“With the Italian Green Label, ACIMIT intends not just to reward those companies that have been most intensely engaged in our project, but also bears witness to what we have achieved as a sector on the issue of sustainability,” stated Alessandro Zucchi, President, ACIMIT.

Renato Gerletti, Owner, Loptex, said, “the Italian Green Label Award recognises just how much we have achieved so far on the issue of sustainability. It will to motivate us to do even more, dedicating additional resources to researching and developing sustainable solutions for our customers.”

Flavio Tonello, CEO ,Tonello: “Tonello has always focused on sustainability in building our machinery, and our Research and Development team have always endeavoured to provide innovative, sustainable solutions.”

"Saurer has increased its product offerings at ITMA 2019. The company is offering all its staple fibre spinning solutions at the exhibition. Its mill monitoring system can be linked within a given system which saves on labour and makes the production processes more efficient and less wasteful, with a major impact on profitability."

Saurer has increased its product offerings at ITMA 2019. The company is offering all its staple fibre spinning solutions at the exhibition. Its mill monitoring system can be linked within a given system which saves on labour and makes the production processes more efficient and less wasteful, with a major impact on profitability.

The system enables customers to analyse production, quality and machine data. This system is also compatible with third-party machines. Users can tap new optimisation potential by controlling the production process and making it more transparent.

Saurers’ customers will also have the option of linking their machines and the new laboratory equipment from our Autolab series, which premieres at the exhibition, to the software platform. The powerful combination of analytical capacity gives the user a clear picture of all the processes making up their operation in real time. As vital yarn characteristics are already determined during the preparation of the raw material, customers control and manage the entire process, ensuring best sliver quality for the five end-spinning processes. With the addition of the new innovative Autocard and the draw frame Autodraw, we have further extended our spinning product portfolio.

Saurer also offers integrated automation technology in their embroidery machine. The new Automatic Rear Carriage adjustment helps in reducing the machine setting time while the intelligent thread watcher SmartMon drives the precise and fast detection of yarn breaks, on both shuttle and needle side, which drastically lowers mending costs.

Sensors are the fundamental to any data collection effort. Saurer's twisting machines will also feature an integrated device that measures tension and monitors yarn twist in industrial and carpet yarn as well as tire cord and staple fibre.

For his third runway show for the house of Louis Vuitton, Virgil Abloh produced an inventive, clever, experimental and even elegiac collection staged with aplomb in the charming Place Dauphine on the Île de la Cité on the Seine.

A cast of frequently fresh faces marched down the cobblestone streets of the triangular square, many with huge bunches of flowers sprouting from several smart new bags, notably a triangular weekender in a bright green Daumier design. Instead of the square’s usual gang of elderly, pastis-drinking boule players, hundreds of fans in standing room. Outside, thousands more frenzied youths failed to hustle past the vigilant security. Abloh is fashion’s hottest ticket these days. Virgil showed massive billowing pants with oversized jackets in Provençal shades of lilac and rose; lavender trenches in uber plissé wool; and composed marvelous broad-shouldered double-breasted jackets in the same colors as the coble-stones of the square. Several cast members wore garlands of real and fabric flowers. Many had farmers straw hats, finished with mountaineer’s rope. The mood was bucolic yet posh.

Last season, however, Virgil Abloh got lambasted on social media for allegedly borrowing ideas from certain indie designers for his menswear show for Louis Vuitton.

Uganda’s import bill of secondhand clothes increased fivefold from 2001 to 2016.  Worn textile products and clothing are a major component of Uganda’s imports of textile products. The textile imports are due to high population growth and limited domestic capacity for apparel production.

While Uganda’s import bill of used clothes has tripled in the last 15 years, earnings from cotton exports have minimally grown in over 15 years. Nearly 95 per cent of Uganda’s cotton is exported as lint, which undermines opportunities for increased earnings from upgrading in the value chain. So the domestic textile and apparel market is being given attention. The country is investing in and supporting the cotton industry to produce competitive products, which will reduce the import of secondhand clothes. The capacity of ginneries has been increased.

East African countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi, came up in 2016 with a three year plan to ban imports of secondhand clothes as part of a vision to boost industrialisation. The ban was to be enforced by introducing and increasing taxes on used clothes. However, the US threatened to review trade benefits enjoyed by East African Community member states under the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

PiaveMaitexhas launched Again-a range of smart and technically advanced fabrics that balance performances/functionality and sustainable features, formed of highly performing jerseys. The fabrics are produced using two premium Global Recycled Standard (GRS) certified sustainable ingredients. These include thepremium stretch fiber ROICA™ EF, which is a part of ROICA EcoSmart™ Family – constructed out with more than 50 per cent pre-consumer recycled content and perpetual high quality sustainable polyester born from a cost-effective process that reverses engineer consumer waste PET bottles.

Starting from two key high-tech, responsible raw materials as demonstrated by the GRS certification, the Italian manufacturer managed to create and deliver three unique functional fabrics, dyeable and transfer printable, that perfectly combine creativity, innovation, real performance and sustainability all at once offering unparalleled comfort, performance, and uniqueness.

This innovative approach of PiaveMaitex allowed not only to become world-renowned as best-performing company but also to obtain many important recognitions infact it was among the first textile manufacturers in Europe to get the certification of the quality system for the production and design of elastic fabrics according to the UNI EN ISO 9001 standard in 1996.

PiaveMaitex also obtained the "Trust in the textile" the Oeko-Tex® label - global synonym for responsible textiles manufacture, a concrete guidance for an increasing number of consumers who are becoming more and more sensitive to health and the environment and interested in get assurance over the quality of the products they are buying.

The Karachi Cotton Association has strongly opposed the proposal of the Government to impose a 10 percent sales tax on raw cotton at local stage in the Federal Budget 2019-20 with a view to generate its revenue.

The KCA has always opposed the proposal to impose Sales Tax on raw cotton, as it discourages production and inhibits the smooth flow of exports and runs counter to the laid down Government policy of encouraging cotton trade in the country.

The KCA is of the view that any hindrance in the smooth exports of cotton will also prevent the growers from getting a fair price for their produce, which is a key objective of the Government.

It may be realised by the government that nearly 80 percent-85 percent of the Cotton Crop is exported in the form of Raw Cotton, Cotton Yarn, Cotton Fabrics, Garments and Cotton made-ups and Sales Tax, if levied on Raw Cotton, would be refundable thereon at the export stage.

Taking into consideration, substantial expenses involved in tax collection, administration and in the refund process, the balance available amount to the Government would be comparatively insignificant.

Members of the National Council of Textile Organisations (NCTO) are urging the Trump administration to include apparel and certain textile items in the next round of tariffs.

Currently, apparel, home furnishings and made-up textiles are not part of the $200 billion in Chinese goods subject to a 25 percent tariff that increased from 10 percent on imports entering the United States after June 15.

Now, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, is considering a new round of tariffs, called Tranche 4, which would impose tariffs on an additional $325 billion in Chinese goods covering just about everything imported from China.

Kim Glas, President and Chief Executive, NCTO testified on June 20 in Washington, D.C., that the United States should slap tariffs on more products to crack down on China’s abuse of intellectual-property rights.

She called for tariffs to be imposed on apparel, home furnishings and made-up textiles, which make up 93.5 percent of U.S. imports from China in the textile and apparel sector while fiber, yarn and fabric imports from China represent only 6.5 percent.

However, Glas urged the administration not to put tariffs on imports removed from the previous retaliatory tariff lists. These inputs include certain machinery, dyes, chemicals and textile components not available domestically, such as rayon staple fiber.

DyStar is joining the ZDHC Foundation, which manages the Roadmap to Zero Programme with the aim of phasing out hazardous chemicals in the textiles, apparel, footwear and leather value chain by promoting safer chemistry and driving innovation.

This initiative is a collective effort from the Global Chemical Industry Round Table (GCIRT), a group of the leading chemical solution providers in the textile and leather industry with the aim of driving the industry further to become more sustainable. The GCIRT members are: Archroma; CHT Germany; Colourtex Industries; DyStar Singapore; Huntsman Textile Effects; Kisco; Pulcra Chemicals Group; Rudolf; Tanatex Chemicals.

DyStar is a proud member of the Global Chemical Industry Round Table (GCIRT) initiative and has now joined the ZDHC Foundation as a contributor. As part of this initiative, the company will be uploading its key products onto the ZDHC Gateway Chemical Module and supporting the ZDHC Manufacturing Restricted Substance List (MRSL) and the related “pyramid” conformity system designed to eliminate duplicative approaches.

DyStar’s commitment to ZDHC Foundation is further demonstrated in the areas of innovative product design and organisation operation practices. Sustainability begins with design at DyStar because the most effective way to mitigate a product’s lifecycle impact is to get it right from the onset. To achieve this, we integrate the ZDHC requirements as part of our R&D efforts to provides safer and more environmentally benign products for customers and ultimately the final users.

The global luxury apparel market is expanding at a CAGR of 13.2 per cent.

Luxury apparel is a symbol of class and only people with a good financial background can afford them. The global market for luxury apparel is growing due to an increase in disposable incomes, which further leads to a rise in purchasing capacity of consumers. The young generation is propelling the market for luxury apparel. Another factor envisioned to boost demand is the emergence of online shopping services. It is easier to do shopping online instead of having to go places and try various outfits. The easy return facility has further boosted the market and attracted more prospective consumers. Digital marketing advertises the benefits of online shopping and inculcates a classy taste of fashion among people.

The global luxury apparel market is dominated by the Asia Pacific. The market in Asia Pacific is witnessing rapid growth due to the rise in disposable incomes, along with changes in lifestyles and improved standard of living especially in the emerging nations of China and India. Europe, on the other hand, has already attained maturity because of the presence of many luxury brands that have been doing business for the past few decades.

Havaianas has collaborated with Happy Socks to launch a collection of matching split-toe socks and flip-flops.

Havaianas, based in Brazil, is a flip-flop brand. Happy Socks is a Swedish socks and underwear label. The collection consists of three box sets. Each box set includes one pair of socks and one pair of matching flip-flops with unique designs inspired by the snowy landscapes of Sweden and the sunny beaches of Brazil. These flip-flops and split toe socks can be worn all year long. The collection features three color combinations with quirky patterns. The first set is named the Animal Dot Set and is detailed with palm trees and reindeer. The second set is the Sport Set and is patterned with waves and beach umbrellas. The last box set is called The Nature Set, which is styled with snow-capped mountains alongside skiers, surfers and snowmen.

Havaianas has trendy designs in multi colored hues. Its collections have experiments with different colors and eclectic prints. Havaianas embodies Brazil’s fun, vibrant and spontaneous way of life. These festive flip-flops and sandals feature vivid prints with high-quality rubber soles for comfortable wear. Happy Socks, founded in 2008, has infused sock drawers around the world with a much-needed splash of color. These unisex socks are made from soft, long-lasting combed cotton.