Leading textile producers are seeking new ways to ensure sustainability by not only introducing eco-friendly fabrics but also revamping their production processes. For instance, textile and thread manufacturer A&E, which makes sustainable threads in four variations, has launched a premium thread for apparel, Perma Core which provides strong colorfastness and sewability. The company’s newest addition to the range, Anefil Poly, is used for making footwear.

Similarly, industrial thread firm, Coats uses recycled materials for its range of bobbins. The new Ecobobs Y2 bobbin is performance-focused, promising to improve productivity by 10 percent due to precision winding and increased capacity. Developed specifically for footwear and accessory production, the bobbin also reduces thread waste by 20 percent.

Alongwith materials, brands are also updating their production practices. Fabric manufacturer Faytex has recently introduced an innovative process for waterless dyeing across several products. Faytex has expanded this process across its Dri-Lex Eco Line to promote water conservation.

Coats also aims to reduce its water usage by 40 percent by 2022. Meanwhile, A&E, in its 2017-’18 Sustainability Report, noted that it has reduced its carbon footprint per kilogram of thread by 11 percent since 2006.

Indian Technical Textiles Association, SIMA and Indian Texprenuers Federation are partnering to hold ‘National Investors Conclave on Technical Textiles’ in Coimbatore on April 24, 2019. The conclave will give the necessary inputs to plan for value addition or diversification. Eminent speakers from abroad, leading consultants, experts from DRDO, centers of excellence and TRAs and technical textile machinery manufacturers will make presentations and interact with the delegates during the event.

Technical textiles have been identified as the thrust area for exponential growth considering its potential for value addition, exports, domestic demand etc. India launched a technology mission on technical textiles in August 2011 and created eight centers of excellence across the country, out of which two are in Coimbatore. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka have offered special incentives for investments in technical textiles.

The technical textile industry in India is growing at a CAGR of 20 per cent. The diverse range of technical textiles in India can be broadly grouped into categories such as agrotech, meditech, packtech, clothtech, indutech, hometech, geotech, Oekotech, protech, sportstech, buildtech and mobitech. All these sectors are expected to see double digit growth. Demand for this sector is rising due to many factors including rapid urbanisation, advances in medical technology, expansion in construction sectors, awareness on safety and environmentalism and increased spending on healthcare.

Shima Seiki’s new SVR123SP flat knitting machine has an extra loop presser bed, capable of inlay technique used to produce hybrid knit¬weave patterns suited to technical textile production. Even materials that could not be knit before such as metallic and monofilament yarns can now be knit.

The SDS¬ONE Apex3 3D design system has an ultra¬realistic simulation capability that realizes virtual sampling. When countless variations must be evaluated before arriving at a final design, virtual product samples can be used to streamline the decision making process by minimizing the enormous amount of time, cost and material normally associated with producing actual samples for each variation. When approved, the same data can be used to program machines for immediate knitting, significantly reduc¬ing lead times.

Shima Seiki, based in Japan, is a computerized knitting machine manufacturer. Its fast, efficient and reliable P¬CAM series computerized cutting machines are known for their innovative functions. A knife sharpening system produces a sharp, strong blade every time. Strong, robust components permit quicker response times for knife movement and more accurate cutting composites and other industrial materials. PCAM machines are ideally suited to global production in a wide range of industrial applications in addition to apparel and textiles.

Denim trends come and go, but cotton is the constant common denominator for most jeans. At a panel discussion at Kingpins Amsterdam, experts from cotton-growing regions discussed the current state of affairs in the global cotton business. From the debate on what’s sustainable, to cotton-growing initiatives that are finally taking shape, denim experts shared their perspectives on the current cotton market.

Brands and retailers are reacting to sustainability, but in different ways. Some companies are in it to do the actual right thing, whereas others are doing the minimum required to give consumers a feel-good feeling. Swedish furniture company Ikea decided to switch to 100 per cent sustainable cotton in 2015. Now Ikea only uses cotton that’s either recycled or grown with less water, chemical fertilizer and pesticides. Pakistan’s Artistic Milliners takes a 360-degree approach to sustainability. From cotton, water recycling, energy conservation and the company’s CSR activities, the goal is to always take the sustainable path.

However, an organic cotton farm works 10 times harder than a conventional cotton farm using the latest technology for growing cotton. Organic requires more inputs and is harder on the environment. Even if denim wants more organic cotton, there are larger players in the field. The cotton market is moved by the home textile industry. The reality is that the market will dictate what the results will be.

More than that, brands need to hit suppliers where it hurts the most. It pays, it seems, to give suppliers ultimatums. They should tell suppliers to be 100 per cent sustainable, because if not brands are not going to buy anything from them.

A recently released report by USDA indicates, cotton plantation in the United States is likely to decrease by 2 per cent in 2019 with only around 13.78 million acres being planted. This is far below the previous market expectations of 15.2 million acres. Of the total plantation, Texas cotton planting area is only 7.314 million acres, a decrease of 454,000 acres compared with the same period last year.

Industry insiders note that American cotton farmers have been waiting for the Sino-US trade negotiations to end as the progress of negotiations have affected farmers' planting intentions. According to foreign analysts, the output of American cotton in 2019 is estimated to be about 22.19 million bales, an increase of 20.5 per cent over the same period of last year, which is the highest level since 2005/2006.

Prym-Fashion plans to expand its services in the Indian apparel segment. The company will soon open a new fastener finishing facility, known as Prym Fashion India in Chennai. This new facility, which will begin operations in April, will enabel the company’s popular Gripfix fasteners for the children’s and baby wear markets. By stamping the fasteners in Germany and providing made-to-order enamel finishing at Prym Fashion India, the company will reduce lead times to India-based producers of children’s and baby wear by more than 50 percent.

Gripfix is the company’s bestseller in its baby wear range and has a secure five-prong system that neither tears nor comes off. The flat design of Gripfix fasteners maximises comfort, and the company’s commitment to product quality and reliability make them both durable and safe for use with clothing designed for infants and children.

Prym Fashion India will be located within the Chennai Free Trade Zone, allowing the company to export enameled fasteners to apparel manufacturers in South Asia, including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The global modest fashion market has had to fight misconceptions. One is that modest fashion is long boring dresses. Also consumers have become accustomed to purchasing low-quality modest clothing and assume that all modest-fashion brands work at this level. Many designers tend to receive more support further away from where the majority of modest-fashion shoppers are. Though modest fashion is more prominent in the Islamic market, the Islamic market and media are the least supportive of up-and-coming Muslim designers. Instead such designers are doing well in the US, Canada and the UK. In the US market, they receive a lot of support from retail buyers and media outside of the modest-fashion industry, as they see the versatility in their designs to extend beyond modest fashion and into the mainstream.

Designers want the chance to sell beyond their website. Their dream is to see a modest rack in every department store and retail setup. By simply stocking modest-appropriate offerings, they feel retailers can increase their customer base and make modest women across the globe feel their real value in the fashion world.

But change is happening. People are looking at modest fashion as stylish. Big brands like Nike are adding hijabi collections.

Levi Strauss & Co., plans to open 100 stores in fiscal 2019. The company already has 70 more stores than during the same time last year. It also plans to roll out an online shop later this year, and a pickup-in-store feature to help boost sales. The company reported a 7 per cent increase in its first-quarter revenues to $1.435 billion for 2019 over the same period last year. Its net income, for the first quarter was $147 million compared to the $19 million net loss reported during the first quarter of the last year.

This was the sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit constant-currency revenue growth. This growth was driven mostly by Levi’s women’s business, which grew by 18 percent. However men’s bottoms, whose sales increased by 6 percent, made up for the largest percentage of revenues. The wholesale business of the company also increased by 8 percent despite continued door closures.

The region that performed the most for the company included the Americas, which encompasses the United States, Canada and Latin America. Revenues in those geographic areas were up 9 percent to $717 million while in Asia revenues inched up 8 percent to $253 million, but revenues rose only 3 percent in Europe, to $465 million.

Michael J Nicholson is interim CEO of J Crew. Nicholson first joined the company as president and chief operating officer in 2016, also serving as chief financial officer until August 2017. Prior to this, he spent eight years at specialty women’ swear retail group Ann, where he served as EVP, chief operating officer, chief financial officer and treasurer. The executive’s other previous experience includes stints at Limited Brands, Victoria’s Secret Beauty Company, Colgate Palmolive and Altria Group.

The J Crew group currently operates more than 500 retail locations in the US. Sales at the J Crew brand fell four per cent in fiscal 2018. The company’s attempt to relaunch and reposition its namesake brand proved to be largely unsuccessful. Ultimately, the company’s five per cent increase in annual revenues was assured by 26 per cent growth at its consistent bright spot Madewell. So much so J Crew is considering launching an IPO for its Madewell business. The hope is that a potential IPO of Madewell could unlock significant value and generate meaningful proceeds that would strengthen the company’s balance sheet and increase overall financial flexibility, offering an improved platform to support J Crew’s turnaround and allowing Madewell to achieve its full potential over the long term.

H&M Foundation’s Global Change Award is spotlighting visionary young talent who have the power to reverse the damage caused by the fashion industry. The award invites designers from across the world to come up with disruptive solutions that will mitigate the after-effects of garment production. After filtering through a large volume of the applicants for the awards, an edited select of talent is then handed over to the expert panel that helps make the decision of picking the winners. H&M is also keen to touch upon the ethical use of artificial intelligence and applied analytics and talk about the preemptive measures that can be taken to reduce waste in production. Aside from winning monetary grants from the H&M Foundation in order to scale up their businesses, winners will also be a part of an accelerated mentorship program.

After the oil industry, fashion is the next big line of business to have severe environmental damage on its hands.

Swedish retail giant H&M set up the H&M Foundation to lead dedicated endeavors towards sustainability. The foundation is working toward reaching the sustainability goals set by the United Nations in 2015, which cover areas of education, clean water, women’s economic empowerment and safeguarding the planet.