Sustainability and transparency, the two watchwords of the millennials, are now been actively taken up by the Gen Z. New and friendly brands of this generation are creating sustainable, authentic and transparent products and services that address the concerns and aspirations of Gen Z and build trust for the future.

The 2018 “Report on Young People and Social Change’ by DoSomething Strategic, a social impact consultancy names Patagonia as a top purpose-driven brand. The brand, not only encouraged customers to repair their old apparels instead of discarding them but also created a marketplace for reselling pre-worn clothes. The company also created a digital platform to connect its consumers to causes. This has doubled its revenue in the last eight years.

Elisabeth Best, Manager-Sustainability Management, the global nonprofit Business for Social Responsibility’s (BSR), notes millennials and GenZ consumers are creating demand for sustainable products. A survey by Cone Communications, reveals around 94 per cent of the Gen Z shoppers believe companies should address urgent social and environmental issue as against 87 percent of Millennials.

Seeking value for money

A Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor™ Survey highlighted, around 36 per cent of consumers are likely to pay full price for a clothing item made in a sustainable or environmentally friendly manner. This figure increases to 39 per cent of millennials and 40 per cent of GenZ shoppers.

Gen Z, those born between 1996 and 2010, make up a quarter of the US population. Their purchasing power, as per a study by the IBM Institute for Business Value, is around $44 billion. They’re expected to account for 40 percent of all consumers by 2020.

Honesty, authenticity from brands score high

Born as digital natives, GenZ consumers were raised during the era of non-stop social media, where memes are presented as facts and intentionally fabricated news stories have run rampant. UK-based Sustainly, a sustainability consultancy, says the young people of this generation demand honesty and authenticity from brands because they’ve “come of age in this crisis of trust.

Monitor™ Research studies show, despite their young age, GenZ consumers prefer clothes made of natural fibers such as cotton, wool, etc. (38 percent). Another 38 per cent prefer sustainable clothing. The Monitor™ survey reveals that around 75 per cent of Gen Z consumers site cotton as their favorite fabric as it is sustainable and trustworthy.

Interest in social issues

The Gen Z consumers are also interested in social and environmental issues. As the Monitor™ research shows water quality tops the list for 91 percent of Gen Z consumers. This is followed by concerns with global warming and climate change (91 percent), loss of rural farmland (91 percent), extinction of animals and/or plants (91 percent), and the depletion of natural resources such as oil or minerals (82 percent).

A survey by Greenmatch, a renewable energy consulting agency has shown, 72 per cent of Gen Z respondents were willing to spend more money on goods and services produced in a sustainable fashion. Almost half (49 per cent) stopped purchasing or boycotted a brand because they stood for something or behaved in a way that is against their values.

Young people align with brands that reflect their values. As the DoSomething Strategic survey noted more than half of the 13-to-25 year olds surveyed are influenced by a brand’s reputation and values. And nearly 30 percent actively seek out socially or environmentally responsible brands.

The survey advises brands to balance profits and purpose. This can only happen if they remain as committed to doing good as they are to increasing their sales.

"An analysis of the macro-trends and proprietary data of 100 top apparel exporters in India reveals, export value and shipments from major markets like the UAE have consistently fallen during the year. A report by US-based Drip Capital, a major provider of trade finance for SMEs in the sector, notes demand from key importers has declined over the last few months."

An analysis of the macro-trends and proprietary data of 100 top apparel exporters in India reveals, export value and shipments from major markets like the UAE have consistently fallen during the year. A report by US-based Drip Capital, a major provider of trade finance for SMEs in the sector, notes demand from key importers has declined over the last few months. This decline, starting last year with new manufacturing zones coming up in free market zones, surpasses the increase in exports to India’s largest markets, the US and the EU.

Decline worries apparel exporters

This decline has flagged concerns among Indian apparel exporters, the major foreign exchange earner for the country. As an ICRA report published earlier this month pointed out, negative growth of 4-5 per cent registered in 2018-19 may also continue in the next financial year. Adding to the woes, Drip capital report also emphasises on the complaints made by the United States to the World Trade Organization (WTO) against India's export incentive schemes, which Washington holds responsible for unfair market practices. This further shrouds the future of apparel exporters with uncertainty, translating into stagnation for the overall sector.

India loses market share

With Bangladesh and Vietnam establishing themselves as two of the most developing nations, China continues to lose its share with a majority of its jobs percolating down the value chain. Rising imports from these nations have also eaten away at the competitiveness of smaller domestic players and the government raised import duties on more than 330 textile items in 2018.

Drip Capital’s report also emphasises on the need for immediate policy changes and interventions to give the sector a boost. It recommends expansion of both the Credit Link Capital Subsidy Scheme for Technology Upgradation, as well as the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme to incentivise apparel exporters to push exporters to adopt higher technology.

The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has also reiterated this demand for urgent and immediate action on falling exports including augmenting the flow of credit and better fiscal support. It has identified four new markets that show high potential for future growth: United Kingdom, Chile, Israel, and Japan. Identifying products with high growth potential besides exploiting technological innovations will enable exports to further enhance their efficiency margins.

"Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is hosting four major international trade fairs this April. The Houseware Fair and the International Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair will be held from April 20-23 April, 2019 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). This will be followed by the Gifts & Premium Fair from April 27-30, 2019 also at the HKCEC, and the International Printing & Packaging Fair, jointly organised with CIEC Exhibition Co (HK) at the AsiaWorld-Expo."

Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is hosting four major international trade fairs this April. The Houseware Fair and the International Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair will be held from April 20-23 April, 2019 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). This will be followed by the Gifts & Premium Fair from April 27-30, 2019 also at the HKCEC, and the International Printing & Packaging Fair, jointly organised with CIEC Exhibition Co (HK) at the AsiaWorld-Expo.

The Houseware Fair will feature 2,160 exhibitors from 27 countries and regions, while the concurrent Home Textiles Fair will bring together about 310 exhibitors from seven countries and regions. The Gifts & Premium Fair will attract 4,380 exhibitors from 30 countries. The Printing & Packaging Fair will welcome nearly 500 exhibitors from six countries and regions. In addition, the HKTDC will organise 300 buying missions, comprising more than 14,600 companies from around the world, to visit the fairs.

Startup Zones to promote innovations

With an aim to promote entrepreneurial innovation and the sustained development of corporations, the HKTDC will also set up Startup Zones at these events.

This year's Houseware Fair will have 28 start-ups from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Indonesia and the Philippines. While the Gifts & Premium Fair will have 34 start-ups from Hong Kong, mainland China, Indonesia, the Philippines, the Netherlands and Taiwan will be on site.

This main theme of the Houseware Fair is L.I.F.E. - representing which means Lifestyle, Interior, Feast and Enrich. The ‘Lifestyle’ segment will cover dining, home decor and eco-friendly houseware products. The Candles and Scenes zone will debut at the ‘Interior’ segment. The ‘Feast’ theme will feature an array of cooking and dining tools, while ‘Enrich’ will spotlight such quality-of-life-enhancing products such as pet supplies, baby products, gardening supplies, and beauty and healthcare products.

To highlight these four themes, HKTDC has teamed up with WGSN, a world-renowned trend forecasting authority, to set up an on-site display featuring new concepts and highlighting key lifestyle and interior trends for Spring/Summer 2020.

Home textile and beauty products on display

The Home Textiles Fair will have multiple zones including those presented by three of India's largest chambers of commerce for the textiles industry - the Handloom Export Promotion Council (HEPC), Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) and the Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC). These pavilions will be dedicated to fine home textiles products from across South Asia. The Gifts & Premium Fair will launch the World of Beauty, Fitness & Well-being zone featuring around 40 exhibitors from the mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, India and New Zealand. The Hall of Fine Designs Zone, on the other hand, will display more than 140 brands from around the world. In addition, the Hong Kong Exporters' Association, the co-organiser of the fair, will present a pavilion with three zones - Isle of Originality, Brand Oasis and Smart Design HK - featuring more than 170 quality Hong Kong gift exporters.

Eco-friendly products and materials in focus

The Hong Kong International Printing & Packaging Fair will feature four major thematic zones: De Luxe, Green Printing & Packaging Solutions, Printing & Packaging Solutions for Fashion & Accessories and Innovative Retail Display Solutions. It will also mark the debut of the World of Advertising and Signs zone to showcase creative visual communication and promotion approaches. The fair will also organise a series of seminars including sessions entitled "Embrace Opportunities in Greater Bay Area: Certification and Training Services in Hong Kong's Graphic Arts Industries" and "New Development and Application of Wide Gamut Colour Printing".

Tommy Hilfiger is now looking at next generation retail experiences and partnerships to stay ahead of today’s continuously changing shopping habits and preferences. The brand will reshape its retail landscape in North America by closing the New York City Fifth Avenue TH store and the TH store on Collins Avenue in Miami, Florida. Leveraging its store-of-the-future concepts rolled out in the global retail landscape, it will develop and test new modular, digitally infused retail concepts in the continue.

The brand also plans to expand once the agreement between PVH Corp and Dickson Concepts to reacquire the license for the TH brand in Central and South East Asia, closes. The transaction is aligned with PVH’s strategy of gaining more direct control over its brands, including the acquisition of licensed businesses.

Jiangsu Lianfa Textile, listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, plans to launch its factory next year with an investment of between 5 and 6 trillion rupiah ($350 million and $422 million). The factory, in Indonesia’s Central Java province, will produce yarn for shirt-making, reducing the cost of yarn imports by $1 billion for Indonesian shirtmakers and helping them produce final goods such as fabrics and shirts more speedily for the US market.

Textile exports contributed $13.8 billion last year, or about 2 per cent of Indonesia’s GDP. It created around 3 million new jobs. The country aims to grow its textiles exports this year to $15 billion for the US, Japanese and European markets.Among other things, companies in Indonesia must pay a high minimum wage and commit to high severance payments.

Montex stenters have earned their leading position in the technical textiles market due to their overall robustness, reliability and economy. Technical textiles are a key pillar of Montex’s production program. Polyester warp knits, as well as woven materials, are also continuously pre-treated and finished on Montex stenters by leading Tier I suppliers of seating materials to the automotive industry.

Diverse end-products can be successfully finished on Montex stenters as well as with Montex coating units. Recent Monforts Montex stenter installations in Europe, for example, are dedicated to the production of wide-width digital printing substrates, to high volume automotive fabrics and to heavy duty filter media, to name just three advanced technical materials. Three Montex stenters have just been installed at the plant of a leading finisher of substrates for digital printing substrates in Germany – two of them in extra-wide widths of 5.4 meters – for drying after both washing and coating processes.

The ability to thermally-set PTFE fabrics without oil greasing in the stenter chain and in the width adjustment is meanwhile particularly appreciated by manufacturers of filter media using Montex stenters. This protects workers and the environment from harmful oil vapors and keeps the filter material clean. The emphasis for these manufacturers is not just on quality standards but also on precise control and guaranteed reproducibility.

At this year's ITMA in Barcelona, Benninger will present its latest developments including the Benninger-Küsters CPB dyeing centre for knitwear and woven fabrics - the only salt-free cold dyeing process; the Tempacta washing steamer for knitted fabrics with freshwater supply that is controlled by the degree of contamination; the Trikoflex drum washing machine that is available up to a working width of 5400 mm. In addition, a specially developed expander roller for sensitive fabrics will also be exhibited.

Benninger is celebrating its 160th anniversary IN 2019. The company, for the last 160, has continuously reiterated its commitment to textiles and responsibility towards sustainable textile production. Its consistent innovation and the continuous improvement and further development of our products, processes and services, has enabled it develop resource-efficient textile finishing plants.

An apparel and textile sourcing expo will be held in Australia, November 12 to 14, 2019. This will attract some of the world’s leading apparel, accessories, textiles and footwear suppliers. More than 4,000 trade visitors are expected from Australia’s large fashion retailers, niche fashion brands, start-up labels, online outlets and independent fashion designers.

A runway program will showcase the collections of emerging and established fashion designers. Seminars will provide buyers valuable market insights and business tips. Seminars focused on the Australian market will also feature at the show and provide an opportunity for exhibitors to learn more about how to target the Australian market and understand more local trends and seasonality. In 2018, the expo attracted more than 720 manufacturers and agents from China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Vietnam etc. The 2019 edition is expected to attract an even wider participation.

India will be present for the seventh time. India is well-regarded in Australia as a quality and reliable supplier of textiles and apparel. In 2018, 130 companies from India participated, they included the Apparel Export Promotion Council, Wool and Woolen Export Promotion Council, and Handloom Export Promotion Council.

Tirupur Exporters' Association (TEA) has requested banks to pass on the reduction of repo rate by 25 paise to exporting units. The knitwears garment exporting units, particularly the MSMEs, would benefit by this as they have been suffering due to macro-economic changes.

Only few banks have passed on the benefit to the customers by which the real intention of the RBI for reduction of policy repo rate could not be achieved. The reduction of interest would pave way for the growth of investment and exports.

The “Made in Rwanda” campaign is helping to increase exports by small and medium businesses in different industries. Since 2017, Rwanda’s total exports have increased by 69 percent. Rwanda doesn’t have a market for their creations. The products are exported to the US, where they are sold in more than 100 boutiques for prices ranging from $28 to $225.

The textile industry in the country, like in most East Africa, had been dormant but then governments in the region decided to phase out and eventually ban the import of second-hand clothes. Handspun Hope is the only company in Rwanda engaged in processing wool for clothing. The company teaches women how to make hand-made knit apparel out of merino sheep and angora rabbit wool.

Handspun Hope imports merino sheep from Kenya and employs local farmers to look after them. After the farmers shear the sheep, the wool is collected and brought to Handspun Hope’s workshop, where it goes through many stages before products are made.