Global leader in specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, Archromaand Stony Creek Colors, a trusted manufacturer of traceable natural indigo dyes, have entered into a strategic partnership to produce Stony Creek’s IndiGold™ high-performance plant-based pre-reduced indigo at scale.

Stony Creek Colors developed the new IndiGold™ concept as the world’s first pre-reduced natural indigo dye, which was then developed with Archroma to offer the first ever plant-based alternative to synthetic pre-reduced indigo. The dyestuff will be sold as a 20 per cent concentration in a soluble liquid form that displays similar performance to comparable synthetic indigo products available on the market.

Stony Creek Colors evolved into an innovative leader in plant-based indigo due to its complete development of an improved agricultural value chain, from seed breeding and production to biomass harvest and extraction. The company has been selling its US grown indigo to denim mills since 2015.

The pre-reduced plant-based indigo partnership took root in 2020 when Stony Creek was looking to work with like-minded partners to produce the new dyestuff at scale. Archroma emerged as the ideal partner as the company is well known for its expertise in indigo manufacturing and application, as well as for its commitment to transform the denim industry towards creating better blue jeans.

Global sports brand Adidas Originals has teamed up a non-profit organization Parley for the Oceans to launch a collection of iconic sneaker models including the Superstar, the Stan Smith, the Nice and the Forum, etcto help offer our planet a better future.

As per a Spin Off report, the collection is made from a yarn containing at least 50 per cent Parley Ocean Plastic, obtained from recycled plastic waste collected from remote islands, coastal regions and beaches. The other 50 per cent of the yarn is made from recycled polyester. The collection combines style and progress and is just one of the innovations that reflect Adidas' commitment to the fight against plastic waste.

The centre pieces of the collections are two reworked interpretations of the iconic Nice silhouette: the Nice Parley Hi and the Nice Parley Lo styles. Both shoes are made of wrapped webbing that has been assembled layer by layer to minimize the production process. Each sneaker is finished in simple black and white and created with the aim to set a new step in order to give waste a new life.

Cotton prices in India have reached all-time highs of Rs 45,000 and since then have been rising continuously.

The rise in prices is attributed to the cut in import duty from the Indian government. Till now, 5 percent of Customs duty and 5 percent of taxes have been waived off until September 30 to ensure or allow cheaper cotton imports.

Prices in the global markets have also continued to rise. Shipments from the biggest exporter of yarn and cotton products, China declined by nearly 9 percent in March on a year-on-year basis.Hence, lower exports, lower supplies from India and the US, and strong demand will continue to drive the rise in cotton prices across the world.

As in past editions, Italian Trade Agency and ACIMIT, the Association of Italian textile machinery manufacturers, will participate in the upcoming Techtextil exhibition.

In all, 29 companies will exhibit in the Italian pavilion. Of these, the ACIMIT associated companies will include 4M Plants, A Piovan, Aeris, Bombi, Bonino, Color Service, Corino, Cubotex, Fadis, Ferraro, Gualchierie Gualchieri, Kairos Engineering, Lawer, Loptex, Mcs, Mesdan, Monti-Mac, Noseda, Salvadè, Sariel, Srs, Stalam,.

Other ACIMIT member companies exhibit with their own booths outside the Italian Pavilion.

In the 2022 edition, the focus of Techtextil will be on sustainability, which is another strong point of Italian textile machinery.

The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA)’s critically acclaimed project, the Garment-to-Garment Recycling System (G2G) has swept up two more prestigious international design awards: the Gold Award of the IF Design Award 2022 in the Retail/Sales category in mid-April and the Good Design Awards 2021 (Retail Fitting) of The Chicago Athenaeum in December 2021.

The iF Design Award is one of the most prestigious design awards in Germany and this year attracted nearly 11,000 submissions from all over the world to this highly respected competition. Of the many submissions, only 73 finally obtained a Gold Award. To achieve this level of recognition, a submission must excel in terms of conceptualization, form, function, differentiation and impact. G2G’s zero water use was commended as a sustainable upcycling solution. “This ingenious system opens up the prospect of ad-hoc and on-site-recycling systems in a variety of locations,” the jury noted.

The G2G also won the Good Design Awards 2021 in the Retail Fitting category. Organized by The Chicago Athenaeum, an International Museum of Architecture and Design, this competition received over 1,100 submissions from more than 50 nations.

Set up as a mini-factory at The Mills, a modern retail space in Hong Kong in 2018, the G2G is the world’s first post-consumer garment recycling system that operates in a retail space. It is a textile recycling line installed in a 40-foot container and enclosed in double glazing, which permits direct observation of the process that upcycles post-consumer clothes into clean and wearable new garments.

Two Japanese sewing technology giants Juki Corporation and Pegasus Sewing Machine Manufacturing have joined hands to launch their first sewing machine model. Known as M900/DJ, the machine series includes Differential Lower Feed Safety Stitch Machines and Overlock Machines with integrated Control box, reports Apparel Resources

The machines are a part of the ‘Juki Smart Solutions’ product lineup. These compact machines are integrated with the direct-drive motor, control box and operation panel. Pneumatic lint collector (LC) and presser foot lifter (PL) and operator friendly LED lights. They can automatically set thread trimming function by detecting the edge of material with sensor. Equipped with a safety function to prevent false operation, the machines prevent the SMOs (sewing machine operators) from mistakenly cutting material and getting injured by false operation.

Juki plan to initially launch these machines in certain countries before expanding them to other markets.

Aditya Birla Group company Grasim Industries has achieved highest sustainability score in the 2021 Capri Global Capital Hurun India Impact 50 list. The list includes top 50 India-based companies that have been ranked based on their alignment with the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Grasim Industries achieved a sustainability score of 47, contributing towards 17 SDGs last year.

In all, only 14 companies, featured in 2021 Capri Global Capital Hurun India Impact 50 list were able to achieve their sustainability goals against all 17 UN SDG pillars last year. The list does not include any specific textile company. Jinisha Sharma, Social Impact & Strategy, Executive, Capri Global Capital hopes, the report will inspire more companies to adopt sustainability in their operations. Companies innovating to benefit stakeholders have good prospects ahead. More companies will participate in this list in coming years.

Farrukh Qankhari, Acting President, Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) has appreciated the Pakistan government for setting up the Textile Council for the development of the textile sector. As per a report by The Nation, KATI believes, the Council would help boost textile exports by identifying issues plaguing this sector and presenting viable solutions for them. Qandhari says, KATI had always raised its voice against previous government’s anti-textile policy and the burden of taxes.

Pakistan Single Window and Customs and People’s Republic of China have launched a Joint Working Group or a single window cooperation and integration between Pakistan and China. The Joint Working Group will devise the coordination mechanism and facilitate technical discussion between the two sides for proposed integration, says the United Business Group.

Both sides can also detect under and over invoicing and counter trade based money laundering through data exchange mechanism, it adds. The integration between the two single windows would boost economic activities between the two countries and expedite clearance of goods. The formation of the JWG will makes the business community of both the countries more confident, adds UBG.

Chic organizers have decided to postpone the spring edition of the event in Shanghai due to a surge in COVID cases. Meanwhile organizers are focusing on the autumn edition to be held from August 29-31, 2022 at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Organizers are revising the trade fair concept for the next edition, which is expected to attract around 900 exhibitors. They will introduce CHIC Livestreaming to provide information on relevant topics during talks with industry experts on social media. Chic List of the best section of the trade show will also be launched. Based on industry research, it will showcase best practices and particularly successful brands in the areas of research and design, cultural values, technical innovation, etc.

CHIC is organized by Beijing Fashion Expo Co and China World Exhibitions and sponsored by China National Garment Association, China World Trade Center and SubCouncil of Textile Industry (CCPIT).

Bestseller plans to source man-made cellulosie fibers and direct-to-farm cotton across its supply chain in partnership with TextileGenesis. Owner of Jack & Jones and Vero Moda brands, Bestseller has scaled the new blockchain solution around traceability in collaboration with TextileGenesis on several successful pilot projects. The brand will trace the fibers in approximately 25 million garments from raw material to end product, as per a Fashion Network report.

Danique Lodewijks, Senior Project Specialist, Bestseller Sustainability opines, the collaboration will help them ensure transparency and validation for a significant part of fibers and products. It will also help comply with new regulations being brought in by the European Union. From 2024, the EU will make it mandatory for each product to have a digital passport, with information about the product’s environmental sustainability.

Alongside a group of key suppliers, Bestseller is currently embarking on the first part of the platform's implementation phase. The brand will gather feedback from suppliers to create a workable and scalable system for the entire supply chain. It will be web-based cloud solution designed specifically for the fashion industry to trace fibers as they move along the supply chain. All products in the system will be made of multiple fibers that would go through a spinning, weaving, dyeing and manufacturing process.

The system will be energy efficient and not rely on the large servers that characterize some blockchain technologies such as cryptocurrency-based platforms.