US’ apparel imports from Ethiopia surged 97.70 per cent to $42.76 million in January 2022 as per the latest OTEXA data. Import of cotton apparels by Ethiopia surged 95.18 per cent Y-o-Y to $27.04 million, while import of MMF apparels grew by 100.57 perb cent to $15.06 million. Kidswear was the topmost product category imported by the US buyers from Ethiopia in January 2022. Imports of kidswear surged 64,39 per cent to $8.04 million while import of women’s slacks surged by 145.45 per cent to $6.64 million.

Exports of men’s cotton trousers also surged by 166.08 per cent to $6 million, despite the US suspended Ethiopia from taking AGOA benefits last year in November. In all, Ethiopia’s garment exports to the US surged by 18 per cent Y-o-Y to $260.73 million in 2021

The value of textiles and apparels imports by the US increased by 28 per cent Y-o-Y in January 2022 to $10.19 billion. As per a CC Group report, volume increased by 38.1 per cent Y-o-Y to 8.59 billion sq m. The value of US’ apparel imports surged 36.6 per cent in January 2022 to $7.54 billion and volume grew 22.5 per cent Y-o-Y to reach 2.614 billion sq m.

The volume of US textile and apparel imports from China surged by 12 per cent Y-o-Y to 3.13 sq m in January 2022 while value surged by 33 per cent Y-o-Y to $2.9 billion. Similarly, the value of US apparel imports from China rose by 47.1 per cent Y-o-Y to $1.91 billion while imports volume surged by 25.3 per cent to 1 billion sq m. The average unit price of US apparel imports was still in a large rise cycle despite seasonal factors causing several ups and downs in some months.

Competition regulator in the UK, Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) plans to publish a list naming and shaming greenwashing fashion businesses. A non-ministerial government department in the UK, the CMA strengthens business competition and prevents anti-competitive activities in the UK. Currently, it is investigating claims made by UK’s fashion sector and aims to soon publish the list of its worst offenders.

As per an Apparel Resources report, the CMA had warned companies last year they had time until 2022 to ensure their environmental claims complied with the law. It published the Green Claims Code last October to help businesses communicate their green credentials while reducing the risk of misleading shoppers. The Green Claims Code has been written for all businesses – from fashion giants and supermarket chains to local shops. The Code reveals, up to 40 per cent green claims made online are likely to be misleading and thousands of businesses might be breaking the law and risking their reputation.

Data published by the NPD Group shows, sale of straight-leg jeans are surpassing skinny jeans in the US market. In 2021, straight-leg jeans recorded one-third or $3.3 billion of women’s jeans market revenues. Flare and boot-cut jeans also gained traction as trend for comfort apparels accelerated, says Maria Rugolo, Analyst, NPD Group.

However, the older generations born between 1946 and 1964 are stuck to skinny jeans styles and accounted for 12 per cent of all women’s skinny jeans sold in the US last year, a three-share-point increase from 2019. Though initially millennials protested against the takedown launched by Gez TikTokers of skinny jeans, by August, retail analytics provider Edited noted the highest sellout of mom jeans. Edited’s report indicated baby boomers were partial to skinny and straight styles, while Gen Z counterparts was much more willing to experiment.

The report further showed, denim is a top fixture in the wardrobes of customers across all demography. The post-pandemic urge to return to socializing has further fueled the popularity of the category, the report adds. It estimates overall revenue from sale of women’s jeans increased 9 per cent in 2021 compared to 2019. It attributed the spike to consumers’ return to a more normal schedule, with offices, schools and social venues lowering or eliminating their restrictions.

Brands are launching new collections to offer new fits. The industry’s success has inspired labels like contemporary women’s brand Ulla Johnson and Australian label Emma Mulholland on Holiday to branch out of their standard offerings and introduce their first denim collections.

The Seoul city government has signed a MoU with the official trade fair of Paris Fashion Week, Tranoi to help South Korean designers expand to the European fashion market. The MoU will focus nurturing of global fashion brands and developing the fashion industry. The two sides will support the European expansion of promising Korean fashion brands through various channels, including fashion shows.

During the last Tranoi trade fair, Seoul operated a special booth featuring Seoul Fashion Week, held earlier this month, the Paris Fashion Week witnessed participation by Korean designer brands. The MoU will boost Korean fashion industry's overseas expansion and lay out a basis for overseas exchanges and cooperation for Korean fashion designers, in Paris.

China's sportswear market is evolving with Chinese consumers starting to embrace domestic rival brands such as Anta and Li Ning. As per a Global Times report, in recent months, several domestic companies witnessed rapid market growth, while overseas brands' revenues stagnated. According to financial data published the US sportswear giant Nike, the company's revenues in China dropped by 5 per cent Y-o-Y to $2.16 billion.

The company said its business performance in the Greater China region this past quarter is in line with expectations, and that performance might get better in the next quarter. German sportswear brand Adidas also registered 24 per cent Y-o-Y decline in Q4 revenue ending December 31 in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and the island of Taiwan.

In contrast to the business bottleneck faced by the overseas brands, domestic sportswear companies are experiencing a boom. Chinese sports and fashion brand Li Ning saw profits in 2021 surge by 136 per cent to reach 4 billion yuan ($629 million), while its revenues increased by 56 per cent to hit 22.57 billion yuan in 2021. Revenues of another domestic sportswear brand Anta surged 52.5 per cent to reach 24 billion yuan in 2021, while gross profit in the region surged 78.1 per cent on a yearly basis.

Global luxury fashion group, Lanvin Group and Primavera Capital Acquisition Corp have entered into a definitive business combination agreement to list Lanvin Group on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "LANV". The collaboration will enable Lanvin Group to benefit from Primavera's extensive networks and insights in the consumer sector. It will strengthen the group’s balance sheet, to create long-term sustainable value across its portfolio and to catalyze growth with further acquisitions.

Joann Cheng, Chairman and CEO of Lanvin roup, says, through this collaboration, the group plans to accelerate the growth of its portfolio via both organic development and disciplined acquisitions. It aims to build a global portfolio of iconic luxury fashion brands that appeal to a broad customer base. The group will not only enable these brands to flourish in their home countries, but also in Asia and North America, the largest luxury markets in the world.

Max Chen, Chairman, CEO & CFO of PCAC, and Partner of Primavera, adds, the collaboration will focus on developing Lanvin Group's global platform and driving growth across its brand portfolio.

Bhilwara-based textile company Swaraj Suiting has launched a Rs 10.68 crore IPO to fund the expansion plans of its production facility at Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh and general corporate purposes. The company aims to expand operations in terms of backward and forward integration. It also aims to set up a denim fabrics plant at of 21.75 million cubic metre at Neemuch. The company shall purchase equipment for denim fabric processing, which shall enable the company to process approximately 15 million meters of denim fabric per annum.

The project is proposed to be situated at Jhanjarwada Industrial Area in Neemuch being developed by MP Industrial Development Corporation (MPIDC). Incorporated by Mohammed Sabir Khan in 2003, Swaraj Suiting has a weaving unit at Bhilwara (Rajasthan) and is engaged in manufacturing of cotton and synthetic fabric. It has a production capacity of around 1.50 million metres of fabric per month.

India’s cotton yarn exports surged 96.92 per cent Y-o-Y to $493.30 million in January 2022. Despite domestic outrages, India’s revenue from cotton yarn exports grew 79.64 per cent to d $4.69 billion in January 2022. Export revenues from Bangladesh and Turkey surged to $220.45 million and $32 million respectively.

Country wise cotton yarn exports to Bangladesh grew by a whopping 338.36 per cent in January ’22; exports to Turkey went up 1,503 per cent from $2 million a year ago. Exports to Portugal grew 324.86 per cent to $25.78 million during January ’22. Meanwhile India’s exports to China declined 59.24 per cent during the month to $23.65 million, as against $58 million in the same month of 2021.

H&M has added third party brands to its e-commerce sites in Germany and Sweden on a trial basis. As per a Retail Wire report, the third-party brands added by H&M on these sites include &Other Stories, Arket, Monki and Weekday. H&M is also listing non-related brands like Crocs, Fila, Lee and Wrangler on these sites. It currently has 13 women’s and 15 men’s labels on the German and Swedish sites.

H&M offers online shopping in 54 countries, and nearly one-third of the company’s total sales are conducted through its sites. Last year, the company reported a 2.8 per cent increase in gross margin to 52.8 percent for last year from 50.0 in 2020. The new addition puts H&M in the company of other large retailers Amazon, Target, Walmart that are doing the same. That list will soon include Macy’s which plans to launch its own curated marketplace in the second half of 2022.