The COSATU-affiliated Southern African Clothing & Textile Workers' Union (SACTWU) voiced its deep concern about the serious damage that the recent looting in KwaZulu-Natal and elsewhere has caused to workers and their families.

In Isithebe, a brand new clothing factory (Kingspark Manufacturers) which was set up only in September last year, has been completely destroyed. Machinery and raw materials have been looted. In the process, 600 much-needed jobs supporting 3000 family members in the poorest part of the country are now lost, in this instance alone.

In recent times the management and workers of Kingspark have been successfully participating in an innovative workplace productivity collaboration pilot project - to test and demonstrate the international best practice intervention by the International Labour Organization's Score program. However, the recent incident has negated all their hard work.

The economic turmoil precipitated by the military takeover in February is compelling Myanmar to close roughly 200 textile factories. According to Moe Sandar Myint, Leader, Myanmar’s Federation of General Workers, the move could put the country’s 700,000 textile workers in even more financial difficulties following a year of pandemic-related shutdowns.

As per a Textile Focus report, a number of brands, including Bestseller, C&A, H&M, Primark, and United Colors of Benetton, have already halted production in Myanmar following the military coup. Despite the fact that Bestseller, H&M, and Primark have restarted sourcing, factories are battling to stay open, and some have already shuttered. Economic sanctions, raw-material shortages, and the COVID-19 were cited as reasons for the closure of Heng Mao (Myanmar) Garment Co, a Chinese-owned garment manufacturer in Yangon’s Hlaingthaya Township.

According to the European Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar, the coup has posed security, logistical, and banking issues to all firms. According to the organization, one-quarter of workers across all industries have lost their employment, and the situation is expected to worsen dramatically by the end of June.

Although the exhibition surface and number of exhibitors were halved compared to pre-pandemic levels, the number of exhibitors at Milano Unica increased by 27 per cent to 270 from last September’s show as companies believed in a market rebound and remained committed to supporting the sector and the trade show.

As per a Women’s Wear Daily report, the fair drew 3,100 visitors, a 29 percent gain compared to September. Fabio Tamburini, CEO, otonificio Albini, was particularly impressed by the general upbeat mood, which he attributed to the company’s ability to stand by its clients during the pandemic.

The Albini Group unveiled e fruits of its recently inked “strategic alliance” with Beste: A selvedge denim range for its Albiate 1830 brand, whose success at the fair, according to Tamburini, exceeded expectations.

Como-based silk specialist Canepa recently revealed that the Muzinich Group will acquire a majority interest in the company through its investment vehicles Capital Solution ELTIF Azimut and Muzinich & Co. SGR for an undisclosed sum, while Michele Canepa — who returned to the company in 2019, fully acquiring it and subsequently filed a restructuring plan with the Court of Como — will retain a minority interest. The acquisition is expected to mark a turning point for the troubled company, covering existing debts and setting in motion its relaunch, which Canepa has spearheaded in the past two years.

Messe Frankfurt India and MEX Exhibitions have collaborated with the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) for the maiden hybrid edition of Gartex Texprocess India, which has now been rescheduled to December 2022.

The strategic partnership aims to reconnect the textile and apparel value chain for business at the first hybrid edition of Gartex Texprocess India and support the sector as it recovers from the effects of the pandemic by enabling reach to domestic and international buyers through the show’s new multimodal format.

The fair will now be held from December 03 – 05, 2021, instead of its originally planned schedule in August 2021. This move ensures better planning flexibility for exhibitors and will render a stronger B2B engagement experience through its physical and virtual platforms.

Messe Frankfurt India and MEX Exhibitions will host a Digital Symposium series on crucial industry topics until the hybrid edition. The symposium will play a significant role in highlighting emerging trends and keeping business players engaged in the field of textile and garment manufacturing so they can prepare themselves according to the changing dynamics of the industry. Given that the landscape of textile and apparel manufacturing is changing with more focus and demand for “sustainable solutions” and circular economy, a wide set of industry topics will be addressed covering the changing trends across global fibre & yarn business, benefits of recycling in textile and retail segments, denim design, as well as insights depicting the way forward for garment wet processing manufacturers.

The physical show will be divided in major zones - Embroidery Zone, Garmenting and Apparel Machinery, Digitex Show, Denim Show, India Laundry Show and Fabrics & Trims Show. The virtual show on the other hand, will place emphasis on product showcases as well as exhibitor search. Both of these segments will be driven by an “AI matchmaking tool”, enabling visitors to connect with the exhibitors based on their individual product requirements.

To boost textile growth in Tamil Nadu, the Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF) has proposed five points including facilitating the expansion of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and branding textile and apparel from the state as the most sustainable destination for fashion sourcing and exploring the Japanese market.

The state can also devise a plan to capitalize the opportunity emerging from the central government’s MITRA scheme by creating an integrated and plug-and-play apparel park, it suggested. It can pick up ten to 15 small towns with good workforce availability and create infrastructure for stitching facilities. This will spread the sector and help avoid overcrowding in a few clusters apart from generating employment in small towns.

Cultivating a sustainable brand for textile-apparel from the state will help the sector capture the market share in value-added products as well, it said.

The state government can facilitate a working group with 50 of apparel companies to work exclusively with the Japanese apparel market. It can also conceptualize a scheme for medium and large companies to run technical institutes within the campus with university certifications. This will help the sector in attracting talent, and in the process, a skilled workforce for the sector can be developed,

Family-owned manufacturer of textile labels based in Dortmund, Germany, Dortex is increasing the use of sustainable materials across its portfolio.

As per an Innovation in Texitles report, Dortex cotton laundry labels are made of pure, undyed organic cotton. It employs a printing process to overcome this hurdle for the single (black) labels which are available from just 20 pieces.

High-quality recycled polyester yarns have become an established component in the production of Dortex labels for some time, initially in warp threads in the Flexinera product range, but now also in Dortex Color printed fabric care labels and Satinera satin ribbons, characterised by radiant, bright colours and made of 100% rPET.

These labels are lightfast, abrasion-resistant, washable up to 60°C and very durable. Customers can use as many colours and colour gradients as they like when configuring them.

All Dortex labels are made in Germany to eliminate long delivery and decision-making routes. The cotton care labels, for example, are printed in Dresden, the company’s second production site.

A new brief, published by labor rights groups ahead of Inditex’s shareholder meeting of 13 July, shows that the company urgently needs to sign a new binding agreement on factory safety in Bangladesh before the current program runs out on August 31, 2021.

Inditex—one of the world’s largest fashion retailers and owner of eight brands including Zara—was an early signatory to the Accord in 2013. As a member of the Accord’s Steering Committee, Inditex knows first-hand how effective the Accord has been at making factories safer for more than two million garment workers over the past eight years. Inditex has spent the last few months negotiating with unions, but it has as yet failed to conclude and sign a new binding agreement, and time is running out.

This brief, based on a review of the Accord’s publicly available factory-by-factory data on safety progress, shows that, thanks to the Accord, 92 per cent of identified safety hazards in Inditex supplier factories in Bangladesh have been corrected. At the same time, however, life-threatening safety hazards remain. At the 54 Bangladesh Inditex supplier factories that the witness signatories to the Bangladesh Accord identified, a staggering 40 still have no verified fire alarms, 38 do not have verified fire suppression systems such as sprinklers, and in 35 factories workers could get trapped in case of a fire.

This brief argues that the Accord’s work must be safeguarded and expanded to other countries, and calls for Inditex to take the lead in signing a new, legally binding safety agreement. Shareholders, such as Fundacion Finanzas Etica on behalf of Shareholders for Change, an European network for shareholder engagement representing approximately €30 billion assets under management, have been engaging with Inditex to urge adoption of a new binding safety agreement.

Dubai plans to host virtual business matchmaking sessions in September, aimed at advancing the UAE-India collaboration in the area of retail tech.

The project is conceptualized by the Dubai Startup Hub, an initiative of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in collaboration with the chamber's international office in India.

The Dubai Technology Tour event will feature a virtual UAE trade mission, comprising public and private sector stakeholders, offering Indian scale-ups access to meet and pitch their business to prospective investors and business partners.

The meets will familiarize the delegates with various aspects of Dubai's economy and the business landscape. It will make them aware of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Dubai and the legal framework of starting business. Various local business leaders are expected to address the participants on current market opportunities and key trends impacting the retail sector.

The Tour will also offer the Indian companies access to Dubai Startup Hub's 'Scaleup Dubai' program and the services of Dubai Chamber's representative offices around the world.

China’s cotton yarn imports increased by 66.24 per cent Y-o-Y in May’21 to 168,700 tonne, reports GACC. Cumulatively, from January to May 2021, the import of cotton yarn increased by 35.82 per cent to 975,200 tonne,

As per Apparel Resources, this increase in cotton yarn import can be attributed to reviving production and sales of cotton textiles and garments in China.

However, as per cotton yarn traders in customs clearance zones in Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang markets, the quotations of cotton yarn sourced from India, Pakistan and Vietnam are in line with prices of domestic cotton yarns of the same count and quality.

Upside down prices of per tonne yarns are making the scenario even complicated. The quotations of light textile market in coastal areas are concentrated at US $ 3,937-3,984/tonne, while the price of C32 package bleached yarn of India and Pakistan reaches US $ 4,020-4,051/tonne.

Offering customers the trendiest looks at pocket friendly prices, has helped Shein emerge as the most downloaded shopping app in the US in recent monthly rankings. As per research company Similarlweb, Shein’s website gets more visitors than any other clothing brand or retailer in the world. A May ranking by the Kantar Group and Google ranks Shein higher than other market leaders like Tencent, DJI, Trip.com and Tsingtao beer.

The retailers’ latest financial results also speak of its stupendous success. As per the Chinese financial news publication Late Post, established in Nanjing in 2008, Shein’s revenues doubled last year to $10 billion and reached almost $2 billion last month. The company owes its success to a quick market turnaround time, says an Asia Nikkei report. It can mass-produce a new piece of clothing, right from the design process in just five to seven days whereas fast fashion brand Zara requires two to three weeks to achieve the same results.

Analyzing latest Google trends

Shein achieves this through Google Trends and competitors' websites which help it analyze latest fashion trends in individual markets. The company’s in-house designers study these trends to create their own prototypes and launch on the platform.

Once these items are launched, their demand is monitored by measuring user clicks and additions to virtual shopping charts. This helps the company manage inventory and update its suppliers about its materials needs.

Algorithms to guide users with purchases

Shein is also able to guide new users with purchases through algorithms developed by world-class big data developers and machine-learning experts. On average the company launches over 1,000 new products on its website in a day. The number of new releases per week surpasses Zara’s launches for an entire year.

Another advantage that Shein has is its cheap rates. The items are sold at cheaper than other fast fashion brands. A pair of jeans sold by Zara for $49.90 is sold on the Shein platform for just $17.

Following production ethics

Shein is known for paying its suppliers before time. The company processes suppliers’ payments within 30 to 45 days of receiving the goods. Shein also helps suppliers with financial loans and supply chain management software. The company has over 300 suppliers who can process orders as small as 30 items that helps Shein gauge consumer response.

Innovative marketing for a pleasant experience

Shein’s comprehensive marketing strategy helps the e-commerce company attract consumers. Combining social media, user-generated content, search engine optimization, short videos and livestreaming as well as pop up stores, the strategy helps Shein provide young consumers a pleasant shopping experience.

Consumers can also help Shein market products by uploading their pictures and videos wearing Shein clothes on social media platforms. They can also promote Shein’s products on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Social media influencers can also endorse Shein’s clothes in exchange for free clothes every month besides 10 to 20 per cent commissions on recommended sales. The company, which recently expanded from women’s wear to men’s and kid’s clothes, now plans to open to its platform to outside vendors.

In future, Shein can follow a TikTok like approach and launch livestream shopping. It can also introduce mobile payments besides expanding supply-chain finance services. The company has a customer base of 7 million monthly active users. Though it’s innovative supply-chain pull model have so far helped achieve great results so far. It needs more data and newer ways to monetize growing user base. In future, it will have to either build a new online model or join an existing one to expand its product and consumer base. What route it takes, only time will decide.