The Indian Institute of Fashion and Design (IIFD) has partnered with the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) as an institutional member which will give its students wider connections in the Indian fashion industry.

Through its new partnership with the FDCI, the IIFD aims to offer both its students and the fashion industry at large, new opportunities for innovation. The institute organizes an array of fashion-based courses including fashion design, fashion styling, textile design, fashion journalism, and interior design and offers diplomas, undergraduate courses, and postgraduate courses. The IIFD’s main campus is located in Chandigarh and it also has another campus in Mohali.

The FDCI is a non-profit organisation which hold a range of fashion events throughout the year including India Couture Week and works to promote the Indian fashion industry at home and abroad. This year, the FDCI teamed up with Lakme Fashion Week to hold a joint edition which featured hybrid in-person and online events.

The creditors of India’s leading chemical & textile company GHCL have approved the demerger of its Inorganic Chemicals and Textile businesses. The company had announced restructuring in March 2020. It will now seek approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

The company expects this demerger to help it achieve a focused growth, concentrated approach, business synergies and increased operational and customer focus. In addition, the demerger is expected to address independent business opportunities with efficient capital allocation and attract different set of investors, strategic partners, lenders and other stakeholders. It will also help the company cater to the different needs of the diverse businesses in a better way and aid value creation for our stakeholders.

Peru’s apparel exports from January-May this year increased by 75.1 per cent to $421 million over the same period in 2020, reports the National Society of Industries.

In May, the country’s apparel export value increased by 70 per cent to $96 million and was the highest in the last 22 months. On the other hand garment shipments from January-May 2021 reached $240 million over $409 million shipments in 2019.

According to data from the institution, exports to the United States accounted for 69 per cent of the total shipments supported by sales worth $289 million between January and May 2021.

Apparel exports to the US by expanded 77.3 per cent between January and May 2021 over the same period in 2020 and rose by 2.1 per cent if compared to the first five months of 2019.

The main items exported to this destination country were: T-shirts and knitted shirts, which totaled about $130 million; knitted shirts for men and boys ($47 million); sweaters, pullovers, and similar items ($26 million); and other knitwear ($19 million). Other important destinations for Peruvian apparel shipments were Canada, Chile, Brazil, Germany and Ecuador.

From January-May 2021, US’ imports of garments increased rapidly and are expected to soon reach pre-COVID levels.

As per Textile Value Chain, the United States imported $ 29.22 billion in clothes from January to May of this year, representing a 22.19 percent year-on-year increase and an 11.75 percent drop from January to May of last year. Its imports declined by $11.93 million to $6.14 billion in May ’21.

US’ garment imports in May this year rose by 8.28 percent rise compared to April, when the country imported only $5.67 billion in clothing. In terms of volume, the United States experienced an increase in import numbers in May, with 2,280.22 million SMEs of apparel arriving in the nation, up from 2,066 million SMEs in April of this year.

The US Cotton Trust Protocol has added one of world’s reputed denim companies, Levi Strauss & Co, and its legacy brands Levi’s®, Dockers®, Denizen® by Levi’s®, and Signature by Levi Strauss & Co™ as new members

Levi Strauss & Co has committed to sourcing 100 percent more sustainably grown cotton focusing on decreasing water use, cutting carbon emissions, and reducing fertilizer and pesticide use. This corporate commitment to more sustainable and resilient cotton sourcing is part of a broader internal initiative designed to move the company toward a more sustainable and circular product strategy.

The Trust Protocol will aid Levi Strauss & Co.’s efforts by providing verified data on sustainability practices from U.S. cotton growers and access to aggregate year-over-year data on critical metrics including water use, greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, soil carbon, soil loss and land use efficiency. Levi Strauss & Co will also participate in the pilot phase of the Protocol Credit Management System which provides its members with complete supply chain transparency through use of TextileGenesis’ blockchain technology.

The Trust Protocol has welcomed more than 450 brand, retailer, mill and manufacturer members since its launch in 2020. This includes Gap Inc. and its collection of purpose-led lifestyle brands Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta as well as global apparel manufacturer Gildan. The Trust Protocol has also welcomed UK retailers Tesco, Byford and Next Plc. Other Trust Protocol member announcements include the first 10 U.S. mills to join and the first members in Latin America.

Held last month at the Yiwu International Expo Centre, the 21st ZheJiang trade fair for textile and garment industry attracted over 11,728 visitors and 300 exhibitors. The theme of the three-day exhibition was “trans-boundary innovation, intelligent textiles and healthy future”.

The exhibition was divided into four theme zones: knitting industry, sewing automation, digital and printing application, and knitting products and accessories, gathering many well-known exhibitors including Chemtax, Yingyun, Dahaomingde, Jiazhili, Kemei, Chu Yun, Kaiqiang, Jieke, Toka Benma, Bopai, and Dairen.

It showcased a wide range of automatic machineries, promoting industrial automation and providing valuable business opportunities. Professional visitors, delegation groups and enterprise groups from various countries were attracted to the show.

A series of concurrent events were held together with ZhejiangTex 2021 to let the professional visitors stay tuned to the latest market trends under the era changes. On June 9, 2021, National Antibacterial and Antiviral Functional Textile Supply Chain Conference was held. Initiated by textile innovations, more than 200 enterprises are connected, with their resources including raw materials, technology, knitting products OEM, and branding, forming the Yingyun Knitting Union. From June 9 to 12, China Yiwu Fashion Week was successfully held, leading an innovative fashion trend and opening a new fashion future.

The 25th WTO Trade Monitoring Report on G20 Trade Measures indicates, medical supplies rose by 16 per cent in 2020 while PPE exports grew by 50 per cent. This was despite an 8 per cent decline in the value of global merchandize trade during the year, as per a report by China Textiles.

The 25th WTO Trade Monitoring Report on G20 Trade Measures spans the mid-October 2020 to mid-May 2021 period. It provides an important insight into a number of areas as countries begin addressing the challenges of a post-pandemic economic recovery. In particular, the past several months saw international cooperation and coordination among nations and intergovernmental organizations increase and intensify.

The report also notes that the multilateral trading system has kept trade flowing, with the WTO playing a central role in ensuring that supply chains are kept open and restrictive trade policies are avoided.

The G20 economies implemented 140 trade and trade-related measures in the area of goods since the outbreak of the pandemic - 101 (72 percent) of a trade-facilitating nature and 39 (28 percent) of a trade-restrictive nature. The reduction or elimination of import tariffs and import taxes made up 60 percent of trade-facilitating measures taken, and certain G20 economies reduced their tariffs on a variety of goods such as PPE, sanitizers, disinfectants, medical equipment and medicine/drugs.

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"Netherlands based Knitwear Lab will host Lynn Hinkelmann, Peter Wissmann and Christina Hermann on July 21, for the second edition of its Yarn Show. As per a Knitting Industry report, the trio will present the following yarn collections by Zegna Baruffa Lane Borgosesia SpA / Botto Poala / Chiavazza; Emilcotoni SpA; Schoeller Spinning Group; Marchi & Fildi / Filidea; SY / TDD Torcitura di Domaso; Best Shan; Filpiu; M.ORO; Cofil, Italy; Maison Cofil, Italy; Filmar, Italy; Cariaggi Lanificio, Italy; Lanecardate, Italy and Biella Yarn by Südwolle + GTI Filati.

The Knitwear Lab is described as the leading knowledge centre for industrial knitwear in the Netherlands, running extensive research projects on the most innovative technical applications for knitwear for both the fashion and textile industry.

The Lab is located in Almere, 30 minutes from Amsterdam where it houses three Stoll flatbed knitting machines, among which is the latest Stoll-Multi Gauge 7.2 ADF BW16.

Attendees are also invited to explore the Knitwear Lab and their products during the yarn show although organisers have asked, that because of COVID-19 restrictions, that visitors pre-arrange a time slot for their visit.

Released by Wunderman Thompson Commerce, the ‘Future Shopper Report 2021’, report highlights how consumers’ shopping preferences are shaping the future of commerce.

As per Campaign India, the study surveying over 28,000 consumers across 17 countries, finds that businesses need to respond to win the online battle, in order to sustain in the future.

The report estimates, online shopping to account for 51 per cent of global retail sales post pandemic. Around 72 per cent of global shoppers believed that online shopping came to their rescue in 2020, whereas 73 per cent said that e-commerce would be more important to them in 2021.

Around 60 per cent of global shoppers reported being more comfortable using digital technology in the wake of the pandemic, whereas 72 per cent of Indians admitted to being more scared of shopping in-store, as compared to their global counterparts.

The study also stated that 86 per cent of Indian shoppers demanded excellence from brands and retailers online, with Amazon ranking highest in terms of the service and experience they provided.

Consumers are now demanding integrated omni-channel offerings from retailers and brands. Sixty four percent global shoppers said, they prefer to shop with brands that have both an online and offline presence, while 59 per cent of consumers expect brands to communicate seamlessly with them across all channels. Seventy three percent demand better products, services and experiences from retailers.

The study projects the coming years to usher in an era of more diverse online offerings, with marketplaces, direct-to-consumer brand sites and social commerce all having a key role to play. It advises businesses to ensure that this more complex online landscape complements their overall retail offering.

Textile and clothing orders for Swaziland have declined due to effect of pro-democracy rallies that culminated in violent acts. As per a Textile Value Chain report, the national demonstrations have made suppliers hesitant to deploy trucks to deliver to the Kingdom of Eswatin. This will cost the factories a lot of money since the buyers would charge them a lot of money for missing deadlines.

Insiders in the textile and garment industries in the Kingdom of Eswatini claim they are having ’sleepless nights’ as a result of the continuing pro-democracy rallies. If they fail to get orders and run out of material, the thousands of emaSwati who work in the sector would be out of employment. The textile and clothing market is a delicate one because when a company fails to deliver, the customers shift their business elsewhere.