BGMEA has welcomed Walt Disney Company’s decision to reinstate production of branded merchandize in factories stalled eight years ago. The decision would help BGMEA attract orders worth more than $500 million in future. As per Faruque Hassan, President, BGMEA, Walt Disney would consider permitting production in Bangladesh in future, if factories agree to partner Better Work program.

The factories participating in ILO's Better Work program will be entitled to become a vendor, while they need to participate in NiIRAPON, an alliance of 23 foreign RMG brands and RMG Sustainability Council (RSC) along with specific remediation fulfillment criteria. Walt Disney stopped production activities in Bangladeshi factories in May 2013 following the fire at Tazreen Fashion in November 2012 that killed 112 RMG workers, and later, Rana Plaza Building collapse which killed more than 1,100 people, mostly readymade garment workers.

Now, it plans to reinstate Bangladesh as a permitted sourcing country list with International Labor Standard audits. It is the recognition of the all-out progress and transformation in the industry, particularly in the area of workplace safety, social standards, and environmental sustainability, Faruque added

India’s exports to Hungary grew by 658.41 per cent to $21.16 million worth of apparels in 2020, as compared to just $2.79 million in 2019. Hungary imported $1.56 billion worth of garments worldwide in 2020, reveals ITC data, and India’s share was 1.35 per cent. As per Apparel Resources, India’s RMG exports to top five EU destinations – Germany, France, Spain, Netherlands and Italy – declined to 73.48 per cent of India’s total export to EU during 2020.

Denmark was the sixth top apparel export destination for India in EU in 2020 with exports growing 3.29 per cent to $231.95 million. Since India’s garment export to Hungary seems to be weaving up strongly, the country has a good chance in 2021 and onwards to increase its market share. As per Statista, Hungary’s total revenue from apparel sector was $2.07 billion in 2020 which is expected to grow annually 16.2 per cent from 2021 till 2025.

Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has lauded the government and exporters for achieving the highest ever merchandise exports of $95 billion in Q1 (April-June quarter) FY 2021-22. A Sakthivel, Chairman, AEPC said, the $400 billion merchandise export target of FY22 is doable. As per Apparel Resources, export of cotton yarn/ fabrics/made-ups grew by 50.86 per cent in June 2021 over June 2019.

Export of the man-made yarn/fabrics/made-ups, etc grew well during the same period, while export of all textiles declined by 18.76 per cent. However, apparel exports could not benefit much from the resurgence in global demand despite a good order book due to lockdowns in many important states, Sakthivel added.

He said while overall global demand has remained buoyant, the lockdowns in different parts of the country had kept factories in partial shutdown. With decline in daily cases of infection and resumption of economic activities, India is now set to achieve unprecedented export figures this year, he said. He requested the government to ensure personalized management of MSME exports and early clearance of RoSCTL cases pending since January 2021.

Consumer boycott of foreign apparel brands in China have dipped fashion retailer H&M’s sales in the country in recent months. China is one of the biggest markets for Stockholm-based H&M and accounting for 5 per cent sales last year -- one of its two biggest purchasing sources -- has been singled out in particular. The company was wiped off from e-commerce platform Tmall and store locations from mobile phone maps in China, while its app has vanished from local app stores.

Some researchers and foreign lawmakers say Xinjiang authorities use coercive labour programs to meet seasonal cotton-picking needs, which China strongly denies. In March 2021, Chinese consumers and social-media users, including the Central Communist Youth League, excoriated H&M, accusing it of smearing China and calling for a boycott, after its September 2020 statement resurfaces in social media. On the same day, searches for H&M on Chinese e-commerce platforms were blocked.

To be launched in Genoa, Italy by Candiani, Diesel and Eco-Age, global jeans trade show GenovaJeans will demonstrate the future of denim with an emphasis on sustainability. GenovaJeans will be held from September 2 to 6, 2021. The fair will bring to life the evolution, and innovation of jeans in an experiential showcase with a series of immersive experiences. One of the highlights will be the Artejeans exhibition, containing 36 jeans canvas works donated to the city by internationally famous Italian artists to establish an International Jeans Museum.

Leading Italian jeans brand Diesel will showcase pieces from its private collection, along with the Genoa’s historical Via Pre’, which will be renamed for the occasion as La Via del Jeans and will feature interactive and performance lead installations.

Denim producer Candiani will curate an immersive experience stressing the harm caused by unsustainable production and present solutions to protect the environment and the future of the industry, including its latest Coreva technology, the world’s first compostable stretch denim.

Eco-Age, sustainability consultancy and owner of The Green Carpet Fashion Awards brandmark will lead the event concept and delivery of GenovaJeans, working with production company Pulse, who will debut a movie called ‘Jeans-The Genoa-R-Evolution’ with performer Jack Savoretti.

Labor shortage in Vietnam’s garment and textile factories has prompted manufacturers to call for prioritized vaccination of workers. As per an Intell Asia report, most garment and textile enterprises in the country have received orders for production till the end of this year. Over the past two months, all three plants of TNG Thai Nguyen Company have operated at full capacity to deliver products on time.

Nguyen Xuan Duong, Chairman, Hung Yen Garment Company (Hugaco) said, if the ongoing fourth wave of COVID-19 is not controlled, garment and textile enterprises would be in trouble because stopping production even for two weeks would sweep away more than 10 per cent of their revenues. Garment firms may have to transport products by air, instead of by sea, to meet delivery deadlines, he said adding, this will surely lead to losses.

Garment and textile firms are also encountering labor shortages caused by a common employment trend in the sector. In the first half of this year, recruitment demand in the Vietnamese garment and textile sector increased 50-60 percent against the same period last year. However, many people were no longer interested in working in the sector mainly because of low pay, according to recruitment service provider Navigos Group.

Duong said if more workers in the sector were vaccinated against COVID-19, production and export in the second half of this year would happen smoothly. His company is willing to cover the vaccination costs, he added. Le Tien Truong, Chairman, Vietnam National Textile & Garment Group (Vinatex), estimates the sector needs 300,000 doses of vaccines for 150,000 workers, but only 3,000 people have received the shots so far.

The second wave has hit India’s garment manufacturers badly with many hosiery and knitwear manufacturers still struggling to revive after the lockdown in the past three months. As per K B Agarwala, Managing Director, Rupa, manufacturing hubs in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have been unable to revive 100 per cent due to restrictions on local travel for workers. This has caused demand supply gap in the industry

Supply has declined 50 per cent of normal levels, adds Agarwala. While demand is slowly reviving and restrictions are being eased too, normalcy is still a little while away for the sector. Raja Shanmugam, President, Tiruppur Exporters Association of Tamil Nadu opines, it may take two more months for production to revive completely as higher input costs are adding to the woes of the manufacturers. Repeated hikes in yarn and cotton prices have led companies to increase product prices by multiple times.

This is impacting profit margins as sales have declined 25 per cent as compared to the same time last year. This has also put India on the back foot in comparison to competitor markets as an export hub for major global brands like Tommy Hilfiger, H&M, Marks & Spencer, Ralph Lauren, etc who source mainly from Tiruppur.

Shanmugam explains, Indian companies missed providing samples for two seasons to global players in the past two months, so the buyers sourced products from Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia. India lost out on orders for two upcoming seasons. Tiruppur hub has incurred losses worth Rs 10,000 crore and the West Bengal hub has seen a 50 per cent loss in last few months. However, domestic demand is expected to revive based on the severity of a probable third wave, adds Vinod Kumar Gupta, Managing Director, Dollar Industries.

Wells Fargo predicts Yeezy Gap will generate almost $1 billion in sales for the retailer in 2022. As per a survey by Wells Fargo analyst Ike Boruchow in collaboration with data firm Guidepoint, of the 530 Gap shoppers 64 per cent said they plan to purchase items from the heavily-hyped collaboration, with the average surveyed shopper likely to shell out nearly $180 in the first year of the collection’s debut.

Of the surveyed 470 non-Gap shoppers, 23 per cent said that they will likely buy from the collection and spend an average $126 in the first year. Within the group of people who do not currently shop at Gap but plan to buy Yeezy products, Wells Fargo found 75 per cent expect to purchase other Gap products while shopping. The Yeezy Gap collection, which currently consists exclusively of a $200 blue recycled nylon puffer jacket that dropped in June – could drive up to $990 million in sales for Gap in fiscal 2022, and boost earnings by roughly 50 cents per share. That nearly-$1 billion sales figure is notably higher than one floated by UBS in March, which stated that Gap expects its Yeezy line of modern, elevated basics” to exceed $150 million in sales in its first full year in 2022.

Retailers have hit back at French authorities for initiating a probe into the activities of four fashion companies in China's Xinjiang region. French authorities opened probe after complaints from the European Uyghur Institute and other pressure groups that the retailers were profiting from the use of forced labor.

Refuting the allegations, Zara owner Inditex said it fully complies with all existing legislation and recommendations regarding the protection of workers' rights. The company says it has implemented a human rights compliance framework "based on the highest international standards." Uniqlo's parent company, Tokyo-based Fast Retailing, said it has conducted audits to ensure no human rights violation in their supply chain and add that none of their production partners are located in Xinjiang.

French textile firm SMCP also said it conducts regular audits and does not have "direct suppliers in the region mentioned in the press." But Sophie Richardson, Director-China, Human Rights Watch said, while international firms may conduct audits that do not find evidence of forced labor in supply chains, political repression in the Xinjiang region is so pervasive that labor inspectors cannot interview workers freely without fear of reprisals.

She said inspectors cannot visit facilities without advance warning, and they cannot compel regional authorities to provide essential information about hours, pay, or other key labor conditions.

PVH Europe, the Amsterdam-based global headquarters of Tommy Hilfiger, has signed the Denim Deal, a multi-stakeholder initiative to increase the use of recycled fibers in fashion.

Under the agreement, participating brands will produce a combined 3 million pairs of jeans made with a minimum of 20 percent post-consumer recycled cotton by 2023. Individually, each brand is required to feature a minimum of 5 percent post-consumer recycled cotton in its denim collections.

As per Sourcing Journal, the Denim Deal was established last fall. Businesses across all areas of the jeanswear supply chain, including brands, manufacturers, recycling companies and local governments, are represented in the agreement. Scotch & Soda, Mud Jeans, Kuyichi and Calik Denim were some of the first companies to sign on.

Though it spans just three years, the deal is part of the Netherlands’ larger vision of attaining a circular economy by 2050—and it plans to achieve that goal through extensive work with leaders throughout the textile industry and beyond.