As per USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report for March 2021, US cotton forecasts indicate lower production, consumption and ending stocks relative to February. Cotton production declined by 250,000 bales to 14.7 million due to the industry’s slow recovery from last year’s sharp losses. Ending stocks are 100,000 bales lower this month at 4.2 million bales while the projected marketing year average price received by upland producers has increased by 1 per cent to 69.0 cents per pound.

Though production and ending stocks have declined compared to last month, mill use and trade has increased. Global production has reduced by 830,000 bale due to a decline in the Brazilian and US production. The pace of Cotton imports and signs of recovering global consumption have helped boost consumption estimates for Turkey, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam. Imports are also projected to increase in countries with larger consumption with the world trade likely to increase by 600,000 bales this month.

Euratex has warned about the impact of new legislation on the fashion industry severely hit by COVID-19. On the March 10, the European Parliament adopted its own-initiative legislative report on due diligence. Euratex welcomed the general aim of the report but pointed out its implementation will penalize the European industry with unintended consequences and excessive burden on SMEs.

Euratex welcomed the broad consensus registered around several important points, such as harmonization of legislation at European level instead of pursuing national approaches, and the principle of proportionality. However, the seriousness of unintended consequences especially in difficult economic times appears still not thoroughly understood.

European harmonization would avoid chaos across Europe on necessary requirements, it would minimize the confusion over the interpretation of responsible business conduct and it may support level playing field. However, fair enforcement and the related operational challenges are not sufficiently considered.

Proportionality is a very crucial principle in the debate on due diligence. The Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) do not own the capacities of larger companies and they are very much exposed to unintended consequences of legislation, even if its purpose is good. EURATEX appreciates the acknowledgement in the report that SMEs need to have “less extensive and formalized due diligence processes” and further support and information. However, the scope shall be further clarified and spare all SMEs from un-appropriate legal requirements.

However, the implementation of due diligence requirements will also bring negative impacts on the European value chain that, in EURATEX’s experience, on-line support tools can hardly avoid. Policymakers should properly assess the operational aspects in the elaboration of requirements in the upcoming proposals. It is essential to avoid new threats and additional costs, including those from administrative burdens for the industry and, specifically, for SMEs.

Euratex insists the policy proposals to be based on a smart mix of measures, combining incentives and support to responsible practices. The established industry-specific schemes, also referred as safe harbor approach, should be accepted as a tool to recognize compliance with regulation.

As a part of its drive to boost trade integration, China plans to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Launched in 2019, the CPTPP comprises 11 countries including Australia, Canada, Japan and Mexico. It succeeded the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), from which former US President Donald Trump withdrew in 2017.

China already has bilateral free trade deals with several of the agreement’s signatories, and late last year wrapped up the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which covers the 10 ASEAN member states, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. Chinese membership of the trans-Pacific accord in its current form could net the country a $298bn boost to national income by 2030, according to a 2019 paper by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE).

Analysts say joining CPTPP would boost Chinese exports to $638billion by 2030 with imports rising by a similar amount. Trade with the agreement would surge by 55 per cent over the next 10 years. If China joins, it will also wield negotiating power if the US also attempts to re-enter the bloc under new President Joe Biden, says Deborah Elms, Executive Director, Asian Trade Centre.

CLASS ICON Award 2021, the annual competition for visionary creative has kicked off. The award includes two coupons valued at € 1000 each to source responsibly on The Smart Shop, the inspirational materials’ bank and samples' e-shop, that includes a premium selection of the CLASS Material Hub’s materials; a consultancy session with the CLASS team; free access to CLASS training contents, an e-learning source that will be launched by CLASS in May 2021 and cover different sustainability covers and full community support.

CLASS partners will offer an exclusively customized package of marketing and communication activities like Renoon, an online platform for responsible Shopping agglomerating thousands of ways to combine style and sustainability values may it be new, pre-loved and rental clothing. It also includes the IDEE Brand Platform which provides dedicated support in all commercial activities for design and fashion brands through the various stages of their growth steps.

The Sustainable Brand Platform evaluates and pushes the brand performances in terms of sustainability. The package dedicated to CLASS ICON includes the support of the brand in commercial activities for SS22: starting from merchandising to the definition of potential sales markets, creating a commercial strategy, prospecting the market to identify potential buyers, and creating and managing the distribution network.

High street fashion retailer Next has acquired a 25 per cent stake in Reiss and could take control of the upmarket UK fashion chain by mid-next year.

The FTSE 100 group will make a £33m equity investment, acquiring shares from majority investor Warburg Pincus and the group’s founding Reiss family in proportion to their existing holdings.

It will also lend the fashion retailer £10m. Warburg Pincus said the transaction implied an enterprise value for Reiss of roughly £200m. The company has net debt of about £60m.

Next also has an option to acquire an additional 26 per cent at a slightly higher price at any time before July 2022, taking its stake to 51 per cent and allowing it to consolidate Reiss’s sales and profits.

Following the acquisition, Reiss’s online operations will migrate to Next’s Total Platform unit, an Ocado-like technology service that allows brands to use Next’s formidable IT, warehousing and distribution infrastructure for their own ecommerce operations.

Stephen C Neal, Chairman, Levi Strauss & Co is stepping down from his position and will be succeeded by Bob A. Eckert.

Neal, who has been chair of the Levi Strauss board for a decade, will be leaving the role on March 26, having reached the mandatory board retirement age of 72. Eckert’s appointment as his replacement is effective on the same day.

According to the company, during his time as board chair, Neal played a key role in the group’s successful turnaround, as well as in its journey to going public.

As well as his time on the Levi Strauss board, Eckert’s previous experience includes serving as chairman of the board at toy manufacturer Mattel, Inc. from 2000 to 2012. He was also the company’s CEO from May 2000 to December 2011.

Prior to Mattel, Eckert worked at Kraft Food, Inc. for 23 years, serving in a range of roles, including president and CEO from 1997 to 2000.

Bengaluru-based women’s footwear brand Monrow has raised an undisclosed funding from 9 Unicorns. The company plans to use the funds to strengthen its presence in tier 2, 3 towns by opening brick-and-mortar stores this year The company had earlier raised funds from early-stage investors such as Venture Catalysts, Blume Ventures, Lets Venture, and angel investors Aprameya Radhakrishna, Sweta Rau, Archana Priyadarshini, and Ravi Soni.

Monrow currently sells its products across 14 locations in the country through partnerships with Shoppers Stop, Future Group, and Reliance Retail, etc.. The brand also sells online through its website, Myntra, and Ajio. Being a first-of-a-kind digital footwear seller in the Indian shoe market, along with its focus on delivering unique value to the highly aspirational and comfort-loving millennial generation, gives a competitive advantage to the brand over its retail-focused peers.

Syed Ferhat Anwar has resigned from his position as election board chairman for the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

Anwar, director of the Dhaka University's Institute of Business Administration, submitted his resignation letter to BGMEA President Rubana Huq on Wednesday.

As a part of the biennial election procedure of the garment sector's apex trade body, on February 4, the BGMEA formed a board headed by Anwar. The election to select the BGMEA's new committee for 2021-23 is scheduled to be held on April 4.

However, sources at the BGMEA and contesting candidates said the resignation came following a disagreement centring on the placement of candidates' names on the ballot paper.

Usually, the names of contestants are placed through a lottery and the winner gets the priority in placing their names on top or as they wish.

On the ballot paper, the winning panel gets to place the names of its candidates from 1 to 35, while the other team members' names are placed from 36 to 70.

The election commission held a lottery to place the names of candidates and declared a panel winner. But the losing panel was not present during the lottery, a candidate said seeking anonymity.

Later, the panel raised questions about the transparency of the lottery and sought clarification about the process. Following a debate on the matter, Anwar tendered in his resignation, he added.

As per OTEXA, Bangladesh’s apparel export to the US, the country's single largest destination, registered over 16 per cent decline in January 2021 year-on-year mainly because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bangladesh fetched $ 519.37 million in January 2021 through apparel export, down from $622.82 million over the corresponding month of 2020, according to data of the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) - affiliated with the US Department of Commerce.

In the first month of 2021, Bangladesh shipped 198.66 million sq m of apparel items, whereas the export was 219.08 million sq m in January 2020.

The country fetched $5.22 billion in 2020, which was $5.92 billion in 2019, according to data.

Experts and exporters attributed the poor performance of ready-made garments (RMG) export to the US to sluggish demand, higher COVID infection rate, change in sales pattern, and election-related uncertainties.

However, some of the local exporters were still upbeat, as they were getting more queries in the recent months compared to three to six months back.

Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, director of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said local RMG export to almost all major destinations witnessed a negative growth throughout last year mainly because of the coronavirus outbreak, and the US market was not an exception.

The pandemic also squeezed the demand, followed by the shutdown of retail shops amid lockdown in the US, he explained.

The virus outbreak also changed the sales pattern that resulted in placing small quantity orders instead of bulk ones.

US’ jeans imports dropped 5.36 per cent to a value of $251.8 million in January 2021 compared to a year earlier before the affects of coronavirus were felt in the United States. As per OTEXA, US’ jeans imports from Bangladesh increased by 73 per cent to a value of $56.4 million, imports from Mexico rose by 1.31 percent to $42 million after declining 40 percent for the year through January.

Imports from Pakistan also increased by 21.54 percent to $26 million, while those from Nicaragua increased by 39.35 percent in the month to $7.16 million and from Lesotho, they climbed to 64.9 percent to $8.27 million. On the other hand, imports from China declined 16.42 percent to $28.44 million, those from Vietnam by 34.49 percent to $24.97 million, Cambodia by 9.1 percent to $14.63 million, Egypt by 41.86 percent to $8.82 million and imports from Sri Lanka declined by 35.95 percent to $3.84 million. Among Tier-II suppliers, imports from Madagascar jumped 153.97 percent to $5.05 million and shipments from Turkey increased by 40 percent to $4.4 million.