Fashion for Good has launched a new, two-year pilot project in collaboration with leading brands Kering and PVH Corp, and leading global textile manufacturer Arvind Limited to pilot a radically resource-efficient cotton farming technology provided by Fashion for Good innovator, Materra.

Materra’s innovative combination of precision agriculture, environmental control and real-time data tracking facilitate resilience for cotton farming in developing regions where climate and resources prove challenging for cotton cultivation, the Fashion for Good-led consortium said in a press release.

The project leverages Arvind’s local knowledge and network with a 1.5-hectare farm being set up in the Gujarat region in India. Fashion for Good initiated and will manage the project in addition to financing the project through an equity investment in Materra.

The farm will grow extra-long staple cotton, which is often used in more high-end products, and provides the region with opportunities to explore implementing the fibre that has historically not been grown in large volumes in Northern India as its cultivation requires specific climatic conditions that are only met in a limited number of regions. The cotton generated on the farm, which will total 3 tonnes by the completion of the project, will be divided amongst the three partners to produce garments that will be made commercially available from 2023.

The pilot officially kicked off on January 26, 2021. The next three months of the pilot will focus on installing the pilot farm to be ready for planting in April, with the first harvest taking place towards the end of the year.

The pilot includes collating data and key learnings to identify the next best location for the team to apply the technology. Focus will predominantly be in regions where cotton agriculture is challenged by limited resources such as water, few solutions for pest control and limited success at growing extra-long staple cotton.

The Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry (MOPFI) of Myanmar revealed that Eastern Development International (Myanmar) Co. (Dongzhan Textile Group), based out of China’s Jiangsu province, has proposed to develop a textile-based industrial cluster in the country.

As per Apparel Resources, the cluster will cost around $371 million. It will be set up in a major town in Sagaing Region which is an economic hub in Myanmar.

Eastern Development International (Myanmar) was registered in 2018 as a garment manufacturer in Myanmar.

According to the Myanmar Project Bank, the proposed project will comprise two phases on 356.47 acres of land in Sagaing and it’ll involve construction of around 17 garment and textile factories.

Phase I includes 12 new garment factories, knitting units, dyeing and printing facilities, down and feather units and residential buildings for employees.

Phase II will include construction of 5 garment factories, an embroidery factory, a carton factory and a polyester wadding unit.

The construction is expected to complete by 2030 and will create over 20,000 new jobs.

Compelled by the decree of the Italian Prime Minister, the 55th edition of Filo, scheduled for February 24-25, 2021 at MiCo – Milano Convention Centre has been canceled. The decree of the Italian Prime Minister, published on the 14th of January 2021, suspends – throughout Italy – trade-fairs, events and congresses at least until March 5, 2021.

Filo is the only international trade show focusing on products of excellence; a business platform which showcases high quality collections of yarns and fibres, produced by environmentally-friendly processes, and in accordance with ethical values.

Filo has been cooperating with ICE-Agency (Italian Trade Promotion Agency) for several years in a program that brings to the trade show a delegation of high qualified international buyers coming from countries (and markets) of particular interest for Filo exhibitors.

Global apparel industry reports and experts alike have highlighted the ongoing pandemic has given a huge impetus to comfort wear with sale of leggings, track pants, tees et al clocking in huge growth since March 2020. And even after restrictions have eased, loungewear sales have not slowed down, say retailers. As Sanjay Jain, CEO, PDS Multinational Fashions told Mint, demand has shifted from formal to casual wear. “Fashion designers are predicting a move from tighter, body-fitting fashion to more loose apparel. You and I are going to see more baggies.”

Numbers too reveal, loungewear sales continue to remain high. For PDS for example, in 2019 the division between casual and formal wear was around 75:25 it changed to 95:5 in post-Covid. PDS offers product development, sourcing, design and manufacturing services to top global brands and retailers like Superdry, Primark and Next, and supermarket chains like Walmart, Woolworths and Sainsbury’s. In 2019-20 alone PDS did business worth Rs 6,000 crore. As per Jain, formal wears space has been taken over by an increase in demand for athleisure, denim and loungewear.

Shifting focus boosts casual wear business

Even though casual wear was always popular however, the lockdown has given it added boost. The trend has caught on with brands and retailers looking at it as a huge opportunity. PDS expects demand for athleisure and denim to dominate this year. And Jain says the trend has shifted from causal trousers to denim. Before Covid, the split was 70 per cent (causal trousers) and 30 per cent (denim), but post-COVID it has reversed. T-shirt dresses and polos are also seeing good demand in Europe and North America. Sale of casual and formals shirts are down 30-40 per cent.

Similarly, footwear retailer Bata India is looking at casual apparel category as consumer focus shifts to athleisure. As Bata Shoe Organisation’s global CEO Sandeep Kataria says the company was testing its training and fitness apparel under the Power brand.

In fact, retailers are sceptical about formal clothing sales bouncing back anytime soon. Jain told Mint “The revival of formal wear is based on the assumption that the vaccine will have an impact, Covid will go away and you and I will go back to office. The trends are encouraging, but a structural shift has taken place. There is a realization that work from home is doable.”

On similar lines, Kataria feels post-Covid the culture of work from home will continue. Therefore, comfort wear will have a lasting impact. He says, Bata consumers are looking for casual footwear with comfort and casualisation driving trends.

Formal wear sales down but will pick up

Even though retailers do not expect formals wear sales to recover, any time soon, they are eyeing next spring/summer season and working on collections accordingly.

One big thrust during the pandemic is growing awareness about sustainability among consumers. Stakeholders in the apparel industry are now focusing on eco-friendly methods as the momentum picks up. Bata for example has factories with zero-effluent. Besides, some of its footwear brands such as Power use recycled tyres in its shoes.

While awareness about sustainability is growing costs are a concern for consumers, feels Jain. Sustainable raw materials are definitely more expensive. However, with time consumers seeking shopping choices in sustainable products will grow even as their wardrobes get smaller.

VF Corp released Q3 results that ended December 2020 of fiscal 2021 and raises full year fiscal 2021 outlook. The company’s revenue from continuing operations decreased 6 per cent to $ 3.0 billion, while active segment revenue decreased 9 per cent including a 6 per cent fall in Vans brand revenue.

Outdoor segment’s revenue decrease 5 per cent, which included flat revenue in The North Face brand. The work segment revenue increased 8 per cent including a 9 per cent rise in Dickies brand revenue.

As far as region-wise revenue is concerned, international revenue was flat, while Europe revenue increased 1 per cent. The Greater China revenue rose 18 per cent, which included a rise of 22 per cent in Mainland China. Its full year fiscal 2021 revenue is now expected to be in the range of $9.1 billion to $9.2 billion, reflecting a decrease of 12 to 13 per cent on an adjusted basis.

The agreement is expected to boost bilateral trade between India and Japan by enhancing India's textile and apparel export to Japan, the world's third-largest export destination. The MoU between the Textiles Committee, under the Ministry of Textiles, and the Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre of Japan will formalise mutual interaction.

The Union cabinet in its meeting held in September 2020, had given approval for signing the pact. However, there are several challenges related to stringent quality standards for exports to Japan. Although the Indian textile ministry is confident the pact will help in creating awareness on various quality parameters being sought by the importers based in Japan and extending hand-holding support to Indian exporters to adopt and upgrade their technology.

The main objective of the pact is to provide required support to textiles trade and industry for ensuring quality as per the requirement of Japanese buyers through testing, inspection and conformity assessment, training and capacity building, research and development, and consultancy.

Both institutions have agreed to share and exchange relevant technical information and documentation on a regular basis and carry out activities related to standards, quality assurance norms.

They will also share joint research projects on testing and development of user-friendly tools for dissemination of data to the industry and facilitate sourcing across the textiles value chain from both the countries.

India and Japan signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2011 which inter-alia facilitates import of garments from India to Japan at zero duty. Despite CEPA, the growth in trade in textiles and apparel between the two countries has been moderate. Japan is third-largest importer of textiles and apparel in the world and India is sixth-largest exporter, and there is huge untapped potential for trade that remains unharnessed.

Coats is joining the group of world’s leading and most influential organisations, brought together by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to demonstrate how the transition to a circular economy can be accelerated. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation Network is leading the transition to a circular economy which represents systemic change.

Coats developed Epic EcoVerde, the world’s first 100 per cent recycled premium sewing thread and continues to develop a range of products, which are made from recycled materials as a stage towards full circularity. It is also designing products to help facilitate circular processing within the textile garment industry.

As an Ellen MacArthur Foundation Network member, Coats will be joining events, workshops and other collaborative activities. It will be looking to how it can work with the textile industry, and also other industries within which it operates, to make products to be used more, made to be made again and made from safe and recycled or renewable inputs.

Textiles and clothing exporters will continue enjoying the enhanced credit limit under the Export Development Fund (EDF) for six more months as the impacts of the pandemic persist, the Bangladesh Bank stated. Members of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) will be able to use the facility until June 30, 2021.

In May last year, the central bank widened credit limit under the fund to $30 million from $25 million for the rest of the year for BGMEA and BTMA members as a part of its efforts to help them tackle the economic downturn deriving from the coronavirus pandemic. The central bank has taken the decision following a request from exporters affiliated with the two associations. The decision will give a boost to exports in coming months.

Financing from the EDF is extended to manufacturers so that they can purchase raw materials in the form of back-to-back letters of credit. This helps them produce export-oriented items.

After the pandemic hit, the central bank expanded the fund's size by $1.5 billion to $5 billion to protect the exporters as shipment collapsed because of the economic slowdown. The BB also cut the interest rate on the loans under the scheme.

Chemical and textile firm GHCL reported a 21 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 117.57 crore in the third quarter of this fiscal year. Its net profit stood at Rs 96.91 crore in the year-ago period. The company’s total income stood at Rs 820.77 crore in the October-December period of 2020-21 financial year from Rs 849.08 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year, GHCL stated in a regulatory filing.

GHCL is into chemicals, textiles and consumer products segment. In chemical segment, it mainly manufactures soda ash (anhydrous sodium carbonate) a major raw material for detergents and glass industries and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda).

Its textiles it is an integrated set up, which commences right from spinning fiber (yarn), weaving, dyeing, printing of the finished products, like sheets and duvets, primarily exported worldwide.

In consumer products operation, it manufactures and sells edible salt, industrial grade salt and markets jujube honey, spices and blended spices under the brand ''i-Flo''.

Fibre producer, Hyosung, will introduce expanded regen sustainability fibers featuring 100 per cent recycled, multi-function fibres at ISPO Munich Online. Hyosung is a comprehensive fibre manufacturer that produces world-class products, providing innovation and solutions to the textile industry.

The company feels as the industry revives post COVID-19 world, several trends developed during the pandemic will continue – namely clothing that provides comfort and reassurance, and that’s made with sustainable sources. Additionally, clothing needs to be multi-functional in that it can cross the boundaries between home wear, activewear and outdoor wear. And it must last over time.

As a solutions provider across the value chain from mill to brand to consumer, Hyosung consistently forecasts market trends to develop a comprehensive fibre offering to help its customers envision products that suit these trends. The company will present many of its new sustainable and multi-function regen fibres at ISPO Munich Online February 1-5, 2021.

The company is experiencing significant interested in its 100% GRS recycled creora elastane, Mipan regen nylon, and regen polyester – all of which save valuable resources from being removed from the earth. In addition to its 100% recycled regen creora elastane, Mipan regen nylon, regen polyester, Hyosung will present its recycled regen multi-function offering to include regen askin/ MIPAN regen aqua X: cool-touch polyester and nylon with UV protection amongst others.