"EURATEX (European Apparel and Textile Confederation), Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI), Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), International Apparel Federation (IAF) and Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) have collaborated to release a new policy for circular economy in textiles. The manifesto urges policymakers to think beyond existing policy tools rooted in a linear economy to resolve the most significant circularity issues for the fashion and textile industries."

EURATEX (European Apparel and Textile Confederation), Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI), Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), International Apparel Federation (IAF) and Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) have collaborated to release a new policy for circular economy in textiles. The manifesto urges policymakers to think beyond existing policy tools rooted in a linear economy to resolve the most significant circularity issues for the fashion and textile industries.

Developing a European vision for textiles

The manifesto aims to accelerate the collaboration of fashion and textiles industries with policymakers. It tackles circularity in three ways. First, it emphasises on circularity of business models. Second, it recommends a new approach by adopting technological innovations such as separating fibres for reuse and upcycling. Third, the manifesto demands more groundbreaking policies customised to the needs of a diverse range of businesses.

The organisationsresponsible for launching this manifesto are committed to developing a European vision for textiles in a circular economy. They will expand on the points outlined in the manifesto over coming months. This initiative will be led by the Central EU institutions. For the first time so many influential organisations in the fashion industry have come together to work with policymakers on a unified approach to circularity. This is the right time to act on this issue as the consumption is only going to grow, and if we do not act now to find a solution to the take-make-dispose model, the strain on our planet will get much worse.

A global approach to tackle issues

Though circularity has become a key issue in all aspects of daily life, the current policies do not sufficiently support a scaled circular economy system. To drive change, it is essential for all policy makers to come together to implement this law. The International Apparel Federation (IAF) also recognises the importance of a global approach to circularity. It recommends a new consortium to connect the European countries with the rest of the world.Through this European collaboration industry leaders can support laws that promote lasting improvements on a global scale. To improve the industry's performance, brands, retailers and manufacturers need to find a common ground on which they can build a sustainable future for them.

Driven by electrical and electronics sector, high-end display screens (OLED) and photovoltic cells, the global demand for polyester film, known as BOPET film, is likely to increase by 5.6 percent in the next five years.

Growth in Asia is expected to be significantly higher, particularly in China and India, which are expected to grow by 6.6 percent and nearly 10 percent respectively. The global market is currently balanced but supplies from China and the growing influence of Indian-owned producers, as they continue to expand their operations globally, will continue to dominate.

The industry has announced a significant new capacity to be installed in the market over the next five years. Despite this investment, new capacity will be required to meet the forecast demand growth rate. With China and India set to remain central in driving the next investment cycle, further new capacity from these two global powerhouses will impact production utilisation of local producers.

The electrical and electronics sector will offer growth opportunities and will continue to offer avenues for growth, with healthy demand for high-end display screens (OLED) and photovoltaic (PV) cells to remain.

According to the initial projections by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), world cotton consumption is expected to increase by 2.6 per cent to reach 125.9 million bales in 2019-20 as against the previous year.

World cotton production is forecast to reach nearly 125.5 million bales in 2019-20, a 6 per cent increase from 2018-19’s global crop that had weather-related reductions in some of the major producing countries

The moderate production growth forecast for 2019-20 is largely the result of increased crop expectations for the US and India. Based on USDA’s initial projections, India, China, and the US—the leading producing countries—are forecast to account for a combined 62 per cent of global cotton production in 2019-20, slightly above 2018-19.

SPG Prints will have a stand at Itma, Spain, June 20 to 26, 2019. For printing companies who are ready to embark on a digital textile printing journey, a visit to Itma will definitely be worthwhile. In terms of conventional printing systems, SPG Prints will take the opportunity to showcase its latest generation of the nine color Pegasus EVO rotary screen printing machine. SPG will give live demonstrations of its second generation Pike single-pass digital textile printing machine printing on viscose fabric with reactive inks. Pike combines the industry’s highest resolution of 1200 dpi with the smallest droplets and lowest ink consumption, while producing the best deep black blotches ever created in the industry.

Also, from the established Javelin multi-pass printing machine, a second generation will be showcased at Itma. Besides the extension with an acid and a direct sublimation application, this new Javelin will have additional functionality that boosts both the top printing speed as well as the average speed to print every design, resulting in a higher print capacity per day or month. The BestLEN direct laser engraving machine helps printing companies worldwide produce a consistent level of high-quality screens with minimum interference of their operators. Since the BestLEN has a dry process, a minimum amount of water is used and the engraving process is very short, while human interference is brought to a minimum.

Monforts Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. KG will demonstrate a range of new innovations in Industry 4.0 techniques at ITMA 2019 in Barcelona, Spain, from June 20-26, 2019. These innovations will include ‘digital twin’ capability, which is now being made available for all Monforts machine systems and the latest advanced sensor technology through which comprehensive technical machine data can be virtually mapped in the cloud in real time.

The data can be easily accessed using the new Monforts Smart Support and Smart Check apps for an instantaneous status overview. All specifications related to the machine’s performance and the production process can be mapped, to enable vastly simplified and targeted analysis for controlled planning and production. Insights harnessed from such analysis can be used to optimise the actual production process. At the same time, potential sources of error can be anticipated and eliminated, enabling improved machine availability while considerably minimising downtime.

In addition, the digital twin system provides information on the individual wear parts of a system, such as converters or gears. Operators and mill managers are informed by Smart Check sensors when maintenance or the replacement of key components will be required, well ahead of time.

On request, Monforts can also virtually monitor machine performance and pro-actively alert customers to the need for preventative action. In such cases, however, data is only ever called from the cloud by Monforts when customers have given their full consent, in the interests of data security. Data from Smart Check, for example, can even be used to analyse a system’s energy requirements, allowing machine operation to be optimised by tailoring production runs to the peaks and troughs of electricity costs.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement may hurt India’s export competitiveness. The free trade agreement could lead to flooding of goods from member countries into the Indian market. India’s imports may increase during the post-RCEP period, implying a revenue loss by as much as 1.3 per cent of GDP. For India, issues of tariff rate are as important as other areas under negotiations, mainly because India does not have trade agreements with all the countries involved in RCEP. For instance, India does not have a trade agreement with China, and the negotiations with Australia and New Zealand have not come into effect. RCEP could have a negative impact on sectors like steel, pharma, e-commerce, and food processing. India is already facing challenges from Singapore, Australia and New Zealand in the agriculture and dairy sectors. On the services front, India may have to negotiate its proposals such as greater mobility for professionals through measures like visa fee waivers. India had registered a trade deficit in 2018-19 with as many as 11 RCEP member countries.

RCEP comprises 10 Asean members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam) and their six free trade agreement partners - India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Stefan Larsson has been appointed to the newly created role of President at PVH Corp. In his new position, Larsson will oversee all of PVH Corp's brand and region leaders and will report to group CEO Emanuel Chirico. Following successful stints at H&M, where he spent close to 15 years, and Gap, where he served as the global president of the group's Old Navy brand for three years, Larsson joined Ralph Lauren in 2015. However, he quit the American brand after only 18 months due to difference of opinion with the company leaders on how to evolve the creative and consumer-facing parts of this business.

PVH's portfolio includes brands such as Speedo, Van Heusen and Izod. The company announced revenues of $9.7 billion in 2018.

Milan Fashion Week Men’s will be held June 14 to 17, 2019. New arrivals include Youser, the South Korean streetwear brand known for its customisable apparel, and Spanish label David Catalan, an innovative brand specialising in comfortable clothing, founded in 2012 by the designer of the same name and Almudena Bretón. The third newbie is emerging Italian gender-neutral fashion label Edithmarcel, launched in 2015. Milano Moda Graduate will showcase talent from Italian fashion schools. This will involve a runway show featuring the work of the country’s best student designers. Eight finalists have been selected with a winner set to be chosen by a jury. The fashion week’s Japanese partner, zip specialist YKK, will pick the best of 11 finalists seeking to create the most interesting zipped design. Four young Italian brands – M1992, Magliano, United Standard and Vitelli – will participate in a musical project. A series of cultural events will also be offered by Gucci throughout the week.

One primary aim of the event is to kick start the country’s menswear industry. The Italian menswear industry saw 0.2 per cent sales growth over the first three months of 2019, while over the decade 2008 to 2018, it grew annually by three per cent.

M&S’ yearly group revenue fell three per cent. Pre-tax profit dropped 9.9 per cent. Post-tax profit was up 28.2 per cent. Customer response was very strong with its new denim launch producing an initial 20 per cent sales uplift and sales of women’s jeggings up 30 per cent. M&S improved its clothing e-market share by 0.3 percentage points. But creating a new range architecture in a business with weak processes, a slow supply chain and where buyers are building their confidence proved challenging. Many popular lines sold out prematurely because of the failure to increase the depth of buy and the slowness of the stock flow. The range was too wide splintering its buying scale and making shops challenging to navigate.

Despite teething problems, the company expects to deliver a more marked reduction in options and range duplication, with a substantial improvement in size ratios, a further focus on style and fashion and additional investment in value. This will be reinforced by the update of the sub brand strategy, including the relaunch of the Per Una range. This new approach will also come along with a revamp of its stores for a more contemporary in-store environment. A renewal brand format and modernisation will be piloted in the year ahead.

The standalone revenue of Kitex Garments grew 12.38 per cent in 2018-19. PAT for the whole year grew 16.32 per cent. By 2025, the target is to attain a total revenue of Rs 2165 crores from Kitex Garments and Rs 1000 crores from Kitex Children’s Wear.

Kitex has been a leading supplier of infant wear to global brands and retail giants such as Walmart, Target, Amazon, Carter’s, Gerber, Oshkosh, Buy Buy Baby, Sam’s club etc. The company aims to increase its manufacturing capacity to 22 lakh pieces a day by 2025. Besides, a new fleet of baby products, socks, diapers, baby wet wipes, are being planned to be manufactured at the Kitex factory at Kochi, eyeing the global market. Established in 1992, Kitex is the world’s third largest manufacturer of children’s apparel. It manufactures clothing for infants up to 24 months, primarily targeting the US market. Six lakh pieces of infant apparel are manufactured at Kitex a day. Almost 90 per cent of the export is to the US and the rest to European countries. Having an integrated and traceable value chain which meets global standards at various stages of the product supply chain is the key differentiator at Kitex.