Japanese fabrics are in demand in China. The advantages of Japanese printing, dyeing and special processing are based on the spirit of traditional craftsmanship that is passed down through generations, creating fabrics that are truly unique to Japan – a major selling point in China. As well as this, Japan has certain distinct fibers like Triacetate produced by Mitsubishi Chemical and Cupro produced by Asahikasei. Fabrics made using these unique fibers are extremely popular among high-end Chinese brands, especially women’s wear in Shenzhen. Chinese women’s wear and designer brands are keen to source unique fabrics that differentiate their products in the saturated market and so Chinese brands often move toward Japanese fabrics.

Japanese customer service is recognised by Chinese brands as being trustworthy. Among the reasons for the popularity of Japanese textile suppliers in China are upgraded consumption habits from Chinese consumers, as well as recognition of craftsmanship, flexible order services and reliability. Production timelines are reliably met without delay, while Japanese companies will also take responsibility for any problems with products and make a strong effort to find solutions. Japanese suppliers specialise in handling quick delivery, small quantity orders and product-in-stock services. This suits large Chinese brands with stocking pressures, who tend to display smaller collections in stores and only mass-produce more popular items, as well as smaller designers who use less fabric to start with.

Datacolor, a global leader in color management technology, has launched a new color life-cycle management solution that delivers greater transparency and confidence for both textile and apparel brands as well as suppliers, mills and dye houses. The new offering includes assessment services, a suite of comprehensive color assessment and lab audit services, that significantly reduce the time and cost of product development, ensuring a qualified supply chain, capable of meeting all expectations that assure color quality.

The solution focuses on the bottlenecks that the industry holds, it allows real-time tracking of data, helping brands with better sourcing decisions, based on mill performance and sophistication. This real-time information of the quality and consistency of products further allows suppliers to improve their operational efficiency.

Furthermore, the company has also introduced ColorHub, cloud-based software solution that provides an unprecedented real-time view of mills’colour performance. The solutions make the lab dip and color production data available to everyone, thus helping maintain shade consistency and quality. This further ensures taking corrective measures to the color issue at the right time.

The Riri Group has come out with an evolved version of the Aquazip called Aquatyre Zip. This is lighter, more flexible and extremely attractive, thanks to the design of the chain. Inspired by the world of sport, in particular, the bike, the shape of the tooth resembles the texture of a tire.

The Tra-in button is the combination of a classic snap and a hook that unifies aesthetics, reliability and usability. Entirely made of stainless steel, this new concept of button allows the wearer to perform one small gesture to open or fasten garments, without forgetting style. A revolutionary locking system makes it extra resistant to lateral traction. There are silicone and polyester heads for greater resistance, rings in synthetic technopolymers to solve oxidation and blocking problems, not to mention the infinite possibilities of coloration.

Riri, based in Italy, a leader in the production of zips and buttons, has three brands, Riri, Meras and Cobrax. The high quality of its products, designed season after season, supported by continuing innovation, an unmistakable customisation of details and constant search for excellence, have made the Riri Group the solution of choice for many top players on the fashion, high-end accessory, outdoor and denim markets.

VF Corp is separating and forming a new company VF Jeanswear which will be independent and publicly traded as Kontoor Brands. Kontoor’s internal brands will include Wrangler, Lee, Rock & Republic and the VF Outlet business. There may be some issues around the number of shares based on fractional shares, as fractional shares of Kontoor Brands will not be distributed. Those fractional shares will be sold in the open market and the appropriate cash payment for each shareholder’s fractional share will be distributed pro rata.

VF Corp is a big name in strong apparel, footwear and accessories space for years. Even after breaking out the denim and related casual apparel and accessories, VF Corp will still be a diverse amalgamated version of apparel and the related areas that has been assembled via brand launches and acquisitions. It currently has four segments: Outdoor & Action Sports, Jeanswear, Imagewear and Other. Its Outdoor unit includes brands such as North Face, Vans, Timberland, JanSport, Eastpak and Eagle Creek. Imagewear includes Red Kap, Bulwark, Horace Small, Dickies, Workrite, Kodiak, Terra and Walls.

Wall Street has been in the mood of asking larger companies to focus on their core businesses and asking larger companies to unlock value or to allow the investor pool to be able to invest in individual units rather than large jumbled conglomerated or amalgamated structures.

Print Make Wear will be present at Global Print Expo, Germany, May 14 to 17, 2019. Global Print Expo is Europe’s largest specialty print exhibition for screen and digital wide format print, textile printing and signage solutions. Print Make Wear is a live micro-factory for customised, roll-to-roll textile production and garment manufacturing. It will take the visitor through the actual physical process of making textile products quickly in an environment, and age, where space, utilities and natural resources are at a premium. The products on display at Print Make Wear will give an inspiring insight into the production workflow, and offer a window into customised, just-in-time manufacturing. The micro-factory offers a flexible, efficient and sustainable route that delivers viable manufacturing. Print Make Wear, roll-to-roll, will feature the latest software products from the Adobe Creative Suite.

The landscape of manufacturing has changed forever. Consumers now demand incredible speed of delivery and design diversity alongside sustainable manufacturing processes. Utilising artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality alongside specialist software and automated digital manufacturing equipment is now common practice for many businesses. In the era of Industry 4.0, a new generation of technology is meeting the demands of a new generation of consumers by working together to deliver millennial manufacturing.

Indonesia’s viscose rayon fiber capacity increased from 8.7 per cent of total world production in 2004 to 11 per cent of total world production in 2017. Since cotton is difficult to produce, the country has turned to viscose rayon fibers. Mixed with polyester as men’s clothing, viscose fibers are highly absorbent, with soft hand feel, have bright colors, and are resistant to resin processing.

Asia Pacific Rayon, which began operations earlier this year in Indonesia with a production capacity of 2,40,000 tons of viscose rayon fiber per year, is the first integrated producer of viscose rayon fibers in Asia with traceable raw material sources.

Indonesia is set to become one of the top five textile and textile product producers in the world by 2030. Of the use of raw materials, the industry uses 51 per cent synthetic fiber, such as polyester and nylon, 37 per cent cotton fiber, and 12 per cent rayon. But the industry still faces obstacles in reaching its full competitive potential, as nearly all cotton must be imported. In contrast, 80 per cent of synthetic fiber and 85 per cent of rayon is domestically produced, with these numbers expected to increase further. The aim is to increase the sector’s share in Indonesia’s total exports to 1.6 per cent.

Arvind is joining Fashion for Good. Based in Amsterdam, this initiative brings together the biggest names in fashion. Arvind is the latest to sign up to lending its expertise and vision to the growing collective, which also supports startups and scale-ups designed to reshape the industry.

Arvind is a global pioneer in sustainable textile manufacturing and has power brands such as US Polo Association, Arrow, Flying Machine and Tommy Hilfiger. Sustainability and innovation are its key strategic growth pillars and it has always attempted adoption of innovation in textile manufacturing. It is committed to promote the sustainable technologies originating from the Fashion for Good platform. Arvind’s aim is to work with these technologies to fuel the next set of growth in manufacturing with a drastically reduced environmental impact.

Fashion for Good is a buoyant ecosystem of game changers defining the future of fashion. By having Arvind joining in, all of Fashion for Good’s innovators and stakeholders are gaining in- depth knowledge and support from a unique pioneer in manufacturing. The entire fashion ecosystem is coming together to implement and scale innovative solutions across the fashion value chain. Many trailblazers are establishing the Dutch city as the new global capital of the burgeoning sustainable fashion industry.

Pointing out that export business has significantly picked up after the announcement of rebate of state and central taxes and levies (RoSCTL) scheme, AEPC has urged the Union Commerce Ministry to implement the scheme as soon as to enable exporters to take full benefit of the scheme. The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has also sought a clarification on disbursal of the rebate on export of garments and made-ups from the ministry.

RoSCTL was announced on March 7, 2019. As per the scheme, the rebate on state levies (RoSL) for the apparel exports was reduced to 1.7 per cent from 3.5 per cent when the GST was implemented. Now, along with 1.7 per cent RoSL, 4.35 per cent rebate of central embedded taxes and levies would be provided to exporters under the RoSCTL scheme, which would be valid only up to March 31, 2020.

Twenty-one brands and buyers from North America, who were signatories of Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, recently launched a new platform, Nirapon, for safety monitoring in the Bangladesh readymade garment (RMG) units that supply them.

Nirapon will use a brand-led approach to monitor safety, oversight and reporting services for its members based on Bangladesh laws to help the factories build their own self-sustaining culture of safety, according to Bangla media reports. Factories would provide regular updates, including documentary evidence, to the brands and to Nirapon of their performances in those areas and work with vetted, local training and engineering firms who would conduct regular safety and training audits.

Over 600 factories are part of this initiative. All Nirapon member factories are required to continue to meet the National Action Plan harmonised standards for structural, fire, and electrical safety and all the factories would have to implement standardised training programmes focused on worker safety, she said. While Alliance had worked directly with factories to drive remediation and training programmes, Nirapon’s role would be of oversight and independent verification of safety and training compliance and reporting those results to its members.

American & Efird (A&E) has a new line of advanced identification threads called Integrity. These are molecular-tagged DNA threads. One of the big challenges brands face today centers around authenticity. Loss of revenue, reputation, and brand trust are some of the potential outcomes of counterfeit products. This thread line provides a tool which adds advanced identification for greater visibility and transparency into the product creation process.

A&E is a manufacturer of industrial and consumer sewing threads, embroidery threads and technical textiles. Through its global network, A&E’s products are manufactured in 22 countries, distributed in 50 countries and sold in over 100 countries. A&E supports many of the world’s top industrial and consumer brands with thread products that require strict quality and performance. The textile thread manufacturer achieved its initial targets for zero-waste-to-landfill in 2015. American & Efird has also launched a new recycled polyester sewing thread. This is designed especially for athletic wear and high-performance apparel. The new thread is derived from recycled post-consumer plastic bottles and aims to provide textile manufacturers within the performance apparel, active wear, athleisure, and intimate apparel markets a recycled alternative to existing sewing threads. The air-entangled sewing thread is made with Repreve recycled polyester, a brand of US yarn supplier Unifi.