India is made a strong presence at Hong Kong Gifts and Premium Fair, April 27 to 30, 2019. Nearly 40 Indian exhibitors are showcasing innovative and exquisite gifts and premium products like handcrafted decorated premium gifts, souvenirs, lifestyle accessories, cotton scarves, necklaces, picture frames, boxes, pen stands, note books, shawls and stoles, handmade paper products, jute, cotton, canvas bags, women’s hand bags,, leather hand bags, Christmas decoratives, wooden decorative artware, stationery, table tops, grocery bags, and decorative journals etc. The handicrafts sector occupies an important place in the Indian economy. It is a large foreign exchange earner, an employment generator for economically and socially backward classes and a promoter of Indian ethnic and cultural heritage worldwide.

Hong Kong Gifts and Premium Fair is the largest fair of its kind in the world and an effective platform for designers, manufacturers and wholesalers to make new business opportunities. More than 4300 exhibitors from 35 countries and regions are participating in the fair including group pavilions from China, Italy, Korea, Macau, Taiwan, Thailand and India. On display are corporate gifts, fashion accessories, green gifts, picture and photo frames, toys and sporting goods, beauty, health and wellness products, watches and clocks and luxury and premium gifts.

Apparel Textile Sourcing Canada (ATSC) 2019 will take place from August 19 to 21 in Toronto and August 23 in Montreal. This is a must-attend event for Canadian and northeast US industry representatives to connect with hundreds of factories from around the world under one roof. The show is one of Canada’s most significant B2B events, consistently delivering year-over-year growth, thanks to its unique merger of spring/summer and fall/winter merchandise into a single once-per-year trade show. Ambassadors, trade commissioners, export councils and private sector representatives from more than 20 countries come together with thousands of apparel and textile industry representatives, from C-Level executives to SMEs and start-ups.

The show has proved to be an excellent venue, providing a unique platform for many small and medium-sized enterprises to make important connections with Canadian buyers. New to ATSC 2019 will be a range of first-time offerings, from expanded product variety and a new wholesale supplier section, to the latest in fashion technology, eco-friendly textiles and sustainable supply chains. With a global shift in consumer preferences and social consciousness, speakers will provide important updates on sustainability, in addition to repairing fragmented supply chains and trade, importing and exporting issues. This year’s seminar series will provide valuable resource options to move bulk merchandise in and out of the Canadian market by leveraging cross-border e-commerce platforms and other omni-channel solutions.

Challenge Apparels will establish a state-of-the-art garment manufacturing facility in Pakistan to enhance its exports and help generate thousands of new jobs in the country over the next couple of years.

Challenge Apparels is among the leading exporters to top brands around the world, especially in developed countries. Pakistan is facilitating investors through various reforms and hopes to benefit from the US-China trade war. If businessmen from China bring fabrics to Pakistan for making the finished products, and export those to the US, then they will not only able to maintain their client base but Pakistan will also benefit.

Enabling Chinese textile exports this way will give a boost to Pakistan’s exports and deal with the balance of payments situation. When Chinese businessmen carry out their exports jointly with Pakistan, making use of the raw materials as well as Pakistan’s human resources, it will add to the earnings of Pakistan.

Also China is helping Pakistan’s spinning mills become more cost efficient and competitive. Almost 80 per cent of the yarn and other textile products will be re-exported to China for value addition to sell the finished goods at better prices in the international market.

Vietnam expects to sign a long-anticipated free trade agreement with the European Union before the end of June. Both the sides have agreed to make joint efforts for the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement (EVFTA) to be ratified as soon as possible.

The trade deal would eliminate 99 percent of all tariffs, although some would be implemented over a time period and some, notably agricultural products, limited by quotas. Vietnam, for example, would cut its duty on EU car imports from 78 percent to zero over 10 years and for wines and spirits, from around 50 percent, over seven years. EU companies would also be able to bid for Vietnamese public contracts.

Vietnam, backed by robust exports and foreign investment, has already signed around a dozen free trade pacts to scrap, or cut, taxes on several imports and exports. The EU is Vietnam’s second-largest export market after the United States, with key exports including garment and footwear products. The EVFTA is the EU’s first comprehensive open markets deals with a developing Asian country.

In 2018, the US was the biggest export market, fourth-largest import supplier and the third-largest major trading partner of the Philippines. Philippine exports to the US increased by 9.13 per cent from $9.66 billion in 2017 to $10.54 billion in 2018 mainly due to an increase in exports of semiconductor devices manufactured from materials on consignment basis; other parts of airplanes or helicopters; photosensitive semiconductor devices; transistors, other than photosensitive transistors; and static converters.

Total bilateral trade was valued at $18.36 billion. One of the factors that contributed to the growth of Philippine exports is trade preference program or the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) granted by the US to the Philippines. Under US GSP program, tariffs are eliminated on about 5,000 tariff lines if beneficiary developing countries meet the eligibility criteria established by US Congress. GSP criteria include, among others, respecting arbitral awards in favor of US citizens or corporations, combating child labor, respecting internationally recognised worker rights, providing adequate and effective intellectual-property protection, and providing the US with equitable and reasonable market access.

Apparel exports from Mexico and Canada to the US declined during Jan-Feb ’19. US imports from these countries declined by 9.37 per cent and valued at $589 million against $649.92 million in the same period of prior year. The decline from Mexico was 10.28 per cent as export plunged to $498.62 million in the first two months of this year as compared to $555.62 million in the corresponding period last year.

On the other hand, Canada’s exports to the US fell by 4.11 per cent and clocked in $90.41 million as compared to $ 94.29 million in the same period of 2018. The fall in exports from Mexico and Canada was witnessed despite the close proximity of these countries with the USA.

On contrary, the US’ worldwide imports surged 5.12 per cent which signals a rising demand in the US apparel market. Amidst this demand, downturning export of Mexico and Canada is a worry as NAFTA agreement is still alive but is not helping these countries to gain a good chunk in the US apparel.

Karl Mayer will present state-of-the art technology and best-of-textile solutions for warp knitting, warp preparation and technical textiles at ITMA in Barcelona. The event, to be held from June 20-26, 2019 will include flexible, trendsetting machines with excellent cost: benefit ratios for use in warp knitting, innovations in warp sampling and direct warping for the warp preparation sector, a completely new machine for composite materials, and new products of the software trendsetter of the industry, KM.ON.

The ‘Future in Textiles’ forum will showcase well-thought-out textile solutions for modern living and highlight the most important trends of our times – digitisation and sustainability. Karl Mayer’s presentation will also include innovative warp preparation technology for processing high-quality yarns and display of exciting fabrics.

Karl Mayer, with its innovations, will forge a link from machine building, through applications, textiles and yarns, to the world of digitisation The company, with its holistic approach, will meet the demands of upheavals of our time. Its offers will make its buyers more confident of their future.

"Technology leaders such as Amazon, Deliveroo, Netflix, and Uber Technologies have raised customer expectations of speed and convenience. Amazon, through Prime offering, has created a system of same day delivery. Customers can now expect to get a taxi, watch a film, or receive a meal almost instantaneously and to make a choice based on an easy-to-assess interface or app."

Technology leaders such as Amazon, Deliveroo, Netflix, and Uber Technologies have raised customer expectations of speed and convenience. Amazon, through Prime offering, has created a system of same day delivery. Customers can now expect to get a taxi, watch a film, or receive a meal almost instantaneously and to make a choice based on an easy-to-assess interface or app.

However, fashion companies have failed to streamline customer decision process. They often struggle to shop based on their ideas, desires, or inspirations.

Customers inspired by external sources

One reason for fragmentation is change in the way consumers get inspired. A 2017 survey revealed, consumers are more likely to be inspired by external sources such as influencers, friends, and TV than by the brand or retailer. Around 41 per cent respondents relied on influencers and bloggers, compared to 20 per cent who put their faith in store employees.

This increasingly diverse nature of inspiration removes the direct connection between the idea and the item. Instead, consumers should seek the product they are looking for based on best guess of the right brand, description, season, or retailer. The key concern arises when the product is available for purchase before it is identified by the consumer. This frustrates his instant-gratification impulse, eliminating the opportunity to sell the product.

Cumbersome mobile sales process a concern

The average sales-conversion rates on desktop devices are around 3.2 per cent, while its 0.9 per cent on mobile devices. Reason: mobile consumer journey is not yet streamlined or compelling enough to inspire a purchase. Often, products are difficult to view on a small screen, or the checkout process is cumbersome and contains too many steps. In any case, the experience is not as seamless as it needs to be. This is a serious challenge for the fashion industry, especially given the relentless migration from desktop to mobile channels.

Emerging technologies help identify products

Some emerging technologies aid product identification, Social network, 21 Buttons, is designed to increase “shoppability” by enabling influencers to share shopping links to items they wear in posts. WeChat users are linked from blog posts directly to brands’ mini e-commerce sites, allowing them to purchase in one place without leaving the Chinese “mega-app.”

Visual search can be a particularly interesting proposition for the fashion industry in future. For instance, Screenshop enables users to take a screenshot or picture of “tops, skirts, shoes, etc,” and then shop similar items straight from their phones. Israeli company Syte.ai has also developed a visual tool serving some of the big high-street fashion names as clients.

Tools to drive sales

Larger fashion players and retailers are either developing tools in house or partnering with technology companies. ASOS, for example, has developed a Style Match search tool, and the company expects visual search to help drive a sales growth of 30 to 35 percent. eBay has launched an app that allows users to find items based on photos.

Amazon uses artificial intelligence to help people shop. Its Echo Look functionality can learn about an individual’s style and make recommendations based on what it sees. While many players are innovating in this space, no single player has captured mass customer adoption. 2019 will see clear signals of both how these tools will integrate into the day-to-day shopping experience for the average fashion consumer and which ones will succeed.

In its review of flammability standards for clothing textiles, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has proposed inclusion of spandex to the list of fabrics exempt from testing under the flammability standard. The agency is currently reviewing the dry cleaning procedure specified as part of the process for refurbishing plain and raised textile fabrics. The existing procedure calls for the solvent perchloroethylene which is one of the first 10 substances subject to risk evaluation under the reformed TSCA.

The CPSC is also reviewing the testing burden and cost of performing this dry cleaning procedure, and has asked for information on potential alternatives. General recommendations for how the agency can reduce the cost of testing requirements associated with it flammability standard for clothing textiles are also being accepted.

Jeanologia, leader in the development of sustainable and efficient technology, will present its new technological production model at Bangladesh Denim Expo. Capable of simplifying and streamlining workflow ‘from lab to bulk’, this innovative model is based on simplicity, efficiency, reproducibility. The process starts by selecting the correct fabric using the Light Sensitive Fabric Test. From there starts the design process using e-Mark 5, the most advanced laser design software; for the production to be completed with laser, G2 ozone and e-Flow. And lastly, it measures the environmental impact of the garment with the help of the EIM software.

Jeanologia, through this method, brings together software and hardware, facilitating the production process for businesses in Bangladesh. It integrates the whole technological process at one site allowing greater efficiency, obtaining a product that is fashionable as well as being ethical and environmentally responsible.