Microplastic pollution is a major problem for the environment. As much as 311 million tons of plastics were produced in 2014, and those numbers are expected to double or triple in the next 50 to 60 years. Only 14 per cent of annual plastic production is recovered and just two per cent is recycled in a closed-loop fashion. Another 72 per cent is unrecovered and either goes directly to landfills or escapes recovery systems altogether. And a lot of that winds up in lakes, rivers, oceans and communities globally.

Plastics dumped in the waterways don’t stay there. They make their way back to humans and animals through the food chain and the environment. Textiles shed in home laundering are among the largest contributors of microplastic pollution. While 99 per cent of microplastic materials are captured at wastewater treatment facilities, billions of plastic particles are reaching the aquatic environment.

All fabrics shed microfibers. Textile design plays a very important role in the process. In general, natural fibers shed more than polyester or nylon. Cellulosic-based fibers shed more microfibers that does polyester. On the other hand, cotton and rayon, both cellulosic, biodegrade in water at a rapid pace, whereas polyester has virtually no degradation.

Finnish clothing brands rank low in terms of climate, environment and human rights transparency says ethical trade NGO Eetti. While some companies fare better than others, every brand can do better. Eetti utilized a set of international criteria maintained by consumer community Rank a Brand, which ranks companies into five categories (A-E) based on how clearly brands include responsibility clauses on their official websites and in their other PR. A total of 23 Finnish clothing brands were ranked against 1,500 other international companies.

The best-ranked Finnish brand is children’s clothing company Papu, the only firm to make it into the B category (on track towards sustainability). The next category (On its way, but can do better) includes companies Sail & Ski and Vimma. These brands all produce their products either solely in Finland or in some other low-risk countries.

The vast majority of brands fall into the lowest two categories. Category D (should do better) includes Noom, Lindex, Marimekko, By Pia's, House, Mywear, Nosh and R-Collection. The lowest category, E (Better put your wallet away), holds Halti, Reima, Nanso, Pola, Peak Performance, Sasta, Gugguu, Luhta, Makia, Rukka, Torstai and Your Face.

However, most companies consider openness and responsibility important, at least on the surface.

India’s leading polyester yarn player Filatex’s profits have been growing at a CAGR of 84 per cent in the last three years. The company has been expanding capacity. Current ebidta margins stand at nine per cent and expecting to grow at 12 per cent after the commissioning of new power plant at Dahej. This will increase profitability. Currently exports contribute to 20 per cent of the company’s overall revenues. Filatex currently exports to 40 countries and is experiencing a good demand from countries like Brazil, Bangladesh and Egypt.

Filatex is a pioneer manufacturer of monofilament yarns for zippers, toothbrush bristles, velcro, magic fasteners and forming fabrics in India. FIL manufactures specialty polyester filament yarns, which have a high value addition as compared to normal denier synthetic yarns. One of the specialty yarns which Filatex manufactures is micro denier polyester filament yarn.

Polyester is considered the fiber of the future. Demand for polyester is increasing as demand for athlesiure, sports and yoga wear is increasing across the world. The fiber is used in apparels, women’s wear and under garments, home textiles and furnishings and sportswear. Currently China supplies 75 per cent of the world’s polyester yarn production. India caters to ten per cent of the world’s demand.

The meteoric rise of fast fashion is proving to be toxic for the environment. Fast fashion is the business of quickly turning around new collections, often at lower prices to encourage consumption. Twenty-five million pounds of clothing are thrown out in the US a year, and most of it has not reached its usable life. Linear systems use large quantities of nonrenewable resources, and more than half of these styles get tossed within a year. The apparel and footwear industries together account for more than eight per cent of global climate impacts. Total greenhouse gas emissions related to textiles production are equal to 1.2 billion tons annually -- more than those of all international flights and maritime shipping trips combined.

Circular fashion is catching up fast. It refers to extending the lifecycle of well-made garments and recycling their materials into new items. This trend is gaining traction as both designers and consumers become increasingly aware of the toll linear clothing production takes on the environment. Fashion’s carbon impact is much larger than the industry’s GDP.

Designers are working on timeless pieces intended to outlast trends, working with environmentally friendly fabrics and mills. Prizing variety, affordability and sustainability, consumers are increasingly choosing to rent rather than own goods outright.

US women purchased 22 million more jeans in 2018 than in 2017. Off-price unit and dollar sales are both up nearly 30 per cent, representing 17 per cent of unit sales and driving the majority of women’s jeans growth. But the emphasis on quantity and discounting means marketers need to find new ways to inspire the women’s jeans consumer and deliver product that compels them to take their purchase to the next level.

Specialty store channels account for more than a third of annual sales in women’s jeans. The category experienced unit growth of six per cent. In-store sales account for 80 per cent of women’s jeans sold. However, growth is coming from the online channel. The number of women’s jeans purchased online increased 32 per cent in the past year. The average online annual spend per buyer on women’s jeans was four per cent higher than last year.

The allure of denim rests on traditional values like price and quantity. In contrast the athleisure category, which represents 24 per cent of the total apparel industry, is riding a wave of momentum that’s accelerated by relaxed dress codes, fabric innovations and celebrity collaborations. The recent growth in women’s jeans is good news for the industry—women want to wear more than just leggings and yoga pants.

Customers in the US looking for plus sized clothing are often disappointed. For one not too many brands make clothing above size 16. And even if they do they don’t present the entire wardrobe. Some may make only T-shirts and not pants.

The reality is that there’s money to be made in catering to overweight people especially women. It makes business sense for designers to expand their size offerings since there’s a large market of people who would like to dress themselves in interesting clothes and in new fashions and ethical materials.

Plus size clothing sales represented around 17.5 per cent of all women’s clothing sales in the US in 2016. Plus size fashion is here to stay and has already conquered the hearts and budgets of many in the apparel industry. Spending on this niche is on the rise and so are the opportunities for retailers wanting to tap into the 46 billion dollar opportunity. E-commerce contributes to the growth of plus size fashion primarily because of ease of access, size availability and convenience that it provides. While one size does not fit all, and standard sizes for all is one of the major challenges to the segment, personalization is further leading to the success of many brands.

The alpaca fiber market is witnessing high growth mainly due to the upsurge in demand for alpaca fiber fleeces and other types of fashion accessories made with alpaca fiber. Alpaca clothing is warm, soft and extremely comfortable. Alpaca fiber is witnessing a greater demand over wool in the textile industry being a natural fiber that provides more warmth minus the scratchy texture of wool.

As the trend of offering highly sustainable and eco-friendly garments and accessories is gaining popularity, alpaca fiber market is growing at a rapid pace with the surging demand for warm and soft alpaca fiber.

While the alpaca fiber market is expanding at an impressive growth rate, market players are aiming at producing alpaca fiber with even better quality to attract more consumers. As high genetic merits can lead to producing large quantities of high-quality alpaca fiber, manufacturers in the alpaca fiber market are putting efforts into providing nutritious feed to alpacas. Nutrition makes a significant impact on the health and reproduction capabilities of alpacas and ultimately helps obtain softer and high-quality alpaca fiber. Leading manufacturers and distributors in the alpaca fiber market are investing heftily in alpaca nutrition in order to be able to offer the finest quality of alpaca fiber and gain a competitive edge in the alpaca fiber market.

Adidas has made Futurecraft.Loop, a performance running shoe out of thermoplastic polyurethane. It is 100 per cent recyclable. The technology allows the entire shoe to be ground up, melted back into raw material, and used for new products. Like most running sneakers, the shoe is a jumble of textures. It has a knit upper that looks and feels like woven polyester, except in spots where it turns into a more rigid material to provide support. The midsole is fused pellets, resembling styrofoam. A stabilizing torsion bar in the midsole is a hard, molded plastic, while the outsole is tough but flexible. The laces replicate the look of cloth, and the insole has a knit pattern on the top but a material like pressed plastic pellets on the underside.

Today, the average performance running sneaker uses 12 to 15 different materials. That material mix is part of the reason a running shoe can’t be easily recycled. The materials would all have to be separated, or one might contaminate the recycling process of another. It’s not even possible to separate certain fiber blends, and some items, such as cotton, can’t yet be recycled without a substantial loss in quality.

The challenge of making a running shoe from a single polymer is that it needs to replicate the functions and performance of all those other materials replaced. That’s what Adidas has done on the Futurecraft.Loop.

The global textile market is expanding at a CAGR of 4.24 per cent. Population growth, rising disposable income levels, and rapid urbanization in developing countries like China, India, and Mexico are likely to boost product demand. Moreover, an increasing number of supermarkets and retail outlets in these countries is expected to drive the demand further.

Development of technical textiles that offer protection against high temperatures, electric arc flash discharge, molten metal impact, and acid environment is estimated to fuel the textile market growth. Therefore, the growing personal protective equipment market is expected to drive demand for textile products.

Middle East and Africa are projected to witness a revenue growth of 4.19 per cent from 2019 to 2025 owing to constant product innovations in the apparels application segment. Asia Pacific is expected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast years. Cotton is the most widely used raw material in the global textile industry owing to its excellent durability and resistance to dust mite and hypoallergenic property. In terms of volume, polyester held a market share of 28.04 per cent in 2018 and will grow further owing to its properties such as high strength and excellent shrink resistance.

The Heya Arabian Fashion Exhibition will be held in Qatar from April 26 to 30, 2019. It will feature over 250 brands from 11 countries and include 20 fashion shows. Participating countries will include Oman, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, China, Belgium, and England. The show provides an enriching event for lovers of Arabian fashion, whether designers, shoppers or businesswomen.

The Heya Arabian Fashion Exhibition will feature an Indian pavilion to promote Indian designers. Three Indian designers will take part. Suneet Varma will make his Qatar debut. Varma will also partake in workshops talks throughout the event on fashion, textiles, and sustainability. Pero, 3 Clothing, and SR will showcase their latest collections.

Sales of apparel at many outlets in Qatar, especially those in value retail, remain strong. Apart from citizens, shoppers from Kuwait and Oman buy shirts, blouses, undershirts, shorts, and pants. Ramadan is known as a peak period for clothing retailers. Qatar Summer Festival features a variety of entertainment activities for all ages and attractive promotions and discounts at malls and other shopping destinations. Shop Qatar Design District brings a colorful showcase of local and international pop-up shops, cafes, fashion shows, workshops, master classes as well as engaging design dialogue, all under one roof.