Bangladesh’s export earnings from the UK during the first half of the current fiscal year rose by 3.16 per cent. The slowdown in the UK economy due to uncertainty over Brexit is seen as a reason for such a sluggish export growth. In the last fiscal year, Bangladesh’s export earnings from the UK rose by 11.76 per cent. In the earlier fiscal export growth to the UK was 12.63 per cent. Bangladesh’s exports to the United Kingdom are likely to go up by ten per cent if the UK is ultimately forced to leave the European Union without a deal.

The EU has granted UK a six-month extension to Brexit. The new deadline is October 31. China has been projected to be the largest gainer of a no-deal Brexit. The second biggest winner would be the United States. Japan can also expect to gain. A no-deal Brexit is also expected to result in increased imports into the UK from Thailand, South Africa, India, Brazil, the Russian Federation, Vietnam and New Zealand, among others. The largest losses would accrue to the EU countries, given that they are the most economically integrated with the UK. Turkey, South Korea, Pakistan, Norway, Iceland, Cambodia and Switzerland are also at risk of seeing a decline in their exports.

Accord has been allowed by the Supreme Court to stay on in Bangladesh till May 19, 2019. After that an appeal filed by Accord challenging a high court judgment that asked the agency to stop its activities in Bangladesh will be heard.

Accord’s tenure, of more than 200 retailers formed to enhance garment factory safety in Bangladesh after the Rana Plaza collapse in April 2013, originally ended in May last year. The platform of mostly Europe-based retailers has been insisting on a three-year extension to see through the remediation works in its 1600 sourcing factories -- a demand that the government and garment factory owners are not willing to entertain. Pressure has been mounting on Bangladesh to let Accord continue operations.

Nearly 200 investors and the Clean Clothes Campaign have been spearheading demands for an extension of Accord’s tenure and have called upon global partners to coerce action against Bangladesh on the Accord issue. But apparel industry leaders are unwilling to let it stay on in Bangladesh any longer. They say Accord has forced many of them to undergo expensive remediation work, but even after such expensive remediation work, buyers, though they are happy with the compliance work, are not paying a fair sum to enable factories to recover their costs.

Home Expo Inida 2019 the three in one exhibition comprising of Housewares and Decoratives, Furnishings, Floorings and Textiles and Furniture and Accessories opened today at India Expo Centre and Mart, Greater Noida.

Shri O.P. Prahladka, Chairman- EPCH, Shri Ravi K. Passi, Vice Chairman-EPCH, Shri Rakesh Kumar, Director General-EPCH and prominent members of committee of administration were present during inauguration ceremony.

On the occasion of opening of Home Expo India 2019, Shri O.P. Prahladka, Chairman – EPCH said that the show is in response to the industry demand and International trend of organizing sector specific shows enabling better focus on specific requirements of buyers and is much appreciated by International visitors who can concentrate on products they are looking for without getting lost in the myriad of products, services and exhibitors.

Home Expo India covers sectors with maximum thrust and growth potential in home décor, furnishing, furniture, flooring, and textiles. About 500 companies in permanent marts will be exhibiting their collection under these categories at the state of the art India Expo Centre & Mart from 16 – 18 April, 2019.

Home Expo India is concentrating on select exhibitors, premium products and thoughtfully invited buyers. This obviously leads one to think that whole exercise of Home Expo India is very methodical, scientific and selective and hoped this kind of approach will yield very good results informed Shri Rakesh Kumar, Director General – EPCH. He further added that buyers from more than 50 countries shall be visiting which included buyers from traditional markets of USA and Europe and buyers from countries like Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, UAE, Lebanon, Iran, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Vietnam, Romania and many more have also confirmed their participation. The fair organisers of the show met with some of the foreign buyers after inauguration ceremony to have their view about the show as well as their visit to India.

Shri Kumar further continued and said that Furniture & accessories have shown growth of about 27.13% in exports and houseware and decorative have shown 15.19% growth, Home furnishing, flooring and home textiles have shown growth of 6.3% in last year.

During Home Expo India, a thematic display of the North Eastern region and other artisans will also attract the visitors during the three day show.

The Handicrafts exports during the year 2018-19 is Rs. 26,590.25 crores [prov.] registering a growth of 15.46% over the previous year. said Shri Rakesh Kumar, ED – EPCH.

EPCH is the nodal export promotion body for handicrafts in India and plays an important role of a catalyst between the exporters, buyers and the Government with the main objective of boosting trade in Handicrafts and also project India’s image in the global market as a reliable supplier.

"Fast Fashion is losing its sheen with brands not only stepping up their ethical standards of production but also implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies to transform their business processes. These initiatives are fructifying with brands witnessing bonus uplift in consumer loyalty."

Fast Fashion is losing its sheen with brands not only stepping up their ethical standards of production but also implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies to transform their business processes. These initiatives are fructifying with brands witnessing bonus uplift in consumer loyalty.

Facing labor and waste disposal issues In order to reduce their manufacturing costs and increase sales volumes, brands hire cheap labor to produce trendy garments made of inexpensive materials. These garments, designed to last only for a season or two, require brands to maintain a large global manufacturing network of low-paid workers. These workers are often forced to work long hours for meager pay, while enduring deplorable conditions. This is a particularly the case with brands that outsource their manufacturing to the developing world.

Fast Fashion brands also need to keep up with the retail trends, which require a huge amount of natural resources. However, this also creates substantial waste. The materials used in creating these designs increase pollution, be it the use of toxic chemical dyes to create brightly coloured swimwear, or the manufacture of polyester clothing.

Kirsten Brodde’s Greenpeace initiated the Detox My Fashion campaign in 2011 to tackle the use of hazardous chemicals in textile manufacturing. But while the Detox campaign tackles ecological issues during the production process, the environmental damage caused by disposal of unsold clothes is not dealt with.

Another issue that needs attention is the disposal of unsold goods. British brand Burberry burned over £28m (€32.2m) worth of clothes and perfumes, in July 2018. This results in waste of the time and resources taken to manufacture products, it also harmful chemicals in the environment.

Seeking sustainable solutions

As demonstrated by a number of leading European brands, the issues of labor and waste can be tackled with the introduction of a CSR programme. German retailer Armed Angels, for instance, not only uses organic Fairtrade cotton in its products, it also pays a fair wage to all of its farmers, and never employs anyone under the age of 18. Similarly, Swedish retailer H&M, one of the original proponents of CSR policy, collected 17,771 tons of textiles through its garment reuse and recycling initiative in 2017 – the equivalent of 89 million T-shirts.

Smaller start-up brands can build sustainability into all of their business processes and account for CSR spend in their profit margins right since their inception as they supervise their supply chains thoroughly. These brands are more likely to develop long-term, trusting relationships with their suppliers. However, regardless of its size, a brand that implements a robust CSR policy is expected to receive a positive reaction from its customers.

Changing attitude to tackle issues

The demand for sustainable clothing is negatively impacted by the consumer’s demand for fast fashion. The fast fashion industry, therefore, needs to change its trend-driven mindset. This change will boost individual sustainability policies besides tackling the issue of waste disposal. It will give rise to a new generation ethical brands who will proudly display their achievements to consumers; irrespective of the profits they earn.

This year, women’s footwear sales are slated for a steady year on year revenue growth of just under four per cent. Women’s footwear manufacturers will discover potential growth opportunities over coming years. Rubber owing to its high endurance and versatility remains a preferred material for women’s footwear over other material types such as leather, velvet, plastic, and textiles. Plastic is positioned as the second most favored base material for women’s footwear.

The future belongs to fast lifestyle retailers adapting to the online structure. Sustainable value chain including online operators will be the best asset for manufacturers. Eco-friendly material alternatives are emerging rapidly, though currently confined to a premium market segment. Sports shoes and casual shoes account for a more than 50 per cent share in the total market value. Startups in comfortable sneakers and athletic shoes will attract remarkable funds from venture investors. Customization is trending in the women’s footwear landscape. Therapeutic women’s footwear holds a promising outlook. Sports shoes dominate women’s footwear. Sneakers have huge sales potential in the casual shoes category.

North America remains the largest regional shareholder in the global revenue of women’s footwear landscape. Asia Pacific and western Europe are the next key markets for manufacturers and distributors of women’s footwear.

The US is preparing a list of European Union products on which it intends to impose retaliatory tariffs in response to the European subsidies given to Airbus. The preliminary list includes certain new aircraft and aircraft parts, seafood, yogurt, butter, cheese, citrus fruits, virgin olive oil, wine, printed books, threads, carpets and other textiles, men’s and women’s apparel, iron and steel articles, such as nails, and parts and accessories of bicycles.

This new round of planned tariffs stems from a World Trade Organization ruling last May, which found that Boeing rival Airbus had received illegal funding for several of its aircraft models. In the dispute, which began in 2004, the United States argued that the EU gave Airbus billions of dollars of launch aid that resulted in an unfair advantage for Airbus. Specifically, the United States asserted that the aid allowed Airbus to gain market share in Europe, Australia, China, South Korea, and elsewhere. In response, the European Union announced that it was also readying a list of tariffs to counter US subsidies to Boeing.

The proposed imposition of new tariffs comes amid tense trade relations between the United States and the EU. Continued threats from the United States to impose auto tariffs, along with the corresponding threats from the EU in retaliation, are further exacerbating the situation.

Japan is the largest investor in Vietnam. Around 65.3 per cent of the 723 Japanese companies in Vietnam recorded high profits in 2018. Competitive human resources, economic and market growth, and a dynamic society are factors that make Vietnam an attractive destination for Japanese firms to develop their business in future. The market scale and growth are the greatest advantages of Vietnam’s investment environment. Other positive factors include low labor cost and political stability. Given China’s goal of moving away from low-end manufacturing, and the rising labor costs in China, this will likely see much of Japanese direct investments shift to countries like Vietnam, which boasts a relatively cheap and educated labor force alongside a large and growing working class population. China still accounts for 11.6 per cent of Japan’s total outbound FDI as compared to just 2.1 per cent for Vietnam.

Japan’s initiative to move its investments to the Mekong region nations will likely see Vietnam receiving a significant part of the funds, particularly if these investments are in lower-end manufacturing. Japanese investment in Vietnam’s non-manufacturing industries, such as retail, wholesale, IT, professional support and education, may increase, fuelled by the rising growth of Vietnam’s consumption market.

Australia is a market with high purchasing power and stability. Vietnam and Australia are both members of CPTPP, which will help promote trade and expand the scale of investment and cooperation between the two sides in the future. Although each side has its own potential, strengths and a variety of commodities, the value of Vietnam’s exports to Australia is still modest. The main products shipped from Vietnam to Australia are footwear and cashew nuts. However Australia is one of the most fastidious importers in the world. The room for exporting Vietnamese products is still vast but not for all types of products.

Consumer numbers are also smaller than other traditional export markets. Vietnamese enterprises needed to study carefully to penetrate the market by focusing on agricultural products such as dragon fruit, mango and key export products such as textiles, computers, wooden furniture and telephones. There is strong competition in the import and retail areas in Australia. Vietnamese firms need to build long-term business strategies which focus on product introduction and branding, trust creation and relationships to approach Australia’s retail system.

Australia is one of the 20 largest economies in the world, with outstanding potential in science and technology, mineral exploitation, high-quality services and agricultural products.

Sustainable fashion is not just disrupting conventional notions about fashion but also drastically changing the way we live. Sustainable fashion started off with a few entrepreneurs globally looking at ways to reduce waste while designing apparel and then slowly took the form of an approach that designers or consumers, for that matter, decided to abide by. It is about being conscious of the environment and the resources at hand, and making clothes in an eco-friendly manner.

Recycling/upcycling of garments as opposed to purchasing newly produced clothes also forms part of making sustainable fashion choices. Environmentally-unfriendly behavior costs the global economy 160 billion dollars each year, which makes it all the more imperative for garment manufacturers and consumers to make conscious choices while styling.

Among the latest trends in sustainable fashion are cutting waste and saving animals to creating sustainable fashion fibers and vegan biodegradable leather. Peru-based Le Qara has come up with Lab Leather, which is formed using microorganisms derived from flowers and fruits grown in a biotech lab. The process makes it possible to ape any desired leather texture and is 100 per cent biodegradable. Another technology offers an ID which can be attached to the garments so that consumers know what they are buying and how they can best recycle the item once they no longer want to wear it.

The global sewing thread market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.6 per cent between 2019 and 2025. Apparel and footwear industries are driving the thread market. More and more consumers are buying garments at lower prices in both developed and developing economies, which is also propelling the global sewing thread industry. The significantly high production of affordable apparel globally is anticipated to further fuel the sewing thread market in future.

The global sewing thread market is segmented into natural and synthetic. The natural segment is sub-segmented into cotton, silk, wool etc. The synthetic segment includes rayon, polyester, nylon etc. In terms of revenue, the synthetic segment dominated the market in 2018 due to its advantages such as superior resistance to chemicals, tenacity, and higher abrasion resistance. In terms of application, the market is segmented into apparel, footwear, bedding and mattress, luggage and bags, and others. The apparel segment dominated the sewing thread market in 2018 in terms of revenue, due to the growing apparel and garment industry globally.

The European apparel industry is anticipated to show significant growth in future owing to constantly changing fashion trends and the popularity of sports and athletic footwear across the region.