Textiles minister Smriti Zubin Irani says textile ministry has designed a policy framework to promote e-marketing of handloom products, under which any willing e-commerce platform with good track record can participate in online marketing of handloom products.

Accordingly, 23 e-commerce entities have participated in the online marketing of handloom products. The government has also decided to continue the RoSCTL (Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies) scheme until such time it is merged with Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme. For this purpose, the government has approved adhoc allocation of funds of Rs 7,398 crore for FY21 for issuance of duty credit scrips under RoSCTL.

Further, in order to boost exports in manmade fibre sector, the government has removed anti-dumping duty on PTA (Purified Terephtallic Acid), a key raw material for the manufacture of MMF fibre and yarn. Irani adds the National Textile Corporation (NTC) has been incurring operational losses since 2006- 2007 due to high input costs, high worker turnover, wage cost and less market competitiveness, among other reasons. She further said that despite infusion of huge funds, the corporation has not been operationally profitable

Under a revival scheme, the corporation spent Rs 5,500 crore to meet its various expenses like clearing up outstanding statutory dues, One Time Settlements (OTS) with Moreover, it spent an amount of Rs 1646.07 crore on modernization of its mills under the revival scheme.

Stephanie Phair, Chairman, British Fashion Council believes there is an opportunity for designers and businesses to reset and rebuild on better foundations. She urges the industry to negotiate business rate relief, rent relief, funding and loans with the government to help with cash flow issues. Phair, also the Chief Customer Officer at Farfetch, the luxury e-commerce platform, said COVID-19 has accelerated a lot of the conversations that had been happening in the industry before. According to her, both the designer sector and the high street will have to adapt to this new reality and be even more creative

Phair believes high street should create sustainable products at a good price points. The fashion industry must face up to the fact that it is a large contributor to carbon emissions including on production, waste and transportation, which all still need to be addressed, she says.

Despite all the challenges the industry is facing from the COVID-19 crisis and Brexit, Phair is confident of a bright future for the British fashion industry.

The second Denimsandjeans Virtual Show will be held from October 14-15 with 'Cloud Sourcing' as its theme. The show will cover the US, South America, and European time zones this time. The show is expected to bring some of the biggest names in the industry as speakers and panelists. They will share their thoughts on new development and innovations happening in the industry and also the changes they witnessed during the pandemic.

The first edition of Denimsandjeans Virtual Show in July exhibited collections of global denim companies. Internationally acclaimed denim experts shared their thoughts and ideas during the two-day show via different denim talks and panel discussions.

The speakers included: Adriano Goldschmied, Stefano Aldighieri, Beau Lawrence, Jean Hegedus, Maurizio Donadi, Tricia Carey, Andrea Venier, CarLucia Rosin, Ebru Debagg, Ani Wells, Dr. Dilek Erik, Dr. Naresh Tyagi and Neha Celly.

Aldighieri and Donadi discussed the 'State of Retail in Apparel Industry.' They shared their thoughts on the upcoming and existing challenges for the retailers in the apparel industry due to the ongoing pandemic. They also talked about the consumer behavior and other factors leading to bringing a paradigm shift in overall attitude of consumers and their buying habits.

Known for its womenswear and menswear, American retailer J Crew has exited from the UK market. The retailer has closed all its six stores across the country. The debt ridden company was unable to keep pace with fast-changing fashion trends. The onslaught of the pandemic in March further broke its spine, forcing it to liquidate its UK business. Though the retailer tried to restructure its business in May 2020, it could not succeed at the attempt.

After exiting the UK market, the fashion retailer plans serve its customers across the country through its global digital platform.

Earlier this month, J Crew emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy with Anchorage Capital Group, LLC becoming its majority owner. The retailer now has $ 400 million in capital through a term loan due in 2027 and another $400 million via asset-backed loan due in 2025.

As per a Sourcing Journal report, Applied DNA Sciences has entered into a supply agreement with ITW Pillar Technologies for its CertainT platform. As per the agreement, Applied DNA will supply SigNature molecular tags and SigNify in-field authentication devices to Pillar for use on materials and products treated with Pillar’s patented plasma deposition technology. These materials and products will carry Applied DNA’s CertainT trademark, representing authenticity, origin, traceability, sustainability and quality.

The deal will help Pillar prevent counterfeit personal protective equipment (PPE) from entering the healthcare supply chain. The company will train its personnel in the application of molecular tags and use of the in-field authentication systems.

Pillar will incorporate SigNature molecular tags into textiles including, but not limited to, polypropylene, cotton, recycled polyester, nylon, wool and viscose for the manufacture of products, including those used in producing PPE. All tagged materials and products will be tracked via CertainT’s cloud-based portal for ease of access by Pillar and its customers.

Conforming to the old saying, everything happens for the better, the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked an interest amongst luxury consumers for products focusing on greater craftsmanship, points out Kayla Marci, Market Analyst, Edited. Brands offering conscious and ethical products are gaining more popularity for the value they offer compared to traditional luxury brands, says a Womens Wear Daily (WWD) report.

Growing emphasis on quality

The industry is moving towards slow fashion movement that emphasizes on quality and durability of the product. It aims to minimize waste of all kinds and maximize social impact. The movement advises brands to put a brake on production that does not conform to demand.

One of the leaders of slow fashion movement is brand Agua by designer Agua Bendita. Founded in 2018, the luxury ready-to-wear brand plans to slow down its fashion cycle and launch only two collections every year. The brand plans to work at a more organic pace to reduce its impact on the environment. Its aim is to have more time to boost creativity.

A new beginning

As per Lyst’s 2020 Conscious Fashion Report , over the last 12 months slow fashion has generated more than 90 million social impressions which suggests the beginning of a shift in consumers’ shopping behaviors. For example, Sika, a brand founded by Ghanaian designer Phyllis Taylor which makes handmade and made to order garments in Ghana. Taylor started by producing a handful of garments at a time before ordering more accordingly. She later moved to an online-only model and only made garments on order. This helped achieve zero waste besides giving her space to customize garments as per demand.

The uptick in Sika’s orders prompted the brand to alert customers about the delay in payments. However, customers are willing to wait for their orders. The brand has gained 35,000 followers on Instagram which proves, though slow fashion may take time to work, artisan luxury brands will lead this change.

Growing economic uncertainty with ongoing pandemic has made apparel makers skeptical about unsold inventory. And to avoid future losses, they now prefer to make clothes only on pre-paid orders, says a Business of Fashion report. For example, Stòffa, a Manhattan-based producer of classic luxury menswear, which now makes garments only after they are paid for. This helps generate around 90 per cent of its revenue besides eliminating the risk of holding unsold inventory.

To build its business, Stoffa had to first establish a good relationship with Italian manufacturers and suppliers. Then, it had to build a client base through own network and trunk shows across cities. Finally, it had to hire and train sales people to help fit clients for garments in a convincing and authoritative way. As 90 per cent of products are made-to-measure, consumers are willing to wait for their orders to complete. However, this has slowed the company’s pace of annual growth. While in some years, it has grown by upto 70 per cent; in others, it has recorded just 25 to 30 per cent annual growth.

Pandemic worsens inventory issues

One of the biggest problems the fashion industry faces today is that excess inventory that costs the US around $50 billion a year, comments Haley Smith Recer, Retail Consultant. Pandemic-induced lockdowns and a recession in 2020 have left retailers with much more inventory than usual. However, it’s not just the unsold inventory that’s the problem, the costs associated with inventory is also an issue.

In a trend-driven sector like fashion, it is impossible to align supply with demand as the brand has to place bets on a product almost nine months before it hits the market. In the past, it was considered a good thing for a brand to have some excess inventory at the end of each season. However as the pressure for revenue grew over time, brands resorted to markdowns to drive volume.

Production softwares like PlatformE were introduced to smoothen logistical issues of made-to-order brands. The platform currently has 17 brands including Pyer Moss and Tucker. It allows designers to develop new products without betting their own cash on the end result.

Greater collaboration on components

Stanley Szeto, Executive Chairman, Lever Style points out, one of the biggest challenges in getting brands to convert to a lower-inventory model are the restrictions on fabrics. Viewing factories as partners can help brands negotiate better rates on materials. John Thorbeck, Chairman, Chainge Capital advises brands to collaborate and cooperate on the components required for finished goods to create flexibility, which in turn creates value to be shared among partners.

Katie Demo, Chief Executive, Brass’ factory in China has adapted to brand’s need for inventory. It plans to sell a certain number of units each year. For this, they first determine inventory requirement at the beginning of the year. The brand pays more per piece than ordered everything in advance, but it’s worthwhile if more garments are sold at full price.

Shan Reddy, Financial Consultants, advises brands to rethink the base of their production. This can help local manufacturers turn things around quickly. Indeed the pandemic offers brands an opportunity to rejigger operations.

Messe Frankfurt has decided to run the Heimtextil expo concurrently with Techtextil and Texprocess. Originally scheduled from January. 04-07, the show will now be held from May 04-07. It will take place alongside Techtextil and Texprocess in Frankfurt.

Joining Heimtextil with the two other textile fairs will present visitors with the entire textile value chain at the same time on the Frankfurt exhibition grounds.

For the first time, Messe Frankfurt will make its Nextrade digital marketplace available to customers of Heimtextil, Christmasworld and Creativeworld to extend their physical trade fair participation and allow orders to be placed all year round.

The digital B2B marketplace for the Home & Living sector matches supply and demand. Ambiente, Tendence and Nordstil have been using the portal and its ordering and data management services since 2019.

In another shift, the Ambiente, Christmasworld and Paperworld shows will be making a once-only appearance as a joint event in Frankfurt am Main from April 17-20 as the International Consumer Goods Show – Special Edition. The physical event will be actively supplemented with digital offerings as part of Consumer Goods Digital Days, which will also be home to the purely digital Creativeworld, an event that is taking a one year hiatus as a physical meeting place in 2021.

To be held from September 23-25, 2020, in Shanghai, Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics – Autumn Edition will welcome 3,400 exhibitors from 20 countries and regions. Along with pavilions and dedicated product zones, the inaugural Hybrid Showcase will allow exhibitors who cannot attend the fair, to showcase their products in a designated display area.

Along with the international pavilions, the eight exhibition halls spanning over 200,000 square meters will also include a number of product zones and group pavilions. The comprehensive product zones includes Accessories Vision, Beyond Denim, Premium Wool Zone, Verve for Design, All About Sustainability and Functional Lab. A wide range of innovative exhibitors will feature in this year’s Group Pavilions which includes Button & Garment Accessories Industry Chamber (Hong Kong), DuPont Trading (China), Ecocert (China), Hyosung group (Korea), Lycra (USA), KTC (Korea), Lenzing Fibers (Hong Kong), and Oeko-Tex Pavilion (Switzerland).

The ITM 2021 Exhibition will be held between June 22-26 2021 in Istanbul. The exhibition will enable textile machinery manufacturers to also be known internationally ITM 2021 Exhibition to be held between 22 and 26 June 2021.

The Turkish textile industry has increased its textile exports unlike many countries during the pandemic. The Turkish companies, which engaged in the production of high-quality masks and protective textiles in hygienic conditions, by using the advantages of early delivery due to Turkey’s geographical position have become an alternative compared to the companies in China. They have also become important for European countries, which have turned their route to nearby producers for supply.

Turkey’s most important export product in the January–June 2020 period was technical textiles. This product group, which constitutes 27.2 percent of total textile exports, achieved an increase of 43.9 percent compared to the same period of last year and reached the level of $1.1 billion. The export of technical textile products in June was calculated as $318 million with an increase of 202 percent.