Italian denim mill Candiani emphasizes sustainable products. Candiani Denim is a frontrunner in the birth of the premium denim category. Candiani’s latest development, called ReLast, is a GOTS- and GRS-certified denim line made with a custom made recycled elastomer developed by Roica, the maker of the world’s first recycled elastomer. In the case of the Roica collaboration, Candiani was able to replace a dual core spun yarn with a single core recycled elastomer. The result is a recycled product that gives the garment a higher value and really exceptional performance. German brand Closed, a denim pioneer in and of itself, will be the first brand to adopt the sustainable fabric into its collection beginning this fall.

Candiani always tries to source as local as possible in order to reduce its carbon footprint. Roica’s recycled elastomer is made in Germany. Closed is one of the rare brands in the fashion industry that produces its collections 100 per cent in Italy. The biodegradable elastomer eliminates all the toxins from chemicals used in traditional elastomers. At the end of its life, Roica’s yarn breaks down without having any harmful substances coming out of the yarn or into the soil, This is a healthy, environmentally-friendly yarn that can be recycled into the circular economy.

Brands can no longer resort to short-term contracts for garment workers in Cambodia. A legal clarification it makes it clear that, aside from an initial probationary period, those who have served for two years or more are entitled to contract upgrades, to permanent positions with bonuses and benefits.

Workers on short-term contracts are seen as less likely to be involved in unions, to report abuses, or to push back against bosses racing to meet rising production targets, for fear of losing their job. Under increased scrutiny as the world becomes informed of abuse faced by workers in fashion supply chains, Cambodia’s garment sector has been overhauled in recent years. But as salaries and standards rise, so do production targets as factories look to offset increased costs. Threats of contract non-renewal are used to force workers into working regular overtime, meeting excessive production targets and from engaging in independent trade unionism. Short-term contracts mean that as soon as a worker is brave enough to stand up for their rights, they can be silenced.

The garment industry is a pillar of Cambodia’s economy, accounting for 40 per cent of gross domestic product and employing more than seven lakh people, mostly women. But it is rife with labor and human rights violations.

The 2019 Personalisation Report says, brands are taking steps toward making mass customisation of their offerings. The report, created by Sourcing Journal in partnership with Lectra surveyed
308 people across the apparel, accessories and footwear industries to find out what investments and adaptations clothing manufacturers need to undertake in order to make personalisation a possibility.

Almost half respondents, 49.2 per cent, are already creating smaller production runs to better serve market needs, and 42 percent have secured factories with quick-turn abilities. They’re undertaking other initiatives to prep, too: 40 percent are manufacturing closer to market and 32.6 percent are shortening development timelines through digitisation.

Around a third of respondents, 30.9 percent, said converting to mass personalisation is on their to-do lists within the next five years. Those companies are focusing first on product development tools, then factories. Of the companies that have already made strides, 34.9 percent said they’ve identified manufacturing facilities that are prepared to make personalized goods. Just over 27 percent are investing in product development tools, and 24 percent feel they’ve determined how to make the model profitable.

Predictions for when customisation would become mainstream varied, with 37 percent of respondents estimating it will take four to five years, 22.4 percent guessing six to nine years, and 20.8 percent reporting it will take only two to three years for these models to be the norm.

Ludhiana is grappling with a severe labor shortage. Migrants have yet to return from their native places, resulting in production losses to the industry. The migrant workforce in Ludhiana constitutes over 70 per cent of the total workforce in manufacturing industry. There are over eight lakh migrants in Ludhiana, including women and children. As the industry is heavily dependent on migrant workforce, their absence has hit production by at least 30 per cent. Over one lakh units across all sectors such as manufacturers of auto parts, hand tools, cycle parts, spinning mills and garment manufacturers have been affected by the labor shortage. Night shifts have been discontinued. Orders are not executed on time.

Ludhiana is a hub for knitwear and has around 5000 units with a majority of them in the medium and small scale sector. Ludhiana and its surrounding area is the headquarters for several renowned Indian and global apparel brands and also home to thousands of knitting, spinning and weaving units as well as garment manufacturing units. The northern region is one of the biggest Indian hubs for manufacturing textiles and apparel. Rising imports of manmade fiber textiles from China have Ludhiana upset. These imports attract low duty.

The 19th International Exhibition on Textile Industry (ShanghaiTex 2019), to be held from November 25-28, 2019, will feature over 1,200 exhibitors. The exhibition, at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre in Shanghai, will showcase a range of intelligent textile machinery and innovative eco-friendly materials, helping the enterprises to expand their businesses and drive towards "Sustainable Fashion". Green exhibits at the event will include green technologies of printing, dyeing and finishing, digital printing machinery and renewable materials, etc.

Besides, the exhibition will also include environmental sustainability related conferences that will address the issues arising from high energy and water consumption in the textile and fashion industries, such as how to use green technologies for denim finishing.

Successful pre-registered visitors of ShanghaiTex 2019 will be entitled to a range of benefits, including complimentary business matching service, priority access into the fair and events; one free show catalogue and discounted air tickets.

The Sensitive® Fabrics range by Eurojersey has launched its new lingerie FW 2020/21 collection. This ultra light collection offers refined undergarments which are functional in terms of performance and comfort.

The exclusive colour palette of this collection ranges from a highly sophisticated shade of nude to soft dusty pink, interpreted in floral patterns or plain colours in a play of transparent and lustrous effects thanks to the use of gold pigments. Shades of green and blue are offset by more urban tones borrowed from the blacks and greys of asphalt roads and buildings.

This year, Pakistan cultivated cotton over a 47.4 per cent larger area compared to the corresponding period of last year. Pakistan’s cotton output has improved this year with the availability of water. More than 76 per cent of the targeted area was brought under cultivation. A major chunk of cotton was sowed on time made possible on the back of better water management. The major beneficiary of smooth water supplies has been the province of Sindh that was otherwise starved of water last year due to low river flows. Against the target of 0.64 million hectares, cotton sowing was completed on 0.39 million hectares in Sindh – the highest yielding province in the country.

Chances of pink bollworm attack on the cotton crop this year are slim due to better off-season management. Sowing of cotton before April provided early feed to the pink bollworm, which is the most threatening pest for cotton and early crops became hatcheries for them. Infestation of pink bollworm on cotton crop is not a good sign. The attack, if not controlled, snowballs into a bigger onslaught on the later stages of the crop, cutting yields significantly. As the moist weather invites pests already present on the corn fields, the threat to standing cotton plant multiplies with the wetness providing favorable growing conditions for them.

Lenzing will use blockchain technology to ensure that brands and consumers can track its Tencel products to verify that they come from sustainable sources. To this end the Austrian company will join the platform of the Hong Kong-based technology company Textile Genesis. Lenzing will carry out several pilot tests over the next few months involving partners along the entire value chain. Lenzing expects the platform to be fully operational as of 2020.

Lenzing’s bio-based fiber is called Tencel and is made from cellulose from wood. The blockchain technology is meant to establish and spread sustainability practices across its bio-based fiber supply chain. The supply chain transparency from wood to garment and home textiles will enable all customers and partners to identify Tencel fibers and the respective wood source in each production and distribution step. Thanks to a QR code on the final garment, consumers will be able to detect the origin of the clothes they intend to buy. With Lenzing Ecovero-branded fibers Lenzing was the frontrunner in physical traceability and is now entering the age of digital traceability.

Consumers increasingly want to understand the ingredients and suppliers of the products they buy, requesting a new level of transparency and traceability.

Kordsa has invested in an additional polyester line. This will enable the company to strengthen its position as a polyester yarn producer. With this new line, equipped with the latest technology, a new generation of polyester yarn products with higher resiliency and better dimensional stability will be produced in addition to the standard HMLS polyester yarn.

The company based in Turkey started in 1973. Initially, a cord fabric producer, it has thanks to innovative technologies become a global company, reinforcing one out of three automobile tires and two out of three aircraft tires. It produces tire cord fabric for tire manufacturers. Kordsa develops reinforcement technologies for the tires of vehicles from different segments, such as automobiles, airplanes, and agricultural/industrial vehicles. Today, with its current capabilities, Kordsa is able to reinforce the wings, hulls, motors, and interior of aircrafts as well as their landing tracks. Currently, over 4000 global employees of Kordsa work to deliver reinforcement technologies to the world. Kordsa has entered new business fields and has implemented its tire reinforcement knowhow into the construction reinforcement and composite reinforcement industries.

The company aims at reducing its carbon footprint by adopting new generation tire reinforcement technologies and developing environmentally friendly products, decreasing fuel consumption, leading to lower resistance and better road grip.

As an after affect of the US-China trade war, the global economy could go into a recession within a year, says Morgan Stanley.

The trade dispute can drag on for longer. In particular, investors are not fully appreciating the effect of reduced capital expenditures, which could drive down global demand. Even though policymakers are likely to act to stem the effects of a trade war, given the customary lag before policy measures impact real economic activity, a downdraft in global growth appears inevitable. Markets have tanked amid the trade uncertainty. The hit to equities was compounded last week by American threat of new tariffs on Mexico if it does not take new action to prevent unlawful immigration into the US. The US will impose escalating tariffs on Mexican imports starting at five per cent on June 10. The world’s two largest economies are trading rhetorical barbs and punishing tit-for-tat economic measures. China has accused the US of starting the trade war and of being an unreliable negotiating partner.

The US while raising tariffs last month on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10 to 25 per cent has also threatened to impose tariffs on additional Chinese imports worth $300 billion.