The COSATU-affiliated Southern African Clothing & Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU) has concluded its outstanding wage negotiations for the Woven Cotton textile sub-sector. The agreement was struck with the South African Cotton & Textile Processing Employers' Association (SACTPEA) under the guidance of the National Textile Bargaining Council.

As per the agreement, SACTWU members in this sub-sector will receive a 5.5 per cent wage increase, with effect from March 01, 2021. About 8000 textile workers employed in 72 companies nationally will benefit from this wage increase.

The Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers' Union is the biggest union in the South African clothing, textile, footwear and leather industry, with more than 100 000 members. It negotiates wages for the vast majority of workers in these industries in South Africa, with the collective bargaining agreements covering over 150 000 workers.

Swedish fashion brand Mini Rodini, has released a new spring and summer collection for kids with each of the garments inscribed with a Korean letter. Titled ‘Mini Rodini on the Trans-Siberian Railway – Final Stop: Seoul’, the collection depicts Korean style paintings of tigers with ‘Mini Rodini’ written in Korean letters.

As per a Korea Bizwire report, a number of global fashion brands have begun using Korean letters for fashion design lately. In 2015, Chanel’s Cruise show 2015 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul first sparked an interest in Korean letters among fashion brands. The brand’s creative director, designer Karl Lagerfeld inscribed various words including ‘Korea’, ‘Seoul’, ‘Coco’, ‘Chanel’, and ‘Mademoiselle’ in Korean letters.

Founded in 2006 by illustrator Cassandra Rhodin as a tribute to all children and their imagination, Mini Rodini has always aimed to make kids’ shopping easy for parents by offering uniquely designed and environment-friendly products.

As per market intelligence analysis by an ESOMAR-certified market research and consulting firm, the global embroidery machinery market is expected to grow at a steady CAGR of around 5 per cent over the next 10 years, i.e. 2021-2031. Global embroidery machinery market is anticipated to add 1.6X by 2031. Computerized embroidery machines are expected to grow at an impressive CAGR of 5 per cent during the forecast period.

The report estimates East Asian market to grow at a lively CAGR of 5.5 per cent through 2031. The market for 2-7 multi needle embroidery machinery is expected to grow at 6 per cent CAGR, while single needle machines are projected to add 1.5X times value over the forecast period. By speed, sales of above 1,200 SPM machines are expected to balloon at the fastest pace of close to 6 per cent, owing to large demand from the commercial industry to produce mass embroideries in less time.

By end-use industry, the commercial industry is poised to bestow prodigious opportunity for embroidery machinery manufacturers, owing to increasing use of these machines by large-scale embroideries. The market in China and Japan is expected to expand at over 5 per cent CAGR each, while that in India at close to 7 per cent CAGR through 2031.

Guillaume Leglise, Assistant Vice President, Moody's opines, long term environmental and social factors may put the apparel industry’s profitability at risk. The analyst advises environmentally conscious consumers to encourage fashion brands to adopt new sustainability measures.

Moody’s says, the apparel industry is the second largest user of water globally and produces 8 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Garment dyeing and textiles finishing, which results in 20 per cent of global industrial water pollution, is likely to triple environmental damage by 2050, says the report. It estimates water needs to exceed supply by 2030.

Researchers at Piper Sandler say, younger consumers are more interested in buying sustainably produced clothing even if it costs. They are increasingly renting and buying secondhand clothes to obtain higher quality clothing at better prices. According to the report, H&M’s new strategy to adopt less wasteful apparel production may be difficult to sustain as these products represent just a fraction of H&M’s total output.

Turkish capital Ankara hosted a two-day hybrid fashion event to introduce seven Indonesian brands in the country. Franka Soeria, Co-founder, Markamarie, an Indonesian clothing brand made a presentation showcasing different types of Indonesian motifs and fabric, including Batik, the art of creating designs on fabric with the aid of wax, reports Daily Sabah.

Soeria said, Indonesian brands mostly focus on creating modest clothing. They are launching new events and initiatives to boost the growth of this sector hit by the pandemic.

Lalu Muhamad Iqbal, Indonesia’s ambassador to Turkey, said, the event was being held keeping all the precautions in view. It will serve as a platform to initiate business in the area, he added.

Among the seven brands that took part in the show were Elzatta, a pioneer of modest fashion brands with hundreds of stores, Wearing Klamby, a high-engagement brand with 1.6 million followers, and Medina Zein, an urban modest brand led by the famous entrepreneur with the same.

The brands created special collections to be showcased at the event, while invitees had the chance to view and buy the pieces following the show.

The Pakistan government is planning to import cotton from Uzbekistan via land routes after it decided against importing from India. Razak Dawood, Commerce Adviser assured value-added textile exporters he’d take up the demand of textile exporters on duty-free imports via lands, ban on yarn exports or duty on its exports with the authorities.

Exporters said imports via land is cost-effective and important considering the 40 per cent drop in production this year. They urged for permission to import yarn like pharma products that are imported from India Last week, Pakistan withdrew a decision to allow cotton imports from India. The country is facing approximately 40 percent low cotton crop, which is the lowest quantity during the last 3 decades. The government should facilitate exporters to import cotton yarn from Central Asian Republics through land route via Afghanistan as the sea route is taking prolong duration due to shortage of containers and vessels.

Availability of imported cotton yarn from Central Asian Republics through land route via Afghanistan safely will bring positive impact and textile export. The value-added textile exporters have also sought guidance from the adviser as how to operate their industries and complete export orders in the current circumstances and cotton yarn crisis which is aggravating every coming day.

They also requested the adviser commerce to expedite release of payments of duty drawbacks as quick as possible to support the textile export industry and demanded rates of gas should be same for new industrial units.

US import of denim apparels drops 7.43 per cent in the first two months of the year to $460.25 million, expanding on a 5.36 per cent year-over-year falloff in January, says the Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles & Apparel (OTEXA). As per the OTEXA report, among top 10 supplier countries, shipments from only four increased. Bangladesh emerged the leading supplier with imports increasing 5.57 per cent year to date through February compared to the same time last year for a value of $95.16 million. US’ imports from Pakistan increased 11.01 per cent to $42.96 million.

Imports from Nicaragua increased 21.26 per cent year to date to $16.79 million, while shipments from Lesotho increased by 19.04 percent to $9.23 million. Other AGOA countries posting gains in the period are: Madagascar whose exports to the US increased 34.25 percent to $7.69 million; Ethiopia’s shipments increased 66.48 per cent to $2.76 million; Kenya, up 48.91 per cent to $3.11 million, and Tanzania, jumping 94.92 per cent to $1.23 million.

Jeans imports from Mexico declined 4.9 per cent to $87.47 million while shipments from China fell by 11.66 per cent to $49.36 million. Imports from Cambodia, which had shown strength in 2020, declined 12.93 per cent year to date through February to $25.38 million, while Egypt’s shipments fell by 32.76 percent to $17.14 million.

Reputed manufacturer and exporter of readymade garments, Gokuldas Exports has signed an MoU with the Telangana government to set up a manufacturing facility at the Sircilla Textile Park in Telangana. The facility will help the company provide jobs to around 1,100 people, of which 75 per cent will be women. It will provide also necessary skill development training for women in Sircilla and surrounding villages. Sumir Hinduja, Managing Director says, the company has decided to start operations in Telangana due to the State government’s investment-friendly policies.

So far, the company has supplied garments to many well-known international brands and garments manufactured at its Sircila plant will be supplied to leading brands in the US and Europe. Rama Rao, Textile Minister, the Telangana government has made the textile sector one of its main priorities and has undertaken a number of programs to support growth, including the creation of necessary infrastructure as well as skill development programs.

Leading data and analytics company GlobalData expects emerging Asia Pacific markets to significantly contribute to the revival of the global denim market. As per Philstar Global, the global jeans market grew at an annual rate of 0.5 percent between 2014 and 2019 to hit $74 billion. However, global lockdowns due to the pandemic led to store closures, which dampened overall apparel spend, including denim jeans. Ayan Gangopadhyay, Retail Analyst, GlobalData said the Asia Pacific region registered a growth in demand for denim over the years, supported by rapid urbanization, cheaper connectivity, growing investment in the digital space and a strong domestic demand.

Within this region, India is forecast to grow the fastest, driven by large investments by international and local retailers on online platforms. The men’s jeans market in the country will grow with increasing casualization of the workplace, said Gangopadhyay.

He advised brands to encourage women to buy more using strategies such as incorporating comfort in jeans by using softer fabrics, going beyond the conventional size ranges, as well as offering the opportunity to customize products based on personal preferences

Rising work-from-home initiated by several employers globally prompted demand for comfortable clothing to significantly increase. Hence, retailers must incorporate more stretch and comfort in jeans besides aiming for more sustainable sourcing, he added.

A Sakthivel, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council believes, though PPE manufacturers are getting fresh enquires, the spike in COVID-19 cases may not necessarily lead to a surge in demand again. Raja M Shanmugham, President, Tiruppur Exporters’ Association agrees, though a few manufacturers will continue to make PPEs and masks, there will not be a major shift to PPE production as demand will not be high. Garment manufacturers are likely to continue making regular products.

A recognized laboratory to test PPEs and masks, the Southern India Textile Research Association, has been receiving a steady stream of samples to test different standards, but there is no rush for products as before. K S Sundararaman, Chairman, Indian Technical Textile Association believes, as there is no government mandate now on the use of PPEs demand is not likely to be high. Also, not all hospitals are keen on buying laminated PPEs as the focus now is more on the use of masks and sanitizers, and there is adequate capacity for manufacturing gloves, sanitizers, and masks.