Atul Ganatra, President, Cotton Association of India, believes the imposition of 10 per cent duty on cotton imports will not impact its purchase. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced a 10 per cent import duty on cotton in her budget speech. Textile mills have already imported 600,000 bales of cotton in the 2020/21 marketing year starting from October 1. They are likely to source a further 800,000 bales from outside the country during the rest of the season.

India is also expected to produce 36 million bales in the current marketing year, against local demand of 33 million bales, though supply of extra long staple cotton is negligible. It imports long staple cotton mainly from Egypt and United States. It exports surplus cotton to Bangladesh, Vietnam and China.

The budget has already announced a 5-7.5 per cent reduction in basic customs duty on man-made fibres (MMF) such as caprolactam, nylon chips and nylon fibre and yarn. This would make the MMF industry more competitive globally, added Juneja.

After Asos acquired Topshop and other labels, Boohoo Group Plc acquired the remaining brands from Philip Green’s failed Arcadia Group. As per Business of Fashion, Boohoo has agreed to buy the Dorothy Perkins, Burton and Wallis brands for just over $34 million. The company will only add the brands to its portfolio, keeping 214 stores shut resulting in more job losses. Boohoo will pay another £8 million pounds for clothing stock.

The Arcadia brands will help Boohoo expand its market share and widen its customer base, which has been focused on teenagers and young adults. The acquisition of Burton will help strengthen its menswear range.

Dragged down by an expensive store portfolio and its weakness online, the Arcadia Group began insolvency proceedings in December last year. The group has so far raised over £500 million from its piecemeal sale of brands. Founder Green has also contributed to the sale of BHS department stores.

adidas will use 60 per cent recycled polyester in all its products globally this year to completely eliminate the use of virgin polyester by 2024. The sports giant has collaborated with environmental organization Parley to produce 17 million pairs of shoes with recycled plastic waste collected from beaches and coastal regions in 2021.

In 2020 alone, adidas and Parley collected almost 7,000 tons of plastic waste, corresponding to around 350 million plastic bottles.

In addition to the Parley products, adidas is increasing the recycled materials used in its overall product range. Its Primeblue and Primegreen labels distinguish articles made with recycled materials while offering full functionality and durability.

The prototype Ultraboost DNA Loop shoe, showcased in October 2020, is made from one single material from sole to laces and is welded without glue. Once the shoe reaches the end of its life cycle, it can be shredded to pieces and reused. This Spring, adidas will launch a large volume successor to the Ultraboost DNA Loop.

adidas also launched the €6.7 million EU-funded New Cotton Project, based on the regenerated cellulose developed by Infinited of Finland. Twelve major industry players ar involved in this pre-competitive project.

The 4th Worldwide Talks of Fashinnovation, the platform that mixes traditional enterprises with fashion tech start-ups and emerging brands, will host over 60 speakers. The speakers will discuss a variety of topics and issues related to the fashion industry. To be held on February 11, 2021, the event will be attended by leading dignitaries from the fields of entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability for the fashion industry. As per Jordana Guimaraes, Co-founder, Fashinnovation, these include Steve Madden; Donna Karan; Tonne Goodman; Manish Chandra; Raissa Gerona; François-Ghislain Morillion, etc.

Prior to Worldwide Talks, Fashinnovation hosted a Virtual Blue Carpet on Instagram LIVE on 8 and 9 February to give attendees a sneak peak of what to expect from the February 11 event.

Since 2018, Fashinnovation has hosted over 400 of fashion’s leading innovators to audiences representing 120 countries. Their platform has amplified the impact of the entrepreneurial spirit of the industry with Josh Luber (StockX), James Reinhart (thredUP), Katia Beauchamp (Birchbox) and Gihan Amarasiriwardena (Ministry of Supply), and has put sustainability front and center with Paul Dillinger (Levi’s), Carry Somers (Fashion Revolution) and Oskar Metsavaht (Osklen).

Though brands across China and North America are seeing a strong rebound in sales, those in Europe are struggling to meet their shoppers changing demands and threatening industry forecasts. As per a CNBC report, European brands and retailers are being guarded about their future moves. They are rejecting experts’ advice on future moves. Department store operator Nordstrom foresees lower revenue growth than predicted by analysts. The retailer witnessed a 20 per cent decline in sales in its recent holiday quarter. Shoppers store visits also remained subdued despite robust online growth.

Tapestry and Capri pose pessimistic outlook

Tapestry’s sales also declined during the holiday quarter, though online business grew in triple digits. The company expects sales to reach Pre-COVID levels only by June this year. In the latest quarter, sales in China rose 35 per cent. However, sales in Europe declined due to market slowdown. A brand with almost 25 per cent of sales coming from Europe, Capri is also less optimistic about prospects in the European market. The brand does not expect sales to improve in the first half of 2021, says Simeon Siegel, Analyst, BMO Capital Markets. The brand generates 25 per cent of sales from the European market compared to Tapestry whose 16 per cent sales come from Europe.

Capri also does not expect revenue and earnings to exceed pre-pandemic levels till fiscal 2023. Over past 12 months, its shares have declined nearly 47 per cent and market capitalization is smaller than Tapestry’s

Ralph Lauren sees increase in same-store sales

Unlike other brands, Ralph Lauren expects a broader vaccine rollout to boost business in coming months. The brand expects same-stores sales to increase in upcoming fiscal year and reported highest earnings growth in third quarter while sale sweaters, blazers and trousers expanded gross margins. Though Kohl’s expects a 10 per cent decline in holiday sales, the retailer expects fourth-quarter earnings to exceed expectations. The retailer’s sales strengthened in January as more shoppers visited stores to make Amazon returns after exchanging holiday gifts.

Victoria’s Secret looks at robust Q4 earnings

Victoria’s Secret owner L Brands also expects robust earnings in fourth quarter. The retailer will benefit from selling more items at full price and cutting back promotions. Retailers may also slim down inventories this year as overbuying and employing markdowns pressurizes earnings. In the last 12 months, Kohl’s shares have risen 10 percent, while L Brands’ stocks more than doubled. They expect consumers to eventually venture out for shopping with vaccination providing the much needed boost.

From being called one of the most pragmatic Budgets of modern India to being hailed for its positive and growth-oriented initiatives, the Union Budget 2021-22 has been appreciated by all sections of the Indian textile and apparel industry.

Textile parks, custom duty reduction to make SMEs more competitive

As A Sakthivel, Chairman, AEPC opines, the budget ensures robust economic recovery. The allocation of Rs 10,683 crore for production linked incentive scheme for MMF garments and technical textiles, will promote MMF garment exports from India. The seven textile parks, to be set up under the MITRA scheme, will attract huge investments, notes Ashok Juneja, President, Textile Association of India. Their plug and play facilities will help Indian SMEs build their competitiveness, he adds. These parks can also be aligned with their sustainability goals to attract international buyers and investors, he adds.

Sakthivel and Juneja also appreciate the reduction in custom duty on nylon to 5 per cent from the earlier 7.5 per cent. This will make the MMF industry more competitive and boost exports, opines Juneja. However, the levy of 10 per cent basic customs duty on cotton imports may shoot domestic cotton prices, weakening competitiveness of Indian cotton exports, he adds. The Budget also allocates Rs 1,624 crore for the shipping sector. It launches a new scheme to promote flagging of merchant ships which will help reduce shipping costs, Sakthivel opines.

Removing ADD will boost MMF value chain

One of the most important decisions is the removal of anti-dumping duty on PTA, says Rakesh Biyani, President, CMAI. He feels, this will boost the MMF value chain and enhances its competiveness globally. Biyani also appreciates the other measures announced in the Budget. The review of Rules of Origin, cheaper imports of MSME goods and refund of all the taxes and levies for exports will make every Indian district an export hub, he adds.

ATUF to clear pending capital subsidy

Raja M Shanmugham, President, The Tirupur Exporters Association (TEA) is optimistic about the allocation of Rs 700 crore for Amended Technology Upgradation Scheme (ATUFs). He feels, this will help clear pending capital subsidy. The allocation of Rs 30 crore for Export Promotion Studies and Rs 100 crore for Integrated Scheme for Skill Development will strengthen India’s ecosystem, he adds.

Tax norms relaxation will remove anomalies

Shanmugham also hails the government’s decision to allow women workers to work in night shift and reduction of compliance burden on employers with single registration and licensing, and online returns. The proposal to reduce time limit for reassessing income tax proceedings from the present six to three years will help taxpayers concentrate in mainstream business, he adds. Changes in taxation changes and measures taken to simplify GST, will help remove anomalies such as the inverted duty structure, adds Juneja.

Urgent need for waste water management techniques

Though the Finance Minister touched upon clean air and renewable energy in her speech, nothing was mentioned about water conservation and wastewater management. One of the most polluting industries that discharges more than 100 kilo litres of wastewater a day, the T&A industry requires wastewater management initiatives urgently, points out Juneja.

The Philippine garment industry plans to petition the European Commission, asking it not to consider calls for the country to lose its Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) access to European Union (EU) markets.

The call follows a resolution adopted by the European Parliament in late September calling on the European Commission to temporarily withdraw the Philippines’ access from the scheme because of human rights abuses.

Access to GSP+ can be suspended if a country breaches a wide range of human rights conventions – such concerns, for instance, led to Sri Lanka losing this status in 2010 (it was restored in 2017).

Robert Young, trustee for the textiles, yarns and fabrics sector of the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) and the president of the Foreign Buyers Association of the Philippines (Fobap) said the clothing sector would resist a loss of GSP+ status.

It was planning an official communication to the European Commission, which would have to propose such a move. Fobap will also request an easing of origin rules that have prevented the Philippine clothing sector from making the most of this trade status, Young added.

The GSP+ program grants the Philippines the benefit of exporting more than 6,000 products to any of the 27-EU member countries at zero tariff. Products on the list include textiles, garments, headwear, footwear, furniture and chemicals.

South Korea’s trade ministry recently said, apparel and clothing items produced in Vietnam with South Korea-made fabrics will be allowed to enjoy lower tariffs in the European Union.

Previously, clothes needed to be made with locally produced fabrics in order to enjoy the benefits of the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Vietnam relies on imports for 80 percent of its demand for textiles.

In 2019, China accounted for 55 percent of Vietnam's imports of fabrics, trailed by South Korea and Taiwan with 16 percent and 12 percent, respectively. Japan accounted for 6 percent.

Last year, South Korea's shipments of fabrics to Vietnam came to $2.35 billion, down 18.4 percent on-year.

Mostafiz Uddin, Managing Director, Denim Expert feels the industry needs to introduce new laws to protect Bangladeshi suppliers from going bankrupt. Uddin advises the West to introduce new laws to ensure when new owners take in a business, they also take on a significant proportion of its debt. He says the apparel business needs to be built on mutual respect, shared goals and cooperation. Currently, the scales are tipped almost completely in favor of buyers from the West which does not benefit anybody; neither manufacturers nor buyers. Leaving suppliers permanently out of pocket creates disruption and uncertainty in the supply chains, he adds. The COVID-19 crisis has once again highlighted these difficult issues. He advises industry leaders to tackle them forever.

Besides becoming size inclusive, denim brands are also launching seasonless styles to cater to customers changing demands. As per a reports, last month women’s wear brand NYDJ launched a range of pull-on jeans that stretch to fit three sizes. Before that, premium denim brand Frame had introduced a range of women’s jeans Le One that fits several sizes. Another brand, Good American collaborated with Calik for a range of skinny jeans called Always Fit. The jeans in this range offer 100 per cent stretchability, accommodating a range of three to four sizes without sacrificing fit.

Pakistan-based vertical denim manufacturer Soorty launched Re-Sync denim, a denim range featuring one-size-fits-all technology. The range is made from a trans-seasonal, adaptive fabric that sculpts the body with 360-degree stretch comfort and fits a range of four sizes. The company aims to offer sustainable products and also launched its Re-Dream collection made of nonvirgin materials, such as post-consumer and post-industrial waste, GRS-certified recycled polyester, Lycra T400 Ecomade T400, CoolMax Ecomade and Repreve.

As per US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average American woman’s waist is 37.8 inches—which ranges from a size 16-20 in select jeans. Market intelligence platform Edited reports, there has been an 11 percent increase in the number of new plus-size or curve styles compared to 2019.