As the industry awaits the notification of the government’s recent energy relief package, PRGMEA has appealed to the Prime Minister to remove the restriction on additional utilization of electricity to make the package more comprehensive and attractive for the SMEs which constitutes over 90 per cent of the industry.

Sohail A Sheikh, Chairman, PRGMEA urged the concerned departments to issue notification of the incentive package regarding power tariff for the large, small and medium enterprises after amendments. He said the role of value-added textile sector is vital in the country’s exports and the government should accord top priority to this sector taking necessary steps and measures to enhance its export efficiency. He said that electricity rates are high in Pakistan and it is for the first time that power rates are being reduced.

Sheikh further said that the export-oriented industry, for a long time, had been facing multiple challenges in the wake of high cost of manufacturing, exorbitant utility tariffs and high labour wages comparing to the competitors on the world markets.

IjazKhokhar, Chief Coordinator observed that an industrial support package for SMEs through power tariffs is imperative to sustain some early positive signs in the industrial sector. However, the exporters are confused about its actual shape until it is set in motion through a proper notification for implementation, he said

Doubts regarding the International Monetary Fund’s loan program have also been affecting business confidence, as the economic managers would have to devise a clear road map on power sector and revenue reforms committed to the IMF for continuation of the loaning ahead of the next budget, Khokhar added.

According to reports, the industrial relief package had initially involved around Rs350 billion over three years but later it was amended to avoid completely derailing the IMF program.

As per ReportLinker, the global market for kidswear will reach $252.2 billion by the end of 2020. The market is projected to reach a revised size of $325.9 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 3.7 percent over the analysis period 2020-2027. The US market is estimated to grow to $68 billion. In the infants and toddlers category, the US, Canada, Japan, Chile and Europe markets are likely to reach $51.4 billion this year. These markets are expected to grow to $68 billion by 2027.

A report from the Brookings Institute suggests paired with an economic recession, the public policy organization predicts the U.S. will see births decline by 300,000-to-500,000 next year. According to Cotton Incorporated’s September 2020 US Coronavirus Response Sruvey, majority of the US consumers have seen a decrease in their personal finances since before the pandemic Additionally, 36 percent say their emotional well-being has suffered with anxiety and depression feeling worse due to COVID. Around 63 percent of shoppers said buying clothes was not a priority for the, right now.

According to Statista, retail sales of apparel and clothing accessories increased 11 percent from August to September. However, brick and mortar stores suffered due to lack of demand and the shutdown. The Children’s Place plans to 200 stores in 2020 and another 100 next year. Similarly, Carter’s will close at least 200 stores, including OshKoshB’gosh, in the next couple of years. And even though Gap’s baby and kid categories accounted for nearly $4 billion in sales last year, the company plans to shutter 225 locations by 2024.

Around 43 per cent report shopping online more compared to mid-summer, according to the September Coronavirus Response Survey. Most shoppers made their purchases online as they believed it to be safer option than going to a physical store.

As per Statistics Canada, the country’s import of knitted fabrics declined by 14.70 per cent in 2020 during the January-September ’20 period to $127.27 million worth of knitted fabrics.

China was the top shipper with $41.44 million worth of knitted fabrics exports to Canada during the period, though its Y-o-Y exports dropped by 11.50 per cent. Despite plummeting, China’s share to Canadian import value increased to 32.87 per cent in 2020 as against 30.40 per cent in 2019.

The US was second largest exporter with $24.62 million worth of shipments, a 21.50 per cent fall on yearly basis. Exports of third largest supplier South Korea declined by 29.60 per cent

In contrast, Portugal, Italy, Turkey and Thailand were some of the countries that increased their knitted exports to Canada during then January-September ’20 period by 16 per cent, 22.80 per cent, 25.80 per cent and 15.30 per cent, respectively.

This month, the Techtextil North America and Texprocess Americas Virtual Symposium heldtwo sessions featuring the latest textile industry trends, technologies and their applications.

The sessions began on November 18h with Readily Available Sewing Technologies, followed by Advanced Manufacturing Through Direct Write 3-D Printing on November 19. Registration is currently open for all sessions, and can be accessed here.

The monthly webinar series kicked off in October and provides attendees the opportunity to learn from the brightest minds in both industry and academia. Divided into two tracks, each is a carefully curated selection of sessions covering the most pivotal advancements in research and technology, exploring the latest trends and insights into the future of textile-related industries.

Readily Available Sewing Technologies seek explored latest technologies in sew and seal materials. It featured a panel of experts who gave a brief presentation on a specific technology in their wheelhouse, followed by a question-and-answer led discussion that dived deeper into the efficiency improvements, production improvements, and maintenance impacts that are currently available in the sewing and sealing marketplace.

The session on Advanced Manufacturing Through Direct-Write 3-D Printing explored the increasingly popular use of direct-write 3-D printing for the manufacture of a wide range of products for biomedical, electronic, and structural applications (among others). The session was moderated by Dr. NareshThadhani, Professor & Chair, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology.

In a roundtable discussion during the recent Innovate Textiles & Apparel (ITA) textile machinery exhibition, Per Stenflo, Founding Partner, imogo and representatives from a number of European companies unveiled new spray application technologies that help dye and finishing manufacturers save tremendous amount of natural resources.

These technologies help can slash the use of fresh water, wastewater, energy and chemicals by as much as 90 per cent compared to conventional jet dyeing systems, said Stenflo. This is due to the extremely low liquor ratio of 0.3-0.8 litres per kilo of fabric and at the same time, considerably fewer auxiliary chemicals are required to start with.

However such technologies also face a number of obstacles to adoption and 2020 has not provided the ideal climate for adventurous investors, he added. All panelists at the discussion affirmed that sustainable production will remain top of the agenda for the textile industry in the longer term and spray technologies for dyeing and finishing processes will be a part of it.

HeiQViroblock has been awarded with the coveted Swiss Technology Award 2020. Developed in record time, HeiQViroblock is being unprecedently adopted by mills around the world. Seen as one of the world’s most efficient and effective antiviral/antimicrobial technologies, it has been applied by more than 150 brands worldwide and to over 1 billion products from face masks and apparel, to home textiles, mattresses and curtains.

What exemplifies the technology is its ability to make fabric antiviral and its effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). HeiQViroblock consists of a combination of HeiQ’s patent-pending vesicle and silver technologies. The two mechanisms of attack result in an over 99.9% destruction of viruses in 5 minutes, which HeiQ says is unrivalled in the industry.

HeiQViroblock is a unique patent-pending formulation of 72 per cent bio-based ingredients, made with 100 per cent cosmetic-grade materials from the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients list. The silver technology was developed at ETHZ (EidgenössischeTechnischeHochschule Zürich), the vesicle technology at EPFL (Écolepolytechniquefédérale de Lausanne), and the production was scaled up at FHNW (FachhochschuleNordwestschweiz).

Textile makers in Bangladesh's are urging the government to extend policy support to increase local capacity in man-made fibers. Spinners want more joint-ventures between local and technologically advanced foreign companies for developing high-value yarns. As per BTMA, local spinning mills meet 80 per cent demand for export-oriented knitted fabrics, while they account for only 40 per cent woven fabric supplies. In 2020, spinners imported nearly Tk2.30 lakh tons of knitted fabrics and over 4.21 tons of woven fabrics

Mohammad Ali Khokon, President, BTMA, has urged the government to offer incentives to encourage investments in this sector. Shahidullah Azim, Vice President, also emphasizes on the significance of joint-venture investments to develop a strong backward industry for non-cotton fabrics. Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, COO, Fatullah Apparels, wants policy support for both backward and forward industries to draw in new investments.

Bangladesh has an opportunity to invest in the woven sector, especially in synthetic yarns, says Mohammad Enamul Karim, Executive Director (Spinning), Noman Group, one of the largest spinning and textile manufacturers in South Asia. He urges for a focus on non-cotton fabric that will contribute to diversifying the apparel basket as well as will make it more competitive in the global market. He says, if the government incentivizes non-cotton apparel exporters, its market share will be higher within a year. Khokon believes a 10 per cent cash incentive on new non-cotton products can help manufacturers export an additional $2 billion in apparel a year.

According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), in FY21, Bangladesh exported $32.59 billion worth of apparel products and home textile items, which was 84 per cent of the total export.

Denim Première Vision will host its first digital program from November 30-December 4, 2020.

Known as the ‘Digital Denim Week,’ the online show will present the latest product developments for Spring/Summer 2022 from over 50 exhibitors, spanning weavers, manufacturers/laundries, trims manufacturers and technology developers. Products will be showcased in dedicated “e-shops” on the Première Vision marketplace.

E-shops will serve as a digital catalog with videos, images and editorial, and will help facilitate connections between clients and suppliers.

The digital week will also dive into the season’s trends—from products to materials—and will feature talks by key players and experts, as well as a program of conferences and masterclasses to meet the industry’s emerging challenges.

The program will begin on December 1 with GuglielmoOlearom Director, Denim Première Vision, discussing about the future of the denim market and how ideas may flourish amidst the COVID crisis. The Tailor Pattern Support founder and 2020 Rivet 50 honoree AlessioBerto will hold a workshop on how to give Trucker jackets the perfect fit and the Denim Première Vision fashion team will provide a look at S/S ’22 denim trends. GiussyBettoni, CEO, C.L.A.S.S. will moderate a talk about regenerative organic agriculture certification.

On December 2, Bettoni will host a panel about blockchain, followed by a second workshop by Berto and a fashion seminar presented by Meidea founder Lucia Rosin about fashion’s connection to nature.

Exhibiting companies will also present their innovations and collections for the season in online presentations, including Artistic Fabric Mills, OrtaAnadolu, Advance Denim, Naveena, PG Denim and more. Representatives from the companies will be available for live chats during their online presentations.

Bangladesh-based denim manufacturer and washing plant Denim Expert has been awarded with the “New Champion” award by the World Economic Forum,

The awards recognize excellence in sustainability, digital disruption and agile business governance, calling attention to business models, technologies and sustainable growth strategies that it finds necessary as the world prepares for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

A member of the World Economic Forum, Denim Expert was recognized as an honorable mention in the “excellence in sustainability” category for sustainable goals and targets in 2019 across several areas including reducing consumption of energy and water, CO2 emissions, and waste generation. The manufacturer was also lauded for its work to provide opportunities to transgender people and human-trafficking survivors.

Denim Expert has emerged as a leader in adopting sustainable protocols and guidelines, particularly in Bangladesh.It was the first Bangladeshi manufacturer to join the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) and the first to become a contributor to ZDHC Foundation, which drives improvement in the management of textile chemicals globally.

The European Union (EU) has imposed tariffs on certain imports from the US, with construction equipment on the list. The goods that have been taxed include self-propelled front-end shovel loaders; self-propelled front-end crawler shovel loaders; self-propelled front-end shovel loaders.

According to the EU, the tariffs have been authorized by the World Trade Organization (WTO) as countermeasures against illegal US subsidies to aircraft maker Boeing”.

Similarly, in 2019, the WTO authorized the US to impose tariffs on EU exports, in response to what it agreed were illegal subsidies paid to the Netherlands-headquartered aerospace company Airbus.

The additional tariffs imposed by the EU on US exports are expected to hit goods worth approximately $4 billion.

While the new regulation follows the latest breakdown in talks between the EU and US negotiating teams, the European Commission has agreed to work with the US to settle this long-running dispute and also to agree on long-term disciplines on aircraft subsidies.