A vast majority of Indians think sustainable manufacturing processes are important when buying fashion products, says YouGov. Seven in 10 people in India have heard about sustainable fashion. From these, two in five don’t know much about it, around a fifth know but have never tried buying it and only one in eight have bought it in the past.

More than four in five people consider sustainability when buying fashion items but it is far behind other factors. Material quality, fitting, design and price are all notably more important when deciding what to buy. A better design range of sustainable fashion products is the key driver in what would motivate someone to buy sustainable items, followed by competitive prices and sustainability certification on labels. While the top motivators for men are competitive prices and better designs, in both cases women are more likely than men to be encouraged by these factors to make a purchase.

Many people are likely to purchase more sustainable products if brands highlight the benefits and impact of buying sustainable fashion products in their communication and if they give reward points for buying sustainable fashion products. More than a fifth would do so if sustainable fashion becomes a new trend after being endorsed by celebrities or influencers.

British retail giant Primark has suspended business ties with some garment factories in Bangladesh, which terminated some workers for their alleged involvement in agitations demanding a wage hike. Of the 427 workers whose jobs were terminated, 382 were facing legal charges filed by factory owners.

Primark wants withdrawal of cases filed against the workers and clearing all their legal dues. This includes remunerating any affected workers the compensation they are legally entitled to and confirmation of the withdrawal of legal proceedings against workers.

Though Primark has many vendors in Bangladesh, Primark does not own any factories. About 98 per cent of the factories making products for Primark also manufacture for other brands. To make it on to Primark’s approved factory list, each factory is vetted to internationally-recognised standards. Primark says there is no forced or compulsory labor in any form, including bonded, trafficked, or prison labor. Workers are not required to lodge deposits or their identity papers with their employer and are free to leave their employer after reasonable notice. It goes on to say that workers have the right to join or form trade unions of their own choosing and to bargain collectively and that workers’ representatives are not discriminated against and have access to carry out their representative functions in the workplace.

Sutlej Textiles and Industries’ total income was Rs 666.89 crores during the period ended June 30, 2019, as compared to Rs 627.86 crores during the period ended March 31, 2019. Net profit was Rs 7.43 crores for the period ended June 30, 2019, as against Rs 10.42 crores for the period ended March 31, 2019. EPS was Rs 0.45 for the period ended June 30, 2019, as compared to Rs 0.64 for the period ended March 31, 2019.

Total income was Rs 666.89 crores during the period ended June 30, 2019, as compared to Rs 635.91 crores during the period ended June 30, 2018. Net profit was Rs 7.43 crores for the period ended June 30, 2019, as against Rs 7.91 crores for the period ended June 30, 2018. EPS was Rs 0.45 for the period ended June 30, 2019, as compared to Rs 0.48 for the period ended June 30, 2018.

Sutlej Textiles and Industries is one of India’s largest integrated textile manufacturing companies. It specialises in synthetic, natural and blended yarns, all types of spun yarns and home textile furnishing. The company also processes fabrics. It is one of the largest manufacturers of value-added mélange yarn in India.

Niche e-commerce companies are gaining a lot of engagement due to high levels of customization and bespoke offerings that suit the Indian clientele. There is considerable traction in the space with both the number of consumers and the amount of transaction value increasing at a rapid rate.

The grey area in e-commerce is pricing and ethical trade. Niche e-commerce sites have a feature that allows access to ethical and fair trading. As most of these niche sites have a direct connection with the manufacturer, or are maintained by the manufacturer themselves, the service and pricing are excellent. The items are sourced directly from the artisans, or the bespoke items are tailored individually for the customer as per the size and fit requirements.

Working conditions of most significant brands are dismal and have been under the lens of global agencies for some years. But the working conditions of artisans are of global standards. And the modern customer likes to source their apparel from brands that follow responsible sourcing. The artisan gets their dues while the end consumer gets a piece of clothing that is utterly suitable. More local craft gets included in the mainstream, and local artisans get their due recognition.

The US-China trade war is having a negative impact on Malaysia. Not only is Malaysia a small and open economy with a relatively high dependence on trade, much of that trade is also deeply integrated with global supply chains. Over 82 per cent of large firms in Malaysia and nearly half of all small to medium sized enterprises participate in global value chains. Besides, Malaysia has a high degree of exposure to the Chinese economy, with China being both its largest trading partner and a top source of tourists. This means that disruptions to the Chinese supply chain will have significant knock-on effects on Malaysian exports.

The global economy as a whole is also affected. Directly, it dampens global economic activity through lower global trade flows as well as increasing prices for households and manufacturers. Indirectly increased uncertainty curtails business investment, increases financing costs for businesses and depresses global productivity as global supply chains are disrupted.

It has been almost a year since the first round of US tariffs was imposed on Chinese imports. Since then, the United States has imposed two additional rounds of tariffs on China, which has retaliated by levying its own tariffs on US goods. Fresh US tariffs on Chinese goods are due to take effect in September.

Cheap imports and sluggish exports are looming large over India’s cotton market. Sluggish exports have dampened cotton sentiments in the market. India’s 2018-19 export is expected to be around 46 lakh bales compared with the 69 lakh bales it exported in the 2017-18 season. The downturn in export is mainly due to availability of cheaper cotton in the international market. On the other hand, imports have doubled.

Adequate steps will be taken to ensure cotton prices remain steady in the new season, set to start post-October. One of the measures to stop the dumping of cheap imports into the domestic market and keep prices steady would be by imposing a higher import duty on raw cotton.

Cotton sowing has been going on at a steady pace, with India reporting a five per cent year-on-year increase in sowing. As of August 2, India has reported 115.5 lakh hectares of cotton sowing, which last year was 109.79 lakh hectares. Domestic prices of kapas (seed cotton) have been well above the minimum support price throughout the 2018-19 season. However, July prices have dipped, which is attributed to sluggish exports for both yarn and lint cotton. This trend has been observed in most major cotton producing states in the country.

Import of jeans by the United States from China declined by 10.44 per cent in the first six months of the year upto June to a value of $369.97 million. This brought China’s market share of the category down to 22.82 percent, a 5.11 percent decline for the year ended June 30. Levi Strauss & Co. has reduced its import of denims from China to less than 8 percent of overall production for Levi’s and plans to bring the number down to “very low-single-digits” by 2020.

The other top suppliers of denim jeans to the USA posted gains in their exports. These included Mexico, whose imports rose by 14.44 per cent to $410.07 million. This growth led the Western Hemisphere increase of 12.03 percent to $509.74 million, which also included a 28.02 percent gain by Nicaragua to $55.19 million, and a 12.06 percent advance by Guatemala to $16.22 million.

Jeans imports from Vietnam increased by 29.36 percent to a value of $142.36 million. The country’s market share rose by 36.39 percent to 8.38 percent for the 12 months, as makers look to capitalise on its apparel manufacturing expertise. The imports from Pakistan rose by 15.49 percent to $119.72 million. The country’s market share increased 16.27 percent to 6.69 percent.

Bet revenues of Indo Rama Synthetics (India) increased to Rs 533.33 crore in the first quarter of FY 20 that ended June 30, 2019 as against Rs 355.54 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The operational EBIDTA of the company for the quarter stood at Rs. 7.12 crore as compared to Rs. 2.37 crore for the corresponding quarter in the previous year. The net loss for the quarter ended June 30, 2019 is reported at Rs. 30.09 crore as compared to net loss of Rs. 29.25 crore in corresponding quarter of the previous year.

H&M is collaborating with a South African brand, Mantsho to launch a new collection for women who crave for distinctive fashion for the first time. The collection, featuring graphic prints and contemporary silhouettes, offers tunic-styles dresses with high neckline and fluid silhouette, black polo neck and black tights. The entire collection has a fresh and modern vibe to it. The colors used in this collection perfectly complement the merlot and mustard shades of the season.

Established in 2004, Mantsho, which means ‘black is beautiful’ in Mokubung's native Sesotho language, has appeared on several runways in countries as diverse as Greece, India, the USA and Jamaica.

Egypt’s exports of readymade garments grew 4.4 per cent during the first half of 2019. The US’ imports of readymade garments from Egypt rose by 19 per cent. In addition, Egypt’s readymade garment exports to Arab countries surged by 24 per cent. Readymade garments exported by Egypt to Europe dropped by seven per cent while readymade garments exported by Egypt to African countries plunged by 60 per cent.

In June 2019, readymade garment exports from Egypt increased by 11 per cent compared to June 2018. Egypt’s garment exports go mainly to the US, Turkey, Spain, Britain, North Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Saudi Arabia, Belgium and the Netherlands. Egypt wants to have stronger trade relations with Africa. Steps include taking part in international exhibitions in the African continent and setting up an Egyptian-African free trade zone. Egypt’s main exports to Africa are engineering industries, pharmaceuticals, chemical garments, food industries, and construction materials. Egypt wants to increase exports to the African continent by 35 per cent in 2017. The main countries Egypt is interested in are Kenya, Zambia and Ivory Coast. However, working to make Egypt a leading international trade center in the Middle East requires work to increase the capacities of Egyptian ports in order to attract more container ships as well as working on the development of logistics capabilities and infrastructure to support this trend.