Italian luxury menswear group Ermengildo Zegna has decided to ban the use of real fur in its collections henceforth. In 2021, the brand’s sales grew 27 per cent while turnover reached €1.29 billion. The brand is fast approaching its pre-pandemic level, registering a decline of only 2 per cent compared to 2019.

Ermengildo Zegna’s 2022 collections will be the last ones to use fur, says Gildo Zegna, CEO. The group owns two brands, namely: Zegna and Thom Browne. Zegna accounts for nearly 66 per cent of the total revenues of the Piedmont-born group, Thom Browne accounts for 20 per cent, while the rest of the revenues come from the group's textile activities. Last year, Zegna’s sales surged 33 per cent to €847.3 million, though they remained below its 2019 level.

Thom Browne’s sales surged 64 per cent compared to 2019 and 47 per cent over last year to €263.3 million. Direct sales more than doubled compared to 2019 and surged 63 per cent over 2020. The group's textile revenues also increased 17 per cent to €102.2 million.

Ermenegildo Zegna Group’s sales increased across all regions except Japan, where they fell by 10 per cent due to the country’s drop in tourism and ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. Sales in North America jumped 46 per cent to €191.2 million, due in large part to a strong financial performance in the United States, where revenues rose 53 per cent year-over-year.

Rising COVID cases is compelling fashion brands to cancel, postpone or showcase their collections digitally. Italian fashion house Versace unveiled its men's collection digitally on February 02 in the form of a video. Versace has also decided to forego a co-ed fashion show this year to give a greater visibility to its menswear collection, which has taken a back seat in recent years.

Scheduled to showcase his collection at the New York Fashion on February 16, Tom Ford will also present it digitally at a later date. Other brands like Thom Browne have decided to postpone their show to another date outside the traditional fashion calendar. Instead of the New York Fashion Week, Thom Browne will showcase its Fall/Winter 2022-23 collection on the runway in New York on April 29.

On April 29, Emilio Pucci will unveil the first capsule collection of its new creative director, Camille Miceli, in Capri. Gucci will hold a co-ed fashion show in an unknown European destination on May 16, while Max Mara has scheduled its Cruise show for June 28 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Voice of the European textile and garment industry, Euratex has urged European Commissions and its member states to urgently support the industry in resolving the current industry crisis. The crisis is impacting competitiveness of European textile and clothing industry, says Euratex. The Commission needs to introduce a long-term vision to restore this competitiveness and achieve carbon neutrality, it adds. To achieve this vision, the Commission needs to fulfill the following 10 requirements, says Euratex to Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy. Develop resilient supply chains

To lessen the impact of current energy crisis on the sector, the European Commission needs to develop resilient supply chains. It needs to ensure a safe supply with sufficient green energy at internationally competitive prices.

Boost infrastructure investments

To transform the industry into a sustainable one, the Commission needs to make significant investments in infrastructure. This will enable the industry to provide significant amount of renewable energy at competitive costs. It will also ensure a confirmed access to new renewable energy supplies.

Grant competitive prices in green energy

The European Commission needs to maintain price competitiveness in green energy at European or national levels till a global or at least G20 level of carbon price or other means for a global playing field in climate protection are implemented.

Prevent carbon leakage

The Commission needs to protect European textile and clothing companies from direct and indirect carbon leakage which hamper competitiveness from other countries or regions with less stringent climate ambitions.

Introduce solutions-based policy

Need to introduce a policy that supports solutions for the current energy crisis. The policy should grant subsidies for the hydrogen industry, energy grids, Research and Development, technology roadmap studies, etc.

Introduce dedicated approach for SMEs

A dedicated approach for SME needs to be put in place as they do not have the skills and knowledge to improve energy efficiency and become carbon neutral.

Provide Capex support for new technologies

Capex and Opex support for new breakthrough technology like hydrogen. Its Fit-for-55-Package needs to support the European Textile and Clothing industry in decarbonization and carbon neutrality besides establishing an internationally uniform, binding CO2 pricing, preferably in the form of a standard at G-7 / G-20 level.

Compensate gap between national and global prices

The Commission needs to introduce new state aid rules to compensate the gap between national energy or climate levies and a globally competitive energy price. This gap should not be viewed as a subsidy.

Focus on cost-effectiveness

Implement new measures to improve energy efficiency in confirmation with the current investment cycles. It needs to focus on the proportionality of costs without weakening the competitive position in EU internal market or with competitors outside the EU.

Known for its unique and well-patented technology for on-demand digital dyeing of textile thread for more sustainable and creative embroideries, Coloreel has signed a new distribution deal with specialised digital printing solutions provider TechnoProgress in Italy. The first, immediate step includes sales of one unit of Coloreel’s instant thread coloring equipment to TechnoProgress.

Mats Sjögren, Sales Director, says, this new partnership will facilitate new routes to market related to the digital 3D printing and DTG decoration industry and give customers possibility to incorporate something unique into their designs.

Daniele Torrenti, CEO, TechnoProgressadds, Coloreel’s technology will allow our customers to offer something unique to the market, and help them to expand their personalization offering and to grow their business.”

Coloreel is a Swedish textile innovation brand with a groundbreaking technology for embroidery that enables high-quality coloring of textile thread on demand, unlocking a world of potential. On the other hand, TechnoProgress is a leader in providing cutting-edge technologies for the industrial and manufacturing sector. The company’s strength is the technical know-how, which distinguishes it from competitors for the quality of technical assistance.

Saitex has opened its new fabric mill, near its cut and sew factory outside of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Encompassing 100,000 sq m, the mill has created 630 jobs to date and plans to have 20 per cent of jobs dedicated to people with disabilities, an initiative first started in the cut & sew factory to create upcycled merchandise for the Rekut product line.

Building upon the recent opening of the “Factory of the Future” in Los Angeles, CA, and its renowned denim facility in Vietnam, the integration of the mill into the Saitex value stream grants unprecedented control and traceability of a garment’s life cycle. Saitex’s “seed to shelf” approach to manufacturing starts with close partnerships with cotton farmers, utilizes eco-efficient spinning, weaving, and dyeing machinery, and incorporates a production creation center (PCC) with the capability to create and prototype garment samples on-site. Through Saitex’s vertically integrated operations, brand partners are now offered one of the most sustainable and transparent “seed to shelf” processes, globally.

The Saitex Mill was constructed with a roof that reflects sunlight, installed natural ventilation, and used materials that adhere to LEED Gold Certified specifications. The solar panel system consists of nearly 15,000 panels with 3-4 MW capacity, which equates to 2,000+ tons CO2 reduction yearly. Additional energy is derived from industrial sludge which is used to generate 40% of the facility’s steam power.

A broad coalition of industry and labor groups, NCTO has sent a letter to House and Senate leadership urging support for the Import Security and Fairness Act (included in the broader House America Competes Act), which aims to stop China from exploiting the de minimis threshold that allows imports valued under $800 to come into the United States without paying duties and taxes, bypassing U.S. Customs inspections and providing a backdoor to Chinese goods produced with forced labor.

The coalition sent the letter to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), urging the leaders to strongly support and prioritize the provision in the underlying China bill. The letter emphasized on the following points: US employment in the textile supply chain was 530,000 in 2020. It imported apparels and textiles worth $64.4 billion in 2020. Its exports of fiber, textiles and apparel valued $25.4 billion in 2020.

Sri Lanka’s largest textile manufacturer,Teejay Lanka PLC, has appointed AjitGunewardene as its new airman with effect from February 17, 2022, consequent to his appointment as an independent non-executive director of the Company on 1st February.

A former Deputy Chairman of John Keells Holdings (JKH) and a former Chairman of Nations Trust Bank (NTB) and Union Assurance, Gunewardane will succeed Bill Lam, who resigns on February 17, ending a 13-year stint at the helm of the Company. Gunewardene’s appointment is expected to be pivotal to the growth journey of the Company, which has already announced targets of becoming a $ 300 million enterprise by 2023 and a US$ 500 million business in the longer term.

Gunewardene is the Founder and Chairman of Bluestone Capital, a leading private equity investment company. He is the Founder Chairman of Digital Mobility Solutions., better known as ‘PickMe’ – the leading ride hailing and delivery company in Sri Lanka, and Chairman of Fintrex Finance, a Central Bank of Sri Lanka registered non-bank financial institution. He is also a Council Member of the University of Colombo.

In retail, MrGunewardene was instrumental in mentoring and guiding the island’s largest branded retail business ‘ODEL.’ As its seed investor and chairman, he guided the management of the company, took it public and sold the business in 2014.

C.L.A.S.S has added Circular Systems as its Material Hub partner.The addition will prove as an importan and valuable addition to the market to develop new generation of fashion based on natural – circular and regenerative solutions saysGiusyBettoni – CEO & Founder, C.L.A.S.S.

Circular Systems is a California based materials science company, focused on creating a net positive impact on environment, society and economy through innovation. Its circular plus regenerative technologies provide systemic solutions for transforming waste into valuable fibre, yarns, and fabrics for the fashion industry.

Circular Systems is looking at waste streams as valuable resources, turning problem into a solution by converting them into high value materials for the fashion industry. The “Lightest Touch™“ philosophy, defines their mission to retain maximum amount of embedded energy in waste inputs while creating the “highest-value outputs” with the lowest impacts. Integration of these technologies into global supply chains is key without compromising quality, thus extending the life cycle of these materials.

Circular Systems has three break-through waste-to-fibre platforms that offer the most efficient management of textile and agricultural waste:

All Circular Systems yarns are GRS, OCS and/or GOTS certified and are in the process of developing their own Crop Residue Standard with Textile Exchange that would relate to the Agraloop™ platform technology.

The upcoming Autumn/Winter 2022-23 season of Premium Vision Paris will emphasize on eco-conscious fabrics with brands and designers showing altogether a more responsible approach towards production processes. Though exhibitors will continue to focus on the design element, the production will become more conscious with manufacturers, weavers and spinners embracing an authentic sustainability.

The upcoming fair will focus on fabrics and textures that speak directly to consumers’ senses and are imagined with technical performances in mind. Casualwear will take centre stage with oversized tailoring, comfortable structured jackets, flowy and unrestrictive tops as well as stretchy bottoms, trompe-l’oeil effects and leather impressions.

The fair will also introduce the notions of ‘alter couture’ and ‘offbeat jacquards’ in its ‘Sport & Tech’ trend report. It will feature daring styles and bold and bright details like shiny trims, sequins and vibrant contrasts.

Sangam India plans to increase its cotton production capacity by 10,500 mtpa to 33,500 mtpa. As per a Textile Value Chain report, the company reported 483 per cent growth in profit after tax in Q3 FY22 to Rs 44 crore as against Rs 7 crore reported during the previous corresponding quarter.

The company’s revenue for the quarter ending December 2021 grew 47 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 646 crore against Rs 438 crore for the quarter ending December 2020. Sales grew by 114 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 607 crore, for the nine-month period ending December 2021. Sangam India’s EBITDA grew 79 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 80 crore for the Q3 FY’22 The company has approved a brownfield expansion plan in the cotton yarn segment worth Rs 137.25 crore in the previous quarters.

Incepted in1984, Sangam India has over 10,000 employees. The group has more than 200,000 spindles and 3000 rotors for producing PV dyed yarn, cotton and OE yarn with an enviable reputation for quality, which is underlined by its ISO 9001:2008 certification. It is the largest producer of PV dyed yarn in Asia at single location It is also a forerunner in manufacturing ready to stitch fabric with the annual capacity to produce 30 million meters of fabric and 40 million meters of denim.