US apparel imports surged by 25.2 percent to 2.51 billion square meter equivalents (SME) in November compared to the same month in 2020, according to data released by the Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles & Apparel (OTEXA).

This followed a more modest 13.6 percent rise in year-over-year apparel imports in October. For the year-to-date through November, apparel imports rose 26.9 percent to 26.96 billion SME from the year-earlier period, just below the 27.5 percent gain to 24.45 billion SME reported in October, according to OTEXA.

Top supplier China emerged as the largest exporter despite ongoing tariffs and political strife with the US, with year-over year exports rising by 33.7 percent to 1.04 billion SME after a 14.1 percent rise in October. For the year to date, shipments from China stayed on pace for the year with a 30.75 percent rise to 10.2 billion SME.

On the other hand, apparel imports from Vietnam declined by 10 percent in the month to 282.05 million SME, continuing a wobbly pattern in the last few months following COVID-related factory closures. For the 11 months, shipments from Vietnam increased by 15.34 percent to 4.03 billion SME.

Imports from Bangladesh rose by 59 percent year over year in November to 227.91 million SME. Bangladesh shipments increased by 34.37 percent to 2.33 billion SME.

Imports rose by 7.4 percent to 97.7 million SME for the month following a 22.6 percent gain in October. For the year to date, Cambodian imports increased 11.79 percent to 1.16 billion SME.

The rest of the Top 10 Asian pack saw substantial increases in November. Imports from India were up 35.1 percent to 108.72 million SME, shipments from Indonesia rose 38.1 percent to 99.74 million SME and imports from Pakistan gained 32.8 percent to 86.71 million SME. For the year to date, India’s imports were up 39.91 percent to 1.17 billion SME, Indonesia’s climbed 17.89 percent to 1.02 billion SME and Pakistan’s surged 43.15 percent to 809 million SME.

Rounding out the Top 10 supplier nations were Western Hemisphere countries Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador.

UK’s most diverse, vibrant, and exciting wholesale marketplace for home, gift and sourcing, Spring Fair and Moda, the fourth fashion destination incorporating footwear and the Jewellery and Watch Edit, will be held form February 06-09, 2022 in Halls 1-8 at NEC Birmingham.

Julie Driscoll, Divisional Managing Director-Retail, Engineering and Manufacturing, Hyve Group plc says; they have made it mandatory for all visitors the NEC venue at Spring Fair to show their valid COVID-19 Pass, or a negative result to a Lateral Flow Test taken within 48hours. In addition, aligned to Government guidelines, all attendees will have to wear a face covering during the show.

The organizers have increased curated meetings exponentially for Spring Fair, incorporating all sectors of the show. Averaging £330k in buying power, leading retailers signed up include Denby Retail, John Lewis & Partners, Midcounties Coop Food, Paper Tiger, Yorkshire Willow, Whirligig Toys, Riley's Garden Centre, Evie&me Interiors, Staines &Brights, D Cutler International, and Four Sisters.

Sarah Ward, CEO, Giftware Association, adds,pring Fair is crucial for the future of the giftware industry, not just to source products but also to facilitate and build relationships, to forge new partnerships, and to discover and drive innovation and inspiration.

Held from January 05-07, the first edition of the Surf Expo 2022 was attended by two companies from Texbrasil(Brazilian Textile and Fashion Industry Internationalization Program) — the result of a partnership between Abit (Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association) and ApexBrasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency).

Beachwear brands Guria Beachwear and Rio de Sol also returned to the event with new pieces for Summer 2022. The tradeshow, which takes place twice a year in Orlando, Florida, brings together major players in the sports, beach, and fitness fashion market.

In addition to North American buyers, the tradeshow stands out for also concentrating retailers from the Caribbean, Central and South America. In 2021, Texbrasil companies made $230, 000 during the event, winning important new customers.

Events like this allow Brazilian brands to disseminate and expand to important target markets. Surf Expo has qualified buyers who certainly will be impressed by the quality of the Brazilian product”, says LilianKaddisi, Executive Manager, Texbrasil

On December 30, 2021, Nitin Spinners approved capacity expansion at a total project cost of Rs 950 crore. The expansion is targeted to be completed over next 20 months with an aim to strengthen the company's market position and capture the benefits of a growing market opportunity in international as well as domestic markets, Nitin Spinners said.

According to the company, the Indian cotton industry is well poised to take advantage of improving demand across the globe and the china + supply chain strategy adopted by global majors.The government thrust on Atmanirbhar Bharat is expected to surge internal demand for raw materials thereby uplifting industry ecosystem. The company hopes to capitalize on growth opportunities arising from investment promotion scheme of the state government and other schemes of central government.

For the first half (April-September) of financial year 2021-22 (H1FY22), Nitin Spinners had reported profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 147 crore as against Rs 3 crore in H1FY21. Revenue from operations grew 88.6 per cent year on year (YoY) to Rs 1,218 crore from Rs 646 crore in the same period last fiscal. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (ebitda) margin improved to 25.1 per cent from 12.2 per cent.

The company achieved sales of 11.34 million meters of woven fabric in H1FY22 contributing to 14 per cent of revenue in H1FY22. The company exported more than 70 per cent of its production to over 50 countries across the globe during H1FY22.

Copenhagen Fashion Week has unveiled the schedule for its AW22 show that will take place in Copenhagen from February 01-04, 2022. The show will presents 20 physical activations that will be digitally broadcast alongside 9 fully digital showcases and 2 digital showcases with physical screenings, alongside a curated list of events, talks and activations. The full series will be available to watch live from YouTube/fashion - streamed directly on the home page for our global community.

The AW22 season of Copenhagen Fashion Week will hosts around 31 brands include A Roege Hove and (di) vision who will showcase alongside internationally renowned Nordic brands including Ganni, Stine Goya, Holzweiler, Saks QPotts and Marienokko..The AW22 edition will also mark a return of brands like Martin Asbjorn and Wood Wood. Furthermore, Jade Cropper, winner of this season's Talent Slot will present for the first time as part of Copenhagen Fashion Week. For the third season of the Zalando Sustainability Award, Iso.Poetism by Tobias BirkNeilsen, Fassbender and Tommorrow Denim, Fassbender and Tomorrow Denim will present their collections as finalists, with the winner announced during the AW22 edition.

John Jacobs plans to expand its retail presence in India. The eyewear brand opened a 1,200 square feet store in Andheri, Mumbai. It is targeting landmark locations that provide the best opportunities for brand awareness and recall.

Stocked with the coolest eyeglasses and sunglasses in fine quality and at affordable prices, John Jacobs fits the bill perfectly for Mumbai shoppers. Its new store is outfitted with a chic ambience, vintage decor, stunning interiors swathed in warm lighting and a hip vibe.

In line with pandemic regulations, masks are mandatory for all staff and customers at every JJ store, with regular temperature checks and hand sanitisers at entrances; along with a vigilant eye on social distancing guidelines. Staff and customer capacity for each store is being monitored as per instructions by authorities.

Nonprofit organization Remake’s second annual accountability report naming the worst performance in sustainability has been published. The report lists some of the least accountable brands in 2021 which includes Foreever 21, Ross, Global Brands TJX, Cros, Inc, Edingburg Woolen Mill, the Children’s Place, etc. Most of these brands scored negative points on a possible 150-point scale, as per a report by Women’s Wear Daily.

Remake consulted over a dozen industry experts across human rights, employment, fashion and law for this report. It also relied on publicly available disclosures. Rating 60 fashion companies across fast fashion, luxury, children’s wear, the nonprofit also evaluated the performance of smaller brands like Christy Dawn, Nudie Jeans and Nisolo. The brands were evaluated for their transparency, wages and well-being, commercial practices, raw materials, environmental justice and climate change, governance, diversity and inclusion. Remake also ranked the companies for their total product output and the impact they had on the environment.

Worst offenders

In the results that followed, Supreme, Allbirds and Everlane emerged as the worst offenders in sustainability in November 2020. Forever 21 and Ross scored lowest with 13 points while the highest score of 83 points was awarded to Nisolo. Despite being one of the most profitable companies in the world, Ross scores low on human rights. The company’s initiative, Ross Dress for Less, is known for wage theft in California apparel factories. It has benefited from the state’s sweatshop conditions for years, shows the report.

Not only this, Ross Stores allow trade associations to lobby against the wage theft legislation titled, ‘Garment Worker Protection Act,” passed in California in September. The report also reprimands Forever 21 for its low-price, fast-fashion business model. The brand is notorious for stealing designs from young designers, paying sweatshop wages in Los Angeles and being opaque about its supply chain.

The California Company is known to have violated the Garment Worker Protection Act time and again. . The company only scores in the area of animal welfare, which is however designed to distract from its use of oil-derived fabrics like polyester. Another offender is the Global Brands Group, which has been shamed for its stake in the American Apparel and Footwear Association, which lobbied against the legislation.

Nisolo emerges most transparent brand

Nisolo emerged as the highest scoring brand in the list for being transparent about its social sustainability efforts. The Nashville-based leather goods brand was honored for paying living wages to not only garment makers and direct employees but also models, photographers, photo assistants and logistics workers. The company is also transparent about its production processes and carbon footprint. The report, however, urges the company to be more transparent about its raw material suppliers, especially around leather sourcing.

The report also ranks companies for launching campaigns for communities of color. Only 12 per cent companies invested in communities where they operate, and mere 8 per cent companies were able to prove living wages.

Levi’s, only brand to achieve targets

Finally, the report names Levi’s as the only brand being on track to achieve its science-based climate target. Levi’s was early to adopt sustainable practices like water-saving and less toxic denim manufacturing. It reduced carbon emissions in 2020 in line with its science-based target, adds the report.

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, "Readymade Garment Market by Product Type, Application, Fabric Type, Age Group, Sales Channel, and Region: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021–2027”, global readymade garments market is projected to reach $1,268.3 billion by 2027, with a CAGR of 8.8 per cent from 2021 to 2027. The outer clothing segment is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.8 per cent during the forecast period.

China is the largest country in terms of demand and production of readymade garments in the readymade garments market. E-commerce is anticipated to witness the highest growth rate, registering a notable CAGR from 2021 to 2027, in value terms. The formal wear segment is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 9.1 per cent during the forecast period. However, the others segment is expected to witness higher growth rate during the forecast.

The woven garments market is estimated to register a CAGR of 9.1 per cent during the forecast period. However, the non-woven segment is expected to witness a high growth rate of 8.6 per cent during the forecast period. Based on As age group, the adult segment is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 9.1 per cent during the forecast period. However, kids segment is expected to witness a high growth rate of 9.4 per cent during the forecast period.

According to sales channel, the supermarket/hypermarket segment is estimated to exhibit a CAGR of 9.0 per cent during the forecast period. However, the e-commerce segment is expected to witness higher growth rate during the forecast.

Men’s trade show Project has been postponed from January 26-27, 2022 to July to better serve the menswear market. As per a Sourcing Journal report, the move allows the trade show to concentrate its efforts on Project Las Vegas, scheduled for February 14-16 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

By postponing the New York event, the organizers will be able bring both events to life in a more meaningful way for the menswear community, safeguarding the health and safety of our community while ensuring all brands and buyers receive the highest quality experience.

In November, organizers announced Project New York’s return after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19. The show was intended to showcase in an intimate setting an edited assortment of upcoming and immediate season collections by domestic and international men’s brands. Some brands, however, will show at Project Las Vegas instead, including 34 Heritage, Paraboot, Inc., Serge Blanco, Taft Clothing, Inc., and Tiger of Sweden.

Delayed due to pandemic, the revised Première Vision Paris calendar, will now be introduced in 2022. As per a Knitting Industry report, dates of flagship event will be advanced to meet current market demand, which has seen significant expansion in terms of design and collection-delivery calendars.

The show will now be at the end of January-early February for Spring/Summer collections, and in the first two weeks of July for the Autumn/Winter collections. In 2022, the hybrid event will be held at the Parc des Expositions de Paris Nord Villepinte (physical show) and online on the Première Vision website and marketplace (Digital Show).

Première Vision Group decided to advance its traditional dates from mid-February for Spring/Summer and mid-September for Autumn/Winter in order to meet audiences’ new needs regarding material selections and inspiration. These were brought to light in a European-wide survey of 1765 industry professionals conducted on its behalf by the Institut Français de la Mode and communicated in the first semester of 2020.

The results of the survey indicated that 72 per cent of the brands surveyed favored advancing the show to the end of January/early February, and 69 per cent favored an event held at the beginning of July.