Uwe Rondé has a strong technical background and extensive management experience. He brings with him over 30 years of experience in the machine tool business and the manufacturing space. Most recently, he was managing director of EMAG in Germany, having previously headed up the machine tool and production systems supplier’s Chinese subsidiary. He was also CEO of Franz Kessler, one of the biggest motor spindle manufacturers in the world, and of Intercontec Pfeiffer, a manufacturer of connectors. He will continue to drive the further development of technological innovation, product competitiveness and management as well as the success of Saurer’s future strategy.

Saurer plans and instal transport systems, especially between roving frames and ring-spinning machines. The company has successfully implemented over 100 systems worldwide. The new product line serves as customers’ expert engineering partner for integrated automation solutions across the entire textile value chain. It consists of specially designed automation elements that the project engineering team combines into tailored system solutions that are seamlessly integrated into customers’ processes. These offer tailor-made automation solutions in the areas of staple fiber spinning and twisting, filament twisting and cabling and project engineering. Thanks to these solutions, Saurer is meeting the growing demand for cost-effective automation of spinning.

Vicunha has launched denim made with hemp. Hemp is one of the most versatile and sustainable fibers in the world. Among the advantages of hemp are its high-yield culture and a renewable resource. This means that it produces much more fiber per acre compared to other raw materials, requiring even less water and land in the crop.

Vicunha is one of the first Brazilian textile companies to invest in manufacturing fabrics with hemp in the country. Among the novelties produced with the mixture of cotton and hemp, there are four products: hemp and hemp light (in denim) and Itacaré and Maragogi (in twill).

The launches are part of the Vicunha’s V.Eco product line. Vicunha is in a constant search for sustainable innovations and solutions that save resources and reduce the impact on the environment. And it saw this opportunity in hemp, to deliver to the market a sustainable product, of high quality and low environmental impact.

In addition, the Brazilian jeanswear brand has also created, in partnership with the Swedish company Polygiene, an innovative technology that inhibits the growth of odor-causing bacteria created from sweat, heat or humidity. The products developed by Vicunha are available in denim and denim color bases.

The Republic of Korea has invested heavily in the textile, garment, leather and footwear industries of Vietnam. Korea is investing in Vietnam’s textile and garment industry in a big way. As per Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, Korea is one of the biggest trading partners. The move is to satisfy growing orders from US importers, mostly leading retailers such as Target, Walmart, Kohls, Kmart, Sears and Tesco. With more than 500 businesses based in Vietnam, and nearly two billion dollars in total committed capital, Korean investment has helped bolster Vietnam’s textile and garment industry.

Korea is one of the leading economic partners of Vietnam, ranking first in foreign direct investment and third in trade with Vietnam. Bilateral trade in the first ten months of 2021 was up 17.6 per cent year on year. Korea hopes to invest more in Vietnam’s industry, especially in material production and design, so as to benefit from preferential treatment under free trade agreements.

Vietnam is the second biggest exporter of leather and footwear products in the world. There are nearly 2,000 enterprises in this sector, and they engage in all production steps. Meanwhile, the Republic of Korea is one of the five main export markets of this industry. Given this, Vietnamese businesses have relatively big opportunities to cooperate with Korean importers to boost exports.

Desolina Suter is the new fashion director of Première Vision. Of dual French/Italian origin, Suter is an expert in materials, colors and trends. She began her career as a textile designer for the Boussac Group, and later worked for Habitat. She oversaw the development and launch of Armani’s home collection. After working for four years at the Italian fashion house, and interested in taking on new projects and challenges, Suter founded her own consulting firm, specialised in fashion, home and decoration. For 20 years, she has worked to imagine and propose creative solutions to inspire and assist professionals - industrialists and fashion and design brands - in developing their products.

Suter will be in charge of coordinating the Première Vision fashion team, charged with planning the organisation of forward-looking fashion information at a time of important changes to the Première Vision show calendar. This involves developing seasonal directions in advance of the shows, in collaboration with international experts and professionals, and in association with exhibiting manufacturers. She will also help in adapting key seasonal, material and color directions to the needs of the market, to provide concrete support to manufacturers as they develop their collections of materials. Further, she will be responsible in developing new communication channels and tools to transmit Première Vision's fashion information in an impactful manner to its target audiences: exhibiting manufacturers, designers and creative fashion and accessories brands and more.

Entrepreneurs in Namibia are positioning themselves to seize the opportunities created under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. Hurdles in paperwork due to stringent requirements for compliance and long wait often thwart their efforts. The duration for imports and exports also eats into their cost of doing business and adds to the operations of the business. The trade barriers are many and thus discourage traders from stimulating cross-border trade. To leverage the free trade area, entrepreneurs are positioning their ventures to maximize opportunities under the agreement. Operators in the tourism fraternity are also exploring ways to expand market share within the continent.

They are looking at collaborating with other ventures in the African continent through inclusive packages for the continental market and populace. The sector is pleased about AfCTA as it contributes to the movement of capital and natural persons, which would be an added advantage for the tourism sector. The agreement also presents more opportunities for the local economy and contains strong potential to promote industrialization in sectors including textiles, apparel, leather, milk and dairy products, wood and paper, metals, chemicals, vehicle and transport, electronics and other machinery. Namibia has always taken part in negotiations to reduce non-tariff barriers and remove trade barriers of products manufactured in Africa.

Tencel has launched a campaign to combat carbon emissions caused by the fashion industry. The campaign wants to continue to raise awareness and inspire action to make a change. The movement has managed to plant over 7,500 trees to combat carbon emissions from the fashion industry. Within the initiative, Tencel has also begun a partnership with renowned artist Bodil Jane to create the artwork for the campaign.

TikTok and Instagram users are encouraged to post a 15-second video while wearing their favorite outfit by eco-friendly brands or created with sustainably made pieces, showing how cool it is to wear eco-friendly fashion. At the end of the posting, they can redeem the certificate to plant a tree in their name. The fashion industry is responsible for eight per cent to ten per cent of global carbon emissions. Fast fashion has only exacerbated the problem as consumers are increasingly purchasing clothes with reduced shelf lives. Although the world is striving to achieve net-zero carbon, fashion isn’t doing enough. The industry has a long way to go in combating waste and fast fashion, but with such movements people are finally empowered to take action and choose brands that are caring for the planet.

Cotton production in India during the cotton season 2021-22 is expected to be above 350 lakh bales, says Indian Cotton Federation. The increase in minimum support prices has encouraged farmers and helped maintain the area under cotton. It incentivised farmers to take up better crop management practices. On the export front, too, the demand is robust. The Indian textile industry saw good demand during Covid because of the market for protective garments and later because of the market going up for garments and made-ups.

The challenges now are the need for fiber quality, proper grading, improved seed and initiatives to realise better yields. It is believed that with the right initiatives Indian farmers can reach an yield of 1000 kg. Also many brands in the US and Europe are forcing suppliers to go in for the sustainable tag and Indian cotton has not been recognised as sustainable. So there is a need for simple sustainable guidelines, which can be easily implemented by the Indian farmer.

Out of India’s total cotton exports, 40 per cent is exported to China. Similarly China has a 28 per cent share in India’s yarn exports. In cotton and cotton yarn, Vietnam is the third largest importer for India.

A new market research report ‘Smart Textiles Market’ estimates, the market will grow at a CAGR of 23.2 per cent from $2.3 billion in 2021 to $6.6 billion by 2026. Growth will be mainly driven by adoption of advanced technologies, miniaturization of electronic components, expansion of wearable industry, etc.

The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 impacted global demand for smart textiles with many companies being forced to adopt remote working practices. Lockdowns in almost all major countries disrupted supply chains, halting manufacturing activities and delaying production. As a large share of the global population is working from home, there is growing preference for indoor fitness activities, leading to a surge in demand for apparels and accessories integrated with smart applications and sensors that can monitor heart rate and oxygen levels. Some countries like the US are also using smart textiles in other forms like heated blankets and socks in some countries like the US.

Passive smart textiles used in military and protection

The first generation of smart textiles is known as passive smart textiles. These can only sense environmental conditions or stimuli but cannot adjust according to external changes. Some passive smart textiles include optical fiber-embedded fabrics, conductive fabrics UV protective clothing, antibacterial fabric textiles, multilayer composite fibers and textiles, plasma-treated fabrics, ceramic-coated fabrics, conductive fibers, and fabrics with optical sensors. These are majorly used in the military and protection vertical due to their ruggedness.

Companies offering passive smart textiles across the world include DuPont, which provides fibers, industrial fabrics, and covers used in the medical, military, and aerospace verticals, and Outlast Technologies, which provides acrylic, viscose, and polyester fabrics used in bedding, apparel, and footwear applications.

Sensitive to external stimuli

Smart textiles are sensitive to environmental conditions or stimuli generated through mechanical, thermal, chemical, electrical, magnetic, or any other sources. They can monitor body heat, heart rate, respiration rate, motion and speed through various sensors. On being used in gloves, shirts, and pants, these smart textiles can also sense different health parameters of a wearer. They can also track the wearer’s psychological movements such as bending, location, movement, and pressure.

In terms of growth, North America holds the largest share in the smart textiles market due to its technological innovations and advancements. The country is witnessing a demand boom from the electronics and medical industries. Some key players are: DuPont, Alphabet , Jabil, AIQ Sensoria and Gentherm from the US; Interactive Wear and Adidas from Germany, Hexoskin from Canada and TenCate from the Netherlands.

As per latest Allied Market Research report, the global denim fabric market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 4.4 per cent from 2021 to 2030 to reach $27.9 billion by 2030. Market growth will be driven by the availability of denim fabrics at affordable prices and socio-economic trends, adds a report by the Textile Value Chain. Demand for denim fabrics is abundant in countries like India, China, Brazil, Italy, and Bangladesh due to the easy availability of cotton. The entry of new manufacturers is encouraging leading players in these markets to expand their international presence

However, growth in these markets is also being hindered by the uncertainty in raw material prices and environmental concerns arising due to usage of synthetic dyes. This is leading to a fluctuation in cotton prices, as seen from USDA stats. Statistics shows drop of 5.3 million bales in cotton production from May 2020 to September 2021 compared to the same period in previous year. Additionally, the use of synthetic chemicals during dyeing processes and other hardware materials including rivets and metal buttons is leading to environmental pollution, restraining market growth.

Biodegradable fibers present new opportunities

On the other hand, the launch of biodegradable denim fabrics is creating new opportunities for denim manufacturers. These biodegradable materials are expected to reduce the volumes in landfills and decompose to ensure environmental protection.

In 2020, the pandemic negatively impacted denim fabric market as manufacturing facilities remained closed and supply chains were disrupted. Several denim fabric manufacturing companies and mills had to shut down their facilities or reduce operational capacities to prevent their workers from getting infected. This not only hampered production volumes but also increased prices of raw materials, specifically cotton and cotton yarn.

A report by the Denim Manufacturers Association of India (DMAI) states, prices of cotton and cotton yarn increased 20-30 per cent in December 2020 compared to March 2020.

Pandemic impacts denim products demand

The pandemic also led to a reduction in disposable income. This impacted their demand for premium denim products. Besides, the industry faced various challenges related to transportation, unavailability of skilled workforce, and ban on export/import activities. This led to a reduction in overall revenue in the market. It also compelled several organizers to postpone their textile shows and exhibitions, impacting the possibility of getting new clients and increasing global sales for the denim fabric manufacturers.

Raw cotton segment poised for highest growth

Based on raw material, the denim fabric market can be segmented further into cotton, spandex, polyester, and others. Holding the highest revenue in 2020, the cotton segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.5 per cent from 2021 to 2030. Having less weight and more durable, the segment is further divided on the basis of fabric type into raw, crushed, sanforized, selvedge, stretch, and others. Of these, the raw segment accounted for the highest share in 2020, and is anticipated to witness a CAGR of 4.4 per cent during the forecast period.

Based on end-use industry, the denim fabric market is fragmented into clothing and apparel, décor and homeware, and accessories. Geographically, the denim fabric market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. The Asia-Pacific market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.6 per cent during the forecast period. This growth will be mainly spurred by easy availability of cotton and rise in utilization of denim fabric to produce a wide range of products such as jeans, jackets, shirts, and others.

Ermenegildo Zegna is planning vertical integration -- whether it’s leather, apparel or accessories. The Italian luxury house is open to acquiring other textile manufacturers or a fashion brand that’s strong with younger shoppers. An acquisition would broaden the company’s ability to manufacture fabrics or fibers, for instance, and would also be less expensive than purchasing a new brand. Zegna manufactures its own fabrics, knitwear and yarns, and also sells those products to other brands.

The company would also consider acquiring a fashion company. But potential acquisitions are not likely to be immediate. In 2022, Zegna’s focus would be on growing organically, in part because of the uncertain trajectory of the pandemic. Ermenegildo Zegna is a global leader in menswear. It expects 2022 sales to be 11 percent higher than this year’s.

The company isn’t as profitable as peers. Retail space productivity at less than three million euros per store is one reason. Fabric manufacturing for third parties is likely another factor depressing profitability. The recent trend toward more casual dressing, which has been accelerated by the pandemic, has put the luxury suit maker on its back foot. Zegna wants to decrease its share of formal wear and increase its leisure wear sales to more than half of revenue by 2023.