Indonesia's exports of personal protective equipment (PPE) have decreased in the second year of the pandemic reveals Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data. Increased awareness about the spread of Covid cases due to the Omicron variant is not expected to have any effect. Exports of personal protective equipment are likely to decline in 2021 compared to 2020. Exports of meltbown cloth, surgical masks, N95 respirator masks, medical protective clothing, and surgical gowns that fall into the PPE category and their raw materials decreased from January to September 2021.

Although Indonesia’s PPE exports showed a decline, the contribution of PPE to the country’s total exports of textiles and textile products is very small. Export prospect of Indonesia's PPE products contrasts the projected export of Chinese personal protective products which is expected to grow if the spread of the Omicron variant expands and triggers a spike in cases. This projection is in line with the continued increase in China's exports and imports in November 2021.

After the disaster, the recovery, this new reality has caused unprecedented disruption and, in many cases, catastrophic ramifications for thousands of garment businesses across the world. Brands are emerging from the ordeal, trying to make a fresh beginning.

Egypt can be an exporter of medical fabrics. This includes medical clothing such as drapes, scrubs, and gowns, gloves, facial protection, sterilization wraps, protective apparel, and others. Egypt is supporting companies to reorient part of their production into medical apparel. The International Trade Centre's SME Competitiveness Outlook report acknowledged Egypt's s potential in becoming regional leadership in exports of synthetic nonwoven fabrics, an essential material for filtered mask production.

Year 2020, was a pivotal for medical apparel due to Covid. The pandemic had a significant impact on the sector and resulted in several changes, including, among others, a surge in demand for medical clothing from the public which was required to wear face protection and from hospitals. As a consequence the market for medical apparel grew by a staggering 46 per cent and consumption is expected to grow at around five per cent until 2027in North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa. These markets represent around 75 per cent of the global sector. Due to its proximity and duty-free access, Egypt has preferential access to most of them.

However, this sector’s growth in Egypt requires innovation, sensitization of the relevant authorities on the importance of protective apparel and the ability to produce them locally, as well as by creating an enabling business environment for the local industry to grasp identified opportunities.

Walmart plans to export $10 billion worth of goods out of India a year by 2027. This is expected to create a network of small and medium enterprises selling to the company’s global buyers and help in the Make-in-India program and accelerate India’s progress as a manufacturing destination that can export to the world.

In India, Walmart employs about 1,40,000 staff, mainly in its Flipkart unit. With the Flipkart acquisition, Walmart also inherited the digital payment company PhonePe, which currently does about 20 billion UPI transactions a year. PhonePe has digitized 25 million small merchants and kirana stores in India. Offline merchant transactions on its platform have shown 200 per cent growth since last year. PhonePe is probably India’s largest digital payments platform and leads the industry on all key metrics which include value and volume of transactions, registered users as well as merchant coverage. The Bangalore -based firm now has a merchant network across 15,700 towns and villages, constituting 99 per cent pin codes in the country. PhonePe now has over 335 million registered users. It is also accepted at over 22 million merchant outlets across India. Using PhonePe, users can send and receive money, recharge mobiles, DTH, pay at stores, make utility payments and also buy and invest in gold and silver.

The just concluded Techtextil india 2021 emerged as an important avenue for tehnical textile players to rebuild supplier links, promote industry integration and engage in lucrative knowledge exchange. Held at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai, the eighth edition of Techtextil India provided a platform for technical textile sector to build a new and strong foundation in new normal. The event aimed to unite industry towards the common cause of business recovery across the value chain of technical textiles.

Exploring new opportunites

The high-profile event was inaugurated by Ajit Chavan, Secretary, Textiles Committee, Ministry of Textiles. The show was attended by over f 4,087 visitors who enjoyed the display of the latest products, technologies and innovations exhibited by over 150 technical textile brands on the show floor. Reflecting industry’s keen interest to explore new developments and opportunities in technical textiles, the event received an overwhelming response. Abhijit Kulkarni, President, Textile Engineering Group, ATE India says, the hybrid show was filled with enthusiastic buyers and customers who had many fruitful discussions with leading textile manufacturers including: Strata Geosystems India, SKAPS Industries, Reliance Composites, Paramount Textiles, and Welspun, etc.

Leading exhibitiors included Alok Masterbatches, Khosla Profile, ATE Group, Lucky International, Meera Industries, Park Non-Woven, Sarex Chemicals, SICAM, among others. They exhibited latest innovations like the specialized non-woven fabrics for high temperature filateration with membrane technology.

Success beyond expectations

Pramod Khosla, Director, Khosla Profile informs, the show received a tremendous response despite the unprecedented situation created by pandemic. A key Indian exhibitor in non-wovens, Robin Kapoor, CEO & MD, Park Nonwoven says, this year his company showcased high-efficiency media for air and liquid filtration.The company received response far beyond its expectations and looks forward to the next exhibition in 2023.

Technical textile brand, JB Ecotex exhibited eco-friendly technical textiles made with recycled dumped plastic bottles and plastic waste. “The company’s new product Renaya is a GRS certified premium recycled fibre competes with virgin fibre in each and every parameter,” says Amit Jain, Director.

Major attractions

One major attraction at the three-day fair was the German pavilion attended by top technical textile manufacturers from Germany, such as Autefa Solution Germany GmbH, DILO Systems GmbH, Emtec Electronic GmbH, etc.

Another major highlight was the first Digital Symposium that delved into a series of crucial topics in technical textiles discussing PLI schemes, FDI opportunities and policies, investment opportunities in Tamil Nadu, & New Investment Opportunities, Sustainable Technical Textiles and Global sustainable approach for Textiles with Antimicrobial Performance.

Overall, Techtextil India 2021 heralded a new beginning for the technical textiles sector and for businesses seeking to gain momentum after the tough pandemic phase.

Department store chain JC Penney has added Forever 21 to its offerings. The partnership means JC Penney will feature a curated assortment from the fashion retailer’s line of women’s products, trend pieces and exclusive collaborations. Forever 21 and JC Penney share a mission to make the latest trends accessible to all while inspiring unique style and confidence. The addition of this brand rounds out the department store chain’s assortment and brings an exciting new element of in-the-moment fashion. The range of Forever 21 tops, bottoms and dresses at JC Penney is rooted in West Coast style and composed of new, neutral must-haves and trending design aesthetics like lush velvet and chic floral.

Forever 21’s relationship with the Generation Z customer is a perfect alignment for JC Penney, who is also committed to bringing innovation, excitement and fashion to a young consumer that understands the quickly evolving trends in fashion.

Exclusive private label brands in apparel for women’s, men’s and children’s were always a staple at JC Penney. Teen fashion retailer Forever 21 was founded in 1984 and became a multibillion dollar operation in over 40 countries. The brand specialised in the fast fashion principle as it made outfits for young teenage girls, who wanted to dress like their favorite celebrities. Forever 21 helped them by providing these fast and at affordable rates.

Bemberg by Asahi Kasei is the brand name of the regenerated cellulose fiber made from the smart tech transformation of cotton linters - short downy fiber enfolding cotton seeds. Bemberg that completes 90 years is pre-consumer materials obtained from manufacturing process of cotton oil that are converted through a traceable and transparent closed loop process. The production of Bemberg is based on a circular economy approach. Bemberg fiber is the key ingredient of some of the most cutting-edge design innovations and has proved to be a sustainable, responsible and innovative material.

In 2021, Bemberg celebrates nine decades of commitment to deliver true timeless beauty, style and touch thanks to its responsible innovation heritage and soul. And today it relaunches a new gender aesthetics that speaks about contemporary values of transparency, inclusivity and sustainability.

Asahi Kasei, based in Japan, has a fabric range called Ecosensor. This implements a new generation of values, with the aim of keeping nature, body and mind in harmony. The whole collection is focused on advanced technology and environmental responsibility. Thanks to Ecosensor’s unique value-chain based on recycling technology, most part of its yarns are certified by the renowned Global Recycled Standard. Even the dyeing and finishing phases have been certified by international labels such as bluesign and Oeko-Tex Standard 100.

Indorama India will open a plant in Himachal Pradesh. This is Indorama’s third plant in Himachal Pradesh. It will augment the spandex capacity of Indorama to 75 metric tons a day and will be ready by the end of 2022. Indorama’s spandex brand Inviya, provides functional solutions to high end garments and accessories like elastics, tapes etc and hygiene products like diapers. Inviya is available in denier ranging from 10 to 1680 in different lusters to address consumer needs across various segments. Indorama is the only company in Indian subcontinent to produce elastomeric yarns meant for applications like elastics, narrow fabrics and diapers. Apart from meeting the demand from domestic markets, Inviya is exported to Bangladesh, Turkey and Latin America for various applications in textiles and clothing.

The company has undertaken several transformative initiatives that are targeted to lead to run rate cost savings by 2023. Key strategic priorities for the group are footprint expansion into a growing market in India; formation of a dedicated team to grow the PET recycling business; and a continued focus on working capital optimization coupled with an increased emphasis on leadership development. It continues to build durable competitive advantages through its diversified portfolio.

Consumers are demanding transparency in the supply chain, says material science company Avery Dennison. A survey by Avery Dennison Corporation in its latest ‘Digital Consumer Behaviour’ report, produced in partnership with GWI, affirms this. More than 5,000 fashion buyers from across the U.S., UK, France, Germany and China were questioned on their desire for a greener way to shopIn addition, consumers want the items they purchase to be traced through the supply chain to prove their fashion circularity. Ways to do this include attaching digital labels onto clothing and allowing consumers to access supply chain information (including how to recycle the garment) on an app. So retailers with convenient ways to communicate through smart labels will be in a strong position to drive brand loyalty, while actively supporting fashion circularity.

More than 5,000 fashion buyers from across the US, UK, France, Germany and China were questioned on their desire for a greener way to shop. Across the global markets surveyed, 62 per cent of people want brands and retailers to make end-of-life options accessible for their products, with 58 per cent saying fashion brands should help consumers repair items, and 57 per cent saying brands should help consumers resell items when they no longer want to keep them.

Technology can bring more value to consumers, retailers and brands, allowing them all to adopt powerful new behavior to support circularity. Scaling up circularity in fashion doesn’t just benefit the environment and reduce waste, it offers another touch point for consumers to get deeper product stories and better engage with brands.

Iluna and Maglificio Ripa have forged a strategic collaboration in their pursuit of sustainable fashion. They have common sectors - from underwear to beachwear and sportswear. Iluna is a leader in smart lace and Maglificio Ripa makes premium and responsible jersey. The products that constitute the core business of Iluna are microfiber and tulle fabrics, rigid and elastic lace for outerwear, underwear, corsetry and beachwear, hosiery and seamless garments with Karl Mayer technology. Furthermore, Iluna presents an exceptional range of natural colors made from flowers and plants and a color chart with 16 shades, which is continuously expanding. All dyes are GOTS certified and meet the requirements of OEKO TEX® Standard 100.

This is a new model of partnership, a strategic symbiosis aimed at developing together new paths that can lead both to growth. The collections are presented in the same context and are aimed at nurturing the creativity of customers. Iluna and Maglificio Ripa jointly created their new campaign with a photo shoot and a video clip as well as jointly developed a trend scenario that allowed both companies to better embrace the evolving market by sharing information, perspectives and ideas.

For the first nine months of 2021, Cambodia’s exports for garments increased 11 per cent compared to the first nine months of 2020, says General of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia. Clothing exports grew five per cent; footwear exports increased 15 per cent; exports of travel products are up 30 per cent.

The situation in Cambodia’s garment sector has improved due to stable production, leading to an increase in exports, while orders for this year are more than they were last year. Cambodia’s garment exports to the United States increased 31 per cent in September 2021, although GSP has not yet been re-validated. Despite Covid, the Cambodian garment industry managed to avoid falling into negative territory. The industry has been gaining market share as a result of extraordinary hurdles stemming from political concerns and Covid consequences of rival nations. The surge in garment exports bodes well for economic activity in the country as other nations grapple with the difficult conditions imposed by the virus.

Import of fabrics for garment production increased more than 25 per cent. The increase in imports of raw materials for garment production this year has been in line with the growth of exports of garments and travel products.