British retailer Marks & Spencer plans to close all 11 franchise nine stores it runs with partner SFH in France over the coming months after new trade rules in place since Britain left the European Union hammered product availability.

The remaining nine franchise stores, run by the group with Lagardere Travel Retail, will continue to trade and the pair were working on a sustainable future business model.

The 11 stores that will close by the end of this year are located predominantly across the high streets of Paris.

The nine stores run by Lagardere are located in travel hubs such as airports, railway and metro stations.

In April, M&S reconfigured its food business in the Czech Republic to remove supply chain risks. It took out all fresh and chilled products from stores, and doubled ranges of frozen and ambient products.

Last month, M&S upgraded its profit outlook after a jump in demand for food in its home market and a surge in online clothes sales indicated that its latest turnaround plan was starting to deliver.

Gap has added Next as a franchise partner to manage its online business in the UK and Ireland, after the companies finalizes an agreement.

The fashion company will form a joint venture with Next owning 51 per cent and Gap owning 49 per cent. As per a Retail Gazette report, Next will operate Gap’s online business across the Next Total Platform, host Gap-branded shop-in-shops and offer click-and-collect options next year.

American retailer Gap is in the process of closing all its 81 stores in the UK after a strategic review of the company concluded it should move to online-only.

Mark Bertbard, President and CEO, Gap Global says, the partnership will amplify Gap’s omnichannel business and meet customers where they were shopping now.

It comes as the pandemic sped up a rise in online purchasing and online fashion giants have marked soaring sales from lockdown shoppers.

In collaboration with MOTIF and ISPO, Alvanon has launched its second annual 3D Tech Fest featuring 3D tech leaders, creative directors and innovators from across the globe.

The conference is scheduled to be held from September 21-23, 2021. It will feature 3D professionals and users who know and are willing to share, inform, advise and inspire our industry.

The latest 3D innovations are blurring the lines between the digital and physical worlds, creating a Metaverse in which fashion professionals can design, develop, sample, and sell apparel in a virtual world before making the product. It benefits businesses, suppliers, consumers and the planet. For the 2021 event, Alvanon and MOTIF have selected 3D software companies at the forefront of these technologies. They will address the themes of Adopting 3D and Digital Product Creation (DPC), Digital Transformation and the Metaverse.

The conference will be divided into three key themes: adopting 3D and Digital Product Creation (DPC); digital transformation, technology and innovation and an\introduction to the Metaverse.

Government of Tamil Nadu – Guidance has signed up for Techtextil India 2021 – the leading International Trade Fair for Technical Textiles and Nonwovens. Through this fair, the government will promote technical textile policies, enabling investors to set up integrated facilities. Leading technical textile players from Tamil Nadu and across the nation confirm participation for the three-day business event.

As one of the first major business events in India for the technical textile sector since the pandemic, Techtextil India 2021 will reunite the industry to present a strong showcase of technical textile technologies crucial for the development of India across industries such as healthcare, agriculture, construction, infrastructure, sports, apparel etc. The first hybrid edition will take place from November 25-27, 2021 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai.

Announcing a close co-operation with Messe Frankfurt India for the 2021 edition, the Government of Tamil Nadu will highlight investment prospects at the trade fair in a bid to attract companies and investors to the state.

Covering the most demanding application areas, the trade fair is known to attract buyers from the fields of agriculture, automotive, building, clothing and protective clothing, environmental protection, geo-technology, housing and home, medical science, packaging and sports, etc. The three-day business event will also include a series of digital symposiums to present a global outlook on the technical textile trends, current industry debate on sustainability and digitalization as well as opportunities for the Indian technical textile players in the global arena.

Fabric show organizer Munich Fabric Start Exhibitions is launching a process for the complete digitization of fabrics under the name Fabric ID. The process involves turning textiles into virtual data to create digital twins that are said to reproduce the texture and color of the materials realistically and flawlessly.

The company uses XTex and Can:scan scanners developed by software companies Vizoo and Caddon Printing & Imaging for the process. It then produces a fabric ID that is intended to make textiles technically identifiable, traceable and usable. Digitization takes place in the Fabric Studio, the showroom of Munich Fabric Start Exhibitions. There, the textiles are scanned.

In the first step, the color and pattern are determined, followed by the surface structure. This is followed by a physical material analysis, which determines the weight, bending stiffness, thickness, elasticity and other material properties of the textile to enable an accurate simulation of the fabric's fall properties.

In addition, Fabric.ID will also understand the spectral yarn color values of the dye house and the weaving data of industrial looms to generate visually correct and color-correct textures for 3D application. By using the open source U3M format, the digital material should be compatible with almost any 3D-enabled application. Since fabrics can vary greatly in texture, three different categories are offered: Standard for low-textured, single-color material, as well as Advanced for stronger textures and colors, and as a third category Complex, for complex patterns and highly glossy material.

Reference trade fair for the nonwovens sector, Index will take place from October 19 -22, 2021 in Geneva.

This edition will have more than a hundred Italian exhibitors, of whom about eighty are machinery manufacturers. As in the past editions, Italian Trade Agency will organize an Italian Pavilion, where 13 Italian manufacturers will exhibit. The following ACIMIT member companies will be exhibiting in this area: A Piovan, Bianco, Bombi, ColorService, Guarneri Technology, Monti-Mac, Officina Master, Ratti, Texera, Toscana, Spazzole, Unitech, etc. Other ACIMIT member companies will exhibit with their own booth.

In recent years, nonwovens production has grown on a global scale, much more significantly than the traditional textile industry. According to figures collected and compiled by Edana the global association of nonwovens companies, production of nonwovens in Europe grew by 7.2 per cent in 2020 to reach 3 million tonne (and 85.9 billion square metre), with a total estimated turnover of €9.6 million.

The demand for nonwovens has boosted the Italian production of nonwovens machinery during the last year. The increased demand for innovative solutions is precisely what enhances the role of Italian textile machinery manufacturers. The Italian exports of machines used for producing nonwovens (HS code 844900) reached a value of €59 million in 2020. In the first six months of 2021, then, the growth was impressive: +142 per cent over the first half of 2020, worth €37 million.

PVH Corp plans to join the US Cotton Trust Protocol to further its sustainability efforts. As per Sourcing Journal, the initiative offers a new system for responsibly grown cotton that publishes annual data for six areas of sustainability in line with the United Nations Sustainability Goals (SDGs).

Launched in 2020 after a year-long pilot phase, the program has since attracted more than 450 brands, retailers, mills and textile manufacturers including Levi Strauss & Co, Gap Inc, Advance Denim, Contempora Fabrics, Cotswold Industries Inc, Frontier Yarns, etc. It provides verified data on sustainability practices from US cotton growers and access to aggregate year-over-year data for water use, greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, soil carbon, soil loss and land use efficiency. It uses independent third-party verification to ensure cotton is more sustainably grown and carries lower environmental risk than other cotton fibers.

Owner of brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Warner’s, Olga and True & Co, PVH Corp has been transparent about its aggressive sustainability targets, including its goal to sustainably source 100 percent of its cotton by 2025. Last year, the company joined a number of other sustainability initiatives such as the Ellen MacArthur Jeans Redesign program and the Denim Deal, multi-stakeholder initiatives to increase the use of recycled fibers in fashion. The company’s commitment to sustainability aligns closely with the goals of the US Cotton Trust Protocol.

Renowned apparel and textile brand alliance from China, Prime China holds a live showcase of its brands at the ongoing Apparel Textile Sourcing Canada Virtual trade show. The ‘show-within-the-trade-show’ features over 100 top trending and well-established Chinese apparel and textile brands alongwith attendees and 30 speakers.

The alliance Prima China includes reputed China’s apparel and textile companies, including garment producers, fabric manufacturers, designers and industrial brands. The alliance provides state-of-the-art manufacturing, well-coordinated tech integrations, enhanced e-commerce, a flexible international sales model and the ability to quickly react in a social-minded, trend-driven, time-sensitive and fast-changing world, as per a media release.

Prime China brands showcasing at Apparel Textile Sourcing Canada Virtual 2021 trade show include: Mizuda – fabrics, functional; Changshu Garments Town – garment industry cluster in Eastern China; Bosideng – a famous down jacket brand in China; Qirui & Deze – kidswear with more than 2,000 stores in China; Aparso – outdoor sportswear; Genjoe – knitwear collection; V.Roc.V – flight jackets, tactical pants and high-quality uniforms; and Minimal Edge – women’s collection.

The monthly average of apparel exports from Pakistan is expected to grow 13.44 per cent in H2 FY2021 to reach $ 641.60 million from $565.60 million in the H1 FY 2021. The collective monthly average of textiles and clothing exports from Pakistan is expected to increase 9.12 per cent from $1237.55 million in the H1 FY 2021 to reach $1350.40 million in H2FY21.

In H1 FY 2021, Pakistan’s monthly average of textile exports was $ 278.77 million. It is expected to drop by 6.52 per cent in H2 FY2021 to reach a monthly average of $ 260.58 million.

Bangladesh, the US, Turkey, Italy and Sri Lanka were the top five importers of Pakistani fabrics in the first half of 2021 and accounted for approximately 46.64 per cent of total fabric exports of the country. China, Bangladesh, Portugal, the US and Turkey were the top five markets for Pakistani textile yarns in the first half of 2021 and accounted for approximately s 85.63 per cent of total textile yarn exports of the country.

The monthly average of home textile exports of Pakistan is expected to go up from $3 93.22 million in the H2 FY 2021 to $ 448.23 million in the H2 FY2021.

Bangladesh commerce ministry has asked stakeholders to allow apparel exporters without a bond license with back-to-back letter of credit (LC). To settle this issue, stakeholders hope to amend the VAT law and the Bangladesh Bank guidelines At a meeting directed Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) informed how many readymade and terry towel factories do not have a bond license, how many workers the factories have and how much the factories export.

The revenue board in a letter on August 31 had requested the Bangladesh Bank not to allow non-bonded apparel factories to enjoy back-to-back LC, as it contradicts the central bank's guidelines. The board’s move put around 500 knitwear and home textile exporters without a bond license in a limbo. Stakeholders say if the back-to-back LC benefit goes, more than 500 RMG and home textile factories will no longer be able to procure raw materials and accessories from local and foreign sources on credit.

In a back-to-back LC, an importer issues an LC to an exporter and the exporter can use it as collateral to get another LC issued for sourcing raw materials and accessories on credit. If the facility goes, RMG and home textile factories will have to make full payments plus VAT in cash for local purchases, which will make their survival very difficult.