Eastman and Milliken & Company have joined Accelerating Circularity, as new members of the US Steering Committee. The new members, who have both made investments in and commitments towards transition to circular, textile-to-textile supply systems, will support a wider range of chemical recycling options and textile manufacturing capabilities as the project moves into the trial phase.

Potential circular system trial feedstocks, fibers, technologies, and finished goods have been identified through extensive consultation with collectors, sorters, preprocessors, recyclers, yarn spinners, fabric mills and brands and retailers. Collection, sorting, and preprocessing of targeted trial feedstocks will begin September 1, 2021.

Accelerating Circularity is a collaborative industry project developed to accelerate the textile industry’s move from linear to circular. It was founded in 2019 with a mission to establish systems that will use the embedded value and resources in existing textiles for new products, reducing the millions of tons of textile waste annually going into landfills and thereby supporting the reduction of the industry’s GHG emissions.

Time and again, American customs officials have detained goods suspected of being made by forced labor. As per an AOL report, the US has been detaining goods suspected of being made by forced labor since 1930. This fiscal year, American Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, detained at least 967 shipments worth more than $367 million. This has forced brands to think about their legal obligations towards laborers employed by overseas suppliers, says Scott Nova, Executive Director, Worker Rights Consortium.

World’s largest disposable glove manufacturer, Top Glove recently announced success in addressing forced labor issues in the company and submitted evidence to the agency. The company reiterated its commitment to ensure workers' wellbeing, health, safety, and happiness in future.

International apparel brands have pledged to stop sourcing cotton from Xinjiang. Brands including Nike and H&M have issued statements boycotting cotton made with Uyghur forced labor. The apparel and footwear industry is committed to protecting its supply chains from forced labor, affirms Steve Lamar, President and CEO, American Apparel and Footwear Association. Companies are using new technologies and methods to monitor their supply chains, he adds.

Infrastructural challenges slacken work pace

However, brands have often criticized the CBP for the slow pace of investigations and lack of transparency. The agency relies on investigations made by nonprofit organizations to derive its conclusions. House Ways and Means Committee members have often pressured CBP to quicken its enforcement. However, the agency blames federal laws governing the disclosure of trade information for the slow pace of work.

CBP also faces infrastructural challenges while working on the forced labor issue. The agency has only four employees and lacks an official budget to tackle the issue. It established a Forced Labor Division in 2018, but it still had only about 12 staff members more than a year later, according to a report last year from the Government Accountability Office, or GAO.

No entry for forced labor imports

Experts believe, the US enforcement alone is not enough to curb forced labor as goods no longer allowed to enter the US can easily find their way to other markets. Countries therefore, need to ensure goods made by forced labor do not find a safe harbor for their goods, says Allison Gill, Forced Labor Director, Global Labor Justice-International Labor Rights Forum. Recently some countries including UK and France have implemented transparency laws that direct companies to report how they identify and take action against human rights risks in their supply chains, as well.

Other countries like Australia and Taiwan are also planning to implement US style laws, to curb forced labor practices. The European Parliament plans to adopt new laws banning imports made with forced labor across the EU. US lawmakers also plan to implement new laws to restrict forced labor imports. The Senate passed a new bill in July barring all imports from Xinjiang over concerns about forced labor. Nova believes, all these laws are feasible if brands show real commitment to address forced labor and provide the required resources for it.

Leading Total Quality Assurance provider to industries worldwide, Intertek has been accredited by the ANSI National Accreditation Board as an approved certification body for the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS).

As per a Textile Focus report, Intertek is accredited for GOTS to certify in three scopes; mechanical textile processing and manufacturing operations and their products; wet processing and finishing operations and their products; and trading operations and related products.

Customers using Intertek for GOTS certifications as well as Textile Exchange certifications (GRS, RCS, OCS), will also have access to Intertek Source Clear.

SourceClear brings visibility and traceability in supply chain relationships together with independent validation of product sustainability claims such as recycled content, organic materials, good environmental and social practices where products are manufactured and accurate labelling of products.

The Cross Industry Agreement (CIA) has revealed the results of a fiber fragmentation trial that has been carried out in advance of establishing a CEN Standard (from the European Committee for Standardization). Once confirmed, the standard will also become an ISO standard under the Vienna Agreement, providing apparel manufacturers and policy makers with a vital tool as part of wider work to reduce microfibre shedding into the environment.

The microfibre shedding test method was developed thanks to the joint efforts and cooperation of experts from 28 European, American and Asian organizations; the result was handed over to CEN in 2020. Since then, representatives from the CIA have been working with CEN to fine tune details in order to meet the requirements for a CEN Standard. To verify the reproducibility of the method, the partners have carried out a round robin trial (RRT) to determine if the method could be replicated in different laboratories and produce similar results. 10 organizations participated in the RRT, which was co-ordinated by the CIA, sending fabric samples to all of the laboratories involved and then collecting and analyzing the data.

The results from the RRT show statistically significant consistency, both within and between participating laboratories, which demonstrates that the method is both repeatable in the same setting and reproducible in other laboratories.

The International Fur Federation (IFF) has unveiled Furmark, a global certification and traceability system that it claims will not only guarantee animal welfare and environmental standards but will also transform” the way fur is processed through its supply chain.

The trade group, which consists of 55 members across 38 countries, developed the program with input from LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the French conglomerate that operates marquee brands such as Fendi, Givenchy and Louis Vuitton.

The seal appears to be a direct response to the backlash against fur in recent years, especially in the West. A survey published last month by the Vegan Society found that 61 percent of Britons believe the use of fur is cruel, and 33 percent consider it outdated. Another survey conducted by Humane Society International and YouGov in 2020 found that 93 percent of Britons do not wear any fur, and 72 percent support a complete ban on the import and sale of the material in the United Kingdom.

According to IFF, Furmark is poised to change how fur is perceived, open fur up to a new audience and respond to unfounded accusations of those opposed to its use in coats, jackets and trims. Products that receive the Furmark stamp of approval feature a unique alphanumeric code that pulls up information such as fur type, fur origin and manufacturer name and location. To ensure consistent standards, the seal only includes wild or farm-raised fur from leading animal-welfare programs such as WelFur. Fully certified products must also be processed by accredited dressers and dyers who meet the SafeFur standard, which involves third-party testing and covers sustainability, chemical usage, emissions and product safety.

One of Asia’s most anticipated annual fashion events. Centrestage 2021will be held from September 10 to 12 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. More than 200 fashion brands and designer labels from 24 countries and regions will participate in the three-day fashion showcase, presenting a wide variety of ready-to-wear apparel and accessories.

The spotlight opening gala show on 10 September, Centrestage Elites, will see the global launch of the latest 2022 Spring/Summer collections from local designers Calvin Chan and Joyce Kun’s renowned brand The World Is Your Oyster, as well as acclaimed Korean designer Mooyeol Lee’s brand, Youser, The show will be livestreamed through the CENTRESTAGE website and social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, employing augmented reality (AR) effects to enhance the online viewing experience.

For the first-time, Centrestage is open to the general public throughout the entire show period, giving consumer the opportunity to check out the latest styles and trends. Metakeys: Centrestage 2021

Uttar Pradesh plans to set up 10 more textile units in future. The state has already set up 15 textile mills in the past three years. As per daijiworld.com, the proposed 10 factories will be set up at the cost of Rs 442 crore and provide employment to 2,713 people. The state will also commence production at six more units in next three months. These units have been constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 97 crore. They include Jindal Handtex, Vivacity Homes, UV Garment, DS Exports, Rakesh International Trading Company and Shiva Polyplast. They have invested Rs 55 crore, Rs 4.24 crore, Rs 10 crore, Rs 2.5 crore, Rs 5 crore and Rs 20 crore, respectively, to set up their factories.

The government has also received investment proposals worth Rs 8,715.16 crore from 66 industrialists in the textile sector during the last four years. On completion of these 66 textile factories, around 525,087 people will get employment. The 15 textile units that have already come up in the state at the cost of Rs 756.91 crore have provided jobs to 4,800 people, whereas the six units which are expected to start operations soon will employ 1,500 people.

The Indian textile industry is well placed to benefit from the adoption of the ‘China + 1’ strategy, says an Edelweiss Securities report. Under this initiative, global manufacturers have started shifting manufacturing operations from China to alternate sourcing destinations, in an attempt to de-risk their supply chain. India can benefit from the China + 1 strategy as it has abundant raw materials, cheaper labor, improving ‘ease of doing business’ and strong manufacturing infrastructure with presence across the value chain.

India is seeing a rise in its market as the US Senate has passed a bill banning China’s Xinjiang Cotton. This has helped it bag orders diverted from the region, adds the report.

Indian textile players have been witnessing higher export orders and are aggressively adding capacities across spinning, processing and garment manufacturing.

JM Financial Institutional Securities, adds, the structural uptick in home textile demand owing to increased ‘work-from-home’ period, higher emphasis on health and hygiene driven by pandemic, duty reimbursement by GOI and market share gain on China+1 theme will drive earnings trajectory going forward. The domestic brokerage house suggests a healthy order book for exporters, given the sharp recovery in US/EU markets. High yarn and cotton prices will enable producers to report strong earnings for 2QFY22, adds the report.

Local spinning mills in Bangladesh are expanding their production capacities and setting up new units as the demand for raw materials is rising. Usually, local spinners process 13.43 million bales of cotton each year. But due to various drawbacks, they are unable to run at full steam. As a result, mills are currently processing only 8.5 million bales of cotton annually, shows data from the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA). They will be able to process 16 million bales of cotton within the next two years, says Monsoor Ahmed, CEO. The addition of the new spinning capacity will raise investment in the primary textile sector to nearly $11 billion from $10 billion.

Of the investment, 75 per cent is in the spinning segment, and the remaining 25 per cent is divided amongst the weaving, dyeing, finishing and sizing segments. Shorter lead-time, improved quality, and private consumption are pushing the domestic demand for yarn and fabrics higher. Hence, import of yarn and other fabrics is also increasing to meet the demand, adds Ahmed. In 2020, Bangladesh imported $1.32 billion worth of knitted fabrics, $2.76 billion worth of woven fabrics, and $0.10 billion worth of yarn for the local garment industry.

Currently, local spinners can supply 80 per cent of the raw materials required by the knitwear sector and 40 per cent of the woven sector. So, local spinners are trying to expand their footprint in the market. Jinnat Spinning Mills (JTML), a concern of DBL Group, is set to receive an investment of $83 million from its parent company. The company will be operational by January 2023 with new mills at Sherpur in Moulvibazzar, says MA Jabbar, Managing Director, DBL Group.

Bangladesh can install an additional two million spindle capacity even in the next one year, adds Mohammad Ali Khokon, President, BTMA. Mahin Group is investing nearly Tk 500 crore to produce 60 tonne of yarn per day by 2023. The factory's spindle capacity is expected to reach 55,000 by then, adds Abdullah Al Mahmud Mahin, Chairman and Managing Director.

ISKO has partnered with Swedish research and development company MoRe Research, a part of RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, to develop new, sustainable technologies made from cellulosic-based materials. This research will also help make the production of cellulose-based materials more sustainable.

ISKO will leverage MoRe Research!s expertise and resources to find ways of repurposing the clean and toxic-free cellulose powders that are created from the decomposed cotton, as well as the recycled polyester and reintegrate this back into fabric production.

As part of the company!s R-TWO™ program ISKO is also working to develop fabrics with a guaranteed minimum +50 per cent GRS (Global Recycle Standard) recycled content blend. This will significantly reduce the carbon and water footprint of a fabric, as well as make it easy to trace a garment’s sustainable journey step-by-step from the beginning of the supply chain through to the end product.

ISKO is part of Sanko Tekstil, the textile division of the Sanko Group. As the premium denim ingredient brand behind people’s most favorite jeans, it has a strong global presence in 35 countries with 60 international locations. By virtue of its Responsible Innovation™ approach, founded on creativity, competence and citizenship, ISKO works to make the world a better place bringing awareness to environmental as well as social aspects. As a result of its R-TWO™ program made with certified reused and recycled fibers, the company’s denim offer is pushing sustainable materials and innovating. Committed to an approach of continuous improvement, ISKO relies on external stakeholder engagement, striving for third-party certifications and partnerships. This has led to many achievements, including: bluesign® Partnership, STeP by OEKO-TEX®, Textile Exchange, SAC, ZDHC, and EU Ecolabel.