As per the statistics released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Pakistan’s total textile exports increased by 23 per cent to $15.42 billion Y-o-Y in FY 2021.

Knitwear exports posted the highest growth of 37 per cent Y-o-Y basis to $3.83 in FY21 as against $ 2.80 billion in FY20. Among others, bed wear and readymade garment’s segments also recorded a substantial growth in exports by 29 per cent Y-o-Y and 19 per cent Y-o-Y respectively.

This exponential rise in textile exports during the FY21 can be attributed to a 73 per cent increase in exports to $1.67 billion during the final month of June’21 and a 57 per cent upsurge was seen compared to the previous month of May’21.

The country’s textiles export are expected to continue growing in FY22 as demand for Pakistan’s textiles is likely to stay strong as many countries have developed the likeness for the Pakistani textile products.

The second edition of Texworld Evolution Paris Showroom was attended by over 700 visitors from 34 countries. These visitors were able to discover over 7,000 products and textile samples from 150 international companies.

Around 75 per cent of these visitors were from France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Exhibits of the major global sourcing zones, was presented this year in two distinct locations: the 5 rue du Mail brought together the fabric trend forum for the autumn-winter 2022-2023 collections as well as a selection of finished garments; the Atelier Richelieu, on two levels, expressed the rich array of fabric, garment and accessory collections by exhibitors from some fifteen countries, with also an Apparel Sourcing trend section.

Manufacturers' representatives present in the Showroom were able to interact with the visitors including weavers from Korea, Turkey, Holland and Germany, and clothing, agents and finished product manufacturers from Poland, Vietnam, China, Bangladesh, Portugal and Madagascar.

Denim manufacturer Isko plans to join The Jeans Redesign project launched by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to encourage the denim industry to move towards a circular economy for fashion.

As per Innovation in Textiles, ISKO meets the participation requirements set by The Jeans Redesign guidelines and has made a commitment to use recycled materials for 85 per cent of its entire fabric production in future. This production will be independently verified by Textile Exchange audit bodies.

This achievement will be made possible using Isko’s R-Two technology which is created through a patented and proprietary yarn spinning technique that retains the unique properties and benefits found in the company’s statement fabrics.

The company recently signed a licensing agreement with research and development company HKRITA for its award-winning, revolutionary Green Machine – a one-of-a-kind technology that fully separates and recycles cotton and polyester blends at scale.

The agreement will enable Isko to improve and commercialise recycling technologies which will eventually enable the company to offer a 100% post-consumer recycling solution to all of its customers.

The Los Angeles-based company Guess recently shared its progress on environmental, social and governance goals in a new report. Titled ‘Vision Guess,’ the report was written in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainable Accounting Standard Board (SASB) standards. It highlights the brand’s future strategies.

As per Sourcing Journal, from fiscal year (FY) 2020-2021, Guess increased its environmentally preferred materials by more than 10 percent and exceeded its goal by reaching 12.25 percent environmentally preferred materials.

The Guess Responsible Sourcing Policy on cotton, which accounts for 60 percent of its product range, aims to increase procurement of preferred cotton sources like the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) while working to improve traceability and keep prohibited cotton sources from entering the supply chain. The company, however, fell short of reaching its goal to source 20 percent of its cotton with BCI, instead sourcing 12.74 percent.

Denim continues to be a major focus in Guess’ sustainability efforts. In FY 2021, 21 percent of the brand’s denim followed the Smart Guess guidelines, which requires jeans to contain at least 20 percent certified sustainable materials and use production methods with reduced environmental impact. The company plans to increase that number to 75 percent by 2025, while continuing to raise the sustainability requirements.

In the meantime, the brand plans to release its first product made in accordance with Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Jeans Redesign guidelines for circularity. The collection will complement other circular initiatives Guess has in place, including its growing take-back program called Resourced. The program calls for consumers to donate unwanted clothing and footwear, which will be sorted by the recycling solutions provider I:Collect.

A new laboratory by Garmon Chemicals, Kemin Industries’ textile auxiliaries business and chemical solutions brand, was recently opened at the Garmon Studio located in Jiangmen in the Guangdong province of China.

As per Sourcing Journal, the lab broadens the opportunity for Garmon technicians to work with companies that previously faced language barriers or travel restrictions. It will also facilitate the development of local collections that better match domestic styles and trends, creating efficiency in clients’ sampling processes.

Additionally, the lab tees up new opportunities for technicians in China to sharpen their skills with the latest technologies. The lab is equipped with Garmon’s Smart Foam garment finishing system that reduces water consumption by up to 80 percent. The patent-pending technology uses foam as a carrier of chemicals.

To celebrate the opening of the fashion laboratory, Garmon Studio created a pair of jeans that draws inspiration from both cultures in honor of the 50th anniversary of official diplomatic relations between San Marino and China. Made with hemp and cotton fabric from the Chinese mill Advance Denim and Smart Foam technology, the left leg features San Marino’s towers that stand above the Adriatic Sea and the left features an ancient Chinese temple. A gold foil “50” on the jeans the represents poignant anniversary.

Hyve Group has added Retail Trust as its Charity Partner for spring and Autumn Fair for two years and Wellbeing Partner across all its retail shows in the UK comprising Spring Fair, Autumn Fair, Pure, Glee and Scoop, to provide dedicated support, awareness and fundraising for the retail sector.

The partnership will incorporate offsite volunteer days, team challenges, and onsite activity kicking off at Autumn Fair from September 05-08, 2021 at NEC Birmingham. The partnership also includes the launch of the Female Founders scheme that will offer free stands to 10 inspirational female founders.

During the 2-year Charity partnership, Hyve Group will take part in fundraising activities to raise awareness and funds for the Retail Trust. A dedicated Wellbeing section will launch on each of the event websites for Spring and Autumn Fair, Glee, Pure and Scoop. This will feature informative and supportive articles alongside videos that support the wellbeing of retailers and wholesalers alike.

Alongside this, the Retail Trust will also be supporting the Spring Fair Female Founders initiative. Launching at Autumn Fair 2021, Female Founders initiative is an exciting program created to champion and celebrate inspiring female entrepreneurs.

The initiative will support the growth of female founded retail businesses by offering six businesses a free stand at Spring Fair 2021, followed by 12 months of business mentoring with leading female entrepreneurs. The scheme will be announced and launched at Autumn Fair in September.

Formalwear marketplace for pageant dresses, wedding gowns and quinceañera attire, Queenly nabbed $6.3 million in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz.

As per a Women’s Wear Dailly report, the two-year-old start-up managed to score another $2.26 million round in April. With the latest round, the total raised to date comes to $7.1 million.

Founders Trisha Bantigue and Kathy Zhou appealed to investors with a model that seemed hardened against the pandemic. The business partnered with independent boutiques — the main source of formal gowns for shoppers searching for unique finds — and directly with prom brands like Mac Duggal, Vienna Prom and others to build out what the company describes as both a marketplace and a search engine for formalwear.

The partners approached these boutiques to put their inventory online with Queenly. Their inventory, plus that of brand partners, gave the platform multiple sources and no supply chain to fret over, which wound up being an advantage, as delivery delays and other issues dogged other retailers.

Queenly also acts as a peer-to-peer, secondhand sales platform, allowing users to buy and sell. This effort expanded the company’s range of designers, from formalwear brands like David’s Bridal to BCBG or Calvin Klein. Today, there are 60,000-plus unique dresses listed on the platform, with a total inventory value of $15 million, turning the platform into a shopping destination.

Growing allegations of forced labor in their cotton supply chains have made sourcing awareness a top priority for fashion brands. Brands across the world are pressurized to refute usage of Xinjiang cotton in their garments. One such instance is Japan-based casual wear brand Uniqlo whose US shipments were blocked recently over concerns of connections with forced labor in China’s Xinjiang province,

Remote farm locations increase labor exploitation risks

As per a 2021 Know The Chain Report, the cotton supply chain is particularly vulnerable to forced labor risks. Cotton farms are located in remote areas that make them inaccessible to labor inspectors. Workers employed in these farms are unable to report instances of exploitation as most of these workers are migrants who return to their villages after the harvesting season.

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is investigating instances of forced labor across China notes a report by Textile Today. Authority has barred goods made by forced labor from entering the US market. In 2021, the authority prevented 1,255 shipments containing goods worth over $765 million from entering the US on forced labor allegations. These 623 shipments contained goods worth $84 million made by forced labor, though the number of goods sourced from Xinjiang remains uncertain.

Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) also made headlines recently as it addressed a 2020 accusation fostering forced labor in Xinjiang. The matter highlighted the urgent need for brands to be aware of their supply chains. They need to stop relying on certificates making claims of sustainable and fair trade practices, says Leonardo Bonnani, CEO, Sourcemap.

Increasing transparency with molecular taggants

Brands need to verify their products’ journey from source to shelf. They need to authenticate the origin of all their products right from raw materials to finished goods. For this, they need to make each participant of its supply chain from the raw material to the finished goods, responsible for ensuring the quality and integrity of its products.

Brands can use molecular taggants such as DNA-based tags to verify cotton and other materials including coffee and wine. These tags are permanent and not affected by climatic changes. These tags can also be used to verify the identity of inputs in a finished good, tracking authenticity from origin to retail. This will help brands to confirm to their social and ethical commitments.

Despite Viscose Staple Fiber (VSF) production being more expensive than the production of Viscose Filament Yarn (VFY), global VSF production increased from 342 million kg in 2015-16 to 578 million kg in 2019-20. As per a Textile Value Chain report, this led to a decline in VSF imports by major countries.

China leads in VSF imports drop

China’s VSF imports declined 33 per cent to 150,000 tons in 2020 from 226,000 tons in 2019. VSF imports by Germany too fell by 18 per cent from 55,000 tons in 2019 to 45,000 tons in 2020. Indonesia’s imports dropped from 53,000 tons in 2019 to 36,000 tons in 2020 similarly Vietnam’s imports fell by 10,000 tons to 57,000 tonne. India’s imports too fell from 63,000 tons in 2019 to 57,000 tons in 2020. On the other hand, VSF imports by the United States’ increased from 83,000 tons in 2019 to 103,000 tons in 2020. Bangladesh too recorded a rise in imports by 60.97 per cent to 99,000 tons up from 49,000 tons in 2019. Singapore’s imports increased to 98,000 tons in 2020. Global VSF exports up 8.11 per cent

In 2020, global VSF exports increased 8.11 per cent and China emerged the largest VSF exporter, with an annual growth rate of 4.06 per cent. China’s VSF exports increased from 360,000 tons in 2019 to 375,000 tons in 2020. World’s second largest VSF exporter in 2020 was Indonesia with 342,000 tons exports in 2020, a few thousand tons lower than 2019 figures.

Singapore’s VSF exports touched 112,000 tons in 2020, which outpaced Thailand’s exports by 1,000 tons. Thailand’s exports increased 12,000 tons from previous year while Germany’s exports increased 28.47 per cent, from 43,000 tons in 2019 to 55,000 tons in 2020. Sri Lanka too recorded a rise in exports from 2,000 tons in 2019 to 8,000 tons in 2020 while Malaysia’s exports increased 228.57 per cent in 2020.

Meanwhile, India’s VSF exports declined 12.17 per cent to 66,000 tons in 2020. Taiwan’s export decreased almost 51.34 per cent from 45,000 tons in 2019 to 21,000 tons in 2020. Japan’s exports decreased from 13,000 tons in 2019 to 9,000 tons in 2020. Spain’s exports fell from 9,000 tons to 4,000 tons in 2020.

Shipment sees a drop

Global VFY exports decreased to 96,000 tons in 2020 from 119,000 tons in 2019. Shipments by the largest exporter China decreased from 85,000 tons in 2019 to 71,000 tons. Czech Republic’s exports declined by 2,000 tons to reach 7,000 tons while. Exports by the world’s fourth largest exporter Poland too recorded a sharp drop. India’s exports dwindled from 9,219 tons in 2019 to 6,066 tons in 2020.

The 27th edition of Asia’s leading international trade fair for home and contract textiles Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles-Autumn Edition will host over 800 exhibitors from August 25-27, 2021.

This year the fair will be held concurrently with Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics, Yarn Expo Autumn, PH Value and CHIC at the National Exhibition and Convention Center.

To better cater to the needs of those who cannot travel to Shanghai, last year’s successful online buyer service returns again in 2021. Livestream presentations specific to product categories will be conducted each day of the fair, with online buyers able to communicate dynamically with the exhibitors, or follow up with them after the fair. An online matching program will also be offered again with buyers able to arrange virtual meetings with their desired exhibitors during and after the fair.

For those buyers able to attend the fair in-person, a VIP buyer program a free business matching service is offered.