A new report by Changing Markets Foundation, Clean Clothes Campaign, Ethical Consumer, WeMove.EU and Fashion Revolution says, global luxury brands are lagging behind in making less toxic viscose. The report evaluated 100 brands and retailers for their commitments and progress on cleaner production of viscose and other man-made cellulosic materials like modal and rayon The results show while there is more attention on viscose compared to a few years ago, there is still much work to do.

Brands like Versace, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani, Michael Kors, Nike and Forever 21, ranked lowest in their credible viscose-specific policy for safer chemical management. The worst-ranked companies have no meaningful policy on viscose and disclose nothing about their supply chain, claims Urška Trunk, Campaign Manager, Changing Markets while the top ranking companies, including Levi Strauss & Co, Reformation, Esprit, H&M, Inditex and M&S, have concrete commitments to clean up their viscose supply chains by 2025.

To contain the spread of COVID-19, China held a fashion show last week end to showcase latest trends in personal protective gear and equipment. As per reports, the China-Dandong Fashion Week was held in China’s northeastern province of Liaoning. It showcased hazmat suits and other protective equipment.

At the start of the pandemic, several protective gears exported by China had failed to pass the safety test and turned out to be faulty. Several nations including Spain, Turkey, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Britain and India had reported that the PPE kits imported from China were found to be faulty.

The health authorities in Spain, Turkey, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Britain reportedly paid millions of dollars to Chinese companies to secure the protective equipment but the kits received by them turned out to be defective. The Netherlands snapped up 600,000 masks from China, only to find out later that they did not meet the required quality standards.

Textiles pioneer Brands Fashion has bagged German Sustainability Award in the ‘Global Corporate Partnerships’ category. Europe’s market leader in sustainable workwear Brand Fashion was awarded for its use of sustainable materials and a resource-saving approach to protect the environment. The company also aims to acquire the Faitrade Textile Standard certification by May 2021. It already holds renowned certifications such as the GOTS, Fairtrade Cotton Standard and Grüner Knopf labels.

Endorsed by the Federal Government of Germany, The German Sustainability Award is given to one of over 800 candidates and is the most prestigious prize of its kind in Europe. The jury estimated that Brands Fashion’s collaboration with Sags Apparels and the creation of the Green Factory had truly laid a milestone in the field of sustainability. It particularly admired the company’s joint efforts towards a holistic, closed production cycle: from the usage of sustainable materials and a resource-saving approach to protect the environment, all the way to improvements in workers’ social and ecological conditions.

A study by Persistent Market Research predicts Asia will record strong growth in the global surgical apparel market over the next five years. As per the study, the fastest rising surgical apparel markets in the Asia-Pacific region are China and India. Growth in these markets is being driven by the growth of their healthcare industry, a wide pool of patients, and rising healthcare spending.

As per a Textile Focus report, factors driving growth of the global surgical apparel market include, growing prevalence of infections and increasing number of surgical procedures. Rising frequency of hospital-acquired infections also fuels the development of the global demand for surgical apparel. However, strict regulations and unstable raw material prices limit the development of the industry which offers advanced composite, biophonic fiber and non-conventional gloves.

As per a University of California study, on an average synthetic fleece jackets release 1.7 grams of microfibers with each wash. Older jackets shed almost twice as many fibers as new one. Millions of tons of these microfibers contaminate marine and environment every year. The main source of these microfibers is synthetic clothing followed by city dust and erosion of vehicle tyres, says a Vogue Business report. The International Union for Conversation of Nature estimates synthetic clothes account for 60 per cent of global apparel industry’s annual fiber consumption and 35 per cent of microplastics in the ocean. Ellen MacArthur Foundation also believes, clothing care contributes half a million tons of primary microplastics a year.

Caring with consciousness

A likely solution for this calls for collaboration between brands and consumers. Especially, brands need to teach consumers to use their washing machine properly, reduce spin cycles and microfibre filters. They further need to phase out the production of synthetic clothing and promote designs that minimize fiber shedding.

Brands also need to teach customers ways to care for their products with minimum environmental impact, says Charlotte Turner, Head-Sustainable Fashion and Textiles, Eco-Age. Global brands like Patagonia, Sweaty Betty and Finisterre have been able to achieve this through Guppyfriend washing bag. Designed by Alexander Nolte and Oliver Spies, the Guppyfriend captures microfibers released during domestic washing cycle inside a mesh bag. These fibers are later released in a sealed container which prevents them from reentering the environment. The bag lasts up to 50 washes, after which it has to be separated from the zip and binding, and recycled. It reduces fiber shedding by an average 79 per cent for partly synthetic clothes and 86 per cent for completely synthetic textiles. To reduce fiber shedding Guppyfriend also advises its customers to use less abrasive detergents, wash similar textures together and lower the spin cycle or air dry garments.

Eco-friendly materials to prevent fiber shedding

However, Francois Souchet, Head-Make Fashion Circular Initiative, Ellen MacArthur Foundation explains, solutions like these have limited success. To prevent microfiber shedding, clothes need to be designed in a particular way.

Though some brands say recycled plastic fibers are highly sustainable; Pascal Burn, Head-Sustainability, H&M opine, recycled polyester has the same impact as virgin polyester regarding microfibers. He shares sustainable clothing care tips and solutions with consumers through the brand’s Take Care website. The website is available in 43 markets while its associated clothing care products and in-store repair services are available in seven markets.

British sportswear brand Tala has also launched its own version of the Guppyfriend. The Fibre Filter Bag uses Q-Nova, a nylon made from upcycled factory offcuts and pre-consumer waste. Independent London brand Birdsong has introduced recycled polyester although the brand also uses eco-fabrics like Tencel and organic cotton.

Though solutions like Guppyfriend help educate consumers about the dangers of synthetic fibers, a proper legislation is required to control them. France has announced that its future washing machines would have built-in microfibre filters. Similarly, Nolte calls for a medley of solutions to address this problem of microfibers.

With increasing apparel imports by Thailand Hong Kong athleisure brands are in a good position to make inroads in the market. As a HKTDC report reveals, many Hong Kong-based brands have entered the Thai athleisure market to enhance customers’ in-store and online shopping experiences.

Social media, new trends spur apparel sales in Thailand

Growing popularity of sports-inspired and performance apparel has given rise to the athleisure trend in Thailand. Thai consumers prefer to wear clothes designed for workouts and other athletic activities in other settings such as workplace, at school or for social occasions. They also prefer clothes with innovative properties like HeatTech technology, AIRism and Ultra Light Down Jackets offered by Uniqlo.

Moreover, social media has had a deep impact on Thailand’s apparel sales. The country launched mobile message app LINE which allows brands to share product updates, promotions and marketing activities. Thai brands also have strong presence on e-commerce platforms such as JD.com, Lazada, Shopee and Looksi.com.

As competition intensifies, many of brands are merging online and offline offerings to increase brand awareness. For example is Pomelo has launched both an online shopping website and three physical stores in Bangkok.

Partners for offering enhanced shopping experiences

A potential partner for Hong Kong brands in Thailand is Camp, a multi brand store that houses many products including apparel, accessories, swimwear, sportswear and footwear. The store has three branches in Bangkok. Catering particularly to middle class women shoppers, Camp often partners in store brands to offer frequent promotions. It uses online influencers and YouTubers, to promote stores. Additionally, it helps brands promote their products or new releases though its own website, Facebook and Instagram.

Camp also uses consumer shopping behavior insights to increase shopping experiences at its store. The store has launched Camp Megabangna, a branch with a community store concept. The store houses a coffee shop which offers recreational facilities to its customers. The multi-brand store is situated in various high traffic locations. And each location targets a different consumer group.

Another potential partner for Thai brands is Winterland Trading, a representative of various fashion brands such as Replay, Penfield, Wemoto and RVLT/Revolution. The company has over 20 years experience in retailing and focuses on casual and streetwear clothing and accessories. It has an experienced team that helps foreign brands enter the Thai market.

The Textiles Services Association (TSA) is partnering with the Professional Clothing Industry Association Worldwide (PCIAW) bringing together two bodies representing commercial laundry and textile rental businesses. The partnership aims to provide end-to-end support across the apparel manufacturers, distributors, and laundry industries.

Both the PCIAW and TSA agree upon reusable isolation gowns being the way forward and that the economic and environmental cases are both strong. The TSA advises that reusable isolation gowns can be laundered up to 75 times. The DHSC admits the cost difference between single-use and reusable is ‘modest’ but as the reusable isolation gowns last up to 74 more times longer because they can be cleaned and reused, the preferred choice should be clear.

While the TSA lobbies the UK Government to make the case for reusable isolation gowns, the products need to be manufactured to a high standard using the optimal materials and the correct stitching if the isolation gowns are going to withstand the expected 75 wash lifespan.

Yvette Ashby, CEO, PCIAW believes the joint network of trusted members can be called upon to offer their experience in manufacturing reusable isolation gowns with the full understanding of the commercial laundry operations to maximise the lifespan of the products and to the cost-effectiveness for health services in the UK and across the world.

Government officials, investors and textile union representatives hope that the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) granted to Cambodia by the UK will help counteract the partial withdrawal of the Everything But Arms (EBA) deal with the EU.

They expect the granting of GSP status to give exports from the Kingdom duty and quota-free access to UK markets starting from 2021.

Oknha Lim Heng, Vice-President, Cambodia Chamber of Commerce said the GSP represents an opportunity to refresh investor outlooks in the UK towards the Kingdom, particularly with regard to Cambodia’s main exports, namely textiles, footwear and milled rice.

Sok Sopheak, Secretary of State, Ministry of Commerce, said that Cambodia officials and business people will engage their UK counterparts in discussions on the import and export process, both during and after the pandemic.

Kaing Monika, Deputy Secretary-General, Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia also applauded the move, noting that the GSP is set to deliver a much-needed boost to the textile industry, one of the main exports from the Kingdom to the UK.

Levi Strauss & Co has appointed Elliott Rodgers as a board member of Ulta Beauty. He currently is the chief information officer of the company and previously held several supply chain roles since joining the company in November 2013.

Prior to joining Ulta Beauty, Rodgers was director of operations, Target.com and mobile, at Target where he was responsible for Target’s ecommerce website and fulfillment operations and co-led Target’s omnichannel supply chain pilot programs.

With more than a decade of experience in the retail industry, he equally held operational leadership roles spanning retail, financial services, and logistics at Target, Citibank and the United States Army.

In October, Levi announced a series of leadership changes, in an effort to allow the brand to increase its focus on direct-to-consumer (DTC) and the digitization of its business.

Nocta, the new sportswear sub-label created by Drake and Nike will launch globally on December 18. The Nocta collection includes functional co-branded winter jackets, hoodies and tracksuits, while the name ‘Nocta’ is a nod to the Canadian artist’s "nocturnal creative process". The collection is about creating something for people on the move. It comprises functional, comfortable fits that are adaptable from one environment to the next. The collection includes hardest jacket, the hardest tracksuit, the hardest gloves.

Drake, who founded his label October's Very Own (OVO) in 2012 together with producer Noah "40" Shebib and Oliver El-Khatib, also owns a clothing line of the same name. Since its launch, OVO has introduced several label collaborations, including DSquared2, Canada Goose and Bape.