Held online on November 26, the Brasil Eco Fashion Week was visited by international buyers invited by Texbrasil. The stores Alejandra Montaner, from Spain, Brazilian Bikini Shop, from France, Borogodó, from Spain, and Boutique Bloom, from Mexico, participated in rounds with eight Texbrasil brands. They are: Pano Social, Natural Cotton Color, Ana de Jour, Antique Chic (Panoh), Contextura, Juliana Gevaerd, Ecofante and Timirim.

The event also had fashion shows, where brands like Natural Cotton Color showcased collections made from organic colored cotton from Paraíba.The event also featured brands like Nuz Demi Couture, Nalimo, Ronaldo Silvestre, TA Studio, AfroRicky, EneasNetto, Rico Bracco, JustaTrama, W’e’enaTikuna Arte Indígena, Movin, Comas + FlaviaAmadeu, ManuíBrasil, Libertees, Leandro Castro, VIHE, Catarina Mina, and Jouer Couture.

Catarina Mina debuted on the BEFW (Brazilian Eco Fashion Week) catwalk with a collection developed in a project with 120 craftswomen from Ceará. Meanwhile W’e’enaTikuna Arte Indígena presented the indigenous graphisms, and the Tururi fabric, typical of the Tikuna people.

As per Apparel Resources, John Lewis, one of the well-known British fashion retailers, plans to halt its international expansion plans.

The fashion retailer has announced that it will no longer be accepting any orders for international delivery with effect from next week. The retailer saw its international sales fall by nearly 17 per cent last year to £10.6 million, while its operating profits slumped by 10.3 per cent to £2.1 million.

The fall in last year’s international sales has probably been one of the factors to have influenced the retailer to take the decision.

John Lewis intends to focus more on business areas that will deliver products and services for its local customers in the UK. It will stop its international delivery service next week.

John Lewis & Partners is a brand of high-end department stores operating throughout Great Britain, with concessions also located in the Republic of Ireland and Australia. The brand sells general merchandise as part of the employee-owned mutual organization known as the John Lewis Partnership, the largest co-operative in the United Kingdom. It was created by Spedan Lewis, son of the founder, John Lewis, in 1929.

Kemin Industries, a global ingredient manufacturer, announced today that Garmon Chemicals (Garmon), Kemin’s textile auxiliaries business unit and the chemical solutions brand for the denim and fashion industry, has officially become a bluesign® system partner.

bluesign® is a leading global, independent verifier that supports the textile industry in its efforts to improve sustainable processes. Created in 2000 and supported by some of the world’s most important chemical suppliers, textile manufacturers and brands – such as NIKE® and adidas® – bluesign® has become a guarantee of responsible and transparent production processes.

To become a bluesign® system partner, a chemical company must undergo a strict onsite assessment to examine the transparency of its manufactured chemical products and their risks. To pass the assessment, the chemical company must meet strict criteria of resource efficiency, work safety and environmental and consumer protection.

Becoming a bluesign® system partner was a natural progression for Kemin Textile Auxiliaries, as Garmon is a pioneer in sustainability with a long history of developing eco-friendly and safe solutions. Garmon was one of the first chemical companies in the garment finishing industry to certify its products, offering its customers further guarantee of their superior ecological performance.

With many Garmon products already in the ZDHC Gateway, the database of safer chemicals adopted by the majority of fashion brands, and the company’s adherence to bluesign® system, Kemin Textile Auxiliaries can meet all its customers’ needs in terms of sustainability – all while maintaining the highest standards of quality and traceability to meet brand expectations.

Center for Sustainable Business launched its new apparel sustainability framework, developed in collaboration with Reformation, Eileen Fisher and REI. The framework is based on its Return on Sustainability Investment methodology launched with other sectors two years ago. The project was funded by HSBC Bank US’s foundation.

As part of the framework, the Center for Sustainable Business identified eight key strategies for making the apparel industry more sustainable, uncovering more than 60 best practices to address environmental, social, and governance-related issues.

Key strategies outlined included: reducing chemical impact, improving water management, improving energy management, investing in the reduction of material waste, implementing sustainable raw material sourcing, investing in circularity and innovation, investing in employee and supplier well-being, and investing in sustainable brand marketing and communications.

Reformation helped steer the framework’s initial findings on circularity, having engaged in consultative conversations with NYU’s team on its circular strategy, specifically providing data and insight on its resale partnership with ThredUp and fabric waste solution strategies, like its L.A.-based post-production recycling partner OsomTex.

As per Lyst’s “Year in Fashion 2020” review, off-white’s face mask was the hottest item with a 496 per cent increase in searches from January to March, reports Sourcing Journal. Searches for masks increased by 502 per cent during the year as they were rated as the must have accessory.

Birkenstock’s Arizona sandal, known for its double-strap upper and contoured footbeds—saw a 225 percent spike in searches during the second quarter of 2020, a time when consumers looked for easy slip-on footwear for their at-home lifestyles.

At No 3, is Telfar’s signature faux-leather shopping bag the ‘Bushwick Birken’ increased 163 percent week-on-week after congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gave the brand a shout-out on Instagram. The bag got another celebrity seal of approval this month from Oprah, landing on the tastemaker and media mogul’s coveted “Favorite Things” list for the holidays.

Nike saw the greatest increase in loungewear searches, Lyst reported. The brand’s most popular item in 2020 was the jogger pant, which searches spiking 213 percent year-on-year.

Crocs continued to defy the fashion gods by being the statement shoe of choice in 2020. Average monthly searches for Crocs total 135,000, and the brand hit its peak in the spring after boasting in January that it was producing the season’s “must-have” silhouette. The EVA foam style receive received several makeovers this year thanks to a myriad of collaborators including Vera Bradley, Peeps and KFC. Justin Bieber is teed up to be the brand’s next creative contributor.

An international group of executives, retailers, creatives and influencers nominated and voted for by their peers, The 2020 Rivet 50 honorees provided a collective outlook on the trials and tribulations that lie ahead for the denim sector, as well as the opportunities within its grasp.

First-time Rivet 50 honoree Dan Feibus, CEO, Vidalia Mills Co, said he expects a structural overcapacity, partially fueled by an industry that has a lot of extra capacity chasing a limited number of orders. According to him, the net impact of COVID-19 on retail will lead to the emergence of a smaller industry

Denim designer Maurice Malone sees a digital evolution in the retail industry. His eponymous brand, Malone is committed to selling direct-to-consumer. He expects to see more small direct-to-consumer businesses with a better understanding of their end-consumer spring up.

James Bartle, Founder and CEO, Outland Denim expects less emphasis on traditional seasons and more capsule collections in the next 18 months—a strategy that he is already putting in place for his own award-winning brand. While Omar Ahmed, CEO, Artistic Milliners says, it will take time for the denim industry to understand the depth of damage caused by the pandemic. With near-term consumption dropping and future forecasts also looking bleak for most, the industry is being forced into an overall consolidation, which will be healthy for the ecosystem in the mid- to long-term, he adds.

Following financial restructuring that allowed it to eliminate $686 million debt, US men’s fashion retailer Tailored Brands has successfully exited from its bankruptcy proceedings. The Houston-based company had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August, joining a list of brick-and-mortar retailers succumbing to the hit from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The restructuring plan included a $430 million lending facility. Tailored Brands now operates with a capital structure that includes an exit term loan of $365 million, which it expects will support its ongoing operations and strategic initiatives.

In July, the company announced plans to cut its workforce by 20 per cent and shut as many as 500 stores, in response to the impact of the pandemic. The company provides a personal, convenient, one-of-a-kind shopping experience with compelling products and world-class service. It features leading menswear retailers Men’s Wearhouse, Jos. A. Bank and Moores Clothing for Men; and family retailer K&G Fashion Superstore.

TÜV Rheinland plans to launch a keynote webinar as a part of its successful series of #AskADetoXpert webinars, titled: Time to Speed up Sustainability of the Fashion, Apparel and Textile Sector on December 10, 2020.

This webinar aims to promote and support the sustainability agendas of a wide range of industry stakeholders. In addition to sharing an analysis of the opinions and economic expectations provided by participants during the event’s registration process, the webinar will explore Potential Outcome Scenarios for the Fashion Industry, examine the “Open Letter” coalition’s 7 Key Action Points, and unpack examples of successful initiatives that are helping to drive sustainability goals in the apparel and textile sector around the world.

Rakesh Vazirani, Head-Sustainability Services, Business Stream Products, TÜV Rheinland Group believes there is an opportunity for the fashion, apparel and textile sector to face current challenges and decide how best to proceed.After creating one of the largest consumer goods markets on the planet, based on highly sophisticated and economically vital value chains, the fashion industry has a duty to act responsibly as it works towards a resilient recovery, he says.

As a member of the ‘Open Letter’ coalition, TÜV Rheinland is determined to leveraging our expertise, infrastructure and wealth of industry knowledge to build back better and more sustainably from this crisis, and ensure that the COVID-19 pandemic helps to speed up the transformation of the sector, says Vazirani.

Launched during the World Water Week virtual conference earlier this year (2020), the Open Letter’s signatories include more than 30 major companies, brands and multinational organisations including TÜV Rheinland, as well as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, ZDHC, Alliance for Water Stewardship, CDP and WWF.

As per data from Omnilytics, Indonesia’s textile and textile products sector bounced back to 2.97 per cent growth in the third quarter of 2020 owing to the rapid shift by retailers and consumers to online marketplaces for textile purchases. As per Industry Ministry figures, the sector had contracted 8.37 per cent in Q2, 2020 due to a decline in domestic consumption and exports in the sector.

The sector raises $12-13 billion and employs more than 1.5 million workers per annum, revealed Statistics Indonesia (BPS ) at an online symposium called ‘Towards Responsible Supply Chain’, organized by the Indonesia Textile Association (API) last month.

The first challenge that the sector faces is to bolster local rayon fiber production to make Indonesia the leader of raw material production. The second challenge is to strengthen local textile and textile production base, by using state-of-the-art machinery and training workers to operate these machineries in keeping with the Industry 4.0 era.

The government is also conducting a sustainable fashion campaign targeting both producers and consumers to demonstrate its support for circular economy.

Launched by Fashion for Good, the Viscose Traceability Project uses blockchain technology from TextileGenesis to trace viscose use in the textile supply chain spanning eight countries. The project is being developed in collaboration with BestSeller, Kering and Zalando. Besides operational support, these companies will provide financial support for the project that aims to verify sustainable viscose fibers along the fashion supply chain.

TextileGenesis will design traceability applications for use across the entire textile value chain, from fiber to finished goods. It will provide blockchain solution and platform to trace the origins of the viscose used in the garments along the supply chains of the two participating brands. These supply chains, consisting of spinners, weavers, knitters, dye-houses and garment makers, span a total of eight countries to reflect the real-world complexities and various supply-chain scenarios to fully test the flexibility and scalability of the platform.

The Viscose Traceability Project builds upon learnings from the 2019 Organic Cotton Traceability Pilot, which investigated the technical feasibility of blockchain and physical tracers using organic cotton as the primary fiber. The project will focus on demonstrating the feasibility of global application of the solution across the viscose supply chain. Its success will be measured against the flexibility of the solution – being able to operate across diverse supply chains; the interoperability of the solution – collecting data from multiple platforms into a single system; and scalability – global implementation across multiple brands, fiber producers and supply chains.