Last year Sri Lanka’s apparel exports grew five per cent. A six per cent growth is expected this year. Due to terrorist attacks the industry is facing several challenges. One of the key issues being faced by the industry is meeting delivery deadlines set by buyers. Expansion and investment procedures have been halted and some factories are unable to meet deadlines. Other affects include: delay in clearance of raw materials from ports due to heightened security and wariness of transporters to undertake transporting of goods due to long wait times and security checks. Vessel schedule of import cargo are being changed by freight companies. Worker absenteeism is causing production delays. Service providers and suppliers are unable to function on time, causing delays in garment testing and procurement of locally sourced raw materials. Blocked social media hinders customers from using these to communicate business deals.

Buying trips to Sri Lanka are being cancelled. This will result in fewer order placements and some customers are contemplating completely pulling out of Sri Lanka. Thus the demand for Sri Lankan products within the world market reduces. This paves the way for competing markets to take the position that Sri Lanka held so far.

Luxury giant Kering has been tasked to bring together a group of brands to set unified sustainability goals for the sector. Over the next couple of months, Kering will pull together a broad coalition of industry players willing to unite behind long-term goals to reduce the industry’s negative impact on climate, biodiversity and oceans.

Kering has been at the forefront of efforts to address the industry’s sustainability challenges. It has spent years tracing and measuring the environmental impact of its supply chain, publishing an account of the cost of its business to the planet. It has set a new target to push for stricter animal welfare standards in its supply chain for products like leather, handbags and cashmere suits. It has pledged to hire models over 18.

The fashion industry is one of the most polluting in the world and has struggled to find ways to tackle its environmental impact. While the industry has made significant improvements in recent years, those advances have stalled over the last twelve months as big brands struggle to drive changes to the way they operate. At the same time, the industry is facing growing pressure from regulators and consumers to operate in a more socially and environmentally responsible way.

India International Garment Fair (IIGF) will be held along with Source Zone at Greater Noida, July 4 to 6, 2019.IIGF is an apparel and accessories sourcing fair. A breathtaking and exclusive collection of yarn, fiber, fabrics, trimmings and embellishments, allied services and the like, manufactured by premier Indian fashion and export houses, will be showcased at Source Zone. These collections, a blend of Indian flavor and international appeal, reflect the latest designs in vogue. Buyers will have plethora of options to choose from and will be spoilt for choice. Participants and visitors of IIGF would be the ideal target audience for participants at Source Zone, as they would form the core customers of all suppliers of raw materials of garments. Source Zone has been designed in a way to be cost-efficient for participants and an effective buying trip for buyers and other trade visitors. It is also expected to bridge the gap present in the textile value chain as far as sourcing of building blocks of apparels is concerned. Source Zone is designed to be a leading industry event of its kind that will bring together domestic suppliers, manufacturers, service providers and buyers all under one roof on a year on year basis.

The year-long trade war between the US and China is increasing American imports from GSP beneficiary countries including India, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia and Turkey. The GSP is the largest and oldest US trade preference programme and is designed to promote economic development by allowing duty-free entry for thousands of products from designated beneficiary countries

The Generalised System of Preference or GSP saved American companies $105 million in March, an increase of $28 million (36 per cent) from March, 2018 and the second-highest level on record. In the first quarter of 2019, the GSP saved American companies $285 million, which is $63 million more than the first quarter of 2018.

On March 4, President Donald Trump announced the US intention to terminate India as a beneficiary developing country under the GSP programme. The 60-day notice period ended on May 3. As imports from China, current subject to new tariffs, have declined significantly, imports from other GSP beneficiaries have increased in the first quarter of 2019. India benefited the most from this as 97 per cent of its increased 2019 GSP imports are on the China Section 301 lists.

Sportswear Pro will be held alongside Fespa, March 24 to 27, 2020. A new exhibition dedicated exclusively to sportswear manufacturing, Sportswear Pro will bring together suppliers of solutions for three key areas of sportswear manufacture, design (CAD/CAM and 3D body scanning); production (CMT [‘cut, make and trim’], bonding and knitting) and decoration (printing, engraving, embroidery and laser appliqué systems), as well as developers of accessories, smart textiles and printed electronics. It will have a focus on the latest technologies in on-demand and customised sportswear production.

Visitors to Sportswear Pro will be business decision-makers seeking the latest technological innovations as a means to streamline production processes, reduce inventory and waste, and enable on-demand and just-in-time production in response to shortening fashion cycles. In addition, the new event will feature a dedicated conference program reflecting the business priorities of sportswear manufacturers and designers, such as sustainability and automation.

The co-location of Sportswear Pro with Fespa will allow visitors to move seamlessly between the two events, taking advantage of the array of screen and digital printing exhibits within the Fespa textile halls, and also providing access to the Print Make Wear educational feature. This takes the form of a fast fashion factory, demonstrating a range of garment manufacturing technologies through guided tours, expert chats and catwalk displays.

The Indian branch of Fairtrade is promoting sustainable fashion through initiatives and campaigns. The campaign ‘Show Your Label 2019’ encourages people to wear their clothing inside-out to show its label and see if it bears the Fairtrade mark. The initiative is intended to make people feel proud of wearing sustainable fashion. The campaign ran across Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Goa with a number of interactive events in schools. Students promoted the Show Your Label campaign and wore 100 per cent sustainable Fairtrade school uniform T-shirts. Going forward, Fairtrade will deepen engagement to minimise exploitation and maximise positive impact across the entire life-cycle of fashion products.

Fairtrade, for instance, aims at reducing the social and environmental costs of cotton production. On a social level, genetic modification of cotton seeds has wreaked havoc in traditionally agrarian communities. In India, the second biggest cotton producer in the world after China, there has been a surge in farmer suicides. These tragic deaths are linked to genetically modified cotton and the ugly cycle of dependence on special seeds and chemicals into which many farmers fall. Cotton accounts for 24 per cent of global sales of agricultural insecticides and uses a huge amount of water.

Copenhagen Fashion Summit held from May 15 to 16, 2019 attracted 1300 guests, and 78 high-level speakers who talked on topics spanning executive leadership, design, manufacturing, policy and investment. Discussion topics ranged from climate change and circular economy to the power of creatives and how fashion can address overconsumption.

Fashion leaders, policymakers, NGOs, creative directors and innovators from across the globe convened to demand urgent action on sustainability in the fashion industry. The event marked the summit’s 10th anniversary and provided a platform for companies to unveil new solutions, launch new commitments, collaborate with industry peers and partake in agenda-setting discussions. Discussions and debates emphasised that companies must collaborate now, more than ever, to rectify the harmful consequences of the fashion industry and combat the climate crisis, resource scarcity and social issues. The summit provided a forum for stakeholders to come together and rewrite fashion to safeguard the planet.

At seven leadership roundtables, select fashion leaders, NGO representatives and government officials met to discuss the fashion industry’s most pressing sustainability issues and to collaborate to push the agenda forward. At this year’s roundtables senior participants from fashion companies of diverse sizes, segments and geographies discussed climate change and the circular economy.

Tufts University engineers have developed dyed threads that change hues when exposed to carbon monoxide and other hazards. With these gas sensing washable threads, the sensor can be embedded into something one would already be wearing, such as a shirt.

The developers hope the threads can eventually be woven into smart clothing to benefit workers in a variety of fields. This clothing could potentially be even more affordable and easy to use than current methods of gas detection. Researchers studied three kinds of dye: MnTPP, methyl red and bromothymol blue. MnTPP and bromothymol blue detect ammonia, while methyl red detects hydrogen chloride, both of which can harm the eyes, skin and respiratory tract.

They used a special process to bind the dye to the thread by treating it with acetic acid, which makes the thread coarser and allows for a firmer attachment. They then applied a polymer to the thread to create a water-repellent seal. This way, the resulting garment can be washed without the dye leaching out.

The color change that happens when the threads are exposed to gas can be seen by the naked eye, or with a smartphone camera. The camera allows for even more sensitive detection, reading subtle color changes occurring when dangerous substances are as low as 50 parts per million.

Burberry is working on a plan to wind up 38 stores. Five, in Brazil and Spain, have already been shut. This is part of the luxury fashion brand’s move to go more upmarket and turn its flagship stores into luxury destinations for well-heeled shoppers. Burberry wants to go super-luxe, in the same league as Gucci and Dior, which have higher prices and profit margins. Like the rival brands, Burberry wants to be able to design coveted leather handbags that can command price tags of up to 2000 pounds.

Burberry is known for its trench coats and signature check. The 163-year-old company replaced its longstanding creative supremo Christopher Bailey with another Italian, Riccardo Tisci, last year, and is in the process of rolling out his debut collection. Bailey, who was credited with helping to transform Burberry from a small UK company into a global fashion brand, left last year. The clothes and accessories designed by Tisci have been a big hit with shoppers, delivering double-digit sales increases on the equivalent ranges in 2018. Tisci is revitalising a brand that was at risk of becoming outdated and repetitive. His dark grungy styles, previously seen at Givenchy, have provided a welcome update to Burberry’s classic tailoring and neutral tones.

The Asia Pacific region accounts for a major share of the wool worsted yarn market, followed by North America and Europe. Worsted yarns are made from high quality wool. These yarns differ from other woolen yarn based on their weight, type, and quality. The fabric made from worsted woolen yarn is stronger, smoother, and finer than normal wool. Worsted fabric is primarily used for men’s suitings. Compared to normal woolen yarn, worsted woolen yarn tends to be costly as the sheep from which the wool is taken is of higher breed. Also worsted fabric needs more processing, as a result its price tends to increase. These yarns are not carded; instead they are washed, gilled, and combed using heated long-tooth metal combs, later oiled, and spun.

The worsted wool yarn market can be segmented into tropical worsted wool and plain weave worsted wool. They differ based upon the type of fibers used for their production, combinations of fibers used, and blend of fibers used for weaving. Tropical worsted wool is designed to be worn in hot climates. This wool is light, smooth, breathable, and easy to maintain. Tropical worsted wool fabric finds application in making trousers and skirts, among others. Plain weave worsted wool fabric finds application in suits and other upholstery fabrics.