Green Machine has won the ITMF Awards 2022 in the sustainability and innovation category. Green Machine is the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel’s research project. Green Machine is a hydrothermal treatment process that separates cotton polyester blends at scale by using only heat, water and a biodegradable green chemical. It has won a total of five awards since its launch in 2016.

Green Machine solves long-term challenges in recycling blended textiles. Everything going through the hydrothermal process can be reused. The separated fibers are ready for re-spinning. The cellulose powder decomposed from cotton can be turned into functional finishes or raw materials for textile application. The cellulose powder can even be transformed into a water retention agent for agricultural use. Green Machine has great potential to speed up the journey of sustainability and bring significant benefits to the textile industry and society as a whole.

ITMF Awards are organized by International Textile Manufacturers Federation which was founded in 1904 and which celebrates works of merit and notable achievements in the textile field. The category sustainability and innovation recognises achievements in the industry that have a focus on innovation, design, development and production. Such achievements must comply with the strictest standards of sustainability and respect for the environment.

Bangladesh aims at hiking apparel exports to South Korea. South Korea currently sources 34 per cent of apparel items from China but due to rising costs, apparel production is increasingly moving out of China and Bangladesh’s entrepreneurs now have an opportunity to capture the South Korean market.

Bangladesh’s apparel shipments to South Korea have seen positive growth over the past five years despite the pandemic-led slowdown. But a big push will be taken this year to capture a bigger share of the market with diversified items such as underwear, denims, shirts, jackets and pullovers as South Korea has a great demand for high-value winter clothing and denim. Other potential products that have good demand in the country include non-leather footwear, home textiles, jute and jute products etc.

And South Korean buyers and brands are also showing interest in increasing sourcing from Bangladesh as the country can offer competitive prices. Bangladesh will also offer South Korea joint cooperation in manufacturing manmade fiber-based products. Among South Korea’s apparel imports, China is the largest export source, followed by Vietnam, Italy, and Indonesia. South Korea happens to be Bangladesh’s 20th largest export partner out of 202 destinations.

The Textile Association of India is organizing a conference on digitalization at Mumbai, October 14, 2022. The conference will look at how digitalization is shaping up and transforming the global textile business and will discuss the major challenges faced by the textile industry in today’s digital marketplace and identify practical steps to be taken to digitalize the value chain. A galaxy of speakers will throw light on this very challenging subject. This high profile conference will be attended by 500 participants where they will get the rare opportunity to listen to such quality experts. Participating delegates will benefit from this conference and will be convinced that digitalization is not a choice but a necessity. Many global textile machinery manufacturers have already adopted digitization and subsequently digitalization.

Enhanced technology, digital systems and automated processes will make it possible for manufacturing quality products with high productivity and at optimum cost. Industry 4.0 includes cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things, cloud computing which would create what is being defined as smart factory.

The Textile Association (India), Mumbai unit, the largest unit of the association with around 4,000 members, organizes events of topical interest both at the national and the global level.

Shanghai Fashion Week (SFW) will be held in September. After being forced to go digital due to the two month long lockdown last season, the show is returning with a physical edition. The spring 2023 edition will host more than 64 shows with a focus on local designers.

Stricter screening protocols have been set in place as China sticks to its zero Covid policy. Show staff must show proof of 24-hour Covid tests for five consecutive days ahead of the event while fashion showgoers will be required to show 24-hour valid Covid test results to enter SFW venues.

At Ontimeshow, the largest fashion trade show during SFW, sites will be disinfected daily. For many brands, hosting fashion shows offsite became a popular option in previous seasons, but as the hurdle to gain event approval from local authorities became highly difficult due to Covid related restrictions, sticking with the official venues became the safer option. Ontimeshow will expand to nine show venues covering more than 29,000 square meters. Its Room Room showroom will feature nine new brands, such as Self-portrait, Qiuhao and Private Policy.

India’s exports of textiles and apparel fell by one per cent during the first five months of the current fiscal. The yarn market and entire value chain are witnessing a slower demand. India’s exports of cotton yarn, fabrics, made-ups, handloom products fell 16 per cent in April 2022 to August 2022. Export of carpets fell 15 per cent. Handicrafts (excluding handmade carpets) also eased 29 per cent in the first five months of the current fiscal. Total textile exports fell 13 per cent. However, apparel exports grew 17 per cent because of better performance in the previous months of this fiscal.

Exports of all the products in the textile segment registered a decline in the month of August. International trade, especially of discretionary products like garments and home textiles, is facing a slower demand. The global economy is facing challenges such as the Russia-Ukraine war, which has disrupted global trade and supplies of not only textiles and apparel but also food grains and many other important commodities. High inflation all over the world has left the consumers without money for discretionary expenditure, which in turn has dried up demand for many consumer items including textiles.

Lenzing has suspended its guidance for the development of earnings in the 2022 financial year. This has been due to the drastic market deterioration in the current quarter. In light of the current distortions in the energy and raw material markets, and their impact on consumer climate, Lenzing sees itself confirmed in its long-term corporate strategy and will continue to drive specialty fiber growth and the implementation of its ambitious climate and sustainability goals, including the transformation to a circular economy model.

Based on current assumptions for energy and raw material costs, Lenzing also sees the achievement of its medium-term guidance for 2024 at risk. The group is currently experiencing unprecedented distortions in the energy and raw material markets, which are burdening consumer climate and significantly limiting visibility on short to medium-term business development. However Lenzing’s long-term growth prospects for its wood-based, biodegradable specialty fibers remain positive.

Lenzing, the world’s leading supplier of wood-based specialty fibers for the textile and nonwovens industries, is a partner of global textile and nonwoven manufacturers and drives many new technological developments. Lenzing’s fibers form the basis for a variety of textile applications ranging from elegant clothing to versatile denims and high-performance sports clothing.

Isko has opened its second product development center in Germany and the other one is in the UK. Called Creative Room, it is a division of Isko devoted to offering streamlined and simplified solutions for all denim requirements – from fabric to finished garment.

With a focus on sustainable washing and finishing techniques, customers of Creative Room will be able to work in parallel with Isko’s experts to achieve their desired denim looks. Creative Room Germany will also be the central point for its customers’ full product development, ensuring the whole process is agile and more efficient. By utilizing Isko’s patented recycling technology, they are now able to develop brand new garments by using fibers from post-consumer denim, finally closing the loop and giving a new and cutting-edge circular supply solution for their customers. As well as a hub for customers, Creative Room Germany will also act as a platform for the wider denim community to share knowledge, create new and innovative ideas and to bring them to life. The center will develop innovative washing and finishing techniques that meet the highest quality and sustainability standards with a significantly lower environmental impact.

Isko is the textile division of Sanko and has a strong global presence in 35 countries with 60 international locations.

At White Sustainable Milano Bemberg by Asahi Kasei will present a brand new staple fiber. This is a new yarn range that expands the company’s realm of applications for the fashion and luxury industry, including also intimate, fashion, formalwear, activewear, knitwear, jersey and casualwear. The fiber comes with a circular economy footprint obtained from cotton linters through a closed-loop process. At WSM fair, the company will also unveil a collection of T-shirts. Staple fiber is the top ingredient of the collection. The cut T-shirts will be presented both in sheer and blends with other certified fibers, including GOTS cottons and RWS wools, capable of enhancing both the hand feel of the final garment and the performance of the brand new yarn.

Bemberg by Asahi Kasei is a new generation material made from the smart-tech transformation of cotton linter pre-consumer material, converted through a traceable and transparent closed loop process. Bemberg is cool and sensual with a unique, supple drape. It is antistatic and breathable while its soft versatility makes it perfect for modern wardrobe fashions, athleisure, and everyday casual wear. Bemberg is the brand name of the regenerated cellulose fiber cupro, produced by Asahi Kasei.

White Sustainable Milano, to be held in Italy, September 22 to 25, 2022, is the first fashion trade show entirely dedicated to research and focus on new materials and technologies able to lead to a real ecological transition.

For a country facing numerous economic challenges for long, the fact that its clothing sector has about 50 per cent import component is in itself a challenge.

As per The National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC), clothing is one of the highest performing sectors year-on-year. By June 2022, the manufactured quantity of clothing increased by 28.7 per cent compared to June 2021. In the first half of the year, production increased 24 per cent compared to the first half of previous year. The turnover of Argentine textile and clothing industry amounted to $2 billion in 2019. Around 90 per cent manufacturers are micro and small companies, large companies account for about 1per cent of manufacturers. All production of textiles and clothing in the country is for domestic consumption.

High cost of clothing imports affect prices

As per Galfion, a key member of INDEC, imports have to be financed 180 days after nationalization, resulting in a direct cost of around 35 per cent in dollar terms, which contributes directly to pricing of the final product. He feels, given the shortage of foreign exchange, Argentina should give priority to the supply of basic raw materials to produce domestically. This would save foreign exchange and limit prices of semi-finished products and further increase national output and Argentine labor.

He opines, the country is already in a dire situation with some factories reducing production due to lack of inputs, especially in the synthetic sector where raw materials are imported. These circumstances have resulted in a marked reduction in demand, great uncertainty, volatile prices and it is logical that the consumer waits and does not validate the adjustments. He expects the market to remain stable in coming months, which will establish predictability. This means, the producer knows at what price he will be able to get the supply of raw materials for production. This will contribute to stabilizing the prices of the final product.

Imports dominate market

As per latest Argentine Industrial Chamber of Clothing (CIAI) figures, in July 2022 (last reported), the dollar for clothing imports registered 71.1 per cent year-on-year growth, totaling $24.5 million. In terms weight in kg, it rose 80.1 per cent, totaling 1.1 million. For the period January-July 2022, the increase in imports in dollars terms was 50.3 per cent compared to the same period in 2021. In kg, there was an increase of 37.4 per cent in 2021 over the same period.

The average price per kg imported was 21.6, slightly higher than January-July 2021. The main import origin for January-July 2022 period was China, which accounted for 56 per cent of imports measured in dollars, followed by Vietnam 7.5 per cent and Bangladesh 5.9 per cent. Peru as at 5th place, Brazil 10th and Colombia 15th are the three South American country of origin that are prominent for this period. Peru and Colombia stand out as origins of outbound purchases with high $/kg ratios. From January to July 2022, due to change in weather, the largest imports were coats (31.5 per cent) category, followed by pants 15.9 per cent and sweaters 15.3 per cent.

Textile Exchange is making changes to the Organic Content Standard (OCS). OCS will mandatorily require that site inputs from Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) provide traceability of all transaction certificate data back to the original farm source, such as full transaction certificate data, including product and input product, and farm input data like farm capacity.

In addition, to decisively prevent fraud and to provide a double safety net, all first processors, such as cotton gins, that ultimately provide GOTS inputs into an OCS product down the supply chain need to be certified to the OCS and provide evidence of all inputs from farms.

Textile Exchange, which created the OCS, is asking certification bodies and standards users to provide this additional data and might require the former to amend contracts, policies and technology systems to make this possible.

Textile Exchange is waiving OCS certification fees through June 30, 2023, for any site that is currently GOTS certified and decides to add OCS certification; this does not apply to sites that already have OCS and GOTS certificates. Textile Exchange is also permitting certification bodies to issue OCS scope certificates without conducting audits of sites holding valid GOTS certificates with the same validity through the same date.