Italian denim brand Gas Jeans has managed to escape bankruptcy by selling its assets to new buyer in Milano 1984 SpA.

As per an Apparel Resources report, Grotto SpA, the parent firm of Gas Jeans, faces €80 million losses, leading to the firm being subsequently taken over by Milano 1984 SpA.

Following the acquisition, Grotto SpA’s property assets, the Gas Jeans label as well as 140 employees at Grotto will operate under the the formal jurisdiction of Milano 1984.

Reportedly, the offer was consistent with the initial tender. Notably, Grotto was valued €17.5 million, including €2.5 million for its subsidiaries Esagon, which owns the outlet stores of Gas Jeans.

Founded in 1984 by Claudio Grotto, Gas Jeans initially established itself in Europe, America and Asia, but lost all its momentum in last 10 years. It generated revenue of €55 million in 2019.

Italy-based leader in the ecological innovation of chemical application in the textile sectorOfficina39 will be present at the Bangladesh Denim Expo in Dhaka on May 10-11, 2022 after a two-year break. The company will focus on sustainability and its central theme ‘Beyond Business.’

Officina39 has been committed for years to the reconversion of the sector’s technologies to an environmental point of view. The company’s new Trustainable™ collection FW 23, reflects this attitude. The collection is based on the approach of honesty, transparency and social responsibility that have always driven the company. This collection offers a new approach to denim and colored surfaces, explains Juan Manuel Gomez, Officina39 Creative Leader. It is made possible by rethinking the conventional path for washing and dyeing using low-impact techniques and alternative looks with Aqualess Mission and Recycrom™ – the one-of-a-kind dyestuffs range patented by Officina39 which employs recycled used clothing, fibrous material and textile scraps, etc

Since the 1970s, the General System of Preferences (GSP) has been a boon for top five global manufacturers including Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines. Now, the proposed reforms to this largest and longest-running trade preference programs threaten to deprive these Southeast Asian countries of the tariff reductions provided on almost 5,000 products from bags to jewelry; mattresses and car parts.

Inactive since 2020-end, the GSP scheme needs to be renewed with reauthorization by the US Congress. Until now, the scheme covering 119 countries has been renewed 14 times. Of this, 10 renewals were made at varying intervals and the importers were reimbursed each time for the extra tariffs levied on their products

New eligibility laws for tariff reduction

The current renewal comes after a delay of 18 months, resulting in $1.4 billion in extra taxes for companies. The latest revision introduces new eligibility laws for tariff reduction besides earlier provisions that focused on labor rights. It bans countries violating human rights or failing to enforce environmental laws.

Further, the law takes into consideration, a country’s initiatives on poverty reduction and corruption. It upholds their progress on women’s empowerment and threatens to undermine its importance by threatening to disqualify a large number of companies. Critics therefore, urge the program to recognize the efforts of beneficiaries in identifying discrepancies in law.

Edward Gresser, Vice President and Director-Trade and Global Markets, Progressive Policy Institute, warns, introducing too many eligibility requirements would make the GSP impractical and unenforceable. It would debar almost all low-income countries due to lack of government capacity. Currently, the final decision on GSP renewal remains uncertain though it is mandated in the bipartisan innovation and competition legislative package dubbed H.R. 4521.

Balance eligibility with product expansion

Josh Teitelbaum, Senior Counsel, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld believes, the law is not likely to be passed until mid-November. He advises the government to balance eligibility changes made to the GSP by expanding product eligibility to include things like apparel, he adds. Teitelbaurm believes, this would enable Southeast Asian countries to comply with the program.

The Congress also aims to make the ‘Competitive Need Limitation’ rules more flexible to enable countries to increase exports to the US. However, lapse in GSP implementation may create disastrous situation for the industry, opines Piet Holten, President, Paetics, a Cambodia-based manufacturer.

The industry leader in flat knitting technology, Stoll has recently launched two new innovation packages. These packages aim to make Stoll’s high innovative strength even clearer and enable customers to benefit from it more quickly.

The innovation packages have the benefits for customers in focus and were tailored to the respective target groups. Every optimization contained therein leads to a decisive improvement in production. All of the solutions developed can be easily integrated into existing Stoll machines.

Innovation package Number One is aimed explicitly at knitters who focus on technical textiles. The focus is on convenience and process acceleration. Simple network configuration, expansion of the number of NP values, extended functionality when loading and saving the pattern and also improvement of handling in connection with Production Management from PPS are just some of the features of the package.

The Number Two innovation package includes improvements for the maintenance area – regarding the use of lubricants and the maintenance intervals– as well as optimizations in terms of sustainability, for example when it comes to reducing consumption of oil and increasing reliability. These solutions will be suitable for all machine types and applications. The focus here is on improvements in belt take-down, the import and export of data and support for additional storage feeders.

In addition, the development teams are currently working on optimizing various knitting qualities and increasing user-friendliness.

World's leading industrial thread manufacturer, Coats Group plc has signed an agreement to sell its business in Brazil and Argentina to Reelpar SA, an entity backed by a Sao Paulo Private Equity Firm. The deal is expected to complete in May.

As per reports, the transaction will result in a positive annualized impact of circa 50bps uplift to the Group's adjusted operating margins. Under the terms of the disposal, Coats will fund $10m to Reelpar SA to support restructuring of the business.

Announced in March, the exit from the Brazil and Argentina business will accelerate Coat’s sales growth and transform the company.

Coats is the world's leading industrial thread company. At home in some 50 countries, Coats has a workforce of over 18,000 people across six continents. The group provides complementary and value-adding products, services and software solutions to the apparel and footwear industries. It also applies innovative techniques to develop high technology performance materials threads, yarns, fabrics and composites in areas like personal protection, telecoms, energy, transportation, and household and recreation.

Scheduled for June, 2022 edition of China’s YIWUTEX has been postponed due to fresh rise in pandemic cases and renewing of restrictions in Shanghai and parts of China. As per a Knitting Industry report, taking into consideration the health and safety of all participants, the organizers decided to postpone the 22nd China Yiwu International Trade Fair for Functional Yarn & Knitting & Hosiery Machinery and The 11th China Yiwu International Trade Fair for Sewing & Digital Printing Machinery, known collectively as YIWUTEX22 was scheduled for May 10-12, 2023.

The organizers also decided to organize a Seamless Garment and Hosiery Technology Forum at Yingyun Innovation Plaza during the fourth quarter of 2022. The forum will cater to the growing demand of seamless garments, and the call for transformation and upgrading of the industry.

The event will highlight industry topics ranging from smart manufacturing, forefront technologies to new materials and innovative designs through a series of showcases, forums and meetings. It will provide a platform for professionals to network with industry peers.

As per Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) stats, total value of textile imports during the first nine months of FY2021-22 increased 25.59 per cent to $3,499.68 million against $ 2,786.5 million in July-March 2020-21. However, import of raw cotton declined 14.57 per cent to 533,871 metric tons.

A similar trend was seen in import of synthetic fiber which declined 15.85 per cent to 291,364 MT in terms of quantity while it rose 27.51 per cent from to $562.281 million in value. Import of synthetic and artificial silk yarn increased 30 per cent in value while it declined 7.64 per cent in quantity to 293,191 MT. Imports of worn clothing surged 56.87 and 66.47 per cent both quantity and value during the period. Pakistan imported 764,139 MT of worn clothing worth $341.319 million during the period as compared to 487,107 MT of worn clothing having a value of $205 million. Import of other textile items increased 21.64 per cent during July-March 2021-22 and surged to $740.383 million from $608.677 million in the first nine months of 2020-21.

The new EU-Ukraine Textile Initiative (EUTI) by Euratex aims to facilitate cooperation between European and Ukrainian textile and apparel companies. The initiative will offer a single contact point for Ukrainian companies with their EU counterparts, and vice versa. That connection will help companies match supply and demand, engage in public procurement and offer company-to-company support. To be coordinated in close cooperation with UKRLEGPROM, the Ukrainian Association of enterprises of textile & leather industry, the initiative will be managed by Olena Garkushag of Ukrainian textile industry.

In 2021, EU exported textiles and garments worth €1.3 billion to Ukraine while imports from the nation totaled €500 million. Dirk Vantyghem, Director General, Euratex believes, EU and Ukraine can expand their relationship in the long run by partnering in the PEM Convention. They can also benefit from the EU’s proposed suspension of tariffs on imported products from Ukraine.

In its Q4FY2022, Sutlej Textiles and Industries reported a 41.40 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 51.64 crore from Rs 36.52 crore profit recorded in Q3 FY2022. As per an Equity Bulls report, total income rose 9.46 per cent to Rs 901.02 crore in Q4 ended March 31, 2022 compared to Rs 823.12 crore during the third ended December 31, 2021. The company reported EPS of Rs 3.15 for the quarter.

On a yearly basis, Sutlej Textiles and Industries posted net profit of Rs 51.64 crore for 2022 as against net loss of Rs 27.77 crore for 2021. A leading textile solutions provider, Sutlej Textiles and Industries manufactures textile products extending from yarns and fabrics to home furnishing. Since its inception, the company has been making superior spun yarns that have set industry benchmarks for innovation. It processes one of the largest product portfolios of spun-dyed and cotton blended and cotton mélange and dyed yarns in India.

Mame Annan-Browne has been appointed new Global Head-Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) by Kontoor Brands, a global lifestyle apparel company with two of the world’s most iconic brands Wrangler® and Lee®, in its portfolio

In her new role, Annan-Brown will manage Kontoor’s global ESG efforts. She will also spearhead the company’s engagement with environmental, health and safety, corporate social responsibility, corporate governance, sustainability, diversity and inclusion standards, etc. She will be the company’s representative in organizations promoting ESG issues across the business landscape. Annan-Brown will continue to oversee the company’s Global Communications and Public Affairs. She will be responsible for all aspects of global corporate communications, government relations, global philanthropy, and charitable giving.

Annan-Brown will also lead Kontoor’s ESG Council to establish a foundational ESG framework and roadmap that establishes Kontoor’s priorities and vision relating to ESG matters, and prioritizes and recommends policies, practices, and disclosures that conform to the strategy.