Pitti Immagine will explore the relation between fashion and digital world with an event on May 4 and 5 at Stazione Leopolda in Florence. Titled ‘E-P Summit’, the event will be held under the theme, ‘Shaping the digital future of fashion’. The new Summit will present a vast program of meetings and moments of analysis. It will facilitate meetings between IT teams and employees of companies and all those interested in digital tools applied to the world of fashion and luxury. It will also launch new software and hardware solutions for their business.

The topics of the two-day discussion include: development of digital production processes for creating new collections; new supply chains; the digital transition in support of ecology and circular economy; integration between traditional distribution and e-commerce channels; the Internet of Things; Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning; use and protection Big Data and the Cloud; the Blockchain; the Metaverse and the creation, exchange and fruition of NFTs.

The show will be held in association with international partners including Accenture and Google Cloud. Companies including 3rand Up Solutions, Assyst, Besight, Dyna Brains, Hyphen - Group, Joor, Lectra, Ot Consulting, Prisma Tech, Remira, S3k, Sedapta, Sopra Steria, Tesisquare, Vistex and Wuerth Phoenix will participate in the event.

Gap Inc.’s 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report reflects the progress the company and its brands, Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta, made in 2021 toward building a more sustainable and inclusive business. Gap Inc’s . ESG strategy focuses on the principles of Empowering Women and Human Rights, Enabling Opportunity, and Enriching Communities.

As per a Textile World report, the strategy highlights, USAID Gap Inc. Women + Water Alliance plans to empower two million people with access to improved drinking water and sanitation by 2023. Old Navy’s This Way ONward program aims to provide 20,000 job opportunities by hiring over 10,600 underserved youth by 2025. Gap is also committed to provide 100 per cent regenerative, organic, in conversion to organic, or recycled cotton by 2030.

Gap Inc.’s Global Sourcing team plans to trail hydroponic farming condition for cotton farming in an urban environment. The company has partnered The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel the project that won the Silver Award at the 2022 International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva.

The expiry of GSP+ facility in 2023 may have a disastrous effect on the Pakistan textile industry as international buyers will start searching for other regional suppliers for placing new orders, says Sheikh Lugman Aman, Regional Chairman, Pakistan Readymade Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA). Extension of had helped boost Pakistan’s textile exports, explains Ijaz Khokhar, Chief Coordinator. He has urged the government to push the EU countries for extension of GSP Plus facility to Pakistan for another 10 years.

Khokhar also urged enhanced interaction and communication with ambassadors of EU bloc and other European countries. He also emphasized on the need for direct advocacy and lobbying by visiting EU headquarters in Brussels. The readymade garments sector in Pakistan urged the new government to initiate lobbying for continuity of Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP)-Plus, besides implementing new textile and apparel policy through revival of Pakistan Export Promotion Board (PEPB).

Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) office-bearers urged the government to initiate work on lobbying for renewal for GSP status for Pakistan from the European Union (EU) to sustain export growth.

VDMA Textile Machinery Association has appointed Janpeter Horn, Managing Director, August Herzog Maschinenfabrik, as its new Chairperson with immediate effect. The appointment was made at the members’ meeting of the Association in Leonberg. Based in Oldenburg, Northern Germany, August Herzog Maschinenfabrik is a manufacturer of innovative braiding and winding machinery.

VDMA also appointed Regina Brückner, Managing Associate, Brückner Trockentechnik, and Verena Thies, Managing Shareholder, Thies Textilmaschinen, as Vice Chairpersons. Horn states, Both Brückner and Thies have been serving on the Executive Board of the VDMA Textile Machinery as well as the European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers CEMATEX for many years. The newly appointed team of the Association is well prepared to effectively represent the interests of the industry at national and international level.

A 5.6 per cent rise in cotton consumption in Bangladesh during the marketing year (MY) 2022-23 will boost demand for yarn and fabrics from international clothing retailers and brands, says United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Work orders have been increasing since the beginning of 2021 as many brands are shifting their orders from competitor countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia.

Domestic raw cotton consumption also went up 2.27 per cent during MY2021-22 to 9 million bales. The USDA data forecasts, in the MY 2022-23 yarn and fabric consumption would reach 0.96 million tons and 6.4 billion metre respectively. In MY 2022-23, Bangladesh’s cotton imports are expected to surge 7.2 per cent to 8.9 million bales. Cotton imports will surge nearly one million bales in MY2022-23, says Monsoor Ahmed, CEO, BTMA

Yarn production will increase 1.3 per cent in MY 2022-23 to reach 760,000 tons, predicts USDA. Cotton harvest area will increase by 2.2 per cent during the year to 46,000 hectare. Cotton production will surge by 2.6 per cent to 155,000 bales, as per USDA estimates.

China’s apparel and accessory exports in March 2022 grew 10.48 per cent over the corresponding month last year to reach $10.22 billion, reveals data from General Administration of Customs, China (GACC).

This is the highest third month export revenues for China in previous five calendar years. Growth proved resistant to the resurgence of the COVID-19 cases in China. Calculated using GACC data, the analysis shows, China’s apparel and accessories exports grew 7.40 per cent Y-o-Y in Q1’22 to reach $35.68 billion. China’s textile exports also grew by 15.10 per cent Y-o-Y to reach $31.78 billion in Q1 ’22.

Walmart has invited Indian manufacturers and trading companies to sell on its Walmart Marketplace as cross-border sellers to reach out to over 120 million US consumers every month.

The Walmart Marketplace offers close to 170 million unique items and aims to onboard 40,000 new sellers this year. It is also looking to expand its products range to more than 200 million items.

Indian sellers on the Walmart Marketplace will have a dedicated account manager to help them onboard and provide access to tools like Walmart Fulfillment Services, which lets sellers offer two-day delivery to most of the U.S., with Walmart handling warehousing and delivery, as well as returns. Walmart said India sellers will also be able to use the Walmart Connect media platform to help run impactful advertising and marketing campaigns.

Also, sellers will be able to use Payoneer’s services offering multi-currency payments solutions and India-focused innovations like automated Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate (FIRC), along with access to legal, tax and compliance support, global shipping and logistics services, etc.

Hosted by the Top Fashion Export Council under AEPC - BAA - NAEC in collaboration with Sowtex, The Fashion Meet- Expo ’22 commenced at the Apparel House in Gurugram. The first day of the event witnessed a grand inauguration by the Chief Guest, DarshanaJardosh, Minister of State for Textiles & Railways, Trade commissioners from Australia & Canada along Top Apparel Exporters, Buying fraternity. Over 200 top fashion buyers, exporters & manufacturers of Delhi, NCR attended the event. The second day showcased a Startup Fashion Show and also had industry experts highlight the importance of digitizing the textile eco-system & fast tracking design development process to optimize India Textile recent FTA's with partner countries and achieve GOI’s target of $100 Bn fashion & Textile Exports by 2030.

The show displayed the widest collection of sustainable andinnovative fabrics n from different mills of India under one roof. The Fashion Meet had live discussions between AEPC, participating Mills on ‘Conceptualisation of Design Studio’ at Apparel House, along with the display of ‘Physical & Virtual Fabric Collection.’ Some other noteworthy topic of discussion by industry experts were on ‘Fast tracking the Design Development Process,’ ‘Stitching the Value Chain with Sustainability & Traceability,’ ‘Quick & Easy Ways to Build Fashion Exports.’

The event featured 50 fabric mills, processors, trims manufactures BS fashion technology companies from India showcasing latest collections along with trends, materials, technology. This collaboration aimed to strengthen engagement through Meet-up space between buyers and sellers of the textile ecosystem.

The financial crisis in Sri Lanka is leading to a diversion of many apparel orders from UK, EU, and Latin America to India,

Fuel deficiencies in the midst of its most horrendously awful monetary emergency and following power cuts are upsetting the development of key products in Sri Lanka. For example, much of the garment orders have proactively begun moving to India and presently a comparative pattern is being seen in the materials areaparticularly as India and Sri Lanka produce comparative sorts of clothing and articles of clothing.

However, Sri Lanka’s apparelgetduty-free access to different nations, in contrast to Indian products. Sri Lankan exporters are also attempting to keep their material area safeguarded in spite of the emergency,, says A. Sakthivel, Head, Indian Export Organizations (FIEO).

Sakthivel added that exporters have started getting inquiries from a few European nations. NarendraGoenka, Director, AEPC agreed that India can arise as alternative to Sri Lankan clothing as it can create most of similar items at lower cost.

The first Stoll Days for customers and other interested parties will be held from June 07 -10, 2022 in the new TexLab at Karl Mayer North America, in Greensboro, NC

During the event, customers and other business partners will get acquainted with the Stoll team, and the fully equipped TexLab, with the latest Stoll machines, other equipment to develop knitted products and multiple collaboration and training areas. For the event, Stoll prepared an exciting program to inspire the innovativeness of customers and others that are interested in the use of flat knitting technology in their products.

Highlights of the event include various Stoll machines in action, including a few models that were not shown before, seminars and workshops to introduce new design and programming software, and many inspiring knitted products for fashion and for technical textile markets. The event will also witness a presence of some yarn suppliers and other industry partners.