In the first half of 2022, Bestseller plans to access potential investment targets through OCA and CmiA. The company also aims to increase sustainable sourcing through its membership in Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). The recently published 2021 Sustainability Report by the Danish company highlights its focus on sustainability in denim through a strategy called Fashion FWD.

To achieve its ambitious goals, the company needs to increase investments in innovations and curb resource consumption, says Anders Holch Povlsen, CEO and Owner. It needs to take collective action in all areas from raw materials to end consumer and beyond. In 2021, Bestseller added several new fibers to its portfolio. Their brand Selected brought denim styles made with cotton from Africa’s new organic standard, CmiA-Organic. Similarly, Jack & Jones introduced a line of jeans made with Lenzing’s Carbon-zero Tencel fiber

Bestseller’s long-standing supplier Artistic Milliners launched fully traceable organic cotton called Milliner Cotton Organic in March 2021. Only developed new denim initiative called ‘Wiser Wash Jeans’ that eliminates pumice stones and toxic chemicals involved in traditional washing indigo denim. The first jean styles made with Wiser Wash are part of Only’s “NOOS” program of in-stock items and more will launch this year.

In 2021, Bestseller also completed a pilot of Higg Index Transparency Program with its Selected brand. The program enables brands to disclose the environmental impacts of fabrics across four areas: greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel consumption, water use and water pollution—in a consumer-friendly way. Jack & Jones, Vero Moda and Only have started trials. The company also conducted lifecycle assessments for two denim styles by Selected.

Leading global manufacturer of dry finishing machines, Mario Crosta hopes to consolidate its market position and registering significant growth by 2025. The company has redesigned some of its machines to enhance their productivity and performance. As per an Indian Textile Magazine report, the company has introduced new software that would help application of its machines easier. It has also launched new simplified solutions for drives and motors, reducing the time of maintenance.

In 2021, Maria Crosta recorded significant growth in Pakistan, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Turkey, South America and India markets. It was able to secure prestigious orders from a few Indian corporate companies.

Established in 1926, the Mario Crosta Group aims to meet customers’ demand in textile finishing with competence, timeliness and professionalism, through a highly motivated and involved team and a constant attention to research and development. The group offers innovative high value-added solutions to meet the growing technological needs of global textile companies.

A delegation comprising leaders from the Tiruppur Exporters’ Association, CITI, TEXPROCIL, AEPC and SIMA have urged Textile Minister Piyush Goyal to introduce ECLGS-like scheme for MSMEs to help units in knitwear sector overcome liquidity crisis. The delegation has also requested the government to remove 11 per cent import duty on cotton. It called for an immediate intervention by the government to protect the textile industry and also save jobs.

The delegation said the game being played by cotton traders is disturbing the entire textile industry, accessories, dyes and chemical suppliers, exports and employment including banks. Garment exporters are being forced to complete orders for the same price as buyers are not willing to raise prices. Compared to the corresponding period last year, knitwear exporters are also receiving lower quantity orders owning to the impact of Russia-Ukraine war.

Dystar’s new technical services laboratory in Bangladesh will offer comprehensive solutions from dyeing printing to finishing solutions. The laboratory adds to the three facilities of DyStar located in South Asia to support global brand and retailers’ needs.

The new facility is an extension of DyStar’s existing technical development services, to support the increasing demand from the global supply chain. The facility strategic location will also offer local and regional customers quality solutions with a shorter turnaround time.

A provider of products and services for the textile, leather, paper, plastic and other chemical industries, DyStar combines the textile dye businesses of the former dye producers Bayer, Hoechst, BASF, ICI/Zeneca, Mitsubishi and Mitsui with the auxiliary activities of Boehme and Rotta.

China-owned company Xihe Textile Technology Bangladesh plans to invest $12.89 million to set up a garments manufacturing factory in Mongla EPZ. As per a Business Standard report, the project will be developed by Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) in collaboration with Xihe Textile Technology Bangladesh. The factory will provide employment to 2,892 Bangladeshi nationals. This fully foreign-owned company will produce 5 million pieces of woven garments and 2.3 million pieces of knit garments annually.

The company has another RMG factory s Garments Manufacture JINLITE Bangladesh in Mongla EPZ. Mongla Export Processing Zone or Mongla EPZ is one of the eight export processing zones under the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority. It is located in Mongla and is adjacent to the Port of Mongla. The zone received investment from 29 companies till 2015, of which 16 have gone into production and rest are under construction.

Indonesia's leading men's underwear brand, GT Man has launched new seamless underwear for men using the first innovative seamless knitting machine in Indonesia. As per a Knitting Industry report, the brand can now produce seamless technology products using high-technology seamless machines imported from Italy. The new technology seamless machines also enable the brand to reduce production process by up to 50 per cent. They also require less human labor as the total processes are reduced from eight to three or four, says Charlie Nawawi, Marketing Director of RPG.

First launched in 2021, the GT Man Seamless Underwear Collection features a wide range of pieces including stretch boxers, boxer briefs, and regular briefs. GT Man has built its collections with seamless underwear fabrics such as spandex, microfiber, and nylon, offering greater comfort and flexibility designed to feel like a second skin. The brand believes, buying seamless underwear is beneficial not just for customers’ health but also the environment. Their production process is more sustainable compared to the conventional garment-making processes.

Currently, GT Man holds 40 per cent share of Indonesian men's underwear market. The brand aims to grow all its product lines with the seamless technology in the next 3-4 years. It also aims to shift 20-30 per cent of its current production to the seamless product line in this time.

As per a survey by McKinsey & Co, 57 per cent consumers have made significant lifestyle changes in order to reduce the environmental impacts. Around 15 per cent consumers emphasize on buying social and environmental-friendly products, including when choosing underwear products.

The recently concluded 53rd edition of the IHGF Delhi Fair received business enquiries worth Rs 3, 650 crore.The fair was attended by 4,856 buyers and buying representatives from 92 countries and around 2,596 exhibitors presented their collections.

The show focused on sustainability as buyers sought eco-friendly and compliant ranges in home and lifestyle products. European buyers sourced interesting regular use bags as alternatives to plastics, amongst other home products.

Rakesh Kumar DG, EPCH & Chairman, IEML says, the show highlighted grassroots level artisans and manufacturers whose business model is essentially centered on sustainability. The show awarded Ayush Behal, Alpha Corporation and Chirag and Sanya Parnami, Seen Unseen with Ajai Shankar Memorial Awards for Best Design Display in the home textiles furnishings and floor coverings category.

The sudden rise in demand for yarn and fabrics is expected to boost Bangladesh’s cotton imports to 9 million bales for the first time this year, says Mohammad Ali Khokon, president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA). Bangladesh imported 8.5 million bales of cotton in 2021 for over $3 billion. The country is expected to witness an import surge due to a rise in exports of Bangladesh-made garment items as global economies reopened.

From July to December last year, Bangladesh’s garment exports grew 28.02 per cent year-on-year to $19.90 billion. Of the total, earnings from knitwear exports surged 30.91 per cent year-on-year to $11.16 billion. Earnings from woven exports surged 24.50 per cent to $8.73 billion. Garment exports are expected to continue growing till June this year as exporters booked huge volume of work orders, says Faruque Hassan, President, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA)

Exporters expect a rush in cotton imports in March and April this year and a chaos in the port because of container congestion, adds Khokon. Currently local spinners meet 90 per cent demand for the raw materials for the knitwear sector but only 40 per cent of the woven sector. As a result, around 6 billion out of total 10 billion meters of fabrics are imported to meet the demands of the local woven garment sector, adds Khokon.

The world’s leading supplier of wood-based specialty fibers, Lenzing released its Sustainability Report 2021 on the occasion of “Earth Month”. Bearing the title ‘Linear to Circular,’ the report emphasizes the company’s focus on carefully balancing its needs with those of nature in the spirit of the circular economy. The report has been prepared in accordance with the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Austrian Sustainability and Diversity Improvement Act (NaDiVeG) and audited by KPMG Austria GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungs- und Steuerberatungsgesellschaft.

With the implementation of the two key projects in Brazil and Thailand, as well as with the investments at the existing Asian sites in China and Indonesia amounting to EUR 200 mn, Lenzing continues to march purposefully towards Group-wide climate neutrality. In 2019, Lenzing became the first fiber manufacturer to set a target to reduce its carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and to be net-zero by 2050. This carbon reduction target has been verified and approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative.

The partnership with Swedish pulp producer Södra marks a further milestone in Lenzing’s efforts to realize its ambitious climate and sustainability goals. These two global market leaders, which have been proactively promoting the circular economy in the fashion industry for many years, are joining forces to give the issue a further boost and to make a decisive contribution to resolving the global textile waste problem. An expansion of capacities for pulp recovery from waste textiles is also planned. The goal is to be able to recycle 25,000 tonnes of used textiles per year by 2025.

World Textile Information Network (WTiN), the UK-based information provider to the global textile & apparel industry, has postponed its first hybrid Global Digital Textile Conference (GDTC) to October this year.

To be held in Como, Italy and online, the event will offer delegates networking opportunities and enable knowledge sharing between stakeholders in the textile inkjet printing ecosystem. It will also provide understanding of the development of the production landscape up to 2030 and support the common goals within the industry.

The inaugural GDTC will now take place on 5-6 October 2022 and will continue to provide an in-person and virtual platform for delegates across the full digital textile ecosystem.

The GDTC will welcome the full digital textile ecosystem: printer OEMs; paper and ink manufacturers; software solution providers; textile printers and service providers; and brands.

The extensive programwill focus on sustainability within production processes, the impact of government policy across the textile industry, reshoring and its strategic agenda for textile innovation. It will also address the design aspects of digital textile printing and how the industry can better understand the needs of fashion and sportswear brands.

The GDTC is hosted by WTiN, with partners ACIMIT and SMI, and event partners Epson, Kornit Digital, JK Group and MS Printing Solutions, and event sponsors Cibitex and Konica Minolta.