The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has dropped Chinese sportswear maker Li-Ning as its official uniform sponsor just over a month before the Tokyo Games are expected to begin

The move comes a week after the organization’s unveiling of the new kit was met with swift criticism amid strained relations between India and China. Indian athletes, coaches and support staff will now wear unbranded apparel to the Games save for the official ceremonial kits, which are sponsored by domestic brand Raymond.

The organization said it sought advice from the sports ministry before deciding to terminate its contract with Li-Ning, which began with the 2016 Rio Olympics and was set to conclude after the Tokyo Games.

Like India, American lawmakers also recently urged members of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) to ditch their endorsement deals with Chinese sportswear brands that employ cotton grown in the northwestern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, warning that they could be seen as endorsing, even implicitly, potential forced labor widely believed to be occurring there.

Finish local newspaper Yle also implicated the Finnish arm of German discount retailer Lidl, of selling outerwear manufactured by the Kashi Rising Garment in Xinjiang in recent years.

Lidl Finland, which says it prohibits any forced labor in its supply chain, will be pausing orders from the factory as it launches an investigation, according to Laura Kvissberg, its sustainability specialist.

The United StatesSenate has also approved a legislation to dedicate $250 billion to scientific research and development over the next five years.

The US Innovation and Competition Act will appropriate $52 billion in emergency funding for the semiconductor industry and authorize $81 billion in spending by the National Science Foundation.

Burberry has announced its pledge to become Climate Positive by 2040, setting a new industry standard that goes further than the company’s current 2040 net-zero target. To achieve this, Burberry will take action within its own value chain, guided by climate science.

The company will accelerate its ambition to reduce emissions across its extended supply chain, aiming to reduce them by 46 per cent by 2030. This means Burberry’s Science Based Targets will be aligned to the 1.5°C pathway set out in the Paris Agreement

The company also aims to become Net-Zero by 2040, 10 years ahead of the 1.5°C pathway set out in the Paris Agreement

It plans to accelerating low-carbon future solutions and investing in nature-based projects with carbon benefits that restore and protect natural ecosystems and enhance the livelihoods of global communities through the Burberry Regeneration Fund.

Burberry will also invest in initiatives beyond its value chain that support the world’s efforts to create a resilient, zero carbon future.

The Lycra Company has appointed Julien Born its new President and CEO, following the retirement of David Trerotola. As per the Spin-Off, the company has also promoted Nicolas Banyols as its new chief commercial officer. Banyols will be responsible for driving business strategy and execution along the global value chain. Commercial leaders in Asia-Pacific, North and Central America, and South America and directors of the company’s nylon and specialty polyester businesses will now report to him.

The Lycra Company has also promoted Arnaud Ruffin as the new Vice President- Brands and Retail. He will manage global downstream customer processes. He will oversee the EMEA downstream customer teams and provide support to the North America downstream customer team. Another promotion in the company includes Alistair Williamson who has been promoted as the new Vice President -EMEA and South Asia. He will be responsible for regional commercial activities to drive long-term value creation, reporting to Banyols.

The Lycra Company is currently focusing on its innovation capabilities and brand franchises, while further expanding collaboration with its mill network, all at the service of brands and retailers. The company also plans to launch a new gated digital platform, to showcase its products and services alongwith mill network.

At a joint press conference, members of the Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exports Association (PHMA) urged federal government to restore zero-rating, continue duty drawback of taxes (DDT) and Technology Up-gradation Fund (TUF) scheme, and to lower final tax and withholding tax in Budget 2021-22. The members urged the government to reduce withholding tax rate to 0.5 per cent, suspend Export Development Fund (EDF) surcharge, and reduce and fix tariffs of electricity in the forthcoming budget.

The conference was attended by Zubair Motiwala, Chairman, Council of All Pakistan Textile Mills Associations; Jawed Bilwani, Chairman, Pakistan Apparel Forum; Tariq Munir, Chairman, PHMA and other leaders of different associations. Motiwala said they have been demanding restoration of zero rating on GST, “No Payment No Refund Regime” through revival of SRO 1125 in letter and spirit. The demand was made because SME exports have decreased by 30 percent as compared to last year due to imposition of 17 percent GST, which blocked precious liquidity.

With the introduction of TUF scheme in 2009, 30 per cent capacity of textile sector has been enhanced. Therefore, it is imperative to reinstate TUF scheme for the next five years, the speakers said. They added that 0.25 percent EDF surcharge was deducted from export proceeds of the exporters for export development since 1992. Collection of EDF surcharge was approximately Rs9 billion annually. Presently, the government has Rs58 billion in its kitty on account of EDF. Hence, they want the government to suspend collection of surcharge till the Rs 58 billion of EDF was exhausted.

They also demanded a one percent to 0.5 percent reduction in withholding tax for exporters as this would also help the exporters in using the cash liquidity for enhancement of exports.

India and Australia are planning to resume trade talks to re-launch the long-suspended Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and India. As per Textile Today, Indian garment exporters have been urging the government to conclude a trade deal with Australia since trade talks between the two countries were suspended in 2015. Exporters believe, this would help India export the additional $500 million goods to Australia.

In fiscal 2021, India’s exports to Australia were worth $4.04 billion, whereas imports were worth $8.24 billion. Though the balance of money is currently in Australia’s favor, it can altered if some part of the garment is included in the trade agreement. In terms of clothing, Australia imports approximately $6.6 billion worth clothing, with India accounting for 1.2 per cent. Resumption of negotiations will certainly impact trade figures.

Manufacturers urge governments to increase production as yarn prices increase worried at fluctuating yarn prices, garment and textile manufacturers urged the central and state government to help increase production. Radhe Shyam Ahuja, Senior Vice-President, Bhartiya Vyapar Mandal, said, the price increase hurts only s not only the garment and textile industry but also the yarn traders and general public.

Vinod Thapar, Chairman, Knitwear Club adds, a yarn price increase is impractical as demand has dropped over the last few months due to drop in production. The price increase of almost 60 per cent indicates this is a man-made situation. He urged garment makers to find a way to absorb the price shock.

Hemant Abbi, Executive Member Moti Nagar United Factory Association adds, the price increase has compelled many members to shut factories and get into trading as they couldn’t bear more losses. The other members are also feeling helpless since the trend of unjustified increase in yarn rates has not changed for a year

The COVID-19 pandemic has battered sales at 19 Gap stores in the UK and Ireland while its distribution centre in Rugby continues to remain at risk. The retailer has decided against renewing store leases that expire next month. Last year, it closed 204 stores due to pandemic. The retailer also lost $665 million in revenues during the year upto January 2021 but has since seen its fortunes improve. It booked a profit of $166 million in the three months to the end of May, on sales of $3.9 billion, higher than the revenue figure it reported in the same period of 2019, the last comparable quarter before the pandemic.

The pandemic has led to may high street fashion retailers closing stores permanently. In the last one year, reputed retailers like TopShop, Debenhams, Cath Kidston, Oasis and Warehouse have shut shop. Collectively, British high streets lost over 17,500 retail stores with further damage likely to have been inflicted in 2021.

A study by the Centre for Retail Research shows, the sector also lost 190,000 jobs between the start of the pandemic and March 31, 2021. Stores closures may continue with jobs losses despite easing of restrictions, warns Helen Dickenson, CEO, British Retail Consortium.

Pitti Uomo plans to celebrate its 100th anniversary by holding all events physically at Florence's Fortezza da Basso. The main event, meanwhile, will be held at Palazzo Settimanni. As per Women’s Wear Daily, planned from June 30 to July 2, Pitti Uomo’s 100th edition will feature 362 exhibitors who will also be showcased later on Pitti Connect platform

The trade show will have 8,000 visitors, mostly from Italy and Europe, says Raffaello Napoleone, CEO, Pitti Immagine. Visitors will be able to travel thanks to the upcoming introduction of the Green Pass, a certificate that individuals will need to bring with them to show they have been vaccinated, have antibodies after recovering from COVID-19 or have had a negative test.

All events at the exhibition will be staged inside the Fortezza venue, rather than in other locations across Florence. The invitation to visit the Gucci archives will be unveiled at the company’s historic headquarters Palazzo Settimanni on July 1.

Thebe Magugu, Guest Designer, Pitti Uomo, will present his spring 2022 collection. The range will be introduced through a performance staged at the Archivi hall multiple times with the goal of enabling all visitors to see the lineup while respecting the limited capacity of the venue.

Pitti Immagine has also partnered the association of Italian leather goods manufacturers Assopellettieri, which will stage a multimedia installation at Fortezza da Basso to tease the launch of its new Mipel Lab digital platform. Developed with the Milan-based leather fair Lineapelle, the platform is aimed at supporting and giving visibility to Italian leather goods manufacturers.

Other events at the trade show will include live photo shoots in partnership with the Arena Homme+ fashion magazine and involving brands of the likes of Caruso, Kiton, Herno and Stefano Ricci, whose collections will be photographed by young Italian photographers. The images will be shared on Pitti Connect and featured in a printed issue of the magazine to be released next fall.

The Carbon desulphide Adsorption Plant of Birla Cellulose has been successfully commissioned by Grasim Cellulosic Division, Vilayat, India. The division has also achieved stringent level of sulphur-toair emission norms stipulated in the EU BAT references (EU Best Available Technologies BREFs) for the viscose manufacturing process.

This initiative conforms to Birla Cellulose’s aim to apply the best available technologies (EU BAT) at all of its fibre locations and investments of $170 million are in progress in order to achieve this by the end of 2022. Grasim Vilayat has installed state-of-the-art closed-loop technologies to recover and recycle CS2, the key raw material for viscose manufacturing process. These technologies enable the site to significantly reduce its emissions and achieve 90-95 per cent recovery in terms of sulphur and recycle it back to the process. In addition to this, the site also meets all other EU BAT parameters and the ZDHC MMCF responsible viscose production standards.

Vilayat is one of Birla Cellulose's flagship sites. Post the expansion it will be the world's largest MMCF manufacturing site. The on-going expansion project at Vilayat site is also designed to comply with EU BAT requirements and designed to achieve low energy consumption.

The interruption of the global supply chain by the COVID-19 pandemic has caused alarm in the Vietnamese leather and footwear industry since it is heavily dependent on raw material imports.

To develop sustainably and make the most of tariff incentives and opportunities brought by the EVFTA and Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, leather and footwear businesses need to develop domestic sources or diversify foreign sources.

Many businesses have started to look for raw materials in other markets such as India, Europe, Singapore, and Japan.

Preferential tariffs under the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement boosted Vietnam’s footwear exports to the bloc’s 27 member countries by 19.2 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2021.

As per The Star report, the country’s overall exports, mainly of aquatic products, textile-garment, footwear, and farm produce, were worth nearly $4.8 billion.

The importing markets were mostly countries with ports and distribution and transhipmentcentres such as Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, and France.

The EVFTA, which took effect in August last year, has opened up great export opportunities to a market with a GDP of $15 trillion for Vietnamese companies.

To enjoy the tariff preferences, leather goods and footwear need to comply with the rules of origin and get a EUR.1 Certificate of Origin.

Some 32 – 34 per cent of exports benefited by getting the certificate, indicating that Vietnamese businesses and goods are increasingly capitalizing on concessionary tariffs in FTA partner markets, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said.

It said that between August 1 last year, when the EVFTA took effect, and April 4, authorized agencies in Vietnam issued 127, 300 certificates of origin to enable exports worth nearly $4.8 billion.