Witness signatories to the Bangladesh Accord have published a report showing that deadly safety hazards remain at factories producing for major apparel brands and retailers.

The report ‘Unfinished Business: Outstanding safety hazards at garment factories, which shows that the Accord must be extended and expanded’, is based on a review of the Accord’s publicly available data on safety progress, and enumerates uncorrected safety hazards at factories producing for 12 leading brands covered by the Accord, including H&M, C&A and PVH (Tommy Hilfiger).

The data shows that a lot of progress has been made to make factories safer, with a majority of safety hazards being corrected. But the report also shows that weakening the legal accountability of the Accord agreement would risk the lives of innumerable workers as many important safety fixes have yet to be completed or verified. Many of the safety hazards still present in factories are the most costly ones to remediate. Brands and retailers must ensure that the factories they are sourcing from have the financial means to complete these renovations.

The witness signatories to the Accord -- Clean Clothes Campaign, International Labor Rights Forum/Global Labor Justice, Maquila Solidarity Network, and Worker Rights Consortium -- demonstrate that if the Accord agreement is not extended and expandedcircumstances of factories with unresolved safety problems will get worse, in absence of the same legally binding requirements and incentives;voluntary initiatives will replace the Accord’s safety program, leaving companies accountable to no one but themselves, which has been a recipe for failure in the past and improvements to safety in other garment producing countries will be delayed or not carried out at all.

Together with the Heimtextil Trend Council, the management of Heimtextil has established a trend forecast for the coming season. Trend Council members Anja Bisgaard Gaede from Spot trends & business, Anne Marie Commandeur from still instituut amsterdam and Kate Franklin and Caroline Till from London studio Franklin Till created a vision for the trend theme “Nothing New, Everything New”.

In the textile industry, digitalisation and sustainability are currently omnipresent innovation topics. The coronavirus pandemic ensures that both topics are becoming even more important in the home textile industry. Heimtextil Trends 21/22 provide an overview of the status quo of those developments. In addition, visitors of the Trend Space can look forward to a presentation of the new colours, materials and designs. Four areas showcase the collective trends: “Repurpose”, “Rewild”, “Reinforce” and “Revive”.

The Repurpose trend is a way of changing the product development narrative within the textiles industry, shifting from creating original textiles to curating existing textiles to form new visual expressions. Rewilding is the act of returning nature back to its original wild state, yet the trend Rewild goes beyond returning to nature. The trend Reinforce is about visual and compositional longevity within textiles and materials. It draws inspiration from how Scandinavian design merges design durability with pared back functionality. Reflecting youthful activism within our present perspective, attitude and behaviour toward our world of “stuff”, Revive is an exploration of creativity. With a focus on achieving greater emotional satisfaction through the process of creating rather than on the result, no rules apply to the mending, processing, learning and experimenting in Revive.

HanesBrands, a global marketer of branded everyday apparel, has appointed Michael Dastugueas its new chief financial officer, effective May 1, 2021.

As per Textile World, Dastugue will bring more than 30 years of financial leadership and transformation experience at large organizations to the company. He has an extensive background in financial planning and analysis, corporate strategy, accounting, tax and external reporting.

Most recently, Dastugue was executive vice president and chief financial officer at Walmart U.S., where he led financial activities at the company’s $370 billion U.S. segment. Dastugue played a key role in Walmart’s transformation, helping drive improved profitability and productivity across the organization. Prior to that, Dastugue served as executive vice president and chief financial officer at Sam’s Club, Walmart’s $57 billion club division. Before joining Walmart in 2013, Dastugue was chief financial officer at J.C. Penney, where he held a number of financial and real estate leadership roles during 20 years.

Dastugue holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and an MBA from the University of Texas.

At their first Foreign Office Consultations, Bangladesh and Indonesia emphasized on accelerating the signing of a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) within the ambit of which potential export items from both countries would be allowed to enter duty-free.

The two countries agreed to complete the signing of pending agreements on a fast-track basis, pursue sector specific agenda and do the needful to expand the volume of bilateral trade and investment.

Bangladesh has requested Indonesia to offer its readymade garments duty free benefits and not to impose safeguard measures on its textile products

The consultations were attended by Masud Bin Momen, Bangladesh Foreign Secretary and Abdul KadirJailani, Director General for Asia Pacific and Africa, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Indonesia.

The two sides comprehensively reviewed the present status of bilateral relation between the two countries. The two countries also agreed to exchange business delegations and organize frequent single country and single product trade fairs.

Bangladesh sought market access to Indonesia’s Halal trade and investment from Indonesia in the agro processing.

Both sides agreed to promote cooperation on matters such as combating corruption, counter-terrorism, science and technology, export promotion, defense cooperation, climate change adaptation and mitigation, ethical migration, parliamentary exchange and pursuing sustainable development goals.

Amongst other disruptions COVID-19 has also sparked consumers’ interest in pre-owned or vintage clothing. More people are opting for secondhand clothes now, says Sarah Willersdorf, Managing Director and Partner, Boston Consulting Group. She expects the percentage of secondhand clothes in a person’s wardrobe to reach 27 per cent by 2023. In the last one year, secondhand fashion business has almost doubled, observes Elizabeth Gross, who has been selling vintage clothing for the last 20 years. She recently closed her brick-and-mortar store to focus on Instagram.

Changing perceptions helps sale

A major reason for the rising popularity of vintage fashion is change in consumers’ perception towards pre-owned clothes, says Gross. Pre-owned clothes were earlier considered to be dirty and most people shied away from them. However now, vintage clothes are considered to be not just fashionable but also affordable and durable.

Sustainability is another factor that is driving consumers towards secondhand or vintage fashion. The trend also offers brands an opportunity to increase their sustainability quotient. Brands are launching their pre-owned collections on emerging social media platforms like Little Black Door. The platform helps consumers track and share their wardrobes with other consumers and connect to other resale platforms.

New schemes to boost sales

Along with sustainability, consumers are also getting attracted to vintage styles, adds Willersdorf. The customer base for secondhand clothing market is growing rapidly and retailers can no longer afford to ignore this opportunity. Many retailers are incorporating circular practices into their business to make them more responsible.

Brands are offering buy-back schemes where they collect returns to repair, recycle and resell them to increase their longevity, adds Kayla Marci, Market Analyst, Edited. This helps them to encourage shoppers to preserve their clothes longer and pass them on to future generations.

The secondhand clothing market is currently quite fragmented with players like TheRealReal and Vestiaire Collective claiming a larger share of the market. Over the next five years, several new players are expected to enter this burgeoning market.

Experts at a webinar organized by Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) opined, India offers immense opportunities for Taiwanese textile machinery manufacturers. Held on April 29, the webinar was co-housed by the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) and MOEA, Taiwan. It was attended by representatives from four leading Taiwanese textile machinery companies, namely: Logic Art Automation, Pailung Machinery Mill, Acme Machinery Industr, And Hsing Cheng Machinery, who presented their latest solutions and technologies. These representatives emphasized the possible association between Indian and Taiwan companies. The event attracted over 275 viewers.

The webinar offered ways of various smart manufacturing solutions of textile industry which will lead to the advancement in manufacturing capabilities, cross-industry collaboration. Also the speakers explained the issues and solutions in areas such as weaving, spinning, dyeing and finishing and among others.

Pitti Immagine has announced the dates and venues for upcoming summer trade shows’ physical editions. As per reports by the Spin Off, Pitti Filati will be held from June 28-30 at Stazione Leopolda, in Florence. Trade shows Pitti Immagine Uomo and Pitti Immagine Bibo will take place between June 30 and July 2 at Fortezza da Basso, in Florence. Perfumes and fragrances show Fragranze will take place September 17 to 19 at Stazione Leopolda in Florence.

Pitti Immagine is working tirelessly to organize the show in order to recall the highest possible participation of exhibitors, buyers and press. It is coordinating with public authorities like municipality, region and ministries, and private entities such as carriers, airports, stations, hotels and shops among others, involved in the overall exhibition activity to monitor and manage each phase of the process, from travel to arrival in the city, from access to the exhibition venues to the route through the pavilions and the use of services.

The decision to hold Uomo and Bimbo in the same days at Fortezza Uomo and Bimbo, will benefit both events through its strong integration between the physical and digital formats, said Agostino Poletto, General Manager, Pitti Immagine.

Leading denim brand Isko has collaborated with Bluesign Technologies, the architects of a sustainable and responsible textile supply chain, to launch bluesign® approved fabrics. These fabrics are made from bluesign® approved chemicals and raw materials, and are manufactured with minimum impact on people and the environment. This enables brands to provide safe products to their consumers, verified as bluesign® product, which are sustainably produced without hazardous chemicals. This latest development is part of ISKO™’s central sustainability strategy, including a plan to certify additional bluesign® approved articles in Isko™’s collection.

Through this partnership and certification, Isko and bluesign® continue their vision of a textile and fashion industry with a future that focuses more attention on people and the environment, because only when both are considered can the industry truly make a positive, long-lasting impact. Isko has a long-standing commitment to ensure the integrity of its ingredients and the traceability of its fibers and materials. The brand aims to build for the needs of tomorrow with trust and verified impact at scale.

Scottish luxury textiles and knitwear manufacturer Johnstons of Elgin has been awarded this year’s Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, reports The Northern Scots. As per Knitting Industry, the company has bagged this award in the Sustainable Development category.

This is the fourth award bagged by Johnstons of Elgin. Its previous achievements include the Queen’s Award for Export Achievement in 1978, 1994 and 2002. The company’s approach to working with natural, renewable, and biodegradable fibers and its commitment to limiting environmental impact, animal welfare and its people, have earned it many accolades in the past. Simon Cotton, CEO, says, Johnstons of Elgin strives to cover every aspect of its product’s life and truly values every thread. In its 224-year history, the company has launched many animal welfare initiatives, grassland preservation, fair work, reduced manufacturing waste, etc.

Emma Bulter, Founder and CEO, Intimately plans to extend the size range of her brand’s undergarments. As per Sourcing Journal, her new range of six bra and underwear styles is scheduled to drop later this spring, Butler also plans to launch her second more robust range of bras using a newly developed patent-pending closure technology.

She also plans to raise her first round of funding from venture capital groups and angel investors in the e-commerce and technology space, which she will use to fund the line’s expansion. Butler aims to offer a more inclusive size range than any adaptive intimates brand on the market, as well as an array of nude shades to suit a variety of skin tones.

She has also designed a capsule collection of apparel items including shirts, pants and jackets, which she hopes to release once the brand finds an adept supplier. The global adaptive apparel market is slated to be worth $400 billion by 2024, according to research from Coherent Market Insights.