Hosting nearly 2,600 exhibitors from 17 countries and over 80,500 buyers, Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics – Spring Edition was a hybrid event this year with its online event being as well appreciated as its physical fair.

Focus on innovative themes

Held from March 17 – 19, 2021, the event focused on themes like an increase in innovative products resulting from the pandemic, the benefits for both domestic and international companies to have an in-person event, encouraging prospects in the Chinese market as it continues to rebound, and hope that more of the main textile markets will do the same as 2021 progresses.

Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager, Messe Frankfurt (HK) elaborated, “It was pleasing to see the number of exhibitors showcasing new products in response to the pandemic, particularly in the Functional Lab and All About Sustainability zones. And there are many positive signs and belief from participants here this week that the postpandemic recovery in China will maintain its strength this year.” She hoped that the Autumn edition to be held in August this year in Shanghai will gather more of the global industry.

Exhibitors at the fair

A few of the exhibitors at the fair included Alumo AG from Switzerland, with their Alumo & weba brands collaborated with HeiQ Viroblock to apply antibacterial and antiviral technology into their fabrics.

Biella Manifatture Tessili from Italy showcased their Defender collection which uses ViralOff technology to reduce the instance of viruses by 99 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hansk New Materials presented their health protection, hygiene protection and antiinsect collections, while Successori Reda from Italy, a manufacturer of sustainable pure Merino wool fabrics, created their S/S 2022 collection in a fully digital manner so as to ensure greater waste reduction.

Fringe program focuses on innovation and sustainability

This edition’s fringe program featured a number of events touching on innovation and sustainability, as well as opportunities in the current market climate, while the themes in the fair’s ever-popular Intertextile Directions Trend Forum were heavily influenced by how society’s model is being challenged by the pandemic. Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics was once again held alongside Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles, Yarn Expo Autumn, CHIC and PH Value.

The exporters in Pakistan have halted yarn sales as the falling dollar prices have led to higher availability of the raw material at cheaper rates in the domestic market, says a report by the Global Village Space.

Reports suggest that against annual predicted consumption of minimum 12 million bales, the Ministry of National Food Security and Research expects only 7.7 million bales production this year. However, cotton ginners have given the lowest production estimates of only 5.5 million bales for this year.

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Pakistan has imported around 688,305 metric tonns of cotton and yarn while there is a minimum shortfall of six million bales. A gap of about 3.5 million bales is present that the government would need to fill through imports.

Due to the rising decline in cotton production, users were forced to import from United States, Brazil and Uzbekistan. Imports from India, however, would be much cheaper and would arrive in Pakistan in three to four days.

Gap launched Generation Good this week, its most sustainable capsule to-date, with garments that address issues related to water usage, sustainable materials, waste, CO2 emissions and workers’ rights. The collection spans women’s, men’s, kids’ and baby. Highlights includes organic cotton T-shirts with Earth-friendly messages like

Jeans in this collection are available in skinny fits for women and slim fits for men. All items are made using a water-saving wash process that eliminates the need for harmful PP sprays or stonewashing, and include safer dyes and finishing processes.

In addition to the Generation Good collection, Gap introduced five women’s denim styles designed as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s (EMF) Jeans Redesign program. Items in the collection are 100 percent derived from natural fibers, use chemicals that abide by the ZDHC guidelines and include removable hardware for easier recycling at end-of-life.

The collection retails for $108-$128 and includes two relaxed fit jeans, a shift dress and two denim jackets made of a combination of organic cotton, recycled cotton and hemp.

According to Ecuador’s Internal Revenue Service (SRI), turnover of textile industry decreased by 36 per cent from $1.38 billion in 2019 to $885 billion in 2020. According to Javier Diaz, President, Association of Textile Industries of Ecuador, the sector reported losses of $500 million during the past year.

Meanwhile, employment in the sector has dropped 29 percent and 20 percent for textiles and manufacturing, respectively.

Data from the Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE) indicates that the country went from exporting 26,000 tonne of textiles valued at about $103.8 million in 2019 to 28,400 tonne at $104.4 million. This represents an increase of 9 percent in volume and 1 percent revenue.

According to AITE, higher demand for abacáfibre (usually employed for manufacturing textiles and paper) and special products like face masks can explain the slight increase in exports. However, exports in clothing declined from $25 million in 2019 to $18 million in 2020.

Trident has signed a licensing agreement with Kathy Ireland Worldwide Inc to acquire the Kathy Ireland brand. The licensing agreement gives Trident the right to use the Kathy Ireland brand, in its home textiles products. The company will also include the brand in its rapidly expanding e-commerce business and feature it on many of the most recognizable platforms in the digital space, as well as at select major brick and mortar retailers.

This will help Trident emerge as a vigorous international home textile player and showcase its presence efficaciously to the brand-conscious market of United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, India, and the European Union. Punjab-based Trident is a vertically integrated textile and paper manufacturer and is one of the largest players in home textile space in India. The company registered a 200 per cent growth in its net profit to Rs 112.15 crore in third quarter ended December 2020, while revenues from operations grew 20.39 per cent to Rs 1,303.15 crore.

US fashion brand Reformation plans to launch a new denim collection in partnership with traceability solutions provider FibreTrace. This collection will enable Reformation to offer customers new insights into its manufacturing processes. FibreTrace tags textiles with a unique pigment that can be tracked throughout apparel supply chains and authenticated in the finished good.

Last month, FibreTrace released an integrated benchmarking tool that collects and aggregates previously uncaptured impact data from farms, including carbon emission, water use and energy consumption. Its Fibre Impact Module (FIM) – billed as a global first – captures primary data from raw material sourcing stage and continues to harvest data as it’s passed around during production. Looking ahead, Reformation aims for new collaborations to make product data publicly available.

Lingering travel concerns related to COVID-19 has compelled Performance Days to shift its upcoming May edition to a digital platform. The event will now be held digitally across the week starting from May 17. It will provide the industry with more update on the season’s fabric innovations, alongwith additional information and networking opportunities, says, Marco Weichert, Founder and General Manager.

Set to be hosted on the event’s Loop Platform, the digital fair will have the same features as a typical physical event. It will include informative talks as well as a marketplace for visitors to browse a curated collection of the latest functional fabrics.

Performance Days has integrated 3D imaging tools and video animations to optimize the experience for viewers, who can get a realistic rendering of the products they cast their eyes over. It will also install an interactive Q&A feature amidst scheduled discussions. The organizers also hope to hold a physical event in Bavaria in December.

Wunderman Thompson Commerce, commerce tools and Attraqt’s new report reveals digital-only retailers such as ASOS and Boohoo continue to reap the rewards of having a well-established digital infrastructure. These retailers have become the number-one purchasing channel for fashion shoppers in the UK ahead of high-street retailers’ online sites, department stores, brand stores and Amazon.

Titled ‘Fighting for the Future of Fashion,’ the report surveyed 2,000 UK consumers who regularly shop for fashion items. It found a staggering two-thirds fashion spending now takes place online. As non-essential shops reopen their doors in April, it’s clear that an online offering will still be vital to converting long-awaited footfall into much-needed sales.

Around 63 per cent fashion shoppers are more likely to buy fashion online now than they were before the pandemic. However, 26 per cent of fashion shoppers would prefer to shop in brick and mortar stores.

Around 27 per cent of shoppers say, Amazon needs to improve its overall look to attract more shoppers to its site. Consumers also fashion ranges to change on average 17 times a year.

The 21st ZheJiang International Trade Fair for Textile and Garment Industry (ZhejiangTex 2021) will showcase a wide range of digital textile machinery. The show will be held from June 8 to 10, 2021 at Yiwu International Expo Centre in Zhejiang. There will be four thematic zones: Knitting & Hosiery Machinery, Sewing & Automatic Garment Machinery, Digital Printing Technology & Application and Knitting Products & Accessories. Around 300 exhibitors will showcase their machines at the show.

This year, ZhejiangTex 2021 will also collaborate with CKIW YIWU to showcase products and services ranging from research and development to design, equipment to technology, raw materials to knitting products and accessories. Together, these two platforms will help build a more competitive platform for the development of China’s knitting industry.

The fair will also hold the ‘National Health Textile Pioneer Science and Technology Innovation Forum in 2021 concurrently. The theme of this forum will be ‘Trans-boundary Innovation, Intelligent Textiles & Healthy Future.’ It will help enterprises grasp the latest industry dynamics, innovation and the development of the textile industry.

As per a Technavio report, the global activewear apparel market is set to grow at 11 per cent CAGR to reach $157.1 billion by 2024. The market is fragmented, and degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. adidas AG, ASICS Corp., Columbia Sportswear Co., Dick's Sporting Goods Inc, G-III Apparel Group, Gildan Activewear Inc, Hanesbrands Inc, Nike Inc, Puma SE, PVH Corp., and VF Corp are some of the major participants in the market. Increasing sports events and tournaments will offer these immense opportunities for growth. To leverage these opportunities, they need to strengthen their foothold in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

To help businesses improve market position, the Techanvio report provides a detailed analyzes around 25 vendors operating in the market. Some of these vendors include adidas AG, ASICS Corp., Columbia Sportswear Co, Dick's Sporting Goods Inc, G-III Apparel Group, Gildan Activewear Inc, Hanesbrands Inc, Nike Inc, Puma SE, PVH Corp, and VF Corp.