Growing number of luxury fashion brands are choosing to distribute and trade via Farfetch, an online fashion marketplace founded by Portuguese entrepreneur José Neves. Farfetch recently secured $1.1billion investment from rivals Alibaba and Richemont, the Swiss watch and jewellery group, as well as €50 million personal investment from François-Henri Pinault, the billionaire founder of luxury group Kering.

As per Financial Times, Farfetch and its new financial backers intend to expand in China, the world’s second-largest and fastest-growing luxury market.  It connects consumers with brands, earning a commission of about 30 per cent on each sale, and has a sophisticated distribution system whose technology can match supply with demand.

Under a system that Neves calls ‘direct e-concessions’, brands decide what they sell on the Farfetch platform and set their own prices to avoid discounting that could damage their high-end image.

Neeves believes that the blurring of online and physical store shopping creates a big opportunity for both models of the fashion industry, especially in China.

The West Bengal government aims to make the state’s textile industry into a Rs 70,000 crore industry in the next three to five years. Currently, the industry is worth Rs 35,000 crore. The state has also decided to set up a taskforce to implement the target. Amit Mitra, Finance and Industries Minister says, textile exports from Bengal is 2.7 per cent of the total exports from the country. In the next three-five years, this will increase to 10 per cent. The readymade garment sector in Metiabruz, currently worth Rs 15,000 crore, will increase to Rs 25,000 crore in the next few years.

The state currently employs over two lakh people and aims to focus on export of hosiery to Europe, South East Asia and the US. It will set up a spinning mill in Howrah at Jagdishpur.  The state government also plans to set up a poly fiber manufacturing unit in Haldia. The total investment in the project would be Rs 500 crore. Haldia has raw materials for the polyester industry as Haldia Petrochemical (HPL) produces this.   

Garment manufacturer Gokuldas Exports has decided to re-employ 1,257 workers laid off as the H&M supplier closed one of its factory near Mysuru. As per an agreement signed this month with Gokuldas, two Indian unions and global federation IndustriALL will allow Garment and Textile Workers' Union (GATWU) to negotiate in any factory where at least 20 per cent of the workers were members.

The factory in question was the only one among more than 20 facilities which was unionized, IndustriALL said. According to the agreement, the laid-off workers will be rehired in other Gokaldas factories by August. In several garment-producing countries -- from India to Cambodia and Myanmar -- activists say factory bosses have used the economic fallout from the pandemic as an excuse to target and fire union members while keeping on non-unionized workers.

The lay-offs were illegal under Indian federal labor law because Gokaldas' management had not engaged with the state government before closing the factory, according to a report in December by the Alternative Law Forum - a legal research group. Hundreds of workers at the factory protested for about 50 days after the mass firing, and continued to do so despite threats from bosses at Gokaldas.

Winners of the 2021 edition of C.L.A.S.S. Icon competition and Sustainability Formula were honored during the Smart Voice, the C.L.A.S.S. Manifesto for Responsible Fashion, An international award for visionary creatives in the fashion world, C.L.A.S.S. Icon Award honors professionals who convey the values of sustainability to a wider audience. 

Gilberto Calzolari, the first winner of the award, said his  mission as C.L.A.S.S. ICON is to make people understand that commitment and sustainability can and must go hand in hand with beauty and elegance. C.L.A.S.S. presented its Manifesto for Responsible Fashion, which summarizes the values that C.L.A.S.S. has been researching, communicating and developing since 2007: the role of the ethical company and its transparent production, the importance of traceable and healthy products, with total respect for people and the environment and a commitment to a circular economy with a positive impact that also means safeguarding the seas, the ocean, the use of water, energy and resources.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce Razak Dawood has said that the government will take measures in the coming budget to reduce the custom duty for increasing exports of synthetic fiber (technical exports).

The adviser stated this while briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Commerce about draft Textile and Apparel Policy 2020-25, which envisages rationalization of custom tariffs and taxation regime and offers Rs925 billion incentives for growth of textile and apparel exports to $19 billion by 2024-25.

The adviser on commence said that Pakistan has been heavily relying on 70 percent cotton exports and 30 percent man-made fiber (synthetic fiber), whereas, in other countries, situation was vice versa, with 70 percent technical exports and 30 percent cotton.

The adviser said he was struggling to dismantle the custom duty imposed to increase the revenue collection after going into the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. The additional custom duty two percent was abolished and in budget, three percent duty will also be abolished, he added.

He said that when the government went into the IMF program, the IMF contention was that Pakistan revenue collection is very low and there is need to increase it. Therefore, the government decided to impose two percent, four percent, and seven percent, addition custom duty, he said, and added that now he was fighting to abolish it. The adviser also sought the committee’s support for removal of custom duty on imports as said that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) may resist it on the contention of revenue increase.

Lenzing is planning to build two new facilities: a pulp plant in Brazil, which will export green energy to the local power grid; and a state-of-the-art, carbon-neutral lyocell fiber production site in Thailand. The company says the factories will be the major contributors to driving down its carbon footprint in the coming 18 months.

In December, Austria-based specialty fiber and textile producer Lenzing Group received a Double A rating for its corporate sustainability efforts in the areas of global climate and forests stewardship, as part of CDP’s 2020 Climate Change Report.

Lenzing is the only first-time discloser to earn a double ‘A’ score on CDP’s Climate A List, earning it a spot in the top 2.8 percent of disclosing companies.

While last year was the first year that Lenzing shared data with CDP, it’s been innovating on the climate front for some time. In 2018, Lenzing became the first wood-based fiber manufacturer to join the UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action and adopt science-based targets; and the company recently pledged to halve specific carbon emissions by 2030 and to be fully carbon neutral by 2050.

In 2020, Lenzing launched TextileGenesis™ — a blockchain-enabled platform that will ensure complete traceability for all TENCEL-branded fibers in finished garments – helping the textile industry's journey toward complete transparency. The company has also completed the implementation of CO2-reducing energy solutions at two of its production sites.

CDP’s A grade for Lenzing’s forest stewardship places it in the company of only 15 other companies to earn the recognition. As part of its “Naturally Positive” sustainability strategy, Lenzing launched a reforestation project in Albania in 2020 — which will see 20 hectares of degenerated land recultivated with forest and fruit trees, in cooperation with the local population and various NGOs. So far, approximately 3,600 fruit, deciduous and conifer trees have been planted in an area affected by erosion and flooding.

The Regional Cooperation Economic Partnership (RCEP) is unlikely to bring immediate significant benefits for its developing member countries in terms of flow of goods and services or major infrastructure investments, analysts and economists said.

The pact needs to be ratified by all countries, which may take time, and has different levels of tariff reductions for each country and product, the experts told the Reuters Global Markets Forum.

That means labour-intensive countries may get more imports than exports, particularly during the pandemic, over the short-term.

The RCEP is seen as a China-backed alternative to the U.S.-led Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The pact has no provisions to improve labour rights in member countries, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic to justify reductions in formal wages and conditions, said Kate Lappin, Asia Pacific regional secretary at Public Services International. " Lappin said.

Lappin said she expected RCEP to benefit countries with developed industrial policies - namely China, Japan, Korea and Australia, along with New Zealand in terms of agricultural products - that support growth of higher value industries.

Drawing on technological expertise developed in the sportswear world Cifra has created Warp Mask, an exclusive generation of anti-viral garments and accessories made using Q-SKIN powered by AMNI VIRUS-BAC OFF. As per a Knitting Industry report,the innovative polyamide yarn, developed in the Solvay Group’s research laboratories, is distributed and produced in Europe by Fulgar, which for several seasons has worked with Cifra to create cutting edge clothing solutions.

Q-SKIN powered by AMNI VIRUS-BAC OFF is effective against bacterial growth and virus transmission, thanks to the antiviral and antibacterial agent permanently incorporated into its polymer matrix, Fulgar explains. Electrical affinity with the proteins in the external structure of the virus means that this agent prevents fabrics becoming a host surface for virus and bacteria, thus reducing the risk of contamination, it adds. The yarn’s antiviral properties have been tested by an independent laboratory in line with the international textile protocols set out in the ISO 18184 standard for the determination of antiviral activity of textile products, Fulgar says.

In fact, the antiviral and antibacterial properties of Q-SKIN polyamide powered by AMNI VIRUS-BAC OFF are permanent, so garments including this yarn provide long-lasting benefits that remain unaltered over time, unlike clothing given dye treatments whose effect is limited by the number of washes the items have undergone, says the Castel Goffredo based fibre producer.

Major fashion brands, including H&M, M&S and C&A, are supporting the Circular Fashion Initiative in Bangladesh that aims to use more recycled materials in clothing production and significantly cut planet-heating emissions from manufacturing by 2030.

As per Fashion Network, the Circular Fashion Partnership, brings together more than 30 international brands, Bangladeshi recycling firms and garment manufacturers in a push to reuse textile waste from clothing factories to create new products.

If successful, the initiative could be replicated in other countries, such as Indonesia and Vietnam, and help cut the broader fashion industry’s emissions, said the Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), a nonprofit body that is leading the new scheme.

In 2018, the sector’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were just over 2 billion tonnes, a figure that needs to be halved by 2030, to be in line with global climate goals, said the GFA.The partnership would cut carbon emissions from clothing production and demand for raw materials, which include fossil fuels, by slimming down the amount of waste and increasing the use of recycled materials over virgin materials, she noted.

Under the 2015 Paris climate accord, nearly 200 countries agreed to slash greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by mid-century and limit global average temperature rise to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial times.

Already an exporter of $45 million textile products to Pakistan annually, Chinese private undertaking Challenge Fashion now aims to set up a Special Economic Zone in Pakistan. As per a Pakistan Today Profit report, Challenge has many global clothing and accessories brands like adidas, Icebreaker, Polartec, The North Face, Smartwool, Uniqlo, and Reebok as customers. One of the most admired and appreciated apparel producers of China, the group deals in outdoor and sports apparel and has been involved in the technical circular knit business for nearly two decades.

Eyeing $1billion exports in 3 years

Known as the one of the top three innovative textile companies in China, Challenge Fashion has a very creative product line and offers some of the most sustainable products in the textile industry. The group plans to invest $150 million in Pakistan over the next three years. This will help to not only create 20,000 jobs but also increase its exports to $1billion over the next five years. This investment will also make Pakistan one of the most preferred FDI destinations and encourage others to invest in it.

Challenge aims to set up this SEZ in the vicinity of Lahore. Like most SEZs, this SEZ will also help modernize the Pakistani textile industry besides increasing its foreign investments and offering a better balance of payments. It will also help urbanize areas surrounding the SEZ.

Fiscal benefits for Pakistan’s SEZs

Pakistan has various industrial areas offering variety of benefits. Its Punjab district has 26 industrial estates, while Sindh has 30, Baluchistan has seven and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has 12. Though some of these estates, located in larger cities have been successful, others located in remote areas have failed to stimulate economic growth as they lack skilled labor and basic facilities.

Some of prominent SEZs include Sialkot, known for its sports goods and surgical instruments, Faisalabad and Gujranwala. These SEZs now plan to switch to another model either under the Federal or Provincial Governments or in collaboration with the private sector. They enjoy several fiscal benefits like a one-time exemption from custom duties and taxes for all capital goods imported into Pakistan for their development, operation and maintenance and exemption from income taxes for a period of ten years.

Challenge Fashion plans to set up the SEZ on 80 acre near the Lahore-Kasur road. Currently, categorized as agricultural, the land is yet to be converted into an industrial land by the Lahore Development Authority. The company has already set up a 370,000 sq. ft. stitching facility as a part of this project. Housing 4,000 employees, the facility exported products worth $70 million this year, which it hopes to increase to $100 million next year.