Despite the pandemic, lingerie makers in China have done good business in 2020 riding on millennial demand. Digital bra labels have seen a lot of fashion investment in the past few years. In 2018, digital bra startups attracted over $30.5 million growth capital, reports data firm iiMedia. Between 2019 and 2020, over a dozen emerging lingerie brands succeeded in raising millions of dollars to boost business. The lingerie market in China is pegged at $61-billion.

Lingerie a profitable business

Interestingly, most new labels were incepted by women. And as per a Jingdaily report most of these brands’ mission statements are they want to revolutionize the industry because of their own frustration with ill-fitting, curve-enhancing bras they wore growing up. In fact, “they are shifting the paradigm by promoting comfortable, gender-neutral, and versatile styles.” China has a huge potential market for innovative bra labels that embody body positivity and sustainability.

With the fall of top domestic lingerie brand Dushi Liren, which specialized in body-flattering push-up bras, in line with Victoria’s Secret, many digital bra labels have managed to make a mark and gain ground by catering to the young consumers’ lifestyles. China’s traditional beauty standards have forced many women to opt for wired push-up bras. However, the working millennial prefer comfort and simplicity.

The growth chart of some digital bra brands has been amazing. Some were incepted only two years ago however their success stories indicate there is a lot of untapped market potential. For example, Ubras, a digital brand specializing in one-size lingerie, surpassed Uniqlo in just two years. It became the top selling underwear brand in this year’s Singles Day. Similarly, Bananain, incepted in 2016 by a Shenzhen tech company, became one of Tmall’s top-five performing brands with gender-neutral underwear in bright colors and no skin-scratching labels. Livary Mio, a modern, feminine label founded by Miche Huang, has raised millions of dollars from the VC firm Artesian INVESTS to grow their online business.

And as Tmall’s underwear division, Sun Su points out Chinese consumers are very receptive to new brands, with 20 per cent of the top 100 brands at this year’s Singles Day sale labels founded in the past three years.

Over the years lingerie has turned from being functional apparel to personal expression. And as Miche Huang, Founder, Livery Mio points out, consumers really care about whether a piece of lingerie can be both beautiful and comfortable, whether it makes them look good, and whether it can pair stylishly with their clothes.

Moreover, just like their western counterparts, awareness about sustainability has started firming up among Chinese consumers too as they are also asking for more environmentally friendly materials. Body diversity is another untapped niche. Brands that promote inclusivity and diversity are still rare in China. While brands like Neiwai and CandyLaVie have made PR strides in fighting the stigmas of ageism and sizeism, they are only the tip of a much-anticipated broader movement towards celebrating body diversity.

Ahead of the Union Budget, the Shopping Centres Association of India (SCAI) has urged the government to offer financial relief to the industry through GST rate rationalisation, loan waivers, income tax deductions and relaxation in compliance norms.

In its representation to the Finance Ministry, the industry body, has called for tax holidays for construction of shopping malls and said an amendment is required in Section 80-ID of the Income Tax Act to allow deduction with respect to profits and gains malls business, constructed in specified areas.

Income tax deduction should be increased to 50 per cent against rental income from the present 30 per cent. No income tax should be levied on notional rent on unsold or vacant inventory after certification of completion, the SCAI representation added.

According to the industry association, which represents shopping centres and mall, by providing adequate financial relief in GST, loan waivers, income tax, relaxations in compliance timelines, additional deductions on CSR, and by incentivising digitisation, the government can help shopping centres, modern retail and associated sectors in recovering and reaching the pre-covid levels.

SCAI has urged policymakers to restructure GST norms to strengthen the industry through interest subsidies and reduction in GST rates. Among various other recommendations, SCAI stated that real estate developers will be able to maintain substantial cash flows if input tax credits for commercial real estate assets intended for leasing purposes are approved.

The National Garment Fair will hold its 72nd edition in Mumbai from February 22 to 24 to link clothing manufacturers with wholesalers and buyers. At its upcoming edition, the bi-annual trade show will feature women’s, men’s, and children’s apparel for the spring/ summer season ranging from traditional wear to fusion wear to western wear. The event expects around 250 exhibitors and a crowd of around 7,500 visitors.

Businesses scheduled to exhibit at the event include Ocean International, Sky Enterprises, Ruchi Clothing, Namrata Art, Maa Garments, Jaysons International, Gulab Garments, Mysha Exclusive, Gini and Jony Limited, Uvaam Creation, Minato Creation, Matrix Apparels, Kaplshree Fashion, Dhananjai Lifestyle Limited, Aadishwar Apparels, Shruti Apparels, Bhakti Garments, Aangi, Raj Apparels, and Sunkey Kids among others.

The business-to-business exhibition is organised by the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India. According to the CMAI, these fairs have today not only become the most important annual trade events for the Indian apparel industry’s domestic market but have substantially contributed to the rapid growth of the overall market size.

Pakistan’s textile sector, which makes up around 60 per cent of the total export earnings, has reported they have started losing international orders due to regional competitors and new investment and expansion plans have been jeopardised in the wake of government’s decision to cut gas supplies for power production to their individual units.

The government offered them an alternate to get electricity from the national grid system, as the country is facing acute gas shortage but has power production capacity in surplus. The industrialists, however, do not trust the fragile power distribution system. Besides, power from the national grid stands over 85 per cent expensive compared to own production using gas-fired power generators better known as captive power plants (CPPs).

All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) stated, the CCOE’s (Cabinet Committee on Energy) decision of moratorium on gas/RLNG supply to captive power plants (CPPs) of the export-oriented sector will result in regressing the export sector outlook and put a break to any future expansion or investment. Given the past performance and frequent breakdown, the industry does not have faith that the power sector will be able to deliver on a sustained, stable and competitive basis.

The previous decision of CCOE to reduce power prices to 7.5 cents to encourage mills to shift to the grid was not implemented, and the decision to impose a gas supply moratorium for captive power of EOUs (export-oriented units) will result in an increase of over 10% in the costs of export orders, APTMA said in a statement.

Dr Keshav Kranthi, the globally renowned cotton scientist, who has served as Head of Technical Services for the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) since 2017, has been appointed Chief Scientist, reflecting recent changes both in his work and direction of the organisation.

For decades, the role of the Head of Technical Services was largely unchanged but the ICAC has evolved and this change in title reflects that. The ICAC’s emphasis has changed in recent years from just providing technical information to taking a more active role in implementing cutting-edge science and best practices in cotton production and sustainability. Implementing projects on the ground and developing international project-teams of cotton scientists are indicative of the fact that Dr Kranthi has taken on a more robust role as Chief Scientist.

In addition to his current responsibilities, Dr Kranthi will be providing technical leadership for collaborative projects across the globe to shape the future research agenda for enhancement of soil health, sustainable yield improvement, efficient crop protection and development of digital tools for technology transfer.

EURATEX, and 71 US and European associations representing a wide range of industries have sent a letter to President Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urging for immediate suspension of tariffs on sectors unrelated to the ongoing Trans-Atlantic Trade disputes.

The coalition stated suspending tariffs will alleviate economic harms and help re-establish a cooperative Trans-Atlantic trading relationship. The pandemic and necessary closures of non-essential businesses continue to affect global economy, including sectors which support millions of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. The ongoing EU-U1S trade disputes and additional tariffs, which continue to plague Trans-Atlantic trade, have made a bad situation worse.

The groups feel immediate suspension of these tariffs is a necessary and fundamental action, which will provide an economic stimulus at a time when it is needed most.

They concluded that the industries support a constructive and flourishing trade and economic relationship between the US and EU. Tariff removal will provide positive momentum to reset important bilateral relationship and cooperative efforts to address global economic challenges. In addition, a shared commitment to avoid new additional tariffs will create the necessary certainty and stability needed to grow the Trans-Atlantic economy.

President Joe Biden, is now pushing a message in favor of American manufacturing. He would issue an executive order to prioritize American manufacturing in US government contracts and Federal grants. The new executive order would raise the bar for products considered ‘Made in the US’ for government contracts, and install a new overseer, the director of ‘Made-in-America’ at the Office of Management and Budget, says a statement by the White House.

The US currently spends some $600 billion annually on government contracts, the office noted. The money spent on goods and services are a powerful tool to support American workers and manufacturers. The president’s executive order establishes the goals and standards necessary to use Federal purchasing, and other forms of Federal assistance with domestic preference requirements, as a way to proactively invest in American industry so it can continue to lead in the global marketplace.

The move was hailed by organizations including the textile industry lobbying group the National Council of Textile Organizations, which said it expected the measures would support domestic manufacturing.

The executive order also pointed at loopholes in the current ‘Buy American’ scheme for government spending, including what the office referred to as “unnecessary waivers” of requirements under the scheme. It would also seek to increase transparency about permitted waivers by having them posted online by the General Services Administration.

The NCTO, meanwhile, has been pushing for more domestic production of personal protective equipment during the pandemic, a sentiment echoed by the American Apparel & Footwear Association. Recently, the AAFA indicated that it supported the Biden administration’s move, and also highlighted its member companies’ role in the production of military uniforms.

The American Apparel & Footwear Association submitted comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) regarding secondary trademark infringement liability in the e-commerce setting. Given the staggering and simultaneous growth in the share of sales by e-commerce, online sales of fake products are a major contributor to the observed growth in total counterfeit sales. These comments call for legislation to hold online platforms liable for counterfeit goods sold on their sites.

The foundation of the trademark system predates e-commerce and is not equipped to address the online counterfeiting issues experienced today. While brick-and-mortar stores are generally liable for the products they sell, the same cannot be said about large online third-party marketplaces. Current law does not adequately incentivize third-party marketplaces to take the steps necessary to keep counterfeits off their platforms. Further, this lack of liability results in limited efforts by online platforms to proactively monitor for counterfeits, moving the cost and burden to its members. This landscape makes it difficult for AAFA member brands to pursue trademark infringement claims against these online platforms who facilitate the sale of fake product.

The proliferation of counterfeits is becoming a crisis due to the expansion of online third-party marketplaces. This is why AAFA strongly believes that it is necessary to pursue changes to the application of the secondary infringement standards to online platforms.

AATCC is now accepting nominations for recognition of excellence in the textile industry through March 31, 2021. Nomination forms for all awards are available online. Anyone may nominate a deserving colleague or themselves for the awards.

Established in honor of Louis Atwell Olney, founder and first president of AATCC, the Olney Medal recognizes outstanding achievement in textile or polymer chemistry or other fields of chemistry of major importance to textile science.

Similarly the Chapin Award is for senior individual (professional) members who have dedicated 20 or more years of continuous service to the Association. The Millson Award is for invention awarded every three years for inventors who impacted the textile, fiber, polymer, and medical industries. Nominees need not be AATCC members. Group and posthumous nominations are also welcome.

The Technical Committee on Research (TCR) Service Award recognizes up to two Senior Individual (Professional) members, with at least five years of continuous membership in AATCC, who have contributed outstanding technical service to the Association through activity in a research committee.

The Future Leaders Award is for young professionals in the fields of textiles, apparel, and related material sciences eligible for recognition as the future leaders of the Association. Lastly the Education Award recognizes those members who have contributed extensively to the educational activities of AATCC. Likewise the Faculty Advisor Award nominates AATCC Student Chapter Faculty Advisors who actively work to ensure their AATCC student chapters are active and growing.

AATCC is full of creators, volunteers, and researchers, and applauds their contributions to the textile industry. AATCC recognizes achievements in science, service, and more every year.

Licensing Matters Global (LMG), a London-based, leading global licensing agency, has announced a long-term partnership with Paris-based Peugeot Frères Industrie, a Peugeot Family Group subsidiary in charge of the continued expansion of the Peugeot brand in various sectors outside of the automotive industry. Under the agreement, LMG will help extend the iconic Peugeot brand into new categories via strategic licensing and retail efforts.

Gifted with 210 years of entrepreneurial spirit, Peugeot constantly enriches its expertise to create objects and experiences that facilitate everyday life. The brand believes LMG is the right partner to tailor a program that will instil the Peugeot DNA in new product verticals.

The partnership begins in January 2021. LMG are currently seeking partner licensees in selected product categories such as Toys, Garden Power Tools, Camping Equipment, Major Electric Appliances, Sports Equipment, Travel Accessories and Fashion, among others.