Bangladesh’s exports plummeted over 4 per cent in October while its export earnings declined by 4.08 per cent year-on-year to $2.95 billion as shipments of apparel products took a hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the country’s overall export earnings in July-October of FY21 grew by 0.97 per cent to $12.84 billion from $12.72 billion in the same period of FY20, says data from the Export Promotion Bureau.

Its shipments of readymade garments declined by 7.78 per cent exports declined by1.2 per cent to $10.45 billion in FY21 from $10.58 billion in the same period of FY20.

Shipments of woven items declined by 7.76 per cent to $4.64 billion even as knitwear exports in the four months of this fiscal year registered 4.76 growth to fetch $ 5.80 billion from $5.54 billion in the corresponding period of last fiscal year.

Export of woven items in October fell by 14.43 per cent, while knitwear marked a decline of 2.19 per cent.

Meanwhile, earnings from leather and leather products in July-October of FY21 fell by 10.63 per cent to $283.2 million from $316.9 million in the same period of last fiscal year while earnings from the home textile export increased by 47.86 per cent to $354.25 million from $239.59 million and earnings from export of jute and jute products also increased by 39.52 per cent to $438.78 million from $314.49 million, as per the data.

As part of the essential foundation needed to deliver the organizations 2030 Climate+ Vision, Textile Exchange has made certain changes to its company’s leadership. The organization has appointed La Rhea Pepper, Co-founder, Textile Exchange, as CEO and Claire Bergkamp as COO from November 1.

Bergkamp joins Textile Exchange from Stella McCartney, where she was the position of Worldwide Sustainability and Innovation Director for more than eight years. In this role, she led the global environmental, human rights, and innovation strategy for the brand. During her time at the brand, she built a qualified, high-functioning sustainability department and team, a purposeful strategy, and an ambitious project portfolio. She helped to develop and cement the brand’s reputation as a leader in sustainability and innovation.

Bergkamp and Pepper will co-lead the organization as it enters an important phase of growth, not only for Textile Exchange, but for the industry as a whole. Pepper will maintain a focus on industry engagement and standards while continuing to provide visionary leadership for the organization. Bergkamp will oversee the implementation of the 2030 Climate+ Vision, the acceleration and fiber centers, as well as the Shared Measurement Systems and digitalization needs, and operations.

In the Reshoring Institute’s survey of 500 people, 59.83 percent respondents were willing to pay more for a product made in the US, while 21.53 percent were not. Around 69.42 percent respondents preferred US made products while 14.5 percent did not.

Nearly half the respondents were willing to pay 20 percent or more for US-made products: 32.83 percent said they’d pay 20 percent more, 10.1 percent said 25 percent more, 2.78 percent said 30 percent more and 3.79 percent said 50 percent more. Around 46.28 percent of respondents thought products made in the US were of better quality, while 21.9 percent did not and 31.61 percent were unsure; 57.35 percent said the origin of the product affected their purchase decision, 26.92 said it did not and 14.91 percent were unsure; and 59.83 percent believed the “Made in” information on product labels, 10.97 percent did not and 29.19 were unsure.

The Reshoring Institute data comes amid an emerging negative consumer sentiment toward Chinese products. A Coresight Research survey conducted in early June found as many as 47.8 percent of respondents said they either agree or strongly agree that US retailers should source fewer products from China. In light of the pandemic and the sentiments that have emerged surrounding it, 39.7 percent said they are now less willing to buy Made in China products

Munich Fabric Start Exhibitions GmbH has cancelled the View Premium Selection fair that was scheduled to be held from December 1-2, 2020. Instead, the team is concentrating on organizing the second edition of Fabric Days from January 26-28, 2021. It is confident of offering the textile industry the usual date to present Spring collections.

The condensed, business focused format of Fabric Days offers the required flexibility to be able to adapt quickly to any changes in the coming months. The main objective of the fair is to offer the industry the necessary planning security and a physical textile fair for personal exchange. In this way, the organizers can rely on the support of the textile industry and the confidence placed in them during this extraordinary time.

The organizers expect a high-quality collection portfolio from around 400 international suppliers who will present their new products for the Spring.Summer 22 season in Munich.

Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has assured the government it will purchase all the cotton produced in Telangana at the Minimum Support Price of Rs 5,825 per quintal. The CCI also assured of taking all issues raised by the state into consideration. It appreciated the government’s move of increasing the number of ginning and pressing mills.

The Telangana government had urged CCI to increase the permitted moisture content in cotton considering the recent heavy rains in the State. At present, the CCI allows only 12 per cent of humidity in cotton fiber. While the CCI has procured and stored 49.56 lakh bales of cotton from Telangana during 2019-20, it has only lifted 9.28 lakh bales so far.

The government impressed upon the CCI that Telangana was known for its high quality cotton and the software developed by the State for procurement of the fiber crop was one-of-its-kind in the country. It also requested CCI to cooperate with the government in setting up a Cotton Research Centre in Adilabad.

To be held online from March 23 to 26, 2021, the inaugural Fiber Fragmentation Summit 2021 in partnership with Planet Textiles will focus on three areas: measurement, science: and development of textile fibers. The four day period of the summit will convene global apparel and textiles brands, supply chain partners, legislators, NGOs, academics and other thought leaders for the next round of cross discipline presentations, discussions and planning ahead.

Senior research scientist Andy Booth from SINTEF, one of Europe’s largest independent research organization will look at the UV degradation of synthetic textile fibers in aqueous environments, while Heidi Sanborn, Executive Director of the National Stewardship Action Council will talk about the current state of play with regard to US policy and legislation on this issue.

On behalf of the AATCC, Heather Elliot will examine testing methodology for fiber fragmentation and shedding, and Dr Jan Berenger from the Hohenstein Institute will outline the current understanding around the size and characterisation of fiber loss from textiles.

Industrial thread maker Coats Group expects its adjusted operating profit for 2020 to be above expectations and in the range of $100 million - $110 million. The group’s sales in the four months upto October 31 fell by 9 per cent year-on-year on a constant currency basis, which reflected a 15 per cent fall in apparel and footwear and a 6 per cent contribution from the acquisition of Pharr High Performance Yarns, which Coats acquired in February.

The company’s manufacturing facilities are effectively fully operational and it has seen an encouraging improvement in its brand and manufacturer order confidence into the peak trading season of September-November where production is primarily for the spring/summer 2021 season. The company’s inventory is also being cleared as expected.

Signed by global denim leaders, Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands, municipalities of Amsterdam and Zaanstad and the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, the Denim Deal aims to reduce the resources needed for production of denim garments and make the entire process more sustainable. One of objectives of this deal is to produce at least three million jeans using recycled textiles within the next 3 years.

As a part of this deal, brands such as Scotch & Soda, MUD Jeans and Kuyichi have agreed to make three million jeans containing at least 20 per cent recycled textiles. Furthermore, all stakeholders will together use at least 5 per cent recycled textile in all denim pieces of clothing as quickly as possible.

The deal assumes importance as all parties involved in the making and processing of a denim garment will participate, from production companies, brands and retailers, to collectors, sorters, cutters and weavers.

The agreement is open to new actors willing to join it. Every year for a period of three years, a report will summarize the activities implemented by all parties and whether the results are achieved.

At a webinar organized by the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Hussain Haider, Pakistan’s Consul General in Shanghai, said, in order to increase exports, Pakistan’s business and industrial communities need to focus on value addition. Pakistan exports raw material and less value added products to China. However, it has immense potential to export value added products, said Haider. The Yangtze River Delta region in China, which comprised Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui areas, is the most technologically advanced region with the highest per capita income as well as gigantic contribution to the Chinese gross domestic product (GDP), he added.

Haider advised industry experts to focus on digitization for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) modes, which is currently being implemented in the Yangtze River Delta region. Pakistan Consulate in Shanghai had identified numerous sectors that Pakistani manufacturers could tap because they already had the expertise and were expected to capture a sizeable share in the Chinese market. These sectors included textile and clothing, value added textile, garments, medical and surgical equipment, sports goods and leather apparel.

He urged for a sister city status for Karachi and Shanghai which could strengthen bilateral trade and investment ties.

According to the General Statistics Office, Vietnam's total textile and garment export value in the first 10 months of this year declined by 9.3 per cent year on year to nearly $24.8 billion.

Its largest export markets included China, Japan, the European Union, South Korea and the United States, reports Xinhua.

In October alone, Vietnam's textile and garment exports fell 3.2 per cent year on year to $2.6 billion.

Vietnam will gain an estimate of $32 billion from exporting garments and textiles this year, compared to the target of $40 billion, local newspaper Lao Dong (Labor) cited the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association as reporting on Tuesday.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused dual damages to the garment and textile sector of the country as it disrupted material supplies and decreased global demand, the association said.

As one of the world's biggest garment and textile exporters and producers, Vietnam recorded an export turnover of roughly $32.6 billion in 2019, up 6.9 per cent from 2018, according to the statistics office.