There is a growing trend amongst footwear brands to foray into clothing market. Brands Allbirds, Public Desire, Ego, Lavair are some good examples of this. As reported by Drapers Online, Manchester-based women’s footwear etailer Public Desire launched a DTC women’s wear brand Kaiia in September this year. Focusing on trend-led pieces, the brand sold 300 pieces of bralets and joggers in the UK. Similarly, online women’s footwear retailer Ego launched a collection in July 2021 with US influencer Anastasia Karanikolaou. What’s more the e-tailer recorded a 20 per cent per cent jump in sales since its launch, says CEO Adeel Fiaz. Savoring success, the etialer went on to launch a full own- women’s wear clothing collection.

On similar lines, US/New Zealand sustainable men's and women’s footwear brand Allbirds launched an activewear collection in August this year. Called Natural Run, the women’s and men’s activewear collection is retailed only on Allbirds website.

Decline in footwear retail sparks apparel foray

One major driving footwear brands into the apparel segment is the collapse of several big high street retailers over the past 18 months, including Topshop, Oasis and Warehouse. Their fall has opened up the market for entrepreneurial brands such as Public Desire to target both footwear and apparel market.

The rapid expansion of women’s wear market is also driving Public Desire’s move into clothing. On the other hand, the footwear segment does not offer many categories, says Qasim Aklaq, Managing Director, Kaiia. The footwear brand rolled out its new apparel collection in collaboration with trusted suppliers. It earlier sold some apparel wholesale through Asos and plans to launch new products every week.

Surcing challenges

Many footwear businesses that have forayed into the clothing segment recently are struggling to build sizeable clothing divisions due to sourcing challenges, says Fiaz. He points out the company is now targeting wholesale growth for apparel both with existing partner Asos and in new stockists.

Earlier known for its sustainable footwear, Allbirds launched an activewear collection this summer. The brand plans to tap the booming market and is set to grow by $157.7 billion – or by 11 per cent compound annual growth rate – between 2020 and 2024, as per market research firm Technavio.

Making a mark with the apparel lines

However, despite dip in sales many footwear brands plan to stick to their original business. E-commerce brand Shoeaholics does not plan jeopardize its reputation as a footwear expert and hence, will not foray into the clothing. Public Desire too aims to retain its identity as a footwear expert and, hence, will launch a stand-alone website for its Kaiia.

Footwear brands plan to first ensure their supply chain can cope with increased volumes and shorter lead times needed in clothing segment. They also plan to devise new marketing strategies for their foray into this segment. Only after getting these elements right, do they hope to make a mark in the apparel segment.

The Council of Fashion Designers of America(CFDA), in partnership with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), has issued ‘Sustainability by Design: Rethinking New York Fashion Week,’ a report that looks at guidelines and recommendations for ways the industry can reduce both waste and the carbon footprint of fashion shows, events and activities.

About 75 percent of NYFW stakeholders surveyed in the study said the companies they work for have sustainability targets for the materials they use, waste reduction, partnering with others dedicated to sustainability and energy use. But almost 40 percent of those with such targets view them only as a consideration in their planning strategies, not as a guiding principle.

Companies that have made concerted efforts to increase their sustainability practices have reduced their environmental impact considerably. For example, Burberry, Dior, Gucci and Ralph Lauren, among others, use recycled wood in their sets, send out digital invitations, travel in electric vehicles and use partnerships to offset their remaining carbon emissions, the report said. Missoni and Saint Laurent use energy-efficient LED lighting powered by biofuel-burning generators at the show.

When asked what the greatest obstacles their organization faces in moving toward sustainability for NYFW, some 45 percent said it was more expensive to be sustainable, 27 percent were unclear what goals/targets to set and said they are difficult to measure, 27 percent lack the necessary partnerships, 14 percent said it was unclear what steps/actions to take, and 4 percent said other organizations’ leadership does not view sustainability as a priority.

The study showed that consumers and NYFW stakeholders value the same sustainability practices but to varying degrees. For NYFW stakeholders, they value, in order, use of recycled/waste/scrap materials, fair/ethical labor practices and biodegradable products/packing, participating in recycle/take back programs, up-to-date waste disposal/recycling technologies, commitment to health/safety practices for workers and organic/natural materials.

The survey looked at six impact areas — Content, Sample, Production, Venue, Public Relations and Transportation/logistics — and four sustainability dimensions — Energy, Materials, Waste and Partnership — to see ways to reduce NYFW’s environmental footprint.

Adsale Exhibition Services will co-organize the 21st Zhejiang international trade fair for textile and garment industry, with Yiwu China Commodities City Exhibition, at the Yiwu International Expo Centre in Zhejiang, China, from May 12-14, 2021.

The show will have four thematic zones, including knitting & hosiery machinery, sewing & automatic garment machinery, digital printing technology & application, and knitting products & accessories. The show will showcase world-class textile machinery and cutting-edge technologies. Under the theme of ‘Technological Innovation Promotes Diversified Trans-Boundary, Intelligent Textiles Contributes A Healthy Future’, the exhibition will bring the industry to a whole new level along with the healthy textile trend, helping the enterprises to master the latest industry news and encouraging innovation in the textile industry, according to a press release by Adsale.

On October 13, 2020, the organiser of ZhejiangTex will host the ‘4th International Healthcare and Textile Sci-Tech Pioneer Innovation Conference 2020’ with The China Health Care Association Textile Branch in Yiwu Kingdom hotel. Under the themes of ‘Futuristic Tech, Innovation & Sharing’ and ‘Wear Healthily, Sleep Healthily & Breathe Healthily’, sharing new and innovative business ideas under the epidemic helps the companies turn crisis into opportunities by transforming and upgrading their businesses as soon as possible.

Animal welfare organization Four Paws has released a list of over 180 Australian and international clothing brands who have opposed the use of mulesing wool in their collections. Brands like Patagonia, H&M, Country Road Group, Kmart Group and Hugo Boss figure in the list. These brands have made a commitment to phase out wool used in their products from mulesed sheep. Of the 185 brands, 121 have stated they do not currently accept wool from mulesed sheep or wool from Australia, and 68 have stated their use of robust certification systems, making commitments to help achieve more traceable supply chains.

Outdoor brands like Kathmandu, Ortovox and Patagonia are among the brands that are already non-mulesed certified. Retailers like H&M and Abercrombie & Fitch, as well as fashion brands Witchery and Politix, are among those committed to become non-mulesed certified in the next few years.

Jennie Granstrom, animal welfare, material ethics and biodiversity business expert, H&M Group, said the company is already buying wool from only suppliers that could guarantee wool came from non-mulesed sheep. Humane Society International (HSI) has launched its Better Wool Guide, which it hopes will help consumers understand where their wool comes from. The guide lists the brands and retailers with policies against mulesing, or commitments to phase it out.

As per a study by London-based sustainability focused transparency platform Compare Ethics, only one-fifth of shoppers trust brands’ sustainability claims. Conducted by market research firm Centiment, the study focuses on trust as a key factor in the purchase making decisions of consumers. As per the study, consumers are growing ever-resistant to blame-shifting tactics by corporations, especially when the data is available. Around 83 per cent consumers are more likely to trust a product’s sustainability claim if it is verified by a third party, and 53 percent of consumers see brands as positively reforming the garment industry.

There is a dire need for improving communication on social sustainability amongst consumers as only 22 per cent of them associate sustainability with a brand paying workers a living wage. Wendy Hammett, Advisor, London Fashion Fund expects consumer spending to tighten amid coronavirus. He advises brands to consequently anchor trust into their sustainability credentials if they aim to retain loyalty and market share.

Brands should verify the claims they are making. Like Amazon’s Climate Pledge Friendly program they can utilize third-party certifications like Cradle to Cradle and Textile Exchange to verify sustainable claims for products on its site.

Compare Ethics uses its verification technology to build trust in sustainability, helping to connect citizens with products deemed ethical and environmentally sound since its founding in 2018. Its sustainable ranking algorithms have verified more than 3,500 products from 50 brands. The company surveyed 1,250 members of the general public aged 18 to 65 split between male- and female-identifying respondents to uncover these findings.

The Cambodian garment sector is facing a double blow of the COVID-19 pandemic and the partial withdrawal of the country’s duty-free access to the European Union (EU) market, reports Cambodia Daily. The country’s apparel sales to the EU, including the UK, have plummeted by 31 per cent or $403 million in the first six months of this year compared to January-June period in 2019.

According to Patrick Lee, Legal Advisor, CENTRAL Cambodia, apparel export slump is by far the biggest drop in all goods exported by Cambodia in monetary terms. He adds it is hard to say how much of that is due to COVID and how much is due to the withdrawal of the Everything But Arms (EBA) trade benefit.

Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) and The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) and some other leading companies have collaborated to boost MMF exports. Few days ago, AEPC called for a joint effort to increase MMF apparel export. The council is also willing to focus on R&D regarding the production of MMF fabrics like international standards and has requested the government to provide them an aid of Rs 25 crore for the same.

India’s apparel exports are likely to decline in the current fiscal as the country lags behind in the export of man-made fiber (MMF)-based apparel in the overall product basket. India’s export of MMF-based apparel is only 10 per cent of its total apparel exports. It is hardly $1.6 billion, whereas the world trade is about $200 billion. India exported man-made filaments worth $2.29 billion in 2018-19 and $2.39 billion in 2019-20. At the same time, it imported man-made filaments worth $1.03 billion in 2019-20 and $0.97 billion in 2018-19.

Similarly, India exported man-made staple fibers worth $1.9 billion in 2018-19 and $1.6 billion in 2019-20. Import of these fibers amounted to $ 0.93 billion in 2019-19 and $0.95 billion in 2019-20.

For the first time, sporting-goods trade fair Ispo Munich will be held as a hybrid event from January 31-February 3, 2021 at the Munich trade fair grounds and digitally, reports Sportswear International. Trade show organizers, Bavarian state government and Messe München have drawn up a comprehensive protection and hygiene concept for onsite events in January/February 2021. Deadlines have postponed to give more flexibility. The organizers also plan to use pre-built stands to participate in the event in a cost-effective and efficient manner. They expect representatives from European markets in particular and hope to attract more international visitors.

End consumers will also be given the opportunity to participate digitally and to engage in direct dialog with the industry. With presentations, workshops and master classes, brands and companies can present themselves digitally to sports and outdoor enthusiasts around the world and to engage in conversations with them.

Formalized on August 1, the EVFTA enables Vietnam to promote trade and investment, especially form new supply chains. The agreement allows textile-garment, leather-footwear and seafood businesses to export products to the EU. Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Agency of Foreign Trade reveals, authorized agencies granted 7,200 certificates of origin (C/O) form EUR.1 for goods exports to the EU worth $227 million, including footwear, seafood, plastics and plastic products, coffee, textiles and garments, bags, suitcases, fruits and vegetables, and rattan and bamboo products. Importers included EU countries with seaports and distribution centers - Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and France.

While opportunities are available for businesses to participate in value chains, Vietnam’s support industries remain underdeveloped. The number of Vietnamese companies joining the global value chain is small. As per a study by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Japanese companies in Vietnam buy about 32.4 percent of input goods and services they need from Vietnamese suppliers, compared to 67.8 percent in China, 57.1 percent in Thailand, and 40.5 percent in Indonesia. Vietnam has about 20 automobile assembly companies but has only 81 level-1 suppliers and 145 level-2 and level-3 suppliers. The average revenue of Vietnamese manufacturing enterprises was only $2.9 million per year, while businesses still need to have an annual minimum turnover of $5 million in order to join the EU market.

Local firms are not willing to make greater investments to join the global value chain, says Ngo Chung Khanh, Deputy Director, Multilateral Trade Policy Department.

To reduce their dependence on China, many garment and textile companies have shifted their production to Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam for the last few years. However, COVID-19 has halted this process. Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) discloses, till August 2020, foreign direct investment in Vietnam declined by 13.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2019. Textile and apparel exports by the country decreased 11.6 per cent during the first eight months of this year.

Vietnam is the world's third largest textile exporter after China and India. However, the industry has never been under so much pressure and changed plans so quickly as today, says Vu Duc, Giang, Chairman, VITAS. Global demand for apparels is down which impacted order volumes in all major markets.

Riding over the crisis

To survive the crisis, many textile and garment manufacturers in Vietnam have switched to mask making, informs Frank Weiand, a supply chain localization consultant at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Hanoi. A company fast becoming Vietnam’s face of high-quality of garment manufacturing is Dony Garment. An international exporter of protective clothing and face masks, the company fabricates uniforms and garment products on order. During COVID-19, it shifted production to protective clothing and premium quality face masks. Today, the company donates 5 per cent of its income to social welfare just like its donation of 100,000 face masks to the US.

The 3-ply face mask developed through closed sterilization technology by Dony Garment can be reused. The mask is made from antimicrobial Cotton which helps it to fight the spread of the coronavirus besides protecting it against UV light. The anti-droplet face mask’s breathing resistance is human friendly. It is also eco-friendly, skin-friendly, and economical.

Dony Garments exports masks and other PPE products to six continents and countries like the US, Australia, and Europe. The company proves a good alternative for consumers to looking beyond China for PPEs and masks from China. The company books mega shipments for worldwide exports every day. Besides face masks, Dony Garments also excels in making personal protective equipment. Currently it makes protective overall and isolation gown for health workers across the world. PPEs are certified to prescribed standards. Apart from the PPEs and masks Dony Garment also designs uniforms for healthcare workers. The uniforms are made from high-quality materials and are available at reasonable rates. Dony Garment also customizes T-shirt designs at its factories. These T-shirts are made from 100 per cent cotton and are very cool, smooth and soft.