It’s been a year since the denim supply chain has been facing logistical and financial challenges like congested ports, factory shutdowns and tight shipping capacity. Adding to its woes, cotton prices have reached record breaking levels, forcing companies to reorganize operations, as per Mark Ix, Director-Marketing, North America, Advance Denim. According to retail intelligence platform Edited, price inflation has affected the denim category the most as cotton makes up over 90 per cent of the raw materials used to make denims. It has also led to stocks of Kontoor Brands falling 6 per cent as investors feared margin erosion.

Not just cotton, prices of dyes too have increased 80 per cent alongwith the prices of other raw materials, says lx. To keep costs low, the China-based denim mill negotiates rates with suppliers on current order positions. However, the mill continues to get quotes from spinning mills based on the current cotton prices.

Price rise impacts larger denim brands

The price rise is impacting orders for larger brands. As Chip Bergh, President and CEO, Levi Strauss & Co explained, his brand is collaborating with partners to make purchases at optimal time for both parties. The company has negotiated most of its product costs through the first half of 2022 at very low single-digit inflation. In the second half it anticipates a mid-single digit increase in cost of goods sold, which it will offset with the pricing actions it has already taken.

However, anticipating a dip in pricing is especially challenging in the current climate as all inputs are in an inflationary mode, explains lx. But, Levi’s remains nimble despite its huge size. The brand refashioned its stores into mini-distribution centers at the start of the pandemic allowing it to ship from retail locations. The brand also reduced its markdowns and increased prices by 5 per cent in Q2 across all geographies and channels, leading to 1 per cent increase in gross margins, reveals Harmit Singh, Executive Vice President and CFO, Levi Strauss & Co. Following suit, other brands too slowed their discounts. This may help them offset the increase in cotton prices. Guess and Lee have reduced promotions to boost bottom lines.

Tapping low-cost fibers

Meanwhile brands like Advance Denim are tapping low cost fibers to offset the rise in cotton prices. However, this may prove to be a step backward in terms of sustainability. To bring the denim industry out of current mess, companies must continue to focus on sustainability, affirms a 2020 study by trend forecasting company WGSN. The Edited report shows, rise in material costs has actually unveiled opportunities for the industry to shift to other eco-friendly fibers like hemp, Lyocell and Tencel. This may end denim’s long dependence on cotton.

Many mills have been looking into blends with recycled and alternative fibers for the last few years to reduce the impact of cotton price rises. However, cotton will continue to remain important in the denim industry despite its widening menu of fibers, adds Aman Tata, Director, Naveena Denim Mills.

The 5th ITMF Corona Survey conducted by ITMF amongst 216 companies across the world states, integrated manufacturers are coping better with the negative effects of the pandemic than other segments. Conducted between September 5-25, 2020 the survey looked at different segments of the textile value chain. It observed that the finisher/printer segment expects a 30 per cent reduction in turnover than the other segments like chemicals, dyes and auxiliary materials suppliers.

The Corona-pandemic has proven in a brutal way how important digital capabilities are when physical interactions with suppliers or customers are impossible or restricted. Around 21 per cent of all companies hoped to improve their digital capabilities while 18 per cent opined that reducing the dependency on few customers is important followed by 17 per cent who viewed broadening products on offers and strengthening balance sheet as being the crucial factors for future success. While 15 per cent of the respondents opined that changing the products on offer is necessary, 10 per cent believed that reducing the dependency on few suppliers is important.

India’s cotton exports have gained momentum with Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) selling around 5 million bales in the past two months. Cotton traders say, there is huge demand for organic cotton from Bangladesh though demand for traditional cotton has declined by 10 per cent due to heavy rains. This demand is likely to revive as higher moisture levels in soil help farmers increase production during later pickings.

CCI held nearly a third of the cotton that arrived in the country during the 2019-20 (October-September) season. However, it refused to sell cotton at a loss and carried almost all of the stock in May. The corporation started selling at a loss since June which helped it liquidate close to 50 per cent of its stocks.

It currently sells cotton at Rs 38,200 per candy of 356 kg each. Small traders and brokers have alleged that its discount scheme on bulk purchases has helped only the big companies and traders, who have benefited by selling this cheap cotton in domestic and export markets.

At present, cotton prices are ruling much below the minimum support price (MSP), which has been fixed at Rs 5825/quintal. Private traders are likely to stay away from buying cotton when arrivals gather pace from the end of October. CCI is all set to purchase cotton in the north while it will begin preparations from October 1 for MSP operations in southern India.

As per reports, fashion brand Esprit Holdings has terminated its agreement to continue operating in Mainland China from July-end due to material breach of terms by contract partner. The brand retreated from its entire retail business in Asia at the end of June. However, Mainland China was supposed to be an exception and operated under a joint venture

Esprit’s withdrawal from Asia is a part of its latest restructuring efforts, which have only been made more urgent by the pandemic. Based both in Hong Kong and main market of Germany, the brand recorded another net loss of HK$3.992 billion for the financial year ending in June, worsening from a HK$2.144 billion net loss a year earlier. Bottomlines deteriorated largely from an exceptional loss of HK$2.34 billion, including those latest store closures and a 24 per cent drop in its revenue to HK$9.874 billion, back to the level of 2002.

The brand has been under a protective shield process, or a Chapter 11-type restructuring, in Germany, to reduce costs mainly through slashing head count and closing stores. It expects the entire process to be completed by the end of October.

To achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, Lenzing launched carbon-zero Tencel™ branded fibers. For this launch Lenzing first lowered the carbon footprint by 65 to 80 per cent compared to conventional lyocell and modal fibers. What cannot be eliminated is offset to reach net zero.

The company hosted a webinar on September 22 during Climate Week NYC. During the launch, moderator Kerry Bannigan from SDG Media Zone pointed to a United Nations projection focused towards Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action tht could bring an economic boost of $26 trillion globally. She appreciated Lenzing for its leadership and collaboration to achieve the global goals, and particularly its investments in reducing CO2 emissions.

Tencel™ Lyocell, the fundamental key sustainable material in the shoe makes it light and breezy, it’s got a beautiful cooling sensation, a great aesthetic and slightly silky texture, said Jad Finck from Allbirds

As per reports, Chinese state-owned operator of duty-free stores, China Tourism Group (CTG) Duty Free has surpassed Switzerland-based Dufry Group, in sales for the first half of the year. S&P Global Ratings has also upgraded its outlook for China Tourism Group Corp, CTG Duty Free's parent company, to stable from negative, affirming its single A-minus rating. CTG Duty Free, which controls China's travel shopping sector, posted first-half revenue of $2.824 billion. The company enjoys the benefits of Beijing's continued push to transform the southern island province of Hainan into a duty-free zone.

The new phase of international duty-free shopping complex in Sanya, the central city of the tropical island's resort area, opened doors in January and has since turned into a major revenue booster after weathering a difficult period during the first few months of the outbreak. The four duty-free outlets on the island - monopolized by CTG Duty Free - recorded sales of nearly 6 billion yuan from July 1 to August 26. This is 2.5 times more than the same period a year earlier, and averaging to more than 100 million yuan a day.

Until now, studies in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) have focused on just particular segments of the supply chain. However, a world-first new study funded by AWI provides a full cradle-to-grave LCA for the supply chain of a Merino wool jumper. This is the first full LCA of a textile fiber to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. It reports on the environmental impacts of a lightweight Merino wool jumper made from.

The study demonstrates the eco-credentials of wool in a world where there is increasing concern about society’s trend towards ‘fast fashion’ and disposable clothing, and the effect on the environment of synthetic textiles.

AWI Program Manager for Fiber Advocacy and Eco Credentials, Angus Ireland, says the study demonstrates that consideration of the length of time a garment stays in active use is critical in LCA as it strongly affects the garment’s overall environmental impact.

According to Aungus, consumers who are aware that their wool clothes require less washing have the greatest influence on the sustainability of their garments by maximizing their active lifespan.

The study also reveals new ways to improve the efficiency of production, processing, and garment care, which could reduce the environmental impacts from wool.

FESPA has postponed FESPA Mexico 2020 to September 23-25, 2021. Originally scheduled to take place from November 26-28, 2020, the exhibition will again be hosted at the Centro Citibanamex in Mexico City.

In November 2020, FESPA will launch a new online exhibitor showroom for its Mexican specialty print community.

The digital platform will allow regional exhibitors to showcase all their latest news, product launches and videos. In addition, visitors and prospects will be able to network virtually with exhibitors to share ideas and initiate discussions on sales.

The market for nylon textile filament remained distressed in July 2020 as raw materials prices declined and demand in a traditional off-season contracted. As CCF Group reports, demand for nylon textile filament began to wane in mid-June with the situation worsening in July. Sales/production ratio of NFY plants declined to 50-70 per cent with very few mills achieving 80 or higher production. This led to rising NFY inventory through day on day to over 30 days by July 23.

From April to June, fabric mills maintained production levels on account of expected rise in feedstock market and recovery of exports. However, since domestic demand in China gradually entered the off-season, their expectations were not fulfilled, and their inventories had risen to 1.5 months or more. Huge inventory pressure led to a collapse in market prices and dumping of stocks at profit-losing rates.

The fall in prices of nylon raw materials sharply aggravated the pessimism of fabric mills which preferred to cut their feedstock consumption rather reducing production.

To compensate for the lack of export orders, textiles and clothing firms in Vietnam seek to expand in the EU market. In the first eight months of 2020, revenues from Vietnam’s textiles decreased by 11.6 per cent. According to Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), this decline is expected to continue by 15 percent until the end of the year.

Although domestic consumption is anticipated to rise 5 per cent by the end of 2020, Le Tein Truong, General Director, Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), does not expect this to compensate for the shortage of export orders. The EVFTA deal enables businesses to hit an export turnover of $7 billion. For Vietnam to benefit entirely from EVFTA, businesses should shorten delivery times and simplify administrative processes, minimize clearance and time of inspection, adds Truong.

Manufacturers should also start using the accumulated rules of origin to import products out of countries that have signed FTA with Vietnam and the EU. They should also work in the field of sports, medical and advanced textiles and workwear, hi-tech, and developing manufacturing technology, enhancing the capability of management and engaging in social and environmental factors.