In the first 10 months of the current fiscal Pakistan’s knitwear exports rose 8.7 per cent. Bedwear exports increased 2.4 per cent. Exports of readymade garments rose 3.2 per cent. The value-added sector showed some improvement during the period owing to measures like rupee devaluation, which boosted outbound shipments. The currency continued to lose its value against the dollar, encouraging exports on improved margins. Last year alone, the currency fell 20 per cent. The weak currency however increased the cost of doing business and particularly catalysed energy costs.

In April, textile exports were up around five per cent over the previous month. But, the monthly textile exports remained In July to April, exports of knitwear, bedwear and readymade garments, in terms of quantity, also increased 15.8 per cent, 10.11 per cent and 29 per cent year on year. Exports of cotton cloth however, fell 2.7 per cent. Cotton yarn exports declined 15.7 per cent. Raw cotton exports slid 67.2 per cent. Food exports declined 4.1 percent year-on-year to $3.8 billion during the period under review. Rice exports increased 1.42 per cent year on year. Exports of manufactured goods remained flat. Exports of petroleum and coal soared 24.4 per cent.

Prodigy Textiles, the subsidiary of Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, the leading developer of spider silk based fibers, has acquired the company’s factory in Vietnam. The company is retrofitting the nearly 50,000 sq ft facility to produce its game changing recombinant spider silk materials. This facility was selected based on its optimal layout and existing infrastructure.

The company has outlined an aggressive timeline for commissioning the factory. It expects to deliver the first batch of its recombinant spider silk thread, from this factory to one of its strategic market channel partners in the third or fourth quarter.

Kraig Biocraft Laboratoriesis a fully reporting biotechnology company focused on the commercialisation of new textiles and high performance fibers including spider silks. As the leading developer of genetically engineered spider silk based fiber technologies, Kraig Biocraft has been able to achieve a series of scientific breakthroughs in the area of spider silk technology.

C.L.A.S.S. (Creativity, Lifestyle And Sustainable Synergy) shared the smartest textile and material innovations available at Copenhagen Fashion Summit, May 15 to 16, 2019.

C.L.A.S.S. showcased examples of some of the most sustainably responsible innovations available on the market today, empowering the next generation of designers as well as those from leading design houses, and providing them the chance to experience firsthand how they might work toward a circular design economy. Key members of the C.L.A.S.S. team had the chance to share valuable insights gleaned from over 12 years of research and development within this area, helping provide visitors including new designers, start-ups, and established designers with everything needed to make smart choices that work vertically through the supply chain from merchandising right through to consumer facing communication campaigns. From trends, new R&D concepts, and the latest buzzwords, C.L.A.S.S. had it covered. Visitors accessed the C.L.A.S.S. e-commerce textile collection, where new designers and start-ups could purchase sustainably responsible fabric options.

The overall C.L.A.S.S. education program is targeted particularly at new designers, start-up brands, and those working across fashion supply chains and looks at how to actively foster responsible innovation, how to devise appropriate strategies to implement them, and most importantly how to communicate them in a way that makes sense and appeals to the modern consumer.

As per the annual BrandZ ranking by British multinational advertising and public relations company WPP and its data analytics unit Kantar, Amazon has almost doubled its brand value to $316 billion. Alibaba emerged as the second most valuable retail brand. The value of Amazon brand increased by 91 per cent, while Alibaba's rose by 48 per cent to $131 billion. The ranking combines financial performance with consumer surveys in more than 50 countries, according to global newswires.

Both Alibaba and Amazon are growing partly because of their activity outside retailing. Alibaba took second place from McDonald's even though the brand value of the world's biggest fast food chain grew 18 per cent to $130 billion as it offered healthier menus and more environmentally friendly packaging. Rising environmental concerns about fast fashion have weighed on the brand values of Inditex's Zara, which declined by 10 per cent to $23 billion, and H&M, which declined by 39 per cent to $6.4 billion.

The Clean Clothes Campaign’s new country report for Romania reveals that the country’s garment industry has been suffering from a dramatic labor shortage as its working conditions are infamously bad. The report analyses extensive research investigations spanning the past six years, with a special focus on 2017-2018. For more than a decade, Romania’s garment industry has been suffering from a dramatic labor shortage as the working conditions in the country are very bad.

Workers regard the industry’s extremely low wages as the most serious problem. The average wage within regular working hours of interviewed workers was as low as 14 percent of a living wage. Contrary to the law, the salary within regular working hours was very often below the statutory minimum wage – which itself only constitutes a mere 17 percent of a living wage. According to workers, non-payment of the legal minimum wage for regular working hours is the norm. Many workers report that they are forced to take out loans to deal with everyday expenses like heating costs in winter.

Almost half a million people work in Romania’s fashion industry – making this the biggest workforce in this sector in Europe. The main export destinations for clothing ‘Made in Romania’ are Italy, the UK, Spain, France, Germany, and Belgium.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has been helping Vietnam enhance sustainable growth of the apparel sector. IFC aims at empowering garment and textile units in the country to upgrade their machinery and equipment so as to make them save more energy and become more sustainable. IFC has been proactive in granting companies access to finance through its client banks. IFC now works with 70 factories that supply to big retailers and apparel firms like VF, Target, Puma, New Balance, and Adidas, among several others. Vietnamese factories have been helped to invest in resource efficiency measures and programs that has helped them save in water, energy and chemical operating costs.

IFC has over 60 years of experience in unlocking private investment and also creating markets and opportunities where they are most required. Since 1956, IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has financed businesses in developing nations.

Unparalleled growth, over the last few years, has made Vietnam one of the top five textile exporters in the world. With Vietnam’s increasing participation in trade agreements, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the EU free trade agreement, the textile sector is poised for faster growth, creating increased demand for sustainable energy and water use practices.

Texworld USA will be held from July 22 to 24, 2019. The trade show has put the spotlight on sustainability and is continuing its commitment to eco-friendly products and practices by integrating the theme throughout the event. To propel sustainability movement forward, the show will welcome Fashionsustain. The content is designed to inspire industry insiders to shift the paradigm around how clothes are sourced and made, lessening apparel’s global impact on carbon emissions, water use and chemical pollution. Fashionsustain will host a compelling lineup of dynamic speakers, each providing solution-oriented insights on how the industry can collaborate and innovate.

The event combines ideas with action and sustainable fashion. Leaders come together to discuss better ways of working, with both emerging and established sustainable brands showcasing new ideas. Texworld USA will make buying responsible textiles easy by creating a designated trend space for eco-friendly suppliers and indicating likeminded exhibitors with a leaf icon on signage and in the visitor guide. The programming will center around initiatives like upcycling, circularity and material innovations. Attendees will be provided the opportunity to learn from and connect with service providers related to recycling solutions, business development and trend forecasting. The show has cut back on unnecessary printed materials, reduced the amount of carpeting it uses and upcycled banners from previous events into show bags.

An International Apparel Forum (IAF) event was held in Germany, May 13 and 14, 2019. The event provided a strong dose of technological awareness and plenty of networking allowing IAF members to return home to share with their colleagues, clients and members new ideas, insights and contacts.

It brought together influential apparel industry representatives from over 15 countries from Asia, Europe and the Americas. A conference focused on the application of new technologies in the apparel supply chain. The audience was treated to a hands-on presentation of very accessible technologies to enhance garment factory productivity and flexibility. There were demonstrations on how the industry is being disrupted, with examples of large online platforms being able to invest right across the supply chain, shoes that are not sold as products, but as services i.e. the promise of improving running performance and an example from the car industry where an electric car is now actually being built by a university.

IAF is the only global federation representing apparel associations from 60 countries representing over 1,50,000 companies. IAF has been developed to deliver a unique forum for credit professionals from the international apparel sectors. The aim is to equip members with the practical strategies they need to meet the challenges of a changing business environment and add value to their roles.

The exchange rate is one of the most powerful weapons China has in the trade war with the US. A weaker yuan would support China’s exporters. While China’s importers would be worse off, the benefits outweigh the costs because China is a net exporter. A depreciated renminbi could rattle global markets and, consequently, pressure the US to switch tack.

If China really wants to up the pressure, targeting the operations of US businesses is a reasonable strategy. In the US, lobbying groups and business organizations do carry a certain amount of influence. China can also subject US companies operating within China to arbitrary audits, stricter regulations, or slow approvals of the necessary permits and licenses. Another possibility is dumping US Treasuries. China holds roughly a trillion dollars worth of US treasury bonds. Dumping US bonds could push US interest rates up and disrupt the economy. China may also consider an out-and-out US boycott. The US was the ninth most popular destination for Chinese tourists during this year, down from fifth last year. So the US needs to be very careful if it wants to attract affluent travelers.

Meanwhile, the US has ratcheted up pressure on Chinese telecom equipment giant Huawei and Chinese importers cancelled a major order of US pork.

Factories in Bangladesh inspected under Accord have made overall 90 per cent progress in fixing fire, electrical and structural safety faults. Accord is a platform of European buyers and retailers. Some 1120 out of 1610 Accord-listed readymade garment factories in Bangladesh are behind schedule in remediating safety hazards. Accord says about 50 per cent of factories still lack adequate fire detection and alarm systems. Accord has covered 1674 readymade garment factories. 0f these 1610 are inspected and 64 others have been listed for inspection. Out of 1674 factories, 1403 are active, 59 factories are inactive and 212 factories are no-brand. The platform has found discrepancies in building plans and drawings in nearly 22 per cent of the factories and a lack of fire separation in hazardous areas in 16 per cent of the factories.

To support factories, Accord arranged a remediation fund and a total of 141 remediation finance requests have so far been received from the factories, of which 52 have been resolved. After the Rana Plaza building collapse in April 2013 that killed more than 1100 people, mostly garment workers, EU retailers formed the Accord, undertaking a five-year plan, which set time frames and accountability for inspections and training and worker empowerment programs.