India’s cotton imports from the US rose over threefold, from March 2019 to April 2019. The main reason is high domestic prices and short supply. A sudden rise in domestic cotton prices has led mills and traders to import the natural fiber. Indian cotton is currently being sold three or four cents per pound higher than the comparable variety in the international market. Imported cotton appears to be attractive due to better yarn realisation, productivity and quality. Mills in south and north India are finding imports to be much cheaper than buying locally and spending huge amounts on transportation from Gujarat or Maharashtra. They don’t have logistic expenses. Rampant adulteration and contamination are also discouraging mills from sourcing cotton locally. A fall in output because of a drought in almost 40 per cent of the country has led to a short supply in the domestic market.

Imports are expected to rise 70 per cent in the current year. So far, India has signed import deals for around 1.8 million bales in the current year. Of this, 8,00,000 million bales to 9,00,000 million bales have already been shipped, and the remaining quantum is likely to shipped between May and July. Imports are also taking place from Africa.

Circle Economy has partnered with Fashion for Good to accelerate re-commerce and rental business models in the apparel industry. Through this partnership, Circle Economy and Fashion for Good will establish a global network of over 50 front-running solution providers and innovators, brands, and rental and re-commerce experts to exchange insights and tangible solutions to move the apparel industry towards circular business models that can create a positive impact for people and the environment. The project will work with six brands on a circular innovation process that will help them design and launch these new types of business model pilots by 2021.

Re-commerce, rental, and leasing offer commercial opportunities for brands to innovate their business model while optimising the useful life of clothes to their full potential and reducing the overall impact of the industry. The past two decades have seen a dramatic decrease in the amount of times clothes are worn. Coupled with a shift toward fast fashion, average consumers today buy 60 per cent more items than they did 15 years ago and wear them for half as long. Seventy per cent of closets usually go unworn and it is estimated that 33 per cent of women wear items as little as five times before disposing of them.

Canton Fair was held in China from April 15 to May 5, 2019. It showcased nearly 5,000 exhibitors from the textiles and garments to shoes, cases and bags, recreational products, medicine and healthcare products and food. One such exhibitor was Hebei Bailixin, China’s leading home textile manufacturer, which exports to 34 countries and regions in southeast Asia, Europe, North America and Japan.

In addition to showcasing Chinese manufacturing, the fair introduced leading international brands into the Chinese market. The fair featured Gohar Textiles and Cotton Empire from Pakistan, the century-old houseware brand R L Khanna and Shiv Shakti Exports from India, and companies from the Turkish textile and apparel center Denizli.

Facing pressure from uncertainties related to global trade and stricter import standards, Chinese companies are making constant efforts in innovation and improvement of product performances. In response to an expanding market and the continuously evolving specialist tastes of consumers, top Chinese textile and garments companies are not only offering high-quality products but also actively pursuing customisation and the development of new techniques. Exports of Chinese garments, toys and seven additional labor-intensive products in the first quarter of 2019 increased 6.5 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Brands like Nike, Adidas, and Levi Strauss have expressed concern over the labor and human rights situation in Cambodia. They want the garment sector in Cambodia to adopt labor standards set by the International Labor Organisation. The European Union has voiced similar concerns. In February, the European Commission launched the process that could lead to the suspension of Cambodia’s preferential access to the European Union market under the Everything But Arms trade scheme. The EU is concerned about democratic setbacks in the country, including the dissolution of the main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, in 2017. In January, US senators introduced the Cambodian Trade Act of 2019, which would require the US to review the preferential trade treatment Cambodia receives under the Generalised System of Preferences scheme.

Exports of garments, footwear, and travel goods account for more than one-third of Cambodia’s total gross domestic product. The country has about 1,200 garment and footwear factories, employing approximately 8,00,000 Cambodians – 80 per cent of whom are women. Cambodia pays the fifth highest minimum wage in Asean. The number of underage workers in the garment sector has seen a sharp decline, from 74 cases in 2014 to 10 cases as of last year.

Denimsandjeans India will be held in Bangalore on July 17 and 18, 2019. The event aims to discuss the changing patterns of denim business, the problems being faced by the industry and their solutions. A panel discussion will discuss the change in pricing, sourcing, quality, geographical influences, margins and sale strategies. Senior representatives of the denim supply chain companies will participate in the discussion and share their views.

Inflation has been rising globally and price of most consumer goods have increased in the same proportion. However, when it comes to a pair of jeans, prices have been going down over a period of time. One of the objectives of the panel discussion is to identify the root cause of this problem and why in the past decade the denim industry failed to align with the fundamentals of inflation and how it has affected the business so far.

This is the third edition of the event. The first edition was a great success and witnessed phenomenal attendance throughout the show. With over 1,800 visitors from all major brands, retailers, buying houses etc. in India and some from overseas, it was probably the best aggregation of the denim industry in India in a very long time.

Australia is partnering the International Labor Organization to improve working conditions, empower women and boost the competitiveness of Bangladesh’s readymade garment industry. The partnership has been strengthened by the re-commitment of funds for Better Work Bangladesh as part of Australia’s ongoing partnership with ILO. Australia has been supporting BWB since 2016 and today the program reaches 4,85,708 workers in 210 factories who work with 22 international brands. Australia is committed to fund this program until June 2020 as a demonstration of support for industrial safety, labor law governance and women’s economic empowerment in Bangladesh. Australia’s ongoing support for the Better Work Bangladesh program drives important changes in workplace safety in the garment industry. Better Work has made measurable impacts on the lives of millions of workers and their families. It aims at uniting multiple stakeholders, promoting decent work for all and helping the garment industry in Bangladesh thrive.

Australia is an important trading partner of Bangladesh. Two-way export and import linkages are the key elements in the bilateral relationship between Bangladesh and Australia. Garments are the main export items while other products that are performing strong in Australian markets include ceramics, pharmaceuticals and leather goods. Bangladesh’s products enjoy duty-free market access to Australia.

Tirupur is facing testing times with thinning margins, declining overseas demand and relatively high labor costs. For the past three years, export growth has not been up to the expected level. The incentives the industry received before GST worked out to nearly 13.2 per cent, which was reduced to 5.7 per cent after GST. Garment exporters in Tirupur work on thin margins and can absorb the costs if incentives are reduced by three per cent or four per cent. But a drastic cut affects liquidity.

The EU and the US constitute 70 per cent of Tirupur’s knitwear exports market. But it is imperative that exporters look to new and emerging markets. The four markets showing high potential for future growth are the UK, Chile, Israel and Japan. Products with high growth potential must be identified and individual strengths such as technology innovation can be leveraged.

Out of the 1,500-odd direct exporters, the number of exporting units with more than a Rs 100 crore turnover is more than what it was a few years ago. There are at least 20 units with more than a Rs 500 crore turnover. The number of letter-head exporters has reduced drastically after GST. However, the recent announcement on reimbursing embedded taxes has revived sentiment.

In 2018, the number of GOTS certified facilities increased 14.6 per cent. Certified facilities are now located in 64 countries around the globe. GOTS certification covers the processing of certified organic fibers along the entire supply chain from field to finished product.

The progress is seen in both production and consuming regions. Countries and regions with the largest growth in percentage in 2018 in GOTS certification are Bangladesh, North America, Pakistan and South Korea. In terms of total numbers, the highest increase is reported from India, followed by Bangladesh and Europe. The 18 GOTS-approved certification bodies reported more than 2.02 million people working in GOTS-certified facilities. Bangladesh registered a growth of 29 per cent in terms of GOTS-certified facilities. Besides a thriving export market, India has an emerging domestic market for organic textiles. Several new brands started offering GOTS goods in the domestic sector during 2018 and two major brands are planning to do so this year.

Increasing number of certified facilities aligns with the common desire to solve sustainability-related problems. Company leaders use GOTS as a risk management tool and as a market opportunity. Consumers value the verifiable certification from field to finished product.

Global consumption of denim fabric has increased at a CAGR of more than 4.77 per cent from 2012 to 2016. In 2016, the global denim fabric market was led by China, India, Europe and North America. At present, the major manufacturers of denim fabric are concentrated in China and India. In terms of volume, global denim fabric sales are growing at 4.70 per cent.

Denim fabric has acquired increasing significance in clothing, household items, cowboy accessories and many other fields. Globally, the denim fabric market is mainly driven by the growing demand for clothing. The global denim fabric market is growing at 3.2 per cent.

Asia has a 22 per cent market share of the global denim industry and India contributes to nearly half that market. India will have a lot of influence in jeanswear in the coming years as the demand is increasing in all segments. An organised retail sector, a young population, online penetration of denims and the increasing popularity of engineered or distressed pieces will continue to fuel the growth of this segment. Originally a product for the youth, denim has grown to cut across geographies, gender and age groups. Given the average age of the Indian consumer today, and the influence of global style trends in the country, the industry can be expected to grow at a double-digit rate.

Last year, Vietnam’s earnings from textile and garment exports were up 16 per cent year-on-year. Vietnam is one of the world’s three biggest exporters of textiles and apparel. This year, the textile and garment sector has set a target of a 11 per cent year-on-year increase in exports. The industry has set a target of more than $60 billion worth of exports by 2025. Free trade agreements play an important role in helping Vietnam move up the value chain in the garment and textile industry.

The free trade agreement with the EU is expected to have a positive impact in the medium to long term. The EU is the second largest export market for Vietnam’s garment and textile sector, with more than 40 per cent of tariffs applied to garment and textile products expected to be reduced to zero per cent when the agreement takes effect. An increasing number of international buyers are sourcing products from Vietnam because supply chains for locally made products have improved and the country has joined more free trade agreements.

Participation in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership also will benefit the country in the long term, helping the garment and textile sector expand market share in Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and Australia and many other countries.