The EU may withdraw preferential trade access to Cambodia over Cambodia’s human rights record. Such a withdrawal would be nothing short of devastating for Cambodia’s garment industry, given the inherently low margins of the sector and the importance of demand from the EU.

Cambodia is one of several developing countries granted duty-free and quota-free access to the EU for all exports, except arms and ammunition, under the Everything But Arms (EBA) trade agreement. The garment and footwear industry is one of the pillars of Cambodia’s economy. The sector has helped improve labor standards and workers’ living conditions, reduce poverty and promote sustainable growth. Cambodia’s garment sector employs some 7,00,000 workers, whose jobs could be in question if EBA is pulled. Brands depend on Cambodia for sourcing. Adidas, for instance, sourced about a quarter of its apparel volume last year from Cambodia, more than from any other country, including China and Vietnam.

For now, the EU is Cambodia’s largest trading partner, taking in nearly half of Cambodian exports, mostly textiles, footwear and agricultural products. Nearly all of these exports enter the EU market under EBA tariff preferences. Most of Cambodia’s exports to the EU would face 12 per cent customs without EBA.

Cotton Council International (CCI) partnered with Chen Wen and HW Textiles to launch a denim fashion collection at China Fashion Week. Chen Wen is a denim designer in China. HW Textiles is a Hong Kong-based denim fabric manufacturer, whose US cotton-rich denim fabrics are woven with cutting-edge innovative technologies which provide a soft hand-feel, warmth and numerous functional features.

The denim fashion show had three collections, including recycled fashion, innovative fashion and retro fashion, which interpreted fashionable, passionate and functional aspects of US cotton-rich denim fabrics. Through three different collections, this denim fashion show represented a grand gathering of fashion creativity and technological innovation while showcasing high quality and sustainable US cotton fiber. The runway show aims at making traditional denim more fashionable and functional by integrating technological innovations and designer creativity.

Cotton USA is dedicated to providing the entire supply chain with networking opportunities, ongoing education, and the latest research and technological innovations. This is a platform that not only promotes close collaboration between upstream manufacturers with fashion designers, but also showcases denim fashion that combines art, technology and innovation through the creativity of designers.

This is the second time that Cotton USA partnered with Chen Wen and the Cotton USA licensee to launch US cotton-rich denim fashion collections during China Fashion Week.

Cone Denim has launched eco-friendly Distilled Indigo denims made with Dystar’s Cadira denim dyeing process. Distilled Indigo fabrics are dyed using pre-reduced liquid indigo dyes which are the cleanest in the market, reducing chemicals and achieving energy and water savings. The collection combines Dystar indigo vat 40 per cent solution, the most eco-awarded indigo in the world, with the ecologically advanced reducing agent Sera Con C-RDA to create a salt- free dye that completely eliminates hydrosulphite. The Cadira process reduces water, waste and energy consumption, and results in strong effluent load reduction to better support mills, brands and retailers in their efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of their goods.

Cone Denim is a leader in sustainable denims. Cone Denim is bringing Dystar’s Cadira denim dyeing process to the Americas as part of its commitment to sustainable solutions and innovation. Cone is the first mill to introduce Cadira Distilled Indigo in the western hemisphere. Cone Denim’s partnership with Dystar reflects their shared commitment to sustainable products and continued innovation. Cadira Distilled Indigo fabrics are part of Cone Denim’s Modern Retro capsule, capturing the authentic spirit of denim, with the most sustainable ingredients and the highest standard of S Gene stretch performance.

Coats the world’s leading industrial thread company, has opened three Innovation Hubs in EMEA and Asia. The Innovation Hub-EMEA in Bursa, Turkey was opened recently. It followed the opening of the Innovation Hub-Asia inShenzhen, China on March 28. The Innovation Hub-America the first of the series is in North Carolina, US and opened in October 2018.

These dedicated centres at key locations around the world enable Coats to collaborate with a range of innovation partners including customers, brands, suppliers, universities and start-ups. They will develop pioneering new products and processes in Apparel and Footwear and hi-tech products for end uses in automotive, Oil & Gas, protective wear and telecommunications by providing creative and inspiring spaces where an innovative idea can be developed collaboratively and rapidly worked up into a prototype design which is then manufactured in a stand alone pilot factory.

The maker of two of Brazil’s biggest fashion brands Fabula Confecçao e Comercio de Roupas was named in the country’s “dirty list” of companies that engage in slave labor. The company outsourced manufacture of its A.Brand and Animale clothing to three workshops in São Paulo that kept Bolivians in slavery-like conditions. While Fabula does not own the workshops at issue, it was found by labor inspectors to be the real employer since the workshops took orders from Fabula and only serviced its brands.

Animale and A.Brand are two of the most well-known luxury brands owned by Grupo Soma, which owns Fabula. Soma has about 4,700 employees and had revenue of more than 1.2 billion reals ($312.28 million) in 2018, according to its website. Names are added to the “dirty list” after an internal government process that can take years. Once added, a name stays on the list for two years. Nearly 190 companies are listed, most of them farms and construction companies.

China’s plus-size fashion market presents a huge opportunity for brands. As much as six per cent of the Chinese population is classified as obese, though in wealthier cities where people have access to unhealthy fast food that figure could reach 20 per cent.

A small group of mostly new retailers serves the full-figured market using tried-and-true techniques involving key opinion leaders and WeChat communities. Some like startup Garden Lis only hire designers with a minimum of four years’ experience conceptualizing clothing for plus-size women, which the brand defines as adults weighing between 130 and 180 pounds. Garden Lis also has franchise stores selling its premium style-forward clothing in sizes from L to 6XL.

MsShe, for its part, leverages influencers to get its products in front of its target demographic. The brand has ten full-figured women on staff tasked with giving every new style a dry run and then showing customers how to incorporate these pieces into their existing wardrobes. Another newbie, Muzi Lixiang, has amassed more than 8,00,000 fans and followers since it arrived on the scene in 2016. The company requires employees to weigh at least 150 pounds to ensure that they can relate to their customers.

Western plus-size players could gain share and grow their revenue by serving this market.

The Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow 5.7 per cent this year, predicts the Asian Development Bank. For 2020, the region is forecasted to grow 5.6 per cent, which would be the slowest since 2001. The trade conflict between China and the United States could undermine investment and growth. Uncertainties stemming from US fiscal policy and a possible disorderly Brexit are other risks.

China’s economy will probably grow 6.3 per cent this year. Beyond trade risks, China’s growth will also be retrained by restrictions on shadow banking, which is expected to limit credit expansion even as fiscal stimulus provides some offset. By region, South Asia will remain the fastest growing in Asia Pacific, with the Asian Development Bank predicting an expansion of 6.8 per cent this year and 6.9 per cent next year. From an estimated seven per cent growth in 2018, India's economy is projected to expand at a faster pace of 7.2 per cent in 2019 and 7.3 per cent in 2020 as lower policy rates and income support to farmers boost domestic demand.

This year’s growth forecast for Southeast Asia has been trimmed to 4.9 per cent from an earlier estimate of 5.1 per cent as Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Thailand are expected to grow slower than previously thought.

L Brands is losing its sheen mainly due to the dwindling performance of its brand Victoria’s Secret. Victoria’s Secret sales dropped five per cent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018. Meanwhile, comparable sales fell three per cent while comparable store sales (comps) tumbled seven per cent. L Brands is focusing on restructuring Victoria’s Secret, which was once known as the success formula for mass-market lingerie in the United States. The company plans to shut down 53 Victoria’s Secret stores in fiscal 2019, which failed to generate the desired results. Also, the company has relaunched the brand’s swimwear category. With this move, the company aims at boosting seasonal sales and store traffic.

Additionally, L Brands has sold its luxury lingerie brand La Senza. Further, in order to focus on its core product categories, L Brands plans to close operations at the luxury fashion accessories store Henri Bendel. L Brands’ gross margin has been contracting year over year for the past few quarters. For fiscal 2019, its gross margin rate is likely to decrease year over year, mainly due to lower merchandise margins. Also, SG&A costs are expected to increase year over year, stemming from higher wage rate and inflation-related pressure. Further, L Brands’ balance sheet doesn't look healthy, owing to a high debt level.

Kornit Digital, a global market leader in digital textile printing innovation, recently unveiled the game-changing Kornit NeoPoly Technology, which is the industry’s first digital, industrial process for high-quality printing on polyester. The new ground-breaking Kornit NeoPoly Technology addresses these challenges with a new process and ink set implemented in the renowned Kornit NeoPigmentTM process. Kornit’s new process handles polyester applications without compromising on design, run size, substrate or labor.

The breakthrough technological innovation is achieved by an innovative ink set and a physical and chemical process specifically developed for low temperature curing, and polyester enhancing functionalities developed to maintain fabric characteristics and provide superior fastness. This unique process prevents dye migration on polyester. The inks are Oeko-Tex and Eco-Passport certified and do not contain PVCs or other toxic ingredients.

The first system equipped with the Kornit NeoPoly Technology is the new Kornit Avalanche Poly Pro, a member of Kornit’s world-class reliable, highly productive industrial platform. The single-step Poly Pro is the perfect system for the industry, enabling easy and cost effective short-runs and on-demand printing on polyester garments.

Indian Technical Textile Association (ITTA) – the apex body of Technical Textile manufacturers has signed an MoU with the Taiwan Technical Textiles Association (TTTA) to promote the Technical Textile Industry in both the countries. The MOU would facilitate Indian and Taiwanese companies to form joint ventures for technical textile manufacturing in either of the countries. Also, companies from both the countries would be able to collaborate for sharing technical knowledge and compliment the supply chain with trade of technical textile materials.”

ITTA office would facilitate Indian companies to trade and form joint ventures with TTTA members.