The Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas) has forecasted that textile and garment exports in India are likely to increase 10.8 per cent year-on-year to reach $40 billion by the end of this year. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam’s turnover of textile and garments exports increased 19 per cent year-on-year reaching $4.89 billion over the past two months.

Among the products that recorded significant export growth included fabrics made from natural fibers at 14 per cent, fabrics from synthetic fibers at 14 per cent and clothing at 11 per cent. The ministry attributed the positive performance to the fact that many businesses had received orders for the first six months of this year or even the whole year. Vietnamese textile and garment goods have become more attractive to foreign customers thanks to their strong competitiveness in terms of quality and price compared to those of rival countries in the region, according to trade experts.

The supply chain, which had been gradually completed thanks to increasing flow of capital invested in the textile and dyeing industry and free-trade agreements Vietnam had inked with several countries and blocs, had made Vietnamese garment products much more attractive.

A report by the Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles & Apparel (OTEXA) shows, US’ footwear imports from China declined 0.9 per cent in 2018. The value of imports reached $13.89 billion from 2017. The overall footwear imports by the US increased 9.1 per cent to $26.22 billion last year. China’s market share fell to 53 per cent in 2018 from 56 percent in 2017.

Meanwhile, according to the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, imports from Vietnam increased 13.8 per cent to reach $6.16 billion last year to hold a 23.5 per cent market share. The next two most significant suppliers included Indonesia and Italy. Indonesia’s footwear shipments to the US increased 4.7 per cent to $1.55 billion while that of Italy increased 13.2 percent to $1.54 billion.

Among other prominent footwear exporters in 2018 included Cambodia, Spain, Germany, Portugal and Bangladesh. Others losing market share include India, The Dominican Republic, Brazil and Thailand.

The UN Economic Commission for Europe, the European Commission, the International Labor Organization, the International Trade Center and private sector partners are developing a traceability tool.
The tool aims at helping the fashion sector make risk-informed decisions and operate according to a set of internationally agreed practices. The overall aim is to guide value chains toward more responsible production and consumption patterns. The tool will feature a technical global standard for the traceability of sustainable value chains in the sector that will address the entire life-cycle of products. Development of a traceability standard and implementation guidelines are key for enhancing transparency and traceability.

Momentum to address traceability and sustainability in the fashion and garment industry has been increasing. In 2017, 100 major fashion brands expressed a commitment to sustainable fashion, recognizing the importance of enhancing the traceability and transparency of fashion value chains to promote more sustainable production patterns. But just a few companies have traceability systems in place. Benefits of traceability include building trust with consumers, developing networks among clients and suppliers and identifying opportunities for efficient and sustainable management of resources. Tracking and tracing the value chain makes sustainability claims more credible. However just a few companies have traceability systems in place.

Key and influencing brands are demonstrating how smart materials are able to deliver eco hi-tech valuable innovations. Inspired by the need for style-conscious, sustainable garments that are versatile for every life situation, Aeance is a brand that merges ready-to-wear with technical apparel. The brand’s values are timeless minimalism, substance and understated luxury. Aeance is committed to creating garments with the least possible impact on the environment and has set up a supply chain focusing on eco-sustainability and ethical responsibility.

Daquini was founded in 2012 to help women bridge the gap between how they feel and how they think they look when they are working out. Each Daquini product is made in the EU from the highest quality Oeko-Tex certified materials.

Launched in 2009, Ecocalf is today an international reference for sustainable fashion, and the spring/summer ’19 collection perfectly depicts the intersection between design, quality and innovation. As a brand recognized primarily for its outerwear, this season’s objective was to create new silhouettes that would be appropriate for a summer collection.

Erin Snow creates chemically safe, circularly designed, socially fair luxury performance apparel. The Teri pant is Erin Snow’s most innovative and highly anticipated pant to date. Teri is made from bluesign approved Schoeller four-way stretch fabric containing Roica V550 premium stretch sustainable fiber.

Dutch denim business Mud Jeans, in its inaugural sustainability report, stated it plans to offer jeans made out of 100 per cent recycled cotton. The report also sets out some impressive targets for 2020, including conducting an LCA study in order to set CO2 reduction goals that go beyond being carbon neutral; and conducting a new social audit to gain new insights in the wage situation, working environment and equality at Yousstex International, Mud’s one and only supplier which is based in Tunisia.

Mud Jeans are sold in 300 stores in over 29 countries. The company also offers leasing options, including free repairs for people leasing its jeans. The brand sold 25,000 pairs of jeans in 2018, almost triple the amount it sold in 2016. Its products are made using various amounts of recycled cotton and with all components designed for recycling.

Malaysia is looking to sign the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) by this year. The percentage of goods that will not be charged a new tariff — whether it’s 80 or 70 per cent of goods traded, for example — is still being deliberated by the participating countries. Some want more and some are less open to greater trade liberalization.

The RCEP is a proposed free trade agreement among the ten Asean member countries and six countries that the regional grouping has existing FTAs with — namely Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. The RCEP is expected to be ratified by this year but stumbling blocks — such as India’s reluctance to open its markets to Chinese products — remain. Also, the treaty is viewed as a China-led response to the defunct Trans-Pacific Partnership brought forward by the US previously.

A combination of 16 countries negotiating on the RCEP would cover some one-third of the global GDP and almost half of the world’s population. The pact aims at encompassing trade in goods and services, investments, intellectual property and dispute resolution, among others. Interest in the deal heightened throughout the region after the emergence of economic nationalism in the US and its trade war with China.

Inditex has had a two per cent rise in full-year profit. Inditex, the owner of Zara, is the world’s biggest clothing retailer. Unlike many in the troubled apparel sector, Inditex, based in Spain, has been able to avoid heavy discounting thanks to its tightly controlled inventory and its ability to get looks on sale in a few weeks allowing it to respond to fast-changing trends.

Online sales grew 27 per cent in 2018. Inditex estimated total like-for-like sales growth of between four to six per cent for the financial year. Sales in shops and online at constant exchange rates rose seven per cent in the first weeks of the new financial year. Total dividend for the financial year would be an increase of 17 per cent.

The company launched Zara online in 106 new markets in November and benefited from favorable comparisons to unseasonably cold weather last year. The company operates with a special kind of business model. Every division commits initially to a small quantity for fashion merchandise and then replenishes it in response to customer demands and preferences. This merchandising strategy enables stores to feature new and different products very quickly.

KG Fabriks has bagged the first prize for ‘Water Conservation’ at the National Water Awards 2018. The company received the award from the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, India. The company also signed an agreement with South India Textile Research Association (SITRA) for production of denim fabric with a new green reduction process and a dyeing process that will completely eliminate the hazardous reducing agents and the alkali used during indigo-dyeing.

KG Fabriks makes denim fabric and consumes just 6 litres of water to make a metre of denim as compared to others which use 60 litres per metre of denim. The company is connected 24/7 online to the water quality monitoring centre, Government of Tamil Nadu and is a zero solid and zero liquid discharge plant situated at the SIPCOT Industrial Complex in Perundurai.

Ronald L Nelson is the new chairman at Hanes Brands. Nelson has served in the board director since 2008 and as lead director since 2015. He has served on all three of the board’s committees in his tenure, including as chairman of the audit committee. He has significant public company board experience and knowledge of the chairman’s role, including formerly serving as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Avis Budget Group.

Hanes Brands is a socially responsible leading marketer of everyday basic apparel under some of the world’s strongest apparel brands in the Americas, Europe, Australia and the Asia-Pacific including Hanes, Champion, Bonds, Maidenform, DIM, Bali, Playtex, Bras N Things, Nur Die/Nur Der, Alternative, L’eggs, JMS/Just My Size, Lovable, Wonderbra, Berlei, and Gear for Sports.

Nelson succeeds Richard A. Noll, who is not seeking re-election to the board and is retiring as chairman, concluding a smooth and seamless leadership transition at the company. Noll served as chief executive officer of the company from 2006 to 2016, as chairman of the board from 2009 to 2016, as executive chairman of the board from 2016 to 2017, and as non-executive chairman of the board since 2018.

While Japanese companies such as Honda and Nissan are retreating from the UK, Indian businesses are planning to exploit opportunities arising out of Brexit. They hope to benefit even if the British pound sinks as this could help mitigate some of the risks. Indian M&A has tend to increase when British assets become cheaper to buy. India has a huge market and the economy is not export-based. It is more of a domestic market so there is an opportunity for Indian companies to start exporting. Besides, Indians are used to the tariff regime and the uncertainty and chaos. There could be opportunities for Indian companies in manufacturing in the UK and for cross-border M&As if similar businesses need capital.

Brexit is only impacting a limited number of Indian businesses operating and investing in the UK. Beyond those manufacturing companies that rely on just-in-time supply chains and who trade between the UK and the EU, the vast majority of Indian companies located in the UK are for UK-specific reasons. These include having a presence in and access to the fifth largest market in the world - a market where Indian companies can access the upstream strengths of the UK in engineering, electronics, and increasingly in big data, AI, and the internet of things.