Consumers and companies across the planet are increasingly choosing cotton produced in accordance with voluntary sustainability standards such as Better Cotton or Cotton made in Africa. So says the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).

Standards-compliant cotton production has doubled every 2.5 years, on an average, since 2008 and though most of the demand is coming from Europe and North America awareness is rising in big developing and emerging markets that suggests the growth will continue.

Farmers in some regions, says IISD, can receive up to 50 per cent higher prices and 20 per cent higher crop incomes for growing standards-compliant cotton compared to conventional cotton. Sustainable cotton is in high demand as customers look to make responsible purchasing decisions and brands use sustainability to differentiate their products in the market. Sustainability standards can help address the environmental and social effects linked to conventional cotton production including water scarcity, soil and water contamination from pesticide runoff, forced labour, and poor working conditions.

Adhering to sustainability standards can affect cotton prices and income received by cotton farmers.Prices and incomes are important because many smallholder cotton farmers live below the poverty line in developing countries. And now the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have forced these struggling farmers to cope with rising input costs, reduced yields, and unpredictable price swings.

Pure London, to be held in the UK, February 12 to 14, 2023, will feature a host of Spanish fashion brands.

Loreto Martinez designs are loaded with personality and flair. With architectural cuts and detailing the unique collection is elegant, fresh, and unique.Virago Barcelona is an independent fashion label with a unique take on femininity, redefining its conventional vision and connecting allure with sexiness, elegance with strength and simplicity with soul.

Drawing on the glamour of traditional Spanish dressing the collection celebrates the strength and power of fashion.Contemporary footwear brand Camper is recognised for its use of technical fabrics, high quality, and modern designs.

Pure London is the UK’s leading trade fashion buying event. Twice a year the brightest minds in the fashion industry come together at Pure London to discover the season’s must-have collections, latest trends, and exclusive business insights. Priding itself on offering unmatched free content, from trend focused catwalks to incredible expert talks, not only is Pure London a fashion buying destination, but is a place to network and learn about key industry issues and topics.

Pure London has the largest women’swear offering in the UK and the largest offering of international brands as well as exciting onsite trend partner and new sustainability initiatives.

Paul Smith has opened a store in Cambodia. The store has a red exterior and three main colours in the interior: white, blue, and yellow. Pictures on the walls throughout the store convey the store’s colourful but elegant character.

The store offers clothes including T-shirts, shirts, suits, shoes and accessories. The store is part of the brand’s wider expansion plan in southeast Asia.

UK fashion retailer Paul Smith has 130 stores in 70 countries and celebrated 50 years of independent design in 2020.Paul Smith is Britain’s leading independent design company. This is a British company with a global outlook. Paul Smith champions positivity, curiosity and creativity. These qualities underpin every Paul Smith design, whether it’s a shirt, a shop or a special collaboration.

Since Paul Smith products are crafted with fifty years of design knowhow, this experience informs everything it makes, from refined yet relaxed tailoring for men and women through to casual trainers, formal shoes and PaulSmith Junior pieces for young customers.

The year 2023 is only a few weeks in, yet the Cambodian retail industry appears to be buoyant, with several international businesses making forays there. MLB, the South Korean streetwear brand, opened its first physical store in Cambodia earlier in January 2023.

Total US imports of denim apparel from the world in the first eleven months of 2022 increased by 17 per cent compared to the same period of 2021.

Denim apparel imports by the US from Mexico in the first eleven months of 2022 increased by 16 per cent from the same period of the past year. Mexico is the second largest apparel exporter to the US market. Pakistan’s denim exports to the US market in the same period of 2022 grew by 29 per cent from the same period of the previous year.Denim garment imports by the US from Vietnam in the first eleven months of 2022 increased by 11 per cent from the same period of 2021. Imports of denim apparel by the US from China in from January 2022 to November 2022 fell by six per cent from the same period of 2021.

Bangladesh’s position as the top denim exporter to the US has remained unchanged for the past three years with a 23 per cent market share. Bangladesh overtook Mexico as the largest denim exporter to the US in 2020. Of the total of US denim imports from January 2022 to November 2022, Bangladesh’s share was more than 23 per cent.

Adidas has launched an ambitious social and environmental responsibility plan in Cambodia. The structure of the company is being reshaped, from the top down, so that leadership will now also come from the bottom up.

The aim is to reassure consumers that Adidas products are the most ethical brand they can buy. The brand has signed a binding commitment to fair labour practices, wages and compensation in the supply chain. The agreement, which has been drafted with trade unions and labour rights organisations, will ensure all workers receive the full wages and severance owed to them since the pandemic began, and will establish a severance guarantee fund to cover all textile, garment, shoe and leather workers in Adidas’ global supply chain.

Adidas will further correct course by making an immediate payment to Cambodian workers whose wages were withheld by suppliers during the pandemic. Adidas will take immediate and decisive steps to ensure workers’ demands for better working conditions, higher wages and respect for their rights are met unequivocally. The agreement will also protect workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining. These steps are meant to benefit everyone in the supply chain, shareholders and customers, who feel that increasing returns are not at odds with increasing human rights’ protection.

Bangladesh and Vietnam will collaborate on apparel development and reaping mutual trade benefits.

The two countries also have had discussions about possible avenues of working together to unlock their mutual trade potential through meaningful collaboration and seizing the opportunities that lie ahead.They lay emphasis on the exchange of experience and expertise in the apparel industry of Bangladesh and Vietnam.

Bangladesh has been strongly focusing on diversifying from low-priced basic apparel items to high-end products, especially manmade fiber-based garments, in which Vietnam has vast experience and could share its expertise. On the other hand, Bangladesh has made exemplary strides in the areas of workplace safety and environmental sustainability that could be shared with Vietnam.

The countries have expressed interest in facilitating sharing of knowledge and expertise in the apparel and textile industry through collaboration between Bangladesh University of Fashion and Technology and Vietnamese apparel trade associations and fashion institutes. Interactions between designers and technical experts through exchange of faculties and students are expected to develop knowledge and skills and benefit both countries.

Export-import activities between Bangladesh and Vietnam faced a sharp decline in 2020, thanks to the Covid pandemic. Now, both nations have realised that there is a large untapped potential in the domain of bilateral trade, which can unleash a plethora of opportunities.

Argentina has launched an anti-dumping investigation into synthetic fabrics originating in China.

The product involved is synthetic fiber warp knitted fabric (raschel), with an elastic yarn content greater than or equal to five per cent (excluding rubber thread), width less than or equal to 30 cms, non-straight side bands on one or both sides, synthetic fiber material, elastic yarn content greater than or equal to five per cent (excluding rubber thread).The main export provinces and cities of the goods involved are mainly Zhejiang, Guangdong and Shanghai.

Dumping is an unfair trade practice, because the lower export prices are not a result of efficiency on the part of the exporting producers, but of distorted market conditions illustrated by the segregation of the domestic market. Dumping limits effective competition and creates uncertainty, which hinders a predictable investment climate. If it is established that dumping has caused material injury to domestic players, an anti- dumping duty may be imposed. Dumping affects gross margins.Anti-dumping duties are levied to provide a level playing field to local industry by guarding against cheap, below-cost imports.

Growing imports and dumping of goods from China have always been an area of concern for Indian companies too.

Dr A Sakthivel is the new chairman of the Apparel, Made-Ups and Home Furnishing Sector Skill Council (AMHSSC).

As a visionary industry leader for the Indian apparel sector, he has actively and strongly represented the issues of apparel exporters and has played a vital role in the tremendous growth and overhaul of the apparel sector in India, especially micro, small and medium units.

He has an experience of over three and a half decades in the apparel sector and currently also serves as the president of Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO).The new chief is also honorary chairman of the Tirupur Exporters Association. His contribution to the growth of Tirupur exports has been outstanding as the sector saw a growth from a mere Rs 15 crores to over Rs 30,000 crores. He has been instrumental in bringing Tirupur on the global map by getting it recognized as an apparel cluster hub.

Over the years, he has also strongly promoted the manufacturing and export of synthetic garments. He has expressed motivation and commitment to give a further impetus to entrepreneurship, job creation and to strengthen the value chain of the apparel industry by providing skilled youthful manpower to the industry and making India as the world’s skill capital.

Pakistan’s textile industry is running out of cotton stocks. So says the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA).

As a consequence, mills are in danger of shutting down. Exporters are turning away orders as they are not sure of the availability of raw materials to fulfill the orders. The damage to Pakistan would not only be lower exports this year but also the permanent shift of the orders to other countries which would be very difficult to reverse.

A dollar spent on the import of cotton yields $3 in exports. The estimated cost of ten million bales of cotton at today’s price is $4 billion, which would translate to minimum exports of $12 billion. The country’s textile sector consumed 15 million bales in the last year which indicates that approximately ten million bales would need to be imported in order to retain exports at the same level as last year.

Pakistan’s economy largely depends on textile exports for foreign currency and employment. A dicey international economic situation and catastrophic floods have pushed the country’s economy to the brink. Since banks are willing to entertain only small and limited letters of credit for companies that are direct exporters, says APTMA, this excludes 80 percent of the basic industry and ignores the fragmented structure of the industry. The raw material (cotton) is not available to the entire sector.

The interest benefit under the Interest Equalisation Scheme should be raised to five per cent across the board. So says the Tirupur Exporters Association (TEA).

Raising the interest benefit under the Interest Equalisation Scheme would, it is felt, help protect the knitwear industry. Some export units in Tirupur have been finding it difficult to fulfill their export obligation for capital goods imported under the Export Promotion Capital Goods scheme and raw materials imported under the Advance Licensing Scheme within the stipulated period due to the impact of the pandemic, a rise in yarn prices and the Ukraine-Russia war.As the exporting units have to pay the interest apart from normal customs duty to regularise the case,

TEA says an amnesty scheme to settle export obligation defaults would be helpful. Since knitwear exporting units in the Tirupur cluster are now facing a severe threat to their existence due to issues like low orders, delay in receiving payment, non-acceptance of booked orders, and deferment of shipment, TEA has suggested that the Export Refinance Scheme be extended to banks to augment export credit, and banks may be encouraged to provide export credit in Indian rupee to exporters and the same amount can be refinanced by the Reserve Bank of India at the repo rate.