Victoria’s Secret has removed cashmere from its product line. Previously, Victoria’s Secret decided to stop using Angora rabbit fur and alpaca fleece from its apparel lines.

The brand joins dozens of other companies that have banned cashmere.China and Mongolia are responsible for 90 per cent of the world’s cashmere but the goats in cashmere farms are subject to unethical treatment. Terrified goats are pinned to the ground while workers ripout their hair with sharp metal combs so violently that the animals scream in pain and sustain bloody cuts.

The negative environmental impact of cashmere production is greater than that of any other animal-derived material. Some companies that have moved away from cashmere but want to provide customers a more ethical alternative are using what’s called vegetable cashmere. This is a vegan fabric made from leftover soybean pulp from tofu production. It's biodegradable and pills less than animal-fiber cashmere. Some designers have incorporated a regenerated cashmere made from post-factory cashmere, similarly to how apparel brands have created ways to recycle their own apparel to minimize waste while keeping products affordable. Some have reduced their environmental impact as it pertains to cashmere by 92 per cent by switching to the recycled Re.Verso fabric.

American jeans brand for women Daily Blue was first launched nearly 50 years ago. The jeans were made of quality denim and well-constructed.

Now it’s being relaunched using Japanese fabrics, eco-friendly washes and treatments and simple but sophisticated looks that can sit in someone’s closet for years.

The ’70s-inspired luxury denim women’s collection right now consists of 18 to 20 pieces including blue jeans, shirts, jackets, vests and overalls. The washes and treatments, unlike the highly distressed looks of the past, are toned down with the slightest hint of whiskering done with an eco-friendly laser processing.

The blue jeans silhouettes in the new Daily Blue label will range from baggy and flared to wide-bodied and straight-leg.When the brand was first created, it concentrated on the look. This time, the aim is to have a great look that also incorporates sustainable elements and premium fabrics that are more eco-friendly.

The first time Daily Blue was launched designers didn’t have that sense of what they were doing and used products indiscriminately to make a jean look nice. So it would be bleach or even a toxic acid, and nobody was caring. But then decades later the alarm bells went off.

Japanese garment companies are shifting their manufacturing and procurement bases from China.

The main reason is rising costs. Major apparel companies, such as Adastria, Aoyama Trading and suppliers of Uniqlo, are moving some of their production bases from China to RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) member countries in southeast Asia such as Cambodia and Vietnam to take advantage of exemptions from textile import tariffs.

The average monthly salary of a factory worker in China is almost double that of an average worker in Cambodia.Other factors such as the depreciating yen are some of the other reasons behind the decision of the Japanese garment manufacturers to move out.

The RCEP that came into effect in January has given several companies a new lifeline. Adastria, operating retail stores under 26 brands, for example, has already increased production in Cambodia and Vietnam this year. Moreover the company also plans to expand production areas to include Indonesia, Bangladesh, and other countries, and increase production in southeast Asia to 50 percent by 2026. Out of Adastria’s total clothing imports into Japan, the number of items produced in China fell to 59 percent in 2021, down from 81 percent a decade earlier.

75 years and Wrangler is going srong. Few labels stand the test of time. Even fewer can claim the distinction of being among America’s most enduring denim brands.

In a retail landscape now teeming with direct-to-consumer upstarts aiming to strike gold on Instagram, the company is focused on meeting consumers where they are instead of banking on continued loyalty.This is a brand that has never sat still. Championing innovation, whether it takes the form of new product lines, silhouettes, fabrications or marketing strategy, has been central to Wrangler’s staying power.

The brand was founded, basically, on meeting the needs of working cowboys, filling the need for a jean that could withstand the rugged lifestyle of the West.For Wrangler, durability and value are things that have continued to propel the brand forward, even as times have changed, and fashion trends have come and gone. Wrangler is using the spotlight on Western fashion as an opportunity to broaden its appeal. Wrangler will continue to champion the unique look and feel that has made it beloved over the years, while becoming more accessible to new consumer groups.

From a distribution standpoint, from a price point standpoint, from a geography standpoint, from a diversity standpoint, Wrangler wants to be a brand shoppers can see themselves in.

Resale’s growing appeal has done little to slow down the problems it is supposed to help solve— overproduction and overconsumption, says retail analytics firm Edited. Despite reports of a glut of inventory while consumers pull back on spending due to the recession, the fashion industry is still overproducing. The study shows new fast-fashion product drops online for men’s and women’s wear average over 47,000 individual styles per week in the US alone. The figure is up 11 per cent from 2021 and 120 per cent from 2020 when production was severely reduced due to Covid.

Allowing customers to resell used goods doesn’t cancel out the impact of the enormous amounts of disposable products continuing to drop. Circularity is a fundamental cornerstone of sustainable fashion, yet against continued overproduction levels, resale alone can’t be the solution. But pre-loved merchandise is booming due to several factors. These include: society’s increasing support for a circular economy, Gen Z’s love for thrifting and the profits a reseller can make by offering rare and limited edition pieces. Resale platforms may offer styles from the archives but they usually sell through before they have the chance to go stale.

Brand play in resale

Some brands shine brighter in the resale market than others. Telfar, is currently the top secondhand brand to give sellers the best return on their overall investment. Its value retention exceeds that of Hermès. Its collaborative pieces with Ugg, Moose Knuckles and Eastpak have great appeal in the secondary sector and its now sold-out large shopping bag is now being hawked on some US sites with a price increase of up to 132 per cent.

However, scarce luxury items are still the sources of the most dramatic markups. Birkin and Kelly bags by Hermès have elevated prices of up to 2,554 per cent across US resale sites and 5,308 per cent in the UK. Old Tom Ford-designed Gucci pieces fetch up to five times their original price in the UK as well.

Interestingly, this phenomenon is not limited to luxury. New Balance shoes command lavish price points. But not all brands perform well as resold items. Secondhand pieces by both Off-White and Diesel can be cheaper anywhere between 48 to 90 per cent compared to their original due to factors such as consumer demand or product quality. However, this is not necessarily to these brands’ detriment. Price-conscious Gen Z consumers can use these deals as a gateway to developing future brand loyalty when they can afford to pay retail.

Zara has released a denim range for children. This is a range fit for a circular economy. The denim collection was designed with its whole life cycle in mind.

Fabrics used to make the collection include a minimum of 98 percent cellulose-based fibers and contain at least five percent recycled content from textile origin to reduce the consumption of virgin materials.Most fabrics in the line are made with 80 percent cotton and 20 percent recycled cotton.All components that are added to the fabric can be easily disassembled for reuse or recycling.

For the children’s collection Zara has added removable buttons and tried to avoid metal rivets or zippers. Interior pocket bags include information about how the garment is designed to be recycled.

Styles in the collection for children closely mirror the comfort and utility trends seen in women’s fashion. The unisex line includes a worker jacket, cargo jeans with an elastic waist, wide-leg relaxed fit jeans and loose fitting jeans with a ripped knee. For babies, the collection offers a denim overshirt, overalls, pullover denim shirts and a collared dress with pockets.Sizes begin at nine months for babies to 14 years in children’s. Zara merchandises the denim pieces with cotton navy and cream striped long-sleeve tops and waffle knit tops.

Pure London, to be held February 12 to 14, 2023, will champion sustainability.

Purely Sustainable, a dedicated destination, will showcase a carefully curated selection of conscious exhibitors leading the way in addressing their environmental and social impact.The new Purely Sustainable destination will continue to raise the profile of ethical and sustainable fashion across the entire event, helping lower the industry’s carbon footprint and invest in a better future.

Showcasing sustainable brands and ethical designers with a story to tell, it has been launched to help the fashion community navigate this growing priority, push for progress, and support the industry in its sustainability journey. In 2018 Pure London launched Power of One, an initiative designed to empower retailers and suppliers to take small steps towards changing the impact of fashion. Pure London has continued to develop this initiative by informing exhibitors of the challenges facing the industry and how to take steps to overcome them, curating a rich program of expert speakers to tackle the issues in lively discussions and by taking practical steps to become a more sustainable event.

The fashion industry is being challenged to become more sustainable and the global ethical fashion market is growing by 30 per cent a year.

There should be no anti-dumping duty on viscose staple fiber imported from Indonesia. So says Sima.

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has recommended an anti-dumping duty on viscose staple fiber imported from Indonesia. The anti-dumping duty gives a protection to the tune of 28 per cent to the indigenous VSF manufacturer. Much of the imported raw material, machinery, etc., attract only five per cent to 7.5 per cent basic customs duty while such an abnormal protection is totally unwarranted and on the contrary would greatly affect the entire VSF value chain.

Rejection of the recommendation to impose the duty would ensure the survival of micro, small and medium spinning mills, the decentralized powerloom and handloom sector and also the garment sector. Over two lakh powerlooms in Tamil Nadu had diverted to viscose staple fiber fabric manufacturing and enabling value added exports. The levy would again make fabric manufacturers switch over to imports that would have a serious impact on spinning mills. In the past various path breaking policy initiatives had been taken to address the raw material structural issues, especially manmade fibers, the future growth engine of the Indian textile industry, by removing the anti-dumping duties levied on various raw materials including PTA and MEG, polyester staple fibers, acrylic fiber and viscose staple fiber.

Finland is Europe’s best country for sustainable shoppers. So says Savoo.

The northern European country also reduced its consumption footprint by an impressive 20 per cent between 2010 and 2020, which is the fourth biggest reduction after Italy (26 per cent), Sweden (21 per cent) and Greece (20 per cent).

However, flea markets and antique stores are one area that Finland falls behind in, with just 53 in total to cater to its 5,540,720 population.Denmark is second, having reduced its consumption footprint by 14 per cent between 2010 and 2020. Ranking in third place is Slovenia, which produces an estimated 34 kg of household waste per capita each year. The United Kingdom ranks in sixth place overall as Europe’s most sustainable shoppers.

Home to nearly 68 million people, the country has almost 1,300 flea markets and antique shops available. Zara has been named the most popular second-hand brand, with over 670,000 listings on reselling platforms. Clothes reselling platforms are becoming incredibly popular in recent years. From shopping second hand to avoiding plastic packaging where possible, shoppers are increasingly adopting more eco-friendly habits.

Interest is continuing to grow and more cities are adapting to a more sustainable and healthy lifestyle.

Handa Industries uses Coats Digital’s FastReactPlan as the cornerstone solution of its digital transformation program.

This will enable Handa to manage its increasingly complex supply chain more effectively and optimise production operations to meet the growing customer demand. Coats Digital’s FastReactPlanwill enable Handa to digitally transform its production processes, enabling it to respond agilely to more complex order requests, streamline production processes and improve its on-time delivery targets. FastReactPlan will become the cornerstone solution of Handa Industries’ digital transformation program and will be used to integrate and connect other data sources into a single platform to ensure optimum visibility for all production teams.

Based in China, Handa is an integrated fashion supply chain pioneer, producing fashion garments in a myriad of categories, from high-end sports apparel to fast fashion, producing over 50 million pieces a year.

FastReactPlan is a dynamic, highly visual production planning and control tool that optimises delivery, efficiency and lead times. It is designed and developed specifically for the fashion manufacturing industry, and helps enterprises integrate capacity, critical path and materials into an integrated planning system.

Coats Digital is the software business of Coats Group, the world’s leading industrial thread company and a trusted industry player.