The value of imports for fur clothing, accessories and other items in the European Union has dropped more than 60 per cent over the past decade. So says animal welfare organisation Four Paws.

More than two billion animals end up in fashion supply chains every year. Many of them endure pain, fear and stress due to cruel mutilation practices and inadequate living conditions for the sake of clothing.

In a push to appeal to younger shoppers, increasingly sensitive to ethical and environmental issues, fashion labels have committed to banning animal fur. From 2011 to 2021, the trade value of imports in the EU slumped to $138.3 million from around $363.6 million. Fur also poses health risks, as evidenced by Covid outbreaks in mink farms that led to the mass culling of infected animals in 2020 in Denmark and the Netherlands. Brands are moving away from using wool from mulesed sheep.

By July 2023, 100 per cent of wool used by the retailer Target for clothing and bedding will be either from farms certified under the Responsible Wool Standard or equivalent standard, from farms fully traceable and verified as non-mulesed, or from recycled wool materials. However fur trim is still a huge part of the current fashion trend. French luxury giant LVMH still sells fur and is partnering with Imperial College London and Central Saint Martins to develop lab-grown fur fibers.

China’s total cotton production in 2022 is expected to increase by five per cent year on year. Northwest China’s Gansu province and Xinjiang are set to see cotton production increase by 22 per cent and seven per cent year on year, respectively, the report added.

Xinjiang is expected to continue to account for over 91 percent of the country’s total production due to higher temperatures than in previous years coupled with further increases in the planted area.Last year, Xinjiang produced almost 20 per cent of the world’s cotton, but this year’s deliveries have slowed due to labour shortages caused by strict coronavirus controls and lower-than-expected cotton prices affecting farmers’ confidence in selling.

The average Chinese cotton delivery price is down by 44 per cent year on year with cotton stocks up one per cent year on year. Cotton stocks in China are likely to experience further pressure, with demand weakening in October due to a slowing global economy, a sluggish textile industry and global inflation.Lower yarn imports and domestic cotton consumption are driven in part by domestic Covid lockdowns, foreign trade policies barring imports of China’s cotton products, and slowing global demand for apparel.

The United States has effectively blocked imports of all products wholly or partially sourced from Xinjiang, where China has been accused of committing rights abuses such as forced labour against minorities.

Australia’s wool industry looks to India with greater interest.

This follows the ratification of the new India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, which is expected to grow India’s current market share of raw Australian wool. The lowering of the tariffs on processed wool into India and the removal of tariffs on greasy wool are seen as assisting in exports and allowing for a greater flow of value added products that come into India in raw form but leave semi processed or as finished products. In addition India’s progress in technologies such as natural and waterless dyeing, as well as its long history in artisan processes are of growing interest to the global audience.

The key focus is on expanding the wool trade between the two countries. Australian exporters, businesses, workers and consumers hope to reap the opportunities and benefits of more open trade with India. India has always been among the top three importers of Australian wool, taking between four per cent to 12 percent of the clip or around 8per cent on an average annually. Discussions are on between Wool Industries Australia and the Indian Ministry of Textiles about a wool joint working group. Woolmark launched its Grown in Australia, made in India campaign in 2017-18.

Vietnam’s garment and textile exports to Australia have increased 27 percent so far this year. Leather and footwear exports surged 41 per cent yearonyear. As of October 2022, Vietnam’s exports to Australia were up 33 per cent year on year.

At International Sourcing Expo which was held in Australia, November 15 to 17, 2022, Vietnam exhibited high quality garment and textile products. Such events are expected to create more opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to access the Australian market.

Australia’s garment imports from Vietnam grew 35 per cent in 2021 compared to 2020. Imports of T-shirts and innerwear grew 70 per cent year on year last year. Trousers and shorts, shirts and jerseys were also among the top five products but witnessed a lower growth. Imports of T-shirts were ten per cent of total apparel imports. Imports of innerwear were eight per cent of total apparel imports. Imports of innerwear grew by 87 per cent in 2021 over the preceding year. Imports of T-shirts also noted an impressive growth of 74 per cent over imports in 2020. Imports of trousers and shorts were 22 per cent of total garment imports and up 27 per cent from 2020. Shirt imports were 13 per cent during 2021, which increased by 43 per cent over the preceding year.

The EU’s strategy for sustainable and circular textiles is going to have a far reaching impact on the global industry including India’s. So says Wazir Advisors.

Once implemented, the sustainability strategy will actively target the issue of overconsumption through consumer awareness campaigns. The current trend of closets flooded with clothes will see a makeover. Producers as well as consumers are likely to become more conscious of the products’ suitability, durability and ability to be reused and recycled.

In March 2022, the EU issued this strategy that outlines its 2030 vision for textiles. By 2030, textile products placed in the EU market will be long-lived and recyclable, to a great extent made of recycled fibers, free of hazardous substances and produced in respect of social rights and the environment.

Other aims are to ensure consumers benefit longer from high quality affordable textiles, fast fashion goes out of fashion, and economically profitable reuse and repair services are widely available.

In such a scenario Indian apparel exporters have to undertake product development based on the use of recycled and alternate fibers, digitisation of all business processes, adoption of ESG guidelines and adoption of material traceability solutions.

In 2021-2022, India’s apparel exports to the EU were around 26 per cent of India’s total apparel exports.

Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics will be held in China, March 8 to 10, 2023. The fair is expected to gather nearly 2,500 exhibitors at an over 1,60,000 sqms of floor space.

Swiss manufacturer Alumo will showcase its renewably sourced, extra-long staple cotton fabrics, used in the production of quality shirts. Japan's Asahi Kasei will exhibit Bemberg, its regenerated cellulose fiber. Produced from cottonseed lint, a byproduct of cottonseed oil production, the environmentally friendly fiber is recyclable, biodegradable, and compostable.Turkey’s Bossa will showcase its range of quality denim fabrics. Produced mostly with cotton from the Better Cotton Initiative, the company’s fabrics are dyed using the SaveBlue process, which uses 87 per cent less water than conventional methods. Belgian integrated textile manufacturer Concordia Textiles will offer products with a range of end uses, in categories such as workwear, fashion, and bedding. Hong Kong's Esquel Enterprises produces accessories, yarns, fabrics, and finished garments for categories that range from menswear to home textiles. The company’s array of eco-friendly practices includes more sustainable packaging, developing a greener cotton seed variety, and a pioneering sustainable manufacturing facility.

With many countries opening up, the first seven months of this year have proven fruitful for the Asian textile industry. During January 2022 to July 2022, China’s exports of textiles and clothing rose by 16 per cent when compared with the same period in 2021.

For the third quarter Guess net profit declined by 26 percent. Revenues were down two percent in dollars but up ten percent in constant currency mostly due to a strong business in Europe. During the third quarter Guess delivered an eight percent operating margin.

Revenue generated from retail in the Americas fell two percent in dollars and one percent in constant currency. Wholesale revenues fell ten percent in dollars and nine percent in constant currency.Europe revenues decreased two percent in dollars and increased 17 percent in constant currency.European retail comp sales, including e-commerce, decreased eight percent in dollars and increased nine percent in constant currency. In Asia third quarter revenues increased ten percent in dollars and 28 percent in constant currency. Retail comp sales, including e-commerce, decreased two percent in dollars and increased 13 percent in constant currency.Overall licensing revenues also grew by four percent in dollars, driven primarily by the sale of handbags.Sweaters and other warmer weather items did not perform well probably due to the temperatures being hotter than usual in the period.

The company has also witnessed a consumer shift from casual to dressier items as the pandemic wanes and people return to the office and normalcy.

Cambodia’s garment exports to the US grew by 25 per cent from January 2022 to September 2022. c Trousers and shirts constituted the biggest chunk of Cambodia’s shipments to the US with a share of 31 percent of the total exports during the period this year. Along with jerseys, trousers and shorts contributed more than half of the total exports. Jerseys contributed 21 percent in the same period. Both products collectively made up for a 52 percent share of the total imports by the US.

The other top items were babywear (eight percent), nightwear (seven percent), shirts (four percent), T-shirts (three per cent), innerwear (three percent), dresses (three percent), coats (two percent) and swimwear (one percent).

Cambodia’s garment exports to the US have maintained a healthy growth year after year, which was not even dampened by the Covid-pandemic. The US is Cambodia’s largest export market, accounting for over 40 percent of Cambodia’s total exports. Apparel, footwear, and travel goods make up most of the US imports from Cambodia and employ over one million Cambodians, mostly women. The US and Cambodia meet regularly under the 2006 Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which provides a platform for addressing bilateral and multilateral economic issues.

The retention value of the exported apparel from Bangladesh surged 36 per cent in the financial year 2021-2022 from a year earlier.

Thanks to the increasing use of local raw materials, Bangladesh’s retention value from the shipment of apparel items is rising, highlighting the development of a strong backward linkage industry and less reliance on imported yarn and fabrics.A high retention value means local garment suppliers use more local yarn and fabrics to make apparel items for international consumers, cutting their dependence on imported raw materials such as yarn, fabrics and dying chemicals.

From the very beginning of the garment industry in Bangladesh, the knitwear sector has created more retention value than the woven sector thanks to the higher use of locally made yarn by the former.Currently local spinners can supply nearly 90 per cent of raw materials needed by export-oriented knitwear factories as entrepreneurs have invested heavily in the primary textile sector.

The investment in the woven sector has not matched that of the knitwear sector. So, woven garment makers rely on countries such as China, India and Pakistan to source raw materials like woven fabrics.Local weavers can supply 45 per cent of raw materials to woven garment exporters.

India is struggling to export cotton despite higher production. The reason is farmers are holding out for higher prices. Harvesting of the new crop started last month, but many farmers are not willing to sell. They are holding crops hoping prices would rise like they did last season.

Farmers received record prices for their last season’s crop, but the new crop is unlikely to get the same price as domestic production has risen and global prices have fallen. Farmers have used proceeds from the last few seasons’ harvest to create storage facilities, which they are using to store the crops. Indian traders so far in the new season have contracted 70,000 bales for exports, significantly lower than more than 5,00,000 bales contracted during the same period a year ago.

Bangladesh, Vietnam and China are among the key buyers of Indian cotton. Limited supplies are keeping domestic prices significantly above the global benchmark, making overseas sales unviable from the world’s biggest producer of the fiber.Cotton prices hit a record high of Rs 52,410 in June. But prices have corrected nearly 40 per cent from the peak.India produced 34.4 million bales of cotton in the 2022-23 season that started in October, up 12 per cent from a year ago.