Vietnam’s garment exports to the UK were up 88 per cent in August 2022 as compared to August 2021.

Vietnamese enterprises are taking advantage of the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement to expand their presence in this market.The UK accounts for less than two per cent of Vietnam’s total export value of garments.

However, with the advantage of lower tariffs thanks to the agreement, Vietnam has a big chance to expand its market share. Under the agreement, about 42 per cent of Vietnamese textile and garment exports will be liberalised at entry into force, while some garment products will see tariffs eliminated after six years.

Vietnam is the world’s third largest exporter of garments. But the industry is facing many difficulties including a steep fall in export orders due to soaring inflation in major markets and rising input costs. China’s strict pandemic control, where more than 50 per cent of raw materials for the Vietnamese textile and garments are sourced, has pushed up input costs.

In addition, the EU has introduced new regulations on the textile industry, including replacement rates, green products and switching from fast fashion to sustainable fashion, which makes it harder for Vietnamese apparel products to enter this region.In this context, the UK is emerging as a promising market.

Tirupur garment manufacturers are now finding a wider use of natural products like banana fiber, hemp, bamboo, and coconut fiber.

Hosiery makers in this knitwear town are experimenting with different natural products for fibers, colors, and even printing. Apparel and fashion brands in the international market are promoting sustainability, and since customers of these brands do not mind spending a little more, these brands are looking for suppliers of naturally dyed garments. This trend is encouraging many manufacturers in Tirupur to explore different natural sources for dyes. While cotton is a natural fiber used to make apparels, disposal of garments is a problem because of the dyes and chemicals used. So there is a big demand for natural dyes, even in domestic garment brands.

Apparel producers are not using turmeric or banana fiber directly on the garments. Instead, these natural products are processed and the by-products are used for dyeing. The company also plans to explore natural dyes sourced from suppliers for T-shirts.

For the past five months, spending growth on apparel in the US has been lower than growth in overall spending,

Several spending categories have experienced price decreases. US gasoline prices have been declining since June. The rate of year-over-year increases in US clothing prices has slowed from rates near seven per cent to those below five per cent.

While there has been a deceleration in hiring in August, jobs are still being added at a rate above the long-term average. The US economy added 3,15,000 jobs in August. The unemployment rate increased marginally, from 3.5 per cent to 3.7 per cent. This was primarily due to a substantial month-over-month increase in the labor force. The larger increase in workers relative to the labor force over the past year implies a tightening in the labor market.

In July, overall consumer spending increased 0.2 per cent month-over-month in inflation-adjusted terms. Year-over-year, real spending was 2.2 per cent higher. Spending on garments rose 0.7 per cent month-over-month and was up 2.1 per cent year-over-year.

Import volumes have been strong. Import costs continue to rise. In July, the average import cost per square meter of cotton-dominant apparel was up 23 per cent year-over-year, reaching the highest value since 1990.

The Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) has appealed to the union government not to levy import duty on cotton during the next cotton season, which starts in October.

This, says SIMA, will enable the industry to achieve its potential growth rate and sustain its financial viability apart from protecting the jobs of over 35 million people employed in the cotton textile value chain.Cotton prices even during the beginning of the cotton season (October 2022 to September 2023) when arrivals will be high are anticipated to be more than the minimum support price.

Hence, duty free imports would not affect farmers. If needed, the government can consider levying the duty only during the peak arrivals of the season (December to March) to avoid recurrence of a crisis during the end of the cotton season 2022-2023.

Following the removal of the import duty on cotton in April and the changes brought about in MCX cotton trading, domestic prices have softened. MCX cotton prices have reduced over 25 per cent in the last one week. Domestic cotton arrivals have started early and the cotton prices have reduced. However, Indian cotton prices are still higher by 15 per cent to 20 per cent compared to international prices, especially with countries such as Pakistan and China.

Kraig Biocraft in association with Jeff Dorton is developing new and innovative yarns and fabrics.

Kraig Biocraft is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of spider silk and supplies materials to brands eager to incorporate spider silk into their products. Jeff Dorton is a top textile expert. Kraig is leveraging Dorton's expertise and proven record of innovation in textiles to create new and exciting composite yarns and fabrics utilizing spider silk. Kraig and Dorton will further collaborate to create several additional yarns and textiles, for applications spanning the performance and luxury textiles market and beyond.

Utilizing his extensive network of mills and spinners around the globe, Dorton is currently working to drive the manufacture of the first spider silk fabrics. He has a passion for material development, a proven track record of innovation, and a wealth of experience working with some of the best textile mills worldwide.

He has led some of the most disruptive innovations in next-generation textiles that permeate the performance wear segment. He is a highly regarded textile expert with a storied history of developing new textile technologies. He has directed key initiatives for some of the planet’s biggest brands. His ability to develop high-performance yarns and fabrics is unmatched.

Gadoon Textile Mills has joined the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF).

Established in 1988, Gadoon, a part of the Yunus Brothers Group, is one of the largest spinning and textile companies in Pakistan and is a pioneer of quality and innovation in the textile manufacturing sector of Pakistan. The company manufactures and processes all types of cotton and manmade fibers at its state-of-the-art manufacturing plants. ITMF founded in 1904 is the international forum of the global textile value chain from fiber to finished products. Its members are from textile and apparel-producing countries representing 90 per cent of global production.

By becoming a corporate member of ITMF, Gadoon Textile Mills will join associations and companies from around the world that are active in the entire textile value chain like fiber, textile, garment, home textile, textile machinery or chemical producers as well as other organisations and companies affiliated with the textile industry. This exclusive exposure will provide Gadoon Textile Mills with additional and unique access to international partners from around the world. On the other hand, ITMF and ITMF’s members will benefit from Gadoon’s extraordinary expertise and experience. ITMF brings like-minded people together for a better understanding

The Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) has appealed for a reduction in power tariffs.

SIMA says Tamil Nadu’s textile industry would become uncompetitive with the recent steep increase in the power tariff. Since power cost accounts for over 40 per cent of the cost of production, with the revised power tariff, spinning and weaving mills in the state would become uncompetitive. Competitiveness of the downstream sectors like power loom, handloom, garment and made-ups segments would be badly affected.

SIMA estimates that for a spinning mill having 25,000 spindles, the power tariff increase per year would be to tune of Rs.1.2 crores. The global competitiveness of power intensive sectors like textiles would be eroded. The association feels the revised tariffs would nullify the effects of attractive industrial policies in attracting new investments.

Tamil Nadu has revised energy charges. The tariff revision has come after a period of five years.The Tamil Nadu textile industry is a third of the country’s textile industry and has around 45 per cent of the spun yarn manufacturing capacity of the country. However Tamil Nadu does not have the raw material base (cotton and manmade fibers) and sources over 97 per cent of its raw material mainly from states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana.

ReshaMandi has entered the Middle East and North Africa. The hope is to become a one-stop sourcing solution for all natural and recycled fabrics.

With this move, ReshaMandi hopes to contribute to the global natural textiles ecosystem and become the world's largest natural textile sourcing partner for customers seeking sustainable solutions powered by technology.

ReshaMandiis one of India’s largest farm-to-fashion natural fibers digital ecosystemand has supplied more than ten million meters of natural fiber fabric to 500-plus domestic fabric, apparel and home furnishings manufacturers in India. Among these 500, more than 200 are exporters providing products to well-known brands across geographies.

It offers a wide range of natural fabrics while adhering to sustainability, fair trade and ethical sourcing norms. These include silk, cotton, viscose, bamboo, hemp and other natural fibers. The group is committed to providing the benefits of technology to stakeholders so that they can achieve consistent quality, lower prices and complete just-in-time fulfillment.

The Mena region has been a strategic focus for ReshaMandi because it is a rapidly emerging market with enormous growth potential. Serving as a significant hub for the apparel and textile industries, the region has grown to become one of the world's largest textile hubs for products, including apparel, fibers and home textiles.

Wrangler’s latest promotional campaignespouses living life to the fullest no matter one’s age or circumstances.

The promotion includes a mix of still photographs and short films available for viewing on YouTube starring an assortment of young models shown creating and enjoying music, hanging out in a skatepark, taking a road trip and relishing being in love. It showcases Wrangler’s western heritage and the courage, confidence and resilience of Western culture.

Denim in a wide variety of dark and light washes dominates the new collection with the large barrel-fit jeans and two bell-bottom styles taking center stage for women.Fresh women’s denim jacket styles include fleece-lined ranch jackets and 1980s-inspired coats. This return to retro is also reflected in striped knitwear in bright orange and red, a lilac oversized overall from Wrangler’s Casey Jones utility wear collection, a hyper-scarlet flare and a shrunken concert tee that appears to have been pulled from a vintage bin. For men, a new straight leg fit called Frontier is a product protagonist alongside the wide-legged Casey Jones Utility jean and another roomier one called Redding. Wrangler’s signature western style is represented with pieces including a men’s western shirt, a check shirt and a corduroy sherpa jacket.

American Eagle’s comparable sales in the latest quarter fell six per cent from a year ago. The brand’s priorities are adjusting its assortments and rightsizing inventory.

Other retailers including Walmart, Target, Gap and Kohl’s face similar problems with bloated inventories. Target has had to resort to deep discounting to get rid of excess inventory when its quarterly profit fell 90 per cent. Walmart has employed similarly aggressive markdowns to move items like clothing out of stores, which has led to a significant cut in profit expectations.Gap and Kohl’s, meanwhile, are looking to avoid some markdowns with a pack-and-hold strategy for certain items, which allows them to reserve excess inventory until demand rises.

Inventories pile up

To clear products off shelves in the meantime, retailers including Macy’s and Nordstrom have turned to markdowns that are cutting into profits. Nordstrom had to go in for deeper discounts than expected and it could take a couple of quarters for the company to properly readjust. The department store operator in August had reported stronger sales for its second quarter, but slashed its financial forecast for the year citing a glut of inventory and slowing demand later in the quarter. Macy’s has also slashed its revenue and earnings forecast for the year because of weakening apparel sales over the quarter as the consumer faces higher costs on essential goods, particularly grocery. The company has taken the markdowns necessary to help clear inventory.

The way forward

The industry is working to figure out the type of items people want coming out of the pandemic, while also facing softening demand as inflation squeezes budgets.By 2023, retailers might be able to adjust more quickly to demand as the supply chain normalizes. But for now companies are struggling to adjust their offerings.