As per the April 2021 edition of Cotton This Month, the cotton sector is expected to recover with mill use of cotton increasing by 8 per cent in the 2020-21 and vaccines slowly making their way around the globe. However, as per IOAC report, vaccine deployment varies widely from one region to other, with many countries providing no vaccinations at all. In addition, a shift in consumer spending on services is likely to reduce demand for durable goods.

Furthermore, while estimates for global consumption have increased, the estimates for production have declined. This is leading to a decline in stock level proving future support for prices. Finally, no progress has been made since the Phase One trade agreement between the US and China went into effect last year with tensions also between China and Australia.

The phygital edition of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia is scheduled from April 20-24 at the Museum of Moscow. The shows will take place in Moscow, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg, and Sochi. The program will include live streamed shows by designers from Italy, Spain, France, and other countries.

Over 50 designers will present their collections at this season. Some brands that will showcase their collections are: Selfétude, N. Legenda, Nastya Nekrasova, Ónoma, Sergey Sysoev, Yana Besfamilnaya, Elena Souproun, Hard By Hse Art And Design School, Julia Dalakian, Alena Nega, Lena Karnauhova, Mercedes De Alba, B&D Institute of Business and Design, etc. The event will also present designer Emma Bruschi for the first time on the MBFW Russia schedule. On April 7, names of winning designers will be announced.

The virtual edition of MBFW Russia will be held on a unique digital platform with gamification elements, exclusive materials from designers, as well as content and insights offered by industry experts. At the digital platform, MBFW Russia live streams from anywhere globally will be available. Moreover, interactive online features will offer a dive into the spirit of the event.

Soorty’s new project, the ‘Soorty Organic Cotton Initiative’ aims to pioneer the use of organic cotton farmed with regenerative practices in denim production. The project aims to reach out to farmers across Balochistan in Pakistan and identify receptive communities which would like to transform their small holdings into exclusively organic farmlands over long term. The project will kick off in Nall in Balochistan’s Khuzdar District.

Soorty has partnered WWF-Pakistan and the Department of Agriculture Extension, Balochistan to carry out its new initiative and will also receive support and input from the Laudes Foundation. Over the coming four years, SOCI aims to bring around 7,000 acres of land under organic cotton cultivation and produce over 17,000 metric tons of Seed Cotton and 6,000 metric tons of Cotton Lint.

By guiding Balochistani farmers to produce organic cotton, Soorty aims to uplift communities and enable them to increase their income. Ameliorating organic farming practices in the region will also help the environment and help to promote sustainably produced denim across the fashion industry.

A survey by Blue Yonder and Coresight Research reveals, consumer perceptions and that of retailers on apparel purchase decisions made during the pandemic are highly mismatched. Around 68 per cent retailers believe their customers preferred apparels made in the US while only 19 per cent shoppers preferred clothes made by domestic brands.

Additionally, 64 per cent retailers believe price to be an important driver for customers while making clothing choices while only 32 per cent consumers actually sought the lowest price. As per the research, shoppers are keen to return to stores. Around 45 per cent expressed their preference for shopping in stores compared to 37 per cent who prefer a combination of in-store and online and 18 per cent who prefer to shop online only.

National Bureau of Statistics shows, China’s value-added industrial output above designated size increased by 35.1 per cent year-on-year, in the first two months of 2021 .In February, it edged up 0.69 per cent from the previous month.

China’s manufacturing output increased by 39.5 per cent year-on-year in the first two months. Textile industry's value-added output also increased 39.5 per cent. In the first two months, production of 565 out of 612 kinds of products increased year-on-year. Output of fabric increased 24.1 per cent year-on-year to 5 billion meters in January-February period, while the output of chemical fibers increased by 32.4 per cent to 9.77 million tons in January-February. And the sales-output ratio of industrial enterprises was 1.1 percentage points higher than the same period of last year.

The Workers' Commission (CCOO) union has called H&M’s shop closures in Spain absolutely disproportionate and the layoffs of furloughed staff unjustified. Swedish fashion giant H&M has announced plans to close 30 shops and lay off more than 1,000 staff in Spain. The brand plans to close 350 of its 5,000 shops worldwide, while opening 100 others to adapt to the increased digitalization of the retail industry.

The Spanish government has announced €40 billion funding schemes to ease the current crisis in the industry. In return for the funding, companies are banned from laying off staff for six months after the end of the scheme which is currently set to run until May 31, but is likely to be extended.

However, H&M has refused to abide by this rule saying it is not subject to any job maintenance commitment. The brand’s net profit tumbled tenfold in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, although its online sales leapt more than 40 percent on the figures for a year earlier, accounting for almost a third of its overall turnover.

The European Commission (EU) has supported US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s demand for a global minimum corporate tax. However, she said its rate should be decided after talks in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Yellen is currently working with G20 countries to agree on a global corporate minimum tax rate.

The US plan envisages a 21 per cent minimum corporate tax rate, coupled with eliminating exemptions on income from countries that do not enact a minimum tax to discourage the shifting of jobs and profits overseas. The OECD has long been working on two-tier global taxation scheme that would tax companies where they make profits even if they do not have a physical presence there.

The second tier of the OECD scheme aims to establish a global minimum tax rate, which could apply to all companies, not only digital ones, so that governments do not compete with each other offering lower taxes to attract large multinational firms.

The EU's attempts to unify even what companies are taxed on, rather than setting a common tax rate, have been stalled since 2011 because taxation is a jealously guarded prerogative of national parliaments and often forms a key part of a country's economic model.

Spanish brand Mango aims to make its apparel range 100 per cent sustainable by 2020. Around 79 per cent of the brand’s garments are known to be sustainable. In 2017, Mango launched a range of sustainable garments known as ‘Mango Committed.’ Initially conceived as a capsule collection, the range has subsequently become a part of Mango’s permanent collection.

Mango is also expanding its ‘Second Chances’ clothes recycling project in collaboration with Moda re-, an initiative set up in Spain by Caritas. Last year, Mango operated 610 recycling points in its stores across 11 countries. In 2021, the label plans to extend this service to countries like Austria, Italy, Poland, Turkey, Switzerland and Russia, adding a further 200 collection points for used garments.

The label is also collaborating with Spanish association Vellmarí, headed by biologist and explorer Manu San Félix, which runs conservation and educational programs on the Mediterranean sea from its base on the island of Formentera. Mango is working with its Turkey-based suppliers to replace plastic bags in its packaging with paper bags. In 2020, Mango committed to initiate a process that will eventually lead it to stop using as many as 160 million plastic bags per year, and is set to extend the initiative in other countries in the coming months.

Thirteen associations representing garment suppliers in China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Pakistan, Turkey, Morocco and Indonesia have collaborated to renegotiate their contract terms with global clothing retailers, reports Reuters. These suppliers are demanding a maximum 90-day payment term and an end to discounts after orders are placed. The draft document, due to be finalized and released in late April, is a joint initiative of the Star Network, funded by Germany's international development agency GIZ, and the International Apparel Federation.

The suppliers hope their united front will prevent retailers from playing them off against each other in search of more lenient terms after suffering from widespread cancellations and payment delays at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Though the document will not be legally enforceable, the aim is to foster purchasing practices which "do not cross the boundary of misuse of buying power to the obvious and avoidable detriment of the manufacturer," according to the release.

A later phase of the initiative would also aim to build ways of enforcing the terms, including an international arbitration mechanism for manufacturers to raise grievances with buyers. The draft document says retailers must pay suppliers within 90 days, with deferred payments attracting an additional fee to cover interest and loss of profit, while discounts could not be requested after a purchase order is issued.

The draft also includes limitations on the use of the 'force majeure' clause which exempts retailers from costs and liability for events outside their control.

Experts believe the boycott of cotton sourced from Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region will severely harm the global industrial and supply chain, especially as the world economy has not yet recovered from the impact of the pandemic Global supply chain curbs on Xinjiang cotton will harm not only the global textile industrial system but also the interests of global consumers.

Mei Xinyu, Researcher, Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, believes the boycott is interfering with normal order of the industry and the market, which will increase costs and severely impact the global market. Official data showed China produced around 5.95 million metric tons of cotton during the 2020-21 season, while its total demand reached 7.8 million tons during the same period.

Yang Shu, Associate Professor, China Agricultural University says, the boycott will affect the development of both China's textile industry and international trade, and it will also impact employment in Xinjiang. On the other hand, Kong Xiangzhi, Professor, School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Renmin University of China, the boycott of Xinjiang cotton will not affect its long-term development, as it will propel domestic enterprises to gear up to expand and lead up to a decision to compete with its foreign rivals.