Turkish denim mill Orta has added Lycra T400 fiber into its latest denim innovation–Freecycle fabrics–to improve its stretch and durability. Lycra T400 fiber is a multi-component yarn in which different polymers are joined together within each filament. When exposed to heat, each polymer shrinks to a different degree, producing a smooth helical crimp. Since the crimp is not mechanically induced, Lycra T400 fiber gives greater, more durable stretch and recovery, as well as a softer, smoother hand than textured yarns.

Freecycle fabrics made with Lycra T400 fiber enable denim to keep its original aesthetics and provide multiple benefits, such as eliminating sagging problems at the knee, providing low shrinkage and offering greater stability. These benefits, along with the added stretch, help make the fabrics more comfortable and durable than rigid denim, the company said.

At the same time, Freecycle fabrics provide a natural cotton touch with high strength, thanks to the addition of Lycra T400 fiber. The company said when considering that the short and irregular distribution of staple length in recycled cotton fiber usually leads to a decrease in fabric-strength values, the unique construction of Freecycle fabrics can be ‘game-changing.”

Orta operates in Turkey with a production capacity of 60 million meters of denim. The company recently introduced its Here4Good collection with an interactive, collaborative kit. The digital innovation features “concept boxes,” each with a fabric swatch and information card that includes a QR code. Users can scan the code on their mobile device to view the fabric’s wash gallery and see exactly which washes are available for the specific material, as well as the Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) of the garment.

About 30 per cent of garments workers in the Philippines are likely to be furlough until the end of the year due to weak demand resulting from COVID-19 pandemic, says the Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the Philippine (CWEP). Garments factories in Philippines are operating at downtime to comply with safety protocols. The capacity of these factories is projected to decline by 40 per cent in the third quarter, points out Maritess Agoncillo, Executive Director.

Agoncillo says to cope with sluggish demand, several factories repurposed their operations to produce medical-grade personal protective equipment in response to the government’s request to locally produce the PPEs and save jobs. Factories that agreed to repurpose operations had to compete with imports. Repurposing program attracted $35 million in investments and saved 7,450 jobs amid the weakening of the global economy.

Other factories adopted rotational work basis, allowing workers to report to work for at least two weeks. Yet most factories are still operating, at 40 per cent to 50 per cent of their capacity. The trade body is finalizing its report on the costs of operating in the ‘new normal’ and its impact on operations and profitability.

Owing to the COVID-19 crisis, India has rapidly emerged as the second largest medical textile exporter, says Sakthivel, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), at a webinar. A part of technical textiles, medical textiles is also known as healthcare textiles. As reports state, the global medical textile market valued at $16,775.52 million in 2018 and is expected to reach $23,762.66 million by 2025.

Sakthivel further said due to Coronavirus, multinational companies are keen to divert their investments from China to India. This will open new dimensions for India and the country will get multi-million-dollar business from Europe, Australia and America. Greg Ruggles, President, CEO for Multiple Product Companies agrees that due to the differences between the US and China, apparel companies are finding options to move from China to other countries.

According to him, India has the ability to manufacture different types of fabrics. The online business has given an international platform for everyone from small retailers to apparel manufacturers. Roopak Vasishtha, CEO & DG, Apparel Made Ups & Home Furnishing Sector Skill Council (AMHSSC) points out so far the council has skilled and employed 12 lakh persons in apparel industry across India and the work is still going on in this direction.

The council is trying to identify the migrant workforces that have gone back to their native places and is looking to skill and certify them with the Government’s skill certification scheme.

In the next five years, the newly elected Sri Lankan government aims to focus on increasing the production of batik, handlooms and local garments. State-owned textile trading institutions such as Lanka Salu Sala will facilitate market expansion for the industry, said Gotabaya Rajapaksha, President.

In a recent discussion, the President urged the public to remain the main stakeholders in its vision to create a public-centric economy. Rajapaksha named the garment industry as pioneer in employment generation and regional development, noting that exports from the garment industry account to 43 per cent of total exports accumulating an annual income of nearly $ 5 billion to the country.

He stressed that it is of utmost importance to further the local economy while the rest of the world recovers from a global pandemic. The discussion was attended by Minister of Industries Wimal Weerawansa, State Minister for Batik, Handlooms and Local Garments Dayasiri Jayasekara, Secretary to the President, P B Jayasundera, Secretary to the Treasury S R Attygalle and several entrepreneurs related to batik, handlooms and local garments.

As COVID-19 began disrupting the global fashion industry, retailers responded swiftly by shifting to digital e-commerce channels. Most brands and retailers have changed course over the last several months. As per an article in thezoereport, Lisa Aiken, Buying Director, Moda Operandi shifted her working style. Once working from all across the globe, she currently operates digitally from Paris. Though enjoying this shift, Aiken misses the physical connection with products and people from across the globe.

Designers also experienced major adjustment during this period. Alonso Rojas, Owner of her namesake label was compelled to cancel production due to lack of orders. Instead she focused on preventing additional costs from products that wouldn’t sell if any of her retailer partners close.

Similarly, Amy Smilovic, Owner, Tibi, postponed her pre-fall orders from May to July to ensure products arrive in stores at the time when customers need them. The designer also limited the size of her collection and the number of stores she works with. She further also plans to curtail the size of her Spring 2021 collection.

Revamping the fashion calendar

The Council of Fashion Designers of America and the British Fashion Council have also urged designers to focus on two main collections per year. The decision has been welcomed by many designers like Alonso Rojas. Since the beginning of the quarantine Rojas has been producing only two seasons annually. She’s also times her collections strategically to ensure their availability when demand rises.

Following suit is Tibi, which plans to launch only two major collections every year. These collections will be augmented by a series of smaller capsules. Aiken’s opines these changes need to be implemented mutually by the retailers and designers. She advises retailers to reevaluate their deliveries, markdown strategies, and much more to align with a slowed down calendar.

Perfect time to go solo

The ongoing financial troubles of department stores are impacting profit margins of brands like Tibi who are neither being able to adhere to the 90-day payment terms nor give margin guarantees. According to Rojas, it is important for brands to admit to the need to change their working styles. She advises her retail partners to embrace the new normal and new business models in order to grow together.

Telsha Anderson, Owner, t.a expects shoppers to be more inspired to look inwards. It’s the perfect time for brands like hers to open independent boutiques while shoppers need to research about the designers and brands they buy clothes from and the media outlets which inform them about the latest collections launched in the market.

Towards a more inclusive future

Retailers are preparing for more inclusive and equitable fashion industry in future. Moda Operandi plans to partner 30+Black-owned brands or Black designers and reserve 15 percent of its trunk shows for Black designers. Tibi also plans to support Black creatives by offering retail space within their store to Black designers on a weekly basis. The brand has connecting with its fans through two ongoing Instagram live series while Rojas has been donating products and raising money to support organizations for women and girls of color.

Rojas feels, one of the biggest takeaways from the current crisis is simply learning to slow down and be a little more patient. She believes it’s important for brands to remain mentally fit during this crisis and know their limits. Likewise, Aiken advises brands to explore the power of fashion to spark joy in difficult times.

Global luxury brands such as Gucci, Burberry, Fendi and Bottega Veneta are all using pop-up stores to launch new concepts and show off their omnichannel capabilities in the China market.

For Chinese Valentine’s Day this year, Fendi launched pop-up stores in Beijing and Chengdu to celebrate its newest capsule collection. Along with these pop-up stores, Fendi also set up mini-cafés with tables and plates adorned with his graffiti.

For the upcoming Chinese Valentine’s Day (Qixi Festival), Dior also launched pop-up stores in Chengdu, Beijing and Shenzhen to celebrate its new love-themed Dioramour capsule collection. From June 16 to 29, Burberry set up Animal Kingdom-themed pop-up stores in Shanghai, Shenyang and Nanjing. The stores were designed to show off its newest spring 2020 collection, which included elements of wild animals imprinted onto its products. The stores hosted lime-green statues of giraffes, monkeys, gorillas and birds to reflect the occasion.

The pop-up stores were equipped with augmented reality technology; visitors could scan items in the store and moving images of birds flying around would show up on their smartphone screens.

On July 3, Bottega Veneta unveiled its ‘Invisible Store’ in Shanghai’s ritzy Plaza 66 mall, which is known to house stores from all the major luxury brands. The pop-up store was designed to launch the brand’s pre-fall 2020 collection, which consisted of small leather goods, shoes and eyewear for both men and women.

Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), a not-for-profit organization, has launched new chain of custody advisory group. Purpose of the advisory group is to provide advice on the development of Better Cotton Chain of Custody, the key framework that connects demand with supply of Better Cotton and helps to incentivize cotton farmers to adopt sustainable practices.

Consisting of BCI members and non-members, the advisory group will ensure any new chain of custody developments is commercially relevant, feasible and attractive to BCI’s multi-stakeholder membership. Chain of custody advisory group members consists of retailers and brands which includes: Karen Perry (John Lewis & Partners); Ethan Barr (Target); Syed Rizwan Vajahat (IKEA); and German Garcia (Inditex).

For suppliers, manufacturers and traders board includes: Philippe Saner (Paul Reinhart AG); Besim Ozek (Bossa Sanayi ve Ticaret Isletmeleri TAS); and Fawzia Yasmeen (Pahartali Textile and Hosiery Mills). Further producer organisation includes Todd Straley (Quarterway Cotton Growers).

Civil society includes Melissa Ho & Anis Ragland (WWF), while non-members include: Aminah Ang (RSPO) and Chuck Rogers (Bureau Veritas Consumer Product Services).

Based on pre-COVID estimates in Textile Exchange’s ‘2020 Organic Cotton Market Report, organic cotton production is expected to grow by 10 percent in the just completed 2019/20 crop season.

For the 2018/19 harvest year, production of organic cotton increased 31 percent over the previous period. As many as 222,134 farmers grew 239,787 metric tonne of organic cotton in 19 countries on 418,935 hectare of land in 2018-19. In addition, 55,833 hectare of cotton-growing land was in conversion to organic, helping to meet the increasing demand.

Organic cotton is generally defined as cotton grown from non-genetically modified plants and without the use of any synthetic agricultural chemicals, like fertilizers or pesticides, with the exception of those allowed by the certified organic labeling.

According to report findings, 97 percent of global organic cotton was produced in seven countries: India (51 percent), China (17 percent), Kyrgyzstan (10 percent), Turkey (10 percent), Tajikistan (5 percent), Tanzania (2 percent) and the U.S. (2 percent). Of the 55,833 hectares of land in conversion to organic, India and Pakistan lead the way, followed by Turkey, Greece, and Tajikistan.

Though Bangladesh’s demand for yarn and fabrics has been increasing, prices are not at the satisfactory level, said Mohammad Ali Khokon, President, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA). Some mills are running at 70 per cent capacity, while others are operating at 65 per cent and some less than 60 per cent as demand for yarn and fabrics has been increasing.

Although prices of cotton, have declined in the international markets, local spinners could not take advantage of this as the cotton they had was imported before the pandemic at 75 cents to 80 cents per pound, says Mansoor Ahmed, Secretary, BTMA. Sale of yarn and fabrics in Bangladesh export-oriented spinning and weaving mills is on the rise thanks to higher inflow of work orders from international retailers. This has put the country's primary textile sector, which incurred losses of more than Tk 20,000 crore, on the path of quick recovery although prices remain below expectations.

Faisal Samad, Vice-President, BGMEA, said inflow of work orders is also better than that of previous three months. A good number of buyers have been reissuing work orders they had previously cancelled and placing new ones as retailers in the EU and US have opened up their stores. The shipment of these new work orders will start from November.

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data indicates, the country’s textile and clothing exports grew by 14.4 percent to $1.272 billion in July 2020 as compared to $1.112 billion in corresponding month of previous year. This massive increase in textile exports helped in increasing country’s overall exports to $2 billion in the month of July. The exports of knitwear increased by 20.42 percent in July while bedwear exports increased by 25.3 percent. Exports of ready-made garments also surged 18.04 percent while those of cotton cloth grew by 1.15 percent. Exports of tents, canvas and tarpaulin increased 155 percent and those of art, silk and synthetic exports increased by 14.01 percent.

However, exports of raw cotton decreased by 100 percent and exports of cotton yarn by 37.88 percent in the month of July. Exports of yarn had also declined by 47.53 percent. On the other side, Pakistan’s imports declined by 0.7 per cent to $3.69 billion in July. Oil import bill slashed by 24.94 percent due to the slowdown in economic activities. Total oil imports amounted to $752 million during July 2020 compared to $1.002 billion during the same period last year. The breakup of $752 million showed that import of petroleum products was recorded at $387 million, petroleum crude at $203 million and liquefied natural gas at $128 million and liquefied petroleum gas at $33 million.