International and domestic suppliers at the upcoming Yarn Expo Spring will focus on sustainable products. The fair will now be held from March 17-19, 2021, a week later than its original scheduled date. International suppliers of organic and regenerated cotton at the exhibition will include Hengbang Textile from Vietnam which will showcase recycled cotton yarn and Xiamen Naseem Trade from Pakistan that will showcase organic / BCI yarn, 100 percent cotton single and double yarn.

Yarn Expo Spring will also be held online. Exhibitors will now also be online to connect with buyers through its AI-driven business matching platform. The online show will also allow ‘hybrid exhibitors’ to display their products onsite at the dedicated showcase area for buyers to examine in-person. Yarn Expo is a leading sourcing platform to both exhibitors and visitors. Suppliers from Asian and European countries showcase their latest collection of natural and blended yarns including cotton, wool, flax/regenerated flax, and man-made fibers and yarns, as well as specialty products including elastic, fancy and blended yarns.

Outland Denim is expanding operations by foraying into the ready-to-wear segment. As per Sourcing Journal, the B Corp-certified company has launched its Spring/Summer 2021 capsule collection known as Reset. Defined by luxurious fluid shapes with a subtle edge, the collection has been designed using Maeka Standard, a set of guidelines established by the label that include providing a living wage and education for garment workers, ethical sourcing and more.

The collection includes 100 per cent Tencel slip dresses, cotton button-down shirts and linen A-line skirts. Its swing dresses and shirt dresses are made from a blend of organic cotton and linen. The brand made its fabrics using handlooms sourced from sustainable clothing manufacturer Five P. The color palette of the collection includes neutrals and faded rose punctuated by stripes and blue leopard print.

The Reset capsule collection is now available exclusively on Outlanddenim.com and retails for $135 to $295.

ITMA Asia + CITME 2020 have started registrations for online visitors. To be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre (NECC) in Shanghai, the fair will offer special rates for visitors who purchase their badge at www.itmaasia.com and www.ctme.com.cn.

Show owners and organizers will work closely with authorities, such as the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council and the Shanghai Convention and Exhibition Industries Association (SCEIA), to implement preventive and social distancing measures to enable the combined exhibition will be held safely.

Ernesto Maurer, President, CEMATEX urged visitors to purchase their badge online to avoid onsite queues and allow better and smooth entry process. Wang Shutian, Honorary President, China Textile Machinery Association said, the association is organizing a combined exhibition looking at the needs of the industry. The pandemic has created pent-up demand for quality machinery for sectors such as nonwovens and technical textiles as less sales and marketing opportunities last year. Therefore, machinery manufacturers are eager to reconnect with the market.

The seventh edition of the combined exhibition is expected to feature a gross exhibition space of 170,000 sq m. Till-date, the exhibition has attracted the participation of 1,500 exhibitors, including many established machinery manufacturers from 24 countries.

As per China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), applications for patents by the Chinese sewing machinery industry increased by 29.77 per cent on Y-o-Y basis to 7,326 in 2020. Among these, patent for invention constituted 25.39 per cent of the total while patents for novel constituted 60.66 per cent and those for appearance design contributed 13.95 per cent. CNIPA granted 518 new patients for inventions in 2020.

During the 13th five-year plan (2016-2020), the Chinese sewing machinery industry applied for 25,835 patents – 60.95 per cent higher than those applied during the 12th five-year plan (2011-2015). In particular, the industry applied for 82 per cent more patents for invention.

As per data, Chinese enterprises have invested more than 4 per cent of their sales into research and development with some companies applying for over 100 patents in a year. Enterprises have made noticeable achievements in terms of intellectual property, significantly improved their strength in innovation and mastered dozens of core technologies to help prepare a blueprint for the 14th five year plan.

Asif Inam, Chairman, APTMA-Sindh-Balochistan Region has strongly condemned mala-fide propaganda about shortage and unavailability of yarn despite imports being allowed from all over the world except India. He said, yarn is currently being imported from 59 countries and the customs data has been fabricated to magnify a slight decline by comparing exports of 28 days in February 2021 to 29 days in February 2020.

As per Inam, the downstream industry is creating a hue and cry over unavailability of cotton yarn even though they are provided all facilities including subsidized Export Refinance Facility, Duty Local Taxes and Levies (DLTL), etc. Moreover they are also allowed to import duty free cotton yarn under DTRE, Export Oriented and Manufacturing Bond Schemes if they find the local yarn expensive. On one hand, the downstream industry is pushing the government to introduce long term policies, and on the other, it is urging it to rescue them from the forward selling of foreign exchange, non-selling of foreign exchange and higher commodity prices all over the world. Inam urged the government not to allow import of cotton yarn, from India until trade relations between the two countries are normalized.

Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics Spring 2021 edition has been postponed and will be held from March 17 to 19 2021 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center. The fair has attracted a diverse line-up of global companies to join in-person, and seize business opportunities in China’s recovering textile market. International exhibitors will satisfy their visitors’ sourcing needs with quality products and extensive offerings.

Buyers who cannot attend the fair in person can access its online business matching platform, Connect Plus two weeks before and four weeks after the fair. Users can search for products from over 4,500 global exhibitors through AI-driven matching recommendations. They can chat via instant messaging and video call functions, and schedule online or onsite meetings.

Online exhibitors can also join the fair’s Hybrid Showcase to display their products for onsite buyers to touch and feel. Located in hall 5.1, SalonEurope zone at the fair will present the finest European fabrics to cater to the increasing market demand for high quality solutions. Swiss exhibitor Alumo will highlight the rising trend for luxurious casual looks with its fine Swiss cotton and leading shirting fabrics. First-time Spanish exhibitor Sidogras will offer finest fabrics for shirting, including the Continuity collection with permanent stock, the Season collection for responding to fast changing fashion trends, as well as its Bottom Up line for pants, jackets, dresses and drapery.

The Verve for Design zone will feature studios from Argentina, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK who will showcase their innovative designs. Participating exhibitors in this zone include Fairbairn & Wolf Studio and Anteprima Designs.

Originally planned from June 22-26, 2021, the ITM International Textile Machinery Exhibition has been postponed to June 14-18, 2022 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. ITM 2022 will be held in partnership with Tüyap Tüm Fuarcilik INC, Teknik Fuarcilik INC and Temsad. It will be organized at the Istanbul Tuyap Fair and Congress Center a week before Techtextil and Texprocess, to be held from June 21-24, 2022 in Frankfurt.

The organizers aim to prioritize the security of exhibitors and visitors and hope that participants will support its decision. The latest ITM Exhibition hosted 1,200 exhibitors from 64 countries and 60,000 visitors from 94 countries. It is one the largest exhibitions held in Turkey and the adjoining region with over 1,000 textile technology producers presenting their latest models in operation.

Apparel retailer Gap Inc plans to sell its China business. Bloomberg reports suggest, the parent company of Old Navy has appointed an advisor to hive off China business and is exploring various options. Betting on rising incomes to boost sales, Gap forayed into the Chinese market about a decade ago. However, last year, the retailer shifted focus to North America and stopped selling Old Navy apparel in China.

Its latest regulatory filing says, Gap‘s Asian market accounts for about 5 per cent of its overall net sales. The company was founded in 1969 to provide consumers with a well-fitted pair of jeans. Since then, it has grown into seven brands, with a global ambition to champion equality, inclusivity and sustainability.

The company expects net sales in fiscal year 2021 to reflect mid- to high-teens growth. It expects to deliver operating margin of approximately 5 per cent in 2021. The outlook for 2021 is consistent with the company’s Power Plan 2023 objective of achieving at least a 10 per cent operating margin by the end of 2023.

Shocked by the use of deadly force against protesters in the country, H&M has stopped placing orders in the Myanmar. The brand has been facing practical difficulties and an unpredictable situation in the country, which is limiting its ability to continue operating there. It has around 45 direct suppliers in Myanmar and has sourced in the country for seven years.

According to the United Nations, police and military killed over 50 people to quell daily demonstrations and strikes against a February 1 military coup. Two protesters were killed by gunshot wounds to the head while shops, factories and banks were closed in the main city Yangon as part of the uprising against the country's military rulers.

Myanmar's garment industry is smaller than neighboring Bangladesh, China and Thailand. However, its 600 factories are significant employers, providing jobs for around 450,000 workers in 2020, according to the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association.

The Vietnamese textile and apparel industry plans to focus on sportswear and yarn in future as demand for masks and PPE is likely to shrink rapidly, says Le Tien Troung, General Director, Viet Nam National Textile and Garment Group. Many textile and footwear enterprises plan to find new markets post COVID-19. For such companies, sportswear is the most lucrative avenue as awareness of physical fitness grew during the pandemic. Euromonitor International estimates demand for sportswear to have declined by just 8 per cent in 2020, the lowest in an industry which saw an overall decline of 16 per cent.

The compounded annual growth rate for the sportswear market in the last five years was 6.5 per cent, 1.5 times the industry average, and it is expected to be worth $479 billion globally by 2025. One of the most successful Vietnamese businesses in 2020, The Thanh Cong Textile Garment Investment Trading JSC has stopped taking orders for medical protective gear and antibacterial masks and is focusing on traditional products such as T-shirts and sportswear.

Many businesses have bagged orders until April end, mainly for sportswear, says Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association. The Ky Yarn Joint Stock Company also plans focus on yarn with high quality and competitive, said Dang Trieu Hao, General Director.