As per data released by the Office of Economic Advisor, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, based on the monthly whole price index (WPI), India's annual rate of inflation for textiles increased 1.48 per cent and for apparel 1.01 per cent in November 2020.

The official WPI for all commodities increased to 124.2 from previous month's 123.8, showing positive inflation for the fourth consecutive month since April this year. The index for manufactured products increased by 0.83 per cent to 121.3 from 120.3 while the index for ‘Manufacture of Wearing Apparel’ sub-group increased by 1.01 per cent to 139.6 from previous month's 138.2.

The index for ‘Manufacture of Textiles’ sub-group too rose by 1.48 per cent to 116.4. The index for primary articles decreased 0.79 per cent to 151.2 from previous month's 152.4. The index for fuel and power however increased 0.22 per cent to 91.3.

At its 66th Annual General Meeting, Cotton Textile Export Promotion Council (Texprocil) elected MK Patodia and Sunil Patwari as new Chairman and Vice-chairman. The AGM was held in a hybrid virtual model with members attending online and offline. KV Srinivasan, outgoing Chairman said the entire world came under the grip of a pandemic similar to Spanish flu’ that affected about one-third of the global population, a hundred years ago. The onslaught of the COVID-19 has ripped through not only the Indian textile and clothing sector but almost all the sectors of the Indian economy, whether manufacturing or services.

A New World’ is taking shape where a thrust on technology is changing the way we think and do our businesses. The emergence of e-commerce and its growing market share is a case in point, he added.

To be held from June 22-26 in Istanabul, ITM 2021 exhibition will benefit companies that desire to expand their capacities and introduce new technologies. The exhibition will feature textile, yarn, knitting, weaving, dyeing, printing, finishing, and hosiery machineries, sub-industries, and chemicals. ITM 2021 will provide companies an opportunity to observe latest technological products in the international and domestic market. Machines produced for technical textiles will be the main attraction of the exhibition.

The Turkish textile industry succeeded in removing restrictions in June, thanks to both its textile production infrastructure and international exports capacity. This boosted its exports of textile and raw materials and encouraged companies to make new investments.

Many local companies enlarged their facilities while some of them made new investment decisions. For example, Çorlu, a leading textile machinery producer invested 40 million Turkish Lira in two new meltblown lines.

One of South Korea’s largest conglomerates has announced a $430 million investment Çerkezköy. These investments have managed to increase the the purchase of textile machinery by 37.1 per cent during the first nine months of 2020 amounting to over $1 billion.

The upcoming edition of Premiere Vision Paris will be held digitally from February 15 to 19, 2020. It will feature exhibitors from across the world as well as trend analysis meetings, virtual forums, fashion webinars, networking tools and conferences.

Participants will find new features on the event’s recently revamped website, which will act as its central hub. It will integrate all PV events (Fabrics, Yarn, Leather, Accessories, Design and Manufacturing) during the course of the year. The website has also redesigned dedicated to individual exhibitors with new graphics and more information.

Première Vision’s September digital session attracted 19,500 visitors and 4,000 conference participants, as well as 1,675 exhibitors showcasing over 43,000 products on the show’s e-marketplace.

From November 30 to December 4, Première Vision staged its Digital Denim Week, which replaced the originally planned Denim Première Vision show. A few days earlier, on November 25-27, the organizer staged the inaugural edition of Première Vision Shenzhen, which is set to be held twice yearly as part of the Fashion Source textile events.

As per the Central Statistics Office, Ireland imported over 60 per cent of its clothing and apparels from Asia in 2019 - with almost 70 million women's T-shirts and jumpers being bought from the continent. Ireland imported more than 56 million ladies’ and girls’ T-shirts and over 30 million ladies’ and girls’ jumpers in 2019. Of these, 46 million and 23 million respectively were imported from Asia.

Almost €57 billion of goods were imported from Europe, of which more than €20billion came from the UK, our largest import partner. Asia accounted for €17.4 billion of Irish exports in 2019 - making it a larger export destination than any country in Europe, with €8.2 billion exported to China.

Ireland's largest trading partners in Asia are China and Japan, while it exported €1.7 billion to Africa and €700 million to South America in 2019. Almost a third, or €49billion worth, of all its exports in 2019 were medical and pharmaceutical products.

Addressing the 2nd Bangladesh-India Cotton Fest 2020, M Shahrair Alam, State Minister for Foreign Affairs said India can help Bangladesh double apparel exports over the next five years since it is a crucial player in the global cotton market. Alam highlighted, Bangladesh is one of the largest cotton importers in the world and imports 98 per cent of its cotton from 42 countries. India is ideally positioned to supply high quality cotton to Bangladesh at competitive prices with lower costs of transportation and easier access to supplier, he added.

Organized by Bangladesh Cotton Association (BCA), Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), Indian Cotton Association (ICAL) and India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI), the fest was attended by around 30 Indian companies. It was also attended by Salman F Rahman, PM Hasina’s adviser as the chief guest.

Struggling with a heavy debt load, Shandong Ruyi Technology Group has failed to repay the principal and interest on Rmb1billion bond. Referred to as the ‘LVMH of China’, Shandong Ruyi has built up total debt of more than $4 billion in the course of scooping up controlling stakes in famous brands including athletic apparel maker The Lycra Company and Gieves & Hawkes.

The group is not state-owned but has still felt the squeeze of Beijing’s ebbing support for debt issued by regional and local governments. After it negotiated with bondholders to delay an annual interest payment it had missed in March, the company had hoped for a rescue from Jining City Urban Construction Investment, a Shandong-based local government financing vehicle.

But in June that financing vehicle pulled out of the arrangement and refused to buy a 26 per cent stake in the company. Shandong Ruyi has an interest payment on another Rmb1billion bond, traded on China’s onshore market, due on Tuesday. The group’s international debt is also trading at distressed levels. The price of a $300m bond issued by subsidiary Prime Bloom Holdings due in 2022 has dropped to 20 cents on the US dollar, Bloomberg data show.

Rating agency Moody’s downgraded Shandong Ruyi’s issuer rating in March to Caa3 from Caa1, indicating the group carries “very high credit risk”. It also cut the rating on the bonds issued by Prime Bloom to Ca from Caa2.

Mian Zahid Hussain, Chairman, National Business Group, FPCCI has urged the government to allow duty free import of cotton yarn following the collapse of cotton crop in the country. Hussain urged for a waiver of the 5 percent customs duty and 5 percent regulatory duty on import of yarn unless the new crop hit the market. He further urged the government to discontinue import of excessive quantities of cotton and yarn to safeguard the rights of farmers, ginners, and textile millers.

He said, the area under cultivation for cotton is shrinking since 14 years while cotton output is also declining due to the apathy of the authorities. The last crop of cotton failed adding to the miseries of millions of farmers and threatening the textile sector which is behind 60 percent exports while providing jobs to 40 percent industrial labor.

The textile sector will need to import 14 million bales to keep their machines running on the back of unprecedented orders. This will hit forex reserves and result in other problems like diverting western importers towards China, which will leave local textile sector high and dry, Hussain added.

As per Polaris Market Research, global geotextile market is anticipated to grow by 8.8 per cent CAGR to reach $14.03 billion by 2026. The roadways segment will drive growth during the period, says Textile Value Chain. Geotextiles are extensively used in reinforcement of soil banks in bridges, pavements, roads, highway, and other construction sector. Their integral applicable functions include sealing, separation, drainage, filtration, and reinforcement in different substrates. Concerning their multifunctional characteristics, geotextiles are suitable for a range of industries and tend to find application in transportation, maintenance industries agriculture, and construction, among many.

Europe is expected to witness fastest growth in this segment during the forecast period. Some of the significant reasons behind this include increasing expenditure in the construction of roads, railways, airport runways, and pavements in the countries such as Italy, UK, Germany, and France.

These market players consistently undertake R&D for the launch of new innovative products to strengthen their product portfolio in the industry. In addition, the companies focus mainly on foreign investments in research and development to cater the rapidly growing demand. Big market players also focus on their business expansion through inorganic developments which increases the potential concerning expansion of customer base and also geographic expansion.

Some of the prominent industry players include Berry Global, Agru America, Inc., Carthage Mills, DuPont, Strata Systems, Mattex, Propex Operating Company Koninklijke Ten Cate, Kaytech, Tenax and Leggett & Platt.

First Japanese company to join The Fashion Pact, Asics will continue to promote sustainability in all areas of business. Asics has been focusing on climate change and last year announced its commitment to set science-based emissions reduction targets to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, towards a net-zero future by 2050. Currently, Asics aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at business locations by 38 per cent, and by 55 per cent per product along the supply chain by 2030.

Demonstrating its commitment to ensuring the fashion sector is on the path to a sustainable future, Asics is also a signatory of the UNFCCC Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action and a founding member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.

Asics has also received an “A-" score for latest response to the CDP’s annual Climate Change questionnaire for its actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and effectively address climate change. The performance scoring by CDP—a not-for-profit organisation that collects environmental data and runs a global disclosure system—is one of the most trusted standards among institutional investors, 515 of whom endorsed the assessment this year. Asics is one of the first sporting goods manufacturer in the world to receive the “A-" score.

Fashion Pact is a global coalition of companies in the fashion and textile industries which have all committed to a common core of key environmental goals in three areas: mitigating climate change, restoring biodiversity and protecting the oceans.

The pact was created and presented to heads of state during the G7 summit in Biarritz in 2019. Initially, thirty-two signatories across luxury, retail, fashion, sports and lifestyle joined this new industry coalition and committed to collectively spearhead transformation in their respective industries.