Turkey-based Kipas will participate in the €6.7 million European Union-funded New Cotton Project, involving brands Adidas and H&M. Within this project, Kipas will manufacture denim fabrics based on cellulose-based fibers of Infinited Fiber Company of Finland, made from post-consumer textile waste that has been collected, sorted and regenerated.

Adidas and H&M will establish take-back programs to collect the clothing that is produced, to determine the next phase in their lifecycle. Clothing that can no longer be worn will be returned to Infinited, for regeneration into new fibers, further contributing to a circular economy in which textiles never go to waste, but instead are reused, recycled or turned into new garments.

The project aims to prove that circular, sustainable fashion can be achieved and even bigger circular initiatives can be launched by the industry in future. A Monforts customer, Kipas is currently installing its third Monforts Montex stenter in Kahramanmaras. The company is also installing a third Monfortex compressive shrinkage system in a combined configuration dedicated to denim production at its Kahramanmaras site in Turkey. This follows the successful installation and commissioning of the second Montex and Monfortex lines at the Kahramanmaras plant in 2018, which Kipas vice chairman of the Board Ahmet Oksuz said had immediately exceeded expectations.

The latest Montex stenter now being installed at Kipas is a 12-chamber unit with a working width of 2 metres featuring all of the latest automation features. The Monfortex unit, also with a working width of 2 metres, is in a ‘double rubber’ configuration, comprising two compressive shrinkage units and two felt calenders in line. This allows the heat setting of elastane fibres and the residual shrinkage of the denim to be carried out simultaneously, for a significant increase in production speeds.

South African retail stalwarts Woolworths Holdings and The Foschini Group have signed an agreement to source 65 per cent of their required apparels from local manufacturers in next 10 years to reduce dependency on China. The worldwide lockdown has hit South African industry and the country is now focusing on reviving its apparel industry to boost economic growth. However, the fall of apparel industry has led to scarcity of skills and raw materials and lot of investments are needed to boost the revival of the industry.

The increasing investments by Woolworths Holdings and The Foschini Group in local manufacturing is a step in the right direction and will encourage many more such firms to come forward and help revive country’s economy.

Mario Boselli, President, Italy-China Foundation believes, China is an important market for Italian fashion houses. China is one of the few markets where things are going well for Italian fashion companies and they are taking necessary steps to keep things that way. Nicola Guerini, Director, General, Milan Fashion Institute, believes the success of Italian fashion products and other Italian non-fashion brands in China gives companies a strong base to build on.

The importance of China's market is amplified by the growth of the Chinese economy which has managed to emerge unscathed form the coronavirus pandemic.

As a study from GlobalData indicates, China is set to emerge as the world's largest market for high-end fashion. Some markets in China are already seeing a return in stores of 80 to 100 percent pre-COVID levels. Before the pandemic, a Chinese consumer might have bought a product while traveling in Milan or Rome or Paris, and that would have been the end of the transaction. Now, they know the brands and they buy them from a local store in their home city. That can create a relationship because the store can tell them when new products are available, or when there are sales or special events, said Guerini

Boselli opines, Italian companies will do well as long as demand from Chinese customers remains high.

Though the National Retail Federation forecasted growth of 3.6-5.2 per cent in apparel sales during November and December, whether this will be sufficient to offset a downturn in in-person spending in the US remains to be seen. As per Adobe Analytics predictions online sales on Black Friday were to hit a record this year with store closures likely to ease in December.

As per a Business of Fashion report, though most retailers will be able to reopen, they will face certain restrictions in operation hours. Consumers too may not feel confident going to stores as retailers have persuading shoppers to spend as much online as they would in store for months

Many retailers kicked off Black Friday sales early in the hopes of extending the traditional festive shopping frenzy. They also doubled down on e-commerce offering flexible delivery options like curb-side pickups or rewards for consumers who buy early to avoid the Christmas logistics crunch.

Bangladesh government plans to ease the rules on use of duty-free imported fabrics in making high-end apparels to boost export earnings as manufacturers end up wasting more fabrics while producing high-fashioned apparel. In 1998, the commerce ministry had set the waste ratio for garments between 7 to 9 per cent. Even at that time, local manufacturers and exporters had protested against this waste limit as being too little considering the amount of material used for a finished product. Both manufacturers and exporters have urged the government to increase the limit to 30 per cent or more.

Even experts have agreed with exporters demand. Md Abdul Kashem, Vice-Chancellor, Bangladesh University of Textile opines, the demand made by local garment manufacturers is not invalid as waste levels have increased over the years due to complexities in production. The percentage of waste generated varies from factory to factory because of the use of modern technologies, skilled workforce, efficient use of raw materials and better quality control, he added.

Hence, the permitted waste ratio for fabrics should be updated in view of the practical situation as buyers seek products of various designs, says Md Shawkat Hossain, Commissioner, CBC. A Matin Chowdhury, Former President, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association, adds 40 per cent waste is found in a test involving some factories with the best production practices. According to him, the percentage of waste increased because local garment manufacturers have been shifting to high-end garment items so that they can get better prices from retailers and brands.

The New Circular Fashion Report estimates, the potential value of fashion’s circular economy to be $5 trillion. The report has been compiled by a group of industry and academics including PwC, sustainable consultancy Anthesis, Rödl & Partner law firm, Startupbootcamp, ESSEC Business School, Wageningen University & Research and circular fashion blockchain provider Lablaco.

The report terms the concept of a circular fashion industry to be a fast-growing movement to reuse and recycle all materials, eliminating waste and pollution and regenerating the environment in a “circular model”. This rethink of the fundamentals of how the industry operates is gaining traction among sustainable fashion brands, it says.

According to the report, the fashion industry is facing heavy pressure to reduce carbon emissions and waste, not least from a new generation of consumers who demand more environmental accountability. This has given added impetus to the argument for circularity.

The report argues for a product-centric, rather than consumer-centric approach, and digitizing it. It aims to make fashion traceable, transparent and more sustainable for businesses, consumers — and the planet.

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) and IDH have awarded Israel-based agricultural tech start-up Agritask with the first price at the Better Cotton Innovation Award. Indian agricultural tech-company CropIn Technology Solutions was awarded second the second prize. Both these companies will receive cash prizes of €100,000 and €35,000 respectively.

Agritask offers a holistic agronomic platform that enables agricultural stakeholders, including farmers, to capture and make use of a range of data in a highly flexible manner. The Agritask mobile app is customizable, allowing farmers to adopt digital solutions intuitively in a way that works for them.

While CropIn’s solution is a digital farm management solution that enables complete digitization of farming processes. The platform empowers data-driven decision-making and provides complete visibility of people, processes and performance on a near real-time basis. It enables farmers to efficiently manage farming practices, while also ensuring they are adhering to compliance and certification requirements.

Initiated by BCI and IDH, the Better Cotton Innovation Challenge was launched by Dalberg Advisors in November 2019 to find new and innovative ideas to scale more sustainable cotton production. The challenge aimed to highlight innovations in customized training on more sustainable farming practice and innovations to reduce the time and cost of data collection to enable more efficient BCI licensing processes.

A Brookings Institute report says, the pandemic is likely to lead to long lasting baby bust in the US with births declining by 300,000-to-500,000 next year. However, birth rates are expected to normalize again as soon as the economic downturn recedes. Currently, the US is experiencing 66 per cent decline in kid’s wear shopping due to a fall in personal finances of citizens, says Cotton Incorporated’s September 2020 US Coronavirus Response Survey, Wave 3. Around, 36 per cent consumers also reported feeling anxious and depressed due to the pandemic, resulting in decreased apparel shopping.

Online shopping surges as shoppers avoid stores

Statistica figures reveal sales of apparel and clothing accessories in the US increased 11 per cent during August and September. Parents avoided shopping for new clothes for toddlers, which led to many brick and mortar stores going bankrupt and shutting down. Leading kid’s wear retailer, The Children’s Place closed around 200 stores this year and plans to close another 100 next year. Carter’s also plans to close around 200 stores including OshKosh B’gosh, in the next couple of years. Even Gap plans to shut 225 of its kid’s wear shops by 2024. The retailer has been shifting to an omni-channel retail model over the last six months.

Compared to mid-summer, there is a marked increase in online shopping for kid’s wear with 43 per cent shoppers now preferring to buy online, says a September Coronavirus Response Survey. Almost 60 per cent shoppers consider online shopping to be a safer option compared to visiting stores.

Focus on the fabric

Emphasizing on sustainability aspects in garments, around 27 per cent shoppers plan to purchase eco-friendly garments in the next three months, indicates the September Coronavirus Response Survey. As per Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor Survey, around 78 per cent parents prefer to dress their kids in cotton as it is a comfortable, soft, durable, breathable and easy to clean material.

Another 84 per cent parents emphasized on the fabric content of their kids’ apparels at least once before buying them, says Cotton Incorporated’s Lifestyle MonitorTM Survey. Even CCI and Cotton Incorporated’s 2019 children’s wear study had said fabric content has some or a great deal of influence on parents purchases of kid’s garments. Even though Brookings Institute reports expects the US to experience baby bust in the next few months, the introduction of a COVID-19 vaccine might put all these fear to rest and convert bust into a boom.

Sustainability is making steady inroads in the Indian fashion industry with many micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) partnering big fashion brands to launch collections made from ethical materials. However, these MSMEs still lag behind their global counterparts in adopting sustainability due to lack of technologies and materials to introduce responsible collections. Also, MSMEs struggle with inadequate infrastructural facilities including water, power, and lack of skilled workforce; limited up-to-date information; and unwillingness towards making a better, safer, and relatively-expensive choice. Hence, they are compelled to bypass sustainability aspects in their manufacturing.

Gradual shift to sustainable fashion

The shift from fast fashion to slow fashion is currently at a nascent stage. However, as consumers’ shift to sustainable fashion, more businesses and ecopreneurs are launching environment-friendly collections. Fashion marketers are also introducing sustainable marketing trends by creating awareness-building and educational campaigns on social media platforms. They are expanding their narrative beyond PR guidelines to unveil details about clothes’ manufacturing process. This has emphasized the importance of transparency in the industry besides boosting ethical fashion practices.

Recently, a famous international brand was lauded for its new collection made entirely from recycled wool and organic cotton, along with other fibers. Another brand was appreciated for making its list of certifications, first-tier suppliers, and fabrics. Many upcoming brands are also engaged in light-hearted conversations with their audiences through brand campaigns. They are creating awareness about sustainable fashion through traditional, digital and social media campaigns.

Introducing sustainability in fashion curriculum

Despite sustainability becoming a buzzword in the last few years, the fashion industry still has a long way to go in terms of becoming completely sustainable. It needs to introduce sustainability to New Age entrepreneurs during their learning stages. It also needs to attract new students by offering incentives like access to mentoring, funding, other services.

The industry also needs to collaborate with new entrepreneurs and encourage them to create sustainable fashion. They need to be enticed with better policies, lucrative business environments, and better pricing to help create safer, stronger and sustainable future of fashion.

As per statistics by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam’s textile and garment exports are predicted to decline by 14-15 per cent year-on-year to $ 30-31 billion in 2020.

During the first 10 months of this year, the textile industry’s export turnover declined by 9.3 per cent to an estimated $24.76 billion compared to the same period last year.

Addressing a recent working session to seek solutions to difficulties facing the industry amid the health crisis, Prime Minister Nguyen XuanPhuc suggested the sector strengthen application of digital technologies and make effective use of FTAs.

The ministry said textile enterprises need to take measures, as well as adjust their production activities and business forms to suit the fluctuations of the market due to the severe impacts posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Attention should also paid to exploiting the domestic market and forming production chains meeting regulations of origin stated in free trade agreements that Vietnam signed with partners, it noted.

The Government leader also emphasized the need to develop modern and environmentally friendly industrial parks serving the textile and garment industry, and application of circular economy.