The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) has teamed up with the fashion giant PVH Corp to explore the subject of inclusion and diversity across the US fashion sector.

The goals of the work, which started in late 2019, include: helping companies quantify their culture’s strengths and opportunities for improvement; providing insight into actionable steps towards a more inclusive and diverse future; and fostering a talent pipeline for under-represented communities.

The researchers are currently gathering insights from fashion companies, designers and students and we look forward to sharing our findings in a white paper slated to be released in the coming months. Their research, based on surveys from hundreds of stakeholders, builds upon our co-authored industry briefing Insider/Outsider and our industry-wide forum that delved into dimensions of diversity, outlining opportunities to strengthen our industry.

A Boston Consulting Group survey of 7,000 individuals from six countries suggests the global secondhand luxury clothing market will grow at 15 per cent CAGR over the next five years. According to the survey conducted in collaboration with Vestaire Collective, developed markets may see even greater gains, and some online resale players could potentially experience 100 per cent year-on-year growth.

Though the secondhand luxury apparel market is primarily driven by factors such as affordability, selection availability, uniqueness, consumers’ mounting environmental concerns are also contributing to its growth. Nearly 70 per cent of buyers of preowned clothes are driven by its sustainable factor. Shoppers hope to own fewer, though better items, to reduce overconsumption.

To meet changing needs of consumers, brands should recognize how secondhand consumers can evolve—from occasional shoppers of luxury items to full-fledged brand loyalists. They can capture value from this growing market by selling secondhand themselves, developing their own resale platforms, instituting buy-back programs and partnering with existing resale platforms to leverage outside expertise. According to the report, 62 per cent consumers would buy more from fashion brands that partner with secondhand players.

Gap Inc plans to set up 80 per cent of its stores at strip centers, city centers and outlets by 2023. The company aims to double its e-commerce sales to 50 per cent to drive growth and achieve a 10 per cent operating margin. It looks to double Athleta sales to $2 billion and grow Old Navy to $10 billion.

To achieve its targeted 10 per cent consolidated EBIT margin, the company will have to pull several levers. Its Old Navy and Athleta brands would together need to achieve a 15 per cent margin. If these brands each earn 12 per cent, Gap, Banana Republic and the others would need to reach a 6 per cent margin.

So far, Gap has closed some 500 stores. It further plans to close about 225 Gap and Banana Republic stores in 2020. With the pandemic bolstering consumers desertion of work and formal attires, sales of

Banana Republic have declined by 52 per cent in the second quarter. The company is now moving towards selling more comfortable items, which could boost some sales, says Neil Sauders Managing Director, GlobalData Retail.

Zimbabwe’s clothing sector is suffering from serious competition from second-hand wear and cheap imports that have hit its formal retailers like Edgars hard. Zimbabwe retailers smuggle second-hand clothes from Mozambique while they import cheaper garments from South Africa and Botswana. The Zimbabwean government has banned the importation and sale of second-hand clothing to no avail.

The selling of used clothes has become a source of livelihood for thousands of Zimbabweans in all cities and towns with second-hand clothing markets often teeming with customers. Research and investment analyst Enock Rukarwa highlighted the COVID-19 and other obtaining circumstances have brought in a new set of challenges for all business players adding that clothing companies need to realize that dynamics have changed and the market now demands appropriate positioning to respond with agility to opportunities and challenges that arise.

The major function of the government is to create an enabling environment that fosters business viability. The situation is quite complex because consumer buying power has been eroded by inflation, low incomes and high levels of unemployment which affects credit sales. The government needs to tighten border controls to limit smuggling of second hand clothing. Further, it is necessary to review downwards import duty on raw materials used in clothing manufacturing. Finished clothes should attract higher customs and import duty than raw materials that are used in manufacturing clothes locally by established retailers, said Victor Bhoroma, Economist.

Adidas has launched a new football jersey collection in collaboration with designer Pharrell Williams’ Humanface range. The collection is inspired by the collective memories and significant moments in the world’s top football clubs with their legacies serving as the foundations of the design process, says a Fashion Network report.

Each jersey in this collection has been hand-painted while the shirts have been redesigned in a traditional artistic format. For the Arsenal shirt, Williams explores the Adidas’ ‘bruised banana’ jersey from the 1991-3 seasons and gives it a hand-painted, paint-bleed effect update.

The FC Bayern Munich shirt has been inspired by the red home shirt worn from 1991-93 to reinvent the jersey for a new generation of fans. The kit has been re-imagined by hand using thick acrylic paint.

For Juventus’ jersey, the designer chooses a pink shirt from the 2015-16 season -- the first season of its Adidas partnership. The bold and vivid color of the shirt blurs the lines between sport and style and becomes an icon of modern football culture.

Williams also remixes the Manchester United jersey from the club’s snowflake blue and white print – first seen on the 1990-92 away kit.

The collection has been launched at a time when all games in Europe are being played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic. It will be seen as another way to add interest for match day television viewers.

MarediModa has deferred its physical event, scheduled to take place at Villa Erba in Cernobbio, Italy from November 3 to 5, 2020. The show will now be held in a digital format on the given dates.

The event will be an opportunity for exhibitors and traders to present and to learn about the latest trends of the upcoming season of beach clothing. The fair is a top event for beachwear, lingerie fabrics and accessories.

It is attended every year by exhibitors and visitors from across the globe. It is one of the most important events for beachwear professionals in terms of contacts, exchange and business contacts no matter if new or old.

As per an Ecotextile report, Italian company Fashion Box’s brand Replay is claiming ‘double green standards’ for new denim being launched in partnership with fabric manufacturer ISKO. The new Hyperflex Re-Used denim blends lower impact raw materials with both reused cotton and recycled polyester. Its cotton is made from 10 per cent of waste cotton fibers while the recycled polyester is created from recycled PET bottles and other waste.

Replay has launched a collection of both skinny and straight jeans for men and women with the new material, selling at a hefty £150 per pair. The new material reinforces its focus on sustainability and meets the most stringent internationally-recognized eco-friendly standards.

ISKO, a brand of Turkey's Sanko Group, claims to be the world's largest manufacturer of denim, produces more than 250 million meters of fabric a year for customers in more than 60 countries.

Ellen McArthur Foundation’s Jeans Redesign Project is promoting circular economy by creating long-lasting, recyclable jeans. The Jeans Redesign Project was launched with the help of over 80 denim experts. So far, the initiative has successfully helped launch various styles in the market and is endorsed by various leading brands like H&M, Gap, Lee, Wrangler, Weekday, Triarchy and Reformation.

Several brands adhere to these guidelines and produce several products. Brands like H&M, Mud Jeans, Outland Denim, Triarchy and Boyish have launched such sustainable garments while other bands like Lee, Wrangler, Urban Outfitters, Gap, Banana Republic and Reformation plan to launch more such garments by March 2021.

The Ellen McArthur Foundation initiative emphasizes the importance of circular economy in fashion and especially denim. It serves as an important initial step in the promotion of sustainability in the industry.

The Ellen McArthur Foundation hopes that brands will build on the principles to this project and adopt additional practices for all kinds of garments produced.

Addressing a virtual program on ‘Women Power: the Force Multiplier,’ Rubana Huq, President, BGMEA, said BGMEA aims to reskill female workers to help them contribute to business. At the seminar organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham), Huq urged different agencies to disseminate education for skilling the enormous number of female workers

Uzma Chowdhury, Chief Finance Officer and Director, PRAN-RFL Group, said, though the scenario of women entrepreneurship in Bangladesh has been progressing in the right direction, some women entrepreneurs have been facing difficulties in accessing finance due to the fallouts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Around 80 per cent enterprises owned by females have been affected as part of the fallouts of the pandemic as most of those are cottage, micro, small and medium ones, added Syed Ershad Ahmed, President, AmCham.

Till date, many female entrepreneurs have not been able to avail loans from the government-sponsored stimulus packages, he said.

A new report by the RGE Group underlines its commitment to invest $200 million in next-generation textile fiber innovation and technology over a 10-year period. Released a week before the annual Textile Exchange Sustainability Conference, the report advances RGE’s ambition to develop a closed loop, circular and climate-positive cellulosic fiber. Bey Soo Khiang, Vice Chairman says, it highlights the group’s commitment to take sustainability to the next level by exploring new ways to convert waste into a resource to regenerate new materials.

Of the $200 million investment, RGE plans to invest 70 per cent in scaling up proven clean technology in fiber manufacturing, 20 per cent in bringing pilot scale production to commercial scale, and 10 per cent for R&D in emerging frontier solutions. The group has directed investments in three areas: ready market solutions, startups and in-house R&D capabilities.

Achievements over the years

In the last one year, the RGE group has added many notable achievements to its portfolio. These include the launch of FINEX™, a Recycled Claim Standard (RCS)-certified fiber containing up to 20 per cent recycled content produced using a 35,000 ton per annum commercial line; production of Lyocell, a closed loop fiber and a fully recoverable solvent and setting up new R&D facilities in China and Indonesia.

The group has also initiated an in-house cotton textile waste recycling project. It has not just enhanced its existing partnerships but also forged new ones to promote progress towards broader goals. The group also explores retrofitting of viscose production in collaboration with Infinited Fiber Company. It plans to launch a comprehensive study of the textile waste landscape in China in partnership with the China Association of Circular Economy.

Towards a more sustainable future

The report also highlights the RGE’s plans for two viscose business groups for the coming decade. The first group Sateri plans to launch 100 per cent recycled product by 2030. It also aims to use 20 per cent raw materials made from alternative or recycled materials by 2025. RGE’s other group Asia Pacific Rayon (APR) that will source 20 per cent of feedstock from alternative or recycled materials by 2030.

All existing Sateri and APR mills also aim to meet EU-BAT emission limits by 2023. As per Allen Zhang, President, Sateri, as a large and growing fiber producer known for product quality and cost-competitiveness, the group is well-placed to scale solutions. However, it is currently restricted by the limited progress in circularity-specific technologies and availability and volume of alternative feedstock. However, the group remains committed to accelerating its efforts to achieve its target by 2030.

Striving for a better universe

RGE has a strong presence in Asia through business groups Sateri and APR. The group manages resource-based manufacturing companies with global operations. Its work profile work ranges from sustainable resource development and harvesting, to creating diverse value-added products for the global market. The group strives to work towards the development of its community, country, climate, customers and company. Founded in 1973, RGE companies have assets worth over $20 billion. The group has over 60,000 employees and its operations span across Indonesia, China, Brazil, Spain and Canada. It plans to continue expanding to newer markets in future.