The smart textile market is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 30.4 per cent. Tech and fashion are merging together to create smart textiles without sacrificing style, comfort and practicality. The defense and military segment is anticipated to account for the highest market share by 2025, while sports and fitness segment will have the fastest CAGR. North America accounts for more than 47 per cent of the overall share, leading the global market, and is likely to maintain dominance through 2025.

Global demand for smart textiles is mainly driven by the increasing use of smart phones and other high-tech or smart devices. Most new smart phones and laptops are equipped with bluetooth low energy technology. This enables the connection of sensor-based devices to the internet.

Smart textiles are used in healthcare and sports and fitness applications to communicate the wearer’s location, heart rate, blood pressure and temperature. This data collection may also be useful for dementia patients, to refresh memory and alert caregivers of health status changes. Miniaturization of electronics is expected to significantly fuel market growth further. Reducing form factors may facilitate increased integration, making sensors compatible with fabric and ensuring optimum comfort and wearability.

"As per an analysis by CITI there has been a decline in exports of all textile products except cotton yarn/fabric/made-ups, handloom products etc, and carpet in March 2019 as compared to March 2018. However, exports of total textiles have shown a slight increase during the period. IIP of textiles in February 2019 went down (YoY basis), which reflects sync with textiles exports of man-made yarn/fabrics/made-ups etc."

As per an analysis by CITI there has been a decline in exports of all textile products except cotton yarn/fabric/made-ups, handloom products etc, and carpet in March 2019 as compared to March 2018. However, exports of total textiles have shown a slight increase during the period. IIP of textiles in February 2019 went down (YoY basis), which reflects sync with textiles exports of man-made yarn/fabrics/made-ups etc. Jute Manufacturing including floor covering and handicrafts handmade carpet. As per the statistics exports of cotton yarn/fabrics/made-ups, handloom products etc, increased by 9.22 per cent to $11,206.44 million in March 2019 as compared to March 2018. Export of carpets also increased by 3.63 per cent to $1,481. Export of apparels however, declined by 3.40 per cent to $16, 138.94 million.

Import of textile, yarn fabric and madeup articles increased by 3.62 per cent to $1,903 million in March 2019 as compared to the corresponding period previous year.

IIP Index registers 0.1 per cent growth

The General IIP Index for February 2019 was 0.1 percent higher as compared to the level in the month of February 2018. Cumulative growth for the period April-February 2018-19 over the corresponding period of the previous year stands at 4.0 per cent.

Excluding apparels, growth in the textiles sector declined by 1.3 per cent in February 2019 over the same period previous year. Wearing apparel segment however, increased 19.3 per cent in February 2019 over the same month previous year.

Industry grows by 5.6 per cent

The cumulative change for April- February 2018-19 for textiles saw an increase of 1.3 per cent and that of wearing apparel 11.6 per cent over the same period previous year.

The textile and clothing industry, as a whole, grew by 5.6 per cent in February 2019 over the same month previous last year while it grew by 4.5 per cent during cumulative period April-February 2018-19 over the same period previous year.

Levi’s has launched a collection made of hemp. Levi’s is an iconic denim brand. The jeans and jackets in the collection are made from a 70/30 blend of cotton and hemp, a method that softens the fiber using very little energy or chemical processing to make it look and feel like cotton. Also, every piece is recyclable, which includes the embroidered jacket, pocket tee, board shorts, western stitched yoke, and the 511 slim fit jeans. The hemp used in the collection has come from a rain-fed field so it has no ground water use and uses 70 per cent less water than cotton.

Hemp can produce two to three times more fiber than an acre of cotton, can detoxify soil by removing harmful chemicals and pollutants while enriching the soil with nitrogen and oxygen and is a more durable material, making products last longer. An estimated 10,000 liters of water are used to produce a kg of cotton compared to about 300 liters to 500 liters of water to produce a kg of dry hemp matter. In the long term, the choice of using hemp over cotton is expected to help combat water scarcity, a growing threat around the world.

Microplastic pollution is a major problem for the environment. As much as 311 million tons of plastics were produced in 2014, and those numbers are expected to double or triple in the next 50 to 60 years. Only 14 per cent of annual plastic production is recovered and just two per cent is recycled in a closed-loop fashion. Another 72 per cent is unrecovered and either goes directly to landfills or escapes recovery systems altogether. And a lot of that winds up in lakes, rivers, oceans and communities globally.

Plastics dumped in the waterways don’t stay there. They make their way back to humans and animals through the food chain and the environment. Textiles shed in home laundering are among the largest contributors of microplastic pollution. While 99 per cent of microplastic materials are captured at wastewater treatment facilities, billions of plastic particles are reaching the aquatic environment.

All fabrics shed microfibers. Textile design plays a very important role in the process. In general, natural fibers shed more than polyester or nylon. Cellulosic-based fibers shed more microfibers that does polyester. On the other hand, cotton and rayon, both cellulosic, biodegrade in water at a rapid pace, whereas polyester has virtually no degradation.

Finnish clothing brands rank low in terms of climate, environment and human rights transparency says ethical trade NGO Eetti. While some companies fare better than others, every brand can do better. Eetti utilized a set of international criteria maintained by consumer community Rank a Brand, which ranks companies into five categories (A-E) based on how clearly brands include responsibility clauses on their official websites and in their other PR. A total of 23 Finnish clothing brands were ranked against 1,500 other international companies.

The best-ranked Finnish brand is children’s clothing company Papu, the only firm to make it into the B category (on track towards sustainability). The next category (On its way, but can do better) includes companies Sail & Ski and Vimma. These brands all produce their products either solely in Finland or in some other low-risk countries.

The vast majority of brands fall into the lowest two categories. Category D (should do better) includes Noom, Lindex, Marimekko, By Pia's, House, Mywear, Nosh and R-Collection. The lowest category, E (Better put your wallet away), holds Halti, Reima, Nanso, Pola, Peak Performance, Sasta, Gugguu, Luhta, Makia, Rukka, Torstai and Your Face.

However, most companies consider openness and responsibility important, at least on the surface.

India’s leading polyester yarn player Filatex’s profits have been growing at a CAGR of 84 per cent in the last three years. The company has been expanding capacity. Current ebidta margins stand at nine per cent and expecting to grow at 12 per cent after the commissioning of new power plant at Dahej. This will increase profitability. Currently exports contribute to 20 per cent of the company’s overall revenues. Filatex currently exports to 40 countries and is experiencing a good demand from countries like Brazil, Bangladesh and Egypt.

Filatex is a pioneer manufacturer of monofilament yarns for zippers, toothbrush bristles, velcro, magic fasteners and forming fabrics in India. FIL manufactures specialty polyester filament yarns, which have a high value addition as compared to normal denier synthetic yarns. One of the specialty yarns which Filatex manufactures is micro denier polyester filament yarn.

Polyester is considered the fiber of the future. Demand for polyester is increasing as demand for athlesiure, sports and yoga wear is increasing across the world. The fiber is used in apparels, women’s wear and under garments, home textiles and furnishings and sportswear. Currently China supplies 75 per cent of the world’s polyester yarn production. India caters to ten per cent of the world’s demand.

The meteoric rise of fast fashion is proving to be toxic for the environment. Fast fashion is the business of quickly turning around new collections, often at lower prices to encourage consumption. Twenty-five million pounds of clothing are thrown out in the US a year, and most of it has not reached its usable life. Linear systems use large quantities of nonrenewable resources, and more than half of these styles get tossed within a year. The apparel and footwear industries together account for more than eight per cent of global climate impacts. Total greenhouse gas emissions related to textiles production are equal to 1.2 billion tons annually -- more than those of all international flights and maritime shipping trips combined.

Circular fashion is catching up fast. It refers to extending the lifecycle of well-made garments and recycling their materials into new items. This trend is gaining traction as both designers and consumers become increasingly aware of the toll linear clothing production takes on the environment. Fashion’s carbon impact is much larger than the industry’s GDP.

Designers are working on timeless pieces intended to outlast trends, working with environmentally friendly fabrics and mills. Prizing variety, affordability and sustainability, consumers are increasingly choosing to rent rather than own goods outright.

US women purchased 22 million more jeans in 2018 than in 2017. Off-price unit and dollar sales are both up nearly 30 per cent, representing 17 per cent of unit sales and driving the majority of women’s jeans growth. But the emphasis on quantity and discounting means marketers need to find new ways to inspire the women’s jeans consumer and deliver product that compels them to take their purchase to the next level.

Specialty store channels account for more than a third of annual sales in women’s jeans. The category experienced unit growth of six per cent. In-store sales account for 80 per cent of women’s jeans sold. However, growth is coming from the online channel. The number of women’s jeans purchased online increased 32 per cent in the past year. The average online annual spend per buyer on women’s jeans was four per cent higher than last year.

The allure of denim rests on traditional values like price and quantity. In contrast the athleisure category, which represents 24 per cent of the total apparel industry, is riding a wave of momentum that’s accelerated by relaxed dress codes, fabric innovations and celebrity collaborations. The recent growth in women’s jeans is good news for the industry—women want to wear more than just leggings and yoga pants.

Customers in the US looking for plus sized clothing are often disappointed. For one not too many brands make clothing above size 16. And even if they do they don’t present the entire wardrobe. Some may make only T-shirts and not pants.

The reality is that there’s money to be made in catering to overweight people especially women. It makes business sense for designers to expand their size offerings since there’s a large market of people who would like to dress themselves in interesting clothes and in new fashions and ethical materials.

Plus size clothing sales represented around 17.5 per cent of all women’s clothing sales in the US in 2016. Plus size fashion is here to stay and has already conquered the hearts and budgets of many in the apparel industry. Spending on this niche is on the rise and so are the opportunities for retailers wanting to tap into the 46 billion dollar opportunity. E-commerce contributes to the growth of plus size fashion primarily because of ease of access, size availability and convenience that it provides. While one size does not fit all, and standard sizes for all is one of the major challenges to the segment, personalization is further leading to the success of many brands.

The alpaca fiber market is witnessing high growth mainly due to the upsurge in demand for alpaca fiber fleeces and other types of fashion accessories made with alpaca fiber. Alpaca clothing is warm, soft and extremely comfortable. Alpaca fiber is witnessing a greater demand over wool in the textile industry being a natural fiber that provides more warmth minus the scratchy texture of wool.

As the trend of offering highly sustainable and eco-friendly garments and accessories is gaining popularity, alpaca fiber market is growing at a rapid pace with the surging demand for warm and soft alpaca fiber.

While the alpaca fiber market is expanding at an impressive growth rate, market players are aiming at producing alpaca fiber with even better quality to attract more consumers. As high genetic merits can lead to producing large quantities of high-quality alpaca fiber, manufacturers in the alpaca fiber market are putting efforts into providing nutritious feed to alpacas. Nutrition makes a significant impact on the health and reproduction capabilities of alpacas and ultimately helps obtain softer and high-quality alpaca fiber. Leading manufacturers and distributors in the alpaca fiber market are investing heftily in alpaca nutrition in order to be able to offer the finest quality of alpaca fiber and gain a competitive edge in the alpaca fiber market.