Spring Fair will be held in the UK, February 5 to 8, 2023. This is the UK’s leading marketplace for wholesale home, gift and fashion. This edition has an even more dynamic and inspirational offering.

Spring Fair is the UK’s trusted platform for discovery and innovation, putting the most sought-after products, bright new finds, and industry leading creative thinkers under one easy-to-navigate roof whilst giving retailers unparalleled cross-buying opportunities.The show creates a compelling and unmissable platform for buyers to touch, feel, and experience the latest products, trends and innovations. The show offers an incomparable destination for sourcing newness, innovation and the next best-sellers. The show has a heritage as a trusted platform for buyers and adds an improved layout and unparalleled opportunities for cross-buying and creativity.

Within Home, Living and Décor and The Summer house buyers will discover the most stylish and on trend furniture, textiles, housewares, art, and decorative interior accessories from the UK and around the world. Serving up the best in culinary must-haves, from the latest innovations in cookware to the most beautiful tableware décor, visitors to Housewares will encounter kitchenware and dining ideas. Returning to the show are large numbers of established European exhibitors. Beauty and Wellbeing will feature products that pamper, groom, spritz and energise with a huge rise in sustainable, vegan, and ethically made and sourced products.

US denim imports in September 2022 rose 27 per cent compared to September 2021. However this is a decline from a 31 percent rise in the first eight months of the year and a 42 percent first-half rise.

A slowdown in consumer demand has caused merchants to take stock of their inventory positions. US denim imports in September 2022 from Bangladesh increased 42 percent year over year. This was down slightly from a 46 percent hike in August 2022.

Bangladesh is the top denim supplier to the US. Imports from Mexico in September 2022 rose by 18 percent compared to the prior month’s 20 percent rise. Denim shipments from Pakistan were up 36 percent from a year earlier while imports from Vietnam rose 25 percent and shipments from Cambodia increased 47 percent. China’s jeans shipments into the US rose by a meager six percentas the country’s production faces competition from ongoing tariff costs and diversification strategies. US jeans imports from Egypt increased 60 percent. Imports from Nicaragua increased 25 percent. Imports from Turkey rose 21 percent and imports from Sri Lanka rose by 24 percent.

For the second quarter Welspun’s consolidated net profit fell by 95 per cent.

This was mainly due to high input costs. Revenue from operations slipped 15 per cent during the quarter. The company’s total expenses in the quarter fell four per cent.

Welspun India manufactures a range of home textile products ranging from towels, bathrobes, bath rugs and carpets, mats, area rugs, carpets, bedsheets, utility bedding and fashion bedding. The company is also engaged in the generation of power.

Welspun aims at being carbon and water neutral by 2030 and united in its efforts in safeguarding the environment and communities at large.The company’s strategic efforts are to integrate ESG drivers and adopt a circular approach in all aspects of its operations.

Welspun India was selected as one of the world’s leading companies for sustainability by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. It was featured in the index due to strong environmental performance as well as significant improvement in its social and governance impact parameters. Welspun India’s ESG Score stood at 48, which was over 62 per cent higher than the average industry score. Additionally, with a score of 45, the entity’s environmental dimension scores were 75 per cent higher than the industry average, while the social dimension score, at 50, was 54 per cent higher than the industry average.

Synthetic clothing accounts for more than a third of primary microplastic release to the world’s oceans. Textiles are the fourth largest cause of environmental harm after food, housing, and transport.

Between 2000 and 2014, global clothing production more than doubled. People are buying more clothes than ever before and throwing them away even faster. This problem of overconsumption is fueled by a surge in production of cheap, fossil fuel-based textiles. Fossil fuel-based fibers, such as polyester, recycled polyester and nylon, now make up more than 60 per cent of global fiber production and this is expected to continue growing rapidly.

When fewer and better products are produced, it will be possible to use these for longer, and circular textile models such as repair, rental, reuse and recycling will become viable.

The EU wants to promote a more sustainable textiles industry and has a strategy for sustainable and circular textiles. However the Product Environmental Footprint methodology is out of date. It doesn’t include indicators for microplastic pollution, plastic waste and circularity that are critical for the EU if it wants to achieve its goals.

Failing to include these indicators targeted at fast fashion will give brands license to greenwash, guiding well-intended consumers to unintentionally purchase more, rather than less, fossil fuel-based, fast fashion products.

Texprocil in collaboration with Control Union has devised a General Certificate of Conformity program to promote exports of Indian grown cotton.

Control Union is a certification body. The initiative will help gain the trust of export buyers by providing traceability of Indian cotton up to the farm level.

Traceability is an important subject for the textile fraternity all over the world.Traceability helps consumers trace the lifecycle of a product starting from sourcing the raw materials to manufacturing, disposing and finally the recycling of the same. Transparency and traceability will play a major role in the years to come for the Indian textile industry to scaleup its capabilities and cater to global brands in an effective manner. Traceability has gained huge importance in the recent past in the backdrop of consumers becoming more conscious about the products they purchase from renowned brands at premium prices.

Yarn traders and exporters are concerned about the presence of the original gene of Xinjiang’s banned cotton in garments exported to the US from India. The fairness of the practices needs to be ensured as consumers are now judging garments on traceability.European Union and the US are planning to come up with certain legislations which will prevent entry of cotton from certain regions like Turkmenistan and Xinjiang. It will provide more powers to enforcement authorities.

For the second quarter KPR Mill’s net profit fell by 16 per cent. Total income rose by one per cent. For the first half of the year the company’s garment production was up 13 per cent and revenue was up 31per cent.

KPR, based in Coimbatore, is a vertically integrated textile company which exports a variety of products in knitwear and also has a domestic innerwear brand Faso. The company is known for its quality products and CSR initiatives.

KRP Mill’s garment manufacturing capacity has increased to 157 million garments a year. Strategic plans have always been driving the growth of KPR, which is one of the largest captive power generators in the textile industry and 60 per cent of its textile power requirement is met through wind power. The company has invested in a co-gen power project. With co-gen power, KPR has attained self-sufficiency in meeting its substantial power requirement throughout the year. Normally the company keeps a cotton stock of around four to six months and buys cotton at the start of the season. KPR Mill has increased its total garment manufacturing capacity to 157 million garments a year and has opened a garment unit in Ethiopia.

Reliance Industries will use FRX Innovations’ Nofia technology to enhance the sustainable edge of its well-established Recron FS fire-resistant polyester for polyester textile applications. FRX Innovations is an American company offering eco-friendly flame retardant solutions.

Reliance produces polyester staple fibers and filament yarns. Nofia retains a distinctive polymeric phosphorus-based chemistry. Nofia additives are certified by Oeko-Tex Standard 100 for textile applications and other sustainability certifications accrediting that the technology meets these global standards of safety and sustainability.

Recron FS is manufactured at Reliance’s state-of-the-art facilities and Reliance is committed to deliver exceptional fire safety without compromising health, environment and aesthetics. Recron FS is a part of Reliance’s extensive R&D achievements in attaining its commitment to launch new products that are completely sustainable throughout their lifecycle and responsibly using natural resources. Nofia polymeric phosphorus additives deliver improved tenacity. Nofia is the only flame-retardant technology that allows the use of recycled polyester as a feedstock to contents above 60 per cent with the capability of reaching above 90 per cent. This ability to use it with recycled polyester makes it a sustainable technology. The new technology also enables adjustable flame retardancy from levels of 7,000 ppm to 25,000 ppm of phosphorus, depending on end-user needs.

Asean Week will be held in South Korea, November 10 to 13, 2022.

This is an annual cultural event exploring the histories and cultures of the Asean countries Brunei, Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea and is aimed at promoting economic, social and cultural cooperation among them.

Asean Week was first launched in June 2019. Textiles and fabric products from Asean member states will be on display at the exhibition, along with introductions to their places of origin as travel destinations and stories related to the fabrics.

The fabrics have been created by master artisans using traditional weaving methods that have been passed down through generations. PuaKumbu from Malaysia will feature spiral patterns and intricate hooks which took a year to complete. Lanh My A silk of Vietnam is made by weaving the finest silk threads colored with dyes made from the mac nua fruit. The textile is often used by Vietnamese fashion designer Nguyen Cong Tri, whose designs have been worn by several celebrities including K-pop star Rose of Blackpink, Margot Robbie and Beyonce.

The event aims at enhancing an understanding and awareness of Asean culture and tourism and providing an opportunity to appreciate the uniqueness which derives from diversity.

Gokaldas Exports is building three new manufacturing facilities. These will be in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Bangladesh. The new facilities will add an extra five million pieces annually to the company’s existing yearly production capacity of 30 million pieces.

Currently, Gokaldas operates 19 manufacturing units. The Madhya Pradesh facility spread over ten acres is being developed in two phases. By the end of fiscal 2024, the company would open its first international factory which would in Bangladesh to produce readymade garments.

Gokaldas is investing Rs100 crores in the construction of a fabric processing facility in Tamil Nadu. The facility would manufacture 20 tons of fabric a day.

Gokaldas Exports is an apparel manufacturer and exporter. The company has improved its bottom line from incurring a loss to a profit and has grown substantially over the last five or six years. The emphasis on operational improvements and the increased focus on value-added pricing have helped Gokaldas gain better realisation from customers.

With all these factors, it has been able to deliver better bottom lines. In fiscal year 2022, the company generated revenues of Rs1,801 crores and expects to have a 25 per cent growth in revenues in fiscal year 2023.

Sri Lanka’s garment exports may fall by at least 30 per cent in the next four months. Some of the orders received by Sri Lanka have been transferred to countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Ethiopia due to the political and economic instability prevailing in the country.

Inflation in many other countries, including the United States, has also led to the reduction of orders.The demand for Sri Lankan garments has also fallen due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, disruption of Russian gas supply, rising fuel prices and inflation in European countries.

Sri Lanka’s main garment export destinations are the United States of America, the European Union and England.

Sri Lanka is attempting to finalise free trade agreements with countries like China, India, Japan and Australia. These are expected to help boost exports and strengthen the industry’s resilience.August 2022 saw a 20 per cent increase in export turnover generated by the apparel sector but at present Sri Lanka is not competing on a level playing field. Its main competitor countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam and some African nations have duty concessions in global markets, which it does not have.Sri Lanka’s only concessions are for the UK and the EU markets, and those come coupled with a variety of strict conditions pertaining to the origin of raw materials.