California has banned the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in clothing, several textiles and other products like coatings and floor finishes.

Personal protective equipment for workers is exempted from the bill. Because of the size of California’s economy, the law’s influence will be felt not only in California, but well beyond, from the places where textiles are produced to the places where they are disposed of or discarded. It is also likely to affect the presence of PFAS in textiles in other US markets outside California.

Chemical companies sell PFAS for application to products like paper and textiles as stain-resistant, water-repellent and grease-proofing treatments. PFAS have been linked to serious health problems, such as cancer, immune system suppression, increased cholesterol levels, pregnancy-induced hypertension, liver damage, reduced fertility and increased risk of thyroid disease.

PFAS are widely used, long lasting chemicals, components of which break down very slowly over time.There are thousands of PFAS chemicals. Because of their widespread use and their persistence in the environment, many PFAS are found in the blood of people and animals all over the world and are present at low levels in a variety of food products and in the environment.PFAS are found in water, air, fish, and soil.

Lower cotton prices may not help Bangladesh in getting increased work orders from global brands and retailers.

For one global retailers and brands can put pressure on garment manufacturers and exporters to reduce prices. Similarly, spinners, millers and cotton importers may not have reason to cheer for the fall in cotton prices because they already have unsold stockpiles of yarn.

Spinners currently have a lot of unsold yarn in their mills because of lower demand from garment manufacturers.So the spinners might not be benefited from the price fall of cotton in international markets. Higher inflation and lower demand have put them in a tight corner.Moreover, spinners cannot spin cotton adequately because of the low gas pressure that has restricted production by almost 50 per cent.In addition, importers do not feel encouraged to import more cotton because of the higher price of the dollar. As such Bangladesh cannot take the opportunity of lower cotton prices now. Bangladesh imports 9.5 million tons of cotton a year.

Global cotton production is up 1.4 million bales at 118.4 million, and stocks are projected higher this month and unchanged from the previous year. Consumption is down slightly at 118.6 million bales with lower projected use in Pakistan and Vietnam.

The Italian textile and garment industry is looking forward to ITMA.

The industry hopes to leverage this global textile and garment technology exhibition to launch its latest innovations, especially those that will help the industry to digitalise and be more productive as well as those that help in building a more sustainable and circular economy. ITMA will be held in Italy, June 8 to 14, 2023.

However, the structure of the textile and clothing industry in Italy will have to undergo a profound transformation in the coming five years.There is a need for Italy’s textile industry to address two crucial issues: the evolution towards a production system that is more environmentally sustainable, and digitisation of the supply chain, which must include small and medium players. The Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers has accelerated its Digital Ready project for certifying Italian textile machines that adopt a common set of data, in order to more easily integrate with the operating systems of their client businesses.

Despite 2020 being a particularly difficult year for the textile and clothing industry, the textile machinery sector remained resilient, particularly in exports. Italy is the fourth country in the world for textile machinery exports, with a ten per cent share.

Bangladesh’s apparel exports from July 2022 to September 2022 grew by 13 per cent.

Knitwear exports were up nine per cent. Woven garment exports were up by 18 per cent. Home textile export earnings were up 26 per cent. Specialized textile export earnings rose by 55 per cent. Earnings from special woven fabric exports sustained a 17 per cent growth. Cotton and cotton product (yarn, waste, fabrics etc.) export earnings rose by 74 per cent. Earnings from jute and jute goods exports rose by 15 per cent.

There were early indications of growth slowdown from September onwards. Readymade garment export earnings have slid into the adverse ground after witnessing 13 months of continued robust growth – mainly due to a drop in sales in the main export destinations. From September 2021 to August 2022, garment exports sustained a 30 per cent year-on-year growth. The global retail market is disrupted by many challenges starting from the post Covid container freight and supply chain crisis, raw materials price hike, and the anticipated recession in the global economy which is halting retail sales and the demand for clothing.

So Bangladesh exporters find it difficult to foresee something bright for the final quarter of the year 2022.

US activewear brand Vuori has launched into new markets. These are Singapore, Hong Kong, the Middle East, Mexico and China. The brand is already in the UK, France, Germany, Ireland and Australia, among others. The focus is to continue to grow in those countries through e-commerce, wholesale and retail channels. In 2023, the brand intends to launch in Japan and Korea as well.

Vuori founded in 2014 offers apparel for men and women like shorts, pants, tops, graphic T-shirts, gift cards, hats, and clothing for yoga instructors, surfers, cross-fit instructors, personal trainers, and individuals.Known for making premium performance apparels, Vuori today has ten stores of its own as well as an e-commerce site.

Vuori makes premium performance apparel inspired by the active coastal California lifestyle, an integration of fitness, surf, sport, and art. Breaking down the boundaries of traditional activewear, it offers a new perspective on performance apparel.

Vuori is committed to a safe and healthy work environment. All vendors in the supply chain are required to abide by the Vendor Code of Conduct, which is based on International Labor Organization (ILO) core labor standards and requires compliance with all laws in each of the countries in which the brand’s factories operate and ensures programs are in place for continuous monitoring and improvement.

Telangana, a state in Indi aknown for its unique textile crafts has been listed by Unesco.

These include Siddipet Gollabhama saris, Himru weaving and Gongadi sheep wool blankets. Unesco has listed the histories and legends behind the textiles, especially the strenuous efforts put in by weavers. A lot of effort has gone into identification and collating a representative sample of Indian textile crafts from across the country that merit special consideration.Siddipet Gollabhama saris have motifs are woven on the pallu (the loose end draped over the shoulder) and on the lower border but none on the upper border. The body of the sari is plain or has motifs. These saris are made of cotton. Another important feature of Gollabama saris is that the motifs are not woven on the loom but made entirely by hand.

Telangana has revised the intricate and near extinct Pitambari saris, Siddipet Gollabhamasarees, Teliarumal weaving, HIMRU weaving and Armoor silk saris. Now, the state is coming up with Ramappa saris to commemorate the Ramappa temple being recognized as an Unesco World Heritage Site.

Handmade textiles appear to be fast dwindling in the face of the demands of modernity. In this context, it is absolutely essential that handmade textiles are taken stock of, and that they are properly mapped in all their diversity.

Shima Seiki’s automatic cutting machine with pattern matching capability leads the fabric onto a conveyor, reads the position of the pattern with a scanning camera and auto adjusts the marking data according to the fabric pattern.

Pattern matching can be time consuming but with Shima’s technology it can be completed in an instant. The scanner reads the pattern and the cutting results in hems and all sewing parts matching up in their patterns. When the fabric passes through the scanner it is read and converted into data. Distortion of the scanned fabric is graphed and marking data is adjusted accordingly. All marks are adjusted at the same time, removing the need for manual work. When auto pattern matching is complete the data is sent to the cutting machine. Once the fabric is in the cutting area the scanner takes a new image and then the cutting takes place, uninterrupted. This creates efficient cutting as these things happen simultaneously and the time needed to realign mismatched patterns is removed from the process. When combined together or used separately, 3D sampling of new woven fabrics alongside this pattern matching technology could drastically reduce lead times and material waste.

Based in Japan, Shima Seiki is celebrating its 60th anniversary.

The margin of nylon 6 filament yarn in August 2022 was improving in China.

The nomination price of upstream HS chip was higher than the final settlement.However, the price increase in the spot market basically ended in the first half of September, with NFY prices following up in time, thus repairing the deep decline in margin rapidly. The profit condition of NFY plants in September was better than that in June to July.

In recent years, the price spread between nylon 6 DTY 70D and semi-dull HS chip has been on a downward trend. In 2019-2021, the annual average spread dropped from 4850yuan per meter to around 4500yuan a meter. The decline was relatively mild.Even with the strong recovery in demand in 2021, the spread has not widened. In addition to the relative firmer stance of raw materials, the continued expansion of DTY capacity is one of the main reasons. This is also why when demand has weakened in 2022 the supply-demand conflict for DTY is significantly greater than for other products such as FDY.

A wave of expansion was driving in the peaking period of the nylon industry in 2017-2018. However, after the downturn in 2019 and the epidemic in 2020, many expansion plans were postponed to 2021.

The fashion luxury cashmere clothing market is growing at three per cent a year.

China is the world’s largest supplier of raw materials, accounting for about 70 per cent of cashmere in the world. China is also the largest consumption market. Although China is the largest cashmere garment manufacturer in the world, its own brand market share is very low. Most of them exist as OEM. This has led to local enterprises in China being at the bottom of the value chain.

Cashmere is a fiber obtained from cashmere goats and other types of goat. The fiber is finer and softer than sheep’s wool. Cashmere clothing is made from cashmere and cashmere yarn, including various sweaters, coats, trousers and other garments. Fashion luxury cashmere clothing mainly refers to a clothing product with customers in the middle and top income population.

The United States holds a 19 per cent share of the global cashmere clothing industry. The Asian region is the major manufacturing base due to the low labor cost and material cost. Most reputed brands have their plants or cooperative manufacturers in the region. Recent years have seen the global cashmere knitwear market outgrowing the luxury apparel market, with dressed-down, comfort-led trends like athleisure becoming the main driver of demand.

Exporters in Bangladesh are worried about the recovery of their outstanding payments from the debt-ridden Camaieu.

This comes as a shock, especially at a time when the export sector in Bangladesh is going through hard times because of the economic slowdown in some key export destinations including the EU in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Camaieu is a French fashion chain. The clothing retailer was declared bankrupt two months after being granted a moratorium. That moratorium has now been converted into a judicial liquidation. All assets are being liquidated to pay off the mountain of debt. Camaieu has had about $300 million in annual business with Bangladesh’s apparel exporters. Camaieu made a relaunch in 2020 and was then taken over by real estate group La Financière immobilière bordelaise but the Covid pandemic weighed heavily on the already weak retailer. The closure of Camaieu may affect Bangladesh’s overall export growth at least to some extent. Camaieu was a major buyer in the French clothing market.

A number of buyers including fashion retailers JCPenney and Sears, based in the United States, and fast-fashion retail chain Peacocks and department store chain Debenhams, based in the United Kingdom, have gone bankrupt in recent years.