HeiQViroblock has been awarded with the coveted Swiss Technology Award 2020. Developed in record time, HeiQViroblock is being unprecedently adopted by mills around the world. Seen as one of the world’s most efficient and effective antiviral/antimicrobial technologies, it has been applied by more than 150 brands worldwide and to over 1 billion products from face masks and apparel, to home textiles, mattresses and curtains.

What exemplifies the technology is its ability to make fabric antiviral and its effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). HeiQViroblock consists of a combination of HeiQ’s patent-pending vesicle and silver technologies. The two mechanisms of attack result in an over 99.9% destruction of viruses in 5 minutes, which HeiQ says is unrivalled in the industry.

HeiQViroblock is a unique patent-pending formulation of 72 per cent bio-based ingredients, made with 100 per cent cosmetic-grade materials from the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients list. The silver technology was developed at ETHZ (EidgenössischeTechnischeHochschule Zürich), the vesicle technology at EPFL (Écolepolytechniquefédérale de Lausanne), and the production was scaled up at FHNW (FachhochschuleNordwestschweiz).

Textile makers in Bangladesh's are urging the government to extend policy support to increase local capacity in man-made fibers. Spinners want more joint-ventures between local and technologically advanced foreign companies for developing high-value yarns. As per BTMA, local spinning mills meet 80 per cent demand for export-oriented knitted fabrics, while they account for only 40 per cent woven fabric supplies. In 2020, spinners imported nearly Tk2.30 lakh tons of knitted fabrics and over 4.21 tons of woven fabrics

Mohammad Ali Khokon, President, BTMA, has urged the government to offer incentives to encourage investments in this sector. Shahidullah Azim, Vice President, also emphasizes on the significance of joint-venture investments to develop a strong backward industry for non-cotton fabrics. Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, COO, Fatullah Apparels, wants policy support for both backward and forward industries to draw in new investments.

Bangladesh has an opportunity to invest in the woven sector, especially in synthetic yarns, says Mohammad Enamul Karim, Executive Director (Spinning), Noman Group, one of the largest spinning and textile manufacturers in South Asia. He urges for a focus on non-cotton fabric that will contribute to diversifying the apparel basket as well as will make it more competitive in the global market. He says, if the government incentivizes non-cotton apparel exporters, its market share will be higher within a year. Khokon believes a 10 per cent cash incentive on new non-cotton products can help manufacturers export an additional $2 billion in apparel a year.

According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), in FY21, Bangladesh exported $32.59 billion worth of apparel products and home textile items, which was 84 per cent of the total export.

Denim Première Vision will host its first digital program from November 30-December 4, 2020.

Known as the ‘Digital Denim Week,’ the online show will present the latest product developments for Spring/Summer 2022 from over 50 exhibitors, spanning weavers, manufacturers/laundries, trims manufacturers and technology developers. Products will be showcased in dedicated “e-shops” on the Première Vision marketplace.

E-shops will serve as a digital catalog with videos, images and editorial, and will help facilitate connections between clients and suppliers.

The digital week will also dive into the season’s trends—from products to materials—and will feature talks by key players and experts, as well as a program of conferences and masterclasses to meet the industry’s emerging challenges.

The program will begin on December 1 with GuglielmoOlearom Director, Denim Première Vision, discussing about the future of the denim market and how ideas may flourish amidst the COVID crisis. The Tailor Pattern Support founder and 2020 Rivet 50 honoree AlessioBerto will hold a workshop on how to give Trucker jackets the perfect fit and the Denim Première Vision fashion team will provide a look at S/S ’22 denim trends. GiussyBettoni, CEO, C.L.A.S.S. will moderate a talk about regenerative organic agriculture certification.

On December 2, Bettoni will host a panel about blockchain, followed by a second workshop by Berto and a fashion seminar presented by Meidea founder Lucia Rosin about fashion’s connection to nature.

Exhibiting companies will also present their innovations and collections for the season in online presentations, including Artistic Fabric Mills, OrtaAnadolu, Advance Denim, Naveena, PG Denim and more. Representatives from the companies will be available for live chats during their online presentations.

Bangladesh-based denim manufacturer and washing plant Denim Expert has been awarded with the “New Champion” award by the World Economic Forum,

The awards recognize excellence in sustainability, digital disruption and agile business governance, calling attention to business models, technologies and sustainable growth strategies that it finds necessary as the world prepares for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

A member of the World Economic Forum, Denim Expert was recognized as an honorable mention in the “excellence in sustainability” category for sustainable goals and targets in 2019 across several areas including reducing consumption of energy and water, CO2 emissions, and waste generation. The manufacturer was also lauded for its work to provide opportunities to transgender people and human-trafficking survivors.

Denim Expert has emerged as a leader in adopting sustainable protocols and guidelines, particularly in Bangladesh.It was the first Bangladeshi manufacturer to join the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) and the first to become a contributor to ZDHC Foundation, which drives improvement in the management of textile chemicals globally.

The European Union (EU) has imposed tariffs on certain imports from the US, with construction equipment on the list. The goods that have been taxed include self-propelled front-end shovel loaders; self-propelled front-end crawler shovel loaders; self-propelled front-end shovel loaders.

According to the EU, the tariffs have been authorized by the World Trade Organization (WTO) as countermeasures against illegal US subsidies to aircraft maker Boeing”.

Similarly, in 2019, the WTO authorized the US to impose tariffs on EU exports, in response to what it agreed were illegal subsidies paid to the Netherlands-headquartered aerospace company Airbus.

The additional tariffs imposed by the EU on US exports are expected to hit goods worth approximately $4 billion.

While the new regulation follows the latest breakdown in talks between the EU and US negotiating teams, the European Commission has agreed to work with the US to settle this long-running dispute and also to agree on long-term disciplines on aircraft subsidies.

Clo Virtual Fashion and Jeanologia have partnered to speed up and slim down denim production for brands.

Clo, a 3-D fashion solution firm headquartered in Seoul, Korea, and Spain-based Jeanologia, a company that specializes in finishing technology solutions for denim, will facilitate a direct connection between Clo3D and eDesigner, respectively, to enable the importing and exporting of “.jean files” — Jeanologia’s proprietary file extension — directly into Clo’s solution.

The idea is to streamline denim production for brands, and the companies’ powers combined will do just that. Brands and designers can now apply a .jean file, created in Jeanologia’seDesigner, directly into Clo’s virtual garments to visualize and render denim finishes and send them directly to a laser machine to begin production, the companies said. The next step involves the use of eMark, Jeanologia’ssoftware, that is installed in the laser machine.

Jeanologia’seDesigner is a digital tool and end-to-end platform customized exclusively for jean creation. Users design and visualize their washes, and Clo comes in to help visualize these designs in 3-D, both for design decisions and to generate digital products. Its new integration will be available in the latest version of Clo’s software, scheduled for release later this month.

Owner of brands like Ann Taylor and LOFT, Ascena Retail Group plans to stop using wool from the llama-like creatures amid concerns from animal-rights activists about the sometimes brutal process of producing it.

Ascena’s brands currently sell several sweaters made with fabric blends that include alpaca. But the New Jersey-based company said it’s decided to “fully eliminate” the famously soft fiber from its product lines after the winter 2020 season.

Ascena was among dozens of major retailers that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals urged to ditch the fabric after publishing grisly findings from its undercover investigation of Mallkini, the world’s largest privately owned alpaca farm.

Footage from the Peruvian farm showed workers forcing a screaming alpaca’s legs into a device that PETA likened to a “medieval torture rack” so they could shave the wool off its belly. The group also captured a worker standing on an alpaca’s neck and others crudely stitching up wounds the animals suffered while they were shorn.

Besides Ascena other big fashion firms such as Uniqlo, Valentino and Columbia Sportswear have also banned alpaca wool from their collections.

In less than two years, Indonesian viscose rayon producer Asia Pacific Rayon (APR), has achieved numerous milestones in promoting sustainability. Earlier this year, the company inaugurated Indonesia’s largest viscose rayon facility to date in Riau, Sumatra.The 240,000-ton capacity mill seeks to strengthen the national textile and textile product industry as part of the government’s “Making Industry 4.0” vision. Aside from bolstering the textile sector.

APR has also launched initiatives for clean manufacturing, sustainable sourcing, and supporting local communities and employees. It recently also launched an inaugural sustainability report which details the accomplishments of the said efforts.

APR’s inaugural sustainability report reveals the company’s plans to reduce air emissions from its viscose-making process. The company plans to recover over 90 percent of carbon disulfide from their production. In 2019, the average recovery rate was 89.2 percent, just a few steps closer to the target.

The report also outlines how APR has been actively helping fight the global pandemic. Along with its parent entity APRIL, the company has provided 15,000 personal protective equipment gowns, 150,000 surgical masks, and gloves to Riau’s Covid-19 taskforce.

Compensating for dismal performance in the second quarter, the global luxury sector surpassed expectations in the third quarter with notable performances from LVMH and Hermes. As per Business of Fashion, the fashion luxury sector was abuzz with activities this month with Tiffany reviving deal with LVMH by reducing price by 2.6 per cent. The Ferragamo family also initiated a discussion to sell approximately 20 per cent in its holding vehicle. World’s second-most influential fashion blogger of 2020, Chiara Ferragni, announced plans to list her lifestyle brand while Haircare manufacturer Pool Service acquired Penzeri Diffusion, the owner of the Urban Tribe brand. Mandarin Capital also acquired a 74 per cent stake in Nuova Fapam.

Luxury embraces sustainability

Another change that occurred during this month was a shift towards sustainable luxury. Sephora launched a premium refillable lipstick called Valdé, and earmarked one percent of its revenues for social initiatives promoting equality. Similarly, Safilo announced its plans to produce sunglasses with recycled plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in collaboration with the Ocean Cleanup Project; Kering set up a temporary shop for used Gucci items in collaboration with The RealReal to Moncler reiterated its commitment to carbon-neutrality by 2021; Estée Lauder’s Origins brand collaborated with its packaging suppliers to launch an advanced recycling tube package in 2021 and Kering teamed up with Adidas, Lululemon and Stella McCartney to pledge using fungi-based leather in their manufacturing process from 2021 onwards.

Lockdown fears offset initial gains

As per the Savigny Luxury Index (“SLI”), growth in October remained flat with lockdown fears offsetting initial gains. Tapestry’s shares soared 42 per cent due to better-than-expected quarterly results, especially in mainland China. The company also appointed Joanne Crevoiserat as its CEO. Boosted by a series of broker upgrades, luxury firm, Capri Holdings maintained its growth momentum in October just like Tiffany which surged 13 per cent on account of its historical deal with LVMH.

Beleaguered shoe and leather brand Tod’s announced disappointing first-half results and lost 27 per cent share value. It also didn’t experience post-lockdown recovery comparable to other regions. Increased possibility of a no-deal Brexit caused Burberry’s share price to tumble by 13 per cent.

Keeping its fingers crossed, the luxury sector eagerly awaits the upcoming Christmas sector. With shops and businesses shutting down to control the second wave COVID-19, the sector relies on a quick recovery to cash in on the pre-Christmas rush.

The ban on import of Chinese textiles by the US might prove to be a blessing for the Indian textile industry, spurring not just its cotton but also silk exports.

Focus on Indian cotton

China caters to around 30 per cent of cotton consumed globally. A ban on Chinese cotton globally may shift world’s focus to Indian cotton, spurring yarn exports to Bangladesh and Vietnam, said well known textile expert Rajesh Bheda to the Indian Express recently. Likewise, nearly 80 per cent of the silk threads India uses are imported from China. However, the country also has a good homegrown industry that can produce varieties of silk like broacade silk, etc explains designer Hemang Agrawal. Experts opine that limiting or controlling Chinese textiles and apparel imports would will be good for the Indian textile industry as China has been dumping various products at cheap rates thereby undercutting Indian textile and apparel makers.

Schemes to boost silk exports

India is world’s second largest producer of raw silk says Indian Silk Export Promotion Council (ISEPC) and is also the largest consumer of pure silk. Over the last five years, the council has gradually increased its production of Indian silk yarns thereby reducing dependence on Chinese silk imports, explains Sanjeev Kumar, Senior Director, ISEPC. Sharma says several top Indian apparel exporters have seen a spurt in orders are and are in talks with global buyers looking to increase sourcing from India. Meanwhile the Textile Ministry has launched restructured scheme called ‘Silk Samagra’ to improve the quality of domestic silk production, adds Kumar.

Promoting handlooms and handicrafts

Despite its humungous size, the Indian textile industry continued to struggle in the global market. Textile Ministry stats show, from March 2018 to April 2019, India’s textile exports recorded 5 per cent decline. Its share in the global $150 billion MMF market is also minuscule at 0.7 per cent. In the top-10 technical textile lines too, India has a tiny 0.6 per cent share of the total global market which is worth $100 billion, said Ravi Kapoor, Textile Secretary at the annual general meeting of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI).

To make Indian textiles globally competitive, the government aims to launch a new National Textile Policy focusing exclusively on manmade fiber products. Meanwhile, Laila Tyabji, Founder, Dastkar, a Delhi-based NGO, urges the industry to promote handlooms and handcrafted products as one its biggest strengths.