India will not allow any imports without the HSN code. Standards will be set up for Indian goods and services to meet international requirements so that brand India is recognised in the world as a provider of quality products and services. The aim is to have zero tolerance for sub-standard products and services from the industry and consumers and to have a commitment for quality, sincerity, customer satisfaction and not be the second best. India’s free trade agreements with other countries have not led to the growth of trade and business because poor quality products and services get restricted with non-tariff barriers when exported. The United States has 8,000 technical barriers to trade (TBTs), Brazil has 3,879, China has 2,872 and India has only 439 TBTs.

The new Bureau of Indian Standards Act is taking a fresh look at all standards for goods and services to balance the interests of consumers with that of the industry that will enable the culture of quality to take root in the country. The sixth National Standards Conclave was organised in New Delhi this month by the department of commerce under the ministry of commerce and industry, the Confederation of Indian Industry, the Bureau of Indian Standards, the Export Inspection Council of India, the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies and the Centre for Research on International Trade.

As the global active wear industry continues to grow, more companies are moving into the space. Online searches for leggings with pockets were up 180 per cent in the last three months of 2019, while searches for zip leggings rose 76 per cent over that same period. Leggings have become a key staple of the modern wardrobe. Now leggings come almost entirely of virgin plastic. Leggings are used for both working out and everyday wear.

Nordstrom and Macy’s have added more products and more drops to their private label active wear brands — Zella for Nordstrom and Ideology for Macy’s. There is a high demand for private label active wear within department stores. Fast fashion company Nasty Gal dropped its first active wear collection consisting of leggings, sports bras, tees and swimsuits. Fitness studio SoulCycle is ramping up its own retail operation.

Some companies that are strictly in the active wear space, and have been since the beginning, are trying out different partnerships and business models to stay ahead of competition. For example, Bandier entered 2020 with seven retail locations and plans to open more throughout the year. In 2019, the company’s revenue grew 60 per cent year over year.

Samshék announced its elevated all day casual wear curated just for you and your body type. The style emphasizes on comfort, relaxation, and informality. One can select from wide range of Casual Dresses, Polo, Tops, Tees, Jumpsuits and Palazzos. One shoulder ruffled blouse, Halter spaghetti top, Boho chic dress, basic maxi dress, pointer collar jersey dress are few of the best preferred. For day-today college look opt from a variety of tees, tops and crop tops. For a semi-formal look opt for monochrome casual dresses. Be it any occasion, Samshék is one-stop shop to fetch all your needs for a perfect casual to party look. One can get maximum eyeballs by dressing up with the best styles from Samshék.

Samshék, being one of its kind, tech-based fashion house, and offers custom made European outfits like corporate shirts, dresses, tops, jumpsuits ranging from casual to evening look.

Samshék is also one of the first to introduce the 3D body scanning technology in India and runs the campaign #sizenobar which creates clothing for any size and any body type. They also have a digital option to input one’s personalised measurements at their store and online as well.

Samshék India’s first tech fashion brand that specializes in affordable luxury clothing for women. A fashion forward tech brand that combines digital experience with inspirational fashion to empower women to feel confident in their own skin. Their mantra is to offer fashion and quality combined with innovation and sustainability. The brand also offers customized clothing best suited to one's body shape and personal style. On the technology front- they have introduced one of the first 3D body scanner technology in India for taking personalized measurements.

Berlin, January 13th to 17th, 2020 the new year for revamping fashion has begun and ISKO is creating a presence across the board at the Berlin Fashion Week. With an agenda fully packed with advanced and responsible innovation, special projects, panels and happenings, the mill will take part in Neonyt, Selvedge Run and Premium to share its knowledge and vision.

NEONYT: FASHION, SUSTAINABILITY, INNOVATION

The 7th edition of ISKO I-SKOOLTM, the world’s most prestigious denim design awards; will showcase its latest responsible innovation, the new R-TWOTM denim fabrics; Also provide its expertise during two panels “When Denim Needs to be Reinvented” and “Defining Sustainability” and cohost the NEONYT PARTY.

ISKO I-SKOOLTM 7 launch event

Neonyt is the chosen platform for the launch of ISKO I-SKOOLTM, the educational project promoted by ISKO and Creative RoomTM. Aiming at nurturing creativity through hands-on experience of denim’s infinite potential, it is enriched by an authoritative network of leading players making its competence and expertise available.

R-TWOTM: ISKO goes 100% responsible

ISKO will be at booth THO.G/A11 – Hangar 4 exhibiting the new R-TWOTM denim fabrics, a responsible mix of certified reused cotton and certified recycled polyester. These have been used to create ISKO’s Spring Summer 2021 collection, a selection of which will be displayed together with garments from the latest and innovative ISKO x Miles Johnson partnership. Inspired by the creative theme “Light on the Land”, the capsule collection perfectly demonstrates how fabrics belonging to the platform can be used to create compelling denim solutions.

Celebrating and sharing knowledge

The company will cohost the NEONYT PARTY as well as share its vision and expertise through two informative panels. Ebru Ozkucuk Guler, ISKO Senior Sustainability and CSR Executive, will speak on the “Denim collaborations How to build a real value chain?” panel (January 14th, 12:15 – 1:45pm, Neonyt Fashionsustain Stage) and Rosey Cortazzi, ISKO Global Marketing Director, will take part in the discussion investigating “Global impact: when Denim Needs to be Reinvented” (January 15th, 4.00 - 5.00pm, Neonyt Prepeek Area).

PREMIUM: THE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS FORUM FOR ADVANCED AND CONTEMPORARY FASHION January 14th to 16th, 2020.

Last but by no means is least in the list of ISKO’s engagements in Berlin the Responsible Future panel talks at Premium. These will take place in Hall 3 of Station in Berlin and, on January 15th at 2.30pm, Elena Faleschini, ISKO’s Global Field Marketing Manager, will provide insights and knowledge in the panel “Denim&Sustainability”.

SELVEDGE RUN: A CURATED SELECTION OF INTERNATIONAL ICONIC AND HERITAGE BRANDS

January 14th to 16th, 2020. Selvedge Run was the must-see event of the German capital’s fashion week. This is where ISKO will present a unique collection of responsible garments featuring the innovative R-TWOTM fabrics.

If spring/summer 2020 runways are to go by, trendy tights have caught the attention of many designers across the globe. British designer Richard Quinn has launched a new range of tights decorated with brash florals to match the prints on his gowns. The mania of logo is also rife with labels like Gucci, Saks Potts and Fendi splattering their signage on tights this season.

High price and environmental concerns lead to boycott

However, one of the disadvantages of investing in these extortionate stockings is their price tags often far exceed their price-per-wear. As these tights are worn only a handful of times before being either torn to shreds or dumped in landfills, they have become a huge cause of concern for environmentalists. Campaigners like Extinction Rebellion and the Environmental Audit Committee conducted an inquiry into fast fashion last year and decided to boycott fast fashion and fur, shirking tights under the radar. Made from greenhouse gas emitting nylon, tights are like the single-use plastic of the textile industry. They are incredibly difficult to recycle and are often dumped into landfills.

Opting for eco-friendly tights

However, many hosiery manufactures are now producing eco-friendly tights. One such manufacturer, Clayton makes tights made of a mixture of yarns. It combines both recycled nylon and micro encapsulation technology that contains aloe vera, retinol and vitamin E. These yarns are sold from its family’s yarn business in England.

Another company, TLC runs a recycling program that encourages customers to return their tights so they can be melted down and their elastane content can be put into long-life plastic products, such as car components. Other brands like Swedish Stockings use recycled polyamide, bio-cotton and cashmere for their hosiery, in addition to producing it in zero-waste production facilities. Luxury hosiery label Wolford launched a range of stockings made from nylon waste and recycled ocean fishnets. The brand now aims to expand its sustainable range. However, it is skeptical as to whether eco-friendly tights can also be classified as being luxurious.

Innerwear brand Heist also produces durable tights. The brand recently set a series of sustainable goals to hit by 2020, which include reducing energy consumption and greenhouse emissions. Additionally, the brand also plans to launch its first pair of tights made from recycled materials. For this, it will adopt sustainable technologies, such as Roica Eco Smart elastane, a Japanese engineered innovation and Fulgar Q-NOVA®, a sustainable Nylon 6.6 made in Italy and created from raw material from production waste.

Durable tights to deal with extra costs

However, as these brands charge more for their products, consumers have to shoulder the burden of extra costs for apparels that are not sustainable. To overcome this, Marks & Spencer introduced ladder resist tights in 2007 that are extra durable, come in high deniers and are among the brand's bestselling items. The hosiery industry needs to revamp. Though a few select labels have made a definite start towards it, but there is still a long way to go to see tangible change across the high street and hesitant luxury brands.

The $48.3-billion Aditya Birla Group’s leading fashion ingredient brand Liva recently inaugurated a state- of- the- art Liva Accredited Partner Forum (LAPF) Studio in Jaipur in association with Garment Exporters Association of Rajasthan (GEAR). This is the fourth such Studio after NOIDA, New York and Tirupur.

LAPF Studios act as a one-stop customer experience centre for innovation, technical, product and marketing solutions. The Jaipur Studio will display a collection of more than 2000 fabric innovations of Viscose, Modal & and Excel.

Technical specifications, uniqueness of the fabric and marketing details will be available in wide variety including Woven, Knitted and Flat Knitted fabrics. LIVA’s seasonal collection specially designed by its in-house designers will also be showcased in the Studio to service global buyers.

The studio was launched in the presence Rajiv Dewan, President, Garment Exporters Association of Rajasthan (GEAR), Navin Advani, Vice President, Garment Exporters Association of Rajasthan (GEAR), Rajeev Gopal, Global Chief Marketing and Sales Officer, Pulp and Fibre Business, Aditya Birla Group and Manohar Samuel, Sr. President, Marketing and Business Development, Birla Cellulose,

Gopal, said, “We at LIVA have always been the pioneers of change in the industry and yet again have proved the same through the launch of this Studio which is beneficial for Jaipur Cluster”.

Dewan, said, “We see LAPF Studio as a platform for fuelling business growth for the Jaipur cluster. We look forward for innovations in fabric and Liva seasonal collection”.

YKK has launched a new Natulon ocean sourced collection of zippers made from ocean bound plastic. The premium collection of zippers is made from plastic waste that has been collected within 50 kilometres of the coastline of Sri Lanka. YKK is Japan’s leading manufacturer of zippers. Natulon ocean sourced collection will debut at ISPO Munich from January 26-29, 2020 in Munich, Germany, and at the Outdoor Retailer + Snow show from January 29-31, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. The zippers will be available for purchase in Spring 2020, the company said in a press release.

Indistinguishable from zippers made of virgin polyester, Natulon ocean sourced offers the same strength, durability, and functionality as conventional zippers. At the same time, Natulon ocean sourced is helping YKK achieve its goal of further reducing carbon emissions in its manufacturing processes. Globally, YKK has achieved an 8 per cent reduction in carbon emissions since 2013 at its production sites.

YKK’s collection of sustainable trims is aimed at reducing carbon emissions, toxic chemicals, and water use. In addition to Natulon ocean sourced, the collection features the GreenRise zipper, the first in the industry to use plant-based polyester, thereby achieving a 30 per cent reduction in petroleum usage, YKK’s organic cotton zippers, and YKK’s original Natulon zipper, which recycles approximately 3,600 plastic bottles (29 g/bottle) per 10,000 zippers (60 cm length). Also included in the collection are zippers made using YKK’s Eco-Dye dyeing technology, which has completely eliminated the usage of water in the dyeing process, and environmentally friendly snaps and buttons made using Acro-Plating, a new plating technology that uses fewer resources to manufacture and does not use harmful plating chemicals.

The Union Textiles Ministry plans to reduce hank yarn obligation. The government has already partially eased the challenges related to hank yarn obligation, which the industry has been facing from the last two decades. The hank yarn obligation is a mechanism to ensure adequate availability of hank yarn to handloom weavers at reasonable prices. The existing norms prescribe that every producer of yarn who packs yarn for civil consumption shall pack at least 30 per cent of yarn in hank form on quarterly basis. In the textile industry, a hank is a coiled or wrapped unit of yarn or twine (as opposed to both other objects like thread or rope as well as other forms such as in a ball, cone, bobbin, spool, among others). The industry is demanding that the obligation should be reduced in the 10-20 per cent range.

The ministry is actively pursuing with the finance ministry on the inverted duty structure. In the textile industry, there is high duty on raw material compared to the finished product. The ministry also urged Texprocil to hand-hold small firms to become mid-sized companies.

The Textiles Minister inaugurated the TEXPROCIL Awards Function which celebrated the achievements of textile industrialists. Smriti Zubin Irani, Textile Minister suggested that inta-industry problems should be solved at industry level only without the involvement of ministry. She also urged TEXPROCIL and CCI and Skill development ministry to pursue skilling farmers for mechanised farming.

TEXPROCIL, the first Export Promotion Council set up in India in 1954 and responsible for promoting exports of cotton textile celebrated the achievements of its member exporters at the Annual Awards function. The Council is a one point stop for those who wish to source textiles from India. It has 3000 members who are engaged in the exports of cotton textiles including yarns, fabrics and home textiles including made ups.

Every year the Council recognises the role played by exporters by giving out awards in different categories. This year, the Council distributed 58 awards in 32 different categories, including the coveted Platinum trophy for the highest global exports. Recognising the role played by MSME units in India and given that the growth of MSMEs is one of the many thrust areas of the government, TEXPROCIL has also instituted an Award for the highest employment generated by MSME Units which went to Ken Enterprises Pvt Ltd and Gupta International.

To be held from January 21 to 22, 2019 at the Altman Building in Manhattan’s Meatpacking district, the Japanese External Trade Organization (JETRO) will host a two-day event dedicated to sustainable advancements in textiles, featuring two full days of information-packed panels led by notable industry leaders. Established in 1958, the government-adjacent group has been dedicated to promoting trade and investment between Japan and countries around the globe. JETRO’s focus has been helping small to medium-sized Japanese businesses maximize their export potential globally by unlocking new opportunities.

The discussions at next week’s show will center around fashion’s devastating impact on the environment, and explore ways in which the global textile industry can mitigate its role in climate change by perusing supply chain advancements and incorporating innovative new materials. Issues like managing water waste, improving chemical dye profiles and inefficiencies on the factory floor will be explored throughout talks with leading industry experts.

The show’s second day will feature Angela Kramer, senior manager of fabric research and development at 3.1. Phillip Lim; Björn Bengtsson, chief merchandising officer at men’s shirting brand Untuckit LLC and adjunct professor at Parsons; and Katsu Kawasaki, founder of SynZenbe and Katsu New York.

This show’s exhibitors encompass some of Japan’s leading design studios, denim mills, weavers, silk manufacturers, organic cotton manufacturers and purveyors of traditional Japanese embroidered textiles.