New investments and branding by global retailers and brands have helped Bangladesh emerge as a powerful manufacturer of denim for the United States and European market

As per a Textile Today report, Bangladesh will remain as the preferred sourcing destination of denim goods as the country has improved the production capacity and invested a huge amount of money in backward linkage industry.

According to the Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles and Apparel (Otexa) data, Bangladesh’s denim exports grew by 42.25 per cent Y-o-Y to $798.42 million in 2021.

In 2020, Bangladesh exported denim products of $561.29 million to the US market.

In 2021, Mexico, the second largest exporter of denim to the US, earned $655 million and Vietnam earned $402.49 million.

Bangladesh holds a 21.70 per cent share of denim products in the US, while Mexico and Vietnam hold 17.79 percent and 10.93 percent.

According to Eurostat data, Bangladesh’s denim products exports to the EU rose by 15.18 percent to $1.18 billion in 2021, which was $1 billion in the previous year.

Bangladesh’s share in EU denim market stood at 26.82 percent, while Turkey, the second largest exporter of denim earned $1.13 billion, holds 25.83 percent followed by Pakistan’s share was 17.43 percent and it exported denim products worth $768 million.

Inditex and Infinited Fiber Company have entered into a new partnership to advance new and innovative technologies for textile-to-textile circular loop. As per a Textile Focus report, the partnership focuses on Inditex´s three-year commitment to buy 30 per cent of Infinited Fiber Company’s annual future production volume of Infinna™, a textile fiber that can be created from 100% textile waste –a deal valued at more than €100 million.

This purchase commitment helps Infinited Fiber to expand up its recycling technology through its first large-capacity factory, which it expects to begin operations in 2024, when Inditex is due to start to buying Infinna™.

This collaboration is part of Inditex’s Sustainability Innovation Hub, an open-innovation platform that works alongside start-ups, academic institutions and tech centers to promote and scale innovative initiatives for new materials, technologies and processes that reduce the environmental footprint of fashion products and help in the advance towards more sustainable and circular solutions. Infinited Fiber has developed an innovative solution to turn cellulose-rich materials, such as worn-out, cotton-rich clothes, into a new trademarked fiber called Infinna™ that looks and feels like cotton and can be recycled again in the same process together with other textile waste. With this new fiber, Inditex will be able to continue to minimize the use of virgin materials and advance the move towards a more circular model of clothing production.

Fashion brand Esprit has launched a new collection with Korean fashion brand fleamadonna and eCommerce sites for customers in South Korea and Hong Kong.

Esprit said its newly created eCommerce websites will offer integrated shopping experiences with products comprising the brand’s main labels and collaborative capsule ranges throughout the year. To go with the launch of the websites and kick off a long-term partnership consisting of three unique capsule ranges, the brand has collaborated with fleamadonna to launch the series "ESPRIT X REST & RECREATION" which reinvents Esprit's archived designs. According to the brand, the series brings together Esprit's retro-chic sensibility with designer Kim Ji-eun’s modern fashion aesthetic, giving birth to a selection of designs for new generation fashionistas.

The new products also aim to connect with Millennials growing up in the 80s and 90s including gen Z, as well as generations beyond. The brand added that it will adopt a diversified approach to sourcing locally and seek out more sustainable ways to deliver products to consumers.

Italy recorded 22.6 per cent growth in fashion sales in 2021 compared to 2020. However, pressure on bottom line increased due to a surge in raw material and energy costs, The Russia-Ukraine war also dampened consumer confidence and stability, as per an outlook by Cirillo Marcolin, President, Confindustria Moda. Their figures show, the sector’s sales grew by €16.7 billion to €91.7 billion last year.

A similar trend was highlighted by Sistema Moda Italia, the consortium of Italian fashion and textile companies, which posted a sales rise of 18.4 per cent to €52.9 billion in 2021.

According to Confindustria Moda, exports of Italian fashion goods grew 23.5 per cent last year to €67.5 billion with France, Germany, China and the US, among the best-performing importers. Gianfranco Di Natale, General Manager emphasizes, the US showed impressive growth compared to mostly flat growth over the past two decades. At the same time, exports to the UK decreased 10.2 per cent last year, signaling the impact of inflation on consumer consumption there.

A survey among its associated companies allowed the group to forecast like-for-like sales will improve 19.3 per cent in the quarter. The same survey highlighted an expected slowdown in revenue growth for the second quarter, when the impact of the Ukrainian conflict is being felt more broadly and sales should increase 12.9 percent on a comparable basis.v According to Confindustria Moda, exports to Russia and Ukraine declined by 3.1 per cent from 2019 to € 1.72 billion in 2021. They represented 2.5 percent of total exports in 2021. The analyst estimates, 3 per cent of Italian fashion companies generate more than 50 per cent of revenues in Russia and 11 per cent between 10 and 50 percent.

The survey revealed, 49 per cent fashion enterprises expect second-quarter sales to remain flat versus the previous quarter, while 43 per cent forecast deterioration in their performance. Marcolin says, it is important to build supportive culture among the country’s entrepreneurs to power through the geopolitical instability and pilot the digitization, internationalization and sustainability of the sector.

Despite growing demand for their textiles, Vietnamese textile firms fear, tight material supply might affect export plans. Vietnam is expected to export textiles worth $43.5 billion in 2022. The sector’s exports are expected to grow with top importers reopening economies. Vietnam’s textile exports are also expected to rise on account of various free trade agreements coming into effect, says Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS).

However, Chinese Zero-COVID policy and the Russian-Ukraine war may disrupt supply chains, warns Than Duc Viet, Director, Garment 10 Corp. This may hamper the company’s ability to fulfill new orders, he adds. Than Duc Vet, Director, Garment 10 says, his company plans to diversify suppliers in the next five to ten years to be less dependent on China but it has to accept the situation and seek support from its partners in the short term.

Tran Nhu Tung, Chairman , Thanh Cong Textile Garment Investment Trading JSC., reveals, this company plans to substitute Korean and Thai materials or rely on domestic materials to deal with the shortages. According to the General Department of Customs, Vietnam’s textile exports grew 23 per cent to $8.8 billion in Q1 FY 2022, representing the highest quarterly growth in 10 years.

Vietnamese textile companies are urging the government to approve the Development Strategy for Textile and Footwear by 2030 to make the industry self-sufficient in material production and compliant with rules of origin as stated in free trade agreements, informs VITAS.

The Coreva Design Store in Milan will retail 50 exclusive oversized women’s denim shirts a result of the first research project between fibre producer Lenzing and denim manufacturer Candiani. As per an Innovation in Textiles report, made from Coreva, Candiani’s biodegradable stretch denim made from Tencel Limited Edition yarns, these shirts contain 20 per cent hemp fibre.

The limited-edition fabric can be used to make personalized jeans. Recognized for its sustainability, hemp fabric is equally known for its roughness. Lenzing makes the fiber softer by applying closed-loop manufacturing process in combination with wood pulp, it has been transformed into a soft fibre for the first time.

Caroline Ledl, Head – Textile Management, Lenzing Group says, invented in 2021, the Tencel Limited Edition initiative explores the use of alternative raw materials such as hemp or orange pulp in textile production. The initiative pushes traditional boundaries of fibre production by leveraging natural resources and value by working with like-minded companies such as Candiani Denim.

Upendra Prasad Singh, Union Textiles Secretary believes, a ban on cotton exports will not prove beneficial at this juncture as outbound shipments of cotton are unviable now, due to the rise in domestic fiber prices. The rise in logistics costs also makes exports unviable at the moment, he adds. The textile and garment industry has been seeking an immediate ban on cotton exports to boost domestic supplies and curb the exorbitant rise in fibre prices and its by-products. In the past one year, cotton prices have more than doubled to breach the Rs 100,000-mark for a candy of 356 kg.

Yarn prices, too, have skyrocketed, reflecting the jump in primary raw material (cotton) prices. The government is working with industry players to find out ways to boost domestic supplies in the short term, says Singh. It has finalized certain import deals after an effective duty of 11 per cent was scrapped recently. The government also expects a variety of cotton harvested in summer to arrive soon However, the supply from this harvest is limited—about 5-10 lakh bales. Domestic cotton production is now estimated to be just about 314 lakh bales, of 170 kg each, in the current marketing year through September. On the other hand, consumption is estimated to be about 340 lakh bales.

VS & Co-Lab, the new platform launched by lingerie and beauty brand Victoria’s Secret on its website features some of the most preferred third-party brands and partners launched by the company including some women-founded companies. Martin Waters, CEO, Victoria’s Secret & Co says, the platform will to increase customer engagements though these businesses. In addition to the growth of its core brand, the company seeks new partnerships with innovative and relevant brands to expand its reach into the category.

Patti Cazzato, Head-Emerging Businesses, adds, VS&Co-Lab evens the playing field for unique brands that reflect the demands of the modern consumer. The platform partners small business to leverage the strength of Victoria’s Secret & Co. and its passionate customer base. At present, the platform features 19 brands including Black, female-founded swimwear brand Bfyne; swimwear and lifestyle brand Frankies Bikinis, in which Victoria’s Secret owns a minority stake, shapewear brand Leonisa and plus size intimates brand Mindd Bra.

Helena Kaylin, Founder, Mindd, adds, the partnership with VS&Co-Lab has strengthened their mission to drive the intimates industry forward through their obsession with continuous innovation. The platform represents its continued commitment to promoting inclusion and diversity throughout the market. Seventy-five percent of the brands featured are founded or led by female entrepreneurs.

The platform also reflects Victoria’s Secret’s latest efforts in transformation. The company — which includes the Lingerie, Beauty and Pink Brands – has undergone a massive makeover to curb revenue losses.

The newly appointed New York State Senate has passed a bill prohibiting the use of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs) — dubbed ‘forever chemicals’ — in apparels. Introduced in April 2021, the bill is supported by Assembly member Patricia Fahy and State Senator Brad Hoylman.

As per an Apparel Resources report, if passed by the end of the current legislative season, the bill will come into effect from December 31, 2023. Other bills like the Model Alliance-backed ‘Fashion Workers Act’ and ‘Fashion Act’may be passed in the next season. The American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) has urged the state legislature to set January 1, 2027, as the date for implementing the bill to allow the fashion industry adequate time to research, develop and use alternate chemicals in the industry and suitable time to divert supply chains away from PFAs, says Stephen Lamar, President and CEO.

The industry supports responsible regulatory requirements that protect human health and the environment. AAFA leads efforts to aggressively phase out the use of intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals by 2027, he adds. Already, a bill S.8817/A.4739-C spearheaded by Senator Hoylman and Assembly member Fahy passed in 2020 limits PFAs in food packaging in New York. The appare bill also focuses on phasing out of the ‘intentionally added chemical’ or those that serve an intended function in the product.

Removal of tariffs and the expected lift in processing in India are anticipated to provide some welcome relief in a challenging market.

Australia's wool market has been weathering the storm brought about by growing cash flow, bale dumping and shipment delays.

Furthermore, rising wages and ongoing pandemic-driven lockdowns in China has placed added pressure on the trade.

But industry experts are predicting the re-surfacing of India into the main arena on the back of the country's decision to remove its tariff on Australian wool will provide some much needed diversification.

The immediate removal of the 2.5per cent tariff, under the interim Australia-India Economic Co-operation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA) signed in early April by then Federal trade minister Dan Tehan, stripped tariffs from 85pc of Aussie exports to India.

It will be slashed to zero by the end of this year. In the long-term, the zero-tariff will help India become competitive in the re-export textile market, if it hasn't already.