Turkey is facing a high rate of inflation. The nearly 20 per cent annual inflation rate is driven by food, services, housing and transportation prices, leaving consumers with little money for their clothing needs. So people are purchasing only the minimum necessary textiles for their daily needs. Decrease in domestic demand will impact manufacturing as textile-apparel companies will cut down on their production.

Accompanying high inflation is the weakening currency. Turkey’s currency lira has lost around 25 per cent of its value since the beginning of 2021. Meanwhile, in addition to the high cost of fuel and other imports, the government this month raised the price of natural gas supplied to the industry by 48 per cent, as a global price spike drove up import bills.

One of the largest gas importers in Europe, Turkey depends on pipeline gas from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran as well as liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Nigeria, Algeria and spot markets. As a result of the current scenario, new investment in the country’s manufacturing sector, especially from domestic players, will fall drastically. Already, people have started shifting their savings to gold and foreign currencies. One major reason for the high rate of inflation and the weakening of the currency is the government’s insistence on low interest rates.

Birla Cellulose, the pulp and fiber business of the Aditya Birla Group, has for the third year in a row retained top position in Canopy’s Hot Button Report. Birla Cellulose has been awarded with a dark green shirt for its efforts in the manmade cellulosic fiber industry, in supporting and conserving ancient and endangered forests, for bringing transparency across the value chain and game changing solutions for a circular business model in the fashion industry. Its efforts and investments are focused on creating innovative solutions for ecological challenges. Over the years, Birla Cellulose has raised its benchmarks in sustainability performance and targets scaling up the production of circular fibers to a level of 1,00,000 tons per annum by 2024. Its award-winning product Liva Reviva is made by utilising cotton waste as feedstock. As a leading sustainability-focused MMCF producer, Birla Cellulose operates 12 sites that apply environmentally efficient closed loop technologies that recycle materials and conserve natural resources.

Canopy’s Hot Button Ranking is the go-to resource for brands and retailers in the fashion industry when it comes to ensuring that they are sourcing from MMCF producers following sustainable forestry practices in order to eliminate the risks related to biodiversity loss and deforestation in their supply chain.

The higher GST rates for textile and apparel items from January 2022 has come as a blow to micro, small and medium-scale textile and clothing units. The manmade fiber sector would face 12 per cent rate from fiber to garments, while the cotton sector would have a five per cent tax on cotton and yarn and 12 per cent for fabrics and garments. As Sanjay K Jain, Chairman of the Textiles Committee of the Indian Chamber of Commerce points out in an industry, where almost 80 per cent units are in the MSME segment, fixing the rate at 12 per cent for fabrics and garments will only lead to higher prices for the common man,.

The move is expected to push up prices for consumers and spur inflation at a time when high raw material costs have already impacted prices. Since it is the micro, small and medium-scale units that make the low-cost garments mostly these units may suffer from a drop in demand with a possibility that in the long run many units in the unorganised sector move out of the GST net. A carrot and stick approach appears to have been followed. With the announcement of production linked Incentive scheme, GST rates have been increased by seven per cent.

As per Clothing Manufacturers Association of India Chief Mentor Rahul Mehta the notification was both, 'disappointing and distressing'. The move would lead to higher prices for end consumer at a time when high raw material costs had already impacted prices. The industry had made several representations to the government in the last two months to not change the rates and would continue to do so, he added.

Since almost 90 per cent of fabric production in the country is in the unorganised sector, increasing the rate to 12 per cent for fabrics is expected to hit power loom and handloom weavers. However the move to set right the inverted duty structure for the manmade fiber sector has been welcomed.

India’s exports in October 2021 rose 43 per cent compared to October 2020 reveal India merchandise trade’s latest stats. As compared to October 2019, exports in October 2021 exhibited a positive growth of 35.89 per cent in dollar terms and 43.30 per cent in rupee terms. Leather exports rose 15 per cent in October 2021. Carpet exports rose 10 per cent.

The cumulative value of exports from India for April to October 2021 grew 55.13 per cent in dollar terms and 53.87 per cent in rupee terms as compared to the period April to October 2020. As compared to April to October 2019, exports in April to October 2021 exhibited a positive growth of 25.97 per cent in dollar terms and 33.06 per cent in rupee terms.

All textile-apparel commodities/commodity groups recorded a positive growth during October 2021 vis-à-vis October 2020. These include cotton yarn/fabrics/made-ups, handloom products etc (46.2 per cent), manmade yarn/fabrics/made-ups etc (29.12 per cent), jute manufacturing including floor covering (27.44 per cent), handicrafts excluding handmade carpets (9.72 per cent) and readymade garments of all textiles (6.42 per cent). Continuing robust export growth signals a sustained economic rebound.

Children’s wear fair Pitti Bimbo will be held in Florence, Italy from January 11 to 13, 2022. The event will offer an extensive panorama of this highly diverse industry, with about 170 leading brands exhibiting, of which 81 will be coming from outside Italy. Among them, will be established and niche brands alike, providing a comprehensive international overview of children’s products, from essentials to sportswear, from directional fashion to everyday wear, from footwear to accessories. In parallel, several adult fashion labels will be presenting their children’s wear lines in their own stands at Pitti Uomo, which is being held simultaneously.

Pitti Bimbo’s exhibition area has been extended to include multiple pavilions, and the layout is different from the June session. The 100 per cent Bambino section will showcase leading and long-established children’s labels, offering a wide range of wardrobe choices for all ages, from babies to teenagers: luxury and tailored items, sportswear and urban wear. The Pitti Bimbo section is dedicated to avant-garde children’s wear and children’s lifestyle products, showcasing young, pioneering brands distinctive for their constant search for innovation, their materials and style.

Both visitor and exhibitor numbers will be up, compared to the last edition, thanks to targeted promotional initiatives to attract major international retailers as well as new, emerging e-tailers.

Techtextil North America and Texprocess will be held in Atlanta from May 17 to 19, 2022. These shows are the largest united platform for technical textiles, nonwovens, machinery, sewn products and equipment. Visitors can gain access to a vast array of products, technologies and solutions across verticals including fashion and apparel, interior design and upholstery, military/protective products, automotive and aerospace, medical and more.

With a diverse group of exhibitors serving the 12 major end-use sectors for technical textiles and nonwovens, Techtextil represents the entire spectrum of applications for technical textiles and nonwovens. The highly technical sessions will be led by experts in the fields of fibers and polymers, nonwovens, nanotechnology, biomedical engineering and more, and will provide a deeper look into the research driving textile innovation and product development for various industries.

Texprocess is the largest B2B platform in the Americas for sewn products, equipment, and software for the clothing and textiles processing industry. For three days, suppliers will come together with leading manufacturers, business owners and industry professionals from all over the world to explore new prospects and discuss the latest innovations. A symposium will provide expert-led panel discussions examining all levels of the supply chain. These topic-specific deep-dives will address the challenges, trends and technologies affecting the sewn products industry, and provide insights into the future of sewn products manufacturing.

American department store chains delivered strong results for the fiscal third quarter. Even though they are grappling with surging costs and snarled supply chains heading into the holiday shopping season they’re rerouting shipping to less congested ports to get goods onto shelves and are paying higher wages and expanding benefits for its workers amid a tight labor market.

Sales at Macy’s stores rose 35.6 per cent. The company booked strong sales of home goods, fragrances, jewelry, watches and sleepwear. Categories like dresses, men's tailored clothing and luggage continue to recover. Macy’s added 4.4 million new customers, a 28 per cent increase over 2019. Macy’s was able to increase inventory 19.4 per cent compared with last year's third quarter and will launch a third-party marketplace that will expand its assortment of product categories and brands.

For Kohl’s sales rose 15.5 per cent. The launch of Sephora shops at Kohl’s is getting a good response so far, with 25 per cent of those customers new to the retailer. They are also younger and more diverse. Overall inventory is down 25 per cent compared to 2019; women’s inventory is down even more. The company’s activewear is enjoying strong sales. Both companies have raised their annual financial outlooks.

Prada’s sales for the third quarter grew 18 per cent, this marks an acceleration from the eight per cent growth rate of first half year. Prada is aiming at a 40 per cent revenue growth. The Italian luxury group will do this by boosting online business and profitability of physical stores.

The family-owned group, which in recent months has been reaping the fruits of a strategic revamp, targets an operating profit of 20 per cent of total sales, more than twice the 2019 level. It also aims to double the proportion of online sales to 15 per cent of retail revenues over that timeframe. The group's strategy focuses on direct distribution to increase store productivity and online penetration. It had close to zero debt at the end of the third quarter, and profitability had further improved over the period. Last year, due to shop closures and lack of tourism, Prada’s sales fell to €2.4 billion. The global health emergency last year interrupted two years of sales recovery at Prada, the result of a revamp plan focused on boosting e-commerce and sticking to full-price sales. Like the rest of the luxury sector, the group started to see the first signs of a rebound last summer.

The United States is looking to increase its cotton exports to Bangladesh. To strengthen US foothold in Bangladesh's market, US exporters and their representatives put an emphasis on resolving issues, such as the obligation to fumigate US cotton after imports, not being able to send cotton-laden ships directly to Bangladesh in the absence of a deep seaport, a hike in shipping costs and other logistics costs. A three-member delegation from Cotton Council International (CCI), a non-profit trade platform that promotes US cotton, is currently visiting Bangladesh as part of the country's effort to further increase the US cotton export to Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is the world’s second largest importer of cotton, a key clothing raw material. The country would like US-cotton made garments to be given duty-free access to Bangladesh’s markets. US exporters have been asked to send cotton directly from transshipment ports, such as Sri Lanka, Malaysia or Singapore, so that shipments can reach within 30 days.

Bangladesh’s spinning industry is heavily dependent on imported cotton. Many factories are now making new investments in setting up spinning facilities because of growing demand for yarns in Bangladesh, leading to the inclusion of about two million new spindles to the existing production capacity in the next two years. So the country will have to import an additional two million bales of cotton. Mills and manufacturers in Bangladesh trust US cotton because of its quality, sustainability, transparency, innovation and value. Meanwhile, as per BTMA President Mohammad Ali Khokon, they have unofficially demanded that US-cotton made garments be given duty-free access to the country's market.

Pitti Uomo will be held in Milan from January 11 to 13, 2022. The menswear show expects 600 exhibitors and buyers from the world’s leading multibrand retailers and department stores are expected. The organisers have opted for prudence and will feature again the streamlined concept tested last season when Pitti Uomo staged a comeback to physical session after being on hold for a year due to the pandemic. They are also planning to adopt the same health protection measures which were in place at the end of June, with six stations offering Covid testing and strict monitoring of all access, which will be possible only for Covid-pass holders.

Pitti Uomo believes the 101st edition can mark a new departure, and has chosen as seasonal theme and slogan ‘Pitti Reflections’, playing on the twin meaning of the verb to reflect both mirroring and thinking. The focus will be on how the traditional men’s wardrobe has evolved, with its most classic items, suitably reinterpreted, making a remarkable comeback in-store. Futuro Maschile will be part of the Fantastic Classic section, dedicated to formal wear, placed alongside two other key areas of Pitti Uomo: Dynamic Attitude, showcasing sportswear brands, and Superstyling, which will host emerging labels, with a specific sub-section called sustainable style dedicated to young designers big on sustainability.