The Conference on Sustainable Finishing of Textiles will be held online from September 30 to October 1 and from October 7 to 8, 2021. It will highlight the commitment of textile coaters and laminators to act and invest in material technology and machinery to abate detrimental impacts on the environment and ensure a sustainable future for the industry. The Conference will.

The conference will explore materials, processes and machinery that can help dyers, finishers, coaters and laminators achieve this goal. It will address issues new finishing technologies, new brands and companies driving the growth of these technologies, new laws to propel its growth, etc. The textile industry is currently in a state of flux, with environmental and economic pressures driving the industry towards new digital models, both in respect of how products are manufactured and how they are sold.

Many apparel brands have committed to ambitious goals in respect of their sustainable performances. Along an extremely complex textile supply chain, new processing technologies, fibers, dyes and finishes are rapidly being perfected, with the potential to significantly reduce the industry’s energy, water and raw materials consumption.

India Intimate Fashion Week (IIFW) plans to organize the next edition of IIFW NXT Intimate Fashion Tour) in Pune. IIFW is among the top three fashion week properties in Asia and one the fastest growing brand showcase & exhibit platform, marked global footprints in the shortest ever time.

India Intimate Fashion Week (IIFW) is a platform designed to shed a powerful spotlight on all facets of the intimate apparel and personal care industry. The event exposes both emerging and established brands and designers, manufacturers and distributors from India and around the globe, spanning market categories of lingerie, loungewear, sleepwear, Legwear, lingerie accessories, men’s underwear, swimwear, beachwear, shapewear, etc.

On its third anniversary, IIFW conceptualized “IIFW NXT – The Intimate Fashion Tour” to make it even bigger and better. IIFW NXT was launched generated with intent to create awareness on plus size, queer fashion, and personal hygiene.

Browzwear, a pioneer of 3D digital solutions for the fashion industry, announced the closing of a $35 million funding round from growth equity firm Radian Capital. The investment will accelerate delivery of the company’s aggressive goals for platform development and market expansion.

Radian, an investor in mature, capital-efficient B2B technology companies including industry-leading software and platforms such as Mural, Emailage and Encompass Technologies, invested in Browzwear based on the company’s existing leadership position and track record of growth.

With a visionary management team, pioneering technology and large global customer base, Browzwear is already the leader in end-to-end digital product creation for the apparel industry, with a 40 percent year-over-year growth over the last five years. The additional capital from Radian will enable the company to build on those advantages and deliver on its goal to more than double the size of the business over the next two years.

To support this accelerated growth, Browzwear is instituting an aggressive recruitment plan, intending to triple its global workforce over the next two years. The company plans on adding new talent across areas that will widen the company’s technological leadership in the industry, such as R&D and product development, while simultaneously bolstering its customer-facing teams to enhance service while supporting scale.

Browzwear is also exploring opportunities for inorganic growth while planning substantial expansion of its partner program. Currently consisting of more than 100 partners, the partner program is an ecosystem of complementary products and services that enhance the overall value of Browzwear for customers. By building on this network and bringing together the industry’s most cutting-edge technologies, Browzwear can catalyze further innovations that extend the value of true-to-life 3D through product development and manufacturing to consumer-facing solutions that will power next-generation e-commerce capabilities.

Bangladesh RMG exporters hope the withdrawal of GSP plus facility in EU for Pakistan may help them to bag more orders. However, for this the government needs to keep yarn prices stable and competitive. It also needs to ensure the availability of containers for shipment with competitive price, and exports should be given financial support from banks. The Bangladesh RMG industry was badly hit by the second wave. It had just recovered from the first wave, and had started getting new orders from July onwards when once again lockdowns were imposed by the government.

Post lockdowns, most exporters have resumed operations as outlets in the EU and the US are opening. However, most exporters are shipping intermediate goods like basic T-shirts and polo shirts due to a lack in demand for festive clothes. This is preventing them from negotiating prices with buyers despite the increase in yarn and other raw material prices. Their production has increased by almost 45 per cent whereas buyers are offering less than the real cost increment.

Exporters’ shipment costs have also increased by over 4-folds which is hindering their export targets.

The new rates under the Rebate on Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) scheme are expected to boost orders for textile exporters in Gujarat, besides offering them better cost-competitiveness. The raw rates have increased export incentives for yarn and fabrics from 2.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent. Even though ceilings have been imposed on procurement price, textile exporters expect the rebate to improve their cost-competitiveness. Exporters will be able to offer a competitive price to their customers. This will help them gain more orders and boost their revenues, says Chintan Thaker, Chairman, Assocham-Gujarat State Council.

Demand for textile exports has begun to increase with inquiries pouring in for yarn, fabric as well as garments from various countries. The new rates will help exporters leverage demand, believe industry players. Manufacturers of technical textiles as well as manmade fibre (MMF) are likely ti have an edge as their competitiveness will increase leading to an increase in order volumes, says Narain Agrawal, past Chairman, Synthetic and Rayon Textile Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC).

Concerned over Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, Ludhiana exporters have suspended processing of orders they had received earlier. Vinod Thapar, President Knitwear and Shawl Club says, Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan has created panic amongst exporters who have suspended the processing of the recent orders received from Afghanistan. Taliban might change rules and regulations related to international trade and incase civil war breaks out, shops and businesses might be shut down. However, the situation might normalize and trade resume without any problems once the Taliban appoints all ministers and government officials, he adds.

Harish Kairpal, Finance Secretary, Knitwear Club, adds Afghanistan accounts for sizeable exports from Ludhiana’s garment and textile industry. This fiscal, manufacturers have exported jerseys and other allied products of synthetic fibres worth about Rs 125 crore and sweaters and cardigans worth over Rs 33 crore. Advance payments of several crores of Afghanistan traders are lying with the Ludhiana industry. Exporters are under pressure to either process their orders or return their money, he adds.

The new digital traceability platform launched by Aditya Birla Group company- Thai Acrylic Fibre Co (TAF) will trace its flagship fiber brand – Radianza™. Backed by blockchain technology, the digital platform will ensure complete transparency and traceability for brands, retailers and consumers of Radianza™ fibre in the finished garment. The platform has been developed by Canada based company – Licof Inc, reports Textile Focus.

Radianza™ fiber is the first and only acrylic fiber to have Material Sustainability Index (MSI) Scores published by Higg Co based on the Life Cycle Assessment Impact study conducted by Thinkstep (now Sphera). The fiber uses the revolutionary gel-dyeing technology.

Earlier this year, the TAF become the first and only acrylic fiber company to become a bluesign® SYSTEM partner. The traceability platform will further strengthen the company’s leading position in sustainability in textiles. The company will work with its value chain partners to get the platform adopted across the entire value chain.

Bangladesh spinners are not willing to yield to demands of apparel and terry towel exporters, and reduce yarn prices. As per a Daily Star report, spinners may have another round of meeting with exporters to find an amicable solution to this problem. Mohammad Ali Khokon, President, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) informs, spinners have honored a previous commitment made during a meeting with garment exporters last week to maintain the current yarn prices. Currently, most highly in demand was being sold for about $4.25 per kg in local markets, he adds.

Shahadat Hossain Sohel, Chairman, Bangladesh Terry Towel & Linen Manufacturers & Exporters Association, has urged spinners to ensure adequate supply of yarn at competitive prices as they have a lot of work orders from international buyers. Mohammad Hatem, First Vice-President, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, hoped that the impasse may soon come to an end through consultation among the leaders of relevant trade bodies.

The rate of polymerization declined 6.3 per cent to 88 per cent in Q4 from 94.3 per cent in Q4. As per a CCF Group report, the rate declined by 6.7 per cent from intra-year high of 94.7 per cent. In August, polyester capacity increased by 5.2 per cent to 65.54 million tonne. The theoretical loss of polyester production amounted to about 7.14 million tonne of this, the proportion of PET bottle chip is highest followed by PSF.

Based on current polymerization rate, the theoretical operating rate of PTA plants stands at 76-77 per cent, while PTA industry rate is near 77.2 per cent. Considering limited cut-offs in polyester products sector, the prices of PTA may decline. But, they are still in destocking path, and may remain stable-to-strong as a whole.

Overall, polyester raw materials are not likely to go volatile, and prices are expected to fluctuate within 6200-6400yuan/mt. According to the recent market situation, it is expected the processing fees of polyester products will moderately improve in the future, and some of the turnaround plants will also resume.

PT Mitra Kreasi Garmen, popular known as MILLS Sport, forayed into the sports shoes market with a new collection titled MLLS Footwear.

As per an Indo Textiles report, the new range includes a single type of shoe; the Treximo Omega, in various colors including white gold, black gold, black neon green, and ocean blue. Priced at Rp. 349,000, these shoes can be found at the MILLS official store or online.

Prior to entering the footwear business, MILLS was known as the official apparel sponsor of the Indonesian national team and also collaborated with several clubs such as Bhayangkara Solo FC, North Sulawesi United FC, PSG Pati, and Dewa United FC. Outside of football, Bali United Basketball Club has also established itself as a partner of Mills.

MILLS has also partnered with an English football club named Tranmere Rovers to produce jerseys and apparel for the team nicknamed 'Super White Army.' In future, it plans to football and futsal shoes.