Bangladesh graduation from Least Developed Countries (LDCs) is likely to be bittersweet. On one hand, Bangladesh will progress to being a developing country on the other it stands to lose LDC specific preferences and privileges afforded by international development partners. One of its most significant losses would be the loss of duty-free and quota-free (DFQF) market access for exports. Bangladesh’s exit from LDC has been scheduled by United Nations Committee for Development Policy (UNCDP) for 2026. On its graduation, the country stands to lose huge trading benefits to the EU and UK market.

Exploring GSP+ to cover DFQF fallouts

To address DFQF loss-related fallouts—particularly in the EU -- Bangladesh plans to access the EU’s GSP+ scheme. As per a Daily Star report, the GSP+ scheme was initiated by the EU In 2015 for non-LDCs, Low-Income Countries (LICs) and Low-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Titled ‘Special Incentive Arrangement for Sustainable Development and Good Governance’, the scheme enables EU to offer zero duty market access upto 66 per cent of tariff lines to the eligible countries, like Bangladesh.

Currently only eight countries including Pakistan and Sri Lanka enjoy benefits under GSP+ scheme. To access these benefits, Bangladesh needs to fulfill several requirements including raising the value of top seven major exports to over 75 per cent of total GSP-covered exports. Bangladesh already fulfills this criterion as the current value of top seven exports is 96 per cent of total exports to the EU.

Eligibility requirements

Secondly, Bangladesh needs to limit its share in EU’s total imports under the scheme to 7.4 per cent. Currently, Bangladesh’s share in EU’s total imports is 26 per cent which could hamper its eligibility for GSP+. The preference eligibility under the GSP+ scheme demands "double transformation" of exported items. If post LDC graduation, Bangladesh aims to access the DFQF markets, it needs to move on from being a producer of raw materials to a supplier of finished goods.

Another challenge Bangladesh faces is fulfilling the sustainability requirements. It needs collate and process credible data to argue the ‘vulnerability criteria’ and ‘import share criteria,; if it intends to pursue the GSP+ pathway. It also needs to strengthen its backward linkage industry by implementing a strategic business plan in the textile sector.

Invoking regional cumulation provision

The Rules of Origin facility of GSP+ enables Bangladesh to meet the requirements of double transformation. The country can invoke the ‘regional cumulation’ provision that allows imports from South Asian countries to account in the calculation of the double transformation. The regional cumulation provision also allows Bangladesh to account for imports from countries with which the EU has Free Trade Agreements (FTA). However, to what extent Bangladesh’s exports will remain price-competitive by accessing the inputs from these countries, needs to be seen.

Strategies for climate-related goals

Bangladesh also needs to formulate new strategies to accomplish other related global commitments including ensuring lean energy, carbon neutrality, waste management, robust climate actions vis-à-vis the emerging EU Green Deal, Circular Economy frameworks, etc.

To gain a permanent duty-free access to trading nations Bangladesh can weigh the option of an FTA with the EU. However, this is a tedious, so-far-uncharted option that requires difficult trade-offs between domestic industries/sectors. Therefore, the Bangladesh government needs to initiate discussions with business and industry leaders on strategies post LDC graduation.

Wrangler and Billabong have launched their first collaborative summer collection that highlights the best of both brands through a western spin on vintage surf fashions for men and women.

The collection’s first drop, includes more than 40 men’s and a robust array of women’s summer staples ranging from signature boardshorts, workwear, denim, accessories, graphic Ts, playful blouses and dresses, and surf and swimwear (a first for Wrangler) with a ’70s-inspired beach-meets-western, casual élan. The second drop, slated to release later, will include more Wrangler-inspired range jackets, denim, fleece, high-waisted cords, and more. In addition, the line was designed with eco-conscious materials — recycled P.E.T., organic cotton and hemp.

The Wrangler x Billabong collection, ranging in price from $25.95 to $149.95 across the 130 total styles, will be available on both brands’ e-commerce sites, as well as with select retail partners, such as nordstrom.com.

In its fourth sustainability report Vision Guess covering fiscal years 2020 and 2021, American fashion brand Guess announced its future targets, written in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainable Accounting Standard Board (SASB) standards.

As per these targets, Guess plans to increase sustainable denim offerings to 75 per cent within three years, replace virgin polyester with recycled materials, reduce corporate greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent and supply chain emissions by 30 per cent by 2030. Its greenhouse gas targets have been approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative.

The report also highlights the company’s new Guess Sustainability Assurance Framework - a robust process to collect, review and test sustainability data to ensure the consistency and comparability of nearly 100 ESG-related metrics, before sending to its external assurance provider.

The publication of Vision Guess marks the company’s successful completion of a reasonable assurance engagement with Big 4 accounting firm KPMG to examine the metrics and disclosures in its sustainability report.

Expanding its partnership with secondhand specialist ThredUp, J Crew Group-owned denim brand Madewell has launched its own dedicated resale platform, Madewell Forever.

As per Fashion Network, the Madewell Forever platform will be powered by ThredUp’s Resale-as-a-Service (RaaS) tech and logistics program. Together, the two companies will create the denim-focused white-label resale channel, which includes a digital shop.

The platform will allow Madewell fans to both empty out their own closets and shop for second-hand denim pieces. It will launch with more than 3,000 pre-owned women’s jeans. Stocked via ThredUp’s inventory and with pieces collected at Madewell stores, Madewell Forever will add new styles hourly, as available.

Customers can bring pre-worn jeans of any brand or style to Madewell stores and receive $20 to be spent on a full-priced pair of the brand’s jeans. Collected denim items are then sent to ThredUp, who sort the inventory and pass on women’s Madewell denim that meets its quality standards to be resold via Madewell Forever.

Pieces that are not considered fit for resale will be recycled through approved programs such as Cotton’s Blue Jeans Go Green.

China’s textile and apparel (T&A) imports from Europe increased to $2 billion during January-April 2021 from $1.4 billion during the corresponding period in the previous year. As per a Textile Value Chain report, China’s imports from Europe grew 44.11 per cent during January-April 2021. Imports from Vietnam increased 35.74 per cent to $1.7 billion in 2021 during the same period. Imports from the US increased 72.98 per cent or $0.4 billion.

India’s export of textile and apparel imports to China grew by 67.83 per cent from $0.4 billion to $0.8 billion. Japan’s export to China remained constant for both the mentioned durations at $0.7 billion. There was a slight growth in Brazil and Australia’s exports at $0.6 billion and $0.5 billion respectively. Taiwan’s exports grew by 10.14 per cent from $0.4 billion to $0.5 billion. Korea’s export dropped from $0.6 billion to $0.4 billion.

Ghana’s apparel exports are being continuously threatened by the low-cost, high-volume competing exports from China and other Asian countries, says the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA). The sector’s prospects are linked to the relative speed with which it can be set up and the large impact on employment-generation, especially in industrial settings.

In a Ghana Web report, the association says, domestic apparel exports continue to suffer from inadequate promotion of its textiles and Afrocentric fashion in mainstream apparel channels abroad. The apparel industry in Ghana employs more than 6,000 Ghanaians and exports more than $30million on average annually. According to GEPA, export revenues from the sector in 2020 stood at $43million compared to the $137.4billion worth of apparel and accessories that China alone exported last year to the US market.

But in its 10-year National Export Development Strategy for the non-traditional export sector, GEPA says its export revenue for 2021 is projected to reach $52million by December. The authority says it is currently reviewing financial positions of existing apparel companies in order to roll-out a funding package to service funding requirements of the industry.

The association also plans to provide strong capacity building and funding support to upgrade its members to become a self-sustaining national industry.

One of the largest fashion trade shows in Latin America, Intermoda 2021 is being held from July 20-23, 2021 at Guadalajara in Mexico. As per Business of Fashion, the trade fair is being held at Expo Guadalajara and is attended by 500 companies and 700 brands from countries like Mexico, Colombia and the US, and over 10,000 buyers. The fair features pavilions dedicated to womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, streetwear, suppliers, footwear and accessories. Intermoda has been running for 37 years with two editions per year, in January and July.

According to Mario Flores, President, this edition of Intermoda seeks to reactivate the sector with a pavilion to promote the economic revitalisation of the fashion industry in states like Jalisco, Hidalgo and Guanajuato and also Mexico City. Called ‘Canaive-Made in Mexico’, the pavilion is being held in partnership with the National Chamber of the Clothing Industry (CANAIVE).

Like the previous two editions, the event is not holding runway shows due to health and safety measures; strict security protocols are being implemented to mitigate the pandemic. Attendees will, however, be able to visit prescribed areas where designers and brands such as Paulina Luna, Daniel Andrade, Vero Diaz, Yeshua Herrera are expected to showcase their latest collections.

There will also be a session of 13 conferences dedicated to the fashion business, business innovation, design, trends and foreign trade in a hybrid format that will feature both in-person and remote speakers from Spain, Italy, the United States and Mexico.

As per a new Crisil Research report, lack of FTAs and increased competition led to 23 per cent decline in India's share in global exports of cotton yarn in calendar year 2020 (CY2020) from 29 per cent in CY2015. Meanwhile, India’s share in readymade garments (RMG) stagnated at 3-4 per cent over the past decade. In cotton yarn, India lost market share over the past decade to Vietnam and China while it maintained its share in RMG even as global trade in the segment contracted.

The reduction in export incentives pushed Indian textiles players further to the brink in 2020. Crisil Research does not expect any significant improvement in incentives with the launch of the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) scheme. However, the recently announced PLI scheme for man-made fibres (MMF) and technical textiles is expected to improve the potential of MMF-based RMG exports where India's share has been weak. The scheme may help the sector enhance its export share over the medium to long term.

Despite sales declining by 23 per cent to £115 million in the year upto March 27, British handbag and accessories brand Mulberry returned to profit during the pandemic year. As per a Women’s Wear Daily report, the brand’s profit during the period totaled £4.6 million, compared to last year’s loss of £47.9 million, reflecting growth in Asia-based and digital sales. The company also eschewed markdowns in the period, which boosted profit margins, and made a series of economies, including layoffs during lockdown.

The brand’s underlying profit before tax rose to £5.9 million compared with a loss before tax £14.2 million in the previous year. The group’s revenue during the period to date has increased by 45 per cent while retail revenue increased by 30 per cent due to a strong recovery in the UK and continuing growth in Asia,

During the 12-month period, Mulberry’s international retail sales rose 4 per cent to £33.8 million, compared with the previous year’s £32.4 million. Sales in Asia Pacific grew by 36 per cent, driven by ongoing development in the region, while China retail sales were up by 81 per cent, and South Korea retail rose by 36 per cent.

During the 12-month period, the company also launched its Made To Last Manifesto with a commitment to transform the business to “a regenerative and circular model, encompassing the entire supply chain, from field to wardrobe” by 2030. It also helped the COVID-19 relief cause by making PPE gowns and providing meals to people in need.

For Q1 FY 2021-22 that ended June 30, 2021, Indorama Synthetics India reported a loss of Rs 14.22 crore as against a net profit of Rs 128.65 crore recorded during the quarter ended March 31, 2021. The company’s total income during the period declined to Rs 695.31 crore down from Rs 835.93 crores in the previous quarter ended March 31, 2021.

It reported EPS of Rs0.54 for the period ended June 30, 2021 as compared to Rs.4.93 for the period ended March 31, 2021. On a yearly basis, Indonrama Synthetics posted a net profit of Rs 14,22 crore during as against net loss of Rs 77.63 crore during the period ended June 30, 2020. The company reported total income of Rs.695.31 crores during the period ended June 30, 2021 as compared to Rs.120.28 crore during the period ended June 30, 2020.

The company reported EPS of Rs.0.54 for the period ended June 30, 2021 as compared to Rs.(2.97) for the period ended June 30, 2020.