Efforts at increasing transparency in the fashion industry seem to be failing with just 25 per cent apparel brands surveyed by Fashion Revolution in its annual ranking being honest about their carbon emissions. Less than 20 per cent disclosed the amount of carbon content in their raw materials, says an Edie report.

The 2021 edition of Transparency Index analyses the reporting and other disclosure processes of the world’s largest fashion companies. It also measures the percentage of information disclosed by these brands about carbon emissions from manufacturing operations and supply chain.

Lack of honesty in emissions and human rights disclosures

The findings show less than 62 per cent companies surveyed are honest about their carbon emissions from their facilities. Around 26 per cent disclosed information on emissions released from processing and manufacturing and 17 per cent revealed information on emissions related to raw materials.

Many of these brands are signatories of industry coalitions working towards net-zero such as the UN Fashion Charter, WRAP’s Textiles 2030 Scheme and Kering’s Fashion Pact. Their disclosures on issues including tackling water pollution from dye-houses, increasing the use of recycled materials in garments, are particularly dissatisfactory.

Only 18 per cent of surveyed brands have elaborated on their efforts to reduce the use of virgin fossil-based synthetics in products. Around 30 per cent have highlighted permanent clothing take-back schemes while 22 per cent shed light on process after receiving clothes through these schemes.

As per the new index, 99 per cent brands fail to disclose the number of workers paid living wages in their supply chain. They also fail to disclose information about the impact of COVID-19 on their supply chain workers.

Only 3 per cent disclose the number of workers laid-off due to the pandemic. Less than 18 per cent are honest about the status of their present orders while only 10 per cent publish their payment policies.

As per Sarah Ditty, Global Policy Director, Fashion Revolution, garment workers continue to suffer from the devastating effects of the pandemic. On the other hand, brands are prospering. She urges the industry to introduce new laws to ensure transparency on human rights and environmental issues from fashion brands.

No specific mandates for fashion brands

A new research commissioned by Hubbub and published by Seahorse Environmental highlights the loopholes in the UK government’s plans to reduce the environmental impact of fast fashion. The report states, around 75 per cent of the policies introduced by the UK government are never legalized. They do not contain specific mandates on disclosure and only offer advice and support on a voluntary basis.

Further, the report highlights the policy interventions proposed by the Environmental Audit Committee after its initial ‘Fixing Fashion’ inquiry in 2018-19. As per these proposals, the committee emphasizes on the need for the fashion industry to meet climate targets and ensure fairer working standards. The industry needs to operate to highest environmental and social standards, emphasizes Trewin Restorick, CEO, Hubbub in the report.

To be held from August 25-27, 2021 at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre in Shanghai, the Yarn Expo Autumn edition will showcase green, recycled, regenerated, and traceable yarn and fibre solutions. The show will be held in a hybrid format on both physical and digital platforms.

International and domestic exhibitors will showcase a wide array of sustainable products. The Cotton Council International USA (CCI) will promote US cotton fibre and cotton products with the new US Cotton Trust Protocol, which sets the standard for more sustainably grown cotton that is traceable and transparent.

Switzerland’s Rieter will present machinery and spinning technologies for converting natural and man-made fibres and their blends into yarns with the lowest possible consumption of energy, water and chemicals. China’s Qingdao ClusterLoft will display the EcoCluster series developed from recycled fibres made from 100 per cent recycled plastic bottles.

Jilin Chemical from China will showcase four series of products derived from bamboo; Tanboocel fibre, rayon, acrylic filament, and recycled acrylic; which all incorporate antibacterial and deodorant properties and can be completely degraded by nature. China’s Tangshan Sanyou group will introduce the environmentally friendly viscose TangCell EcoTang, made from certifiable forest trees with reduced water consumption and carbon emissions, along with TangCell ReVisco, which recycles textile cotton waste as raw materials.

Guangdong Qiu Sheng Resources from China will display recycled differentiated polyester staple fibres and dope coloured ‘green fibres’ that are used in industrial fields.

Yarn Expo Autumn also offers an online platform, E-Source, for business matching, and addressing sourcing needs without limitations of time and location. The all-in-one platform complements the physical trade fair and hybrid showcase display area by allowing buyers to sort their target suppliers with specific sourcing criteria and receive AI-driven matching recommendations. Real-time interactions will be facilitated by instant messaging and video call functions, so that buyers can submit enquiries and schedule onsite or online meetings with exhibitors during the three-day event and even after the fair.

The UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT) has cancelled the popular and effective Tradeshow Access Program (TAP) with immediate effect.

As per an Innovation in Textiles report, The TAP export scheme provides financial support to smaller companies as they start their export journey. It also provides a small amount of financial support to SME companies attending major international trade shows.

The UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT) has worked with these companies and the government to ensure the grants are used in the most effective way and to help companies grow through international sales.

Over the years, the scheme has launched many household names in Paris, Milan, New York, Shanghai, Berlin and Florence, including: Paul Smith, Vivienne Westwood, Alex Monroe, Edward Green, Abraham Moon, Tateossian, Jenny Packham, Orla Kiely, Simon Carter, Grenfell, Harris Tweed Hebrides, Sunspel, Christopher Raeburn, People Tree, Kestin Hare, Liberty Fabrics, Folk, Melin Tregwynt, Huddersfield Fine Worsted, Tyler and Tyler, GH Hurt.

In addition, UKFT has been able to use the scheme to promote the broader industry including larger companies like Johnstons of Elgin, Begg Scotland, John Smedley, Corgi Hosiery and Dents who have worked with UKFT to support smaller companies coming through and raise the profile of UK plc at a number of international shows.

Chinese fashion brand Shein is re-entering the Indian market through marketplace Amazon. As per a Live Mint report, Amazon Fashion has listed Shein as part of its Prime Day 2021 sale that will go live between July 26 and 27.

Shein had become popular among Gen-Z and millennial shoppers who shipped orders from the site mainly because of low prices and trendy fashion. In 2019, the site had to temporarily stop shipping orders and initiate customer refunds after a crackdown by Mumbai Customs' department over allegations that Chinese shopping sites were paying lower duties than actually due. Over 500 parcels belonging to Shein and Club House were then seized.

In June 2020, the Indian government banned several widely popular Chinese apps in India in the aftermath of escalating tensions on the Indo-China border. These included TikTok, Weibo, WeChat, AliExpress, Shein, CamScanner among others. The apps were directed to be removed from Google Playstore and Apple App Store.

Being held from July 13-17, 2021, the London Textile Fair features 170 exhibitors representing brands from around the world. To comply with coronavirus regulations, the number of exhibitors was limited – to less than half of January 2020's complement of 470, reports Drapers Online.

Pre-show visitor registrations for the event exceeded 3,500 – compared with the 4,000-4,500 expected at the last show – demonstrating the industry's appetite for returning to in-person trade shows following a hiatus of almost 16-month.

Upon entering Islington's Business Design Centre in north London, attendees were immediately met with colorful displays of print designs and vintage garments on the ground level. The bulk of the trade show is being held on the upper level, where more than 100 textiles and accessories manufacturers are represented.

Brands from across Europe are well represented by their agents, as are suppliers from the US, Hong Kong and Pakistan. Adherence to coronavirus restrictions is a definitive element of this year’s show with countless hand sanitizers dotted around the venue, and hazard tape on the steps of the centre's staircase delineates a one-way-system, and encourages visitors to socially distance.

Global producer of wood-based specialty fibers Lenzing Group is partnering with Orange Fiber, an Italian company to produce the first ever Tencel™ branded lyocell fiber made of orange and wood pulp. As per Textile World, this new product aims to realize both companies’ shared vision to enhance sustainability in the textile and fashion industry. The new Tencel™ Limited Edition initiative combines the imagination, innovation and inspiration of eco- responsible textiles, through reinventing Tencel™ branded fibers using unconventional sustainable raw materials.

The Tencel™ Limited Edition presents a novel cellulosic fiber to further inspire sustainability across the industry value chain and push the boundaries of innovation. The fibers are currently being transformed into a new collection of fabrics which Orange Fiber will present to the market in October 2021.

Collections produced from Tencel™ Limited Edition will have dedicated marketing materials, such as special edition co-branded swing tags, which will provide relevant information about the process of production and materials involved. The goal is to encourage co-development of innovative solutions to give waste a new life and promote greater transparency in the textile and fashion industry to fully achieve sustainable industry practices.

The second quarter net sales of L Brands, Inc grew by 12 per cent to $2.351 from $1.369 billion for the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Sales of Bath & Body Works during the quarter ended July 03, 2021 grew by 48 per cent to $1.239 billion from $743.5 million sales recorded during the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

Victoria’s Secret net sales during the second quarter increased to $1.112 billion from $625.7 million in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. The brand’s comparable sales during the quarter increased by 3 percent compared to the same period in 2019.

The company currently expects to report second quarter operating income of more than $400 million for the Bath & Body Works segment, and more than $200 million for the Victoria’s Secret segment. The increase to the company’s previous second quarter earnings guidance was principally driven by higher than forecasted merchandise margin rates, as strong customer response to merchandise assortments and disciplined inventory management enabled a reduction in promotional activity.

World’s largest spandex manufacturer Hyosung has released the results of a new Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study that compares the environmental performance of its 100 per cent recycled creora® regen spandex to its virgin creora spandex.

The study was conducted by third-party certifier, Networks Y, a Korean LCA consultancy, who performed a carbon footprint calculation - the amount of CO2 emitted from the entire life cycle of a product - of both fibres from pre-manufacturing to the manufacturing stage.

The study concluded that creora® regen spandex reduces carbon dioxide production by approximately 67 per cent or by about two thirds compared to its creora® spandex in the production of 1 kg.

Since the launch of Hyosung’s creora® regen spandex in January 2020, the company has produced an amount of fibre to offset the number of CO2 emissions equivalent to driving 1,000 times around the globe. Similarly, the production of creora® regen has the green-house gas (GHG) absorption impact of enough mature pine trees to cover San Francisco’s Presidio - the world’s largest national park in an urban area spanning nearly 1,500 acres.

Hyosung’s creora® regen spandex is GRS, HIGGS MSI and Oeko-tex certified. The company is in the process of obtaining a material health certificate under the Cradle-to-Cradle Certified Product Standard.

Finnish Circular fashion and textile technology group Infinited Fiber Company has secured investments totaling €30 million in its latest financing round completed on June 30. The round also brought the company new investors, including Adidas, Invest FWD A/S, which is Bestseller’s investment arm for sustainable fashion, and investment company Security Trading Oy. Among the existing investors contributing to this round of financing were fashion retailer H&M Group, who was the lead investor, investment company Nidoco AB, and viscose producer Sateri.

This securement of new funding follows Infinited Fiber Company’s April announcement of plans to build a flagship factory in Finland to produce its regenerated textile fiber Infinna. According to Infinited, the factory, which will use household textile waste as raw material, is expected to be operational in 2024 and to have an annual production capacity of 30,000 metric tonne.

These new investments will enable the company to proceed with the pre-engineering, environmental permits, and the recruitment of the skilled professionals needed to take our flagship project forward. It can also boost production at its pilot facilities so that the company can better serve our existing customers and grow its customer-base.

India’s cotton ending stock is likely to decrease to 75 lakh bales during the present season to September as home demand has picked up. However some experts estimate stocks to remain at 120-plus lakh bales for the season.

Cotton output for 2020-21 has been revised downwards to 356 lakh bales, CCI is expected to have 18 lakh bales by the end of the season, including that many of the gross sales had been meant for home consumption.

Some commerce specialists count on mills’ consumption to prime 300 lakh bales, although Selvaraju, Secretary-Basic Okay, Southern India Mills Affiliation (SIMA) estimates the shutdown resulting from COVID pandemic to decrease the offtake beneath CCPC projections.

In its January 25 assembly, the CCPC estimated home consumption at 330 lakh bales, with mills’ offtake at 286 lakh bales. Consumption of spinning mills is likely to decrease to 270 lakh bales due to lockdown, says a SIMA official