To boost textile growth in Tamil Nadu, the Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF) has proposed five points including facilitating the expansion of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and branding textile and apparel from the state as the most sustainable destination for fashion sourcing and exploring the Japanese market.

The state can also devise a plan to capitalize the opportunity emerging from the central government’s MITRA scheme by creating an integrated and plug-and-play apparel park, it suggested. It can pick up ten to 15 small towns with good workforce availability and create infrastructure for stitching facilities. This will spread the sector and help avoid overcrowding in a few clusters apart from generating employment in small towns.

Cultivating a sustainable brand for textile-apparel from the state will help the sector capture the market share in value-added products as well, it said.

The state government can facilitate a working group with 50 of apparel companies to work exclusively with the Japanese apparel market. It can also conceptualize a scheme for medium and large companies to run technical institutes within the campus with university certifications. This will help the sector in attracting talent, and in the process, a skilled workforce for the sector can be developed,

Family-owned manufacturer of textile labels based in Dortmund, Germany, Dortex is increasing the use of sustainable materials across its portfolio.

As per an Innovation in Texitles report, Dortex cotton laundry labels are made of pure, undyed organic cotton. It employs a printing process to overcome this hurdle for the single (black) labels which are available from just 20 pieces.

High-quality recycled polyester yarns have become an established component in the production of Dortex labels for some time, initially in warp threads in the Flexinera product range, but now also in Dortex Color printed fabric care labels and Satinera satin ribbons, characterised by radiant, bright colours and made of 100% rPET.

These labels are lightfast, abrasion-resistant, washable up to 60°C and very durable. Customers can use as many colours and colour gradients as they like when configuring them.

All Dortex labels are made in Germany to eliminate long delivery and decision-making routes. The cotton care labels, for example, are printed in Dresden, the company’s second production site.

A new brief, published by labor rights groups ahead of Inditex’s shareholder meeting of 13 July, shows that the company urgently needs to sign a new binding agreement on factory safety in Bangladesh before the current program runs out on August 31, 2021.

Inditex—one of the world’s largest fashion retailers and owner of eight brands including Zara—was an early signatory to the Accord in 2013. As a member of the Accord’s Steering Committee, Inditex knows first-hand how effective the Accord has been at making factories safer for more than two million garment workers over the past eight years. Inditex has spent the last few months negotiating with unions, but it has as yet failed to conclude and sign a new binding agreement, and time is running out.

This brief, based on a review of the Accord’s publicly available factory-by-factory data on safety progress, shows that, thanks to the Accord, 92 per cent of identified safety hazards in Inditex supplier factories in Bangladesh have been corrected. At the same time, however, life-threatening safety hazards remain. At the 54 Bangladesh Inditex supplier factories that the witness signatories to the Bangladesh Accord identified, a staggering 40 still have no verified fire alarms, 38 do not have verified fire suppression systems such as sprinklers, and in 35 factories workers could get trapped in case of a fire.

This brief argues that the Accord’s work must be safeguarded and expanded to other countries, and calls for Inditex to take the lead in signing a new, legally binding safety agreement. Shareholders, such as Fundacion Finanzas Etica on behalf of Shareholders for Change, an European network for shareholder engagement representing approximately €30 billion assets under management, have been engaging with Inditex to urge adoption of a new binding safety agreement.

Dubai plans to host virtual business matchmaking sessions in September, aimed at advancing the UAE-India collaboration in the area of retail tech.

The project is conceptualized by the Dubai Startup Hub, an initiative of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in collaboration with the chamber's international office in India.

The Dubai Technology Tour event will feature a virtual UAE trade mission, comprising public and private sector stakeholders, offering Indian scale-ups access to meet and pitch their business to prospective investors and business partners.

The meets will familiarize the delegates with various aspects of Dubai's economy and the business landscape. It will make them aware of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Dubai and the legal framework of starting business. Various local business leaders are expected to address the participants on current market opportunities and key trends impacting the retail sector.

The Tour will also offer the Indian companies access to Dubai Startup Hub's 'Scaleup Dubai' program and the services of Dubai Chamber's representative offices around the world.

China’s cotton yarn imports increased by 66.24 per cent Y-o-Y in May’21 to 168,700 tonne, reports GACC. Cumulatively, from January to May 2021, the import of cotton yarn increased by 35.82 per cent to 975,200 tonne,

As per Apparel Resources, this increase in cotton yarn import can be attributed to reviving production and sales of cotton textiles and garments in China.

However, as per cotton yarn traders in customs clearance zones in Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang markets, the quotations of cotton yarn sourced from India, Pakistan and Vietnam are in line with prices of domestic cotton yarns of the same count and quality.

Upside down prices of per tonne yarns are making the scenario even complicated. The quotations of light textile market in coastal areas are concentrated at US $ 3,937-3,984/tonne, while the price of C32 package bleached yarn of India and Pakistan reaches US $ 4,020-4,051/tonne.

Offering customers the trendiest looks at pocket friendly prices, has helped Shein emerge as the most downloaded shopping app in the US in recent monthly rankings. As per research company Similarlweb, Shein’s website gets more visitors than any other clothing brand or retailer in the world. A May ranking by the Kantar Group and Google ranks Shein higher than other market leaders like Tencent, DJI, Trip.com and Tsingtao beer.

The retailers’ latest financial results also speak of its stupendous success. As per the Chinese financial news publication Late Post, established in Nanjing in 2008, Shein’s revenues doubled last year to $10 billion and reached almost $2 billion last month. The company owes its success to a quick market turnaround time, says an Asia Nikkei report. It can mass-produce a new piece of clothing, right from the design process in just five to seven days whereas fast fashion brand Zara requires two to three weeks to achieve the same results.

Analyzing latest Google trends

Shein achieves this through Google Trends and competitors' websites which help it analyze latest fashion trends in individual markets. The company’s in-house designers study these trends to create their own prototypes and launch on the platform.

Once these items are launched, their demand is monitored by measuring user clicks and additions to virtual shopping charts. This helps the company manage inventory and update its suppliers about its materials needs.

Algorithms to guide users with purchases

Shein is also able to guide new users with purchases through algorithms developed by world-class big data developers and machine-learning experts. On average the company launches over 1,000 new products on its website in a day. The number of new releases per week surpasses Zara’s launches for an entire year.

Another advantage that Shein has is its cheap rates. The items are sold at cheaper than other fast fashion brands. A pair of jeans sold by Zara for $49.90 is sold on the Shein platform for just $17.

Following production ethics

Shein is known for paying its suppliers before time. The company processes suppliers’ payments within 30 to 45 days of receiving the goods. Shein also helps suppliers with financial loans and supply chain management software. The company has over 300 suppliers who can process orders as small as 30 items that helps Shein gauge consumer response.

Innovative marketing for a pleasant experience

Shein’s comprehensive marketing strategy helps the e-commerce company attract consumers. Combining social media, user-generated content, search engine optimization, short videos and livestreaming as well as pop up stores, the strategy helps Shein provide young consumers a pleasant shopping experience.

Consumers can also help Shein market products by uploading their pictures and videos wearing Shein clothes on social media platforms. They can also promote Shein’s products on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Social media influencers can also endorse Shein’s clothes in exchange for free clothes every month besides 10 to 20 per cent commissions on recommended sales. The company, which recently expanded from women’s wear to men’s and kid’s clothes, now plans to open to its platform to outside vendors.

In future, Shein can follow a TikTok like approach and launch livestream shopping. It can also introduce mobile payments besides expanding supply-chain finance services. The company has a customer base of 7 million monthly active users. Though it’s innovative supply-chain pull model have so far helped achieve great results so far. It needs more data and newer ways to monetize growing user base. In future, it will have to either build a new online model or join an existing one to expand its product and consumer base. What route it takes, only time will decide.

The global authority for standards in the wool textile industry, the International Wool Textile Organization has been representing the collective interests of global wool trade since 1930. Having over 33 members in 23 countries across the world, the IWTO has been running a successful Young Professionals program since 2012.

Valuable insights for young professionals

Through this program, the organization offers mentorship and networking opportunities to professionals under 35 years. The skills of these young professionals are matched with those of senior industry member to provide them with valuable insights and experience into their strengths.

The International Wool Textile Organization held its first IWTO Congress 2021 from May 17-21, 2021. The meeting focused on preparing young professionals for a career in the wool industry. Elaborating on her experience, Christa Rochford, Wool Marketing Program Manager, American Wool Council, who entered the industry seven years ago, urged the professionals to work harder to make their mark in the industry and encourage others to consider it as a career option. She emphasized on sustainability in the wool industry as being one of the key values for IWTO, and one that extends beyond the product itself.

Educational programs to upskill wool growers

Rochford’s speech was followed by a presentation by China Wool Textile Association that summed up the opportunities for young people in the wool industry. Although focusing on China, the presentation emphasized on the similarity of trends in the industry across the world. The presentation elaborated on the promising career opportunities for young professionals in the industry and opportunities for them to acquire new skill set.

Elaborating its strategic plan Wool 2030 for the national wool industry, Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) emphasized on the need to upskill wool growers to fuel future growth. The organization said, this could present a huge challenge for the industry as only a few universities offer wool specialist courses. The wool industry also faces an acute fund shortage to undertake future research and development activities. The IWTO can the industry meet these challenges highlighting career opportunities to young professionals.

Off late, several wool textile companies have been supporting the industry by funding specialized education programs. One such company is the Marzotto Group, which is supporting a two-year diploma course in Fashion Sustainability by offering space for course classes inside the group’s mills in Valdagno, Italy.

Walmart has unveiled a project to use renewable power for half of its operations by 2025, and to cut its emissions by roughly 18 percent by that timeline, according to its 2020 Environmental, Social & Governance Report.

As per a Reuters report, Walmart and the retailers are undertaking the program in a tie-up with the UN group COP26 High Level Climate Action Champions, as well as the business organization the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. The retailer has also collaborated with the United Nations group, a global business organization, and other major retailers including H&M, Ikea and Kingfisher plc.

The initiative, billed the “Race to Zero Breakthroughs,” aims to cut emissions to curb the rise of global temperatures to within 1.5 degrees, according to the groups.

The retailer has previously emphasized its efforts to target its supply chains, and to nudge suppliers toward reporting their own lowered emissions. In its Project Gigaton campaign, Walmart has outlined a goal of avoiding some 1 billion metric tons of emissions by 2030. More than 2,300 suppliers have joined the effort since it began in 2017, according to Walmart’s website.

Human Rights Watch has urged the Sri Lankan government, factory owners, and the international clothes brands sourcing from Sri Lanka to protect the safety and employment rights of garment workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meenakshi Ganguli, Director-South Asia, Human Rights Watch, the Sri Lanka’s garment workers are entitled to work in safety and be properly paid even when they fall sick or need to quarantine. She urged the government and employers to fully implement existing agreements and guidelines, be transparent about COVID-19 infections in factories, and provide for workers’ welfare instead of intimidating and silencing them.”

As per the International Labor Organization, one in seven Sri Lankan women are employed in the garment sector. There have been repeated outbreaks in garment factories since April. Yet, five labor rights activists from four organizations have received complaints from workers that factory managers pressured workers to work without adequate occupational health and safety measures.

All five said that numerous workers from different factories complained to them that they lost pay when they fell sick or needed to quarantine. The activists said that the police or military personnel had intimidated them to stop them from speaking out.

Human Rights Watch urged the government and factory owners to take effective steps to isolate workers who test positive, and ensure that those receiving treatment or in isolation or quarantine receive full pay. It also urged the government to distribute relief packages to workers irrespective of which part of the country they come from, and follow ;previously agreed safety measures and guidelines.

In an interactive meeting with Piyush Goyal, Union Cabinet Minister of Textiles and Darshana Jardosh, Minister of State for Textiles, Manoj Patodia, Chairman, Texprocil urged for the notification the RODTEP rates at the earliest and also maintaining the RoSCTL rates for Made ups under the RODTEP scheme.

He also requested the minister to remove the custom duty on Cotton as the variety of extralong staple branded cotton and contamination free cotton which was mainly imported and not available as yet in India in sufficient commercial quantities.

Patodia highlighted that the Cotton textile sector is one of the few sectors that had achieved a positive growth in 2020-21 despite the pandemic situation.

Patodia pointed out, exports of Cotton textiles (including raw cotton) during this period reached $ 10723 million as against $ 9,799 million in 2019-20 registering a growth of 9.43 per cent.

Patodia also urged Goyal to include the textiles and clothing sector upfront in the ‘pre-negotiation scoping phase’ or any envisaged ‘early harvest ‘ program to overcome the disadvantage faced by the Indian exporters due to duty concessions already granted by UK to competing nations like Bangladesh , Pakistan, Vietnam , Turkey and Sri Lanka.

Similarly he also requested that the Indo- EU FTA should be expedited which will help the Indian exporters to overcome the disadvantages of tariff preferences given to competing countries and create a level playing field .