US’ import of cotton trousers increased by 27.74 per cent in value terms to $ 4.58 billion and by 38.51 per cent in quantities to 81.68 million dozen during January-May ’21 period – according to the latest OTEXA data.

Bangladesh continued being on top of the tally with $1 billion worth of cotton trouser shipment to USA – marking 15.76 per cent yearly surge.

As far as quantity is concerned, Bangladesh again topped the tally surpassing China with 19.05 million dozen of trousers’ shipment, while the latter exported 17.05 million dozen of cotton trousers to US and noted 66.52 per cent yearly surge in the review period.

Whereas, China’s value-wise shipment increased by 49.71 per cent to $ 622.38 million.

With smooth fabrics and innovative designs, designer Adriano Goldschmied’s new indigo sweater demonstrates an innovative approach to indigo dyeing. As per a Business of Fashion report, instead of coloring the cotton yarn from outside, the indigo dye was added by Austria-based Lenzing AG during its creation of eco-friendly cellulose fiber Tencel Modal. The T-shirt made from this fiber has designs demonstrating its reduced water, chemical, electricity and energy use. It helps designers reduce the environmental impact of their clothes besides offering more designing options.

Waste creation makes indigo dyeing a messy process

Even though denim brands have lately being using natural dyes obtained from plants and animals, dyeing continues to be a messy process. It requires around 70,000 tons of indigo dye annually. Most of this dye eventually ends up as waste as it is removed after the stitching of denim to give it a faded look. This amplifies the environmental effects by consuming more water and chemicals, and producing ample waste.

Since the late 1990s, there have been many improvements in the process of indigo dyeing. Denim brand Jeanologia launched computer-driven laser equipment to produce the distressed looks sought by designers. Initially, the designs produced through this process looked too simple, explains Gary You, Director-Strategy and Product Development, House of Gold, Goldschmied’s Los Angeles-based design and supply-chain agency.

Ozone dyed fibers for a distressed look

Graphic designers gave denims a subtle effect by using the gray-scale. They later used Ozone rather than water and bleach to achieve the stone-washed effect. This helped reduce environmental impacts and make denim production more flexible. Ozone also makes Lenzing’s new indigo fibre commercially feasible as it does not shed color unlike traditional indigo-dyed yarn.

Ozone-dyed fibers also help manufacturers give fabrics a distressed look as consumers loved blue shade. House of Gold meanwhile, combines treatments and techniques to give denim the desired shade of medium blue.

The dyeing process usually starts with fabrics of darker shades being repeatedly washed to reduce its color effect. House of Gold reduces its denim dyeing time from 60 to 25 minutes by substituting traditional dyes with an ozone wash for a specially dyed denim. The process also enables the company reduce energy and water use by eliminating three to four wash cycles.

The indigo dyeing process traces its origins in human drives that long predate the current fashion markets. Since long, textile manufacturers and industry leaders have been seeking natural dyes to maintain the beauty of their garments. They need to collaborate with environmental torch-bearers and sustainability lovers to make indigo dyeing truly sustainable.

With apparel exports growing at 15 per cent in FY21, Bangladesh has emerged as the surprise beneficiary from Myanmar’s military crisis and COVID-19 outbreak in India. The country is witnessing rapid surge in orders from European and US buyers owing to better ethical and health protocols maintained by garment factories.

Comparatively, garment factories in Myanmar suspended operations due to the military coup, notes Ahsan H Mansur, Executive Director, Policy Research Institute. India too, is struggling with COVID crisis that has disrupted labor availability and logistical system, Mansur explains. Both factors are responsible for fuelling growth in Bangladesh apparel exports, believes Zahid Hussain, Former Lead Economist, World Bank.

Order surge strengthens market position

Local apparel producers in Bangladesh have been getting additional orders from buyers since the last few months, affirms Mohammad Halem, Managing Director, MB Knit Fashion and Vice President, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA). His company has also received additional orders from buyers in recent months. Meanwhile, US-based Walt Disney too plans to restart sourcing from India after suspending operations in 2013, informs Faruque Hassan, President, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). This will help Bangladesh reinstate its position in the global RMG industry, particularly in areas of workplace safety, social standards and environmental sustainability, he adds.

Safety compliant factories to be Disney’s new vendors

As per the agreement signed between two BGMEA and Walt Disney, factories participating in the International Labor Organization's (ILO) Better Work Bangladesh (BWB) program will be added to Disney’s new vendor list. Currently, the BWB program has 277 local RMG factories as members. These factories will also participate in the Nirapon or RMG Sustainability Council along with specific remediation fulfilment criteria, adds Hassan.

The Bangladesh garment industry is making exceptional efforts in maintaining safety standards in garment factories. The industry not only ensures a proper remediation process in garment factories but also works towards creating a safe and healthy workspace for workers, adds Hassan.

Yarn Expo Shenzhen will be held from November 3 to 5, 2021 at the Shenzhen World Exhibition and Convention Center in Shenzhen, China. The exhibition will provide exhibitors an ideal trade platform to explore opportunities in the yarn, fiber and fashion industry. The expo will feature two product groups: fibers and yarns. Fibers group will contain natural fibers like cotton, wool and silk, manmade fibers and synthetic fibers.

The yarns section will house fancy yarns, knitting yarns, natural and blended yarns, manmade and blended yarns, elastic yarns and specialty yarns. To be hosted by Messe Frankfurt (HK), the fair will be held alongwith Intertextile Shenzhen Apparel Fabrics, CHIC fair and PH Value. Covering the entire textile supply chain, the fairs will create synergy and drive these industries’ recovery.

For buyers who cannot visit the fair in person, Yarn Expo’s new AI-driven business matching platform will offer them a virtual sourcing experience by allowing them to search among the fair’s diverse range of exhibitors online and schedule meetings with potential buyers.

Textile and textile products manufacturers in Indonesia plan to explore the viscose spun yarn market in India. As per an Indo Textiles report, the product is free from antidumping investigations initiated by the country's authorities and offers a $49.3 million export opportunity to Indonesia.

Redma Gita Wiraswata, Secretary General, Indonesian Fiber and Filament Yarn Producers Association (APSyFI) says, India has always been a prospective market for Indonesia. The discontinuation of anti-dumping duties by India is the result of the efforts of Indonesian government and producers to prove that Indonesian exports are not a threat and do not contain dumping.

Mohammad Faisal, Economist, Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) believes, the repeal of trade remedies policy could be a momentum for Indonesian producers to increase exports.

Environmental charity organization Redress has extended its clothing takeback program in partnership with lifestyle brand, Tommy Hilfiger. As per the organization’s report, from July onward, it will allow customers to donate unwanted clothes at six Tommy Hilfiger stores across Hong Kong.

The new partnership with Tommy Hilfiger will increase the total number of Redress collection box locations to 38 across Hong Kong and Macau. By expanding the program, the organization hopes to reduce clothing waste, encourage consumers to think consciously about how they dispose of clothing and normalize secondhand fashion in Hong Kong

Redress works with a network of partners, including CN Logistics, to ensure the clothes it receives are redistributed to the most appropriate locations. Each item is carefully assessed by a volunteer team before deciding whether it is in good enough wearable condition to be resold or reused by a 20+ strong network of local charities, or, if in poor condition, sent to be recycled or downcycled.

A 5G-enabled YouCare smart shirt was introduced by ZTE and its Italian partners at the Mobile World Congress 2021 held in Barcelona, Spain, from June 28-July 1, 2021. As per an Innovation in Textiles report, the YouCare smart shirt enables the detection of a combination of bio parameters such as a ‘real’ electrocardiogram, a respiratory act analysis, components of sweat, muscle effort and body temperature. The shirt allows the transmission of data via ZTE’s ultra-fast 5G connection and is a fully textile-based product with no metal components that is washable and easy to use.

Certified as a Medical Device, the YouCare shirt is based on the predictive algorithms for cardiovascular disorders of BSP-Medical a world leader in the field of medical data science located in Hunan, China, and Tel Aviv, Israel. A Chinese provider of advanced telecommunications systems, mobile devices and enterprise technology solutions, ZTE sells its products and services in more than 160 countries and is listed on the Hong Kong and Shenzhen stock exchanges. It is amongst the largest developers of global 5G standards with a patented technology value of around $7billion, says the report titled Challenges and Prospects for China’s Telecommunications Industry and Intellectual Property Market by investment management company Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

The company plans to initiate further 5G testing of the YouCare at its Innovation and Research Centre in Italy, with local company Accyourate from Autumn this year.

Iluna Group plans to expand its range of Global Recycled Standard yarns at Milano Unica by launching cord yarn. The cord yarn is a precious yarn with a ROICA™ EF premium stretch yarn core, GRS certified and developed with 50 per cent of pre-consumer waste materials content -- double, covered with an equally recycled shiny thread; the bright and translucent is instead to add brilliant effects so far not possible with a GRS yarn.

The yarns have printed according to Global Recycle Standard (GRS) certified sublimation and register printing that also has the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certification.

Last year, Iluna launched a collection of natural dyes made with GOTS certified plant-based dyes besides proposing magnificent prints with extraordinary effects for this edition of the Milanese fair. It is the only company to offer certified ingredients, natural colors and prints.

This year’s Fespa Global Print Expo will feature several screen, digital and textile printing manufacturers. To be held from October 12-15, 2021 in Amsterdam, the expo will showcase latest screen and digital printing innovations by print service providers and signmakers. As per Textile Network, visitors will be able to see hardware solutions from Brother, Mimaki, Agfa, Canon, Durst, Fujifilm, Han Glory and Roland DG; substrates from 3A, Ahlstrom Munksjö, Avery Dennison, Hexis and Re-board Technology AB; automation, workflow and colour management solutions from Barbieri Electronic, Inedit, OneVision, ONYX Graphics and Print Factory; and consumables from CHT Germany, Easy Inks Gmbh and Sun Chemical.

This year, European Sign Expo, the leading European exhibition for non-printed signage, will again be co-located with FESPA Global Print Expo. The event, which takes place in Hall 2 at the RAI, will connect signage professionals with companies specialising in channel lettering, digital signage, dimensional signage, engraving and etching, illuminated displays, out of home media, LED and sign tools. The event is supported by the European Sign Federation and Gold Sponsors Efka and Ledir Yaki will return to European Sign Expo alongside confirmed exhibiting companies including: Art Neon Lighting, Domino Sign, Led Frames, LG Hausys Europe, Nex Line SRL and Yellotools.

Statistics from Urumqi Customs show, from January to May 2021, Xinjiang ports exported textile yarn, fabric and products worth1.258 billion yuan. As per a China Textiles report, this was 3.97 per cent year-on-year decline from last year. The port’s garments and clothing accessories exports increased 54.14 per cent to 8.137 billion yuan during the period. It imported textile yarn, fabric and products worth 126 million yuan, with a year-on-year increase of 8.68 per cent, while value of garments and clothing accessories imports declined by 38.73 per cent to 10 million yuan.

To promote stable growth of foreign trade in the region, Urumqi Customs plans to implement various measures, understand the difficulties and needs of enterprises, focus on problems and take precise measures to effectively hedge the negative impact of the pandemic on foreign trade and help enterprises stabilize foreign trade.