The Punjab government and stakeholders have announced an initiative to clean the Sutlej river. Launched by the Centre for Responsible Business (CRB) and The ReFashion Hub, the initiative involves promotion of wastewater reuse to address water contamination issue in the state.

This initiative is part of a nation-wide campaign launched along with the Alliance for Water Stewardship & YWater to raise awareness on wastewater reuse in the textile industry. CRB along with stakeholders and The Refashion Hub organized several consultations and meetings to gauge awareness on water reuse and wastewater treatment.

They found Ludhiana's textile industry consists of roughly 300 processing and dyeing units, which are in proximity to rivers and groundwater sources. The pollution of Sutlej river, especially from industrial and domestic sewage, has drawn much attention. Ludhiana is one of the key locations identified as the source of pollution. Of the 2,400 plus industrial units identified in Ludhiana, nearly 10 per cent belong to the dyeing units.

Denim brand Orta has launched a new collection that promotes bio-based modernity to close the loop in textile manufacturing. Known as the Scenic Route, the collection crafts each of its fabric with eco-consciousness. As per Sourcing Journal, the brand shares its handprint and traces the fibers journey from help farms to local waste cotton recycling partners, to promote transparency.

The Blu Narratives range in the collection is designed to evoke nostalgia with a modern-vintage character and ultimate eco-engineering. The fabrics and their names are inspired by cult classic cinema directors and their films that influenced the denim-clad subcultures and contemporary fashion of the time.

The Newtopia range explores the relationship between humans and nature, and embraces a new future with fabric names that echo the ‘Star Wars’ philosophy of ‘peace, wisdom and coming together for the greater good.’

Constructed with a new balance of indoor and outdoor worlds, Newtopia is a contrast of tough, durable fabrics that are still super-soft to touch. The “Rey” family of Zero-Max®, zero virgin cotton includes maximum shape retention capabilities designed to reinvent denim origins with a mix of Tencel™, Tencel Modal, pre-consumer recycled cotton and post-consumer recycled polyester.

Orta’s “Stay Colors” range is intense yet kind to the environment, with no color fading, less washing required and dynamic color depth retention. The ‘Obi Wan,’ ‘Padme,’ ‘Anakin’ and “Han” cashmere fabrics used in this collection offer eco-friendly mixed weaves aimed at amplifying everyday comfort and functionality with superlative retro-cool styles.

As per Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Pakistan’s textile group exports declined 20.45 per cent to $1.060 billion in May 2021compared to $1.332 billion during April 2021. On a yearly basis, Pakistan’s textile group exports increased by 41.14 percent on year-on-year basis to reach $1.060 billion in May 2021 compared to $751.124 million in May 2020.

The country’s textile group exports increased by 18.85 percent during the first 11 months (July-May) 2020-21 to reach $13.748 billion compared to $11.567 billion during the same period of last year. As per a Business Recorder reports, its raw cotton exports declined by 96.51 percent during the July-May 2020-21 period to $0.593 million compared to $17.002 million during the same period of last year.

Export of cotton yarn declined by.60 percent during July-May 2020-21to $896.034 million compared to $910.577 million during the same period of last year. During May 2021, cotton yarn exports declined by 29.84 percent to $72.084 million compared to $102.736 million during April 2021 and increased by 38.63 percent when compared to $51.997 million during the same month of last year.

Pakistan’s import of petroleum group products declined by 0.76 percent to reach $9.882 billion during July-May 2020-21 compared to $9.807 billion during the same period of last year. Its imports of petroleum group products increased by 262.46 percent to reach $1.184 billion in May 2021 compared to $326.75 million during May 2020.

Paris trade show Man/Woman has teamed up with Revolver Copenhagen International Fashion Trade Show, scheduled from August 11 to 13, 2021. As per a Spin Off report, both trade shows have partnered to host contemporary fashion designers and brands at a combined trade show in Copenhagen. In October 2020, the Man/Woman trade show had partnered Premiere Classe, Who’s Next and Impact in Paris due to the COVID-19 situation. It was earlier held as a stand-alone event at Place Vendôme in Paris and showcased about 300 brands.

Man/Woman trade shows are being held annually in Paris, New York & Tokyo since 2012. These trade shows are dedicated to building an arena of business for global apparel, accessories, and lifestyle brands to meet international buyers and press. Each event in these trade shows is unique as every city has its own energy creating a distinctive show, new relationships and new experiences every time. The upcoming edition is the 12th trade show that introduces brands to buyers ranging from large scale department stores to independent, off the beaten path boutiques.

With over 14,000 small and medium units, Ludhiana’s hosiery industry hopes for a revival with easing of COVID-19 restrictions in Punjab and other parts of the country. Punjab’s hosiery and textile sector has been facing huge losses since the last one and half months due to pandemic-induced lockdowns. However, with the reopening of economy and return of migrant workers, manufacturers expect the remaining three months to be good, says Sudershan Jain, President, Knitwear and Apparel Manufacturers Association of Ludhiana.

Ajay Nayyar, Owner, Silver Arc Mall, says, the extension of store timing till 8 pm will boost store traffic. Amit Thapar, Vice-Chairman, Punjab Chapter, CII, adds, the sector, which suffered nearly 30 per cent losses due to the lockdown is expected to recover soon.

In Q4 FY2020-21 ended March 31,2020, Welspun Enterprises posted a net profit of Rs 40.72 crore as against Rs 38.13 crore loss in the third quarter ended December 31, 2020.

The company reported total income of Rs.600.97 crores during the period ended March 31, 2021 as compared to Rs.465.09 crores during the period ended December 31, 2020. Its EPS grew to Rs.2.71 for the period ended March 31, 2021 as compared to Rs.2.54 for the period ended December 31, 2020.

On a year-on-year basis, Welspun posted a net profit of Rs 40.72 crore for the period ended March 31, 2021 as against a loss of Rs 88.59 during the period ended March 31, 2020. The company reported total income of Rs.600.97 crores during the period ended March 31, 2021 as compared to Rs.501.57 crores during the period ended March 31, 2020. Its EPS declined to Rs 2.71 for the period ended March 31, 2021 as compared to Rs.5.89 for the period ended March 31, 2020.

US Trade Representative’s (USTR) has ended a dispute over aircraft subsidies, suspending the five years retaliatory tariffs on clothes, shoes and fashion accessories imposed by the United States and the European Union (EU) as a result of that dispute.

This decision has been welcomed by the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) who has long argued that tariffs, especially those connected to unrelated disputes such as aircraft subsidies and digital services, are an ineffective tool in fostering resolution of trade frictions.

Apparel, footwear and travel goods, which are already some of the most heavily traded goods on the planet, have little ability to absorb additional tariff costs, especially in the face of skyrocketing logistics costs as we attempt to sustain a post-COVID recovery, AAFA said in a press release.

The United States and the EU on June 15 announced a cooperative framework to address the large civil aircraft disputes. The agreement moves away from past confrontation in pursuit of a cooperative future by suspending the tariffs related to this dispute for five years.

Both sides also agreed to clear principles, including their shared intent that any financing for the production or development of large civil aircraft on market terms.

The garment export value of Myanmar declined by 20 per cent from October 1, 2020 to May 28, 2021 to reach $2.193 billion, according to Ministry of Commerce.

As per CCF Group report, Myanmar mainly exports CMP garments to the European markets along with Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the US. Its garment industry has been facing challenges such as cancellation of orders amid the pandemic.

In 2010, Myanmar exported garments worth $337 million. Since 2014, its exports have been supported by the EU GSP duty-free system and investments in the sector have increased. However, the current political conditions have dragged down the sector with Myanmar's PMI production index hitting a new low in March. New orders in the production industry have also fallen dramatically due to the pandemic and political unrest.

Denim trade show Kingpins has launched the program schedule of its upcoming digital event, Kingpins24 Flash Australia.

To be held from June 23 to 24, each day of the event will feature livestreamed seminars, conversations and stories about the Australian denim sector, with a particular emphasis on digitalization and responsible practices.

A sustainability-focused presentation by the show’s lead sponsor, Tencel will be held on the first day followed by a panel discussion on ‘Digitalizing Denim.’ The discussion will feature Jorgen Sevild of Inqova, Richard Atkins of Global Management Services and Jeanologia’s Jordi Juani. It will be moderated by Henry Chow.

Other panel discussions will focus on topics such as ‘Australia and Fashion Sustainability’ and ‘Zero Chemicals Wash,’ which is moderated by ZDHC’s Prasad Pant and will feature Denim Clothing Company’s Diogo Aguiar, Andrea Venier from Officina+39, and Mansoor Bilal from Pakistan-based Soorty.

Major sponsor Naveena Denim will open the second day with a ‘Fashion meets Function” segment, followed by a presentation by Calik Denim about water-free dyeing technology Dyepro.

Other highlights include a talk from Kontoor Brands’ David Tring on ‘Lessons I learnt on a skateboard and the future archive’ and a ‘Trend Talk’ interview with Amy Leverton of Denim Dudes, conducted by Vivan Wang.

Indorama Ventures Xylenes & PTA, LLC (IVXP), a subsidiary of global chemical producer Indorama Ventures Public Company, has launched a new PNDA (Purified 2,6-Naphthalene Dicarboxylic Acid) production unit, making IVXP the world’s largest PNDA producer. As per Textile World, the unit is located at IVXP’s integrated manufacturing site in Decatur, Alabama, U.S.

The company used in-house technology to design and develop the new unit, which was built with equipment mostly made in the U.S. IVXP’s PNDA maintains the highest 99.8% purity level, with extremely low levels of metals and other organics. The unit can produce enough PNDA to fulfil current and forecast global demand for the next 10 years.

IVL is the only large-scale commercial producer of NDC (Dimethyl 2,6-Naphthalene Dicarboxylate) monomers. In addition to PNDA and NDC production, it offers a wide range of naphthalate polymers such as PEN (Polyethylene Naphthalate), PEN-Copolymers, PBN (Polybutylene Naphthalate), and other specialty naphthalates.