United States Trade Representative (USTR) has concluded the one-year Section 301 investigations of Digital Service Taxes (DSTs) adopted by Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the UK. As per Sourcing Journal, the taxes aim to impose additional tariffs on certain goods from these countries, while suspending the tariffs for up to 180 days to provide additional time to complete the ongoing multilateral negotiations on international taxation at the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) and in the G20 process.

At a USTR hearing last month, Blake Harden, Vice President, Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), stressed imposition of any additional tariffs on imported goods would hurt American companies, consumers and workers without obtaining the elimination of Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey, or the UK’s digital services taxes.

Beth Hughes, Vice President-Trade and Customs Policy, American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), added that the group has serious concerns that the imposition of new punitive duties on US imports from Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the U. would result in great harm to the domestic industry and exacerbate supply chain disruption issues.

From USTR’s proposed product lists, members of the Retail Industry Leaders Association, including Walmart and Target, import goods such as cosmetics, perfumes and shampoos from the U.K.; carpets, bed linens, curtains, tiles, kitchen fixtures and bathroom ceramics from Turkey; glassware and footwear from Spain, and jewelry and furniture from India.

Harden fears that the tariff may fail to convince US’ trade partners to withdraw or reform their digital services taxes. They may also harm US’ retailers’ ability to compete globally, he adds.

Hong Kong-based Crystal International Group has launched a new denim fabric collection using recycled fabrics and other sustainable components. As per Sourcing Journal, the company has developed a line of 10 denim fabrics for men and women called Second Life Denim that provide deeper color shades and strong weft yarn compared to traditional recycled fabrics. The collection is made using recycled fabrics certified with Recycled Claim Standard (RCS), as well as sustainable materials including Lycra T400 fiber with EcoMade technology and Repreve recycled polyester.

The collection is a part of the denim factory’s wider efforts to close the loop—a concept that it initiated last year when it partnered with The R Collective to launch a range of jeans resewed from upcycled Levi’s inventory and leftover samples. The collection carries forward Crystal’s commitment towards cleaner production with dyes and wash processes. The recycled cotton is dyed with liquid indigo for further water and chemical reduction, and sustainable washing methods are adopted in the finishing.

The collection is available in physical and digital formats to meet the market’s growing demand for 3D virtual sampling. Customers can learn more about the fabric’s footprint by scanning the QR code on the product, which gives access to a video about the collection and manufacturing information, including fabric information, Environmental Impact Measurement (EIM) score, sample room and washing information and certificate logo.

To be held from September 5 to 8, 2021 at the NEC Birmingham, UK Autumn Fair will be the largest event for the season’s buying season across the home, gift, fashion and design sectors. The forthcoming fair will be collocated with the Moda and offer the most comprehensive and inspirational curated line-up of fashion, footwear, and jewellery. The Home and Interiors section will feature new products from brands like Coach House, Hill Interiors, Authentic Models and Malini. The Summerhouse section will feature an array of new premium home interior accessories and soft furnishings with new collaborations and launches from brands Gallery Direct, Pacific, and Inis.

Buyers seeking the season’s must-have toys will benefit from established brands Ty and Grossman as well as new ones including Universal Games and Paul Lamond Games, Little Bird Told Me, Mood Bears, and Hippie Chick. Within Greetings section, the show will feature brands The Art File, Love Lilly, Look What Debbie Did, Vent for Change, Emotional Rescue, Dean Morris, and The Gifted Stationery Company.

The show organizer Hyve Group plc is also working closely with industry association, AEO (Association of Event Organisers) to establish safety protocols for the event. The Safe & Secure Guidelines promise to introduce a Safe & Secure stamp for visitors to confirm maintenance of highest health and safety standards across Autumn Fair.

COVID-induced crisis has led to Indian textile and apparel manufacturers losing 20 per cent orders to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. This has compelled apparel manufacturers in Noida and Greater Noida to shift to PPE manufacturing as a stopgap measure, However, Lalit Thukral, President, Noida Apparel Exporters Council (NAEC) claims, this cannot substitute their core business of garment making. To alleviate their sufferings, A Sathivel, Chairman, AEPC has urged Prime Minister to declare apparel exports as essential services and exempt these exporting units from lockdowns across India.

Apparel exports units in India have been unable execute orders due to lockdowns. This is likely to result in not just short-term loss of orders and export earnings but also a long-term loss of the buyers, warns Sakthivel. In 2020, Indian apparel exports declined 13 per cent to $14 billion due to loss of buyers, informs Rahul Mehta, Chief Mentor, CMAI.

Alchemie Technology has joined HeiQ in its efforts to rollout the third quarter production of its Novara digital multifunction finishing solution. Novara also enables lifestyle product innovations at lower production cost for fashion, sportswear, technical clothing and upholstery. The solution is suitable for finishing all fabric types from 50 to 1,000 gsm, including polyester, cotton, nylon and polycotton.

The solution can apply single-sided, or simultaneous two-sided, coating of multiple finishes to specific areas of textile like combining anti-odor and water repellency in one material. Using Novara for single-sided finishing of HeiQ Viroblock required 52 per cent less chemistry, 66 per cent less water and 50 per cent less energy, while achieving a 99.7 per cent reduction in antimicrobial activity after 15 washes, notes Dr Simon Kew, Managing Director, Alchemie Technology.

Kew noted extensive testing using HeiQ’s chemistry with Alchemie’s digital finishing technology has achieved exceptional finishing performance with half the chemistry required of traditional finishing methods.

Fashion retailers like Primark, Bestseller and H&M planning to resume sourcing in the Myanmar.

As per Apparel Resources, Danish fashion retailer Bestsellerhas commissioned an independent report to evaluate its due diligence to ensure responsible production in Myanmar. The retailer says there are no grounds to assume that its three factories located in Myanmar are either directly or indirectly, owned by the military.

H&M too has gradually started placing new orders again. The Swedish retailer is focused on avoiding the imminent risk of its suppliers having to close their factories in Myanmar.

Primark, the Irish fashion retailer, also will be now sourcing in the country. The retailer is committed to fulfilling all existing orders with its suppliers in Myanmar.

Meanwhile, organisations like the Clean Clothes Campaign are urging all suppliers, brands and retailers, active in Myanmar, to publicly condemn the military coup, call for the restoration of democracy and the rule of law.

The Nigerian Textile industry produced 10 million yarn materials in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread insecurity.

Godwin Emefiele, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria disclosed that the apex bank financed over 278,500 hectares in 2019 and 2020 with over 90,000 metric tons of cotton seed harvested.

In addition, nine ginneries were brought back to life and ginned cotton all year round for the first time in 10 years.; over 620,000 direct and indirect jobs created in two years; while the industry capacity of the ginneries increased from an average of 19 per cent to 51 per cent.

Emefielerevealed that the textile sector got 100 per cent of their major raw material (cotton lint) at a CBN-subsidized rate of N440,000 as against the market price of N593,000 and that uniformed Services have started patronizing made-in-Nigeria textiles for their uniform.

Between 2019 and 2020, a memorandum of understanding was signed among critical stakeholders across the value chain, including cotton farmers, ginneries, textile and garment companies and end-users of cotton products and this has led to at least 5 agencies partnering with local textile manufacturers, said Emefiele.

For the 2021, the Bank plans to involve ginneries inbackward integration by cultivating an average of 53,100 hectares with an estimated output of 106,200 Metric tons at two metric Tons per hectare.

The Bank is also working with existing prime anchors for 10,000 hectares of land with an estimated output of 20,000 metric tonne, Emefiele declared while adding that CBN will be working with associations to cultivate about 80,000 hectares of land with an average output of 120,000 Metric tons at 1.5 Metric Tons per hectare.

He reiterated that CBN remained committed to ensuring the successful implementation of the CTG program across the country and will continue to dedicate appropriate resources to driving its implementation.

Italian sportswear brand Fila’s largest store in China was inaugurated last month in Beijing.

As per the Fashion Network, the megastore spans over 1,700 square metres, across three floors. Dubbed the 'Fila Sport Fashion House', the store blends the brand’s Italian DNA with the local culture, aesthetics and architecture of Beijing.

Its interiors boast of a typical Hutong roof and a decorative wall. The tracks of the Milanese metro characterize the fitting room area. The final touch is the splash of brand colors that delineate an area entirely dedicated to Instagram fans.

The stores sells all Fila sport lines, as well as items from various collaborations, such as the new MSGM X Fila collection dedicated to tennis in store. Designed by Massimo Giorgetti, Founder and Creative Director, MSGM for the Roland Garros tennis tournament in Paris, the collaborative collection includes halter tops, mini skirts, shorts, polo shirts, and t-shirts in MSGM’s iconic tie-dye prints or marble motifs.

Earlier this month, Fila also unveiled a vibrant capsule collection to celebrate the European Football Championship taking place between June 11 and July 11, 2021.

Daniel Grieder, Former CEO, Tommy Hilfiger has been appointed as the new CEO of Hugo Boss and also a member of its supervisory board for five years.

As per Fashion Network, Grieder worked for Tommy Hilfiger for more than 20 years and was largely responsible for the successful establishment of the brand in the European market. He became its CEO in 2008 and after the integration of the business into the Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH) Corporation, he became CEO and President of Tommy Hilfiger Global and PVH Europe in 2014.

His appointment comes at a time when Hugo Boss is bouncing back from the pandemic that affected demand for one of its core product areas, formalwear. In recent periods it has worked to introduce more casual clothing into its line-up.

Easing of lockdowns in several states has raised delivery hopes of garment and textile manufacturers whose goods are lying in warehouses. Vinod Thapar, Chairman, Knitwear Club, expects the movement of goods to start in the next 7-10 days though things may not return back to normal as of now, he says.

Harish Kairpal, Finance Secretary, Knitwear Club hopes majority of shops and showrooms are allowed to open in a day or so to enable customers to receive the goods. The company has been getting calls from customers based in states like UP, Rajasthan and Delhi for holding discussions about goods that were in transit or are held up at godowns and offices of the transport ever since the lockdown.

Narinder Mittal, General Secretary, Ludhiana Business Forum, adds, customers are calling for finalizing payment schedule of undelivered consignments as they are confident of getting their goods after their state governments ease the lockdown curbs.