Data released by Cambodia’s General Department of Customs and Excise shows, the country’s apparel exports in Q1 FY21 declined 6.43 per cent to $1.775 billion compared to $1.897 billion exports during the corresponding period of last year. As per Textile Today, Cambodia exported garments worth $7.420 billion in 2020, a 10.24 per cent decline over previous year’s exports. To boost exports, the Cambodian government has announced eight rounds of financial support programs.

According to these programs, the government will provide $40 per month to each worker, while factory owners will pay an additional $30, taking workers’ total monthly pay to $70. One of the reasons for the decline in Cambodia’s exports was a decline in international demand. However, the country hopes to increase exports in the second quarter with opening of lockdowns in the US, UK and other European countries. The Asian Development Bank forecasts the Cambodian economy will grow 4 per cent this year and 5.5 per cent in 2022, as the economic recovery in major trading partners boosts demand for Cambodia’s exports.

Growing demands from the construction and automotive industry is fuelling growth of global textile staples market, says a Global Market Insight report. It says, staples are mainly used in apparel, interior flooring, upholstery, filtration, medical and construction industries. As per Textile Focus, growth in this market is likely to be fuelled by growing concerns about worker’s safety in various industries owing to rising accidents and deaths. These staples are used for manufacturing personal protective clothing for industries and their employment has augmented with stringent government regulations and expected to propel textile staples market.

Medical industry has shown rapid growth in the use of textile staples for wound care and preventing chronic wounds due to properties such as biocompatibility, flexibility and strength. Automotive and transport sectors use these staples for making seat covers, roof, carpet and door liners.

The global textile staples market is dominated by Asia Pacific. North America led by the US also has a substantial share with fast paced economic growth and infrastructure development. Europe, led by Germany has moderate share in textile staples market owing to well established and flourishing automobile industry hosting giants that includes Audi and Volkswagen. The share of Middle East and Africa is expected to increase with demand of protective clothing due to stringent government regulations for workers.

The fashion industry is known to emit 10 per cent of the world’s carbon dioxide. This is more than the carbon dioxide emitted by international flights and maritime shipping combined. One of the ways these emissions can be reduced is by doubling the number of times a garments are worn, says a Sifted report. It states, doubling the number of times an item is worn can reduce its carbon emissions by almost 44 per cent. This number can be further increased to 70 per cent if consumers lease their garments instead of buying them. Over the years, well-known startups like Rent the Runway have emerged to help US consumers rent their desirable clothes. Clothes leasing platforms like By Rotation and La Mas Mona have also been helping UK and Spanish consumers explore the fashion rental market.

White label services for warehousing and logistics

To cash in on this growing $1.26billion fashion rental market, fashion startups are launching white label services to help manage the washing, dry cleaning, repairing and reshipping of clothing items. One such white label fashion rental platform launched in the UK is Zoe.

Launched by entrepreneur Isabella West, Zoe provides the complete rental services for brands including warehousing, reverse logistics and managing wastes. The platform charges a commission for these services depending on the number of services employed by brands. Zoa currently services two menswear retailers; Rathbones Tailor and Cameron Ross besides also working with UK-based reverse logistics provider ReBound Returns.

US startup CaaStle provides fashion rental services in the UK in partnership with men’s suit maker Moss Bros. Similarly, Infinite Play Rental leases technical sportswear in France. Launched by athleisure giant adidas, the platform used software from Paris-based startup Lizee. The company provides rental technologies such as RFID tags to both retailers and logistics providers.

Rentals help retailers profit margins

According to France-based logistic e-commerce provider Lizee, fashion rentals boost retailer’s profit margins. It enables them to earn almost €300 by renting a garment eight times at a third of the price, it adds.

Providers of SaaS services are urging rental service providers to convince big retailers to venture into the fashion rental market. Other factors supporting the growth of fashion rental is the increasing demand for sustainable fashion amongst consumers, says West. Sixty per cent consumers are opting sustainable garments while 36 per cent have already shifted to online shopping, she adds. West expects the fashion rental market to grow 250 per cent in coming years.

Brands can also explore fashion rentals through the SaaS software, says Anna Belez, Co-Founder Lizee. The software enables brands to learn many new things about their products and materials. However, its adoption involves a complicated process of quality control, merchandize planning and innovative software solutions, adds Linda Ahrens, Co-founder, Unown-a German fashion rental platform.

Belez believes, with their innovating thinking Gen Z can help speed up adoption and change perception towards fashion rentals.

US’ announcement to impose on sanctions on Ethiopia and its opponents from the Tigrav People’s Liberation Front have led to widespread protests in Addis Ababa

As per Business of Fashion, both the parties have been fighting a war in Tigray since last November, which prompted the US to take wide-ranging action, according to an African Business report.

Within the Tigray region, the already-troubled Mekelle Industrial Park has remained shuttered throughout the war, with suppliers for brands including H&M and Calzedonia halting operations for fear of workers’ safety. However, the conflict has not caused any major impact on Ethiopia’s garment industry as the majority of manufacturing parks are based outside Tigray.

The US sanctionswon’t necessarily impact the ability of global fashion brands to manufacture in Ethiopia. However, the ongoing unrest, coupled with a second delay in holding parliamentary elections, is likely to drive global investors out of the country.

British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned that the British retail sector may have to face multiple store closures if the government fails to extend a moratorium on aggressive debt enforcement.

BRC said two thirds of British retailers have been told by landlords they will be subject to legal measures to recover unpaid rent from July 1 when the moratorium ends.

Many UK retailers deemed "non-essential" had to close their stores during multiple COVID-19 lockdowns over the last 15 months, accruing total rent debt of 2.9 billion pounds ($4.1 billion), the BRC said

Around 80 per cent of tenants said some landlords have given them less than a year to pay back rent arrears. Without government intervention, the end of the moratorium could see thousands of shops close, said Helen Dickenson, CEO, BRC. She urged the government to allow the rent arrears built up during the pandemic to be ringfenced and the moratorium on repayment of these debts to be extended to the end of the year.

Yarn traders in Pakistan have urged Prime Minister Imran Khan to remove additional customs duty and regulatory duty on synthetic yarn and turnover tax on yarn traders to maintain competitiveness of the textile industry in international markets. Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (PYMA) officials say such measures would normalize trade and industrial activities and give a boost to exports.

Hanif Lakhany, Vice President, Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) added, soaring yarn prices in local markets are increasing production cost of textile sector significantly. He urged the government to withdraw the 1.5 per cent turnover tax imposed on yarn traders and restore the previous tax rate of 0.1 per cent to help the financially stressed yarn traders to get back on feet.

Farhan Ashrafi, Vice Chairman, PYMA requested the Prime Minister to play an effective role in saving the textile industry and similar small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from total collapse. He urged the government to issue immediate directives for abolishing the additional customs duty and regulatory duty on synthetic yarn.

Riju Jhunjhunwala, Chairman and Managing Director, RSWM, one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of synthetic and blended spun yarns says, yarn prices are expected to remain stable during the second COVID-19 wave induced lockdowns this year. Jhunjhunwala says, export volumes are pretty much at the levels witnessed previously. Though domestic demand has fallen substantially, factories are running at 85 per cent capacity as manufacturers have diverted some of the domestic capacity to exports markets.

Clothing mills are already in a production mode. Hence, it will be easier for manufacturers to ramp up their capacities this time, adds Jhunjhunwala. The diverting of orders from China by big companies in the US and other global markets will create a huge demand for Indian products, he adds.

Jhunjhunwala expects demand for casualwear to grow while demand for formal wear is expected to dip globally. RSWM is also trying to change its product mix to cater to new demand by expanding denim capacity from 20 lakh meters a month to 27 lakh meters, he informs.

In a report titled ‘Spinning Around Workers’ Rights, the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) and Arisa, an independent human rights organization, have accused Tamil Nadu spinning mills of encouraging forced labor in factories. The report surveyed 725 workers, including 284 women, in 29 spinning mills between October 2019 and January 2020. It also conducted additional research into sourcing relations and trade flows, using trade databases and publicly available supplier base information. Around 15 of workers were interviewed in October last year to understand the impact of COVID-19.

The report used 11 indicators developed by the International Labor Organization (ILO) to assess the working and living conditions of workers in these spinning mills. It found majority of workers had been given wrong information about their prospective jobs during the interview process. They were also receiving reduced pay cheques against what was confirmed during recruitment. The report claims to help enable structural improvements to employment, working, and living conditions for workers in the Indian textile and garment industry.

However, Siddhartha Rajagopal, Executive Director, Texprocil and K Selvaraju, Secretary General, SIMA, accuse the report of generalizing incidents. They plan to conduct awareness camps on the new labor codes, take up a third party audit at the mills on labor compliance and educate the mills on labor compliances.

A new report published by Allied Market Research estimates the global readymade garments market will grow at a CAGR of 8.8 per cent to reach $1,268.3 billion by 2027. Titled ‘Readymade Garment Market by Product Type, Application, Fabric Type, Age Group, Sales Channel, and Region: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast’, the report estimates the outer clothing segment will grow at a CAGR of 8.8 per cent during the forecast period. China and the US are expected to lead this growth.

Formal wear is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 9.1 per cent. However, the others segment is expected to witness higher growth rate during the forecast. The woven segment is estimated to register a CAGR of 9.1 per cent during the forecast period. However, the non-woven segment is expected to witness a high growth rate of 8.6 per cent during the forecast period.

The adult segment is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 9.1 per cent while the kids segment is expected to grow at 9.4 per cent during the forecast period. Among sales channel, the supermarket/hypermarket segment is estimated to exhibit a CAGR of 9 per cent during the forecast period. However, e-commerce segment is expected to witness higher growth rate. Region wise, Asia-Pacific is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 10.1 per cent while the LAMEA region is expected to witness high growth rate during the forecast period.

The consolidated net profit of Garware Technical Fibers jumped by 49.1 per cent to Rs 53.2 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2021. The company’s net sales during Q4 increased 32.8 per cent to Rs 335.4 crore, compared to Rs 252.6 crore in the year-ago period. Garware’s consolidated net profit for the financial year 2020-21 grew 12.7 per cent to Rs 158.4 crore as compared with Rs 140.5 crore in the previous financial year. Net sales in FY 2020-21 increased 8.5 per cent to Rs 1,034.6 crore, compared with Rs 953.1 crore in FY 2019-20.

Vayu Garware, Chairman and Managing Director says, international business demand for the firm's solutions helped the company meet customer expectations despite the initial challenges in the first quarter of FY21.