Pakistan-based integrated denim manufacturer Soorty launched a new size inclusive workplace collection that embraces disabilities and diversity in the workforce. As per Sourcing Journal, the Seasonless II collection spans all seasons. The genderless collection features existing concepts that focus on longevity, adaptability and intelligence in denim. It includes Resync, a line of fabrics supported by one-size-fits-all technology. The trans-seasonal, adaptive fabric sculpts the body with 360-degree stretch comfort that fits a range of four sizes—two sizes up and two sizes down. The innovation makes it possible for jeans to comfortably mold to various body shapes and sizes, spanning both men’s and women’s garments.

The Resync range was launched in February to make products that can adapt with consumers’ fluctuating sizes and ultimately keep them from the landfill. It partnered fashion size and fit software Scircula, which developed an e-commerce fit solution, which collects customer size, fit and buying behavior data in real-time to provide insights at the SKU level.

Soorty’s new collection also includes Redream, a collection of fabrics made of non-virgin components, such as post-consumer and post-industrial waste, GRS-certified recycled polyester, Lycra T400, Ecomade T400, CoolMax Ecomade and Repreve.

Primark has launched a new leisurewear collection under its Primark Cares label. As per Sourcing Journal, the new collection contains garments made from recycled cotton sourced from unused fabric waste and recycled clothes. The collection is certified by circular fashion company Recover, which aims to close the loop on fashion.

The eight-piece range is available at 179 Primark stores globally. Each garment is made with 15 per cent and 25 per cent recycled cotton. The rest is mix of materials, including sustainable cotton from Primark’s Sustainable Cotton Program, organic cotton and polyester. With prices ranging from $5 to $14, the new collection includes hoodies, joggers, sweats, Ts and leggings in navy, white, black and gray with hero items such as a V-neck T-shirt style and a matching hoodie and jogger set.

The Primark Cares initiative conveys its seriousness towards its responsibility by supporting people who make its clothes and those involved in protecting the environment. Primark Cares labels can be found across a wide range of products in its stores.

A broad coalition of industry organizations and labor unions have supported Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s proposal to include robust domestic procurement policies for PPE in the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) that is currently being reviewed by the Senate.

The coalition specially requested the senators to extend rules for PPE procurement substantially similar to the Berry Amendment to the federal government’s largest buyers of these products, including the Departments of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, and Defense.

It thanked them for including such a provision in Section 4153 of the USICA, which is substantially similar to the bipartisan Make PPE in America Act (S.1306) introduced earlier this year by Senators [Gary] Peters and [Rob] Portman. It emphasized that the emergent US PPE industry needs the purchasing certainty provided by long-term government support. It urged the government to extend domestic purchasing requirements for PPE in US Innovation and Competition Act to four critical departments with the largest federal purchasing power for these products—DHS, HHS, VA, and DoD.

Complying with government directives for COVID-19, Lakshmi Machine Works has stopped operations in textile machinery division (TMD) and machine tools division (MTD) May 24, 2021. Lakshmi Machine Works is one amongst world’s leading three textile machinery manufacturers that produce the entire range of spinning machines. The company caters to both the domestic as well as exports markets. It also manufacturers CNC machine tools and precision castings for industries world over. It recently added the advanced technology centre to manufacture components for the aerospace industry.

In the third quarter of FY21, Lakshmi Machine Work’s consolidated net profit zoomed to Rs 33.26 crore from Rs 3.26 crore in Q3 FY20. Its net sales rose by 49.4 per cent to Rs 478.56 crore. In 2020, Lakshmi Machine Works was awarded as the Most Innovative Company of the Year at the CII Industrial Innovation Awards. Instituted by CII, the awards recognize innovative Indian enterprises across sectors.

South Korea’s Hyosung TNC Corp hopes its textile business generate sales worth over 1 trillion won ($890 million) in the second quarter. As per reports, most of this demand will be boosted by spandex used in making protective face mask and sportswear.

In the first quarter of FY21, Hyosung TNC recorded sales worth 831.8 billion won from its textile business. The company hopes to generate more than 1 trillion won in revenue from this business in the second quarter as its spandex exports surged amid the global economic recovery. Since last year, Hyosung TNC started ramping up spandex yarn capacity at its Turkey and Brazil factories. The company plans to complete capacity expansion in the second half this year.

A comprehensive fiber manufacturer, Hyosung produces a majority of leading world-class products such as ‘creora, aerocool and askin’ throughout the fiber industry. The company manufactures and supplies nylon, polyester yarn, textiles, and dyed, processed fabric products, including the spandex brand ‘creora’ chosen by globally renowned brands in market segments such as lingerie, swimming suits and stockings.

Zwickauer Kammgarn GmbH (ZKS) offers its customers a complete service for climate-neutral yarn by offsetting CO2 emissions. Beate Wilms, Managing Director, says, the company can calculate the exact CO2 footprint of every customer’s yarn product beyond– along the supply chain starting from the raw material. It analyses the exact emissions from raw material extraction, transport routes, yarn production to delivery of the finished goods to the customer, packaging and disposal.

Wherever possible, ZKS relies on innovations in raw materials and processes to reduce or completely avoid its ecological footprint. In addition to natural raw materials, this is increasingly ensured by bio-based, biodegradable and recycled raw materials. Where C02 emissions cannot yet be avoided, the climate-damaging emissions are offset by reforestation or with marine protection projects against plastic waste.

ZKS provides its entire know-how along the value chain. This starts with researching raw materials and purchasing on the world market and continues through production to the question of whether the product can be returned to the cycle when it is disposed of.

Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) is setting up a vertical apparel park in Hanspura near Naroda in Gujarat. The park will house textile units and showrooms. It will spread over 6.40 hecatre and will be developed by a private agency.

M Thennarasan, Managing Director, GIDC says, the park will comprise various apparel units that will accommodate 50, 100, and 150 machines on each floor. It will be a G+3 strucuture housing about 15 units. It will generate employment for approximately 22,000 people. It will also house showrooms for textile companies to display their garments, adds Thennarasan. Other facilities to be included inside the park include crèche, training centre, warehouse, parking, canteen, and dormitory. The park will also have 12-metre wide roads along with landscaping and tree plantation. It will have two to three gates for entry and exit, adds Thannerasan.

Turkish denim mill Calik Denim has launched a new range of denim fabrics in its Fall/Winter 22-23 collection that has the potential to advance the industry’s sustainable transformation. Tolga Ozkurt, Deputy General Manager, informs, a 100 per cent recycled concept, RE/J, consists entirely of post- and pre-consumer waste. The range provides authentic vintage denim looks with varying elasticity by using fibers such as EcoMade Lycra and Repreve PES, both derived from recycled plastic bottles. The concept uses an open-end spinning process and utilizes Calik’s Dyepro technology, which uses no water and produces zero chemical waste during the dyeing process.

The company has also developed the E-Denim technology for incorporating high levels of recycled content into denim without sacrificing quality. The technology allows the mill to increase its total recycled content rate to 50 percent in stretch fabrics and 80 percent to 100 percent in rigid product groups. Calik has stated that the industry average currently hovers around 20 percent.

In addition, Calik Denim has signed the Denim Deal, an initiative launched at the end of 2020 to rally the industry toward circularity. The deal aims to set a new standard of using at least 5 percent recycled fibers in all denim products, and producing at least three million pairs of jeans with a minimum of 20 percent post-consumer recycled (PCR) content.

International denim trade show Kingpins will organize its physical edition in New York on December 5-6, 2021. The show’s European edition Kingpins Amsterdam will once again be held as a digital event, says Andrew Olah, Founder Kingpins.

As per reports by The Spin Off, the exhibition will have the same number of exhibitors like every year. It will include seminars, discussions focusing on sustainability. Olah opines, all industry shows in future will incorporate digital aspects. Kingpins’ new platform Kingpins Exchange will add more digitalized fabrics , accessories, trim, buttons and garments for its Amsterdam show. It already has over digitalized fabrics from over 50 denim mills.

Kingpins Show is a trade show for the denim industry. It is an information, ideas and innovation network for the denim and jeans supply chains. Since its first jeans supply chain launched in 2004 in New York, the show has grown in its mission to connect the community and take its concept around the world.

Year 2020-21 is likely to be known as a year of transformation in the history of Indian textile industry. As per Wazir Advisors report, in this year the value of domestic textile and apparel industry fell almost 30 per cent from $106 billion in 2019-20 to $75 billion in 2020-21. The industry is slowly recovering and is expected to grow at 10 per cent CAGR to reach $190 billion by 2025-26.

India currently exports textiles and apparels worth $28.4 billion. A 15 per cent decline in exports, since 2019-20. However, exports are expected to recover soon and grow at 11 per cent CAGR to reach $65 billion by 2025-26.

Cotton dominates natural fiber production

In 2019-20, India produced 9,279 kg of staple fibers. Of this, the production of natural fibers amounted to 7,514 kg. Cotton was most produced natural fiber during the year. In 2019-20, India produced 5,750 kg of cotton while production of wool was 45 kg and silk 36 kg.

India also produced 1,765 kg of manmade staple fibers during 2019-20. Majority of this was dominated by polyester which amounting to 1,085 kg. This was almost a 7 per cent annual increase from 1,347 kg in 2015-16. However, the highest increase in fiber production was recorded in viscose staple fibers whose production grew by 14 per cent from 342 kg in 2015-16 to 578 kg in 2019-20.

Manmade fiber exports amount to $503 million

In 2019-20, a base year for the textile and apparel industry, India exported fibers worth $1,891 million. Of this, the export value of natural fibers was $1,388 million while manmade staple fibers amounted to $503 million. In natural fibers, export of cotton fibers amounted to $1,057 million while that of silk amounted to $14 million and wool $26 million.

Polyester dominated India’s exports of manmade staple fibers in 2019-20. During the year, India exported polyester fibers worth $289 million while its exports of viscose fibers amounted to $148 million. Since the previous base year of 2015-16, India polyester staple fiber exports have grown by 10 per cent CAGR while viscose fiber exports have declined by 14 per cent CAGR.

India produced 5,713 million kg of total spun yarn in 2019-20. Of this, production of cotton spun yarn amounted to 3,996 million kg, constituting 71 per cent if total spun yarn production. India also produced 3,934 million kg of polyester filament yarn during the year. This is a 5 per cent CAGR growth from 2015-16. India exports yarns worth $4,813 million in 2019-20.

In 2019-20, India’s yarn exports stood at $4,813 million. Of this, export of spun yarns amounted to $3,593 million and export of manmade staple fiber yarns amounted to $1,162 million. Cotton yarns dominated spun yarn exports with $2,774 million worth of exports while the exported of manmade fibers was dominated by polyester filament yarn at $1,048 million.

Fabric exports grow by 1 per cent

India produced 7,436 million sq m of fabric in 2019-20. Its fabric production has grown at 2 per cent CAGR in the past five years. India’s fabric production from the decentralized sector has also grown at 5 per cent CAGR during the period while production from the mill sector has grown at 3 per cent CAGR.

India’s fabric exports grew by 1 per cent from 2015-16 to 2019-20. During the year, India exported fabrics worth $5,066 million. Of this, exports of woven fabrics amounted to $4,644 million while that of knitted fabrics amounted to $422 million.

Since 2015-16, India’s technical textiles market is estimated to have grown by 10 per cent CAGR to reach $20 billion in 2019-20. Exports of technical textiles exports grew by 12 per cent CAGR from 2015-16 to reach $2,423 million in 2019-20. However, the market is expected to have declined by 25 per cent to reach $15 billion in 2020-21.