Sri Lanka’s human rights campaigners have urged the government to take immediate action and limit a third wave of COVID-19 in the country's garment factories. The Sri Lankan garment sector has recorded thousands of COVID positive cases with a large number of patients dying. Sister Noel Christine Fernando, Head, Sramabimani Kendraya rights group, said, the rapidly spreading virus is endangering the lives of the workers.

One garment factory, in Katuwellegama, was closed after 50 workers were found to be positive in random tests. All workers were subsequently tested and 300 found to be positive. In another garment factory, in Katunayake, 100 workers tested positive.

Four humans rights groups - Sramabimani Kendraya, Dabindu Collective Sri Lanka, Revolutionary Existence for Human Development and Standup Movement Lanka - urged factory owners to reimburse workers for all COVID-related losses. They have urged for full salaries of workers whose factories were closed due to high COVID-19 prevalence. They also requested the government to pay workers currently in quarantine.

A third COVID-19 wave started spreading across Sri Lanka in April. A total of 142,746 cases and 962 deaths have been reported, although some experts claim the true figures are much higher.

Galy has joined The Fashion for Good Museum’s latest hybrid exhibition ‘Grow’ that focuses on biomaterials and cutting-edge brands and innovations that are shaping the sustainable future of fashion.

The exhibition showcases revolutionary biomaterials launched by trailblazing disruptors like Galy. Galy engineers cotton in labs through the multiplication of cells directly into the cotton fibre, removing steps of traditional cotton farming. As a result, they can grow cotton without the use of pesticides or fertilisers, using considerably less water.

Besides seeing the materials up close - either by in-person appointment or virtually - visitors can learn about the fast-growing movement of biomaterials in fashion, which companies from high street retailers to storied luxury houses have been keen to get in on in recent years. This includes information about what exactly biomaterials are, why they’re so important, how sustainable they are, and what makes them different from traditional fibres like cotton. The exhibition runs until October.

Archroma’s Sustainability Report 2020 outlines the company’s progress on its priority sustainability topics, such as human health and environmental safety, resource efficiency, sustainable sourcing and product stewardship, as well as diversity and inclusion, and talent management.

For this report, Archroma conducted a survey with its stakeholders to confirm the relevance of the sustainability topics covered in the report. These include biodiversity, occupational and product safety, and fair labor practices, as well as maybe less expected topics such as compliance, economic performance, and culture.

The report covers these topics and more. In particular, as the world continues to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic, Archroma continues to contribute to fighting the virus in many different ways, with its solid foundation as a leader in sustainable, R&D-enabled chemistry and expertise needed in times like these.

World’s largest online home furnishings retailer, Williams Sonoma has stopped sourcing alpaca fleece across its brands after PETA’s expose about animal killing in Peru farms in 2020. As per Sourcing Journal, brands owned by the home furnishings titan including Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, PBteen, Mark & Graham and West Elm, as well as its eponymous Williams-Sonoma and Williams-Sonoma Home brands, have stopped sourcing alpaca wool from Peru.

Only Rejuvenation was still selling throws and pillow covers derived from the fibers, which it described as handwoven by fair-wage artisans in Peru and naturally dust-, mildew- and mold-resistant. Pottery Barn listed faux-fur alpaca throws and pillow covers are made from 85 percent acrylic and 15 percent polyester.

PETA’s undercover investigation into Mallkini, the world’s largest privately owned alpaca farm, showed workers slamming the animals onto tables, pinning them to stretching devices, yanking them from the floor by their tails and leaving deep gashes in their skin from careless sharing. Mallkini is owned by Michell Group, Peru’s largest alpaca textile supplier.

With buyers looking to diversify sourcing from China, Uzbekistan is fast emerging as a preferred supplier after a decade-long international boycott over forced labor, says a report by ANI News.

Since the last decade, Uzbekistan has launched several forms to end child land forced labor by privatizing cotton farms and moving up the value chain. It is seeing a sharp increase in interest from large multinational brands and retailers. In addition, Uzbekistan also has the capacity to become the main source for cotton for China. It expects a huge influx of trade and investment in the next 18 to 24 months.

Meanwhile, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden have issued a joint statement expressing grave concern at the human rights situation of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in China’s Xinjiang province.

Ralph Lauren has launched a new range of customized polo shirts, foraying into made-to-order clothing. David Lauren, Chief Innovation and Branding Officer and Vice Chairman, believes the move will help the brand improve its sustainability credentials and control material waste, inventory and markdown costs. Through this initiative, the brand’s e-commerce site will create a custom polo, selecting colors and adding monograms. Ralph Lauren plans to introduce additional customization options, like patterns and logos, next year. The brand has created new machines that can knit the raw thread based on the size needed for each piece. This helps it trim excess scrap from the cutting process.

Ralph Lauren has adopted a multi-pronged marketing approach for its made-to-order clothes. The brand has launched a mobile pop-up store that will visit through several Ralph Lauren stores throughout the country, a Snapchat augmented reality feature and a social campaign featuring unannounced TikTok personalities.

The brand’s global digital sales grew 20 per cent in the third quarter. It expects revenues in current quarter to also show positive growth.

A recent report by the Vietnam Industry Research and Consultancy (VIRAC) finds the Vietnamese fashion market is dominated by international brands. As per reports, Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo has eight stores in Vietnam since 2019. The top three fashion retailers in the country in 2020 were Adidas, Zara and H&M. Experts say enthusiasm of Vietnamese people for foreign fashion brands has helped them make trillions of dong in the country.

H&M's annual revenue in Vietnam increased 4.4 per cent in 2020 to react SEK453 million The brand also opened its ninth store in the country last year. A few months after launching in Vietnam, H&M achieved revenue of VND227 billion in 2017 and reached VND760 billion in 2018 and VND1.116 trillion in 2019.

Similarly Zara Vietnam recorded VND321 billion in revenue in 2016, and more than VND1.1 trillion in 2017 and nearly VND1.7 trillion in 2018. Uniqlo has continuously opened new stores since entering Vietnam at the end of 2019. The brand now has eight stores in Vietnam.

On the other hand local brands in the country are dwindling, says the VIRAC report. It attributes their failure to poor designs and the small scale of their businesses. The trading of fake products at markets and stores and on e-commerce platforms has also caused difficulties for Vietnamese businesses.

Propped up by increased foot traffic and government stimulus checks, US retailers Walmart, Macy's Inc and Home Depot have increased their quarterly sales estimates. According to data firm Placer.ai, visits to Walmart and Home Depot stores grew by 21.7 per cent and 23.6 per cent respectively in April as government eased restrictions and increased vaccinations.

This is a positive sign as consumers move toward a post-pandemic lifestyle and start to spend more for in-person activities, travel and events, says Jeff Ganette, CEO, Macy's. Customers are willing to get out and shop, adds Doug McMillion, CEO, Walmart which recently rolled back its mandatory mask rule for shoppers to encourage more store visits.

After US homebuilding jumped to a nearly 15-year high in March, Home Depot benefited from builders and contractors rushing to stores to get through a backlog of projects put on hold during the pandemic. The company expects this continued reopening and increasing travel to drive retail sales through 2021.

Over 50 per cent of Canadian consumers plan to buy new clothes once lockdown restrictions are eased, says a report by the NPD Group. Two-thirds consumers aged 18 to 34 plan to go apparel shopping post lifting of the lockdown. The pandemic plunged apparel sales in Canada by 86.7 per cent in April 2020 with retailers including Le Chateau Inc, Reitmans (Canada) and Groupe Dynamite filing for bankruptcy. Sales picked up in March when lockdowns were eased briefly. Sales of women’s jeans increased by one per cent compared to March 2019.

The post-COVID clothing trend in Canada will be hybrid comfort and fashion, says Tamara Szames, Retail Industry Advisor, NPD Group. Denims will be softer and baggier with wide-cut legs, she adds. Post reopening, older shoppers will flock to stores while under 40s will continue to shop online, she adds.

Worn down by COVID-induced recession and lured back to China by its greater success in combating the pandemic and brighter economic prospects, Chinese immigrants in Italian textile town Prato are returning back to their home country. As per a Business of Fashion report, many immigrants are leaving Italy due to economic hardships rather than fear of contagion, as Italy’s low budget textile industry has been hammered by repeated lockdowns.

The virus outbreak led to 8.9 per cent contraction in Italian economy last year and a loss of half a million jobs in the 12 months to March. While growing number of Chinese are leaving Prato, new arrivals have dried up, according to a town council manager, who cited school enrolment numbers.

Up to 2019, around 200 new Chinese pupils per year were enrolled in Prato’s schools while in 2020 and 2021 the figure was practically. Prato’s Chinese community has been hard hit by the recession as many worked in the shadow economy. This does not make eligible for government support based on businesses’ tax returns for the previous year.