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.

BASF has expanded its e3 Sustainable Cotton Program to brands, retailers, mills and other value fiber value chain companies. As per Home Textiles Today, these parties can now contribute to the funds that will be distributed to e3 Sustainable Cotton farmers in addition to the $2.50 per bale premium provided by BASF.

The program, launched in February, was first joined by Vidalia Mills and General Standard. It currently uses most of its cotton for making apparels and denim. Currently, most of the cotton in the program is being used for apparel and denim brands like Rag & Bone which is designing an e3 denim line that will focus its marketing around the Louisiana farms that sell their e3 cotton to Vidalia Mills. Wrangler has already launched the Wrangler Rooted denim collection, made with 100 per cent sustainable cotton from Alabama and features the farmer’s signature on the inner pocket.

BASF expects more brands to join this program that has so far enrolled 660 cotton growers. The company commits to track eight sustainability measures on cotton farms, including their irrigation and water use, pesticide management and usage, soil conservation and fertility management, energy use and conservation, work health and safety, identity preservation and soil carbon.

India’s textiles and apparel exports are expected to grow 12.06 per cent CAGR to touch $82 billion in 2021. As per IBEF reports, India’s RMG exports reached $9.50 billion in January 2021 from April 2020. In January alone, India exported RMG worth $ 1.30 billion. Exports of apparel and clothing accessories knitted or crocheted reached $1.32 billion during April–July 2020 and $ 586.49 million in July.

Exports of non-knitted or crocheted apparels and accessories reached $1.27 billion during the April-July 2020 period and $504.98 million in July alone. The total value of cotton yarn, fabrics and made-ups exports from the country stood at $947.58 billion in February 2021. During April 2020-February 2021, these exports stood at $8.71 billion.

To promote export of readymade garments and made ups, the Indian government recently increased Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS) rates from 4 per cent to 6 per cent under the mid-term review of Foreign Policy 2015-21.

The global online luxury market was the first to recover from the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. As per Bain & Luxury Study 2021 Spring Update report, driven by China’s growing appetite for luxury goods coupled with robust online business and recovery of the US market, the online luxury market returned to growth in the first quarter of 2021, reporting a flat to 1 per cent gain in revenues compared with 2019.

However, the market’s outlook for 2021 mainly depends on two possible scenarios. As a per a Women’s Wear Daily report, the market is either expected to grow by 5 per cent and record €280-€295 billion sales or is expected to fully recover in 2022 only. In 2021, the market is expected to record sales between €250 billion and €265 billion.

New trends shaping the market

The pandemic has forced luxury brands to innovate rapidly and switch to digital platforms, says Claudia D’Arpizio, Partner, Bain & Company. The analyst estimates 85 per cent luxury purchases in 2021 were digitally influenced. The rise in digital literacy of luxury customers is leading to a sales spike, explains Federica Levato, Partner, Bain & Company. The rise of new shopping hubs is impacting retail channel mix with most department stores reorganizing their operations. Levato advises brands to be aware of emerging trends and also stay connected to their roots.

Levato expects China to lead the growth in online luxury market. More activity in the apparel market is expected as people start dressing up for work again. However, future growth will be determined more by products than brands, Levato opines. A strong product can help attract consumers more than the brand itself. Consumers may have the best brands but they are missing out if they don’t have the bestselling product in the market, Levato adds.

Growing emphasis on brand ethics

To increase customer base, brands are also widening their price range. They are including entry-level products as well as high-end items and new categories in their portfolio, says Levato.

This has increased the importance of brand customer’s ethics. They are opting for brands upholding the values of sustainability, affiliation and belonging. They are evaluating brands for behavior towards workers and the environment. Consumers are also curbing waste by opting for secondhand goods. Bain & Company Report estimates, the online second-hand luxury market grew from €26 billion in 2019 to €28 billion in 2020. The growth was driven by both entry-level younger consumers and high-end shoppers, it adds.

Finalized in January 1995, the Agreement of Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) establishes minimum standards for protecting and enforcing all forms of intellectual property rights (IPR), including those for patents. In October 2020, the Indian and South African government proposed a temporary waiver of this agreement to simplify laws related to manufacturing of medical products needed to control the spread of COVID-19.

Till date, the proposal has been supported by over 100 governments including the US and New Zealand. However, the EU, UK, Canada and Japan governments are opposing this proposal, delaying manufacturing of COVID-19 PPE, testing, kits and vaccines required to protect workers in global garment supply chains. In COVID-19 era, business recovery of global brands mostly depends on their workers who continue to work in factories that offer no protection from the infection. If workers are not protected against the virus, they may be infected with emerging new variants resulting in repeated lockdowns and factory closures.

Blocking workers’ rights to health

Garment manufacturing countries are currently facing an acute shortage of COVAX-used to treat COVID-19. Though many of countries have made huge donations to increase vaccine manufacturing, these cannot substitute for the TRIPS waiver. The Clean Clothes Campaign, a global network of labor rights groups spanning across 44 countries, warns, by blocking TRIPS waiver proposal these governments are blocking their workers’ rights to health. Sharing technologies to expand vaccine manufacturing

The TRIPS waiver helps protect the health and safety of garment workers engaged in global supply chains of international brands and retailers, including those headquartered in the US, UK, Europe, Japan, Canada, and Australia. Workers’ unions and labor and human rights group - People’s Vaccine Alliance has therefore urged governments to support the support the TRIPS waiver proposal.

The alliance has also urged governments to expand the production of COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, testing kits, and personal protective equipment by sharing technologies and participating in the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool. It also urges global brands having a reliant business model to ensure that all their garment workers have an equal access to COVID-19 vaccines. According to the Alliance, brands need to publicly support the TRIPS waiver proposal to ensure equal access to COVID-19 vaccines and testing and treatment kits. The Alliance has collaborated with the Clean Clothes Campaign Network for this initiative.