At virtual event for Earth Day 2021, Jaclyn Allen, Director-Corporate Sustainability, Guess had said, in its second sustainability plan, the company plans to set more ambitious targets aligned with the Science Based Targets Initiative. As per Sourcing Journal, some of the targets set by Guess include reducing greenhouse gas emissions by half in the next decade, and expanding its Eco Smart line to make up 75 per cent of denim business in the next few years. The brand also plans to eliminate virgin synthetic materials and increase the amount of recycled materials in its lines by the end of the decade.

The first phase of the Guess Eco Smart collection centered on garments made with organic, recycled or responsibly sourced fibers, It’s next edition will involve the use of sustainable dyes and design, said Allen. Guess also plans to release its first line of jeans designed following Ellen MacArthur’s Jeans Redesign guidelines for circular denim. The collection will launch in Europe during the summer and in the US this fall.

According to Allen, the company’s new sustainability plan signifies its transition from understanding the concept of sustainability to making it a part of the company’s everyday activities.

Launched in 2017, Guess’s first sustainability plan had set goals such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent and having 20 percent of its global materials portfolio in Europe, Asia, the US and Canada be considered environmentally sustainable or environmentally preferred. Guess also set a goal to have 25 percent of its denim meet Guess Eco guidelines, which has gone on to become the framework for the Guess Eco Smart collection.

Redma Gita Wiraswasta, Secretary General, Indonesian Association of Fiber and Filament Yarn Producers (Apsyfi) has called for fresh investment in Indonesian textile and textile product (TPT) industry. Currently, this investment is hampered by trade regulations that favor imported products, she said in an Indo Textiles report.

Investment will help boost fabric finishing and fabric manufacturing capacities, she added. Apsyfi believes, to catch up with growth in consumption of textile industry, the fabric sector needs to increase its finishing capacity and rejuvenate fabric-making machines by around one million tons with a total investment of $600 million. Meanwhile, the production of yarn and fiber need to be increased by 500 thousand tonne by 2022 and requires an investment of around $ 400 million.

Wiraswast opines, import substitution target set by the Ministry of Industry alone cannot be fully supported by the Ministry of Trade. The domestic market is still filled with imported goods sold online. Small and Medium Industry (IKM), especially garment IKM (convection) is very depressed because they are directly dealing with imported goods online, she says.

She admits, this year Apsyfi is pessimistic about the prospects for the textile business as the industry requires government commitment to guarantee the domestic market.

A value-chain-based solution that encompasses manufacturers, retailers, brands, and social safety nets for garment workers can help the apparel sectors of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka attain sustainable recovery, experts said at a webinar. Titled ‘Recovery of the Apparel Sectors of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka’ the webnair highlighted the importance of a wide social safety net that commits to ensuring a living wage for RMG workers.

The webinar also heighted the findings of a joint study conducted by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and Institute of Policy Studies, Sri Lanka (IPS). It was chaired by Fahmida Khatun, Executive Director, CPD and moderated by Professor Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow of CPD. Khondaker Golam Moazzem, Research Director, CPD, and Kithmina Hewage, Research Economist, IPS made the keynote presentation.

Experts urged Bangladesh manufacturers to tap into a potential $2 billion worth of orders diverted from China. They urged the governments of sourcing countries, as well as buyers and brands, to launch new social schemes for apparel workers. Experts also opined addressing medium-term challenges through national-level interventions alone would be difficult. Prof Rehman Sobhan, Chairman, CPD, urged ILO to play an entrepreneurial role in bringing together international buying countries with supplying countries to restructure global demand management.

Sobhan also called for tripartite exercises including government, employers, and workers to address not just the immediate impact of the COVID-19 but a longer-term crisis.

A value-chain-based solution that encompasses manufacturers, retailers, brands, and social safety nets for garment workers can help the apparel sectors of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka attain sustainable recovery, experts said at a webinar. Titled ‘Recovery of the Apparel Sectors of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka’ the webnair highlighted the importance of a wide social safety net that commits to ensuring a living wage for RMG workers.

The webinar also heighted the findings of a joint study conducted by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and Institute of Policy Studies, Sri Lanka (IPS). It was chaired by Fahmida Khatun, Executive Director, CPD and moderated by Professor Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow of CPD. Khondaker Golam Moazzem, Research Director, CPD, and Kithmina Hewage, Research Economist, IPS made the keynote presentation.

Experts urged Bangladesh manufacturers to tap into a potential $2 billion worth of orders diverted from China. They urged the governments of sourcing countries, as well as buyers and brands, to launch new social schemes for apparel workers. Experts also opined addressing medium-term challenges through national-level interventions alone would be difficult. Prof Rehman Sobhan, Chairman, CPD, urged ILO to play an entrepreneurial role in bringing together international buying countries with supplying countries to restructure global demand management.

Sobhan also called for tripartite exercises including government, employers, and workers to address not just the immediate impact of the COVID-19 but a longer-term crisis.

AGI Denim and Panda Biotech have entered a global production partnership. As per Textile World, the partnership will combine AGI Denim’s innovative and industry-leading denim manufacturing technologies with American-grown industrial hemp processed and cottonized at Panda Biotech’s state-of-the-art facility in the United States.

The collaboration will allow both companies and their brand partners to identify, track and trace the hemp fiber as it moves along the supply chain from raw to finished goods. AGI is already engaged in developing innovative alternatives to traditional denim manufacturing and processing methods. This year, the company was awarded with Gold Level, Cradle-to-Cradle Certification for its latest hemp-based fabric material, Hemp X. Panda Biotech’s proprietary cottonization process will allow the company to utilize more environmentally friendly materials in their upcoming denim collections. With the company’s exclusive one-year deal with Panda, AGI Denim expects to further scale its use of sustainable raw materials at its new facilities.

Zipper and fastening products leader YKK has launched a new digital showroom to enhance its customers’ engagement with the brand.

As per Apparel Resources, the online showroom is modeled on YKK’s bricks-and-mortar showroom in London. It features six floors which are represented in the showroom’s logo and look like a zipper.

All floors of the showroom feature latest trends and automotive; sustainable products; fastening products for high-function applications like outdoor, backpacks, water protective and luggage; fasteners for apparel in the categories of jeans, fashion, leather and kidswear; and company information.

One of the floors is dedicated to region-specific items, which will be added later. The customers can view products through close-up photos, video and catalogues and meet online with YKK representatives.

The platform will also be used to host webinars and other learning opportunities in the near future. The company further expects the digital showroom to be an incubator for innovation and creative design.

In line with the recent announcements and new measures in place to tackle resurging cases in Mumbai, Messe Frankfurt Asia has decided to rescbedule all leading industry shows such as Gartex Texprocess India, Screen Print India, ISH India powered by IPA, Media Expo and LED Expo have been rescheduled.

While the Delhi editions of Gartex Texprocess India, Screen Print India, LED Expo and Media Expo continue to be on schedule, the new dates for the Mumbai editions will be announced in coherence with government guidelines, as soon as the venue is made safely accessible.

The state government’s recent advisories aimed at breaking the spread of the second wave as well as the on-going vaccination programmes have led to the Bombay Exhibition Centre (BEC) simultaneously doubling up as a jumbo care centre as well as a vaccination centre. Inaccessibility of the venue and the new measures put in place by regional governments make it impossible to host large-scale trade shows in the coming months.

Despite the new lockdown restrictions, the Indian economy reeling under the negative impact since the onset of the pandemic shows no signs of slowing down the business momentum which has been picking up in 2021. The vaccination progress in many countries is being closely watched and is an encouraging sign that the situation will ease soon.

Russian Fashion Week (MBFW Russia) kicked off with a show from local womenswear brand, Ruban. As per Business of Fashion, this edition will combine physical runway shows in the Museum of Moscow as well as livestreams from other Russian cities and abroad.

The show will feature well-known Russian brands, including Julia Dalakian and Rogov by Alexanger Rogov, as well as emerging designers Lena Kаrnauhova, Sasha Gapanovich and St. Petersburg’s Lyubov Babitskaya. Designers from 19 other countries will also show via livestream.

This season, MBFW Russia’ will host 14 sustainable Russian fashion labels that have embraced upcycling, recycling, slow fashion or zero waste as part of their brand ethos. Attendees can also donate their old clothes at events to be transformed into new items to be shown at the next edition of MBFW Russia.

The event will be sponsored by TikTok, which will livestream shows on its platform for five days. A series of livestreams, centred on sustainability, will explore topics from how brands were started to organize runway shows in the format of a reality shows featuring insiders like fashion editor Olga Mikhailovskaya, Head, Russian Fashion Council’s global talents initiative, and journalist Madonna Mur, who founded the fashion-centric Telegram channel MUR.

Macy’s is reengaging its core customers besides adding new ones in the first quarter.

As per Home Textiles Today, the brand is beneffing from the government’s stimulus package and vaccine rollouts, though the impact varies by market.

The brand’s average spend from the core customer – defined as the credit card loyalty base – has increased by 7 per cent so far this year compared to the same period in 2019.

While the overall number of core customers shopping Macy’s remains lower than it was in 2019, he company has seen a 19 per cent jump in new customers – particularly driven by digital. Retail closures are also providing new customers in select categories at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s.

The strong trends in home merchandise are still holding up in the first quarter. That’s especially true in furniture and textiles, while sales are still gaining in housewares, tabletop and home décor.

Macy’s has been reeling in 500,000 to 700,000 new Bronze loyalty card members each month this year and now has 12 million in total, up 20 per cent from the year-end. Some 38 per cent of them are below 40, and their spending is approximately 13 per cent higher than in 2019.

In terms of its physical store footprint, Macy’s Inc. has shuttered 65 stores of the 125 doors slated for closure, with the remainder still scheduled to go dark. Afterward, 85 per cent of its store sales will be generated from A and B malls. Digital sales continue to expand, and the company believes its nameplates can generate $10 billion in annual e-comm sales by 2023.

To make its business model more sustainable, Swedish furniture giant Ikea has partnered with circular denim brand Mud Jeans.

As per Sourcing Journal, both the companies have jointly launched a denim couch cover made from upcycled denim. The cover, specially fitted for the retailer’s popular Klippan sofa, contains 40 percent post-consumer recycled denim (or the equivalent to two pairs of jeans), a classic medium wash and actual jean pockets on the sides.

The couch cover is a limited offering that’s exclusively sold in nine European markets, including the Netherlands, Germany, the U.K., Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, France and Italy.

Since its launch, Mud Jeans has also been on a mission to extend the life of denim. It offers consumers the ability to “rent” jeans and repair them as needed to keep denim from ending up in a landfill. The brand also recently launched a collection of upcycled denim consisting of 60 percent organic cotton and 40 percent recycled denim.