From July to February, Bangladesh’s exports were 4.8 per cent lower than in the same period in the last fiscal year. Apparel is the largest segment contributing over 80 per cent to total exports. The biggest supplier of raw materials, China, is at the heart of the outbreak. About 46 per cent of the raw materials for Bangladesh’s readymade garment industry are sourced from China.

Bangladesh’s apparel sector is being hit by coronavirus-related supply chain disorders, with prices for raw materials soaring. As materials from China fail to arrive on time, prices of local stocks of items have gone up by nearly 50 per cent in some cases. Some factory owners have been forced to bring raw materials in by air to meet manufacturing deadlines. And the sector is gearing up for a prolonged crisis as the virus continues to spread worldwide, with fears that destination markets in the US and Europe will be affected. Bangladesh imports some 60 per cent of its woven fabrics from China. Some 15 per cent to 20 per cent of raw materials and 80 per cent to 85 per cent of dyeing chemicals and accessories of the knitwear sector comes from China. And some 40 per cent of raw materials for garment accessories and the packaging manufacturing industry also comes from China every year.

Significant progress has been made in the development of environmentally sustainable waterproof breathable fabrics. Waterproof breathable fabrics have become extremely popular in a number of applications -- including athleisure apparel, outdoor apparel, workwear and sportswear -- because of the levels of protection and comfort they provide. As a result, many players have entered the market, competition has become fierce, and the range of waterproof breathable fabrics now available is diverse. Several manufacturers are experimenting with the fiber compositions of waterproof breathable fabrics and are utilising natural fibers -- including organic cotton -- and fibers derived from recycled waste materials. Materials used in the manufacture of waterproof breathable fabrics include membranes and durable water repellent finishes. These are essential to the manufacture of waterproof breathable fabrics, and are required to impart waterproof properties -- especially in the outdoor apparel sector.

However, there remains much room for improvement in the development of waterproof breathable fabrics which are environmentally sustainable. Also, much work needs to be done to improve the understanding regarding the environmental sustainability credentials of materials made using alternative chemistries, especially as the hazards associated with some of them -- such as those incorporating dendrimers or nanoparticles -- are not widely documented

Fashion rental firm Rent the Runway has sent out an e-mail to consumers stating plans to ‘proactively provide details and additional transparency’ about its cleaning processes. It said that even when scientific information is still developing, it has ‘no reason to believe’ that it’s cleaning processes are ineffective against COVID-19. Also, it maintained that there is currently no evidence that COVID-19 can be transmitted from soft surfaces like fabric or carpet to people.

Besides, Rent the Runway has also added a new subscription option – a two-swap plan – to encourage more women to turn to renting rather than buying clothes. The firm had been offering two plans up until now – an unlimited subscription where users pay $159 per month to rent four items at any time while swapping them as frequently as they desire during the month.

And the second plan was a one-swap plan wherein customers pay $89 on a monthly basis to have four items at once that can be swapped at the turn of each month. The new model allows users to swap four items two times each month and it costs $135 per month.

Trading in the Chinese cotton yarn market remains weak. Market activity has been low. The epidemic has put a burden on the global cotton industry. Operating rate of fabric mills is still only 20 per cent. Orders currently catered to by weavers are mostly pre-holiday orders. Weavers mostly produce conventional varieties and open-end ones with lower value and less capital, which is commonly referred to as low-end fabric stocks. Most companies are now more worried about the epidemic.

International cotton yarn prices are weaker than domestic prices. Domestic yarn supply and demand are weak. Yarn mills have little inventory and there will be not much burden in the short term. Yarn mills have recovered much better than fabric mills.

Prices of international cotton yarns fell significantly faster than domestic ones. The imported yarn market will still have price advantages, or may still have a place in the Chinese market. In short, due to weak demand, the decline in cotton prices and the fall in imported yarn prices, the overall market price of cotton yarns in China is predicted to be weak. As the epidemic has spread to Japan, South Korea and Europe, there is a possibility of further spread, and the international market has become increasingly worried.

The UK Fashion and Textile (UKFT) association is launching two new initiatives to help support future talent in the industry. The mission is to promote the growth of entire supply chain across the UK. The projects aim at promoting the wealth of opportunities to young people working with a UK manufacturer. The first project is a campaign to promote a better understanding of sourcing, production and the benefits of UK manufacturing to the next generation of buyers, designers and entrepreneurs. UKFT will work with five universities a year for the next three years to help students get a better understanding of the manufacturing environment. The second is an initiative to help address one of the major barriers to growth faced by UK manufacturers - attracting new talent into the entire supply chain.

There are thousands of job vacancies in the UK fashion and textile manufacturing sector. Right now around 1,20,000 people are employed in the UK manufacturing industry and collectively they produce over nine billion pounds of fashion and textiles every year. UKFT is targeting more than 1,50,000 people and enabling them to have a go at making things, to talk to local employers about job opportunities and to find out about the new apprenticeships that are available for the sector.

The number of GOTS-certified facilities around the world increased 35 per cent in 2019. India and Bangladesh are on top with the highest number of GOTS-certified facilities. With the whole supply chain from farm to retail, along with suppliers of GOTS-approved chemical inputs, India has a unique position in the organic textile industry. More than ten Indian brands are offering GOTS-labeled goods in Indian retail. A few others are using GOTS as a risk management tool and may start labeling in future.

Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is the stringent voluntary global standard for the entire post-harvest processing (which includes spinning, knitting, weaving, dyeing and manufacturing) of apparel and home textiles made with certified organic fiber (such as organic cotton and organic wool), and includes both environmental and social criteria. Products may only be sold with a GOTS label if the entire supply-chain is certified and the necessary scope and transaction certificates have been obtained to prove certification. An independent on-site inspection is carried out annually by GOTS-approved certifiers. Globally, more than three million workers work in GOTS-certified facilities. GOTS certification helps ensure compliance with each of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The new GOTS Version 6.0 is due to be released in spring 2020.

Maus Frères, the parent company of Lacoste, The Kooples, Gant and Aigle increased sales to (€3.2 billion) $3.6 billion during the end of last year. Additionally, Thierry Guibert, board member of the group, has also announced a name change for the group, that will now e known as MF Brands Group.

Leaving out the brand’s licenses, the Swiss group has increased total sales by 15 per cent to €2.6 billion (2.6 billion dollars). Lacoste has focused its resources on growing in new markets and repositioning, which has led the company to fall in volume and sales. The change in name from Maus Frères to MF Brands Group, is driven to internationalize its brands.

Jeff Bezos, the founder of e-commerce giant Amazon recently announced plans to use Amazon India’s global footprints to export $10 billion worth of Make in India products by 2025. As per these plans, over the next five years, Amazon will invest an incremental $1 billion to digitise micro and small businesses in cities, towns, and villages across India, helping them reach more customers than ever before.

This investment will bring millions of more people into the future prosperity of India and at the same time expose the world to the ‘Make in India’ products that represent India’s rich, diverse culture. Amazon and rival Flipkart have been pumping in millions of dollars across various operations like marketplace, infrastructure and supply chain management as well as marketing and promotion as they look to strengthen their position in the fledgling Indian e-commerce market.

For months, the organisation of small traders has been very actively protesting against Flipkart and Amazon and CAIT accusing both the e-commerce giants of unfair business practices and violation of India’s FDI rules. The group has also blamed both the e-commerce giants for a slump in the businesses of traditional retail during Diwali season in October.

Readymade clothing and apparel exports from Turkey to China in February 2020 soared by 500 per cent. The increase was mainly because of the high demand for disposable masks due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Companies producing masks in Turkey do not export directly. Some companies buy products from them and sell them to China. Ready-to-wear clothing and apparel exports across Turkey surged by ten per cent in the January to February period compared to the same period last year.

Sen Tekstil, based in Turkey, has started making antibacterial suits to be shipped to China. This factory which is normally into women’s clothing has increased production capacity in the light of the outbreak and hired more workers after receiving a staggering amount of orders from China. It is producing around 5,000 units a day which are being sent to China on cargo planes. The protective antibacterial suits, which are completely airtight and disposable, are essential for medical personnel treating COVID-19 patients. The depreciation in the Turkish currency against other currencies has made the country’s exporters more competitive. Turkey has the advantage of being able to deal with sharper deadlines compared with the Far East.

The fatal illness that began in China shows no sign of slowing down as more new cases continue to pop up in countries across around the world.

Guess plans to remove ancient and endangered forests from its supply chain by the end of 2020. The apparel brand first crafted a responsible sourcing policy for manmade cellulosics in 2017. Two years later, it joined Canopy Style, an initiative by Canadian forestry not-for-profit Canopy, to keep deforestation out of viscose textiles.

Currently, more than 60 percent of the brand’s mills use top-scoring green shirt viscose providers. The remaining 40 percent, however, employ mills that are either unlisted or have yellow, orange or red shirts that indicate a higher risk of sourcing.

Guess had previously dispatched tailored communications to its viscose providers, either thanking them for their efforts if they had a green shirt or encouraging them to improve if they didn’t. With the December release of the 2019 ‘Hot Button’ report, the brand will be following up with yellow, orange and red shirts to find out where they are on their pathway and if they are in communication with Canopy Style.