From January-May, Bangladesh swimwear exports to the US surged by 86.93 per cent Y-o-Y to $59.24 million.

According to recently released data from OTEXA, from January to May of 2022, US swimwear imports increased by 36.36 per cent to $937.57 million. The OTEXA data also showed that China emerged as the top swimwear exporter to the US and exported $285.74 million worth of swimwear, noting 44.93 per cent Y-o-Y growth.

While Vietnam’s swimwear exports to the US reached $270.95 million and grew by 29.29 per cent Y-o-Y Indonesia was the third major swimwear exporter to the US during the January to May 2022 period and exported $97.50 million worth of swimwear.

Bangladesh aims to increase in apparel export earnings by 10.30 per cent this year to $47 billion.

Of the total target, earnings from knitwear exports are projected to rise by 10.28 per cent to $25.60 billion. While $21.40 billion will come from woven products, and the expected growth rate is 10.32 per cent.

Meanwhile, government also has set total export target at $58 billion from merchandise and $ 9 billion from services. In FY22, Bangladesh’s export earnings rose by 34.38 per cent to $52 billion, of which 42.61 billion came from the RMG sector.

In FY22, export earnings from RMG products rose sharply by 35.47 per cent to $42.61 billion, which was $31.45 billion in the previous year. Of the $42.61 billion, knitwear products fetched $23.21 billion, up by 36.88 per cent from last fiscal year’s $19.91 billion, while woven items earned $19.49 billion, registering a 33.82 per cent growth.

The COSATU-affiliated Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU) has settled its wage dispute in the Non-Woven textile sector. SACTWU has declared a formal wage dispute for the Non-Woven textile sector, on June17, 2022.

The union started negotiations in this sector on April 21 2022, and when no settlement could be reached after 3 formal rounds of wage talks, the union declared the dispute.

The settlement was reached on July 15, 2022, and the final agreement was eventually signed July 21, 2022.

These new wage increases for SACTWU's Non-Woven textile sector members will be backdated to 1 July 2022, which is the normal implementation date.

This new collective agreement for the Non-Woven textile sector is a 2-year agreement, effective from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2024.It provides for wage increases of 7% during the first year of the collective agreement, and the same rand amount for the second year.

This new collective agreement was successfully concluded under the dispute processes and procedures of the National Textile Bargaining Council (NTBC), with employers represented by the National Textile Manufacturers' Association (NTMA).

In addition to the wage increases, this new Non-Woven textile sector agreement also abolishes new entry-level wage provision. It allows for an increase in the long service allowance; It introduces annual bonuses payable one week before Chirstimas It seeks abolition of the requirement for annual bonus on leaving employment before November 01, 2022.

Union Minister PiyushGoyal urged the private cotton textile production sector to share knowledge on productivity, farmers’ education, and branding to boost the industry in the global market.

As per a Fashion Network report, Goyal addressed textile business owners and industrialist on July 24. In his address, he urged them to promote global best practices in the cotton industry. He also urged public and private sector players to adopt an integrated approach and collectively adopt best practices to boost productivity.

Goyal also urged the private sector players to contribute in boosting research in productivity, farmers education, as well as branding to which [the] government would provide matching support. He urged the government to pursue more free trade agreements with regions including the UK, EU, and Canada.

According to the minister, the central government is also working on the 5F model of ‘farm to fibre, fibre to factory, factory to fashion, fashion to foreign’ to boost the textile industry at every step and increase exports. By boosting cotton production, more jobs will also be created for citizens, Goyal adds.

Identifying textiles as a high emission intensity sector, the government has directed the textile industry to prepare a roadmap for reducing emission intensity and carbon dioxide by 2030 along with the expected financial implications.

The roadmap would include ways to adapt to protect communities and natural habitats, especially the ones threatened by climate change.

India relies heavily on coal and natural gas for electricity and heat production and that increases the carbon footprint of each apparel product.

Globally, the textile and garment sector accounts for 6-8 per cent of total carbon emissions, or some 1.7 billion tons in carbon emissions per year.

The decision was taken after an inter-ministerial committee met last month to discuss the implementation of the roadmap on energy efficiency with a focus on sectors with high emission intensity such as transport.

Global provider of responsible specialty chemicals, sustainable solutions and services for the global textile industry, Rudolf has revamped its brand identity.

A celebration of trust, reliability and inclusiveness, Rudolf’s new brand identity is directlyextracted from the historical and cherished company’s heritage mark and it is a very moderninterpretation of the same.

Headquartered in Bavaria, Rudolf GmbH,was founded by Reinhold Rudolf inNorthern Bohemia in 1922. The company excels in innovative and high-quality textile auxiliaries, solutions for textile care and construction chemicals. 1.800 employees in 45 countries around the world ensure logistical and technical services.

The combination of backwards integration, scientific knowledge, development know-how, marketinsights and thorough application expertise make Rudolf GmbH an experienced and competentpartner for the customers of the textile finishing industry, co-producers and many other industries.

Fashion brands should urgently consider moving production out of Myanmar if they cannot guarantee protection for garment workers in the country’s factories, says a new report by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRC).

The BHRC developed a Myanmar Garment Worker Allegations Tracker, which documents more than 100 cases of labor and human rights violations involving at least 60,800 garment workers. They include 55 cases of reduced wages and wage theft; 35 cases of abusive work rates and mandatory overtime; 28 cases of gender-based violence and harassment; 15 cases of arbitrary arrest and detention of workers; and reports of seven garment workers killed by the military. There have been 31 attacks against freedom of association, with at least 55 trade union activists killed and 301 union leaders and members of the labour movement arrested.

The research also suggests a connection between some garment factories and the military. It alleges that 15 per cent of recorded abuse allegations were the result of factory-military collusion. Workers have reported that factories are working with the military to arrest union leaders.

A road show crafted by popular fashion wear brands Madame, Camla and MSecret, Pret-A-Porter held another edition on July 19. The roadshow, conceptualized by Jain Amar Group, the parent company of the three brands, showcased the latest SS Collection 2023 and provided option for advanced booking by distributors and partners.

This year, the Pret-A-Porter 4.0 i received over 700 guests including franchise partners, LFR & SIS partners, etc. The exhibition included Madame’s colorful and distinctive assortment of clothing, which symbolized the brand's philosophy and distinctive designs.

In March 2022, at the Pret-a-Porter 3.0 roadshow conducted in Gurugram, the firm had displayed its women's Autumn Winter 2022-23 collection. The event was attended by a large number of buyers and captivated everyone's attention.

Madame is an iconic western wear fashion brand catering to the needs of new-age Indian women who want to follow the latest trends and stay ahead of the style game. CAMLA and MSecretare sister brands which further diversify the offerings, catering to both men and women.

Badly hit by Brexit and COVID-19 pandemic, UK’s apparel imports have been on a decline since 2019.

As per a Textile Today report, UK’s apparel imports peaked in 2018 at $26.502 billion, compared to $24.308 billion in 2017.

The decline started since 2019 when the import value was $25.809 billion. In 2020, it further decreased to $22.943 billion and 20.886 billion in 2021.It stood at $7.634 billion in the first four months of this year.

However, home textiles imports decreased only last year to $4.212 billion in 2021 from its peak of $7.974 billion in 2020.

The value of imports was almost at the same level in the preceding three years – $5.364 billion in 2017, $5.548 billion in 2018 and $5.593 billion in 2019. The figure stood at $1.274 billion in January-April 2022, according to analysis.

Fashion for Good and Textile Exchange have jointly released ‘The Textile Tracer Assessment’, a detailed guide of physical tracer technologies applicable to the textile supply chain. The assessment provides fashion ecosystem stakeholders with an overview to evaluate and determine which tracer technologies would best suit their sustainability and operational needs.

This guide assesses promising physical tracer technologies applicable for improving traceability verification in the textile industry. Today, there is a lack of reliable verification for fibres, materials, and finished products. Scaling and further implementation of physical tracer technologies can help to address key industry challenges for traceability and help authenticate sustainability standards and certification.

The Textile Tracer Assessment is a tool for stakeholders across the supply chain from suppliers, to brands, to certification bodies, who are motivated to explore and implement physical tracer technologies to supplement existing traceability models.

Current chain-of-custody processes fall short in physical/material authentications which may lead to false claims and the sourcing of fibres and materials with unchecked environmental risks. This report addresses the key challenges in both categories of tracer technologies, as well as how and where best they can be applied to strengthen chain-of-custody models and fibre/material integrity. Tracer technologies can only facilitate the flow of information, and thus should be considered within a wider context of sustainability strategy. Physical tracer technologies work best when implemented in tandem with digital traceability, and are key to supplement site-level verification, and transactional-level verification providing robust, holistic and future-proofed traceability governance.