Munich Fabric Start was held in Germany, January 24 to 26, 2023.

At this fabric trade show the flow of buyers, product managers, designers and decision-makers from the industry was great and the mood was excellent.

The new colour and material trends, innovations and inspirations for spring/summer 2024 were shown on a total exhibition area of around 42,500 square meters, divided into eight areas and elaborately staged trend forums and sample areas.

Munich Fabric Start is surprising, innovative and at the same time market- and solution-oriented.In spite of all the difficulties in the market, the event offered the usual high service, created new experiences and provided a business, trend and information platform for partners in the industry.

The sourcing of sustainable material developments and solutions for digitalisation from product to production were even more in focus. New was a combined area for sustainability and digitalization. The assist experience was presented for the first time on an area of around 300 square metres. Together with technology partners and in lectures and panel discussions, the fashion tech market leader showed the possibilities of digitalisation for the fashion industry. The area for innovative fabrics and add-ons that are certified organic, bio-based, recycled, recyclable or from regenerative sources was bigger compared to previous seasons.

Textile manufacturer Arvind’s quarterly profit has fallen by nine per cent.

The company has been hit by a weak demand for denim garments. Quarterly revenue from operations fell 12 per cent from last year.While demand and volumes of woven fabric remained steady during the quarter, denim continued to struggle due to lower demand and over-supply.

The company’s revenue from the textiles segment, which contributes about 80 per cent of the company’s total revenue, fell by 19 per cent in the quarter. Revenue from denims, which is included in the textiles segment, fell by 44 per cent. Its advanced materials unit reported a 26 per cent rise. The price realisations started to trend down since the second quarter for Arvind reflecting the recent softness in raw material prices. The company’s expenses were down 11 per cent in the quarter.

The macro environment in the US and EU markets has started to show some improvement in the outlook, though the overall prognosis still remains cautious given a still higher-than-target inflation in the US, continuing war in Europe and the reopening of China. Demand for Indian textiles in international markets has been hit as consumers have cut spending on clothing following a surge in inflation after the war in Ukraine.

India’s T-shirt exports have fallen by around seven per cent in a period of six years.

Markedly, other countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam have grown in their T-shirt exports, outclassing India in the segment. From 2017 to 2022 Bangladesh’s T-shirt exports have grown by 48 per cent. In the same period Vietnam’s T-shirt exports to the world have grown by 34 per cent.

India bears the brunt of a comparatively high cost of T-shirt manufacturing. Prices have fallen as compared to what Indian T-shirt exporters were getting in 2017, yet India’s exports have not flourished.On the other hand, Vietnam has created a niche for itself as it’s majorly catering to high-end T-shirts for global sportswear brands including Nike and Adidas.

India’s cost of manufacturing T-shirts is only a bit higher than what Bangladesh offers. While Vietnam has the required raw material, expertise and infrastructure to produce premium T-shirts for global fashion brands, India lacks in these areas.

Meanwhile T-shirt consumption is set to maintain an upward growth trend in the immediate term, due to the recovery being seen in the global economy, the process of ongoing urbanization, the rising population, and increasing income levels. The global trend of the T-shirt market is expected to continue, with a growth of 1.7 per cent annually in the medium term.

The focus of the luxury industry is shifting back to China. The hope is that its high-end spenders will once again splurge on designer goods as China relaxes Covid curbs after three years.

The hit from lockdowns and China’s subsequent exit from a zero-Covid policy spurred a surge of infections in the world’s second-largest economy. Luxury spending by Chinese nationals had dipped from 33 per cent of the global personal luxury goods market in 2019 to as little as 17 per cent in 2022. The Covid-related disruptions in China took a toll on LVMH and Europe's other luxury goods companies.

China is forecast to become the luxury industry’s biggest market by 2025. The luxury sector is among the largest expected winners from China’s loosening of restrictions that kept shoppers out of stores for months. Although the Chinese are expected to initially resume travelling within Asia, Europe is a region that particularly stands to benefit from a return of Chinese tourists. Chinese shoppers are expected to return to Europe in a noticeable way at the end of the second quarter or during the second half of this year. But Chinese buyers, a staple at fashion shows before the pandemic hit, still haven't returned in droves.

Since exports to Europe and the US are sluggish, small and medium footwear players in Indonesia are looking at export opportunities to Middle Eastern, South Asian and African countries.

The position of previous export destination countries, such as the United States and Europe, is being affected by the Russia-Ukraine war.The impact of this lack of orders resulted in a number of footwear industry employees being laid off in recent months. Despite the problem of declining demand, the export performance of Indonesian footwear products in the third quarter of 2022 showed bright prospects. The export value of the national footwear industry in that period increased compared to the same period in the previous year. During January 2022 to September 2022, the export volume of the country’s leather industry, leather goods and footwear was up 34 per cent year on year compared to January 2021 to September 2021. Indonesia is consistently encouraging footwear exporters to improve their product quality, pay attention to the product packaging, and obtain product certificates. Product quality is given priority keeping in mind consumer convenience since currently product quality is important for product selection by consumers and products with high quality have a better chance against competition.

Mango has launched a line of sustainable denim.

The new collection that will be available in the UK includes various women’s garments in denim, such as jackets, gilets, trousers, skirts and jumpsuits in indigo and black. Some products will have dirty washes and be in line with silhouettes influenced by the 2000s.

The garments within the collection have been designed with a single type of 100 per cent cotton fiber, at least 20 per cent of which is recycled. Accessories such as rivets and jacron labels have been eliminated to help minimise waste during product development. The garments were designed using 3D digital design technology in order to reduce the number of samples produced.

Mango has manufactured the garments in this collection minimising its environmental impact in aspects such as the use of chemicals and water, and inside the garments there is a diagram explaining circular design to customers, thus reducing the production of paper labels. Founded in 1984, Mango is based in Spain. Mango has an international presence in over a hundred countries. Although the group is committed to directly controlling its online operations, in 2019 it began to franchise its platform in distant countries, where it does not have its own structure, with relevant local partners.

The readymade garment industry's competitiveness can be maintained only if gas prices are brought down to a rational level.

So says the Bangladesh Garment Buying Association (BGBA). In an official order on January 18, 2023, the gas tariff was raised for small and cottage industries, captive, small and merchant power plants. Big industries are to pay bigger gas bills, by 150 per cent. Such high gas price, says BGBA, would raise the production cost, resulting in loss of competitive edge of the readymade garment sector, and that it was because of low production cost that Bangladesh could sustain its export growth to the US and the European Union despite the fact that Covid and the war between Russia and Ukraine had severely affected the world.

So in the present economic situation of the US and the EU, it would be hard for Bangladesh to sell readymade garment products at a higher rate. Bangladesh’s export earnings during the first half of the current fiscal year grew by 15 per cent. The textile and clothing industry in the country employs about ten million people. So the BGBA has urged that the enhanced gas prices be reducedin the interest of continuity of employment and business opportunities in the country.

PVH, H&M, Inditex, C&A and Bestseller are among the brands who have signed up for the Pakistan accord on health and safety in the textile and garment industry.

Other signatories to the accord are German e-commerce giant Otto and the retailer Tchibo. This is a legally binding agreement on workplace safety in Pakistan between global union federations, garment brands and retailers for an interim term of three years starting in 2023. The accord aims at protecting the health and safety of workers while helping the industry achieve sustainable growth in exports.

Bands renew their commitment to a long-term sourcing relationship with Pakistan and to work in close collaboration with their suppliers in Pakistan and other stakeholders. Suppliers will be supported in meeting the highest safety standards. This includes efforts to establish local governance structures that ensure industry and local brand and union participation in decision-making in every phase of the program.The accord provides an opportunity both to increase the visibility of the efforts already made by many manufacturers to invest in fire and building safety measures in recent years and deepen and expand them throughout Pakistan’s garment and textile sector, making it an increasingly attractive option for buyers across the globe.

Workers in Myanmar’s garment sector are badly treated.

So says the Business and Human Rights Resource Center. Big fashion brands, says the group, have failed to protect workers in their supply chains from widespread labour rights abuses. These abuses range from inhuman working conditions and wage theft to the use of violence, arbitrary arrest and killings. The most common allegations of abuse are reduced wages and wage theftfollowed by unfair dismissal. The picture includes pathetic work rates, forced overtime accounts, gender-based violence and harassment, denial of leave, unsafe working conditions and arbitrary arrests and detention. Apparel brands sourcing from the country are continuing to show a concerning lack of action in ensuring respect for the rights of workers who make their clothes.

In many instances, factory owners are the perpetrators of this abuse. Fashion brands sourcing from these factories have in turn failed to conduct adequate human rights due diligence in the country as they often have to rely on factory owners or a third party to investigate conditions for workers on the ground. The Business and Human Rights Resource Center is an international NGO that tracks the human rights impacts (positive and negative) of more than 10,000 companies across nearly 200 countries.

India has a huge scope for diversifying its economic engagement with Azerbaijan especially in textiles and garments.

Indian apparel and readymade garments are already well known in Azerbaijan both through sale by local entrepreneurs and other global franchises.India and Azerbaijan enjoy close friendly relations based on historical links and growing bilateral cooperation. The two countries have increasing business and commercial cooperation in the fields of energy, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, tourism, IT, science and technology, textile and garments, education, to name a few. Total bilateral trade between India and Azerbaijan has reached around 463 million dollars.

The two countries have growing cooperation in capacity building under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation program, which provides fully paid training programs for Azerbaijani professionals and students in Indian institutions. A trade show Best of India was held in Azerbaijan in 2019.Some 75 companies from India showcased high quality products and services including electrical and electronics, bicycles, rice, tea, spices, packaging, pharmaceuticals, gifts and handicrafts, stationery, home furnishings, textiles and garments, jewelry and cosmetics. Apart from business and commerce the event focused on portraying the rich Indian cultural heritage through cultural events, food and festivals etc. all adding to the best of India experience.