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Zimbabwe’s cotton production has increased 150 per cent this year. Cotton output increased to 70,000 tons up from 28,000 tons produced during last season.
The Presidential Inputs Program, a free input support program, has managed to empower thousands of farmers who had abandoned the crop due to exploitative financing models by private contractors.
Private companies were giving farmers inputs at inflated prices and buying the commodity at very low prices. So at the end of the day farmers were essentially providing free labor because all the income would go toward debt repayment. In certain instances, some farmers ended up losing their property or livestock after failing to repay.
But the Presidential Inputs Program has come to their rescue. It has had a huge impact on the livelihoods of people. Farmers have managed to upgrade their homes, buy cattle, even cars, animal drawn ploughs. Parents are paying school fees. Service providers such as transporters are back and most grocery shops in villages have re-opened. Commercial activities have grown.
The program has helped boost cotton production, tame poverty among the rural people and created jobs. It has empowered disadvantaged women and would go a long way in reviving downstream industries such as textiles.
Wrangler in honor of its 70th anniversary is releasing new range in collaboration with psychedelic artist Peter Max. The collection is bright, colorful, and well, totally far out.
It is Wrangler’s second collaboration with Max, the first of which debuted in the 1970s. The Peter Max X Wrangler range is still very much retro inspired but reworked with modern fits, featuring pieces like two-tone jeans, cords, trucker jackets, and graphic tees. Just have a look at this Peter Max X Wrangler Women’s Pieced Denim retro straight fit. Jean that feels like a blast straight from the past.
Talking about the collection Peter Max X Wrangler women’s Pieced Corduroy retro straight fit pant that’s pretty much the essence of cool also the Peter Max X Wrangler women’s short sleeve graphic T-Shirt works just as well with the collection’s iconic denim as it does with any leather skirt or moto jacket in your closet.
World trade grew by 4.2 per cent year-on-year from January through June.
Much of the increase is attributed to a resurgence of trade flows in Asia, where exports rose 7.3 per cent and imports jumped 8.9 per cent. Stronger growth in the US and China has boosted demand for imports. Trade has also seen meaningful increases in North America (with import and export gains of 3.9 per cent and 4.9 per cent respectively) and Europe (up 1.2 per cent and 2.6 per cent).
The fact that trade growth is now more synchronized across regions than it has been for many years could make the current expansion self-reinforcing. Such an outcome would be more likely if countries continue to resist the temptations of protectionism and work together to ensure that gains from trade are both large and widely shared.
However trade growth is expected to slow to 3.2 per cent in 2018. The renegotiation of Nafta and the uncertain nature of the trade relationship between the European Union and the departing United Kingdom could unsettle global and regional trade. In addition, monetary policy changes could provoke shifts in prices and exchange rates that would strongly influence trade patterns. Protectionist rhetoric could translate into trade restrictions.
H&M first launched its worldwide Garment Collecting creativity in 2013 and has then collected over 40,000 tonnes of clothing. Customers can bring any unwanted garments and textiles, from any brand and in any condition, to any H&M store, all year around. The goal is to increase the amount of garments collected every year and collect total volume of 25,000 tonnes per year by 2020.
An exciting film directed by Crystal Moselle was launched in support to the global Garment Collecting campaign, Bring It.
The campaign raises awareness on the importance of garment recycling. H&M wants to close the loop on fashion by giving customers an easy solution to hand in unwanted garments so they can be reused or recycled through H&M’s garment collecting initiative. By doing so, less garments go to landfill.
The Bring It film tells the journey that unwanted garments go on after they have been collected in store. Through inspiring stories the film illustrates how the lifespan of a garment can be increased to keep it in the loop for as long as possible.
H&M’s ambition is to work towards a change in the way fashion is made to provide fashion and quality at the best price in a sustainable way.
The company works towards a sustainable fashion future. The aim is to create a closed loop for textiles, so that unwanted clothes can be reused and recycled to create fresh textile fibers for new products.
French investors are interested in Cambodia’s garment, textile, tourism and agriculture sectors. Such investment is expected to help Cambodia’s exports to the EU grow more and more, especially in the purchase of garments, textiles and agricultural products. The European Union’s ‘Everything but Arms’ policy allows Cambodia to export all kinds of goods to the EU without paying any tariffs or taxes. Cambodia is having a rapid economic growth rate. The country has a substantial labor force, abundant natural resources and a favorable location for ensuring long-term investment.
The country has over the years maintained an average GDP growth rate of about seven per cent and is constantly striving to create a better business environment for investors. France has helped Cambodia in a number of sectors, including education, health, and clean water. While the bulk of France’s imports from Cambodia are those of garments, France is the biggest market in Europe for Cambodian rice.
Whenever a French artist, a painter or a photographer, shows their work in Cambodia, they also hold master class to train young promising artists. France holds street art festivals in Cambodia too. These events allow for French and Cambodian artists to exchange and create things.
India is changing its export mix and is realigning exports to China.
While its northern neighbor is its largest trading partner, only 3.68 per cent of India’s exports find their way to China.
Apart from finding it difficult to bridge the whopping trade deficit, India is also looking to upgrade its current basket of exports to China.
Raw materials like cotton, iron ore and copper were long a hallmark of Indian exports to China.
But now there is a move to shift exports towards value added products in a bid to cap the growing trade deficit. Raw materials like iron and iron ores, which constitute more than 70 per cent of India’s exports to China, are subject to volatile global commodity prices. So there is a need to shift toward products higher in the value chain.
So India has shifted focus from raw materials to key sectors such as hardware, electronics, pharmaceuticals, textiles and auto components in a bid to realign and boost exports.
A changing consumer pattern has led to a greater demand for consumer goods in China, where overall demand in the first half of 2017 was driven by solid growth in industry and even stronger growth in services.
So India is looking to harness its strengths in labor intensive sectors where India enjoys a significant advantage over other developing nations.
German textile machinery helps textile manufacturers interested in digitization, developing and manufacturing new products, enhancing competitiveness by increasing efficiency and quality, and saving energy and material resources.
China is the leading purchaser of German textile technology.
Traditionally the United States has been one of the top five destinations for German textile machinery. Strong sectors in the United States include technical textiles and nonwovens, and also home textiles like carpets.
In the first half of 2017, German exports of textile machinery and accessories to the United States reached more than 130 million dollars.
Germany is a leading supplier of textile machinery. German textile machinery is characterized by its high quality and customer-specific production. Among Germany’s textile machinery exports, spinning machinery takes top place. This is followed by knitting and hosiery machinery, finishing machinery and weaving machinery.
The initial price for a German machine pays off after a few years due to low maintenance costs and reliability in production. German textile machinery is meant for high quality garments or technical textiles. High product quality requires high quality machinery, so textile producers aiming for sophisticated products usually choose German machines.
India is rated among the top four major markets worldwide for German textile machinery manufacturers.
After a long time there has been some real movement in cotton futures.
After trading sideways, with a slightly upward bias, for more than a week, New York’s December contract found more definite direction, downwards, in the last session, closing 1.4 per cent lower.
Last session’s price fall was certainly a jolt for the market. This might be the market returning to normality, which could mean harvest pressure on prices.
The market will seasonally feel the weight of US supply as a still-large crop comes to market.
One hope for bulls is that at least the downside could be minimal. December cotton futures seemed to find support just below 67 cents a pound.
But it is by no means certain that this floor will hold again, given the large net long, of more than 70,000 contracts, that hedge funds have built in cotton futures and options – which looks precarious if an upswing in values is not forthcoming.
Speculators who added longs above the 72-cents-a-pound level may start to get concerned as the market drops away and doesn’t look to be returning to those levels without a catastrophic event happening.
China has seemed focused on getting a shot of its huge state inventories, built up thanks to a now-scrapped guaranteed pricing scheme.
The procedure for labeling clothing, fur and textile labels in the US will be streamlined.
There are some outdated, excessive, or unnecessary regulations that create significant burdens on the US economy, with little benefit to consumers.
The Federal Trade Commission is updating the rules to apply web-based electronic filings of requests to cancel, obtain or update registered identification numbers (RN) used on fur, textile and wool product labels.
The web-based RN system will foster a more seamless application process for participating companies and boost the agency’s label compliance services to consumers.
FTC’s site now features real-time data validation for users and alerts them about potential errors in labeling to avoid delays. The system currently has more than 1,40,000 entries and the FTC urges industry members with RN numbers to visit the website to verify that their information is correct.
FTC rules dictate that most apparel, fur and textile products must contain a label that identifies the manufacturer responsible for handling and marketing the item. With the updated RN system, companies may easily obtain an RN without having to put extended company names on labels.
Marketers are also allowed to disclose a trademark used as a housemark— a distinctive mark used to identify a marketer or manufacturer’s products—on the tag instead of their business name.
Canadian, Mexican, and US negotiators should update NAFTA in a way that will continue the current trade and opportunities for businesses, workers and consumers in all three countries.
Today, the NAFTA supply chain is a success story—with significant production and sales in all three countries that create jobs and offer consumers better products at better prices.
The trade agreement remains one of the most important—and most used—free trade agreements for textile and apparel companies as well as retailers and brands. The western hemisphere supply chain is an essential element in global sourcing today. Successful partnerships have been forged over the past 20-plus years that bring together top performers in all three countries.
Industry associations representing apparel brands, retailers, and manufacturers in Canada, Mexico, and the United States came together with a joint statement to the negotiators who are meeting in Ottawa for the third round of talks to update NAFTA.
NAFTA should remain permanent to give companies the predictability to continue to make long-term investments in sourcing and in manufacturing. It also means NAFTA needs to maintain the balance of innovative flexibilities that exist today to support the fashion industry.
By definition, the fashion industry needs flexibility–today’s fashion trends develop with lightning speed and NAFTA allows companies to respond immediately. Proposals to make NAFTA more restrictive would disrupt the supply chain.
