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Bayard Winthrop, CEO and Founder of the clothing brand American Giant, is not impressed by President Trump’s mission ‘Buy American, hire American’. Winthrop says the problem is not that it's hard to manufacture in America. American Giant was founded in 2011, and it has remained committed to selling Made-in-USA garments for a price that most would consider reasonable for their touted quality. It makes most of its garments in a factory in Middlesex, North America. The brand has proven that selling American-made clothing can work as long as you make something people want to buy. American Giant found early success with a sweatshirts that was crowned "the greatest hoodie ever made" in 2013, and that success has moved into other categories like women's pants.
Winthrop admits that small tweaks to trade deals like NAFTA could help American Giant, he adds it would really help his business by fixing the other things that every business has to deal with simplifying taxes and health care. He says they are not talking about that in a meaningful way and you're going to find in a hurry that a lot of things like immigration are important to this business in case one took the time to go to North Carolina along with him for six hours and meet some of these people and talk about the actual challenges.
He further adds, he will keep sailing on with American Giant whether lifted or buffeted by the Trump administration's policies. He leaves it on the customers to judge and at some point have someone in Washington says Winthrop.
World cotton supply and demand estimates for 2016-17 include a modest net increase in world production, concentrated in China, Brazil and several other countries and partially offset by a reduction in Australia. However, the real wild card is US exports for the new crop market. The old crop market has been driven by a boom in US exports. This is reflected by a seven-month uptrend in both price and export sales, representing an expansion of the demand relationship. Most of this expansion can be attributed to the particularly good, and widespread, quality of the 2016 US crop.
To the extent greater export demand for US cotton depends on the US actually having the biggest supply of quality cotton in a given year, it remains to be seen whether the US will retain this larger market share. We don’t know what the quality of the 2017 crop will be.
On consumption side, domestic mill use can be expected to be around 3.5 million. However, market share may be influenced by more longer-lasting things, like the reputation of the sourcing country, and the expanded relationships between suppliers and buyers. Perhaps then there will be positive spillover into the new crop marketing year that is somewhat independent of the specific quality of 2017 US cotton supplies.
The UK bedroom textiles market is set to grow by 12.5 per cent between 2017 and 2022, reveals research and consulting firm GlobalData. The report explains how retailers are successfully able to target shoppers by suggesting replacing bedroom textiles at regular intervals is an important practice to maintain healthy and hygienic sleep habits.
Sarah Johns, Retail Analyst for GlobalData explains with over a third of shoppers agreeing that they never seem to get a good night’s sleep, retailers can increase sales by emphasizing the ways in which new bedding can improve comfort and quality of sleep. The company believes retailers should also aim to capitalize on the increasingly fashion-oriented environment of the bedroom textiles space. For example, Hygge, a trend embracing Scandinavia’s minimalistic way of living, directly impacted the look of bedroom textiles in 2016 as consumers sought cosy yet minimalistic decor. ‘Lagom’, meaning ‘just the right amount’, is the next Scandinavian lifestyle trend to hit headlines, and a good example of the sort of household trend development retailers should track to stay ahead of the curve.
Johns further adds traditional bedroom textile retailers, such as department stores, need to ensure they communicate the superior quality of their products. This can be achieved through visual social media accounts such as Pinterest, which will help reach a target audience interested in home design and embrace the latest home lifestyle trends.
Production of UK textile and apparel increased 2.5 per cent over the last two years. Exports rose 28 per cent from 2012 to 2016. Apparel exports alone increased by 41 per cent from 2012 to 2016. The Textiles Growth Program has helped create 1,600 jobs and 115 apprenticeship positions in England in its first year. So far, over 340 manufacturing companies have invested in the program, creating an additional 4,450 jobs and 380 apprenticeships.
The continued rise in exports is driven by a number of factors including an increased interest in heritage UK manufacturing, the creativity of British fashion designers as well as the importance of the UK as a key apparel trading hub.
The UK textile and apparel industry has always been well recognized around the world as one of the most influential players in the global market for its leading position in fashion designing, manufacturing, retailing and fashion education. There was a slowdown in growth over the past few years due to the strong competition from emerging Asian countries and uncertainty from Brexit.
New investment and government support are expected to further boost industry growth by creating more jobs, supporting more capital projects, training more skilled workers, and facilitating R&D.
American company providing fashion technology solutions globally, Tukatech, is looking at expanding market share in India’s apparel industry. The company at present occupies a 85 per cent market of share of educational institutions and a 60 per cent share of the apparel industry in India.
Having served almost all high-end international and national brands, its focus is now to bring the technology to the small and medium apparel industry. Its latest innovation — the TUKA3D Enterprise Edition — aims to increase efficiency in product development, thereby reducing the time and cost in developing new samples and enabling effective global communications and faster sample approvals through TUKA Cloud.
The company aims to revolutionise the small and medium sector in the apparel industry. TUKA3D Enterprise Edition includes all high-functioning 3D development capabilities for a virtual product development at a more attainable price. TUKA Cloud is a web-based sample room for digital collaboration.
This solution serves as a database of virtual samples, and is also a communications platform that enables product development to take place in a digital environment, reminiscent of the traditional design process. Going virtual has allowed apparel manufacturers to reduce their product development time considerably, and increase their first-sample acceptance rate.
Pakistan is helping the entire chain of the textile sector to adopt and upgrade to new technology. A textile corner will be set up which will provide guidance and awareness to exporters to adopt new technologies in order to improve the quality of their products. It will also help in sensitizing textilers to promote value addition and earn more profit from their exportable surplus. The textile corner is meant to bridge the gap between industry and academia. Funds have been allotted to carry out research activities and bring about a qualitative improvement in industry-academia linkages.
Textile experts hailing from different sectors will visit this corner and advise concerned industrialists on solving their immediate problems. In some areas textile testing facilities are scarce and exporters have to send their products for this purpose to foreign laboratories. This process is very costly and time consuming. So such facilities will be set up wherever possible.
The textile industry is the biggest industry of Pakistan, earning foreign exchange worth $12 billion per annum for the country. However, the country’s textile exports have been declining for many years due to international recession coupled with energy crisis and inconsistent domestic policies.
Nike has a patent for architecturally reinforced denim. For a company that prides itself on innovation, it's no ordinary denim. The fabric has moisture management, stretch materials and performance zones. Like any Nike product, it is designed for athletes, not office workers.
The patent describes the denim as useful for extreme athletes, such as BMX riders and skateboarders, who require specialized gear that must be comfortable and protective, but prefer clothing and other gear that are fashionable and attractive.
Sportswear giant Nike has thousands of patents for sneakers and apparel. Its patent activity now rivals some technology heavyweights.
Nike is the world’s largest athletic apparel and gear maker. Nike’s gear is widely seen on courts and running trails, but the brand also has remained on-trend as part of the growing consumer interest in athleisure — a term that describes the growing acceptance of wearing athletic apparel and shoes just about anywhere. The company has started online retail operations in India via its portal. India-based users can now order from the global portal and have it home delivered.
Earlier, only certain markets such as Australia, Honga Kong and Indonesia were being served by the online division of the company.
A Recent survey has found Laos one of the last surviving communist country in the Indo China Peninsula is a safe haven for exporting beyond the clutches of China’s monopoly. Laos has maintained a concrete export corridor with the European Union. Germany an active member in the EU is a leading trade partner of Laos due to bilateral trade policy.
Laos and the European Union (EU) also have a bilateral trade cooperation agreement that allows a number of Lao products, mostly woven textiles and clothing, to be exported to various parts of Europe. From 2013-16 the Lao exported garments worth over $221.31 million to Germany while unprocessed coffee products came in second with a value of more than $26 million. In fact, Laos has exported over 40 products to Germany; including agricultural products, handicrafts and beverages with a value of more than $262.38 million.
EU cooperation also helps Laos develop and improve its trade policy and capacity to maximize its economic development and poverty reduction as well as help it integrate into the world economy. European Union is also trying to remove the monopoly set by Chinese companies in the peninsula.
Established in 1962 Shima Seiki has become a brand to be reckoned with. Shima Seiki Japan is the leading manufacturer in the computerized flatbed knitting machine industry, with the largest worldwide market share. With over 100 attendees and 50 companies participating at the previous edition, G3D seminars and workshops has been seen positive response. The purpose of the symposium is to bring together representatives from all across the apparel industry to focus on the future of the industry.
On display will be Shima Seiki’s flagship Mach2XS Wholegarment knitting machine featuring the original Slide Needle™ on four needle beds and spring-type moveable sinkers. Mach2XS offers high efficiency and stability with extended patterning capability while knitting wholegarment items. The compact SWG061N2 Wholegarment knitting machine offers flexible production as well as the capability for producing technical textiles for sports, medical and other industrial applications. The new SVR123SP computerized flat knitting machine features a loop presser bed with inlay capability, offering new and exciting possibilities in hybrid knit-weave textiles. The compact SSR112 workhorse machine will also be on display to demonstrate the leading edge in computerized shaped knitting technology.
Also on show will be the SDS-ONE APEX3 3D design system that is at the core of Shima Seiki’s “Total Fashion System” concept integrating knit production into one smooth and efficient workflow from planning and design to machine programming, production and even sales promotion.
Football mega-star Cristiano Ronaldo has announced the launch of new CR7 Denim line in June. The superstar already designs and models male underwear for his own fashion label, CR7, and now hopes to score with quality jeans that move as easily as he does.
It’s being produced and distributed by Uniti Fashion, a sourcing and manufacturing company founded in South Africa. The line is designed around the premise of comfort and high-fashion influences. He wished these jeans to be made to be lived in. A longtime fan of skinny jeans, his new collection offers denim junkies four styles modern straight, slim straight, tapered and super skinny.
The men’s denim collection is made from three types of fabric that either include stretch or are washed down to allow full movement. The assortment includes a core, signature and fashion collection. The 32-year-old says he believes in constantly moving forward and progressing in life, both on and off the playing field. The star actually wore them in a brand campaign film, and haven’t been able to take them off since. The line, to be available from June 1, will also include denim shirts, jackets and shorts
