Alicia Ferreira de Sousa winner of the Adidas x Woolmark Performance Challenge
Alicia Ferreira de Sousa from L’École de la Maille de Paris was announced the winner of the inaugural Adidas x Woolmark Performance Challenge. Alicia will receive a cash prize, a three-month internship with Adidas, the opportunity to sell the winning idea along with ongoing industry and training support from The Woolmark Company.
More than 500 students from 58 universities across Europe and North America registered to take part in the Challenge. The 10 finalists were chosen from universities from France, USA, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
The Adidas x Woolmark Performance Challenge not only allows wool to enter a new phase in product development, but provides an excellent opportunity for Alicia, and I congratulate her on this exciting win. The Woolmark Performance Challenge has been created by The Woolmark Company in collaboration with sportswear giant adidas, to attract the best young textile innovators to use Australian Merino wool.
Open to tertiary students worldwide, the Woolmark Performance Challenge provides an opportunity to apply the unique benefits of Australian Merino wool to new product applications in the sports and performance market. Alicia Ferreira de Sousa from L’École de la Maille de Paris was announced the winner of the inaugural Woolmark Performance Challenge.
UK fashion brands stockpile raw materials to face brexit without an FTA
British warehouses are filling up goods against the threat of an exit from the EU without a free trade agreement in place—and fashion firms are among those bracing for a logistical nightmare. Britain is running out of warehousing space as retailers rush to fill them with goods in the event of no-deal. And while stockpiling food and medicine is more urgent than clothing, brands are under pressure too.
One such company is ABF, which operates five businesses, including fast-fashion brand Primark, and which has been stockpiling goods in the north of England. Another is Next. The high street chain—led by chief executive Lord Wolfson—was well advanced in its preparations in case a free-trade agreement is not in place by next March. To plan ahead, the retail giant has been stockpiling some goods in its Irish warehouses, which will be safe to travel to the UK in the event of no deal, thanks to the Common Travel Agreement between the two countries. However, given the rapidity of the fashion calendar and the speed at which trends change and collections are updated, even the best prepared brands cannot stockpile for more than a few months.
Jeans becomes a part of street wear
Whether it’s transformative designs made from deconstructed denim, or back-to-basics high-waisted mom and dad styles, jeans are a likely pairing for street wear’s core items: graphic logo tees and sneakers. While street was solely about youth culture, the current look for denim as street wear runs the gamut from wide and baggy, to fitted, stylized and even tailored.
The rise of street wear has invited new opportunities for women’s denim brands to experiment outside the confines of the skinny jean. The trend has created a shift in women’s silhouettes. A wider and more square aesthetic is now leading. Layering has become more playful and innovative, with a mixing up of weights and lengths.
Denim jackets, coats, shirts, vests, skirts and dresses are giving off that nonchalant street wear aesthetic thanks to the casual feel of the fabric. Street wear also has pushed a less gender-defined aesthetic. Street garments have cross-appeal, with women shopping from menswear lines and some brands catering to this with unisex lines. Across genders, there has been a general loosening of silhouette, with wider fit jeans, puffed-out jackets and longer-line top. From drop crotch to baggy denim, voluminous denim shapes are already in stores.
Global textile coatings market to surpass 7.5 billion by 2024: Study
A growing preference for advanced automotive interiors along with a rise in the demand for passenger vehicles will drive growth in the textile coating market worldwide. Other triggers are, rapid urbanization along with increasing spending on infrastructure. Benefits including anti-abrasion, thermal insulation, self-cleaning and fire retardation will remain key factors fueling product demand. Others are advances in advertisement platforms including billboards, hoardings and signage. In addition, increasing product adoption in supporting nets, awnings and canopies used during infrastructure development will fuel demand.
Thermoplastics accounted for over 80 per cent of the overall textile coatings demand in 2016. Air bags, automotive upholstery, and bulk bags are major contributing applications. Benefits including durability, strength, and high resilience will facilitate the market growth in this segment.
The US textile coatings market will witness 4.5 per cent growth up to 2024. Positive outlook from home furnishing, clothing and industrial applications will support the overall business growth. Stagnant raw material prices along with increase in spending on R&D for further product innovation will propel regional industry growth.
Key players are: Omnova Solutions, Huntsman, Solvay, Clariant, Covestro, Sumitomo, Lubrizol and Nobletex.
Planet Textiles 2019 to focus on sustainable innovation and technology
The 10th edition of Planet Textiles 2019 will focus on sustainable innovation and technology. The exhibition, to be held on June 22, 2019 at the Fira Barcelona Exhibition Conference Centre, is expected to attract up to 120,000 visitors from 147 countries. First launched in 2009 in Hong Kong, Planet Textiles is expected to be a seminal event where apparel retailers, brands and buyers can network with an unrivalled gathering of experts from the textile manufacturing sector.
Delegates to Planet Textiles will also get special discounted access to ITMA where they can view the latest in textile production technology in action. A limited number of Planet Textile curated tours of ITMA will be available so that delegates can see new innovative technology with a positive environmental impact.
Planet Textiles is being supported once again by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, and will detail disruptive new textile technology, expert insight from leading industry CEOs, retail and apparel brands and NGOs involved in the environmental space.
Special sessions at Planet Textiles 2019 will feature the ZDHC Foundation and Fashion for Good, along with breakout sessions on what denim and textile production will look like in the second half of the 21st Century and how to reduce their environmental impact.
Myanmar, Cambodia register fastest growth in minimum wages
Out of the 10 Asean countries, low wage earners in Myanmar and Cambodia have experienced the fastest growth in their minimum wages. In the five years between 2013 and 2018, workers in Cambodia and Myanmar saw their wages increase by 174.2 per cent and 203.3 per cent respectively. In 2018, Cambodia’s minimum monthly wage rose to R 750,000($182).
Several factors had underpinned the rapid rise in Cambodia’s lowest wages. The rise in cost of living and the government’s continuing efforts to reduce the rate of those living in poverty justifies the increase from around $100 a month to $182 presently.
Cambodia had greatly benefited from being a dollarised economy and from the strength of the US dollar compared to the weakness of emerging market currencies. A stronger dollar mitigates inflation, as most commodities — such as oil, metals, livestock and foods — are priced in US dollars.
Myanmar, which does not have the mainstay of a de-facto greenback economy, saw minimum wages more than double in the past five years, with mushrooming inflation expected to reach 6.2 per cent in 2018, well in excess of an ideal rate of 2 per cent.
Textile associations call for development of Ludhiana
A delegation of Knitwear and Apparel Exporters Organization in Ludhiana recently sent a MoU to the chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh apprising him of their problems. In the MoU, Harish Dua, President of the Association noted that Ludhiana needs a big international class textile cluster with availability of all essential services.
An MSME unit cannot afford all kinds of machines and services like embroidery, printing, knitting, dyeing, and electronic computerized cutting. Therefore, it will be in the best interest of exporters and manufacturers of garments that a cluster be made in Ludhiana, where all these facilities — along with the latest state -of -the -art machinery is made available at a subsidised cost to members of the cluster.
Narinder Chugh, Executive Council member of Apparel Export Promotion Council emphasised the need to train and mobilise women’s workforce in the state, especially in Ludhiana. The Punjab government, which is already taking several steps to improve business environment in the state, should also start initiatives to set up hostels for working women. The state government can also offer land free of cost for this purpose, besides constructing hostels with aid from the Central government at the earliest.
Taiwan’s top sportswear maker Eclat to continue riding high
Taiwan-based Eclat, is a sportswear maker. The company specializes in making high-end fabrics and turning them into sports clothing for brands including Nike, Lululemon, Under Armour, Polo Ralph Lauren, Victoria's Secrets and Adidas as well as retailers such as JC Penney, Amazon, Kohl’s and Target.
For the first 10 months of 2018, Eclat’s revenue rose more than 16 per cent and is set to see healthy growth next year. At the end of 2016 the company ended its production in China. This now seems like a wise choice as fabrics have already been hit under the package of tariffs that the US imposed on Chinese imports in late September. This has made Eclat less vulnerable to the trade jousting between the world’s two leading economies than its Chinese rivals. The investment environment in China has been deteriorating dramatically and it is extremely difficult to find qualified workers. Wages in China are double those in Vietnam, while production efficiency is also better in Vietnam.
Currently, Eclat’s production facilities are mostly in Taiwan and Vietnam. Eclat generates around 60 per cent of its revenue from North America. Europe accounts for 20 per cent of the company's sales while Japan and Australia combined take about ten per cent.
Shanghai Tex to feature AI event
Artificial Intelligence on Fashion and Textile (AIFT) will be held simultaneously with Shanghai Tex, November 25 to 27, 2019. AIFT will provide an open platform for researchers, engineers and practitioners in the area of AI, fashion and textile to explore the ways of driving the industry toward Industry 4.0 and the new era of retail. Speakers will cover the internet of things, textile and apparel supply chain modeling, textile material defect detection, textile material color measurement, wearable devices, 3D image modeling for fitting, retail sales replenishment and fashion sales forecasting, carrying out a comprehensive analysis of the opportunities and challenges in the textile and fashion industry brought by AI.
AIFT will develop a long-term cooperation with Shanghai Tex 2019. An Artificial Intelligence alliance will be established together with a number of institutions during AIFT 2019. Adopting research, application, popularization as its core values, AIFT aims at connecting researchers and industry practitioners to accelerate the development and application of AI in the textile and fashion industry.
Computer technology, especially AI’s rapid development over the past 20 years, has changed lifestyle and society. The textile and fashion industry will step into the fourth industrial revolution as soon as mature technology applications in production processes become routine.
India: CRB’s conference focuses on sustainability in the apparel & textiles
The issue of sustainability in the apparel and textiles sector took centre-stage at the recently concluded Centre for Responsible Business’ (CRB) 5th annual Sustainability Conference (India & Sustainability Standards) in Delhi. The conference organised a number of sectoral/thematic sessions in partnership with like-minded organisations at the conference. The three-day event assembled a diverse mix of relevant stakeholders to bring their perspectives, experiences and insights on the table – thereby ensuring that the multi-stakeholder nature of the dialogue was maintained.
A session on the situation of ‘Women in Value-chains’ focused on the apparel & textiles, speakers unanimously agreed that there is need to raise the standard of working conditions for women workers, and to accord specific attention to prevent sexual harassment and violence. Members agreed upon industries encouraging women in management and decision-making positions.
Speakers also discussed on ways to promote child-friendly supply chains in apparel & textiles sector – an imperative for international buyers/brands. CRB alongwith the Global March Against Child Labor (GMACL) has developed a toolkit to help companies undertake the necessary due diligence to assess and mitigate child and forced labor in the apparel and textiles supply chain.
More...
Accord warns of dire consequences if forced to shut down in Bangladesh
Accord, set up to improve safety in Bangladesh's garment industry after the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013 has warned global fashion firms of stopping sourcing from Bangladeshi factories if the Accord is forced to close next week.The Bangladeshi High Court has ordered the Accord's Dhaka office to close due to a complaint from a factory owner who was prevented from working with Accord brands after he was accused of falsifying test results on concrete strength in his building.
The Accord will keep operating from the Netherlands and remains legally binding on its member companies, but it has warned signatories they may have to stop sourcing from about 500 factories with safety problems if it can no longer inspect them. The Accord and its signatory firms, along with European politicians and campaign groups, have been lobbying the Bangladesh government for help to lift the court order, but with little effect so far.However, many experts and campaigners say the Bangladesh regulatory body is not yet ready to take over.
More than 200 firms - including the world's top fashion retailers like Zara-owner Inditex and H&M - signed the legally-binding, five-year Accord after at least 1,100 people were killed when the Rana Plaza complex collapsed. The Accord has inspected more than 2,000 factories in Bangladesh and helped draw up plans to fix 150,000 structural and fire hazards.
Amazon to launch its first pop-up store this week in Spain
Amazon has forayed into the offline market in Spain with the launch of its first pop-up store in Madrid, in one of the prime shopping districts. The store is styled as a house with everything for sale, from electronic goods to video games to clothing. The company is eyeing similar outlets in Italy, Germany and Britain. The move underscores Amazon’s push to attract customers through physical retail.
The store will be open to the public for six days around ‘Black Friday’ weekend, with visitors also invited to take part in workshops and other experiences. It recently opened a new store in New York that allows shoppers to buy items from its website with the help of a smartphone app.
Also, the online shopping website is also hosting its first Black Friday event in Australia tonight with tens of thousands of bargains appearing at the stroke of midnight. These will be deals across a wide selection of categories including video games, fashion, beauty, electronics and books.
Unfazed by global competition local brands dominate interior Chinese market
"Fashion brands like H&M and Zara might dominate the global market but penetrating the low cost clothing market in the Taobao villages’ of China is tough for them. The clothing brands operating here are fully domestic. International brands, inspite of their aggressive marketing have failed to make inroads into this market as people living in these parts of China, have never heard of them."
Fashion brands like H&M and Zara might dominate the global market but penetrating the low cost clothing market in the Taobao villages’ of China is tough for them. The clothing brands operating here are fully domestic. International brands, inspite of their aggressive marketing have failed to make inroads into this market as people living in these parts of China, have never heard of them.
Wholesale clothing factories, traditionally dealing in low-cost apparel, were concentrated in Zhejiang, Fujian and around Guangdong in the Pearl River Delta. These factories would offload their nameless, brand-less, largely design-less goods to small vendors who would truck them around the country to sell at wholesale clothing markets. All this changed with the rise of Taobao: the platform that unlocked the ability of Chinese consumers.
Focusing on core competencies
According to Alibaba’s research arm, AliResearch, 10 per cent households in these Taobao villages run stores,
with their total annual online revenue reaching at least 10 million yuan (about US $1.5 million). There are currently more than 1,000 such villages in China.
These villages focus on a niche category. Hongxing, in China’s eastern Jiangxi province, makes jackets, with 420 companies in a village devoted to manufacturing and distributing puffy outerwear to Chinese consumers. Every year, the village makes 2.5 billion yuan (US $360.2 million) in revenue from jackets, more than 1 billion yuan (US$144 million) of which comes from Taobao sales.
Traditionally, low-cost Chinese brands won market share by covering the country’s shopping centres and high streets with thousands of brick and mortar stores — still a viable strategy for major players such as the aforementioned Metersbonwe (the founder of which, Zhou Chengjian, has a net worth estimated at US$1.4 billion (by Forbes), Bosideng (founded by Gao Dekang, (who Forbes estimates is currently worth $1.7 billion), plus Ochirly and Five Plus, both owned by Guangzhou-based Trendy Group (founded by Jacky Xu, whose current net worth sits at $1.3 billion).
Local manufacturers have an edge
International mass-market players haven’t been able to gain a foothold among many young Chinese consumers. This is partly due to the first-mover advantage of local brands manufacturing cut-price fashion with remarkable turnaround speeds, but also because China’s post-90s generation don’t necessarily care where affordable clothing comes from — unlike Chinese luxury consumers who place a premium on "made in Europe" luxury. Another problem with these companies is that they didn’t focus on their e-commerce operations even as China’s online apparel market boomed. Their e-commerce sales lagged behind the anticipated 2018 China average online retail spend of 33.6 percent.
As Jason Yu says, China’s low-cost apparel manufacturers currently face the choice of either upgrading to domestic brand status, downgrading to sell their wares on the lowest-tier e-commerce platforms, or shutting down their operations altogether. More complex is the fate of global players, most of whom seem destined to play second fiddle to domestic giants in China’s mass-market apparel sector. Any thought of dominating the kingdom seems to be a like ‘boiling the ocean.’
Burberry gets involved in Afghan cashmere production
Burberry aims at providing a boost to the cashmere industry in Afghanistan. The British luxury fashion brand is trying to promote sustainable agricultural practices. While nearly 95 per cent of the country’s goats are cashmere producing, just 30 per cent are currently farmed for cashmere. Burberry wants that to change.
Afghanistan is the world’s third largest cashmere producer after China and Mongolia. Afghan cashmere is of a significantly higher quality than Iranian cashmere. In Afghanistan, cashmere fiber production is still part of the country’s rural traditions, meshing in some regions with an ancient, rarely changed lifestyle. Many Afghan goat herders have limited understanding about the potential and true value of cashmere, and the project is aiming at addressing such challenges by working with local herders to create community-owned collective action organisations and provide them with the necessary knowledge, technical skills, essential services and access to markets to support sustainable farming and economic development.
By doing so, the overall objective of the project is improving cashmere quality and yield as well as the yield of herders’ goats overall, including meat and dairy production – which in turn would allow herders to obtain a higher value for their goats. A training program will be introduced for herders, on how to safely remove cashmere fibers from the goats.
