"A recent report by the International Fur Federation (IFF) states estimates global fur retail at around $40 billion, largely due to the sustained demand in Asian markets, including the Chinese mainland, Japan and South Korea. Meanwhile, challenges such as volatile pelt prices owing to the slow recovery in demand in excess of stock depletion remain headaches to fur farmers and traders. Reflecting a general preference among designers such as Marc Jacobs, Mulberry and Balenciaga in the luxury goods sector, fur continues to be a major design story in fashion shows all over the world."

A recent report by the International Fur Federation (IFF) states estimates global fur retail at around $40 billion, largely due to the sustained demand in Asian markets, including the Chinese mainland, Japan and South Korea. Meanwhile, challenges such as volatile pelt prices owing to the slow recovery in demand in excess of stock depletion remain headaches to fur farmers and traders. Reflecting a general preference among designers such as Marc Jacobs, Mulberry and Balenciaga in the luxury goods sector, fur continues to be a major design story in fashion shows all over the world.

Farmed furs are the mainstay of the fur trade, accounting for some 85 per cent of the industry turnover according to IFTF. The most common farmed fur-bearing animals are minks and foxes. Most fur farming takes place in Denmark, followed by China, the Netherlands, the Baltic States and the US. The majority of raw skins produced by fur farmers and trappers are sold through modern international auction houses, often located close to producing areas. The world's largest fur auction houses are in Copenhagen, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Seattle and Toronto.

Hong Kong industry

Hong Kong, one of the world’s third largest fur clothing exporters, is a major source of quality fur garments and accessories. Majority of Hong Kong’s furriers have set up production facilities on the Chinese mainland amid higher production costs in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s fur clothing exports increased 3 per cent in the first five months of 2018, after 7 per cent growth in 2017. The Chinese mainland is the largest market for Hong Kong's exports of furskins, accounting for 49 per cent of the total exports in the first five months of 2018. A large proportion of Hong Kong’s furskin exports are re-exports from overseas to the Chinese mainland for fur clothing production there.

After seeing a 7 per cent growth in 2017, Hong Kong’s fur clothing exports expanded further 3 per cent in the first five months of 2018, a low base. Taking up almost two-thirds of Hong Kong’s fur clothing exports in the first five months of 2018, the EU, South Korea and Canada were the three leading export markets of Hong Kong's fur clothing.

Catching on designers’ attention

Designers focus more on details of designs or collections by incorporating more colourful, bold-toned and graphic elements, rather than making use of large pieces of furs to attract eyeballs. Designers are also experimenting with colourful shades and innovative flourishes. Examples include the avant-garde combination of down feathers, fur, embroidery and fashionable elements. Yet vintage designs such as retro-inspired silhouettes are still prevalent. It is important for the fur trend to move from a cold-climate utility into a more metropolitan fashion market. Short fur coats and fur shirts with subtle trimming have become a leading trend. Added to this, the business of fur restyling and alteration has also seen decent growth in recent years, when consumers have tightened their budget and preferred alteration to new purchase.

The popularity of fur accessories increases in line with the availability of new techniques in fur manufacturing. For instance, new techniques allow designers to customise furs into different shapes such as diamond, window and octopus. Nowadays, fur has become increasingly dexterous, durable, soft and versatile, thanks to the new and advanced processing and dyeing techniques. Therefore, fur, as another flexible garment fabric, can be cut into silhouettes and dyed in fashionable colours for designers and manufacturers to work on.

Ethical sourcing

An increasing number of people want to make sure their purchase comes from a source where ethical standards are in place. Catering to this trend, fur trade is phasing in a voluntary labelling programme, the Origin Assured Label or OA™, which informs customers about the origins of the products and local regulations or standards governing fur production. Given further enhancement of the regulations on environmental conservation and animal protection, fur which is biodegradable and less polluted in the production process is increasingly considered a sustainable material. In the meantime, recycling fur has started to grab attention of producers and consumers.

"In a big victory for his agenda to abolish global free trade that many associate with the signing of NAFTA in 1994, President Donald Trump recently convinced Canada and Mexico to accept restricted trade with their main export partner. Keeping China in focus, the U.S. negotiators clinched a new trade deal with Mexico and Canada to replace the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement that Trump labeled a disaster."

In a big victory for his agenda to abolish global free trade that many associate with the signing of NAFTA in 1994, President Donald Trump recently convinced Canada and Mexico to accept restricted trade with their main export partner. Keeping China in focus, the U.S. negotiators clinched a new trade deal with Mexico and Canada to replace the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement that Trump labeled a disaster.

Encouraging US investments and Production

The rules of origin of this agreement, which govern how much value of a car needs to be made in the region, will help the Trump administration to restrict the advent of Chinese products besides encouraging production and investment in the U.S. and North America.

The agreement, known as USMCA, also prohibits its members from boosting their economic competitiveness by devaluing their currencies, something Trump has accused China of doing in the past.

The deal, however, failed to resolve U.S. tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum exports

More access to the Canadian diary market

Canadian President Trudeau made a concession on dairy by giving the U.S. farmers more access to the protected Canadian market than the 3.25 per cent granted to its partners in the earlier Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. The U.S. would be granted 3.6 per cent access. Canada had also agreed to eliminate its “Class 7” pricing system for certain milk ingredients, an irritant to farmers in Wisconsin and New York.

The revised agreement also requires the three nations to give three-month’ notice if they start trade negotiations with a “non-market economy,” an indirect reference to China. The U.S. can terminate its pact with Mexico or Canada if either of them strikes a deal with a non-market economy.

A stronger framework for innovation, manufacturing and jobs

The new pact shows the ways the Trump team seeks to rebalance trade treaties with provisions that are aimed at increasing manufacturing in the U.S., including unusually proscriptive provisions setting a minimum fixed wage level for auto manufacturers. The political consequences of the trade deal for Trump and Republicans in Congress remains to be seen, but the deal has already been received as a down payment for future successes that Trump’s supporters hope his trade policy will yield. It would provide a much stronger framework for more innovation, more manufacturing and better jobs for U.S. workers.

But achieving the same success elsewhere will not be easy. The existence of NAFTA text that largely satisfied most parties gave negotiators solid ground to build on, but no such ground exists for the U.S. relationship with China.

After acquiring a 20 per cent stake in F.P. Journe, luxe brand Chanel has bought British high-end men’s swimwear and board shorts label Orlebar Brown. The purchase was made from the label’s founder Adam Brown, the Piper investment fund and a few minority shareholders. Adam Brown, who founded Orlebar Brown in London in 2007, will continue to act as the brand’s creative director, alongside CEO Paul Donoghue.

This acquisition offers an ideal opportunity for collaboration between Orlebar Brown and Eres. Orlebar Brown could enable Eres to boost its digital expertise and optimise its omni-channel distribution strategy. Orlebar Brown, on the other hand, can benefit from the retail experience and know-how of a long-established player in the high-end beachwear segment. Orlebar Brown was launched as an online brand 11 years ago, and 40 per cent of its current sales are generated via its e-tail site. The label has a brick-and-mortar network of 24 directly owned stores in 11 countries, and is also available at over 250 specialised retailers.

Textile giant David Whitehead (DWTL) is seeking over $30 million to expand capacity by setting up a new factory and procure critical spares, working capital as well as settle prejudicial obligations. The company needs $20 million for the new factory; $2 million for spares; $1,5 million for working capital; $1 million for shares acquisition; and $6 million for prejudicial obligations settlement Negotiations are being made to secure foreign currency for the procurement of spares and new plant for the fabric and spinning divisions which were likely to come from Germany and China.

Acquisition of new machinery is envisaged to result in the increase of production capacity by 150 per cent from 6 million meters to 15 million meters of fabric per annum and revenue of about $45 million. The new machinery will enhance competitiveness through improved quality consistencies, higher efficiencies and economies of scale, thereby ensuring that the company will be able to consolidate its position on the local market as well as overseas markets.

Coloreel has introduced an instant thread coloring unit for the European market at Avantex, held from September 17 to 20, 2018 in Paris. The unit provides the possibility of making fantastic embroideries with amazing quality. The customers will be able to create new unique embroideries that no one has seen before.

Coloreel offers improved logistics as customers need only one thread, but can get unlimited colors. It increases embroidery production speed with no trims needed for the color changes. Coloreel also reduces waste of resources by producing the thread you need and minimising water usage. Shipping of the Coloreel units to customers in Europe will start at the beginning of 2019 with the USA following. The next step for Coloreel is to broaden the distribution in a very quality assured and service-oriented way. The product launch of the instant thread coloring unit was a clear indication that the whole world is longing for this product.

Myanmar Textile Entrepreneurs Association has reported that the Myanmar textile industry has incurred losses due to dollar appreciation. Yin Yin Moe, Secretary, averred dollar appreciation has significantly affected the local apparel industry in Myanmar as they have to import all materials from abroad.

September saw a significant variation in the value of US dollar. Notably, the dollar value jumped from Ks 1,500 in early September to Ks 1,650 on 20 September. Some of the textile firms have suspended sales due to the losses and will resume only after normalcy is restored. Moe said the local market may have incurred losses ranging from 50 to 80 per cent, though it will be difficult to measure the extent of losses accurately. It is also imperative to note that some garment firms have temporarily suspended workers owing to losses, while many have stopped recruiting new workers.

A study on the benefits and impacts of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a newly formed bloc of 11 Pacific Rim nations excluding the US, is likely to be finished later this year. The Trade Negotiations Department has finished public hearings held in all regions throughout the country from August to September to gather feedback from stakeholders about the CPTPP.

The department will propose the initial study and public hearings to the CPTPP working committee chaired by Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong in November. The public hearings highlighted concern about issues relating to market access for goods, services and investment; intellectual property (IP) protection; public health; investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms; and government procurement.

Thai farmers and civil society organisations also vented their concerns about the impact of the new pact's IP chapter that prevents them from saving and reusing seeds that contain patented plant material.

Sontijirawong insisted that farmers would still have the right to collect and reuse seeds, but only for a non-commercial purpose. Various farmer groups also raised concerns about the dumping of agricultural products from other countries on the local market and higher competition from imports. Another roadblock was the possible import of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) if Thailand joins the new bloc.

New York Men’s Day (NYMD) will be held as part of New York Fashion Men (NYFM) from June 3 to 5, 2019. Aimed at nurturing emerging talent and consolidating top men’s wear designers in one venue, NYMD will feature collections from nine emerging designers for the spring/summer 2020 season. New participating designers include Abysm, Amirok, David Hart, Feign, Ka Wa Key, Tanaka, Timo Weiland, Todd Hessert and Vasilis Loizdes. Returning brands include Descendants of Thieves, Krammer & Stoudt, Lucio Castro, Private Policy and Wood House Army. For the first time NYMD will debut an all stars showcase where previous NYMD alumni will present three looks from their spring/summer 2020 collections.

Each participating fashion brand will present its collection in its own individual studio space designed to highlight the label’s identity and inspiration. Taking place simultaneously over two-hour periods, five designers will present in the morning and four in the late afternoon. The multi-brand format creates ease-of-flow for media and buyers, allowing them to move through studios and spend time with designers as their time allows.

This marks the first season since NYFM shifted its dates from July to June. The reason for moving the dates to June was to provide buyers, stylists, and the media a chance to see the collections before they head to Europe for the fashion weeks.

Imports of readymade garments from Bangladesh have increased by 53 per cent

Cotton garments such as trousers, shorts and shirts and cotton T-shirts are among the top four imported items. And this surge is catching up with synthetic textile products, too, at a much faster rate.

When all these products are commonly manufactured in clusters such as Tirupur, Chennai, Surat and Ichalkaranji, Indian manufacturers seem to be losing out to Bangladesh.

Before GST, Indian importers had to pay a countervailing duty of about five percent to seven percent, which drove up the costs of these garments. With GST having subsumed this duty, apparel from Bangladesh has become cheaper for Indian importers by 5 per cent to 7 per cent. Also Bangladesh has the advantage of having lower minimum wages than those in India. This reduces the cost of production and makes clothing cheaper. Another factor which makes Bangladesh competitive is the fact that it enjoys duty free imports of fabrics and garments from China. The availability of cheaper fabric, too, brings down manufacturing costs. Lastly, India has a lot of small production units and factories. So if retailers want to procure 100,000 pieces, they’ll have to source them from several Indian garment producers, whereas they can procure the same easily in Bangladesh by placing the order to one or two firms.

Vietnam will host four exhibitions simultaneously from, November 21 to 24. One is the Asia International Dye Industry, Pigments and Textile Chemicals Exhibition. Second, is the Vietnam International Footwear Machinery and Material Exhibition. This is a new platform for footwear producing equipment and materials. It will showcase footwear machinery, injection machinery, artificial leather machinery, handbag and suitcase machinery, CAD/ CAM system, footwear materials, knitting shoe machinery, and components in the footwear value chain.

Then there is the Vietnam Textile and Garment industry exhibition (VTG) will be attended by more than 400 exhibitors, including hundreds of top brands, from mainland China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Portugal, Taiwan, Turkey, and Vietnam.

VTG and the Vietnam International Textile and Apparel Accessories exhibition will have pavilions and booths. Top brands at the events will include: Bao Lun, Richpeace, Tajima, and ZSK, who will display their latest embroidery machines, and Heinz Walz, Epson, Grafica, and Sulfet, who will bring printing machines. Beworth and Silk Road will demonstrate their latest flat knitting machines. Japanese sewing machines brands like Brother, Hikari, Juki, Yamato will also be present.

The two events will also host several seminars featuring speakers from various departments, foreign affairs and universities speaking about strategies and practical measures to develop the textile and garment industry.