Factory owners in Bangladesh who adopted eco-friendly techniques wish they hadn’t done so. While green techniques demand heavy expenditure, buyers don’t pay more. There is no special privilege for green garment factories. Buyers do not even consider paying a higher price for factory remediation as recommended by Accord and Alliance.

If anything prices of Bangladesh-made garment items have declined 40 per cent over the last 15 years. Bangladesh has the highest number of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green garment factories certified by the US Green Building Council (USGBC).

Currently, 67 green garment factories are in operation and another 300 are in the process of getting the certification. Of the top ten green garment factories in the world, seven are in Bangladesh. In fact the country has the world's first platinum-rated green denim factory. The world’s highest rated LEED platinum denim factory, knit factory, washing plant and textile mill all are situated in Bangladesh.

Factory owners’ main intent in setting up green factories was to lower the consumption of water and power. They thought branding would give them a mileage in selling goods – but apparently they thought wrong. In South Asia, Bangladesh has taken the lead in green initiatives.

The 11th edition of FESPA Mexico 2018, held from September 20-22, 2018 at the Centro Citibanamex in Mexico City, featured over 150 international leading brands with an increase of 30 per cent in size compared to last year’s show. The event focused on digital wide format, screen printing, garment decoration, signage, print finishing, software and 3D printing sectors.

The show featured product launches, live state-of-the-art demonstrations, free technical and practical seminars, networking opportunities and the chance to discover market trends for 201-19. Attendees evaluated and purchased new equipment and products including large format digital printing equipment, screen printing equipment, consumables for printing, digital printing equipment, sublimation software, LED and neon signs, textile printing equipment, laser, engraving and routers, print finishing, 3D printing, signage, garment decoration and POP / POS display systems.

Several of the world’s top suppliers from the wide format printing industry launched exclusive products at FESPA Mexico 2018. HP, Roland, Epson and Agfa were some of the leading brands who displayed at the event.

Ethiopia’s apparel exports to the US grew 106.69 per cent from January to July this year. The country’s apparel exports in July grew 57 per cent over apparel exports in June. Cotton apparels have a 56.28 per cent share in overall exports from Ethiopia to the US while manmade fiber apparels have a 42.22 per cent share.

Ethiopia has surpassed all other major African countries in terms of percentage-wise growth in apparel exports. The value of Kenya’s apparel exports to the US rose 16.44 per cent. The value of Lesotho’s apparel exports to the US grew 8.05 per cent during the period.

Ethiopia is continuously increasing its share in the US apparel market. The closest competitor is Morocco whose export value to the US rose 3.65 per cent. Ethiopia is expected to overtake Morocco by the end of 2018 in apparel exports to the US. The textile and apparel sector is one of Ethiopia’s key industrial sectors.

Several major foreign companies have invested in the textile and clothing industry in Ethiopia and a number of high profile brand names have started sourcing apparel from the country. Ethiopia has been making efforts to create favorable conditions in order to attract investors.

Brazil’s apparel market is expanding at a substantial CAGR. Rising disposable income and growing consciousness about international fashion trends are the key factors contributing to market growth.

Factors such as increasing shift towards international fashion along with spiraling number of retail outlets are anticipated to encourage Brazilians to adopt fashionable apparel. Diversified manufacturing activities, digitisation, and proliferation of smart phones are likely to have a positive impact on sales.

Brazil is one of the largest exporters of apparel and fashion goods. Arab countries are some of the largest importers of apparels and textiles from Brazil. The United Arab Emirates accounts for the highest imports from Brazil, followed by Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco. Advanced techniques used in manufacturing helps manufacturers meet the demand from various countries.

Heightened interest of the government and private players in the country’s apparel and textile industry has contributed to making the country among the top textile producing countries. Small vendors are being provided subsides and trade barriers are being minimized to develop a favorable business environment in the country and encourage big companies. With economy recovering, the apparel industry is expected to rebound in coming years.

"Nothing is isolated in world economy today. The US government, in its attempt to punish China for unfair trade practices and reduce its $3.75 billion trade deficit, is forcing some of its strongest allies to run for protection. A prominent partner, Vietnam exported around 35 per cent of its goods to China and the United States last year. However, the US-China trade war led to a sharp devaluation of the Vietnamese currency causing a steep decline in its stock markets. Rumors spread about an influx of cheap Chinese consumer goods and the threat of American protectionism spreading in ways that would affect Vietnam’s vital exports. Nearly $5 billion of Vietnamese exports, that are a part of China’s value-added supply chain, may feel the impact of being exposed to punitive American tariffs."

Nothing is isolated in world economy today. The US government, in its attempt to punish China for unfair trade practices and reduce its $3.75 billion trade deficit, is forcing some of its strongest allies to run for protection. A prominent partner, Vietnam exported around 35 per cent of its goods to China and the United States last year. However, the US-China trade war led to a sharp devaluation of the Vietnamese currency causing a steep decline in its stock markets. Rumors spread about an influx of cheap Chinese consumer goods and the threat of American protectionism spreading in ways that would affect Vietnam’s vital exports. Nearly $5 billion of Vietnamese exports, that are a part of China’s value-added supply chain, may feel the impact of being exposed to punitive American tariffs.

Business shifting out of China to avoid tariff

The trade war has also led many foreign companies to shift their production to Southeast Asia. Around 72 Japanese businessmen are planning to expand their investment out of China to shun the risks caused by rising production costs and US-China trade war which is making it difficult for Japanese firms to exports their products to the US from China.

Also, wages in Vietnam are barely a third of those in China, making it easier for brands like Adidas to manufacture twice as many shoes as it does in China. The race is to secure excess manufacturing capacity all around the region — in Thailand, Indonesia and elsewhere, is heating up.

Effect of tariffs on supply chain

China exports complex products to the United States. These are assembled in China from a staggering array of foreign components and raw materials. For instance, a laptop made in China, may have a South Korean screen, a Japanese hard drive and a memory chip from Taiwan. A tariff hurts every part of this international supply chain.

To offset the conflict’s negative impact, Beijing has slashed tariffs for Asian countries. This appeal, however, may not stop the flow of manufacturers out of China to Southeast Asia. The American shoe-and-accessory maker Steve Madden, for example, is shifting its handbag production from China to Cambodia. New tariffs are being planned for another $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, with 6,031 products on its target list.

Vietnam to benefit from trade war

Chinese companies may shift more operations southward using ‘’tariff-jumping” tactics to get their goods to the United States. The Vietnamese, at least, are vigilant against Chinese intrusions. In fact, the country might benefit from China’s conflict with the United States, Vietnam’s strongest allies. The Vietnamese government is projecting negligible decline in growth over the next five years. In July, Standard Chartered raised its growth forecasts for Vietnam to 7 per cent this year, based on the influx of foreign direct investment. In addition the country may also pull in American buyers eager to diversify their imports from outside China.

World Textile Merchandising Conference (WTMC) was held in China, September 20 to 21. The conference saw participants share their ideas on the coordinated development of the global textile fashion industry and the transformation of China's textile industry under the Belt and Road Initiative.

At the conference, the World Textile Merchandising Conference Council, consisting of 12 representatives from textile associations of countries like China, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, France, Turkey, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, was formally established.

The event explored latest changes and trends in the textile industry and sought to build a cooperation system throughout the industrial chain, therefore, promoting high-quality development. It explored new patterns of globalisation and transformation of the textile industry. Firms, fashion institutions, industry associations and design institutes from more than 20 countries participated. The conference discussed the future of the world’s textile industry.

Shaoxing, where the event was held, has a full textile industry chain. China is expected to surpass Europe and the United States to become the largest retail market in the world by 2020. Its textile industry has to strengthen international cooperation, actively promote cross-border flows of resources such as products, production capacity, technology, capital, and talents, strengthen product innovation and advance industrial intelligence and service transformation.

Denim brand Wrangler has introduced foam-dyed jeans to lessen environmental impact and save precious resources. Tejidos Royo, a Spanish fabric mill with a reputation for prioritising environmental performance, will integrate the foam-dye process called Dry Indigo®. It will receive the foam-dye equipment in October and begin supplying Wrangler with denim before the end of the year.

Wrangler and Walmart Foundation have provided Texas Tech University with early-stage funding for development of the foam-dying process, recognising the potential of this development. The iconic denim brand helped introduce fabric mills to the latest technology and now will incorporate the first foam-dyed denim into a line of jeans launching in 2019.

As per Royo, applying indigo dye to raw denim with foam instead of water will eliminate the need for the tens of millions of gallons of water typically consumed by conventional wet-dye systems.

The UK is one of the biggest clothing exporters in Europe. And when it comes to buying British, the US is the biggest shopper followed by China. One of the major reasons for the rise in shopping from the UK is pricing. The pound’s falling value is helping make goods even more attractive to foreign wallets. The other top motivations for cross-border buying are the chance to get hold of products not available in their own country and the opportunity to discover new things to buy.

Mobile shopping is also helping power the UK’s international popularity. Also working in British retailers’ favor is the fact the nation’s top two export markets, the US and China, are at the forefront of this mobile revolution. Here, smart phone shopping accounted for 61 per cent and 84 per cent of international online purchases respectively in the last year.

To build on this achievement, the country is making it easier and cheaper for UK firms to sell online to customers around the world – with face-to face support from e-commerce advisers, negotiated preferred rates on online marketplaces and information. The ambition is to grow exports as a percentage of GDP to 35 per cent, and getting more UK firms to sell online is key to achieving this.

Textile and garment firms have reported buoyant performance to date this year due to a multitude of factors, including escalating trade tensions between the US and China. Many surveyed firms have attributed rising revenues to a sharp jump in order volumes. In addition, the trend of foreign (mainly US) textile and garment importers shifting orders from China to Vietnam to mitigate risks has become more apparent amidst the escalating US-China trade tensions.

Tran Nhu Tung, member of the board of management at Thanh Cong Textile Garment Investment Trading JSC says in the first eight months of this year, they posted VND2.46 trillion in cumulative revenue ($109 million), equal to 80 per cent of its full-year plan, while its after-tax profit hit VND185 billion ($8.2 million), a 44 per cent jump over the projection and fulfilling its full-year profit target. According to Tung, this upbeat outcome came in the wake of the company’s efforts to restructure production and boost production capacity.

Similarly, TNG Investment and Trading JSC rose more than 25 per cent in the past two months. In the first eight months of this year, the company reported VND2.36 trillion ($104 million) in cumulative revenue, reaching 86 per cent of its full-year, while its profit came to VND118 billion ($5.2 million), a 54 per cent jump over the same period last year and reaching 93 per cent of the full-year profit target. This year, TNG estimates reaching VND3.45 trillion ($152 million) in revenue and VND157 billion ($6.9 million) in after-tax profit.

About 60,000 tons of cotton have been harvested in Tajikistan in this cotton harvest season. Since the beginning of the cotton harvest season, 16.2 per cent of the planned amount has been harvested. As many as 1,85,817 hectares were allocated in Tajikistan for the cultivation of cotton this year. Cotton fields were expanded at the expense of grain and fodder crop areas.

In 2017, 3,80,000 hectares of cotton were harvested in Tajikistan, 5.2 per cent more than in 2016. Until the middle of the 2000s, cotton was considered one of the two main export goods of Tajikistan (along with aluminum). In the 1980s, about 8,00,000 tons of cotton were harvested annually in Soviet Tajikistan.

At the same time, most of the cotton fiber produced in the country is exported as raw materials. The processing of these products within the country is insignificant. However, cotton makes an important contribution to both the agricultural sector and the country’s economy. Along with primary aluminum, cotton has been one of the major export items for Tajikistan. In 2015, cotton fiber accounted for 23.1 per cent of Tajikistan’s exports. In 2016, cotton fiber’s share in Tajikistan’s exports fell to 16.1 per cent. Last year, cotton accounted for an estimated 13.5 per cent of Tajikistan’s exports.