The latest data from the CCF Group shows, the value of US textile and apparel imports in March 2022 increased by 34.3 per cent Y-o-Y to $12.18 billion. The imports volume reached increased by 38.6 per cent Y-o-Y to 9.35 billion sq m. The value of US apparel imports rose by 43.1 per cent Y-o-Y to $9.29 billion and the imports volume reached 3.11 billion sq m, increasing by 24.6 per cent year-on-year.

The US textile and apparel imports volume from China in March 2022 declined by 1.1 per cent Y-o-Y to 2.84billion sq m. The imports value increased by 24.5 per cent Y-o-Y to $2.66billion. US apparel imports value from China in March 2022 declined by 5.1 pe cent Y-o-Y to $0.9 billion while the imports volume increased by 39.6 per cent Y-o-Y to reach 1.73 billion sq m

Leading provider of advanced weavingsolutions including weaving machines, spare parts and integrated services, Itema has formed a new company in Turkey. The Turkish subsidiary, that operates under the name İtemaTekstilMakineleriServisSanayiveTicaret Limited Şirketi, began its operations in Istanbul and Bursa in April 13.

The operation aimsto enhance the local presence and increase efficiency when serving the company’s significantly growing Turkish customer base. The new organization in Turkey relies on the know-how and experience of BilolTekstil, historic Itema partner in the country, and will count on the cooperation with A. Modiano, with whom Itema carries on a long-standing partnership in the market.

With production sites in Italy, China and Switzerland, Itema adds the new branch in Turkey to the existing commercial and service subsidiaries in India, the US, Japan, Dubai and Hong Kong.

The Transformers Foundation will collaborate with Bluezone, the international denim trade show, to participate in the Bluezone seminar series on August 30 and 31.

To be held in the main lecture center at Keyhouse, the seminar series will present two information sessions on sustainability in the denim industry.

Presentations and discussions on August 30 will revolve around the topic of energy and about decarbonizing the industry, with the aim to encourage the jeanswear and fashion industry to reduce their impact while providing networking opportunities for strategic partnerships.

The theme of day two, August 31, will be innovation, focusing on a round-up about some real innovations on the market while offering a chance to meet the people behind them.

Transformers Foundation is a platform gathering different players of the jeans anddenim supply chain. The organization was founded, along with various denim insiders, by Andrew Olah, also founder of the Kingpins Shows. The aim of the organization is to give voice, raise awareness, actively support ideas for positive change, and create an opportunity for consumers, brands, NGOs, and media who want to learn more about ethics and sustainable innovation in the industry.

The Indian Chamber of Commerce, Cambodia has signed anMoU with the Cambodian Women’s Entrepreneurs Association.

The two MoUs were signed during the Mega Silk Exhibition & Buyer Seller Meet (BSM) cum Display of Make India products. The MoUs aim at close cooperation and sharing of information regarding investment, trade, maintaining quality standards, technology transfer, sharing of market intelligence, economic cooperation and participation of members of either side in fairs and exhibitions, especially in the Indian International Silk Fairs cum Reverse Buyer Seller Meets.

The exhibition was inaugurated by the Indian Ambassador to Cambodia DevyaniKhobragade. A vast collection of silk and other allied silk products including silk carpet miniatures and jewelled silk carpets were on display at the exhibition.

Over thirty Indian silk exporters held discussions with more than two hundred potential buyers from Cambodia during the BSM event. Various items of silk, including silk fabrics and yarns, sarees, high fashion accessories, home furnishing products, miniature silk carpets, silk jewelled carpets, wall hangings, madhubani silk paintings (on silk with golden thread), silk-blend products of jute and wool, tribal weaves from the Northeastern states of India and GI products from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir were on display.

Top officials of various organisations, including the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Cambodia, Cambodia Women Entrepreneurs Association, trade associations, heads of garment factories and local apparel producers and buyers, visited the exhibition.

Sturdy shopping from downstream industries is benefitting recycled fiber and yarn producers with their prices increasing by Rs10 consistent with kg today, even as polyester-cotton (PC) yarn costs had been stable.

Ashok Singhal, a dealer from Ludhiana, says, his enterprise is seeking out inexpensive exchange as cotton yarn and PC yarn have become unviable after steep rise in costs. The rate of 20 per counted number PC (recycled-O/E) PSF yarn (40/60) extended via way of means of Rs 5 consistent with kg on sturdy call for.

As the costs of cotton and PC yarn have extended, garment producers are finding it difficult to retain production. On the other hand, acrylic yarn misplaced Rs10 consistent with kg as call for slowed down. Traders stated that acrylic yarn is on the whole utilized in wintry weather put on that’s presently now no longer in call for because of the continued summer time season season.

In Ludhiana marketplace, 30 be counted number PC combed yarn (48/52) became offered at Rs285-305 consistent with kg (GST inclusive), in step with Fibre2Fashion`s marketplace perception device TexPro. 30 be counted number PC carded yarn (65/35) became priced at Rs265-270 consistent with kg. 20 be counted number PC (recycled-O/E) PSF yarn (40/60) became traded at Rs210-215 consistent with kg. 30 be counted number poly spun yarn became offered at Rs190-2 hundred and recycled 30 be counted number poly spun yarn at Rs175-185 consistent with kg. Acrylic NM (2/48) became priced at Rs320-330 consistent with kg, even as acrylic NM (2/32) became at Rs275-285 consistent with kg. The rate of PSF remained unchanged at Rs123 consistent with kg.

An initiative of the International Apparel Federation (IAF) and the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF), the Standard Convergence Initiative (SCI) aims to combat growing audit fatigue by aligning third party and brands/retailers’ proprietary standards across four key areas. Multi-stakeholder initiatives such as the Social & Labor Convergence Program are already tackling the issue of audit fatigue. To complement these efforts, retailers plan to adopt streamlined third-party standards in place of proprietary standards.

The SCI has just released preliminary results of assessing the degree to which standards are prepared to converge across four key areas. The preliminary results assess six prominent standards operating in the textile and footwear sector, specifically: amfori BSCI, Fair Labor Association (FLA), Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), Made in Green by Oeko-Tex, SA8000 and WRAP.

The SCI website will promote standards that initially show a high preparedness for convergence and, subsequently, work toward increased convergence. Once standard bodies understand their position on the spectrum of convergence, they will be encouraged to work toward a common goal of increased alignment across certain standard requirements, quality assurance processes and oversight methodologies.

Nike and Adidas will release their highly anticipated high-fashion collaborations next month, with Jacquemius and Gucci respectively. Brand Ellesse launched an Emily Ratajkowski-fronted collaboration with Michael Kors this month alongwith New Balance which launched its collaboration with cult fashion brand Aries in March. Meanwhile Fila is expected to launch a collaboration with London-based Serbian designer Roksanda Illncic in August.

Earlier, sports brands would launch collaborations around trainer launches and sports star sponsorship deals but nowadays, it is proving hard for brands to ensure player exclusivity, says Julie Pont, Creative Director, Heuritech, a French fashion insights agency. While sports-fashion tie-ups are nothing new, these fashion brands are far removed from the sportswear industry, adds Pont.

Roksanda describes its forthcoming collaboration with Fila – which features billowing dresses and duvet coats – as an encounter between two very different identities to create a new one, at once unexpected and authentic.

The logic behind these partnerships is about raising sports brands’ fashionability, while also easing the entry points into fashion for younger customers. Though practical, these fashion pieces are not always designed for activity, says Emily Gordon-Smith, Head-Fashion, Stylus.

The collabs make some notable pieces, she adds, predicting the accessories – for example, the Gucci bucket hat and Gazelle trainers, the Roksanda moon boots and 1980s-style barrel bag, the Jacquemus X Nike Humara trainers – will sell out first. Collabs is expected to influence the fashion landscape and elevate the aesthetics of athleisure.

According to Gordon-Smith, this new wave of collabs will have a significant impact on the high street with elevated sports looks to sell in shops like Zara from June.

Decision to sell clothes for women of all body types has created two big problems Old Navy, says a Wall Street Journal report. It has left the brand’s customers irritated as they have not been able to size their desired size, and it has made it impossible for the brand to find stocks it needs to discount to sell. The GAP-owned retailer accounts for far more of the company's sales and profits than the GAP and Banana Republic chains.

As per a Business Insider report, Old Navy developed its inclusive sizing as well as research on the basis of data provided by the National Center of Health Statistics The Center found women aged 20 and over weighed an average of 170.8 pounds as of 2016. The company scanned almost 400 women's bodies to create digital avatars and build new fit blocks for sizes 20 to 28.

Clothing brands like Good American, Veronica Beard or Universal Standard have long tried to provide sizes to all body sizes. Other big brands like Victoria’s Secret have also embraced size inclusivity by adding more ranges. Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg says, brands should not penalize the small people by making them pay more for smaller sizes.

The Q1 FY’22 sales of largest pure-play children’s specialty apparel retailer The Children’s Place declined by 16.8 per cent to $362.4 million in the three months ended April 30, 2022, compared to $435.5 million in the three months ended May 1, 2021, and decreased by 12.1 per cent, compared to $412.4 million in the three months ended May 4, 2019. The decrease in net sales compared to Q1 2021 was primarily due to lapping the COVID-19 stimulus relief program last year, the impact of unprecedented inflation on our customer, prolonged unseasonably cold temperatures through the end of the quarter in our major markets, and the impact of permanent store closures. Comparable retail sales decreased 16.9% for the quarter.

Gross profit of the brand decreased by $46.3 million to $141.9 million in the three months ended April 30, 2022, compared to $188.2 million in the three months ended May 1, 2021, and decreased $10.1 million compared to $152.0 million in the three months ended May 4, 2019. Adjusted gross profit decreased by $47.3 million to $141.9 million in the three months ended April 30, 2022, compared to $189.2 million in the comparable period last year, and decreased $9.5 million compared to $151.4 million in the comparable period in 2019. Operating income decreased $46.6 million to $19.3 million in the three months ended April 30, 2022, compared to $65.9 million in the three months ended May 1, 2021 and increased $14.3 million compared to $5.0 million in the three months ended May 4, 2019. Adjusted operating income decreased $50.1 million to $20.6 million in the three months ended April 30, 2022, compared to an adjusted operating income of $70.7 million in the comparable period last year and increased $14.0 million compared to $6.6 million in the comparable period in 2019. Net income decreased $25.4 million to $19.8 million, or $1.43 per diluted share, in the three months ended April 30, 2022, compared to net income of $45.2 million, or $3.01 per diluted share, in the three months ended May 1, 2021 and increased $15.3 million compared to $4.5 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, in the three months ended May 4, 2019. The Company ended the first quarter of 2022 with 665 stores and square footage of 3.2 million, a decrease of 8 per cent compared to the prior year and a decrease of 30 per cent compared to the end of Q1 2019 when the Company operated 971 stores pre-pandemic. The company plans to close a total of approximately 40 stores this year.