According to latest findings by Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC), over half of the Accord-inspected 1,600 garment factories have not installed adequate fire detection and prevention system yet. Another rights group-Industriall Global Union-announced that the Transition Accord signed by nearly 200 global fashion brands and retailers will run its activities from Amsterdam office in case of failure to operate in Bangladesh.

Besides, Accord in its latest progress report, said some 45 per cent of its inspected factories have so far installed fire detection and prevention system. Upon starting work in 2013, Accord engineers found that 97 per cent of the over 1,600 factories under its purview had no safe emergency exits and 91 per cent had no adequate fire detection or alarm system.

Five years later, 97 per cent of lockable or collapsible gates have been removed and in total 74 per cent of all found fire safety defects have been corrected, with another 12 per cent still pending verification, CCC noted.

European Union leaders have approved the landmark Brexit deal, the basis of Britain's divorce from the 28-member economic bloc. The leaders of the remaining 27 countries of the European Union (EU) signed off on the controversial Brexit withdrawal agreement. The agreement, which UK PM Teresa May, has described as the best possible outcome for the UK and repeatedly taken to the airwaves to urge public support in the last few weeks, follows more than 18 months of negotiations between the two sides, which began when the UK triggered Article 50 in the wake of the June, 2016 referendum in favor of Brexit.

In a letter to the nation issued by 10 Downing Street this weekend, May once again pleaded with the public to get behind her deal which will mark "a new chapter in our national life. The UK Parliament is expected to vote on the deal in early December, where its approval remains shaky, with Opposition parties Labour, Lib Dems and the Scottish National Party (SNP) as well as government-backing Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and many MPs from the ruling Conservative Party set to vote against it.

Ten units will come up at the Cuddalore processing park in Tamil Nadu at an investment of Rs 1000 crores. Once the park is commissioned, it will encourage stitching units to set up shop nearby, triggering more investments in future. The textile sector in Tamil Nadu has production facilities across the textile value chain. Every year Tirupur knitwear units invest approximately Rs 1000 crores toward minor expansion work.

But the garment sector has faced a downward trend over the last couple of years. The subsidy coming from the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme for power loom units has dwindled. Further, Tamil Nadu has yet to announce a textile policy.

Production of Tamil Nadu textile manufacturers is expected to reach Rs 75,000 crores by 2020. Right now it’s Rs 50,000 crores. Currently India is looking to add around three to 3.5 million spindles a year against an average number of 2.5 million spindles over the past five years. The southern region is expected to contribute to about one million and more spindles every year.

Spinning, handloom, power looms and garments are the four pillars of the textile sector in Tamil Nadu. Among the 1,399 operational Indian textile mills, 752 are in Tamil Nadu.

China is now the standard-bearer of global free trade, with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) at the heart of its strategy. The RCEP is a free-trade deal among the ten-member states of Asean and six Asia-Pacific states – Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. It is now the world’s biggest trade deal and covers half the world’s population.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, BRICS, and the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank are countering US-led trade in the Asia Pacific, given that the six non-Asean member states in the RCEP are also bidding to join the revised TTP by the end of December. Should they do so, it would be a game-changer, tilting Asia’s trade framework away from Chinese control under the RCEP.

Now, the battle is on to secure those six – Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand – as trade partners. The propaganda war has already begun, with China claiming that it is trying to sway Asia-Pacific partners to stand by free trade via the RCEP amid rising US protectionism.

The RCEP is billed as an antidote to the American agenda, which has seen tariffs imposed on almost half of all Chinese imports to the US and retaliatory levies by China.

"The global economy is currently in such a fragile state that it is poised delicately between a slow recovery and a second slide. At this stage, it is important to sit collectively, analyse the current scenario, and jointly consider various future strategies. Continuous global crisis, high oil prices and turmoil and political instability are huge concerns to all businesses particularly textiles as people in crisis tend to reduce expenditure on textiles in crises as even in utter crises they always have clothes to wear."

The global economy is currently in such a fragile state that it is poised delicately between a slow recovery and a second slide. At this stage, it is important to sit collectively, analyse the current scenario, and jointly consider various future strategies. Continuous global crisis, high oil prices and turmoil and political instability are huge concerns to all businesses particularly textiles as people in crisis tend to reduce expenditure on textiles in crises as even in utter crises they always have clothes to wear.

China’s textile and clothing exports have risen more than fourfold since 2000, compared to stagnant exports from other top exporting countries. The country’s capacity development is also peaking as more than 40 per cent of the world’s production of clothing and textiles is done in China and India.

Chinese middle class critical of government policies

Over the past few months, China’s middle class has been noticeably critical of the government’s economic and sociopolitical policies, including the way the leadership has handled relations with the US. Some suggest this middle-class discontent threatens President Xi Jinping’s broader position and economic vision and indicates that the US holds the advantage in the trade dispute with China. But the middle class’ views which are the foundation of Chinese public opinion might be poised to turn in the Communist Party’s favor.

The interdependency between emerging economies and developed economies could thwart latent demand in major manufacturing centers, specifically in Southeast Asia.

India to maintain its position as production hub

India will continue to be a major textile production center catering to a huge domestic market. But imports from China, Bangladesh are causing disturbance in supply chain however, government is taking corrective steps and a lot of favorable initiatives are being taken by textiles ministry to improve production synergies and textile business model.

Middle East saga

Middle East continuous to be a big consumer of textiles based on imports, major exporting countries to Middle East include China, South Korea, Indonesia, Turkey, India, Pakistan etc. As the Middle East economy is affected, its textile business is also affected. Though the improving oil prices are offering lot of relief, it will some take time as economy has been adversely affected for last few years.

Need for constant innovation and research

However, textile industry has to constantly innovate and research. It needs to constantly invest in quality control and new opportunities such as defense textile, huge requirement of camouflage fabrics as size of armed forces is increasing all over the world. Similarly coated fabrics, industry textiles have become huge markets now. The textile and apparel industry is buyer-driven and dominated by retailers, brands and sourcing companies. Retailers demand full-package service from their suppliers, but they are reluctant to pay for additional services. It is important in today‘s business environment to select customers who see you as partners.

E-Commerce platforms are turning out to be a big blessing as online sale is improving eliminating middle man. Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Shopclues and many other small platforms are helping small manufacturers to produce high quality stuff. Current times are tough but textile manufacturers have seen much harder times in the past.

Denim trade show Kingpins will host its winter show from November 28-29 in Basketball City, in New York. The show will focus on the past, present and future of denim trends. The invitation-only event will feature a range of manufacturers and members from the denim industry, offering a variety of indigo talks, educational seminars, and predictions of 2020 trends. Mirroring a growing pattern within the textile world's showcases and trade shows, the Kingpins show will include several companies focused on sustainability within the denim industry.

The upcoming Kingpins New York exhibitors includes event sponsors Lycra Brand and E3, companies like Lenzing, Global Denim, Hebi Geyuan and Arvind, as well as a special selection of Japanese denim companies.Featured discussions will include ‘100 Years of Women’s Garments at Levi Strauss & Co,’ a seminar by Levi's historian Tracey Panek discussing the denim brand's most significant womenswear moments over the past century, and ‘DIY Denim: Subcultures and the Making of Meaning,’ a conversation on the connection between denim, subcultures and fashion "myth-making" featuring authors Andrew Luecke and Amy Leverton.

There will also be two presentations of "Kingpins Denim Trends for S/S 2020. Fit, fabric, finish," a talk hosted by Amy Leverton of Denim Dudes and presenting a forecast of the top four trends of the season, including "research and references, mood and style direction, key color selections, etc.

Reed Exhibitions (RX) will postpone its Long Beach trade show, scheduled for January 3 through 4, 2019. The company will instead shift its focus to its B2C festival scheduled for June 2019. This festival will merge street wear, action sports, lifestyle and fashion alongside music, art, food, education and more indicating a transition to a consumer-facing model. It will be a relevant and authentic fan expo that integrates customer interaction and speaks directly to the youth/fashion lifestyle market.

Reed caters to action sports and street wear retailers and brands. Many of its bellwether brand exhibitors have shown support for the decision, reinforcing that direct consumer-brand interplay is key to creating long-lasting relationships.

The shift from B2B to B2C reflects the rapidly changing industry landscape in which direct interaction with shoppers is paramount. While large brands are focused on fewer, more meaningful retail relationships, smaller start up brands are utilizing technology and digital platforms to market and sell directly to the consumer. This makes meaningful experiences with consumers more important than ever for customer brands, both large and small.

RX will continue to host a B2B trade show from February 5 through 7 at the upcoming Las Vegas Fashion Week, where it will present a range of men’s sportswear, action sports, street wear and footwear brands.

Yes Bank has entered into partnership with Welspun Global Brands. This will facilitate electronic presentation of export documents. With this transaction, Yes Bank becomes the first Indian bank to facilitate electronic presentation of export documents. Welspun Global Brands is a subsidiary of Welspun India.

The electronic documentation of the international trade e-presented through a digital platform will replace the need to exchange physical documentation, thereby reducing turnaround-time from ten days to real-time for all parties involved, while establishing a precedent for faster, secure, cost-efficient settlement of cross border trade, resulting in optimization of working capital.

The digital platform has been built by UK-based Bolero. Welspun India is one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of bed and bath textile products globally. The company’s portfolio comprises a wide range of home textile products such as terry towels, bed linen (basic bedding and decorative bedding), rugs and bathrobes.

The company is seeing substantial growth in e-commerce and has developed a few products for the online marketplace as well. Capacity utilisation has gone up from 80 per cent clocked in the previous financial year. The plan is to invest Rs 900 crores as a part of capital expenditure. Capital has been set aside for a new flooring unit in Telangana.

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.

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.