FW
"With consumers waking up to eco-clothing, luxury brands and sportswear companies are increasingly looking at alternative materials to create sustainable clothing. There are greater opportunities in recycled and alternative fabrics made from unusual materials like mushrooms, oranges and even proteins inspired by spider-web DNA. Soon, there would be tie-ups among businesses looking for ways to make leather without cows, silk without worms, fur without animals and fabrics from recycled waste. There are already great examples in the industry."
With consumers waking up to eco-clothing, luxury brands and sportswear companies are increasingly looking at alternative materials to create sustainable clothing. There are greater opportunities in recycled and alternative fabrics made from unusual materials like mushrooms, oranges and even proteins inspired by spider-web DNA. Soon, there would be tie-ups among businesses looking for ways to make leather without cows, silk without worms, fur without animals and fabrics from recycled waste. There are already great examples in the industry. For instance, Salvatore Ferragamo has been selling scarves made of orange fibers while Stella McCartney produced two outfits made with the spider-inspired silk.
McCartney, a vegan designer was a relatively lone fashion voice in the field of sustainable fabrics until recent years, provided a golden dress of the laboratory- made silk for the Museum of Modern Art’s exhibition ‘Item: Is Fashion Modern?’ She also presented a chocolate-brown bodysuit and trousers backstage at her spring 2018 show during Paris Fashion Week.
Claire Bergkamp, Head, sustainability and Ethical Trade at Stella McCartney brand, explains they have not completely perfected it but it is a silk with a slightly different texture than the silk they normally use. The brand, which has signed a long-term partnership agreement with Bolt Threads, the company that developed the Microsilk material, is expected to start selling clothing made with it in the next year or two.
Innovations galore
While developments are happening, they are still in the initial stages of production. Owing to the high cost associated, initial production remains limited. Bolt, for example, introduced a lottery in March to sell its first spider-inspired silk neckties, at $314 each. After studying spiders’ DNA and their webs, Bolt Threads’ developed similar proteins that are injected into yeast and sugar and then subjected to a proprietary fermentation process. The resulting liquid silk is turned into a fibre through a wet-spinning process that creates strands that then can be knitted into fabric.
Rivals, are using similar technology but different production methods, have not produced marketable products yet either. Japanese company Spiber has an agreement with the North Face, the American activewear company. And AMSilk, a German company, has partnered Adidas on products that are expected to go on sale next year. Adidas is producing sneakers made with plastics recovered from beaches and oceanfront communities, part of a product line developed through its partnership with the activist anti-plastic group Parley for the Oceans.
Recycled fruit waste is another promising substance for the creation of alternative fabrics. The Italian company Orange Fiber provided the material for Ferragamo’s capsule scarf collection. Ananas Anam, based at the Royal College of Art in London, uses pineapple leaf fibers to create a nonwoven leatherlike material called Piñatex and brands like Edun, the sustainable fashion label owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, are creating items from it. And mycelium, the rootlike fiber of mushrooms, is being processed as a leather substitute by MycoWorks, a San Francisco start-up. But some specialists say the material, which looks like suede, needs to be tested for durability.
In addition to bio-fabricated materials, the Stella McCartney brand and its founding partner, the luxury group Kering, are investing in ways to recycle fashion items and use fewer resources, such as water. McCartney’s Falabella Go bags are made of recycled polyester and Econyl, a nylon produced from recycled fishing nets, carpets and other such waste, manufactured by the Italian company Aquafil.
Modern Meadow has developed a yeast that, when mixed with sugar, produces a collagen that is purified, processed and tanned to create material with a look and feel similar to leather. The company was planning to unveil its first commercial product next year. Chanel, known for putting a healthy dose of pressure on suppliers to create new yarns and fabrics every season, has been working with paper yarns and is researching the use of 3D printing for ready-to-wear clothing.
Reigning investments
Looking at the potential, several venture capital firms are investing. In May, Russian entrepreneur Miroslava Duma, FZounder, Buro 24/7, introduced Fashion Tech Lab, a venture that funds and develops new technologies in sustainable fashion and wearable technologies. It has $50 million in funding and the advisory services of Carmen Busquets, the e-commerce investor, and Diane von Furstenberg. Orange Fiber and Vitro Labs, a company that is developing lab-grown variations of fur and leather from stem cells, were among the organization’s initial beneficiaries.
Coats has launched a range of corrosion resistant zips. Metal zips used in leather goods, clothing and footwear are prone to oxidisation and corrosion from exposure to the moisture in air and also through contact with chemicals contained in leather following the tanning process it goes through. This not only detracts from the product’s appearance but can also impede the smooth running of the zip, often to the point of jamming.
Coats has developed a unique and advanced formula which makes the zip’s teeth and slider resistant to corrosion caused by atmospheric exposure and leather tanning chemicals. Specially engineered chemical and mechanical properties also enhance the appearance and durability of the zips. This is combined with a superior process for forming the mechanical teeth of the zip which enhances the run ability by lowering friction. The finish protects the electroplated surface from chemicals and minimises the damage caused by regular abrasion.
The range is available in a choice of shiny and matt appearance, all tape colors and three sizes. It is ideal for use in leather garments and accessories as well as stone washed and post dyed garments. Coats is the world’s leading industrial thread and consumer textile crafts business.
www.coats.com/
Asia’s leading multi-segment sports trade fair, ISPO, will take place in China from February 24 to 27, 2016. The event will showcase the latest innovations from the fields of outdoor, action sports, skiing, sports fashion, and fabrics and fibers. ISPO will present an entire value added chain under one roof, from infrastructure to product.
A total of 490 exhibitors have registered, who together represent around 700 different brands. Beijing's successful bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics has given China’s sports industry a boost. A large number of major exhibitors are set to debut at the event in 2016, including Dynafit, Ice Peak, Kneissl, Kovea, Mueller Sports, 2XU, Ride, and 361 Degrees.
There are high levels of international participation. About half the brands at the event will be European, American, or from the Asia-Pacific region. Major brands, such as AlpinePro, Odlo, Pacsafe, Lowa, Thule, Black Diamond, and Kolping, will all be represented.
The exhibition will feature twice as much space dedicated to skiing, with exhibitors such as Nordica, Rossignol and Völkl representing this area of sport. This is reflective of the growing interest of the Chinese population in winter sports. At present, seven million Chinese ski or snowboard, with the number of ski tourists increasing each year.
www.beijing.ispo.com/
Key Asian apparel producers such as Cambodia and Myanmar are alarmed that with TPP, Vietnam could undercut their vital garment industry. China and Bangladesh, the world’s two biggest garment exporters, are also likely to be affected, as well as Pakistan, which has a large but struggling textile and apparel sector. Indonesia, which sends half of its textile and garment exports to the US and EU, is also under threat.
Vietnam’s exports to the US could double once the TPP takes effect. Most exposed of all could be Cambodia, where the garment sector is a main pillar of the country’s small economy. The industry employs more than 7,00,000 workers and accounted for roughly 80 per cent of Cambodia’s total export revenue in 2014. But the garment sector has already lost US market share to Vietnam due to that country’s lower labor costs and higher productivity. And with the TPP things may get worse.
Another country facing a challenge from Vietnam is Myanmar. Myanmar garment makers look to Europe as both a market and a source of investment, with garments a key part of the country’s plans to become a manufacturing economy. The EU cut duties on Myanmar’s exports to Europe in 2013. Around 20 per cent of Myanmar's garment exports now go to the EU.
Cotton prices edged up in the third week of February on fresh demand from domestic yarn mills after prices declined in the previous week. Cotton yarn prices climbed during the week with offers regaining in Ludhiana while remaining flat in Indore. The rise explains the rebound in cotton prices, after progressively declining in the past weeks.
In Pakistan, cotton market eased a bit as leading spinners were away from the proceedings. A slump in cotton yarn and fabric markets depressed cotton trade, and leading spinners have already imported a substantial quantity of cotton. Cotton yarn prices in Pakistan mostly rolled over after cotton prices were revised down on the week due to poor demand. Eights and 30s carded yarn for weaving prices remained unchanged during the week.
The China cotton index fell 89 yuan to 12,219 yuan a ton on the week while cotton yarn markets witnessed scattered transactions, as many players were yet to resume operations, back from the holidays. Major producers were in slow recovery and most held a bearish outlook over future trends. Thus cotton yarn markets saw thin trades and transactions are likely to recover by the end of the month.
Logistics major Safexpress has partnered with this year’s edition of public art festival PUBLICA, an art initiative that involves top Indian and international artists create site-specific works.
Divya Jain, Founder & CEO of Safeducate says, the group’s supply chain training institute that the public art festival will involve the creation of a very unique artwork, where an artist will spend two weeks in a truck container, painting it and making it the canvas for his expression. Trucks are rarely the subject of casual conversation, unless of course one is voicing their many negatives. This extraordinary project, however, seeks to change that. It seeks to capture the beauty and the dreams that a mere truck container can evoke leaving the staunchest among us incredulous and hopefully, believers. This incredible project of converting a truck container into a piece of art has been conceptualized by Divya Jain.
As per the plan, Safexpress will place their truck container at a select city mall at New Delhi. Here renowned artist Bhuwal Prasad, who has previously exhibited at the 6th Beijing International Art Biennale, will create his latest masterpiece live on the theme of ‘Go Green.’ The container itself is a unique green innovation by Safexpress Group, wherein they have been continuously refurbishing old, end-of-life containers to develop mobile Container Schools. According to Jain, they are creating a mobile artwork, which will spread the vital message about conserving our resources and saving our environment.
Incidentally, Safexpress has been driving its ‘Go Green with Safexpress’ campaign for the last decade. They have educated millions about the importance of going green and have helped countless firms develop a Green Supply Chain.
The agitation in Haryana has hit Surat’s polyester fabric trade. Over 300 trucks, loaded with textile fabrics including saris and dress materials that were on their way to Delhi, Haryana and Punjab, were turned back due to widespread incidents of violence and arson. Surat traders have stopped taking delivery orders from markets in North India. Surat is India’s largest manmade fabric hub.
Most buyers in North India have cancelled their orders as they don’t want to take chances. A textile trader was supposed to deliver saris worth Rs 40 lakh to Haryana and Amritsar, but the orders were cancelled by buyers following the violence. North India is the largest market for manmade fabrics manufactured in Surat. Saris and dress materials worth around Rs 45 crores are transported to Delhi, Punjab and Haryana every day. More than 500 transport trucks are loaded from the city’s textile markets and sent to various places in north India.
North India is an important market for the textile sector. The sector has been passing through a tough phase and was hoping that the marriage season would come to its rescue. But those hopes have now been dashed.
Bangladesh is seen as a top sourcing destination but Africa looks likely to emerge as a serious competitor. Right now sub-Saharan Africa has only a 0.56 per cent share of the total global capacity of apparel exports. A significant proportion of buyers are preparing to reduce their sourcing from China, where in recent years, production costs have gone up because of rising labor costs. They are glancing at Ethiopia and Kenya as potential choices. Some 40 per cent of buyers say sub-Saharan Africa will become more significant to the clothing business in the next five years in contrast to 24 per cent who said this in 2013.
Sourcing from sub-Saharan Africa is expected to rise almost tenfold by 2020, from 0.3 per cent to 2.8 per cent. As of now, Bangladesh is the second biggest apparel exporter after China. Bangladesh has a five per cent share in world apparel exports but China has a 39 per cent share. Bangladesh feels that African countries will take time to pose competition as they have yet to make a serious beginning. In the meantime the country is building on its strengths. Apparently the retailers’ groupings Accord and Alliance have certified more than 98 per cent of factories in Bangladesh as safe and capable of continuing operations.
Following the European Union’s (EU) decision not to suspend Pakistan’s ‘Generalised Scheme of Preferences plus’ (GSP+), status despite concerns about its human rights record Pakistan’s textile producers will continue to benefit from EU preferential tariffs. GSP+ has been beneficial to Pakistan’s textile industry - textiles and clothing account for around 75 per cent of Pakistan’s exports to the EU. The GSP+ benefits allow 80 per cent of Pakistani textile and clothing imports to enter the EU at preferential tariffs. Items include table and bed linen, as well as many fabric lines and clothing products.
There were concerns that the country could lose its EU trading privileges after the EU ambassador to Pakistan, Jean-Francois Cautain, was quoted last year as saying such a move could not be ruled out. Countries enjoying GSP+ status must comply with 27 international conventions, covering human and labour rights, environmental protection and good governance.
Fashion is staying in the realm of nostalgia, with denim the must-have trend of the new season. It’s not just the enviable street stylers of Instagram who are showcasing the veteran fabric. From Prada to Victoria Beckham, denim is having its moment on the catwalk. During the past few seasons the blue siren has been sneaking in through the trends of dungarees, double denim and the forever sibling rivalry of skinny jean versus boyfriend, girlfriend and flares.
This season, however, denim which is potent symbol of youth and rebellion is all grown up by making a move away from the distressed feel of the grunge era. It’s time to take the perennial trend seriously. Meanwhile, designers tap into our love of all things nostalgic, they have reinvented this most hardworking of fabrics making it fresh for the 21st century.
Giving denim the ultra seal of fashion approval is the socialite, street style star and all round uber fashionista Olivia Palermo. In keeping with the seasons fresh approach, Palermo’s collection gives the traditionally casual material a more formal feel, she used it to create a high-waisted midi skirt with a centre slit, a tailored jumpsuit, aka dungarees, and a pair of wide-legged cropped pants with a braided waistband.
