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Accelerating Circularity has launched a project in Europe as the company builds on its work researching, mapping, modeling and linking circular textile-to-textile systems in the United States. As per Sourcing Journal, the project Accelerating Circularity Europe has a Steering Committee representing global retail, circular supply chains and textile recycling, including DuPont Biomaterials, European Outdoor Group, GIZ, Gr3n, Inditex, Lenzing, Recover, Recyclatex Group, Reverse Resources, Texaid and Zalando.
The Steering Committee will set the strategy and make decisions for the European project. It will convene a Brand and Retailer Working Group for the development of take-back programs and circular product specifications. Select collectors, recyclers and preprocessors will comprise a Spent Textile Working Group to address challenges in collection, sorting and feedstock preparation. As in the US, the European project will unfold in phases, starting with research and mapping, and modeling and linking, and then going into trials and evaluation.
Accelerating Circularity is a collaborative industry project developed in 2019 to accelerate the textile industry’s move from linear to circular. The project aims to establish systems that will use the embedded value and resources in existing textiles for new products, reducing the millions of tons of textile waste annually going into landfills and supporting the reduction of the industry’s GHG emissions.
With consumer spending bouncing back in the US, India has a rare opportunity to capture American fashion market. However, growing COVID-19 cases are forcing garment factories in the country to either shut down or work at half capacity. As per NBC news reports, India accounts for 16 per cent textile imports by the US and about 5 per cent apparel and accessories . Though the percentage of textile and apparel exports to the US is quite small, India is still a major exporter of rare gems to the country. This makes it difficult for the US to move its supply chain outside India, says Mary Lovely, Senior Fellow, Peter Institute for International Economics, and Economics Professor, Syracuse University.
Supply chain issues threaten growth plans
As per US Commerce Department, consumer spending in the US increased by 10.7 per cent in the first quarter of this year. Brett Rose, CEO, United
National Consumer Suppliers, believes, this is the perfect time for India to capitalize on the growing demand. However, most of its garment factories are expected to remain closed till June 7, impacting supply of manufactured goods, textile and mill products, she adds.
Sonia Syngal, CEO, Gap informs, her company is already facing supply chain and raw material challenges from countries including India. Owner of West Elm and Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma too has several orders pending from India due to production issues.
Impact on jobs and deliveries
Not just manufacturers, the global pandemic has also stressed India’s garment workers. Over 1,200 workers employed with Gokuldas Exports lost their jobs as the apparel manufacturer closed one of its factories due to cancelled orders. The company is now working overtime to meet order deadlines, informs Sivaramakrishnan Vilayur Ganapathi, CEO.
The pandemic is also causing logistic delays for Indian manufacturers. Orders that could be earlier delivered within 30 days are now taking 70 days, says Rose. This is leading to cargo ships being overstocked, hiking up shipping prices. However, Rose expects this pressure to ease soon as companies are bound to reach an inflection point where they can bear no more challenges.
Industry experts had hoped demand for sustainable denims will increase post pandemic. But, the opposite is happening and people are queuing up for cheaper, fast-fashion items, says Silvia Rancani, Founder, The Denim World which is soon set to shut operations due to dwindling demand.
Founded in October 2018 and operating since January 2019, The Denim World is a collective hub for manufacturers and designers in Amsterdam to collaborate and discuss new ideas to create sustainable jeans. As per The Spin Off, the project was first launched at a closed location near Haflweg in Amstersdam. However, the pandemic soon forced it to move to Schakelstraat, near Amsterdam-Sloterdjik.
Along with the location, the mode of these meetings also changed. From single or collective with brands, designers and industry
insiders, they transformed into digital discussions between Rancani and industry players though live broadcasting on Instagram.
No new orders or financial support
However, the future is not very encouraging as the denim market in Netherlands has reached a deadlock, says Rancani. Brands are ordering only staple garment items that too lie unsold in warehouses, he adds. Rancani also does not have any additional financial support besides his annual contracts. These too, he expects to stop from June due to the volatile market conditions.
Though insiders have been urging him to continue for a bit longer, Rancani is unwilling to take any additional risks. His move to a new location in August 2020 also did not help as he managed to organize only a couple of small events in September. He couldn’t even inaugurate his new office as the pandemic broke out soon after, he rues.
Through 2020 Rancani managed to organize a series of live talks via Instagram only twice a week. His first series known as ‘Spritz’ was held via the Web while the second group of meetings under the topic, ‘Kitchen’ went live with industry insiders cooking their favorite recipes. Now, with Kingspins decision to hold its next Kingspins Amsterdam edition digitally, Rancani sees no hopes for The Denim World’s survival.
Nearshoring, a growing threat to denim industry
Though highly ambitious, Rancani has no plans for the future. Being a specialist in product development, washing and fabric developments, he plans to work as a consultant for denim manufacturers. His 16 years of experience in the Mauritian company Denim De l’Ile, Hong Kong-based Coin Group, and Diesel’s Asian subsidiary, have helped him gain lots of contacts globally. Rancani has also created a line of denim clothes and accessories for pets, The Denim Dog, which were recent sold at a pet store in Amsterdam.
Currently, Rancani sees no signs for recovery for the denim industry as professionals are travelling less; especially to Asia. Due to this, brands are opting to work with nearer manufacturers and finishers. This does not bode well for the industry, he signs off.
Increase in China’s raw material prices in the first quarter of this year has raised concerns about spiking inflation in Western fashion markets. As per the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s producer-index rose 6.8 per cent in April. The index is likely to further surge in the second and third quarters of this year, as per a report by China’s Central Bank.
The surge is likely to spill over to other consumers markets like the US. Reports indicate, America’s consumer price index jumped by 4.2 perc ent in April compared to a year earlier. Supply chain disruptions are also having a compounding effect on the prices in these markets, says Nick Marro, Global Trade Lead, The Economist Intelligence Unit. The industry’s prospects of a swift recovery are being dampened even though most western markets are reopening post lockdowns. This is happening mainly due to the resistance of brands to any prices increase, he adds.
Pandemic hangover leads to price rise
Experts view the current rise in prices as a part of pandemic hangover. The exponential rise in demand is a result of both, consumers remaining dormant
for almost a year, and stimulus cheques provided by the government. The opening of two biggest consuming countries, China and America, is also boosting prices, adds Ophelia Chen, Co-Founder, CEO-Genderless, Bobblehaus.
From January to March, Chinese cotton prices rose 4 per cent to 15,948 yuan ($2,479) per tonne, according to market intelligence firm Texpro. Prices are expected to remain above 16,000 yuan ($2,487) per tonne in the coming months, says the company.
Not just raw materials, prices of synthetic materials are also rising. Yossi Nasser, CEO, Gelmart InIt’s, informs, fueled by rising oil prices and tightening supplies, spandex prices increased almost 30 per cent, Prices of other materials have also increased, although to a lesser degree, he adds
Trade disruptions witnessed last year have also led to an increase in freight rates. Says Himood Hui, Vice President, Bombyxx. The flow of goods is turning into a costly logistical headache for most manufacturers, he adds.
Stabilization expected across the year
Manufacturers expect raw material prices and logistical costs to stabilize across the year. They are already planning to expand their capacities to alleviate some of these prices pressures, adds Robert Sierra, Economics Team Director, Fitch Ratings. However, they are also facing some other pressures. China’s falling birth rate and ageing population is raising concerns about its ability to sustain its large-scale manufacturing facilities and competitive prices. The country’s technological upgrades are also limited. Though some of its suppliers are working closely with customers to remove production bottlenecks, they face limited cost cutting opportunities.
The pandemic offers manufacturers an opportunity to reset operations and fuel a boom in cheap fast fashion. Manufacturers can also teach consumers to accept prices reflecting their true manufacturing costs.
With more customers returning to stores post vaccination, retailers in the US are finally heaving a huge sigh of relief. Retailers like Walmart and Macy’s are eagerly looking forward to customers’ return after over a year of them migrating to online shopping. One of the reasons for this eagerness is the low rate of returns amongst in-store shoppers as compared to online shoppers, says a Live Mint report. As per Forrester Research, only 8 per cent in-store shoppers are known to return their goods as compared to 25 per cent online shoppers. Also, in-store shopping is more impulsive, says NPD Group. A recent survey by the group revealed 25 per cent shoppers retorted to impulsive shopping while visiting stores as against 16 per cent online.
Share of department stores shrinks to 2 per cent
Yet, physical retailers are likely to face a lot of challenges while attracting shoppers back to stores. After a year of being confined to stores, customers have
become more demanding. They are looking for better and convenient shopping experiences. Hence, store traffic has not yet fully recovered to 2019 levels; though it is slowly rebounding.
Data from foot-traffic analytics firm Placer.ai shows, customer visits to stores surged by 43.2 per cent during the week starting May 10 compared to the year-ago period. However, this was still 5.6 per cent less than the same period in 2019. Apparel shopping too surged by two times during the period, bit it was 11.2 per cent less than the period two years ago.
The share of department stores in the retail market has shrunk from 3 per cent in in 2019 to 2 per cent currently, shows data from the NPD Group survey. Against this, the share of discounters’ market has increased from 21 per cent in 2019 to 22 per cent this year. The share of online retail also increased from 23 per cent in 2019 to 26 per cent last year.
Retailers attract shoppers with new merchandize
Though the share of online shopping is expected to increase to 27 per cent in 2024, the rate of this increase is likely to slow down to 15.6 per cent this year and 10 per cent next year, says Forrester. However, physical shoppers are still not expected to visit stores due to the changed retail environment. For instance, beauty retailers are not allowing shoppers to try on makeup due to COVID restrictions.
To entice shoppers, retailers are adding fresh new merchandize to their stores. For instance, Target is opening a beauty section in over 100 of its stores by mid-2021 while Kohl's plans to open Sephora beauty shops in 200 of its locations. Retailers are thus ready to get back to business.
The 1st Frankfurt Fashion SDG Summit will be presented by the Conscious Fashion Campaign on July 07, 2021, in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships.
The topics to be addressed by the Frankfurt Fashion SDG Summit will be based on the priorities that were announced by UN Secretary-General AntónioGuterres for 2021 in order to achieve the SDGs by 2030. The summit aims to initiate multi-stakeholder collaboration, to share sustainability-related insights and to advance sustainable action in the fashion sector on an international level.
The topics to be addressed by the Frankfurt Fashion SDG Summit are based on the priorities that were announced by UN Secretary-General AntónioGuterres for 2021 in order to achieve the SDGs by 2030. Keynotes, interviews, panel discussions and performances will be taking a closer look at topics such as Sustainability by Design, Policy for the People, Climate, Oceans, Creatives for the Future and the Global Status of Fashion & Design.
On the panel of the first digital edition of the Frankfurt Fashion SDG Summit are leading international representatives from the politics, research, the fashion and textiles sector and NGOs, as well as designers, artists and UN advocates.
The Frankfurt Fashion SDG Summit is one of the core elements of Frankfurt Fashion Week that is actively driving forward and shaping the transformation of a future-oriented, more sustainable fashion and textile industry and shaping this transformation.
The Benettons family willsoon relinquish its control over Italy’s main highway company, Autostrade per l’ItaliaSpA, or Aspi.
As per Women’s Wear Daily, the Benettons’ family holding company Edizione has a 30.3 percent stake in AtlantiaSpA, which has controlled Aspi for more than two decades. The board of Atlantia has agreed to sell the entire stake in Autostrade per l’Italia to a consortium formed by CDP Equity S.p.A., The Blackstone Group International Partners LLP and Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 6 SCSp. CDP is controlled by Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finances.
The deal, which come after lengthy negotiations and false starts, will be formalized on June 10 and is reported to bring €2.4 billion into the Benettons’ coffers.
The sale comes almost three years after the collapse of a section of the Morandibridge in Genoa in August 2018, which caused 43 deaths, evacuations of hundreds of people, and heavy structural damages. Opened in 1967 and part of the A10 highway linking the French and Italian rivieras, the bridge was maintained and operated by AutostradePerl’Italia.
The government had been threatening to strip Autostrade of its lucrative toll-road business since the fatal accident and accused it of neglecting maintenance of the bridge. Aspi is to pay a compensation fee of €3.4 billion.
The European Commission (EU) has been trying to adopt the European textile strategy that encourages apparel and textile industry to become more competitive and sustainable.
As per Apparel Resources, since the last five years, Euratexhas been working on developing a strategy to help the industry move towards a sustainable, yet competitive, future.
The Brussels-based organization has been calling for alignment of EU textile strategy with EU Green Deal and many EU policies such as the new EU Trade strategy, the EU Pact for Skills, and the Sustainable Chemicals strategy, amongst others.
In addition to creating a good balance between sustainability and cost for the industry, Euratex has also been urging to work on areas like research, innovation and digitalization, standards, public procurement, market surveillance, global value chain and more.
The organization along with the Secretariat of the Sustainable, Long-term Investments & Competitive European Industry Intergroup will organize the event ‘The EU Textile Strategy: Source of Competitiveness?’
To be held on June 03, the event will address critical factors for building a competitive European textile industry and also what should be prioritized in the European textile strategy so as to build a new business model that’s based on sustainability, digitalization and fair trade.
A court in the United Kingdom ruled in favor of Nike in an ongoing trademark squabble with Puma that centers on the Beaverton-based sportswear titan’s quest to register the word “Footware” as a trademark for use in connection with computer hardware modules, electronic devices, and computer software.
Following an unfavorable outcome before the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office in September 2020, in which a Hearing Officer rejected Puma’s bid to block the registration of Nike’s “Footware” mark, Puma lodged an appeal with the High Court of Justice in London, arguing that Nike’s registration should be barred because it is a deceptive term, not an indicator of source of the proposed goods and services listed in its application.
In a decision dated May 27, Justice Zacaroli of the High Court of Justice in London dismissed Puma’s appeal, paving the way for Nike’s application for the “Footware” mark – which it filed with the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (“UKIPO”) in March 2019 – to proceed in the registration process.
Global industry non-profit Textile Exchange has launched its latest Material Change Insights Report. As per Eco Textile, the report was launched alongside a new Material Change Index (MCI) Leaderboard, which tracks individual company progress, and an 'Impact Dashboard' which models sourcing impacts.
Textile Exchange launched all the three reports together to provide a comprehensive, multi-pronged analysis of the industry which would enable s users to explore and engage with the data in multiple ways. Through these reports, users can track progress towards the industry’s climate goal of a 45 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade, as well as global efforts like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the transition to a circular economy.
As per Claire Bergkamp, COO, Textile Exchange, the Material Change Index is the largest peer-to-peer comparison initiative in the textile industry. It helps companies and suppliers focus their efforts and drive towards substantial change. The 2020 MCI reveals the average overall score is up 9.8 points - or 17 per cent - this year while remaining at Textile Exchange's Level 3 'maturing' performance band. However, the number of companies in the Level 4 'leading' band more than doubled from 16 to 36.
The uptake of preferred materials increased by nearly a quarter, now accounts for 44 per cent of the MCI portfolio. Preferred renewable cotton and recycled polyester accounted for most of this growth. Circularity scores increased on average by 37 per cent with the biggest growth among outdoor/sports brands. Nine companies - C&A, H&M Group, Knickey, MUD Jeans, Nudie Jeans, Outerknown, Patagonia, prAna and The North Face - achieved the 'leading' Level 4 ranking.
Greenhouse gas savings also increased due to the use of recycled polyester. Participation in the program also increased with 191 companies participating this year compared to 173 the previous year, with the most growth within the apparel and footwear sub-sector.
