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The LYCRA Company, a leader in sustainable solution for the apparel industry, will exhibit its latest development in stretch and performance at the Kingpins 24 livestream event to be held on April 22 and 23, 2020. With many events being cancelled due to the pandemic, organizers have chosen to conduct their events virtually. The Kingpins spring denim event, scheduled to be held in Amsterdam, is one such show that is being transitioned into a digital event.
LYCRA’s offerings are developed using the pre- and post-consumer content under the EcoMade family of fibres. The latest development includes LYCRA EcoMade fiber developed partly using pre-consumed material. The fiber fulfils the GRS standard and holds all the performance and qualities like the other LYCRA fibre. The other offerings include LYCRA® T400® EcoMade fibre manufactured using post-consumer material and features high stretch and shape retention properties.
The COOLMAX EcoMade technology is also one of their performance-based polyester fibre innovations made using 100 per cent post-consumer recycled material and designed to keep the wearer cool and dry, while THERMOLITE® EcoMade fibre is an alternative for lightweight warmth.
Furthermore, the company will also be giving presentations on “Sustainable Stretch- Get the Facts” discussing sustainability and will be showing videos on The LYCRA Company’s Planet Agenda sustainability platform and LYCRA® EcoMade fibre during the event.
The event will have panel discussions, exhibitors’ presentation and interviews on topics like sustainability and corporate social responsibility.
Coronavirus has grounded the retail industry to a halt. An article published in Business Insider says to deal with this crisis, brands and retailers should adopt technologies that speed innovation in design decisions.
Without physical samples, showrooms, markets, line reviews or in-store testing, smart retailers and brands should implement 3D-enabled digital product development, more agile sourcing with differentiated development tracks, options for smaller, closer production runs and a more transparent, smart-connected supply chain and improved production automation. It is also important for retailers and brands to leverage new data now.
It will likely be months before the retail industry can return to some semblance of normal. And the new version of normal will likely looks much different than the version from January. That said, understanding customer expectations on styles and prices will likely remain at the foundation of success for those retailers. Therefore, retailers/brands should look at seasonless retail. In fact, runway brands and designers were already moving to seasonless fashion. The concept is backed by sustainability and growth of global consumers whose seasons can look very different depending on where they live.
Mulberry has decided to harmonize the prices of its leather goods for customers, whether they’re shopping online or offline in Shanghai, London or Los Angeles. The brand began rolling out global pricing last year with the launch of its collaboration with Acne Studios, and continued in that vein with the ecoconscious M Collection that was introduced earlier this year. The new, standard pricing will be achieved by bringing international stickers in line with UK ones, inclusive of any local sales taxes, VAT or duties.
The rollout will begin with the leather goods categories, which account for approximately 90 percent of the brand’s revenues, with further categories to follow. Global prices for leather goods will be in place by the end of April.
The shift is facilitated by the fact that some 95 percent of Mulberry’s sales are direct-to-consumer via its omnichannel business model. Mulberry’s move is unusual as luxury and high-end brands are often cagey with their pricing strategies, tweaking them quietly and regularly to compensate for exchange rate fluctuations, duties and travel patterns.
Apparel brand Lee has announced its first-ever global sustainability goals. Established under Lee’s recently launched global sustainability platform, the company’s new goals focus on pursuing more sustainable solutions for apparel development and production. Lee’s four global sustainability include powering 100 per cent of all owned and operated facilities with renewable energy by 2025; utilizing more than 50 per cent sustainable synthetics by 2025; sourcing 100 per cent sustainably grown or recycled cotton by 2025 and increasing Indigood dyed products every year through 2025
These global goals are put into place to reduce the company’s environmental and social impacts. They also build on Lee’s latest sustainably focused product launches and partnerships Lee isn’t the only apparel company looking towards a sustainable future of manufacturing. In July 2019, competitor Levi Struss Co signed a $2.3 million cooperation agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. The deal is expected to help the denim maker meet its goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water use in its supply chain.
By 2025, Levi Strauss is committed to achieving a 90 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in their owned-and-operated facilities, 100 per cent renewable energy in their owned-and-operated facilities, and a 40 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions across their whole global supply chain.
Gap Inc plans to issue new bonds backed by assets including real estate as one financing option to get it through the coronavirus pandemic. The San Francisco-based retailer had about $1.2 billion of long-term debt, not including liabilities from its leases, as of year-end.
Gap has almost 4,000 locations in 42 countries, of which 3,345 were company-operated, according to its latest quarterly results. Its brands include Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta, Intermix, Hill City and children’s clothing chain Janie and Jack. The company’s shares declined about 56 per cent this year, giving it a market value of $2.9 billion.
The brand continues to sell through its online business, which generated more than $4 billion in net sales in fiscal 2019, according to its website. It also announced a series of proactive financial measures to counter expected losses from the closures and strengthen its balance sheet, including the deferral of its April dividend payment. The retailer also drew down completely on its $500 million revolving credit facility. The retailer values its non-retail real estate assets at more than US$1.4 billion, and is in talks with its bank lenders about obtaining asset-based loans.
C.L.A.S.S. is set to host Smart Voices, a virtual program of talks bringing together innovators, thinkers, artists, institutional bodies, companies, and athletes, from April 20-29, 2020, on the occasion of Earth Day and Fashion Revolution Week. C.L.A.S.S. is the eco-platform that brings forward new sustainable values in the fashion and textile business.
As always, during the Fashion Revolution Week, C.L.A.S.S. joins the virtual flash mob and shares the encouraging messages and images from its partners, friends and fans who respond to Fashion Revolution’s global call #WhoMadeMyClothes C.L.A.S.S. engages in video conversations either on its Instagram page (@classecohub, Instagram TV) either on different video chat platforms, the company said in a press release.
During the week, The Smart Source - C.L.A.S.S.’ inspirational materials’ bank and samples’ eshop – will offer special promotions. Designers, students and professionals can discover, order, and test the ultimate innovations. Olivini leads the first of two talks highlighting cutting-edge smart ingredients for fashion. He will present some of the smartest materials on the market to sustainable platform VIC, Very Important Choice, which empowers circular economy by allowing responsible consumers to rent sanitised sustainable clothes.
A relatively early adopter of environmentally sound practices, Burberry has launched ReBurberry Edit, a selection of 26 styles from its spring 2020 collection made from sustainable materials. It includes a range of capes, parkas, trench coats, eyewear, and accessories created from scraps, industrial plastics, and other recycled materials or natural fibers. The line also features pistachio-colored tags informing consumers that items are environmentally up to snuff and are constructed in facilities that compensate workers fairly.
Nowadays, the masses are better informed of the adverse effects that fashion has on the environment. This is why they are looking for transparency in the way items are produced and assembled. And with initiatives like ReBurberry Edit, Burberry is checking all the boxes, giving shoppers more incentive to not only invest in its collections but into buying sustainable products in general.
Bangladesh will sue factory owners that do not pay their staff during the lockdown, with thousands of garment workers struggling after factories shut without paying March wages. Workers have taken to the streets to demand they be paid, defying a mass lockdown that has seen thousands of factories shut as orders from Western retailers dry up.
The government has said at least 350 factory owners have not yet paid March wages, with more than 150,000 workers affected, though labor leaders say the true figure is much higher. Labor ministry official Shibnath Roy said businesses that did not pay staff would not receive any money from a $588 million rescue package that Bangladesh announced last month for its crucial export sector.
The head of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association Rubana Huq said 98 of the 2,274 factories it represents had yet to pay workers. Millions of households in Bangladesh depend upon the garment sector, which has been hit hard by the cancellation of more than $3 billion-worth of orders as shops around the world shut down.
The International Labor Organization has urged governments to extend social protection to the industry and is advising on measures to promote employment retention, short-time work, paid leave and other subsidies. ILO recently stated that the coronavirus is triggering massive losses in output and jobs, with textiles and apparel particularly hard-hit. In Bangladesh, order cancellations have led to lost revenue of about $3 billion, affecting some 2.17 million workers.
ILO said in Bangladesh it is estimated that less than 20 per cent of firms are able to continue paying staff wages for more than 30 days under these circumstances. Similarly, in Vietnam, another major apparel exporting nation, the ILO estimated 440,000 to 880,000 workers could face reduced hours or unemployment.”
Alette van Leur, ILO director for sectoral policies says ILO member states are taking unprecedented measures to protect frontline workers and to lessen the impact on businesses, livelihoods and the most vulnerable. Indeed, Casper Edmonds, ILO director for manufacturing, told WWD that in a recent virtual meeting with Guy Ryder, ILO director-general, representatives from the International Apparel Federation, an employer’s umbrella grouping, called for solidarity across the global supply chain.
The ILO analysis notes that some major buyers have committed to paying for all orders already in production or completed. In Bangladesh, for example, H&M, Inditex, Kiabi, (with deferred payments) and Target and VF have committed to payment. But it added, many other major buyers have still not done so.
UBS retail analyst Michael Lasser predicts online retail penetration to hit 25 per cent by 2025, up from 15 per cent in 2019. By his calculations, this will result in closure of around 10,000 stores across the globe. Retailers with scale, such as Costco, The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Ross, Target, TJX, and Walmart, to name a few, will emerge winners in this scenario, capable of leveraging their resources and scale to survive tumult and upheaval.
Though store closure will vary by sector, apparel retail will be the biggest loser, with 24,000 doors expected to disappear from malls and main streets. Consumer electronics will lose 12,500 doors, while home furnishings will close 11,300 stores. Grocery retailers are predicted to close 11,000 locations. And as those doors close, Lasser expects enclosed malls will be under pressure as well.
Amazon’s dominant growth has ratcheted up pressure on the retail sector, especially for store-based brands. The online titan, Lasser says operated roughly 190 million square feet of U.S. fulfillment space in 2019, a meteoric rise from 12 million in 2009.
On the department store front, Lasser expects the channel to see more store closures ahead as store productivity has now plunged below peak levels from the second quarter of 2005 when sales per store averaged $18.6 million versus $10 million today.
