Japanese textile manufacturer Ecosensor™ by Asahi Kasei launched its SS 2023 collection at Performance Days.

Made of high-tech fabrics implementing new-generation values, the collection includes 40 new fabric items that meet the needs of the contemporary consumers, such as durability, wellbeing and performance.

The collection covers the different market applications with sevenitems for innerwear, two for outerwear 17 for sport knit and 14 for Sport woven. Furthermore, all of Ecosensor™ fabrics are made with sustainable materials which are certified by international certification such as GRS, RCS or self-certification by each yarn supplier, through a traceable and transparent production process and supply chain. 100 per cent of the stretch articles (representing 35% of the collection) are made with ROICA™ EF by Asahi Kasei, the recycled stretch yarn made from pre-consumer materials.

One of India’s leading industrial safety equipment manufacturers, MallcomIndia is setting up with a new state-of-the-art PPE manufacturing facility in Ghatakpukur, West Bengal.

Ajay Mall, Managing Director, informs, the unit will manufacture products falling under workplace safety. The first phase of industrial garments’ capacity expansion will become operational by Q2 2022-23, reports Apparel Resources.

The facility is being develop with the projected capital outlay of Rs 50 crore, Mallcom plans to double its production capacity in the next two years. Once operational, the facility will generate direct employment for over 600 people from West Bengal.

Along with Ghatakpukur, Mallcom recently inaugurated its workwear manufacturing unit in GIDC, Ahmedabad (Gujarat) and the same commenced operations since August 2021. The unit will generate employment to over 200 people when in full capacity.

After two years of online events, Berlin will host the first edition of Denim Premiere Vision from May 17-18, 2022 in Arena Berlin.

The denim-focused show will present more than 80 exhibitors showcasing their F/W 2023/2024 collections and technical innovations. It will also organize the Digital Denim Week, a new synergistic program of physical and digital talks, from 16 to 20 May.

The show will also launch a new initiative - “PV Denim Fashion District” - showcasing a select group of 11 brands and designers presenting pieces they developed together with show exhibitors, including items which will be part of their collections for next season.

Other initiatives at the event will include a conference on May 17, organized as a partnership with TextilWirtschaft magazine. The Denim PV Party x NDL, a not-to-be-missed event will beorganised in partnership with Naveena Denim (NDL), to celebrate denim and its community.

Along with digitaal and physical trend seminars, the show will also include two Digital Denim Smart Talks to review the sector’s ecological progress and innovations in terms of sustainable materials - a Season Smart Talk presenting new eco-responsible denim developments and a Traceability Smart Talk meant to discover the traceable-production solutions offered by the show’s exhibitors.

Global leader in premium Nylon 6.6, NILIT has introduced Sensil® By Nature, a revolutionary new product that significantly improves apparel’s sustainability profile, life cycle analysis, and environmental impact.

By using a certified Biomass Balance (BMB) material, NILIT replaces fossil raw material with renewable feedstock. Utilizing this ISCCplus certified material,SensilL® ByNature reduces GHG emissions and lessens dependence on non-renewable resources.

Apparel made with Sensil® ByNature fabrics offers consumers a meaningful way to help reduce carbon footprint while keeping exactly the same comfort, performance, and longevity that they expect and get today from SENSIL®.

Sensil® ByNature fabrics also deliver the comfort and functionality that designers expect from premium Nylon 6.6. Consumers will enjoy an enhanced sense of well-being that comes from selecting high-quality, long-lasting apparel that aligns with their personal values.

As the leader in sustainable Nylon 6.6 solutions for multiple categories, NILIT recently launched Sensil® BioCare, enhanced with a special technology that helps lessen the persistence of textile waste in sea water and in landfills; Sensil® EcoCare crafted with recycled Nylon; and Sensil® WaterCare pre-dyed Nylon, which saves 100 per cent of the water used in the traditional wet dyeing process.

From $132 million in January 2021, Egypt’s garment exports increased 54 per cent to $204 million in January 2022, says Marie Louise, Head, Apparel Export Council. As per a Textile Focus report, the US emerged top export destination for Egypt during the year with exports worth $123 million in January 2022, compared to $78 million in January 2021. It was followed by European markets, whose imports from Egypt increased $37 million from $28 million in January 2021.

Egyptian garment imports by Arab nations grew 63 per cent to $25 million during the year while imports by non-Arab African countries declined 66 per cent to $109,000. Egypt exported 58 per cent more garments to other countries totaling $19 million from last year. The Russia-Ukraine war has encouraged the country to explore new markets inn collaboration with Egyptian Commercial Service (ECS) offices in all nearby countries; especially the Arab countries.

Domestic weekend-wear brand Harbour 9 has launched a wide range of women's apparels. The range will help the brand tap India’s women’s wear market and penetrate deeper into the segment. The brand manufactures clothes completely in India, from sourcing materials to the final product through their eco-friendly practices.

The newly launched women’s range will be available on the brand’s website and other e-commerce platforms. A premium weekend-wear brand, Harbour 9 strives to find the perfect balance between dressed up and dressed down. Its curated collection is designed to transport customers to a world of fun and ultimate relaxation.

An ethically compliant brand, Harbour 9 aims to reduce the negative impact on people, animals, and the planet. The brand follows all labor laws ensuring good working conditions, fair wages, suitable working environment, and job security for all employees.

A group of key players in Nigeria’s cotton, textile and garment value chain, National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN) organized a one- day seminar in Abuja to introduce a unified policy to stimulate the progress of the sector. As per a New Telegraph report, the seminar aimed at reviving the textile sector in Nigeria was organized in collaboration with the German Cooperation agency Deutsche Zusammennarbett, the European Union and the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

The seminar was inaugurated by Anibe Achimugu, National President, NACOTAN, who talked about the future roadmap for implementation of the CTG (Cotton, Textile and Garment) policy of the federal government. He said to achieve this, Nigerian textile stakeholders would focus on integrity and relationship building. The seminar advised industry leaders to establish a CTG Council with about two government officials to regulate growth in the sector. The council would also have private sector players, it added.

It also advocated a strategic business plan for the CTG Development Forum and an active collaboration among the players in the CTG Development Forum. It advised players in the sector to ensure that their activities make the Nigerian market space unprofitable for importers and smugglers of fabrics into the country.

The stakeholders also resolved to create CTG processing zones/clusters in different parts of the country. They said, this would aid concentration of infrastructures in those areas besides reducing production costs.

In an open letter to brands, garment workers from the bankrupt Jaba Garmindo factory in Indonesia garment workers have urged brands Uniqlo and s.Oliver to pay their pending dues. Around 2,000 Indonesian garment workers are demanding $5.5 million legally owed to them in severance pay since 2015. The workers made clothes for Uniqlo, s,Oliver, etc.

Both Fast Retailing and s.Oliver are affiliates of the Fair Labor Association (FLA), which released the results of their investigations of the case in July 2021. The report recommended brands to come together to establish a financial relief fund for workers. However, this has not yet materialized. With its business booming during the pandemic, Fast Retailing has become the world’s most valuable fashion retailer. Its current share price of €88.7 billion surpasses that of Inditex.

However, the pandemic has dealt a severe blow to former Jaba Garmindo workers. It has rendered many of them jobless and unable to afford vital medical care, school costs and even food. Having no social security system to support them, the workers are struggling to survive, and have to borrow money to cover daily expenses.

Swedish fashion giant H&M has reopened its official store on Alibaba’sTmaill e-commece platform 16 months after the Chinese site took it down following the brand's criticisms of human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

Tmall and many other Chinese platforms and apps scrubbed references to the fashion brand when it was revealed that H&M had pledged not to source cotton from China’s 's far western Xinjiang region, citing concerns about human rights abuses there.

UN experts and rights groups estimate over a million people, mainly Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, have been detained in recent years in a vast system of camps in Xinjiang. China denies all accusations of abuse.

H&M, the world's second-biggest fast-fashion retailer, first opened on Tmall in March 2018.

It was one of many Western brands caught up in the Xinjiang cotton controversy in March last year and was disproportionately impacted as one of the first to be targeted by netizens on Chinese social media.

While other brands such as Nike, Adidas, Burberry and Converse saw celebrity ambassadors sever ties over their public commitments not to use Xinjiang cotton, H&M was the only brand to see its online identity in China removed to such an extent.

Denim brands in India are planning to launch pants made from mixed fibers to contain the rising inputs costs due to a sudden surge in cotton prices. As per a Textile Value Chain report, cotton prices in India surged to historic highs in the last few months without any indication of slowdown. This is compelling brands to reduce the number of pants made from 100 per cent cotton and indigo color.

Rising cotton costs along with other unrefined components have surged raw material costs for denim brands by around 30 per cent. The prices of raw cotton have dramatically increased from Rs 35,000 for each candy of 356 kg in mid-2020 to over Rs 75,000 currently. This has led to a 10 per cent decline in cotton consumption by denim brands in India.