Sri Lanka’s apparel sector is growing at 5.7 per cent while the textile sector is growing at 1.6 per cent. Sri Lanka earned more than $5 billion from apparel exports in 2018. The aim now is to enhance apparel exports especially to countries like India. Exporters feel bilateral FTAs are an ideal tool for market penetration to these countries.

The United Kingdom is positively considering the continuation of preferential treatment related to the EU GSP scheme for developing countries, including Sri Lanka, even after Brexit.

Sri Lanka hopes Brexit will not result in a disruption of trade with the UK. In addition, the industry in Sri Lanka looks forward to the right business environment, a decisive policy frame work with consistency and predictability on the fiscal regime, a proper trade policy and monetary policy, a shipping policy draft, a new procedure for monitoring of export proceeds, prompt export releases, all directed toward marketing the country’s products.

As of now the industry faces issues like ad hoc policies, a lack of consultative processes, no advance notice on cost increases, inability to adjust existing contractual obligations to new cost structures, and non-recognition of the importance of credit facilities given to buyers to sustain market access.

More than 2,800 exhibitors have announced their participation, and around 80,000 trade visitors are expected to come to see the new collections and innovations in the industry for the 2019-20 season. The major trends in the industry are sustainability in the area of products, digitization in the area of processes and sport, and a stronger focus on consumers, which is also reflected in the development of new consumer events during the fair.

Brands will present their new, sustainable innovations at the fair. The North Face will launch the new Futurelight fabric technology. PrimaLoft will introduce the first biodegradable synthetic fiber, PrimaLoft Bio. Also 3M/Thinsulate will presents its new sustainability concept.

Esports will be part of the fair for the first time. A friendly match will take place between Bayern Ballers Gaming and the Ispo community. Experts will provide insights into the potential and growth market of this trend sport.

Since 2018, end consumers have also been able to take advantage of the trade fair: This edition will invite sports enthusiasts to take part in and try out numerous events. Enthusiasm for winter sports remains unbroken. In Germany, around 15 million people go skiing and snowboarding. But many are critical about the future of winter sports due to climate change.

Carlos Alberini is the new chief executive of Guess. He replaces Victor Herrero. In fact, Alberini returns to Guess. He was president and chief operating officer at Guess from 2000 to 2010. He was instrumental in building the international business in Europe and Asia during his ten-year tenure with Guess.

Herrero, who had worked for a decade at the Spanish company Inditex, parent company of Zara, came on board in 2015 to turn things around at Guess. He launched an aggressive campaign to hire influencers and celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez to publicize the product. He also started shuttering US stores as sales in Europe and Asia grew and US sales languished.

Herrero will receive a $2.4 million separation agreement, which is equivalent to two years’ of his monthly salary and his bonus for fiscal 2019. He will also have his life insurance and health insurance costs covered for a two-year period and receive full vesting of his equity awards. Once Alberini steps in, his annual salary will be 1.2 million dollars and he will receive a million dollar signing bonus.

During the third quarter of fiscal 2019 Guess experienced a 13.4 million dollar loss on 605.4 million dollars in revenues.

For the third quarter Century Textiles’ net sales were Rs 957.22 crores as compared to Rs 1091.26 crores during the earlier quarter. Net profit for the quarter was Rs 134.27 crores as against Rs 156.52 crores for the period ended September 30, 2018. For the whole year net sales were Rs 957.22 crores as compared to Rs 1033.46 crores during the earlier year.

Net profit for the year was Rs 134.27 crores as against Rs 89.94 crores for the earlier year. EPS for the year was Rs 12.02 as compared to Rs 8.05 for the earlier year. For the nine month period net sales were Rs 3031.55 crores as compared to Rs 2999.30 crores during the earlier nine month period.

Net profit was Rs 453.45 crores for the nine month period as against Rs 262.96 crores for the earlier nine month period. EPS was Rs 40.60 for the nine month period as compared to Rs 23.54 for the earlier nine month period.

Mumbai-based Century Textiles and Industries is active in textiles, viscose filament yarns, cement, and pulp and paper. The cotton division of Century is one of the oldest players in India.

European Union has welcomed Bangladesh government’s initiatives to resolve the labor unrest in the apparel industry. This was conveyed by Rensje Teerink, European Union’s envoy to Bangladesh, who also welcomed the government’s steps towards ensuring peaceful atmosphere in the sector and labor welfare. The junior minister conveyed the government’s efforts to publish the gazette of minimum wages, formation of 29 committees to monitor the overall situation in labor-intensive areas, and establishing a hotline to listen to the complaints of apparel industry workers.

Meanwhile, Minister Sufian upheld the European Union’s assistance towards the apparel industry and sought its assistance in creating new employment opportunities in other sectors. Ambassador Teerink assured that its assistance will continue in the apparel industry and other sectors as well in the future.

Bluezone is being held in Germany on January 29 to 30, 2019. This event reinforces denim’s sense of community and discovery. Brands in the denim and sportswear categories are showcasing their latest fabric developments.

This edition of Bluezone will carry the conversation about cleaner denim forward. The event is giving a clear signal for more transparency, resource-saving process solutions and conscious consumption. It is highlighting great synergies in the market, helping brands get closer to the manufacturing sector, and a let them know education initiative by inviting the best skilled professionals to bring seminars and workshops with the latest groundbreaking discoveries for the denim community.

More than ever, denim makers and retailers are demanding better options for sourcing and manufacturing, and with its readymade solutions, Bluezone caters to that. There are seminars, workshops and talks on the denim industry’s latest developments. In Munich, where the show is being held, the future of denim is happening now. Bluezone boasts a spectacular portfolio of the best brands and the most innovative products. It is regarded as one of the best denim shows worldwide. The show features a futuristic customization gallery, which is a collaborative project by denim specialists in addition to a presentation of a capsule collection.

Devoid of cursive lettering and drop shadows, Zara’s new logo abandons straight lines in favor of curves and presents itself with overlapping letters and, unlike luxury firms’ logos, an updated serif. The redesigned logo had been already used in some of the brand’s marketing material, labels and for capsule collections available exclusively at recently opened stores, and now it has made its debut on the online store, where it appears in blue, orange and black. It is also used in Zara’s social media accounts.

Zara is a global fast fashion giants. The logo redesign is the third for Zara following its most recent update in 2010. Its first ever logo was introduced in 1975. In November last year, Zara expanded its online reach to 106 new countries and regions through a new global website, bringing its online presence to a total of 202 markets.

Logo redesign seems to be a trend on the rise. Building on the evolution of typography and the growing role of visual identity, the rebranding strategy has led numerous firms to change their image with refined, sans-serif and bold logos, from luxury houses such as Burberry and Balenciaga to Hedi Slimane’s Celine.

Garment exporters from Bangladesh will be a part of Apparel Sourcing Week, Bangalore, March 15 and 16, 2019. The show provides manufacturers a platform to showcase their products to retailers.

The Standard Group is one of the oldest garment manufacturers in Bangladesh. It sees the exhibition as an opportunity to explore and enter the Indian retail market. The group, which will be displaying the best of its woven casual bottoms, also has a big sweater production facility and its own in-house garment washing, printing, embroidery, apparel design, garment testing and various accessories’ production facilities. Established in 1984, the Standard Group today has 19 factories and generates 418 million dollars annually, and with a prospective eye on Indian retail, it is looking forward to Apparel Sourcing Week for its future expansion plans.

Pakiza Knit Composite will display T-shirts, tanks, polos, pyjamas, jackets, leggings and knitted children’s wear. In less than five years of its establishment, Pakiza works with the likes of NKD, Pep&Co, OVS, NewYorker and Scanwear, among others. Anzir Apparels known for sweaters, will display its new sweater collection.

With different product categories and distinct strengths, all the exhibitors at Apparel Sourcing Week will have something for every retailer and brand that visit the two-day sourcing fair.

Tex-Ray and Applied DNA will set up a center in Taiwan. This will integrate Applied DNA’s authentication platform into new product development of yarns, finishes and fabrics and design streamlined supply chain processes to reduce time-to-market for Applied DNA products and services.

Applied DNA is a leader in PCR-based DNA manufacturing for product authenticity and traceability solutions. Tex-Ray is a pioneer in performance fabric and smart clothing for modern active lifestyles. Tex-Ray, based in Taiwan, is the world’s largest functional fabric production base accounting for approximately 50 per cent of the global output value of performance fabrics. Founded in 1978, Tex-Ray manages global textile supply chains and counts the world’s leading brands as customers and operates in nine countries within Asia, Africa, and North America.

Applied DNA’s CertainT molecular authentication platform for forensic authenticity and traceability delivers brand differentiation and protection of goods whose value chains span large commercial ecosystems and geographies. Unique in its ability to provide identity and traceability embedded in goods themselves, CertainT is a natural fit with the technology innovations that comprise Tex-Ray’s product portfolio.

The alliance with Tex-Ray enables Applied DNA to engage key participants along multiple points in the global textile value chain to more broadly drive adoption of Applied DNA’s authentication technology platform.

"Though, a recent survey by UN initiative Better Factories Cambodia (BFC) indicates improving conditions in the country’s garment factories, human rights violations demand new mechanisms for accountability and transparency in these companies. Hun Sen government and the international race to search the cheapest labor, have created an economy that forces Cambodians, especially women, to rely on these low-paying jobs that still expose them to rights violations.It’s crucial that the government, garment industry corporations and international allies support the Cambodian people in pushing for transparency, accountability and better conditions."

Though, a recent survey by UN initiative Better Factories Cambodia (BFC) indicates improving conditions in the country’s garment factories, human rights violations demand new mechanisms for accountability and transparency in these companies.

Hun Sen government and the international race to search the cheapest labor, have created an economy that forces Cambodians, especially women, to rely on these low-paying jobs that still expose them to rights violations.It’s crucial that the government, garment industry corporations and international allies support the Cambodian people in pushing for transparency, accountability and better conditions.

Compliance improves, violations continue to exist

The BFC report found improved compliance for international laws around overtime wages, discriminations against employees, child labor, routine evacuation drills, and reprisals for union membership.

However, across the nearly 500 factories surveyed, still 234 violations wereregistered between November 2017 and May 2018. According to Cambodian government’s own statistics, over 2,000 workers fainted in 2018 in just 16 factories that were surveyed. In one shoe factory in October, nearly 100 workers fainted during a single shift.

The survey also found only 11 violations of international child labor laws among 600,000 workers, far fewer than the 74 violations found in 2014. But there’s a good chance that children have simply stopped working in licensed factories, working at home or with subcontractors instead. Also,it’s possible that many children are now passing the age checks unnoticed.

Some of the improvements that supposedly represent progress aren’t much cause for celebration. According to new recommendations, pregnant women are now allowed to leave work 15 minutes early and are given a benefit of 400,000 Riel (about $100) for having a single child. These concessions may signal improving conditions, but they also demonstrate severe gender-based discrimination.

Recent data from the World Bank suggests that demand for Cambodia’s exported textiles is increasing at a rate of 16.1 per cent per year, more than double that of the country’s economic growth rate.

Growth is partly due to the European Union’s decision to give Cambodia tariff-free access to their markets under the “Everything but Arms” (EBA) program. TheUnion has begun a six-month review of Cambodia’s trade status that will determine if they can continue trade within the EBA program.

Time to be accountable

Despite rights violations in the garment industry and the country as a whole, Nike, Adidas, H&M, Gap Inc, and other international brands continue to rely on Cambodia for the manufacture of a significant portion of their products.

H&M recently hosted a summit on fair wages in Phnom Penh and stated that wages for factory workers producing their clothing were 24 per cent higher than the minimum wage, for a total of $210.80 per month. However, Clean Clothes Campaign, a network that has been advocating for garment sector reform for 30 years, highlighted H&M’s failure to follow through on its promise to provide minimum wages to its 850,000 garment workers.

Hun Sen and his government appear content to allow the Cambodian economy to rely on this single industry, as they have for over two decades. It is upto international government and textile companies to shake them out of this slumber and advocate for a meaningful change in the country.