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Though the fashion industry is better known for its creativity, innovation, and trendsetting, it packs a major punch in terms of climate impact, water use, and pollution. Reasons that multiply this sector’s climate impacts are globalization (which moved manufacturing to countries without strong environmental controls), population growth, rapid increase in GDP (and hence purchasing power) around the world, and, most notably, fast fashion trends (that increased the amount of clothing people buy per capita).
The fashion industry is estimated to contribute eight per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. The biggest hot spot of concern in the global fashion industry is fabric dyeing and finishing, weighing in at 36 per cent of the sector’s total carbon footprint. There is a need to significantly reduce climate, water, and chemical use in this phase of apparel manufacturing.
Companies focusing their supply chain efforts on cut-and-sew garment factories. This is the final step in manufacturing where companies find it easiest to start but it is not where it is most important to work, as far as environmental impact is concerned. There is a need for companies to focus their efforts where the impact is greatest rather than waste time in areas of marginal impact.
The luxury goods industry is ripe for further M&A. Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (LVMH) the France-based luxury goods company is in a key position to lead industry consolidation through M&A and further extend its leading role. One can hardly think of an ‘American LVMH’. Even Coach and Michael Kors are fighting to become America’s luxury conglomerate and neither really fit the bill as a pillar of strength around which to build a luxury giant. Not only do they lack the strong cash profile necessary to finance such a strategic move, but even combined, the market capital of the four largest American soft luxury champions would be no match for a European challenger.
LVMH shows up as a clear leader to spearhead industry consolidation through M&A and further extend its lead. Kering, the international luxury group based in Paris, France which owns various luxury goods brands, including high-fashion labels such as Gucci, Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen appears as the natural challenger. Not only does it have multi-category ambitions, it is could certainly move towards a high-profile merger.
A tie-up with Richemont SA the Swiss-based luxury goods holding company would be a master stroke. The Swiss luxury group announced recently that it was doubling down on its investments in high-end internet retail, making an offer of 2.8 billion euros, or about $3.4 billion, for the online fashion retailer Yoox Net-a-Porter.
Richemont’s strategy is an acknowledgment that wealthy consumers are increasingly comfortable buying an expensive watch with a click rather than a trip to an upscale store. Richemont may have ‘the filthy lucre’, but it also has a controlling family whose voting rights would be diluted by a high-profile merger. The group could also be on the receiving end of a bid/merger by one of the two French giants, LVMH or Kering
It would be amazing to see LVMH tie-up with Chanel. Given its footprint in cosmetics, Chanel would be even more desirable than Hermès and not as big as L’Oréal. On the practical side of M&A the choices are limited. One thing that seems certain is that any major moves are likely to be as dramatic as the French Moulin Rouge.
Levi Strauss has devised a new operating model that ushers denim finishing into the digital era. Project FLX (future-led execution) digitizes denim finish design and enables a responsive and sustainable supply chain at an unparalleled scale. By replacing manual techniques and automating the jeans finishing process, Project FLX radically reduces time to market — and eliminates thousands of chemical formulations from jeans finishing.
Using this method Levi Strauss can replace manual techniques and automate the time-consuming, labor-intensive and chemical-reliant process of hand-finishing. By using lasers in new ways, finishing time is cut dramatically – from two to three pairs per hour to 90 seconds per garment, followed by a final wash cycle.
By digitizing the finish design and development process, designers can now create finishes and final garments with a revolutionary new imaging tool. This advanced imaging capability cuts finishing design and development time in half (from months to weeks and sometimes days) and is so accurate the digital files can be sent directly to the vendor and quickly scaled to mass manufacturing.
Levi Strauss has begun piloting Project FLX with select vendors and retail partners and will roll it out across its supply chain in a phased approach over the next two years.
Lectra, the technological partner for companies using fabrics and leather, the French business school ESCP Europe and their joint ‘Fashion & Technology’ Chair explored the impact of Industry 4.0 on fashion’s value chain at a recent round table discussion at ESCP Europe’s London campus. From brands to manufacturers panellists from across the value chain stressed on the need for the industry to embrace alliance between man and machines to leverage enormous benefits from quicker decision-making to cost-reduction.
Exploring the advantages of Industry 4.0 technology, Evelthon Vassilou, CEO, Alison Hayes UK, disclosed, “Interpreting the data of what is and isn’t, selling should help to speed up decisions. You can react very quickly across the entire supply chain and either stop producing something unsuccessful or ramp up production if successful. Data and data analytics is not sufficient, to succeed this also requires a high degree of trust and integration between retailers and suppliers.”
Robert Diamond Founder and CEO, Fernbrook Partners said, “It’s about using technology to deliver continuous improvement in everyday business. People are not good at making a large volume of repeatable decisions with many different data inputs. If business decision, or the outcome of the resolution tomorrow, is pretty much the same as what happened yesterday, then there is a chance for machine learning to help improve the situation.”
Pierre Mercier, Senior Partner and MD, Boston Consulting Group noted that technology propelled by Industry 4.0 is disrupting former sources of competitive advantage, “forcing companies to rethink how they want to compete in their respective industries and how to use data to compete differently. The common denominator in the fashion ecosystem is that everyone is facing the opportunity for a step change and need to figure out where to double down and accelerate their transformation.”
UK fashion brand’s AllSaints, Dan Hartley, Global Head of Digital Commerce, shared his trade secrets, “We take customer feedback very seriously and we use it as a framework for our internal road map - from a tech and development point of view, through to design and fit, the customer is at the heart of everything we do.”
Guess will trace the sources of its wood-based fabrics like viscose, rayon and modal fibers. This is a bid to battle deforestation and protect the rights of people living in at-risk forests. Guess joins an array of fashion companies aiming to rid their supply chains of products from endangered forests.
The brand aims at embracing existing solutions as well as trying new ones to address social and environmental challenges. It’s taking the steps necessary to improve its supply chain. By 2020, it aims at making its global operations greener and encouraging consumers to buy more eco-conscious garments. This year Guess mapped its denim production by water availability and assessed the sustainability of its denim products. To improve its denim production and products, the company is currently drafting a comprehensive water action management plan to address these impacts, which is set to debut in 2018.
Production of wood pulp for fabrics can involve clearing forests to build eucalyptus plantations on land traditionally used by indigenous communities. Other companies to take similar measures include Abercrombie & Fitch, Ralph Lauren, L Brands, H&M, Zara, Levi Strauss and British fashion designer Stella McCartney.
Guess’s policy is another critical step in an industry-wide shift to take responsibility for the on-the-ground impacts of rayon and viscose fabrics. Wood-based rayon, sometimes called the poor man’s silk, is inexpensive and flexible, contributing to its popularity with clothing makers.
Since its conception in 1989, G-Star RAW a cult leader in the denim has continuously challenged the conventions of design. Staying true to its ethos, the brand has launched the world’s most sustainable denim after two years of production. The denim brand has made available to the public one of their most ambitious projects to date—the most sustainable jeans ever. After years of analyzing every facet of the denim production chain, G-Star has developed techniques and technologies that significantly reduce, if not eliminate in some aspects, the environmental impact of creating a pair of jeans.
G-Star’s commitment to sustainability is keenly reflected in their newly developed material which demonstrates four unique denim innovations.
From new, sustainable washing techniques to the creation of the cleanest indigo dyes in the business, this denim is an innovation that has the potential to usher in a new era of environmentally-conscious denim production across the entire industry.
G-Star have also made the material open source, meaning other denim manufacturers can access and use the material in their production an incredibly important move for the future of sustainable denim.
Gap has suffered from a decline in store traffic. The company will instead focus on areas where customers are actually shopping - off-price locations and online. Gap was able to deliver positive comps for the first time in 15 quarters.
Gap intends to focus on growth brands, such as Hollister and Athleta, while closing down about 10 per cent of Gap and Banana Republic stores from lower-productivity locations. This move follows from the decline in demand for the company's more established brands in favor of its younger chains.
The US active wear market is a $40 billion behemoth, with an eight per cent average annual growth rate, representing one of the highest growth areas in the apparel market. Gap’s Athleta brand is solely focused on this space and the company provides athletic wear in its other segments as well. For the company as a whole, this segment contributes over a billion dollars in revenues, while Athleta’s growth continues to outpace the market. The company has taken a number of initiatives to make the supply chain responsive, and as a result, 50 per cent of the assortment in the business is on a pipeline of 6 to 11 weeks.
Indian Handicrafts and Gifts Fair (IHGF) was held in New Delhi, February 23 to 27, 2018.
More than 500 buyers from 111 countries and domestic volume retail buyers visited the show to source home, lifestyle, fashion and textile products during the five day extravaganza.
Major Indian retail/online brands Amazon, Furniture Walla, Pepperfry, Good Earth, Archies, Fabindia, Flipkart, Accenture, H&M visited the show and placed orders. This became one of the motivating factors for those exhibitors who had shown their interest for retail sale during the show.
The Ajay Shankar memorial awards for the best design and display stand in the category of houseware, table, kitchen and hotelware, fashion jewelry and accessories, furniture hardware and home accessories, home textiles, furnishing and floor coverings, lamp lighting and accessories and decorative and festive décor were distributed. In each category gold, silver and bronze trophies were given.
The fair is held twice a year. Theme pavilions of NER, Jodhpur and J&K remained one of the highlights of the fair as exquisite crafts of these states attracted many buyers to visit these theme pavilions. The fair has become a major marketing platform to boost exports of small and medium entrepreneurs of the handicraft sector.
Maximum buyers were from the US, UK, Germany, Japan, Australia, France and China.
Handicraft exports during 1994-95 when the fair initiated were Rs 3159 crores and reached Rs 24,000 crores in 2016-17.
The 45th edition of IHGF – Delhi Fair Spring 2018, being organised in India Expo Mart, Greater Noida to woo buyers from around the world with huge collection of 2000 handicrafts products across 14 product categories including house ware, home furnishing, furniture, gifts and decorative, lamp and lighting, Christmas and festive décor, fashion jewellery and accessories, spa and wellness, carpets and rugs, bathrooms accessories, garden accessories, educational toys and games, hand-made paper products and stationery and leather bags manufactured by Indian exhibitors.
Several seminars were conducted during the event where experts from different fields and subjects were invited to upgrade the knowledge of the participating exhibitors.
One of the most important seminar held on 4th day of the event was on Trends and Forecast of Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer 2019 where P. J. Arandor, Fillipino International Lifestyle Designer advised participating companies to manufacture their products as per upcoming trends during Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer 2019 so that that attention of buyers can be gained in forthcoming International and domestic fairs.
The seminar focused on tendencies for the coming season in key colours, core directions, essential moods, relevant materials, dominant patterns and significant images for 2019, said Rakesh Kumar, ED – EPCH.
Kumar further elaborated that the fair also provides an opportunity to exhibiters to promote their products through the fashion shows.
On 4th day, the fashion show showcased jewellery, fashion accessories and artisanal apparel provided by exhibitors such Handicraft and Handloom of Odisa, R.Co. Arts Emporium, Maharaja Crafts, Kohli Overseas Trading Co. and M. A. Internationals.
VF Corporation is changing to a circular business model. Consumers come back with lightly used jackets, shoes, clothes, to get of incentive to purchase something new. VF takes these products and, through a third party, cleans, resells, and recycles them. The company has found every time a retail store has such a program, traffic in the store goes up, conversion rate goes up, and average retail sale goes up.
US-based VF Corp, is an apparel, footwear, and accessory company and has more than 1,500 owned and operated retail locations around the world across its brand portfolio. A look at the overall impact of any company within the apparel industry shows roughly 70 or 80 per cent, if not more, comes from materials. The apparel industry is also incredibly wasteful, driven by a lot of fast fashion.
One challenge is that the economic system is not based on taking products back from consumers. There is not a lot of infrastructure. Consumers are not familiar with the idea of putting clothes into a box to send back to a brand. Who does it go back to? Distribution centers aren’t set up to take products back, wash them, clean them, repair them, and put them on an e-commerce site to sell them again.
