The USA is known as a leader in many fields, but it lags behind when it comes to thinking about the environmental impact of purchasing clothing and sustainability issues.

When it comes to determining what makes an apparel eco-friendly, there is a broad consensus; one-third of all consumers say that fabric is “absolutely essential/extremely important” in determining sustainability, as per a Global Environment Survey. The survey found that consumers worldwide consider cotton (83 per cent), organic cotton (81 per cent) and wool (79 per cent) to be the safest fabrics. That compares to recycled polyester (45 per cent), rayon or viscose (41 per cent), polyester (38 per cent) and modal (37 per cent).

The majority of global consumers are concerned about the environmental impact of rayon since it starts out as a tree and is then processed and chemically converted into rayon fibre. Yearly, over 120 million trees are cut to produce rayon. Most shoppers are concerned to the point that three-fifths will check labels to avoid it. The avoidance of rayon fibre is highest in India and Mexico (both 91 per cent), according to the Global Environment Survey. That compares to lesser avoidance by American (71 per cent) and U.K. (72 per cent) shoppers.

It has been noted that there is definitely a movement toward natural fibre and consideration about numbers of wear and use. There’s also a growing trend of capsule collections as a response to increased consumer demand around sustainability issues. Brands including H&M, Zara and Banana Republic are in the beta testing stage to decide whether sustainable collections add value and further what resonates with consumers.

Just over three-fifths (61 per cent) of consumers worldwide say sustainability has a moderate or great deal of influence on their apparel purchases, according to the Global Environment Survey. But sustainability is much more likely to influence consumers in Italy (81 per cent), the U.K. and Mexico (both 69 per cent) and Germany (64 per cent) than the U.S. (59 per cent).

Consumers are part of the sustainability equation hence it is important for brands and apparel companies to create a culture of sustainability in line with business strategy.

Sutlej Textiles and Industries has recently announced the acquisition of design, sales and distribution business and brand of American Silk Mills (ASM) LLC based at Plains, Pennsylvania. The acquisition of American boutique designer and distributor of residential and contract furnishing textiles will add strength to Sutlej’s home textiles portfolio.

However, ASM will continue to design, develop and market its products under the brand name of American Silk Mills thus furthering its legacy as a leader in this field for over 120 years.

ASM offers strategic fit on its strength of original designs based on American sensibilities, innate understanding of customer markets and a unique product portfolio that include dobby, jacquards, velvets, suedes using variety of fibers like rayon, linen, cotton, polyester, silk and acrylic.

SK Khandelia, president, STIL says that American Silk Mills offers great synergy to access the American home textiles market using a sound platform of design and development combined with Sutlej’s scale and economics of production in India.

Founded in 1896, ASM is amongst the oldest and most established American textile brands which designs, weaves and distributes innovative textiles for the residential, contract, transportation, and specialty markets. These products include innovative indoor/outdoor performance fabrics, fine jacquard textiles, multiple grades and styles of velvets, the highest quality silks, and Sensuede, an eco-friendly synthetic suede noted for its durability, cleanability and long-lasting comfort.

Pakistan will sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Thailand in January.This aims at enhancing bilateral trade between the two countries.

Matters that have been discussed relate to trade in goods, rules of origin, technical barriers to trade, trade remedies, customs procedures, legal and institutional issues and trade facilitation.

Pakistan has relative advantages over Thailand in some 684 commodities including cotton yarn and woven textiles, readymade garments, leather products, surgical instruments and sports goods.

The ninth round of FTA negotiations would start between Pakistan and Thailand by November this year, in which both sides would presenting the complete offer list for reaching the final agreement.

The trade volume between Pakistan and Thailand stood at 952 million dollars at the end of 2015-16. Pakistan’s exports constitute107 million dollars while imports amount to 845 million dollars.

While negotiating a free trade agreement with Thailand, Pakistan is also looking to access a huge untapped market in the east Asian region. Pakistan already has free trade agreements with Malaysia and Indonesia.

Pakistan is working on a FTA with China. China has agreed to provide market access to 65 items, shared by Pakistan, besides providing concessions on all items included in the offer list.

Mango, the Spanish fashion major, has launched the second edition of its sustainable committed collection.

The brand’s ecological sustainable offering are designed for women and men. Their feminine collection has outfits such as the ‘tile power suit’ and the ‘maxi puffer jacket’ which incorporates details such as plastron pockets and aged copper rivets. Their men’s collection showcases utility details and has a choice of neutral tones such as navy, army green, ecru and tobacco.

Sustainable materials such as recycled wool, modal and lyocell fibres have been used in this collection.

Daniel López, the brand’s Vice Chairman in a statement issued by the company disclosed, “Mango is committed to making its business model more sustainable. The views of consumers and sustainability awareness have evolved exponentially in recent years in the same way that fashion has.”

This new collection as part of their Take Action Programme — under its Take Action Pledge — the brand has set it’s target to increase the percentage of sustainable fibres used in its collections. The brand is also committed to using 50 per cent of cotton from the sustainable origin by 2022.

Kingpins Amsterdam will take place on October 25 to 26, 2017. The show will host 82 exhibitors. This will be an exciting event with multiple and significant seminars on denim dilemmas, denim's history and future. The Kingpins trend installation and forecast will be back with a focus on the spring/summer 2019 season. An art and indigo exhibition by Calik will celebrate its 30th anniversary. There will be a conference on women in the denim universe.

Global Denim Awards have been placed on pause.

The denim industry is going through massive shifts. Just as the music and publishing businesses have changed, fashion is now undergoing the same transformation. More and more business is done via the internet and major retailers are aggressively taking more and more market share which in the end negatively affects small retailers and large brands.

Kingpins was launched in 2004 in New York as an invitation-only, boutique denim sourcing show featuring a highly-edited selection of vendors that include denim and sportswear fabric mills. The trade show has acquired cult like status among denim professionals over the years.

Kingpins Amsterdam gathers top innovators and trendsetters from the denim industry, presenting novelties from top-notch mills, wash houses, full package manufacturers and trim providers.

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry has released a new industry outlook report, “North American Nonwovens Industry Outlook, 2016-2021.” INDA’s exclusive content provides analysis across all of the nonwoven end-use markets, including 128 disposable and 127 durable categories, to provide the most comprehensive and accurate view available of the total North American nonwovens industry. This report marks INDA’s tenth analysis of the nonwoven/engineered materials market since its first overview of the industry in 1995. Detailed supply and demand data are presented for the North American industry for 2011, 2016, and a forecast for 2021.

Brad Kalil, the report author and INDA’s Director of Market Research & Statistics, stated that this exclusive content report provides the latest market data based on an in-depth combination of primary and secondary research utilizing INDA’s proprietary demand model of 255 nonwoven categories. INDA designed this report to support strategic business planning and assist those in the industry in making better business decisions. The projections in the report were made by analyzing current the market trends and driving forces to highlight the market potential in terms of dollar value, units, and volume in both square meters and tonnage.

Dave Rousse, INDA President, also stated that the report provides the keenest insight available into the most important disposable and durable market segments. No other report has the bottom-up data that INDA gathers, making this the most reliable and definitive view of the industry. This report breaks the conventional wisdom that the nonwovens market is two-thirds disposable and one-third durable end-use products. Anyone who must understand, assess, and manage the assets of an organization would benefit from this cost effective business planning tool.

Mohammad Hatem has been elected member of the board of directors of the IAF (International Apparel Federation).

He plays a significant role in two leading trade bodies of garment manufacturers in Bangladesh, BGMEA (Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association) and BKMEA (Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association). He has been involved in the garment sector since 1984 and has visited many countries like Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and China. He is also involved in several social service organizations.

Mohammad Hatem is the managing director of MB Knit Fashion.

BKMEA is the only organization from Bangladesh that represents Bangladesh in the IAF.

IAF is an international trade association established in 1976. Its membership includes national clothing associations and companies whose core business is sourcing, designing, development, manufacturing, distribution, and retailing of apparel products.

The International Apparel Federation is based in the Netherlands. The International Apparel Federation is a politically neutral global association, open to entrepreneurs and executives from the apparel chain worldwide. In addition the IAF welcomes, as associate members, educational institutions and companies that supply textiles, accessories, equipment, technology, and services to the apparel industry.

IAF’s regional office in Pakistan is the first ever IAF office in South Asia.

Swedish fashion retailer H&M opened the first ever Arket store in Munich, Germany on October 13, 2017. The newly inaugurated store of Arket, a new lifestyle brand by H&M, is spread over 1,000 square metres of area.

H&M owns fashion retail brands such as COS, and Other Stories, Weekday, Monki, Cheap Monday other than ARKET. The store features fashion products for men, women, and children. H&M’s home products have also been given space in the store. Apparel and other items from brands such as NIKE, Veja and Adidas will also be sold here.

Ulrika Bernhardtz, Creative Director, Arket stated that this is a unique opportunity and is lucky to open the first Arket store in Germany in this interesting corner location. It is a beautiful space, it feels very modern but has a depth of character already, with natural light flooding the store from all directions.

Arket’s first store was opened on the iconic Regent Street in London on 25 August 2017. The brand had launched its stores in Copenhagen and Brussels earlier this autumn. Housed in a four-storey building, the Arket store will also have a restaurant that will offer Nordic cuisine to the shoppers who wish to take a break while shopping.

YKK zipper launches an innovative finguard structure of their zipper which extends the teeth right up to the tape of the zipper to protect it from friction and rip. Their zipper is enhanced with an improved dynamic shape and multifunctional purpose. The newly designed teeth are manufactured in size 75, besides it maintains top quality and is best suited for use for all garments, shoes, accessories and even luggage.

Part of the revered Excella range, the zipper teeth are available in 20 different platings and over 600 tape colours.

Founded in 1968, YKK Italy S.p.A. is the Italian sister Company of YKK Group, a global leader in fastening accessories. The brand is known for innovation and technology and is used by many of the world’s leading fashion and accessory products.

International cotton stocks — with the exception of China — are expected to rise by approximately 12 million bales to touch a record high of 53 million bales during the 2017-18 season, predicts the US department of agriculture (USDA). Despite a relatively strong forecast of 3.8 per cent increase in global cotton use, a 15 per cent hike in production will outpace demand and increase global stock which will result in buyers gaining an opportunity to procure cotton at competitive prices.

An October 2017 report on cotton released by the Foreign Agricultural Service of the USDA notes, “China’s cotton import policy remains a major wildcard. Despite market rumours of possible increased import access, there has been no official indication of any change in the import policy. Therefore, 2017-18 imports are forecast at a similar level to last season.”

While the additional cotton stocks will be spread across nearly all markets, major exporters will face the burden of high stock inventory with Central Asia, Africa, the Southern Hemisphere and the US forecast to see their stock levels rise way above average.

In South Asia, cotton stocks are projected to grow as production increases three times as much as the region’s growth. Here stocks are expected to be at unusually high levels, largely in India, the major exporter.

“If Bangladesh is able to repeat past peak growth rates, it could reduce some of these stocks, however, USDA’s forecast already assumes a relatively high growth rate for use and is unchanged this month,” the report notes.

Cotton stocks-to-use ratios will be above recent levels even in import-dependent regions such as Southeast Asia. As exporters work aggressively to reduce inventory levels, resulting in some of the increased global stocks being held in mills, warehouses, and other locations across the world.