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As compiled by the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers (ACIMIT), the index of orders intake for Italian textile machinery fell by 47 per cent for the period April-June 2020, compared to the same period in 2019, with orders falling both abroad and in Italy, mainly due to lockdown of production units, particularly in the month of April.
A 44 per cent decrease in orders was recorded on foreign markets, whereas the domestic market showed a 62 per cent drop compared to the second quarter of the previous year. The lockdown of production units in April heavily influenced the orders intake, and a deep concern remains for the upcoming months. ACIMIT noted that the current total extent of assured work amounts to just two and a half months.
Despite the COVID-19-fuelled lockdown and supply chain disruption, Pakistan has fared quite well by registering a visible growth in textile exports to the Italian market in FY20, said Ambassador of Pakistan to Italy Jauhar Saleem.
Saleem said Italy was the eighth largest economy of the world with gross domestic product (GDP) of $2 trillion. It is the third largest economy in the European Union (EU) after Germany and France and the ninth top export destination for Pakistan as it hosts the largest Pakistani diaspora in the EU.
Italy is facing tough times due to the widespread impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its economy and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected a 9-11 per cent contraction in the Italian economy whereas the Italian central bank is anticipating a decline of 9-13 per cent in its GDP this year.
The ambassador pointed out that in FY19 Pakistan had a trade deficit of $164 million with Italy. However, in fiscal year 2019-20, despite the coronavirus outbreak and lockdown in the country, Pakistan managed to record a trade surplus of $210 million.
Los Angeles-based Tukatech recently introduced the ‘feel factor value’ to fabrics based on a mathematical calculation using bend and surface friction values in all warp, weft and shear directions. The feature helps in 3D product design as customers can quickly relate fabric feel without having to wait for a physical sample that can delay the development process.
A ‘fabric feel factor’ is a number that someone may be able to learn and associate in their mind when imagining what the fabric will feel like. The relational value comparison is based on many fabrics familiar to users.
For example, most apparel people know from experience how soft a fine silk scarf feels and know that raw denim or burlap is rough. A number can be assigned to fabrics that will convey to the mind the feel factor of the fabric. If the softest fabric was a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10 and the roughest was a 1, then other fabrics fall in between.
This determination from most used fabrics now can be classified with reference number for each and a feel factor for new fabric will help the design community to ‘digitally feel’ the fabric while they can see the drape and movement of fabric in TUKA3D. These values can then be tabulated and the mean for each fabric taken and assigned to that fabric.
Vietnam will organize a fair to promote exports at the Vietnam-Soviet Union Cultural Friendship Palace in Hanoi on July 30, the city’s Department of Industry and Trade announced on July 24.
According to Tran Thi Lan Phuong, head of the department, in the first half of this year, the COVID-19 pandemic took a heavy toll on local businesses, particularly exporters. As such, the fair is being held to help companies promote their products and reduce their inventories. It is also a chance for local customers to take a look at high-quality export goods from the city and Vietnam as a whole.
Lasting until August 2, the fair is expected to attract more than 300 stalls from over 200 companies. It will feature products ranging from farm produce, food, apparel, footwear, and household items to electronic devices, ceramics, and wooden products, which are already exported to the EU, the US, Russia, Japan, ASEAN, and elsewhere.
The department will invite distribution units such as shopping malls and retail outlets to the fair, to help boost sales, and will increase communications campaigns to attract visitors.
As majority of cotton farming and global textile and garment production happens in the developing countries, the textile and apparel industry is beset with issues such as inhuman working hours, lack of proper sanitation and drinking water, dreadful work environment and disregard for workers’ health and safety.
Though there has been a significant increase in awareness about these issues since the last years, nothing much has changed. Fast fashion industry survives on its offerings of cheap and disposable, trendy clothing as consumers’ expenditure on clothes has more than halved from 5 per cent in 1987, says the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Brands often pressurize factories to produce faster and cheaper clothes as they do not want to pay a higher price for clothing labeled as
sustainable. Latest ‘Better Buying’ index reveals many suppliers in the lowest cost locations are pressured to lower prices as manufacturing has become a very thin margin and low profitability operation. These factories then try to save costs by under-investing in health and safety of their workers. An ideal solution for this could be increasing investments in these factories.
Investments to fuel productivity, reduce costs
Increased investments will help manufacturers improve efficiency and reduce their per garment manufacturing cost. However, these efforts need to be supplemented with increased transparency and openness to ensure that their benefits reach all parties.
Some of the root causes of low productivity in garment manufacturing are: poor managerial skills, non-adherence to data-driven methods for process planning and poor wage structure. Often, these factories do not upgrade to new methods of timekeeping and training due to upfront investments and uncertainty of outcomes. Hence, benefits achieved by efficiency improvements are directed towards the payments of these up-front costs. Therefore, the industry must support innovators who are willing to break these shackles and help the industry to grow.
Believing that unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures, the International Apparel Federation launched its first digital Global Apparel Sourcing Expo on July 16 in partnership with Foursource and Sourcing Journal. Featuring over 10,000 products by more than 200 exhibitors, the expo was launched on July 15 and runs for 30 days till August.14. Day 1, focused on sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event was kick started with an insightful address by Christian Ewert, President, Amfori, who urged industry leaders to engage in open and sustainable trading. Ewert stated the apparel industry is currently responsible for 10 per cent of global carbon emissions and hoped that COVID-19 could help the industry become more resilient, carbon-neutral and circular.
Interactions, responsibility to be the drivers
To achieve this, brands and retailers would need to increase their interactions with local producers, Ewert said. This will make them aware
of the challenges that these producers face, and encourage them to improve their involvement with trade unions and local stakeholders. Brands and retailers should assume the responsibility of women employees and other vulnerable groups and ensure their safety during the crisis.
As sustainability initiatives by these businesses would need government’s help, they should first improve their interactions with trade unions and set up grievance mechanisms in factories.
Benefits of symphonization
Symphonization sets equal audit rules for brands, factories retailer manufacturers and factories can also reset their supply chains through the concept o symphonization. In this concept, instead of operating their own set of rules and internal factory audits, brands and retailers can collaborate with specialized independent organizations that would provide them with multiple options for their supply chains.
Traditionally, brands and retailers created their own social compliance standards that often resulted in audit fatigue as factories required multiple audits each year. Attempts to harmonize these standards failed despite many attempts from retailers, brands and manufacturers.
Symphonization of these standards can help brands and retailers realize that all the parties involved in apparel manufacturing are responsible for following sourcing rules. These brands and retailers can also replace the existing proprietary programs with a third-party organization that has its own existing supply chain audit rules in place.
Quality rather than quantity
In order to build a resilient supply chain, apparel companies should adapt to the concept of a circular economy, views Markus Weiser, Gore Fabrics. According to Weiser, most companies get the concept of circularity wrong because it keeps all those mini-seasons going without any further adjustments. Weiser advises these manufacturers to make fewer high-quality products that last longer. His company Gore Fabrics uses alternative technologies that allow its manufacturers to add colored pigments to fibers from which yarns and fabrics are made. Known as solution dyeing, this process helps manufacturers save up to 50 percent of the water used for conventional dyeing methods. By 2030, Gore aims to reduce its absolute carbon emissions originating from manufacturing sites and offices by 60 percent, besides reducing its absolute product-related carbon emissions by 35 percent.
Indicating China’s strong recovery from COVID-19 pandemic, the latest edition of Greater Bay Area International Textile and Apparel Expo, held from July 15 to 17, 2020 recorded the presence of over 42,374 visitors. Spread over 80,000 sq. mt. exhibition space the three expos CHIC Shenzhen, Intertextile, Yarn Expo and PH Value, was attended by over 2,000 exhibitors showcasing latest innovations in the textile and fashion industry. The fair was organized in compliance with all necessary safety and hygiene measures to prevent infections. For example, visitors had to register with their ID number. They were allowed to enter only with their ‘green code’ app and a travel record and visitors from risky areas had to show evidence of a negative RNA test.
Covering all trade segments
The collections presented at the CHIC Shenzhen show were divided in 13 trade fair segments such as the Urban View segment for
menswear; the Denim World and New Look Segments for women’s wear; the Heritage segment for showcasing leather and fur collections; Chic Tailoring segment for bespoke collection; the Impulses segment for designer collections; the Young Blood segment for showcasing the collections of young streetwear labels, the Chic Kidz and Future Link segments for new technologies; and Bags, Shoes, Secret Stars segment for showcasing accessories.
In the Impulses segment, Chinese luxury lingerie brand Merrige attracted the most number of visitors as it showcased a charming collection by designer Cherry Zhuang, who skillfully blended Western and Eastern aesthetics. Another prominent exhibitor in this segment was brand Ricocao, who participated in the trade show for the first time. Cao Aixia, Founder and Art Director of the brand said, “Chic offers the right platform for exhibitors to meet the most relevant players in the market.”
The Heritage segment reported a flurry of activities with brands Kopenhagen and Saga Fur receiving many new orders. The Urban View segment featured many prominent Chinese brands like Zhuangchen, Paishi or Nuohua while bespoke companies such as Fashion Dream Works, Oriental International Group or Weidu Textile presented their craftsmanship in the Chic Tailoring segment. The New Look segment welcomed companies like Meirenji and Lyn Fong while the Future Link segment presented latest technologies for recycled denim fibers.
Networking opportunities by innovative events
CHIC Shenzhen also offered networking opportunities with key accounts from the Greater Bay Area through its match making tool. The tool used by more than 240 exhibitors and over 23 meetings took place at the fair.
CHIC Online: The Chic online applet enabled offline to connect with exhibitors and view their collections. This tool was used intensively, more than 180,000 clicks and over 14,000 contact requests were recorded.
Workshops and lectures: The "Create Tomorrow" summit, held as a part of the Greater Bay Area Summit, featured experts from retail, industry and design. They discussed future-oriented topics for the fashion industry. Some topics of discussions at the workshop were: ‘Sustainable fashion’ on the first day of the fair, ‘Creative design’ on the second and "Supply chain construction" on the third day.
An opportunity to refresh portfolio
More than 42,300 visitors attended the Greater Bay Area International Textile & Apparel Expo. For visitors, Chic Shenzhen presented an opportunity to meet their favorite brands face-to-face on a common platform. The fair also represented its exhibitors ranging large shopping malls and department store groups such as Wanda Plaza to Liqun, R&F Global Merchandise City and multi-brand boutiques such as Sanfu, Westlink, the Fashion Door, or 1 Wor to all relevant online platforms such as JD.com, amazon.cn, Wangyi.com, youzan.com, enedeAli Express etc.
“CHIC Shenzhen gave the opportunity to refresh and complement our portfolio. We also clinched business deals with some of the new brands exhibiting at the fair,” said Jiang Shixiang, Owner, HanaTebako Boutique, one of the visitors at the fair.
Zimbabwe’s trade development and promotion agency, ZimTrade, has challenged the local clothing and textile industry to increase value added exports and exceed last year’s $62.3 million earnings. In Africa, total exports of clothing and textile in 2019 were $18.3 billion, according to Trade Map, dominated by Tunisia ($4.3 billion), Morocco ($4 billion), Egypt ($3.2 billion), South Africa ($1.5 billion, and Mauritius ($687 million).
ZimTrade said although the nature of export markets is not a challenge, the export figures shows that more needs to be done if the fashion industry is to contribute meaningfully to economic development and national exports. It said figures from Trade Map suggest that the country is exporting more clothing and textile products that are not value added, which translate to exporting jobs.
ZimTrade is developing capacities of local small and medium enterprises in the clothing sector, with the assistance of partners from the Netherlands-based PUM and SES of Germany.These activities have seen some companies improve their production efficiency, output, and quality, which ensures that Zimbabwean products are commensurate with international standards and result in increased confidence and improved export figures.
The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) has recruited five new board members, adding supply chain, academic and industry expertise to its ranks. The new additions include Linda Greer, senior global fellow of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) non-profit, a leading expert in corporate pollution transparency initiatives and consumer engagement.
Professor Marsha Dickson of the University of Delaware, a board member of the Fair Labor Association and co-director of the Sustainable Apparel Initiative, is also joining the SAC board.
Delman Lee, president and chief technology officer of Hong Kong-based manufacturer TAL Apparel; Abhishek Bansal, head of sustainability at textile producer Arvind Limited, and Mukul Agrawal, chief sustainability officer at viscose producer Grasim and Aditya Birla, complete the new additions. Now representing more than 250 member brands, manufacturers and retailers with a combined annual revenue of more than $500 billion, the SAC aims to improve supply chain sustainability in the apparel, footwear, and textile industry.
American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) research committee has released the updated standards and test methods. The data is released twice a year: in the AATCC Technical Manual in January and in the Mid-Year Supplement in June. The latest supplement includes a total of 11 approved standards of 9 revised test methods, 1 editorially revised test method and 1 revised monograph.
All of these standards released and documented have been approved by the responsible research committee and Technical Committee on Research (TCR). Following AATCC test methods and procedures have been revised. AATCC TM16.3-2020 Test Method for Colorfastness to Light: Xenon-Arc is revised to update Options 1, 2 and 3 flow charts; AATCC TM26-2020 Test Method for Ageing of Sulfur-Dyed Textiles: Accelerated is revised to clarify and align with prescribed AATCC style guidelines; AATCC TM94-2020 Test Method for Finishes in Textiles: Identification is revised to update the spectra, edit the text in existing sections and to add new sections for clarity; AATCC TM97-2020 Test Method for Extractable Content of Textiles is revised to clarify safety requirements; AATCC TM112-2020 Test Method for Formaldehyde Release from Fabric, Determination of Sealed Jar Method is revised to update multiple sections for clarity and alignment to style guidelines, etc.
